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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Gaming => Topic started by: Orjan on November 25, 2004, 09:36:41 AM

Title: Pirates!
Post by: Orjan on November 25, 2004, 09:36:41 AM

Not Amiga-related, but still! :-)

The classical Pirates! for the Amiga has been re-made for the PC by none other than Sid Meier himself... In stores now!! :-)

http://www.atari.com/pirates/
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: whabang on November 25, 2004, 11:16:10 AM
Vill ha! Vill ha! Vill ha! Vill ha! Vill ha! Vill ha! Vill ha! Vill ha! Vill ha! Vill ha! Vill ha! Vill ha! Vill ha! Vill ha!
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Amigaz on November 25, 2004, 11:44:27 AM
 :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

vill ha osså!
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Orjan on November 25, 2004, 11:54:46 AM
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: whabang on November 25, 2004, 12:00:28 PM
Perfekt! På lönedagen, och allt! :-D
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Bezzen on November 25, 2004, 01:43:38 PM
According to Atari Sweden it's out on December 3. I hope they remember they promised to send me one.  :-P
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: on November 25, 2004, 02:41:06 PM
If they had a demo I could play, I would most definitely be interested in buying it (funds available of course).  I've been hit too many times with nostalgia and good looking screenshots only to purchase a terrible game.

Wayne
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: whabang on November 25, 2004, 02:59:48 PM
I'm not condoning Piracy here, but to be honest I usually download the game from the net before I buy it. The demos are usually not enough to get a good grip on the game.
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Speelgoedmannetje on November 25, 2004, 05:20:28 PM
I usually wait for buying a game until it's available for a budget price. Then you know it's a classical game (if you surf around a bit on the internet, you can read and compare mostly independant reviews) and you know it runs fine on your system (I got a new budget pc, could not afford a full blown super gaming pc)
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Amigaz on November 25, 2004, 05:30:14 PM
The adverts here in the subway said that it would be in the Åhlens stores tomorrow.
 :-P
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: DanDude on November 25, 2004, 06:21:25 PM
Demos are good enough for me.  Sure they suck when they don't have the good game, but if it's worth it, I'll buy it.
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: seer on November 25, 2004, 06:28:37 PM
I ususally take the CD from a friend and return it when he misses it.. Sometimes that last a few months...

Beats downing a demo (which seem to get bigger and bigger, tho that's not a real problem) that has 2 levels... Like movie previews, they show you the best parts and the rest is average..
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: whabang on November 29, 2004, 03:13:14 PM
Well, I downloaded the game this weekend, and I can tell you that I'll buy it!
It's even better than the original!!! :-o
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Ilwrath on November 29, 2004, 03:53:33 PM
Quote

I'm not condoning Piracy here, but to be honest I usually download the game from the net before I buy it.


Yeah, same here.  Actually, also, it's handy to have the crack available, as well.  In case it's needed to get the original purchased game to run!  

(Yes, EA and Epic - I'm talking to you, ya arseholes!  Why do I need to crack NHL2005 just to get it to load?  I don't have any of the "DVD emulation software" your brilliant copy protection accuses me of.....)
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: magnetic on November 29, 2004, 05:58:13 PM
Yes!

I've been following the development for months. It looks incredible. I actually built a pc lately for UAE and gaming. I'm a little confused about DirectX and gfx cards. I have a Radeon 7500 64mb DDR AGP gfx card in a Gigabyte motherboard, AMD 2.2ghz, and 512mb DDR Ram. Can I run Direct X 9 games with this? (specifically Pirates! and Call of Duty)

TIA

magnetic
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: on November 29, 2004, 05:59:46 PM
It's a lower-end card (like my nvidia 5200fx) but it should work.  Check your manufacturer's Web site.

Wayne
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Ilwrath on November 29, 2004, 06:34:13 PM
Eeek!  The Radeon 7500 is essentially a DirectX 7 hardware card.  You can probably run most DX 9 games (as they fail back to earlier standards) but essentially, you'll be software rendering a lot.  Performance is more on par with an old GeForce 2/4MX series card, rather than anything like the GeForce 3Ti/4Ti, let alone the FX lines.

The GeForce FX5200 is a (very low end) DX9 hardware card.  It renders the full DX9 spec in hardware (so there's no problem with compatibility there), but actually does it slower than most modern systems could perform it in software.  

