TR underworld my first impression

"Zoot" <nospam.DeleteThis@zoot.com> wrote in message
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>
> "Zoot" <nospam.DeleteThis@zoot.com> wrote in message
> news:49299249$0$87076$815e3792@news.qwest.net...
>>
>>> Oh it's worse... I have to have an old CD burner handy that does the
>>> original version 1.0 type disk. Or it won't even see the first TR disk
>>> I bought!
>>>
>>> I used to think I could run them if I could just get them onto the x64
>>> hard drive. Nope. They are 16 bit apps. x64 won't touch 16 bits any
>>> more.
>>> McG.
>>>
>>
>> TR2 and up are 32 bit apps. Only TR1 is a 16 bit app. And TR2 and up work
>> fine for me with XP64. And TR1 works fine if you use GliDos. It works
>> with DosBox, but can be a bit flaky.
>
> I might add that TR1 looks beautiful if you use GliDos, and you can use
> alternate textures if you want, and the music even works . It's worth
> the $10 for GliDos just to play through TR1 again.
I bought GliDOS when Paul Gardiner first released it. And I used it until I
learned it would not work in x64.

What is 'dosbox'?

McG.
 >> Stay informed about: TR underworld my first impression 

"McG." <McCodger.DeleteThis@comcast.ne> wrote in message
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>
> "Zoot" <nospam.DeleteThis@zoot.com> wrote in message
> news:492991fb$0$87079$815e3792@news.qwest.net...
>>>> Can you definitely not play the older games on your 64-bit OS? I've not
>>>> tried (currently got 32-bit installed after a long time of trying with
>>>> 64-bit, but gave up due to some hardware that I now do not use) -
>>>> though I would have thought that TR2-5 might work?
>>>>
>>>> JW
>>>>
>>> They won't run at all. AoD and newer do. Not 1-5.
>>> McG.
>>>
>>
>> Not true. TR3 works fine with XP64. I just now played it a bit. TR2
>> likewise works fine, and I just now tried TRC (TR5). AFAIK TR1 is the
>> only one that won't work natively with XP64, but you can play it with
>> DosBox, or by using Glidos.
>>
>> Can't comment about Vista 64, though, I'll give it a shot if I find
>> time - I have vista but I rarely use it. YMMV.
>
> Oh, has GliDOS been fixed to work in XP x64 now? Last I spoke with Paul,
> it wouldn't. Which leaves me without TR1. Tr2 through 5 and the
> expansions would not run under XP x64 on my old box. It died, I'm using a
> new box but still with XP x64 only.
> I'll get em out and try them on this new box. Anything for some real
> adventuring!
> McG.

Um...I think you are right on glidos. Looks like VDMSound is broken also. I
can run it using DosBox, but the controls are twitchy.Wonder why Paul hasn't
made a 64 bit version?

I'm playing it right now with DosBox, and it works pretty good. Sounds sound
good, movement is smooth, graphics are...well, graphics look just as good as
they did ten years ago LOL. I'm using WinXP64 and DosBox
(http://www.dosbox.com/). It only recognizes 6 buttons on my game pad, I
haven't bothered to see if I can get it to recognize the rest. That is
probably a DosBox config issue.

What happened when you tried to run Tr2+? I played TR2, TR3, and TRC last
night, and they all seemed to work fine. I can't install the XP/Vista
patch - those won't install under XP64, but so far they seem to work OK
without. I'll play with the patch - I bet the patched files work, but the
installer is stupid and doesn't think XP64 is a valid OS.
 >> Stay informed about: TR underworld my first impression 

