Annihilator 2 - Mech 4

[voodood]

I'm running a KT7 with 800 MHZ Duron, 256 MB PC133 RAM, Creative Annihilator2 Geforce GTS, Creative X-Gamer.

I know that Mech 4 has some pretty hefty requirements. But come on! The stupid game will only play REASONABLY well at the LOWEST setting! I've got a 19" monitor and I'm running this game at 640x480?!! Pleeeeze. I'm still droppin' frames!!

I KNOW, I KNOW. I went against my better judgement by buying Creative.

Anyone have ANY ideas on what could be wrong. I'm running the Creative drivers. Would running the Nvidia driver help?

Tossing the card is NOT an option.

Also, the game's booklet says that there are options WITHIN the game controls to change settings. But I don't see them. The only option is to change resolution.

The graphics level is accessed OUTSIDE the game.

Any help as always is appreciated.

 

[Mikewarrior2]

i'm not sure when the last time CL released new Annihilator 2 drivers....

Try running with Nvidia drivers...> Can you run other games well? Have you installed the 4 in 1s? What OS are you running?

I run Mech4 on a CL GF2 GTS(same as you), 800x600x32 with 4x AA in Mech4 and it runs smooooooth. I'm running WinXP w/P3, 512mb ram.


Mike

 

[voodood]

I'm running WIN 98SE. Yes, the 4-1 is in place.

I'm gonna try the Nvidia drivers tonite.

If I get 800x600 I'd be totally content.

Why do I get the impression that this is another situation where MS buys something terrific and turns it to crap. It's the software. It HAS to be.

Companies like EA, Activision, etc. can put out 3d games NO PROBLEM. Load em and go. Of all the FREAKIN' people to buy the Mech franchise it HAD TO BE MS! Damn!

 

[Mikewarrior2]

Don't turn this into a Bash Microsoft thread. It isn't the games fault your computer isn't setup correctly. I've seen mech4 on at least 12 computers(lan party), ranging from p3-550 katmai's with TNT2s to a T-bird with a Radeon. All ran Mech4 well, with the graphics options turned down on the two machines with tnt2s.

I've already said that the game runs beautifully on my GTS/XP/P3 setup. The game is also really nice, so if you feel the need to bash MS, don't do it in this thread.



Mike

 

[Brian48]

Yeah, Mech4 is pretty CPU intensive, but it should still play reasonably well on a rig like yours. I have it installed on my backup machine as well (Classic Athlon700+CLV2 12mb SLI). It runs exceptionally well at 800x600x16 with med details.

 

[Spearfodder]

I've got a kt7/duron 800 (ok it's running at 945) and a gf2mx (abit siluro). The game plays just wonderfully on my win2k box at 1024x768. You've got to have something screwed up somewhere.

 

[voodood]

Outside of the overclock, are there any other tweaks you did. What about BIOS settings?

 

[voodood]

Bump.

I'm a bit confused. The Nvidia site has an asterisk next to the GeForce2 stating that the driver package for the latest Detonator drivers is not for the GeForce2.

Is that the correct download? Can someone point me to the location for the latest Detonator reference drivers for the GeForce2 GTS board such as the Creative Annihilator2.

As always, thanks.

 

[MichaelD]

Strongly disagree w/Creative Bashing on VIDEOCARDS. I have the same card as you. I also have the same mobo, so I can speak from experience on this one.

I don't play Mech 4 though, but I can tell you that I score:

UT: 60FPS
Q3A: 50FPS

I play all games at 1024 x 768 x 32. But I have an 1100TBird, so that helps.

Don't use Creative's drivers, use the Detonators from here or any of the other places on the net you can get them. Currently, I'm using the 12.41's. No diff for me b/t these and the 12.4's. Stay away from the 10-series though, not many people (me included) had any luck w/them.

I tried overclocking this videocard with very discouraging results. I don't know if it was PEBKAC or not, but my results were worse than stock!

Are you running the latest Via Drivers? What is your AGP apeture (sp?) size in the bios. If you have 256mb ram, the AGP size should be 128mb. Also, have you disabled VSync and assigned an IRQ for the vidcard in the bios? There are lots of tweaks to do to your entire system that will help you out.

 

[Sugadaddy]

I have a CL Annihilator 2, nothing wrong with it. It's not better or worse than any GTS card out there...

