One thing that hasn't been quite ultimate enough with regard to my Ultimate Ultima 7 machine is the VGA card. In my humble opinion the Tseng ET4000AX chipset is the best looking VGA chipset by a mile (pre-Matrox Millennium), but sadly the motherboard I'm using here - the OPTi 495SLC - seems to have an incompatibility with the VLB version of the ET4000AX (it has no problem with the ISA version, but I can't bring myself to use an ISA card in a VLB motherboard). Determined to beat that issue I've tracked down an original paper copy of the manual for the 495SLC motherboard, which documented the various jumper and BIOS settings for the board far more comprehensively than stason. I was able to improve overall performance a small amount perhaps, but the incompatibility remained. After a year and a half of searching, I also managed to track down a second VLB card which uses the ET4000AX chipset - this is actually an ISA chipset originally, so VLB cards generally have the ET4000/W32 chipset and up. Unfortunately the new card had the exactly same problem, Ultima 7 (and some other games) are displayed with evenly spaced black bars running vertically down the screen every 1cm or so.

So I've given up on the Tseng dream for this machine (note that I have tried a ET4000/W32 based VLB card and wasn't impressed), but before settling for a Cirrus Logic GD5428 - which I've been using since putting this PC together - I decided to spend some time trying out the other VLB VGA cards I've stashed away over the years to see if I could top it. My requirements for this card are:

- As close to the bright, colourful and sharp image provided by the ET4000AX as possible. I've graded each card with A (best) to C (worst) on "Brightness/Colour" and "Sharpness" to help determine which one is best in this regard.
- All VLB cards I've tried with Ultima 7 exhibit a "shimmering pixel" effect to some degree, where a thin, horizontal line of pixels "shimmer" for the width of the screen and cause the mouse cursor to flash when in contact with said pixels. Some cards do it more than others, most aren't even noticeable, but on some cards it's right in the middle of the screen so it can get annoying. My ultimate card would have minimal shimmering.
- Compatible. I'd like to play games on this machine other than Ultima 7, so Keen 4 and Jazz Jackrabbit - which I've experienced compatibility issues with in the past - were used as a simple test of a card's DOS game compatibility. As it turns out all cards below worked fine with these games.

Nice-to-haves are speed and memory expandability. This is a DOS only machine and it won't be used for graphically demanding games.

Obviously this isn't a scientific test in any way - just subjective ramblings for my own amusement really - but I thought someone with an interest in VLB cards might like to see what I decided on. Here are the results:

S3 805.
I got this from Germany at some stage, and indeed it's "German designed". S3's are supposed to be very compatible and it was the second fastest card I have. Overall it’s a decent card.

3DBench 1.0
26.3

Ultima7
Very slight shimmer
Brightness/Colour: B
Sharpness: A+

Memory expandable?
No

WDC Paradise WD90C33.
I picked this up locally for a few bucks a while back and it's a very interesting card. It's from '94 so quite late in the VLB timeframe and it has numerous jumpers and switches to change the font and set refresh rates at different resolutions.

3DBench 1.0
25.0

Ultima 7
Very slight shimmer
Brightness/Colour: B+
Sharpness: A+

Memory expandable?
Yes

ATi Mach 64.
This thing uses a strange font and is otherwise unremarkable.

3DBench 1.0
25.6

Ultima 7
Noticeable shimmering
Brightness/Colour: B-
Sharpness: A

Memory expandable?
Yes, proprietary module required though.

Trident TGUI9440A.
I forgot to run 3DBench on this thing - I was so disgusted with the image quality that I wanted it out of my sight ASAP.

Ultima 7
Noticeable shimmer
Brightness/Colour: C-
Sharpness: B

Memory expandable?
Yes

ARK Logic 1000VL.
ARK cards are supposed to be very fast in DOS and this one is just that, otherwise it has nothing going for it however.

3DBench 1.0
27.0

Ultima 7
Noticeable shimmer
Brightness/Colour: C
Sharpness: B+

Memory expandable?
Yes

Cirrus Logic GD5428.
I have several Cirrus Logic cards and they’re consistently very good, but not quite great because of image quality. Actually one of them produces a great image – very bright and sharp – but it also produces terrible moire on my beloved Sony CRT, so I can’t use it.

3DBench 1.0
25.6

Ultima 7
Slight shimmer
Brightness/Colour: B+
Sharpness: B+

Memory expandable?
Yes

The S3, Cirrus Logic and Paradise cards were all pretty much even-stevens, but in the end I decided to go with the WDC Paradise card. It produces a really beautiful image (not quite up to the ET4000AX standard but close), can have its memory expanded if need be, and has a number of interesting jumpers / switches to play around with which is always a bonus. I also like that I have the documentation for this card, found here:

http://museum.ttrk.ee/th99/v/U-Z/50034.htm

It was actually the slowest card apart from the Trident which I didn’t run 3DBench on, but I assume would be slower. As I said speed isn’t really an issue, I’m more interested in pretty pictures for this pre-DOOM machine. So I’ll Journey Onward with this card for now and hope for the best.

Drools... 🤣

Badmojo, found something interesting about your motherboard!

http://support.microsoft.com/KB/138741

badmojo, nice review! I actually have a similar S3 805 with memory expansion slots! If you would like to use it instead of Western Digital, let me know 😀

I had an issue with my ISA Tseng 4000 when I replaced my speedster pro with one. I would get "static" at the top of the screen every time a new screen would load. Ex - intro movie, then on title screen ECT.. It almost looked like tracking issues with a VCR tape. I tried 2 diffrent Tseng cards with the same issue.

badmojo wrote:

Unfortunately the new card had the exactly same problem, Ultima 7 (and some other games) are displayed with evenly spaced black bars running vertically down the screen every 1cm or so.