So the end result may be similar framerate*, but for very different reasons.  :-P  

*- Framerate isn't everything in games -- the advantage of having the DX9 spec in hardware is that the CPU is under less load under actual game conditions and that may ease any bottleneck that forms on CPU time.
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: on November 29, 2004, 06:47:00 PM
Well, considering all things, the 5200 I've got is about the only thing I can afford right now.  Does a good job at the Sims2 and a crappy job at the demo for what was it?  Doom 3?  Quake 27?  I can't remember.

What would one suggest for a reasonable card nowadays?

Wayne
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: magnetic on November 29, 2004, 07:11:19 PM
Thx for the posts guys. I'm new to the maze of PC games/gfx cards. So I guess my real question is:

Will I be able to run the new Pirates! game at full speed with nice gfx?

tia
magnetic
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Ilwrath on November 29, 2004, 07:20:30 PM
Quote

Well, considering all things, the 5200 I've got is about the only thing I can afford right now.


Well, actually, I'm not suggesting anything bad by my comments.  Just because the GeForce 5200FX is the lowest end of the DX9 spectrum, that doesn't make it a bad card.  

The Radeon 7500 is in the high-end of the DX7 spectrum, and while these cards may give similar framerates, they're really not very comparable, especially in the field of compatability.  

Personally, I'd take the GeForce FX5200 over any DX7 series card, any day.

My wife's PC has a GeForce 5200FX, and while it's no powerhouse, it IS a reasonable performer and quite stable.  

I was disappointed by the fact that my GeForce 4Ti (a DX8 hardware card) gets better framerates, even on some DX9 tasks, though.

As for what card I'd recommend... Well, it all depends on what you want to spend.  

In the more budget conscious range, certainly the low end of the GeForce FX series (5200-5500) look nice, as do the DX9-based Radeon 9200-9500.  

Mid-range, nVidia doesn't really have a competitive offering - the ATi Radeon 9800 looks strong.  

On the high end, my personal favorite is the GeForce 6800 GT, though the Radeon X800 also looks nice.
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: magnetic on November 29, 2004, 07:26:08 PM
Ilwrath

Very interesting... but will i be able to play Pirates nicely with my DX7 Radeon 7500??

tia
magnetic
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Ilwrath on November 29, 2004, 08:19:20 PM
Quote
Very interesting... but will i be able to play Pirates nicely with my DX7 Radeon 7500??


Well, I'm just now installing Pirates, which is why I was avoiding this question...  I haven't seen it, yet.  It sort of depends on the game (and how well it was coded), how much of a performance hit you take by not having full hardware support.

On average, I'd suspect a system like yours (good CPU, plenty of RAM, but DX7 hardware) should be able to play a modern game at about 800x600 and medium detail.  (should look nice, but probably not stunning.)  Unless this thing is a resource hog like Doom 3, in which case, you'll need 640x480 and minimum detail.   :-o

Anyhow, I'll let you guys know my thoughts on the game in a couple hours.  ;-)
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Argo on November 29, 2004, 08:56:42 PM
Better than my Matrox G550, can't even play Half-Life 2.
Though it does run Sims 2 reasonably well at low settings.
What's your price range?

Radeon 9800 256M

That's what I'm looking at for bottom end, As I'd like someting that will be usable for a few years. I just have to get all this Christmas Shopping done before I feel okay getting myself something. Which means early next year. If I put it off til the tax return come in, I'll get something better. Radeon 700 XT maybe.
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Ilwrath on November 29, 2004, 10:04:25 PM
Well, I just finished off a couple hours of starting out my Privateering career.... And I'm in total agreement with Whabang!  Brilliant game!  Sid Meier comes back with yet another great hit.  :-)  I don't know if it's better than the original, but it's surely worthy of the name.

As for it's playability on lower-end hardware... I see no reason why it shouldn't run quite well on most systems.  It was flawless at 1024x768 and full detail on a GeForce4Ti (DX8 hardware).  I don't see why a DX7 level card should have any serious issues, either.

Well, I'm off to buy the glossy box, now.  I can't support piracy unless it's against the lowly French!  Arrrrr!  Attack em' with the 14 cannon Merchantman, maties!  FIRE!!!
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: magnetic on November 29, 2004, 11:46:19 PM
Great!