"McG." <McCodger.TakeThisOut@comcast.ne> wrote in message
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>
> "Zoot" <nospam.TakeThisOut@zoot.com> wrote in message
> news:492992ae$0$87075$815e3792@news.qwest.net...
>>
>> "Zoot" <nospam.TakeThisOut@zoot.com> wrote in message
>> news:49299249$0$87076$815e3792@news.qwest.net...
>>>
>>>> Oh it's worse... I have to have an old CD burner handy that does the
>>>> original version 1.0 type disk. Or it won't even see the first TR disk
>>>> I bought!
>>>>
>>>> I used to think I could run them if I could just get them onto the x64
>>>> hard drive. Nope. They are 16 bit apps. x64 won't touch 16 bits any
>>>> more.
>>>> McG.
>>>>
>>>
>>> TR2 and up are 32 bit apps. Only TR1 is a 16 bit app. And TR2 and up
>>> work fine for me with XP64. And TR1 works fine if you use GliDos. It
>>> works with DosBox, but can be a bit flaky.
>>
>> I might add that TR1 looks beautiful if you use GliDos, and you can use
>> alternate textures if you want, and the music even works . It's worth
>> the $10 for GliDos just to play through TR1 again.
> I bought GliDOS when Paul Gardiner first released it. And I used it until
> I learned it would not work in x64.
>
> What is 'dosbox'?
>
> McG.

http://www.dosbox.com/

It runs TR1 with sound. You can run it in a window, or full screen.

And I stand corrected on GliDos - it appears it doesn't work with XP64. I'll
try it in a VM and see how that works.
 >> Stay informed about: TR underworld my first impression 

"McG." <McCodger.DeleteThis@comcast.ne> wrote in message
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>
>
> I'm running it on a Q9550, GA EP45-DS3L mobo, 8 gigs PC8500 DDR2, BFG
> 8800GTX, DualView with 19" Sammy 930B secondary and Sammy 245T 24" ws
> primary. XP Pro x64 sp2. nVidia 163.21 drivers I think.

How do you like that rig McG? I'm thinking of building something very
similar to it. Trying to decide between that and the new Nehalem
boards/CPUs - definitely want to go 64 bit either way.
 >> Stay informed about: TR underworld my first impression 

"Tim" <ixnay RemoveThis @ontheamspay.com> wrote in message
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>
> "McG." <McCodger RemoveThis @comcast.ne> wrote in message
> news:49282654$0$2773$ec3e2dad@unlimited.usenetmonster.com...
>>
>>
>> I'm running it on a Q9550, GA EP45-DS3L mobo, 8 gigs PC8500 DDR2, BFG
>> 8800GTX, DualView with 19" Sammy 930B secondary and Sammy 245T 24" ws
>> primary. XP Pro x64 sp2. nVidia 163.21 drivers I think.
>
> How do you like that rig McG? I'm thinking of building something very
> similar to it. Trying to decide between that and the new Nehalem
> boards/CPUs - definitely want to go 64 bit either way.
>
>
These are fast, run cool and everything works without a hitch. Plus, this
whole rig cost me less than my last CPU by itself! This thing is literally
twice as fast as my X2 4800+ was. And I used to think that was a pretty
fast kit even today!

On the new Intel stuff. We are nearing the end of the product cycle for
these chips, of which my Q9550 is one. This is the time of sweetness for
this line of cores and mobos.
By the summer, the new Nehalem Core i7 cpu's and chipsets will be out in
force. The price will still be pretty high, they will be on larger die, use
more current and run a little hotter than in yet another year at the split
of the product cycle. That's where Intel releases the same cores in reduced
size. They will cost less, use less current and run cooler. Your choice.
You CAN buy a Nehalim cpu, mobo and ddr3 ram right now. AND a solid state
drive too. If you got more money than Santa Claus!
Sure, the Nehalim can deliver much more performance than ANY Core 2. Intel
is re-introducing Hyper-Threading with Nahalem. So windoze will think you
got 8 cores on a quadcore cpu.
You WILL get a new mobo, and you WILL use DDR3, and you WILL WANT a solid
state drive!

