You need to disable Linear Frame Buffering for Duke Nukem 3D.

The Serpent Rider wrote on 2024-05-12, 06:58:

You need to disable Linear Frame Buffering for Duke Nukem 3D.

How does one go about that? Is there a utility for that or does Duke 3D need to be modified in some way?

Shponglefan wrote on 2024-05-11, 20:58:

More benchmarks, this time for Duke Nukem 3D and Quake with software rendering.

Are you using UniRefresh? Makes Duke3D feel super premium.

Use NOLFB utility.

The Serpent Rider wrote on 2024-05-13, 08:07:

Use NOLFB utility.

Thanks, I'll give that a try.

badmojo wrote on 2024-05-13, 05:53:

Shponglefan wrote on 2024-05-11, 20:58:

More benchmarks, this time for Duke Nukem 3D and Quake with software rendering.

Are you using UniRefresh? Makes Duke3D feel super premium.

I think I tried UniRefresh when I was mucking with refresh rates and Windows 3.11. But I don't think it worked on my particular GPU (GeForce4).

Shponglefan wrote on 2024-05-13, 17:19:

I think I tried UniRefresh when I was mucking with refresh rates and Windows 3.11. But I don't think it worked on my particular GPU (GeForce4).

Yes some of the later Nvidia BIOSes dropped the relevant VESA 3 commands to support it (this is in DOS I'm talking about).

I use NVPatch with my MX440 - when combined with UniVBE you get the relevant VESA 3 commands back and then UniRefresh will work.

The Serpent Rider wrote on 2024-05-13, 08:07:

Use NOLFB utility.

Amazing, thanks for that, I now have Duke3D running great on my P4 + 4200ti in 1600x1200

I tested out NOLFB with Duke Nukem 3D and did some more benchmarking.

For VESA modes, NOLFB does increase frame rates across the board. It also fixes the issue with flickering on the GeForce4 at resolutions above 1024x768.

I also tested running NOLFB and FASTVID combined. This combination yielded the highest frame rates.

badmojo wrote on 2024-05-14, 00:03:

Shponglefan wrote on 2024-05-13, 17:19:

I think I tried UniRefresh when I was mucking with refresh rates and Windows 3.11. But I don't think it worked on my particular GPU (GeForce4).

Yes some of the later Nvidia BIOSes dropped the relevant VESA 3 commands to support it (this is in DOS I'm talking about).

I use NVPatch with my MX440 - when combined with UniVBE you get the relevant VESA 3 commands back and then UniRefresh will work.

That's interesting! I didn't know about that patch.

Reading that thread, looks like it can be used to enable compatibility with the TNT drivers for Win 3.1 as well. Even though it says they are buggy, I'm going to give them a try. Maybe that will fix the issue I am having with the modified SVGA drivers crashing SimAnt.

I recently ran across an audio incompatibility with Crusader: No Remorse. During the FMV sequences, audio would begin to stutter after 10 seconds or so. The stuttering would last a few seconds, then go away, only to return again in another 10 seconds or so.

This only seems to affect FMV sequences. In-game audio seems fine.

This doesn't appear to be speed sensitivity issues, but rather an incompatibility between the Crystal CS4237 chip and the game's audio drivers. This was confirmed in the Orpheus II thread.

Haven't tried No Regret yet, but assuming it uses the same drivers / FMV playback engine, I wouldn't be surprised if it had the same issues.

Installing DOSBox under Windows XP and running the game with SB16 emulation worked fine. No audio issues occurred and everything appears to playback correctly. However, this experience is making me re-think my current audio setup as I don't want to employ DOSBox every time I have an incompatibility.

One option I am considering is potentially swapping the Orpheus II for the MK8330 (with PCMIDI card). This would basically be trading GUS support on the Orpheus for SB16 support via the MK8330. I'm not sure how compatible the MK8330 is overall, so that would need some testing. There are a range of OS drivers for the MK8330, so I should hopefully retain audio support in the various OS's I'm using in this build.

Another option is installing a second ISA card like an AWE64. This would enable native SB16 and AWE32 support, while retaining all the other features of the Orpheus II. One challenge of adding a second ISA card will be hardware resources. In lieu of reserving more hardware resources, I'd probably opt for simply enabling one card at a time in DOS and using the same IRQ and DMA settings.

However, I would also need to free up a slot to add another ISA card. I could either, a) remove a card like the Voodoo2, or b) remove the passive heatsink on the GeForce4 and replace it with a single slot cooling option.

I haven't used the Voodoo2 yet and don't know how necessary it is. I might opt to remove that card. It would free up some hardware resources as well.

If I did go the dual-ISA sound card route, I'm also considering pairing the MK8330 with the PicoGUS. The PicoGUS would enable GUS support, plus additional sound options like Tandy, CMS, etc.

