Carmageddon had options to run at 640x480 and, more important, 3Dfx support. Maybe you're looking at the 3Dfx version.

Gahhhrrrlic wrote on 2023-04-22, 20:26:

Is there some sort of hardware setup I have to go through or an INI file I have to edit or a switch I need to run through the command line? Just looking to understand how/why this is happening and what I'm supposed to do to set the render and resolution.

No, the Windows version (if that's what you mean) doesn't support any kind of 3D hardware acceleration. It is only available for 3dfx hardware with the DOS version after installing a patch that can be found on the following site: https://soggi.org/misc/3dfx-voodoo-game-patches.htm

You can run Carmageddon at 640x480 in software rendering with the "-hires" command line switch but it will be slower.

err... but I found this game specifically on account that it uses BRender, one of the few APIs that ATi specifically accelerates. So the RageII does nothing in this game? It's all running over the CPU?

I've never heard of BRender until now, so this was an interesting rabbit hole.

Background: https://wiki.cwaboard.co.uk/wiki/BRender#BRen … and_Carmageddon

According to Foone:

BRender is at its core a software 3D Renderer, but it developed a sort of plugin architecture that let you hook in different 3D renderers, customized per 3D chip.
So like you'd have a Matrox Mystique, a 3DFX driver, an ATI Rage driver, and so on.

https://twitter.com/Foone/status/1307743559563407361

So I guess when you're seeing the software rendering, you're seeing BRender in action?

These two sources show Carmageddon in the BRender context but I'm sure what we're seeing is BRender + Glide:

https://blazingrender.net/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TthBMp7pQdE

So does this mean it will run over the CPU if it doesn't detect anything but if it finds a compatible card it'll run in hardware? And only in the DOS version apparently?

Gahhhrrrlic wrote on 2023-04-23, 05:39:

So does this mean it will run over the CPU if it doesn't detect anything but if it finds a compatible card it'll run in hardware? And only in the DOS version apparently?

Carma 1 for DOS supports CPU-based software rendering or 3dfx Voodoo (only with the patch). The Windows version only supports software rendering. Nothing else is supported. Your Rage card is useless here.

Well that sucks. If the card was designed to interpret the function calls and the game is using them anyway, why the hell not allow the card to accelerate them?

Because they're not there. Per Foone's description, BRender is a software renderer and separate drivers still have to be implemented for each 3D API. They only released one for 3DFX.

Complaints here https://www.stainlessgames.com/contact 😁