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First post, by Dornil

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Hi!
Since I moved to the current generation of NVidia cards, I've been trying hard to get Rowan's MiG Alley running perfectly. The problem is in certain graphical artifacts:

Mig 2018-10-18 20-02-37-66.jpg
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Mig 2018-10-18 20-02-37-66.jpg
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Mig 2018-10-18 20-02-50-79.jpg
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Mig 2018-10-18 20-02-50-79.jpg
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Holes in the dashboard and in land textures at the horizon, pixel trails behind moving objects, framerate dropping below 25 fps at the ground level... This is not a unique case for a DX7 game.
The best result so far I achieved with dgVoodoo 2: no holes, no trails, good fps, antialiasing working, even full hd resolution available. But! There is a black square across most part of the screen!:(

MiG.jpg
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This appears to be the games's loading screen, which was supposed to go away once 3D world loads, yet it stays. Or, probably, a part of game's 2D menu, running in the background - I don't know for sure. Is there a way to get rid of this black square?!

My configuration is:
I5 2500K, overclocked to 4200 (removing overclock doesn't solve the problem).
NVidia GTX 1060 6gb, 397.31
Windows 7 Ultimate

dgVooDoo config:

;==========================================================================
; === Text based config file for dgVoodoo2
; === Use this file if you are a game modder/hacker or an experted user and
; want to modify some advanced properties not available via the CPL.
;==========================================================================

Version = 0x255

;--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[General]

; OutputAPI: "d3d11warp", "d3d11_fl10_0", "d3d11_fl10_1", "bestavailable"
; Adapters: "all", or the ordinal of the adapter (1, ...)
;FullScreenOutput: "default", or the ordinal of the output on the adapter (1, ...)
; ScalingMode: "unspecified", "centered", "stretched", "centered_ar", "stretched_ar",
; "stretched_4_3", "stretched_4_3_crt", "stretched_4_3_c64"

OutputAPI = bestavailable
Adapters = 1
FullScreenOutput = default
FullScreenMode = true
ScalingMode = centered_ar
ProgressiveScanlineOrder = false
EnumerateRefreshRates = false

Brightness = 100
Color = 100
Contrast = 100
InheritColorProfileInFullScreenMode = false

KeepWindowAspectRatio = true
CaptureMouse = true
CenterAppWindow = true

;--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[GeneralExt]

; DesktopResolution: Desktop (native) resolution can be forced for dgVoodoo's internal calculations.
; Useful for rare applications that pre-set the desktop to other than the native
; resolution before dgVoodoo gets in action. Only the compact format can be used here,
; and applies to all outputs of the desktop.
; DeframerSize: When resolution is forced to other than the app default then
; a black frame is drawn around the output image coming from a wrapped API
; to remove scaling artifacts -
; frame thickness can be defined in pixels (max 16, 0 = disable)
; ImageScaleFactor: Integer factor for scaling the output image coming from a wrapped API
; Always done by nearest point filtering, independent on scaling mode
; (0 = max available)
; Separate factors can be defined for horizontal and vertical scaling
; by subproperties, e.g.
; ImageScaleFactor = x:3, y:2
;ForceNearestPointFilter: When the scaling is done by the wrapper for the given scaling mode,
; you can force nearest point filtering instead of bilinear one
; FreeMouse: If true then physical mouse is free to move inside the game window
; when using emulated scaling and/or application and forced resolution
; differs; can be useful when a game relies on the physical window size
; WindowedAttributes: You can define attributes for forced windowed appearance (separated by commas):
; 'borderless' - forces the app window not have any border
Show last 178 lines
; 'alwaysontop' - forces the app window into the top-most band
; Environment: Software environment in which dgVoodoo is running: can be left unspecified (native)
; or can be set to 'DosBox' or 'QEmu'.

DesktopResolution =
DeframerSize = 1
ImageScaleFactor = 1
ForceNearestPointFilter = false
FreeMouse = false
WindowedAttributes =
Environment =

;--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Glide]

; VideoCard: "voodoo_graphics", "voodoo_rush", "voodoo_2", "voodoo_banshee", "other_greater"
; OnboardRAM: in MBs
; MemorySizeOfTMU: in kBs
;
; Resolution: either "unforced", "max", "max_isf", "max_fhd", "max_fhd_isf", "max_qhd", "max_qhd_isf", "%d x"
; or subproperties: h: horizontal, v: vertical
; + optional subproperty refrate: refresh rate in Hz
; e.g. Resolution = max, refrate:60
; Resolution = 2x, refrate:59
; Resolution = h:1280, v:1024, refrate:75
; or just use the compact form like "1024x768@60" or "512x384"
;
;Antialiasing: "off", "appdriven", "2x", "4x", "8x", "16x" (your GPU must support the chosen one)