This Q9550 was the sweet spot in price to performance. And the ddr2
bandwidth isn't overrun yet. On this system, the CPU is my bottleneck!
And, it's still fast. Very fast. Faster than I was anticipating. There is
also talk this Q9550 is excellent for OC'ing. But I'm not into that.

check this:
http://www.breakitdownblog.com/intel-nehalem-benchmarks-50-100-perform...e-incre
 >> Stay informed about: TR underworld my first impression 

"Zoot" <nospam.RemoveThis@zoot.com> wrote in message
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>
> "McG." <McCodger.RemoveThis@comcast.ne> wrote in message
> news:492a765d$0$10021$ec3e2dad@unlimited.usenetmonster.com...
>>
>> "Zoot" <nospam.RemoveThis@zoot.com> wrote in message
>> news:492991fb$0$87079$815e3792@news.qwest.net...
>>>>> Can you definitely not play the older games on your 64-bit OS? I've
>>>>> not tried (currently got 32-bit installed after a long time of trying
>>>>> with 64-bit, but gave up due to some hardware that I now do not use) -
>>>>> though I would have thought that TR2-5 might work?
>>>>>
>>>>> JW
>>>>>
>>>> They won't run at all. AoD and newer do. Not 1-5.
>>>> McG.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Not true. TR3 works fine with XP64. I just now played it a bit. TR2
>>> likewise works fine, and I just now tried TRC (TR5). AFAIK TR1 is the
>>> only one that won't work natively with XP64, but you can play it with
>>> DosBox, or by using Glidos.
>>>
>>> Can't comment about Vista 64, though, I'll give it a shot if I find
>>> time - I have vista but I rarely use it. YMMV.
>>
>> Oh, has GliDOS been fixed to work in XP x64 now? Last I spoke with
>> Paul, it wouldn't. Which leaves me without TR1. Tr2 through 5 and the
>> expansions would not run under XP x64 on my old box. It died, I'm using
>> a new box but still with XP x64 only.
>> I'll get em out and try them on this new box. Anything for some real
>> adventuring!
>> McG.
>
> Um...I think you are right on glidos. Looks like VDMSound is broken also.
> I can run it using DosBox, but the controls are twitchy.Wonder why Paul
> hasn't made a 64 bit version?
>
> I'm playing it right now with DosBox, and it works pretty good. Sounds
> sound good, movement is smooth, graphics are...well, graphics look just as
> good as they did ten years ago LOL. I'm using WinXP64 and DosBox
> (http://www.dosbox.com/). It only recognizes 6 buttons on my game pad, I
> haven't bothered to see if I can get it to recognize the rest. That is
> probably a DosBox config issue.
>
> What happened when you tried to run Tr2+? I played TR2, TR3, and TRC last
> night, and they all seemed to work fine. I can't install the XP/Vista
> patch - those won't install under XP64, but so far they seem to work OK
> without. I'll play with the patch - I bet the patched files work, but the
> installer is stupid and doesn't think XP64 is a valid OS.

There is a patched patch installer for the TR4 patch. Somewhere. There are
links in posts in the history of this ng if you care to search a few years.

I'll be using keyboard for TR1 thru 5 and their addons. Never used a mouse
with them before, don't intend to now.

SO, you running TR right from DOSBOX without GliDOS? Or VDMSound?

Just tried installing TRChronicles again. The setup menu appears, I click
install and setup goes to neverland, though taskmanager says its still
running....sigh.
McG.

>
>
 >> Stay informed about: TR underworld my first impression 

"McG." <McCodger.DeleteThis@comcast.ne> wrote in message
news:492afe30$0$17673$ec3e2dad@unlimited.usenetmonster.com...
>
> On the new Intel stuff. We are nearing the end of the product cycle for
> these chips, of which my Q9550 is one. This is the time of sweetness for
> this line of cores and mobos.

I hear that, it's a stable, sensible choice.

> You CAN buy a Nehalim cpu, mobo and ddr3 ram right now. AND a solid state
> drive too. If you got more money than Santa Claus!

LOL That's a lot of sleigh bells. In spite of that though, do you think you
can resist temptation until the next revision of i7s?