If you're running Creative drivers, than that's probably your problem. (I haven't checked in a long time, but if it's the same as with Live! drivers, then they must be at least 2 years old...) Mech 4 is a directx 8 game, so newer drivers should help a lot. Get the newest drivers from nvidia's site, 12.41 I think...

 

[MichaelD]

Whoa, SuggarDaddy hit a big one on the head! (I didn't even think of it) Mech4 IS a DX8 game. If you're running DX7, that's prolly a big part of the prob in addition to the drivers/bios setup issues.

Hmm. DX8 should have installed itself (it comes on the Mech4 disc) if you didn't already have it. Did it give you an option at the "load screen" to install DX8? Some games give you the option, some just do it and let you sort out probs later. Try the tweaks I listed. SEe if that helps.

If not, go to Start->Run->type "DXDIAG" and check which version of DX you're running. Good catch S.D.

 

[voodood]

I've said it before. I'll say it again.

You guys are the best! Thanks!

 

[voodood]

Sorry to be back. But I'm at wit's end.

I've made the suggested settings in the BIOS. I've made changes based on the KT7 tweaks on the Internet. I've updated to the Nvidia drivers. I'm running Dx8.

I've uninstalled the game and reinstalled and run it with the Mech patch, without the Mech patch.

This game is STILL choppy.

What is the deal with the autoconfigure? No matter what I set it to, it appears to ALWAYS play at Ultrahigh...regardless of refresh rate.

Ya know I don't want to bash MS, but REALLY. My machine is not High end, but it is certainly a strong midrange machine. This game is SIX months old. It was SUPPOSED to run on a minimum 400 mhz, or is this more MS understating it's requirements as it did with ALL versions of Windows.

At this point, I'm willing to try anything. Can I tweak any INI files? What I DON'T want to do is reload Windows.

I loaded NHL2001...now granted it's not Mech but it still has pretty hefty requirements. I run NHL 2001 will ALL graphics options turned up without so much as a stutter!

What gives?

 

[XMan]

Don't turn this into a Bash Microsoft thread. It isn't the games fault your computer isn't setup correctly. I've seen mech4 on at least 12 computers(lan party), ranging from p3-550 katmai's with TNT2s to a T-bird with a Radeon. All ran Mech4 well, with the graphics options turned down on the two machines with tnt2s.

Agreed. There is something wrong with your setup. I am running a T-bird 1Ghz, 512MB PC133, 8KTA3, and a GeForce 256 (generation before your card) at 1024x768, all settings maxed, and it is smooth as silk on butter.

 

[Dulanic]

Its got to be something setup wrong on your PC somewhere, I know on my old 1Ghz Athlon, 128MB PC133, Win2K, and Creative Annilihlator Pro ran the game FINE at 1024x768x32 HIGH.... it sure wouldnt run ULTRA mode tho

 

[voodood]

Ok, I set up my PC poorly. LOL!

I've addressed all the KNOWN problems (ie disable V-sync, assign IRQ of video)...anything else I should check?

I will mention something. When I "install" something...it seems as if it takes forever. It took 30 minutes to install Mech and almost 20 to load NHL 2001 (both FULL installs). Both those times just don't seem right. I don't remember the NHL 2001 install taking that long on my K-6 III.

Now, I also un-selected DMA under the CD-Rom, also in accordance with the KT7 tweak guide.

So it seems as if it is something with the harddrive. The drive is a 20 GB 7200 RPM Maxtor.

Are there any settings in the BIOS I should check with regard to either the drive controllers or bus?

Oh, and I haven't updated to the latest 4-1 drivers (I'm still running the original driver that came on the KT7 CD).

I haven't updated because I'm unsure if I need to. The KT7 tweak says that the VIA AGP driver should not be loaded.

As always, any help is appreciated.

 

[XMan]

Oh, and I haven't updated to the latest 4-1 drivers (I'm still running the original driver that came on the KT7 CD).

I would definitely upgrade to the newest 4-in-1s. There's been a lot performance improvement.

 

[gunf1ghter]

This is actually a finicky game to get running well. I used to have a vid card with the same chipset as yours (GF2 GTS) and I was having real problems running the game.

I found two things got the game playable.

1) Update to DX8.0a. This is an update from DX 8. Make sure you are running DX 8.0a.

2) Det drivers. This game seemed very picky about which drivers it liked. I got the best results from the 11.x Det drivers.

I can't even get the game to run AT ALL on my win2k reload (game splash screen cames up then I get a black screen and it dies). I wonder if the game runs under service pack 2.