Have you double-checked to make sure this isn't just caused by your monitor, or even your VGA cable? It sounds like some sort of refresh rate mismatch.

Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

Badmojo, found something interesting about your motherboard!

Ha how funny, I'll be sure to keep this system clear of Windows 95. Speaking of the turbo mode on this motherboard though - it actually underclocks the CPU. It's one of the reasons I like this motherboard.

RacoonRider wrote:

badmojo, nice review! I actually have a similar S3 805 with memory expansion slots! If you would like to use it instead of Western Digital, let me know 😀

Thankyou my friend that's very generous of you! I'll see how WDC goes and keep it in mind. That's a handsome looking card that one, and I like the more modern memory module option.

soviet conscript wrote:

I had an issue with my ISA Tseng 4000 when I replaced my speedster pro with one. I would get "static" at the top of the screen every time a new screen would load. Ex - intro movie, then on title screen ECT.. It almost looked like tracking issues with a VCR tape. I tried 2 diffrent Tseng cards with the same issue.

Yes "static" is a good way to describe it. So I guess Ultima 7 and VLB Tseng cards just don't mix. Never mind, I have ET4000AX cards in 3 other machines so it's probably good that I'm forced to use something else for a change - I wouldn't want to be accused of being boring!

Jorpho wrote:

Have you double-checked to make sure this isn't just caused by your monitor, or even your VGA cable? It sounds like some sort of refresh rate mismatch.

Yes I've tried a different monitor, and I've tried this same card in a different machine. It's definitely this specific combination that's the issue.

Ultima 7 on a 386DX 40 MHz with Sound Blaster Pro 2 and Roland MT-32

Very nice! The 386DX40 handles it well for the most part - that's actually what I started playing the game on, but I think the extra zip of the VLB architecture helps to smooth things out a bit.

Thanks for sharing!

Does there seem to be any diffrence between running it on a 33mhz as compared to a 40mhz?

soviet conscript wrote:

Does there seem to be any diffrence between running it on a 33mhz as compared to a 40mhz?

A 40 MHz performs 20% faster and this seems to be quite a demanding game. I personally would also play this rather on a 486.

To see the difference between 40 and 33 MHz on a 386 you can head to my YT channel and check out Wing Comander footage.

Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

soviet conscript wrote:

Does there seem to be any diffrence between running it on a 33mhz as compared to a 40mhz?

A 40 MHz performs 20% faster and this seems to be quite a demanding game. I personally would also play this rather on a 486.

To see the difference between 40 and 33 MHz on a 386 you can head to my YT channel and check out Wing Comander footage.

The speed at which the characters move is perfectly fine, but the loading and scrolling is like wading through molasses and just too slow to fully enjoy the game.

Great Hierophant wrote:

Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

soviet conscript wrote:

Does there seem to be any diffrence between running it on a 33mhz as compared to a 40mhz?

A 40 MHz performs 20% faster and this seems to be quite a demanding game. I personally would also play this rather on a 486.

To see the difference between 40 and 33 MHz on a 386 you can head to my YT channel and check out Wing Comander footage.

The speed at which the characters move is perfectly fine, but the loading and scrolling is like wading through molasses and just too slow to fully enjoy the game.

Which CPU are you referring to, 386 33, 386 40?

Both really 😀

I failed to get The Black Gate and Serpent Isle smooth on old hardware. Its such a speed sensitive game.
I like menu speed and general responsiveness of these games on a 486DX2-66 but movement is just way too fast.
Try and chase a fleeing enemy on a DX2-66 ...Its insane. You'll end up running across Britannia chasing him down!
Movement is "as it should be" on a 25-33mhz machine but then you have to deal with a slow UI. Scrolling especially will always be awkward in this game.

I think Its as good as its going to get on my 486SX33 with a S3 805 Video Card.
Its been a while since I tried Exult. I'm going to give that a go soon.

Badmojo: Nice thread, pics and reviews 😀

I'm starting to just give up on this game and go for the improvements with running it on modern machines. What the hell were they thinking when programming this game back in 1992? Even then it had problems with speed.

Everyone uses this on playthroughs on Youtube. It just improves scrolling, speed and graphics in all aspects.

^ I can totally relate.... I just gave up on it long ago.
too bad there was no 3td party DOS engine or patch for the game...

vetz wrote:

I'm starting to just give up on this game and go for the improvements with running it on modern machines. What the hell were they thinking when programming this game back in 1992? Even then it had problems with speed.

Everyone uses this on playthroughs on Youtube. It just improves scrolling, speed and graphics in all aspects.

It is a pretty bad engine; using your own memory manager which requires your users to mess around with boot disks / dual boots is bad enough, but coding the thing for a specific CPU speed is inexcusable in 1992. The rapid advancement of computing power was well under way by then, so allowing it to be speed sensitive was just lazy.

I completely agree with u guys but what an amazing vision for the future this game was. It was the 1992 version of Skyrim 😀

I don't think you can compare the two. Skyrim is more of an action game than an RPG.

I get what you're saying though. I think Ultima 7 is more impressive than Skyrim when you consider the technical limitations and the scope of the game.