> check this:
> http://www.breakitdownblog.com/intel-nehalem-benchmarks-50-100-perform...e-incre
>

Thanks McG.
 >> Stay informed about: TR underworld my first impression 

"Tim" <ixnay DeleteThis @ontheamspay.com> wrote in message
news:ggf090$6vr$1@news.motzarella.org...
>
> "McG." <McCodger DeleteThis @comcast.ne> wrote in message
> news:492afe30$0$17673$ec3e2dad@unlimited.usenetmonster.com...
>>
>> On the new Intel stuff. We are nearing the end of the product cycle for
>> these chips, of which my Q9550 is one. This is the time of sweetness for
>> this line of cores and mobos.
>
> I hear that, it's a stable, sensible choice.
>
>> You CAN buy a Nehalim cpu, mobo and ddr3 ram right now. AND a solid
>> state
>> drive too. If you got more money than Santa Claus!
>
> LOL That's a lot of sleigh bells. In spite of that though, do you think
> you can resist temptation until the next revision of i7s?
>

Yes, I do think I can resist! I HAVE to! LOL!
McG.
 >> Stay informed about: TR underworld my first impression 

>
> http://www.dosbox.com/
>
> It runs TR1 with sound. You can run it in a window, or full screen.
>
> And I stand corrected on GliDos - it appears it doesn't work with XP64.
> I'll try it in a VM and see how that works.
>

I couldn't get it to run in a VirtualBox VM that was running Win2000.
Vdmsound and Glidos install OK, but it first gives a message about starting
in non-accellerated mode, and then it crashes. I don't think the VM's
emulated video card can run this.

I'll try it with a VPC VM and see what happens....

No go. The emulated video card can't run it <sigh>...It looks like if you
want GliDos quality graphics for TR1, you have to dual boot to a 32 bit OS.
 >> Stay informed about: TR underworld my first impression 

"Zoot" <nospam.DeleteThis@zoot.com> wrote in message
news:492b5eda$0$33228$815e3792@news.qwest.net...
>
>>
>> http://www.dosbox.com/
>>
>> It runs TR1 with sound. You can run it in a window, or full screen.
>>
>> And I stand corrected on GliDos - it appears it doesn't work with XP64.
>> I'll try it in a VM and see how that works.
>>
>
> I couldn't get it to run in a VirtualBox VM that was running Win2000.
> Vdmsound and Glidos install OK, but it first gives a message about
> starting in non-accellerated mode, and then it crashes. I don't think the
> VM's emulated video card can run this.
>
> I'll try it with a VPC VM and see what happens....
>
> No go. The emulated video card can't run it <sigh>...It looks like if you
> want GliDos quality graphics for TR1, you have to dual boot to a 32 bit
> OS.
>
Nope. I'll just put a box together out of old stuff that W98 or XP (x86)
will run on and install them there. The game installers won't run in x64.
Try it!
McG.
 >> Stay informed about: TR underworld my first impression 

On Nov 21, 3:05�am, Erik Steffl <ste....RemoveThis@bigfoot.com> wrote:

> � �what do you guys think?
>
> � � � � erik

Yeah, I know, it's been a while, but here I am. To answer your
question:


Cons:

1. Glass walls definitely encountered. Apparently, this was a rush
job and they didn't bother to figure out exactly the shape of each
object encountered. Bad.

2. At Lara "close up and personal", when she's facing the camera and
in a tight spot or up close to the wall, the camera got a bit shaky.
This really throws off one's perspective. Also bad.

3. McG: In terms of "collision detection", I see her sometimes
standing off the ground about four inches, and sometimes I see her
standing with her legs sunk into the ground up to her ankles. Mildly
annoying, but there you are.

4. Gone is the "jump-and-shoot" evasive maneuver. A pity. I liked
that one.

5. This one also doesn't have the "kick-and-shoot" maneuver. I liked
that one as well.

6. Where's the orientation button!?

7. Not quite as smooth at times in the animation. I felt like I was
watching "NFL Live Super Slo Mo" video; the kind that jerks a little
at full speed.

8. Sorry, I'm still old school. I still prefer the all-keyboard
system. Oh, well...

9. Not all the "extra" weapons are accessible. You have to choose
one weapon and hope that it works for the scenario you're involved
in. Bad.

10. Sorry, but "relics" and "treasures" don't mean balls and duo-
decahedrons. Let's try that again, shall we?

11. Medipaks do not restore full health. I preferred the older way
of doing things, when full medipaks restored full health and smaller
medikits restored partial health, but that's just me.

Pros:

1. More exploration, more randomness in the level mission designs.
Sure, there's some linear progression, but it's not all linear. I
like this.