Thanks for the feedback. I'm asking for Pirates! for Xmas from my girl..

magnetic

Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: on November 30, 2004, 01:15:49 AM
Something of partial interest is that Bestbuy.com currently has the Nvidia 6800 OC with a copy of Half-life2 for $354 with a $105 dollar rebate.  That means you can get a very high-end card for $249.00
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Ilwrath on November 30, 2004, 03:26:26 AM
Quote
Something of partial interest is that Bestbuy.com currently has the Nvidia 6800 OC with a copy of Half-life2 for $354 with a $105 dollar rebate. That means you can get a very high-end card for $249.00


Yeah, that really is quite a deal.  The 6800 is decent bit off the pace of the 6800GT (less RAM bandwidth, and fewer pixel pipelines), but for the price difference, I'd have to say that is where the sweet-spot of performance vs. bucks is right now.  $249 is an excellent price for a piece of hardware like the 6800.  (I've been complaining that I didn't really want to spend the $399 for a new graphics card...)  

And, really, I'll get tossed out of my LAN party gang if I don't pick up HL2 soon.   :lol:
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: whabang on December 01, 2004, 11:57:38 AM
Quote
Very interesting... but will i be able to play Pirates nicely with my DX7 Radeon 7500??


Should work fine!
I run it perfectly with a Radeon 9200 PCI, and it doesn't lag a bit. An AGP 7500 should do fine, at least in 800*600.
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: on December 01, 2004, 01:26:37 PM
Just to let you know.  Picked up a used copy of Pirates off e-bay for $24.00.  Started playing it last night (was sick and out of it most of yesterday).

For the record, gameplay (normal gameplay) is just fine on my 5200, but... There are sections of the game, such as duelling, where my video card is sorely lacking, meaning it's very slow animation.  (looks like the whole scene is slow-mo).  Overall, given that I've played it for about an hour, it's not bad at all.  Just not as exciting as I'd hoped.

Wayne
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Darrin on December 01, 2004, 03:39:33 PM
I have to say that I've been using a Radion All-In_Wonder 9200 for several months ($129 from Walmart) and it does a damn nice job on the games front.  Doom3 runs well and looks good (with shadowing off) at a decent resolution and I've also been using it for turning VHS tapes into DVD's using the supplied software.  If you want a good graphics card and a reasonable proce then get one of these.  If you don't need the video input option then the plain 9200 is only $99.

Oh, and I'm using it on an Athlon XP2200...

Pirates for PC!  Got to get that!!!
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Blomberg on December 01, 2004, 03:42:17 PM
Quote
I was disappointed by the fact that my GeForce 4Ti (a DX8 hardware card) gets better framerates, even on some DX9 tasks, though.


That makes sense. All of the Ti series are clocked faster (The Ti4200 at about the same, though) and have more memory bandwidth than the FX5200. It's not really a fair comparison, though, as the Ti series were the mid to high end cards, while the FX5200 is the ultimate low end, equivalent to the MX's of the GeForce 4 series.

--Edit--
Nice chart here (http://tech-report.com/etc/comparo/graphics/), btw.
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: on December 01, 2004, 04:32:36 PM
What's with all the dancing?  I've yet to see any purpose in that whatsoever.

Wayne
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: on December 01, 2004, 04:39:51 PM
Quote
Nice chart here, btw.


Excellent, thanks.  That pretty much makes up my mind for me.  Reading their reviews, it points out that even the current 6800 line still requires multiple power connectors and "highly recommends" a 500-watt PS.  The x800 is a toss-up, but works well with a standard 300-watt PS (which they proved).

One thing I DO NOT like with both is the huge honkin fan required.  I bought my 5200 specifically because it didn't have/require a fan.  I also do not have a monitor with a DVI input, so that's rather limiting.  While I wouldn't run dual monitors, I'd like to keep the option of upgrading to DVI and a flat-panel in the future.

(I had a 17" flat-panel display once, gave me migraine headaches)

Wayne
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Speelgoedmannetje on December 01, 2004, 10:19:41 PM
Quote

Wayne wrote:
 I'd like to keep the option of upgrading to DVI and a flat-panel in the future.

(I had a 17" flat-panel display once, gave me migraine headaches)
Phwa, luxury is for wimps!
Just give me the picture quality of the C= PET! But since I do not have that one yet I'll have to stick with my C=1084S monitor :-)
(In other words, I do not have the money for such luxury :lol:)
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: magnetic on December 01, 2004, 10:40:15 PM
Cool!