I'm not sure if speed sensitivity or chipset compatibility will be an issue with these cards. I may try them out on my test bench setup and see how it goes.

Shponglefan wrote on 2024-05-20, 22:31:

I haven't used the Voodoo2 yet and don't know how necessary it is. I might opt to remove that card. It would free up some hardware resources as well.

If you use the Voodoo2 with DOS games on your Pentium 4 computer, see if you can get any success with executables that has the Glide API (version 2.1.1) integrated into them. Try my mod as well for the few ones that doesn't work according to the compatibility matrix.

Removing the card will only free a PCI slot, it doesn't use any IRQ.

Gmlb256 wrote on 2024-05-20, 22:58:

If you use the Voodoo2 with DOS games on your Pentium 4 computer, see if you can get any success with executables that has the Glide API (version 2.1.1) integrated into them. Try my mod as well for the few ones that doesn't work according to the compatibility matrix.

I did do some initial testing with Whiplash and Tomb Raider under DOS.

With Whiplash, there were some graphics bugs with distant cars disappearing. Tomb Raider seemed to work, but I didn't play it enough to see if there were any issues.

Since finishing the build, I haven't used it for any 3Dfx games.

Removing the card will only free a PCI slot, it doesn't use any IRQ.

Ah, shoot. That's a good point. I was thinking of the PCI sound cards.

Update on testing the MK8330 and PicoGUS. Results are a mix of good news and bad news.

The good news is the PicoGUS worked great. Configuration was straightforward and the card is recognized and initializes instantly. Tested it with Epic Pinball, Scream Tracker 3, and Impulse Tracker, and GUS playbook worked perfectly from what I could tell.

The bad news is the MK8330 wasn't detected on this motherboard. I confirmed the card itself works by testing it with a Pentium MMX 200 and a 430TX based motherboard. No issues there, card was detected and played back audio just fine.

However I could not get it working with the DFI G7S620-N-G motherboard. I tried disabling everything I could in the BIOS, and even throttling the system by disabling L1 and L2 cache.

No matter what I tried, the card wouldn't initialize. The testing program wouldn't go past the address test.

Unfortunately this rules out the MK8330 for this build. I'll have to look elsewhere if I want to add SB16 support.

What do you need SB16 support for specifically? I use WSS via my YMF719 and it generally works and sounds great for those later DOS era games that benefit from 16 bit.

badmojo wrote on 2024-05-21, 22:47:

What do you need SB16 support for specifically? I use WSS via my YMF719 and it generally works and sounds great for those later DOS era games that benefit from 16 bit.

Crusader: No Remorse

There is an incompatibility with the Orpheus II causing stuttering issues during the FMV sequences. Plus SB16 sounds better for that game.

My current fallback plan is to just run it via DOSBox and Windows XP. But I wanted to see if I could get it going under native DOS.

There are other late DOS games with 16-bit mixing output that doesn't support WSS besides the Crusader series.

Some examples: DOS Quake and Build-based games like Duke Nukem 3D.

Gmlb256 wrote on Yesterday, 13:23:

There are other late DOS games with 16-bit mixing output that doesn't support WSS besides the Crusader series.

Some examples: DOS Quake and Build-based games like Duke Nukem 3D.

I was reviewing the list of DOS games with 16-bit sound to see what other games might be worth it.

I'll have to do some audio comparisons and see how much of a different is noticeable in practice.

With Crusader the difference is immediately apparently. Though it's unfortunate it only supports mono output with the GUS. Otherwise that could have potentially been an option as well.

Jane's Longbow also sounds pretty good based on the audio comparison in that thread.

Shponglefan wrote on Yesterday, 18:56:

I was reviewing the list of DOS games with 16-bit sound to see what other games might be worth it.

Some games that aren't on that list may also use 16-bit sound.

In Stonekeep, I can clearly hear a difference between a SB16 and a SBPro, especially with voiced lines. Master of Orion 2 and Mortal Kombat 3 also sound a bit cleaner with 16-bit sound, at least to my ears.

Shponglefan wrote on Yesterday, 18:56:

I was reviewing the list of DOS games with 16-bit sound to see what other games might be worth it.

I'll have to do some audio comparisons and see how much of a different is noticeable in practice.

Audible differences can be noticed on attenuation and volume effects with the 16-bit mixing output.

In the case of Quake, it has a few 16-bit sounds at 22 kHz as well.

With Crusader the difference is immediately apparently. Though it's unfortunate it only supports mono output with the GUS. Otherwise that could have potentially been an option as well.

Yep, it is a shame that the GUS output is mono with the Crusader series given that it uses the hardware mixer.