I just install the normal Unreal off the disc, alter the ini to point the cdpath to itself and just start running it as is.

I got horrible audio stutter with the GOG version, but didn't investigate further. Anyone else have this problem?

Might try your method, Phil, and see if the problem persists.

Nope, didn't have any audio issues. But I also didn't change any audio settings for that matter. Just left it at default.

Just played the regular steam version of Unreal Gold a while back. Bit of a chore to get through it all with some cheats and noclip required for the tedious bits. Don't see that much improvement in the graphics with that render that it would really make the experience that much better 😀

I finished Unreal about 3 years ago and haven't really touched it since. I think what really put me off where the large, filler areas where there wasn't really anything to do other than try to find the exit. Great game nonetheless!

The OpenGL Renderer by Chris Dohnal has worked flawlessly for me. Assuming the "Gold" version 226, the installation is as simple as replacing the OpenGLDrv.dll / OpenGLDrv.int with the updated ones. The old official renderer seems to work only on old systems, and is allegedly incomplete.

I have personally used OpenGlDrv2.1.0.6_Gold.zip and OldUnreal MultiMedia Patch 0.99 / 3.7.0.0.

The driver restores full contrast of all lights, which was lost in the official, accelerated renderers, improve responsiveness when starting and closing the game or switching resolution, and allow tweaking of standard quality settings (like anisotropy) from within the driver itself, instead of the video adapter's applet.

I've never played with the S3 Textures, and those would seem like a foreign "mod" to me. I find blocking in DXT compression blocking more irritating than smooth bilinear in close up, which is not that noticeable in Unreal because of Detail Textures.

OpenGL:




Direct3D, official:


Software:


Sorry, I've no access to Glide.

The general wisdom I follow is to use the oldest version that works, as that is likely to work on most systems. I have also on purpose avoided anything to do with Direct3D, since D3D games tend to 'break' after a couple h/w generations, which is disappointing (glquake works, d3dquake broken...).

With OpenGL, I have also resolved the issue I had earlier, where the screen border showed garbage with anti-aliasing.

Audio is solid on my system, even when the d3d appears to "hang" during alt tab, switching modes or quitting. Maybe adjusting the sampling rate of Galaxy.GalaxyAudioSubsystem in Unreal.ini would help. I run it at standard 48000 Hz.

Whats great about Unreal is that its art design is so good that the graphics still look appealing after almost 17 years!

vetz wrote:

Whats great about Unreal is that its art design is so good that the graphics still look appealing after almost 17 years!

Agreed. It is quite unique!

As far as different renderers go, I've had great successes with Chris Dohnal's OpenGL Renderers for UE1 games, including Unreal, UT and Deus Ex. So they are greatly recommended for compatibility and speed. Haven't really tried the DX10 renderer in recent times unfortunately.

There was an article the other day about Epic being open to the idea for releasing the source for UE1. Won't happen any time soon though.

Tried the DirectX10 renderer today, but wasn't really impressed with the new graphical features. Since the Oldunreal 227i patch allows combining of Unreal and the separate NaPali mission pack as if it were the UnrealGold version and adds lots of practical little fixes, I'll use that instead.

I understand that the 227i patch includes Chris Dohnal's OpenGL renderer, however I get lots of juddering when using it. The DX9 renderer works fine (my video card is a GTX660 Ti).

DosFreak wrote:

There was an article the other day about Epic being open to the idea for releasing the source for UE1. Won't happen any time soon though.

There's a lot of 'can't happen' skepticism about the code being cleaned up and prepped for release (because that's never stopped the id software source releases right, those were all cleaned by a volunteer). Also I wonder which UE1 is of concern, like maybe it's the latest tree before the Unreal Warfare started or so

UE1's source release means a lot of good things for Free Software gamedev if it does. It's already possible to shove in new model formats and physics as some licensees did (Rune, Mobile Forces)

Have been playing Unreal Gold on my Core i5 for some time now; started with oldUnreal 227h patch, then later updated to 227i. Have tried DX8, DX9 and OpenGL renderers, and settled for OpenGL (works best with my little GeForce GT640). Haven't tried DX10 yet, but I'm planning to - just to satisfy my curiosity ^^. Also been using the high resolution S3TC Texture packs as well - Unreal looks very nice with them, IMHO:

I also have Unreal 2.05; installed it on my Pentium 4/Voodoo 2 SLI build, updated it to version 2.09, and took some Glide screenshots 😁 :

Finally, some Glide screens of Return to Na Pali from Unreal Gold (updated to version 2.26b, P4/V2 SLI):

I should mention. Audio choppiness in Unreal can be alleviated under Windows Vista/7 by setting Galaxy's latency to 80 or higher. I don't know about Windows 8 though.

Another way to avoid audio stuttering is to use ALchemy with a hardware mixed chipset (EMU10k1, EMU10k2, EMU20k1, or EMU20k2), add Unreal to ALchemy with the following settings: "Buffers 6 (or 8, lower is better though and I think 6,5 was the setting I used before my windows, and my x-fi broke), Length 5" then set Galaxy's latency to 0. This has the benefit of both completely eliminating perceivable audio latency while preventing the audio from ever stuttering, even when Unreal is bogged down.

DosFreak wrote:

There was an article the other day about Epic being open to the idea for releasing the source for UE1. Won't happen any time soon though.

You have NO IDEA how badly I've been wanting a UE1 sourceport. If they could just figure out how to fix the speed issues on modern CPUs, and maybe add Hor+ scaling, that would be good enough for me.

j7n wrote:

the installation is as simple as replacing the OpenGLDrv.dll / OpenGLDrv.int with the updated ones.

Not quite
http://www.cwdohnal.com/utglr/settings.html

What? Those are just explaining the available configuration options of the driver (which do get added into the INI anyway). That is not the install process.

I have some Glide footage here: ftp://78.46.141.148/videos/unreal_effect_voodoo2_sli.mkv
and here ftp://78.46.141.148/videos/DVI_Capture/Voodoo … 600x1200x75.mkv
and some PowerVR footage also: ftp://78.46.141.148/videos/unreal_powerVR.mkv

I usually just take the 2.26 version. I also tried the better S3 textures, but usually go with Glide.

I bought Unreal new back in 1998 and played it on my K6-2 350 MHz and a Riva 128. Later a Voodoo Banshee. I never got very far because the framerates were so terrible.

After 17 years, I loaded it on a modest 466 MHz Celeron with a Voodoo 3 (AGP). I was able to run it at 1600x1200 at 27 FPS with Glide. Plus, the game is just beautiful. I never saw it like this before, and I certainly don't remember the Banshee looking this good.

For comparison, I ran it without Glide on a 1000 MHz P3 with a FX5500 (PCI) and got only about 8 FPS. I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong. Plus, the textures are grainy and ugly.

I think I'll slowly play through this game from my original CD-ROM now that I have the hardware to enjoy it properly.

1600 x 1200 is very demanding 😀

I find that on a V3, 1024 x 768, is a good resolution and a good compromise between image quality and performance.

The game is indeed gorgeous. Even when played today, the Glide version looks beautiful.

I've actually done a video a while ago: Unreal on a Retro PC 3dfx Voodoo 5 Aureal A3D 60 fps