Thanks for the post. I have the Radeon 7500 agp and the CPU is an AMD 2.2ghz with nice low latency Samsung DDR Ram (256mb) I just dont really want to put that much money into this pc. BUT I really want to run Pirates! and now maybe Call of Duty..


@ Wayne

Yeah, that dancing sure looks silly ---

magnetic
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Ilwrath on December 02, 2004, 03:11:44 AM
Quote
What's with all the dancing? I've yet to see any purpose in that whatsoever.


Well, the dancing is to win the heart of the girl, and then she'll give you more information or a new mission.  Of course if you dance well enough, then she'll also want a ring, as well.  :lol:  It's kind of a frustrating scene, but pretty funny, at the same time, as one foul keystroke can send you stumbling and crashing into the girl.  I end up cussing under my breath much the same way as I'd imagine my pirate would be at that screw-up.  ;-)

The swordplay gets a little repetative after a few dozen or so captures...  But I'm still playing at an easier level than I really should, just to get together a feel for some strategies on how I'm supposed to progress through my career.  I'm hoping when I crank up some difficulty the swordplay will get more in-depth.  I'm surprised that that scene ran slowly for you.  It's pretty much liquid-smooth on my rig.  (shrug)  Silly computers.

Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Bezzen on December 02, 2004, 01:20:12 PM
I got it today but haven't got around to install it yet. I've been looking forward to this game for ages. I guess a couple of hours tonight will be spent in the Carribean.  :-D

Got the new Prince of Persia game today as well. A pretty good day, gaming wise.  :-)
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: on December 06, 2004, 03:16:03 PM
Hey Thomas,

Coming back to this question, let me state that normal gameplay is pretty much unaffected on a decent video card (yours should be able to handle it) but the extended scenes -- such as duelling or dancing -- are really, really painful.  

I got a chance over the weekend to try Pirates on a machine similar to mine with an ATI X800 video card, and it was an absolutely remarkable (and more enjoyable) difference.  The picture was 10x better (all the "details" sliders were on max), the colors were brighter and richer.  It was very, very cool.  The X800 however could be considered a little TOO much improvement as things like duels move in faster-than-real-time movement.

The funny thing is, the guy who owns the machine was told by ATI that the card is too fast to handle setting a monitor at 70 hz, so he had to crank it up to 85 hz (the highest his average 17 inch monitor could handle at 1024) just to use it.

I didn't get a chance to try out something like Doom3, which would strongly push the X800, but I would honestly suggest that you (and I -- if I were able) look to buying one of those 6600 GT or even perhaps an X700 card, if you have PCI-express.  If you're like me, the most appropriate card you could find would be a 6600 GT/AGP which can be found for $229 US at the current time.  (direct link to item at tigerdirect.com (http://stat.dealtime.com/DealFrame/DealFrame.cmp?BEFID=1722&code=69&aon=^12&crawler_id=90006&dealId=E5cqDS5811hX18Y70ALqwA%3D%3D&prjID=ds&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tigerdirect.com%2Fapplications%2Fsearchtools%2Fitem-details.asp%3FEdpNo%3D1121824%26Sku%3DP450-8529%26SRCCODE%3DSHOPPINGDF%26CMP%3DOTC-SHOPPING&DealName=%20XFX%20GeForce%206600%20GT%20%2F%20128MB%20DDR3%20%2F%20AGP%208X%20%2F%20Dual%20DVI%20%2F%20HDTV&MerchantID=90006&category=77&MT=pmt10-2&DB=masterprod&MN=&HasLink=yes&frameId=-1&AR=1&RR=1&NG=&GR=1&ND=1&FPT=DSP&NDS=&NMS=&NDP=&MRS=&CT=6&linkin_id=3037720&DMT=10&VK=3037720&searchID=e0aa1d357dc94d115db667df&PD=23184255))

I figure that compared to our current cards (your 7500 and my 5200), 80 fps in Doom3 generated by the 6600 GT would be sufficient (according to the testing at anandtech.com (http://anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2277)) and would last you a long, long time before NEEDING to upgrade (as we do now).  

I've used my FX5200 for about 4 or 5 years.  I gave about $200 for it (actually I burned out the first two and this is my third replaced under warranty -- bad mobo), so if I can swing the money tree (Christmas is coming!), it may be time to upgrade.