2. My computer handled the graphics well. I had been concerned
because the recommended card was the 8800GT or equivalent, and all I
had was an 8600GTX. Also a plus.

3. The environment was well detailed and vast when it needed to be.
Good job there.

4. The "chimney climb" was new, and that did make things
interesting. However, I'm not sure that kind of maneuver can be done
in the real world. It's probably nothing...

5. The "last second move" makes for interesting drama. I'm kinda
neutral about that, though.

6. The improved, easy to use acrobatics makes things more accessible.

7. You can choose different outfits, limited only to what would be
considered appropriate for the scenario. I would have preferred to
have all the outfits available, but this is a good start.

8. Medipaks visually were replaced by some rather interesting looking
objects appropriate to the scenario. Give 'em points for orginality.


Concentrating only on the mission objectives, I completed the game in
three days and three hours. After completion, there is a "treasure
hunt" phase that will allow you to grab all the items that you missed
without actually having to achieve the scenario objective again. It's
probably going to take me some time to get them all. There is also a
redesign of the unlockable content. I don't exactly know how that
works, though.

Overall, I consider this a big improvement.
 >> Stay informed about: TR underworld my first impression 

"McG." <McCodger RemoveThis @comcast.ne> wrote in message
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>
> Yes, I do think I can resist! I HAVE to! LOL!
> McG.

I have to resist too - I love new CPUs. But you are correct. The Nehalems
apparently don't overclock that well yet (always a sign that they are
running near their limit to start with). But once they've got them sorted
properly, they really should go some. Interesting that it's taken Intel so
long to finally implement the integrated North Bridge, when AMD has been
doing it since - gosh - was it with Athlon XP? Or simply when Socket A came
in? I can't remember.

DDR3 RAM was disgustingly expensive when I last looked. And from what I can
gather, in order to get the performance boost that you get when using
matched DDR/DDR2 RAM in pairs of two, DDR3 RAM requires sets of three sticks
to get it's matched boost. Seems a very odd number to me in computing terms.
Perhaps it's to avoid upsetting all those people (like me) who have 1GB
sitting wasted in their 64-bit machines with a 32-bit OS?

JW
 >> Stay informed about: TR underworld my first impression 

"John Whitworth" <sexyjw RemoveThis @g_EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE_mail.com> wrote in message
news:492dc1cd$0$1332$fa0fcedb@news.zen.co.uk...
>
> "McG." <McCodger RemoveThis @comcast.ne> wrote in message
> news:492b0be0$0$17785$ec3e2dad@unlimited.usenetmonster.com...
>>
>> Yes, I do think I can resist! I HAVE to! LOL!
>> McG.
>
> I have to resist too - I love new CPUs. But you are correct. The Nehalems
> apparently don't overclock that well yet (always a sign that they are
> running near their limit to start with). But once they've got them sorted
> properly, they really should go some. Interesting that it's taken Intel so
> long to finally implement the integrated North Bridge, when AMD has been
> doing it since - gosh - was it with Athlon XP? Or simply when Socket A
> came in? I can't remember.
>
> DDR3 RAM was disgustingly expensive when I last looked. And from what I
> can gather, in order to get the performance boost that you get when using
> matched DDR/DDR2 RAM in pairs of two, DDR3 RAM requires sets of three
> sticks to get it's matched boost. Seems a very odd number to me in
> computing terms. Perhaps it's to avoid upsetting all those people (like
> me) who have 1GB sitting wasted in their 64-bit machines with a 32-bit OS?
>
> JW
>
I had to get another box built. My old one died! The PSU nuked, damaged
the mobo, 1 dimm of 1g ram and put 'holes' in one hd's data. The CPU, both
vid cards and 3 1gb sticks of ram and all the drives (well 2 perfect one
with 'holes') survived. PSU would kill or at least hurt any mobo now. I
had the 8800GTX and a 1 terabyte SATA drive waiting to go in the old box.
But I just built a new one around those parts. I think I'll get Anniversary
and Underworld this weekend.
 >> Stay informed about: TR underworld my first impression