Unreal really requires a Pentium II to run smoothly.

Back in the days PC gamers weren't that sensitive to framerates as we are today. 15-20 FPS would be considered playable.

I mean, take a look at this video from E3 1996 at 19:50: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tLIdB0jC6A
They are showing of Mechwarrior 2 on the ATI Rage and it's running like crap imo. Still, there weren't too much bad press about it.

Thanks for the feedback! I'll check out the video when I have some more time free...

I kinda thought that this was the case and maybe I was just remembering it through rose tinted glasses. I just can't believe that I used to sit for hours subjecting myself to this and thinking that it was awesome!!!

I guess this is the 'dark side' of retro computing, another childhood memory bites the dust!!! 🤣

Unreal is insanely demanding for the time. You really need a PII as vetz stated. However, I think you'll get a bit better framerate on an MMX 233.
Also, you could lower the sound quality to give the CPU some "air".

It's true as f2bnp says, the game will be playable with a 233mmx, especially if you got a Voodoo2 SLI setup. It's not perfect 30+ FPS in all situations, but you can live with it 😉

When I first got unreal, I played it all the way through a pentium 233 MMX with a voodoo banshee card. At the time it didn't seem that bad. You might want to drop the resolution to 512x384.

Heh, there was this guy that played the game on an MMX 200 and software rendering. With 32mb of RAM.
I know because I found such a PC outside my dumpster a few years ago and he had save files from the final levels.
320x200 😜

I used to play Jedi Knight at 320x200 on my Pentium 133 myself. I also probably had the screen reduced significantly. It's funny how times change and what you considered acceptable and playable a few years back, suddenly seems completely unplayable. I guess nostalgia factors into this as well, we always remember things much better than they actually were!

Jedi Knight is slightly more bearable on a 486 if you add a Voodoo2 to the mix. 😀

I played Wing Commander on 286 with EGA graphics and PC speaker 😀 It's what I had access too and I still enjoyed the game. But it mast have been sooooo slow.

leileilol wrote:

Jedi Knight is slightly more bearable on a 486 if you add a Voodoo2 to the mix. 😀

I always wanted to try that, I don't have a 486 though. I should note that I was playing using Software Rendering on my P133 back then. No money for Voodoo 2 or 1 for that matter 🤣

F2bnp wrote:

Heh, there was this guy that played the game on an MMX 200 and software rendering. With 32mb of RAM. I know because I found such […]
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Heh, there was this guy that played the game on an MMX 200 and software rendering. With 32mb of RAM.
I know because I found such a PC outside my dumpster a few years ago and he had save files from the final levels.
320x200 😜

I used to play Jedi Knight at 320x200 on my Pentium 133 myself. I also probably had the screen reduced significantly. It's funny how times change and what you considered acceptable and playable a few years back, suddenly seems completely unplayable. I guess nostalgia factors into this as well, we always remember things much better than they actually were!

Are you kidding?!, a friend of mine played DOOM on his 386 🤣 🤣 🤣 , and I think I only did not because my 386 could not run it 🤣 Crazy stuff kids do...

Unreal Gold runs smoothly 800x600 on this PC: My Pentium MMX gaming rig

Pentium MMX 233 at 262Mhz, Voodoo 4MB, 64 Mb EDO RAM.

What's your chipset? If it's 430TX, using only 64MB RAM might help A LOT.

RacoonRider wrote:

Unreal Gold runs smoothly 800x600 on this PC: My Pentium MMX gaming rig

Pentium MMX 233 at 262Mhz, Voodoo 4MB, 64 Mb EDO RAM.

What's your chipset? If it's 430TX, using only 64MB RAM might help A LOT.

Sorry, but I have to take this with a pinch of salt. My own experience says that it can't be smooth. Also what do you put into "smooth"? Have you tested all areas? On my Compaq it does run at 30 FPS in certain areas, then again you have others were it drops down to 18-25, which is not smooth for me.

Please also explain how you run 800x600 on a Voodoo 1...

Yea smooth for me is constant 60 fps 😀

More on a CRT with higher refresh rates.

vetz wrote:

RacoonRider wrote:

Unreal Gold runs smoothly 800x600 on this PC: My Pentium MMX gaming rig

Pentium MMX 233 at 262Mhz, Voodoo 4MB, 64 Mb EDO RAM.

What's your chipset? If it's 430TX, using only 64MB RAM might help A LOT.

Sorry, but I have to take this with a pinch of salt. My own experience says that it can't be smooth. Also what do you put into "smooth"? Have you tested all areas? On my Compaq it does run at 30 FPS in certain areas, then again you have others were it drops down to 18-25, which is not smooth for me.

Please also explain how you run 800x600 on a Voodoo 1...

Sorry, I meant 640x480. I'm getting confused from time to time since 800x600 on my LCD looks worse than 640x480 on CRT.

Settings are the following: Detail Textures, Medium world texture, High skin detail, high sound quality.

Runs at FPS from 28 to 40, while 25-30 is the definition of smooth for me.

I thing the point here is that Machine_1760 runs a lot of uncached RAM, it should be at least playable at minimum detail level.

btw, I never tested it propperly, I just measured it several times inside the buildings. It surely drops large on open areas like sunspire, but I never checked how much exactly. It's just comfortable enough to have a good time 😀

Unreal played smoothly on my K6-III/400 with a single Voodoo 2 though. Just my €0.02.
Can't remember the resolution but I think it was 640x800 or something (max resolution on the single Voodoo 2)

I'll capture some gameplay on my Compaq rig and then you guys can compare if it's something wrong with my system (or just me being picky with framerates 😀 )

vetz wrote:

Unreal really requires a Pentium II to run smoothly. […]
Show full quote

Unreal really requires a Pentium II to run smoothly.

Back in the days PC gamers weren't that sensitive to framerates as we are today. 15-20 FPS would be considered playable.

I mean, take a look at this video from E3 1996 at 19:50: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tLIdB0jC6A
They are showing of Mechwarrior 2 on the ATI Rage and it's running like crap imo. Still, there weren't too much bad press about it.

The Computer Chronicles was the show for computer nerds in the days before Leo Laporte and The Screensavers came along.

That is a crappy video, btw. The uploader put a music track over it or something so you can't hear anyone speaking. WTF was the point of that?

I played through half-life on a pentium 166MMX using software rendering...now THAT was sluggish 😀

ncmark wrote:

I played through half-life on a pentium 166MMX using software rendering...now THAT was sluggish 😀

Lol, and I thought a playthrough on a 233mhz MMX was bad.