Wayne
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: B00tDisk on December 06, 2004, 05:30:29 PM
If I may, Wayne, I've been running HL2 in 1024x768 with the bells and whistles all turned on with a GF5200 for a couple of weeks now, and I must say it's performance has amazed me - and this was the card I wanted to yank out and stomp on after the slideshow of Doom3 (even at 640x480).  

I have Pirates!* and it plays very well and looks great at 1024x768.

*Incidentally the original poster has it wrong - Pirates! wasn't an Amiga game first.  IIRC it was available for all the 8-bit platforms long before the Amiga.  I played it on an Apple-II and C64 for ages.  Certainly it got better on the Amiga, but Pirates! Gold for the PC was pretty much head and shoulders above the Amiga version.
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: on December 06, 2004, 05:41:08 PM
Hey B00t,

Haven't tried HL2.  (isn't it just a doom clone?)  Tried the Doom3 demo on the 5200 and it had be thinking "people would actually pay for this game???"  Frame rates, even at 640x480 were roughly 10 to 12 fps.  

Playing Pirates! was the reason that a new video card is on my Christmas wish list.  Even moreso after seeing the game played on an identical machine with the X800 video card.  I just don't have half a grand to drop on a video card to play Pirates!

My plan now is to wait for Christmas and hope for a price drop on the 6600 GT/AGP.

Wayne
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: magnetic on December 06, 2004, 07:04:58 PM
Hi Wayne

Thanks for the update. I actually took the Radeon 9000 Pro 128mb DDR (PCI) out of my Pegasos and installed it in my Pc. This should be a major improvement for Pirates! right? I cant really afford a new gfx card at the moment.

Please guys, post your thoughts on this card and the new games here.

thx

magnetic

ps wayne: hows the dancing coming??
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: on December 06, 2004, 08:11:17 PM
Thomas,

Looking at this page at Tom's Hardware (http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20041004/vga_charts-04.html) -- which doesn't seem up to date (doesn't include the 6600 or x700) -- doesn't even mention the Radeon 9000 but it does include the 5200, so all you could do is compare how the two cards play on your own.

Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: magnetic on December 06, 2004, 09:23:03 PM
Thx Wayne

Looks like that chart is only for cards for sale ATM. But its good. The Radeon 9k is better than 9500 and such I think - it has 128bit and lots of Ram...fast core.. but being PCI hurts.. The gfx card market is so confusing as are those stupid names..

magnetic
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: on December 06, 2004, 10:06:36 PM
I agree that they come out with so many cards they could just sum it up for us by maker, market, and date of release;

ATI Gamer Video Q2-2004
ATI Multimedia Video Q2-2004
ATI Workstation Video Q2-2004
ATI Business Video Q2-2004

NVidia Gamer Video Q2-2004
NVidia Multimedia Video Q2-2004
NVidia Workstation Video Q2-2004
NVidia Business Video Q2-2004

You could tell

1) Who makes it
2) What it's for
3) Which release it is (in case they release several cards in that year)

Then again, while that's a LITTLE more helpful, it's not much.
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: magnetic on December 06, 2004, 10:56:45 PM
Thx wayne

You inspired me to do furthur research. My card is the RV250 core and is Direct X 8 Hw compatible. So, judging by this thread, I should be able to play Pirates! well enough.. i wish it was agp though..

magnetic
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: B00tDisk on December 06, 2004, 11:25:01 PM
Quote

Wayne wrote:
Hey B00t,

Haven't tried HL2.  (isn't it just a doom clone?)  


Only if you equate first-person perspective with Doom.

Half Life (all iterations of it) are much, much more.  There's a huge sci-fi story going on and you're part of it.  It's phenomenal.

Quote

Tried the Doom3 demo on the 5200 and it had be thinking "people would actually pay for this game???"  Frame rates, even at 640x480 were roughly 10 to 12 fps.  


Yep.  I think they really screwed up on D3.  Not in having the tech in the engine but in trying to put all of it on the screen at the same time.  Ultimately, flagship games that show off new tech engines are there not only to sell lots of copies of the game but to lure in developers who might want to spend a cool five figures on the engine itself to develop their own game.  The engine developers (Valve, iD, etc.) have to show their colors really strongly to get outside houses to drop the cash required to license the tech.  This I understand but damn if D3 wasn't just trying too hard...:-/

Hopefully it'll run a smidge better on my 5950 I've got in the mail...

Quote

Playing Pirates! was the reason that a new video card is on my Christmas wish list.  Even moreso after seeing the game played on an identical machine with the X800 video card.  I just don't have half a grand to drop on a video card to play Pirates!

My plan now is to wait for Christmas and hope for a price drop on the 6600 GT/AGP.

Wayne


I'd go ahead and get it now (Pirates! that is).  It looks pretty spiffy on my system with it's anemic little 5200 card, no reason it won't look good on yours.
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: MaDDuck on December 07, 2004, 02:15:09 AM
Hmmmmm...
How does that compare to my NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL??
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: on December 07, 2004, 03:38:55 AM
How does WHAT compare to your 6800?
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: MaDDuck on December 07, 2004, 04:06:10 AM
AARRGGHH....
I hate when that happens, reading posts, and I go to reply to one LONG after the subjest (video card quality) has been changed.
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: Trev on December 24, 2004, 10:56:10 PM
Just picked up the new Pirates, so I wanted to add my two cents. The game is just as fun as the original; however, I miss being able to attack ports from sea. The ground-based combat is excrutiatingly slow, but if you want the really big hauls, it's the way to go. (Hint: if you want to loot a nice, plump capital, visit a pirate hideout first and have them attack the city. They'll most likely lose, cutting the city's garrison in half in the process.)

Does anyone else missing sun sighting? I kind of liked that feature. . . .

Although the game doesn't support my LCD panel's native resolution (1920x1200), it does play well at 1600x1200. I do, however, see a nasty slowdown when sneaking into a port. (Odd thing though, it's just really slow--no frames are skipped. A bug maybe? Or perhaps the programmers wanted people with slower systems to at least be able to play through the segment without the slideshow effect.) :-/

Here's my not-so-detailed specs:

Intel D845PEBT2 mainboard
Intel P4 2.53 GHz
1 GB DDR RAM
Western Digital 120 GB ATA-100, 8 MB buffer
Nvidia Gefore 4Ti 4200, 128 MB
Samsung 243T LCD display

The response time on the 243T is a little sluggish (30ms, ~33 FPS max), so the labels on the ships blur a bit :-/, but there's not much I can do about that. . . .

I can play Doom3 at 1024x768 with 4x anti-aliasing and all features that my hardware supports enabled. But without pixel shaders for lighting, Doom3 is really too dark to enjoy.

Half-Life 2, on the other hand, looks wonderful and plays like a dream at 1920x1200. Love it.

Trev
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: on December 26, 2004, 12:48:26 AM
Well, having gotten a NVidia 6600GT (AGP version) for Christmas to replace my FX5200 card, the difference is amazing.  Still can't play the Doom3 demo worth a damned, but Pirates is easily 2x faster than it was before, as long as you didn't spin the "details" settings to super-high.

When it's one-on-one, ship-versus-ship, it's about perfect but enter another ship (attacking an escorted ship for example) and everything slows down quite a bit.

NVidia 6600GT gets a thumbs up in my book, at $200.

Wayne
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: B00tDisk on December 26, 2004, 12:53:29 AM
Quote

Wayne wrote:
Well, having gotten a NVidia 6600GT (AGP version) for Christmas to replace my FX5200 card, the difference is amazing.  Still can't play the Doom3 demo worth a damned, but Pirates is easily 2x faster than it was before, as long as you didn't spin the "details" settings to super-high.

When it's one-on-one, ship-versus-ship, it's about perfect but enter another ship (attacking an escorted ship for example) and everything slows down quite a bit.

NVidia 6600GT gets a thumbs up in my book, at $200.

Wayne


Wait, when you say "Doom3 demo" do you mean the alpha that was leaked ages ago?  Or is there a commercial demo?   Because if it's the alpha, forget about it.  Totally unoptimized code...it won't run well on much of anything other than the systems they displayed it on at E3 that year.

I got a 5900 for Christmas from my boss and it (Doom3) flies on it.
Title: Re: Pirates!
Post by: on December 26, 2004, 01:10:07 AM
> Wait, when you say "Doom3 demo" do you mean the
> alpha that was leaked ages ago?

It's whatever official demo I can download from their site.  Downloaded it about two weeks ago to try with the 5200 (unplayable at anything over 640x400), then tried it with the 6600GT at 1024 with the 4xAA and whatever else turned on.  Wasn't really playable there either (not a game I'd spend $50 on).