VideoCard = voodoo_2
OnboardRAM = 8
MemorySizeOfTMU = 4096
NumberOfTMUs = 2
ForceBilinearFilter = false
DisableMipmapping = false
Resolution = unforced
Antialiasing = appdriven

EnableGlideGammaRamp = true
ForceVerticalSync = true
ForceEmulatingTruePCIAccess = false
16BitDepthBuffer = false
3DfxWatermark = true
3DfxSplashScreen = false
PointcastPalette = false
EnableInactiveAppState = false


;--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[GlideExt]

; DitheringEffect: "pure32bit", "dither2x2", "dither4x4"
; Dithering: "disabled", "appdriven", "forcealways"
; DitherOrderedMatrixSizeScale: integer scale value for dither matrix size
; 1 = normal, 2 = double size, etc.
; 0 = automatic (the aim is to have some retro feel&look)

DitheringEffect = pure32bit
Dithering = forcealways
DitherOrderedMatrixSizeScale = 0

;--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[DirectX]

; VideoCard: "svga", "internal3D", "geforce_ti_4800", "ati_radeon_8500",
; "matrox_parhelia-512", "geforce_fx_5700_ultra"
; VRAM: in MBs
; Filtering: "appdriven", "pointsampled", "bilinear", "linearmip", "trilinear"
; or the integer value of an anisotropic filtering level (1-16)

DisableAndPassThru = false

VideoCard = internal3D
VRAM = 1024
Filtering = 16
DisableMipmapping = false
Resolution = h:1920, v:1080
Antialiasing = 8x

AppControlledScreenMode = true
DisableAltEnterToToggleScreenMode = true

BilinearBlitStretch = false
PhongShadingWhenPossible = false
ForceVerticalSync = false
dgVoodooWatermark = false
FastVideoMemoryAccess = false

;--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[DirectXExt]

; VendorID, DeviceID, SubsystemID, RevisionID:
; can be defined only for SVGA and Internal3D card types

; DefaultEnumeratedResolutions: you can define what resolutions should be enumerated to the application by default
; "all", "classics", "none"

; ExtraEnumeratedResolutions: you can add extra resolutions (separated by commas, max 16) that will get
; enumerated to the application as display adapter supported ones -
; can be useful if an app supports rendering at arbitrary resolutions
; and you have a particular favorite resolution that are not
; enumerated to the application by default
; you can either use the compact resolution format here, or
; "max", "max@refrate" meaning your desktop resolution with a potential refresh rate, or
; "max_4_3", "max_4_3@refrate", "max_16_9", "max_16_9@refrate"
; meaning the maximum resolution with the given aspect ratio calculated from
; the desktop resolution with the given refresh rate, e.g. "max_4_3@60", "max_16_9"

; EnumeratedResolutionBitdepths: you can filter what bitdepths are included in the resolution enumeration
; any subset of {"8", "16", "32"}, or "all"

; DitheringEffect: "pure32bit", "ordered2x2", "ordered4x4"
; Dithering: "disabled", "appdriven", "forceon16bit", "forcealways"
; DitherOrderedMatrixSizeScale: integer scale value for dither matrix size
; 1 = normal, 2 = double size, etc.
; 0 = automatic
; DepthBuffersBitDepth: internal bit depth of depth/stencil buffers for 3D rendering (32 bit is not recommended)
; "appdriven", "forcemin24bit", "force32bit"

; MSD3DDeviceNames: if true then original Microsoft D3D device names are exposed
; (some applications check for them and they fail)

; RTTexturesForceScaleAndMSAA: if true then forced resolution scaling and MSAA is
; applied also to rendertarget textures
; Set it to false for games requiring pixel-precise rendering
; but be careful it can EASILY break certain things, not recommended

; SmoothedDepthSampling: if true then extra smoothing is added to depth textures
; when they are sampled

VendorID = 0x0
DeviceID = 0x0
SubsystemID = 0x0
RevisionID = 0x0

DefaultEnumeratedResolutions = all
ExtraEnumeratedResolutions =
EnumeratedResolutionBitdepths = all

DitheringEffect = pure32bit
Dithering = forcealways
DitherOrderedMatrixSizeScale = 0
DepthBuffersBitDepth = appdriven

MSD3DDeviceNames = false
RTTexturesForceScaleAndMSAA = true
SmoothedDepthSampling = true

;--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Debug]

; This section affects only debug/spec release builds
;
; Info, Warning, Error
; "Disable" - disables all messages and debugger break
; "Enable" - enables messages and disables debugger break
; "EnableBreak" - enables both messages and breaking into debugger
;
; MaxTraceLevel: Maximum level of tracing API calls
; 0 - Disable
; 1 - API Functions and methods
; 2 - Additional trace info for internals
;
; LogToFile: if false or debugger is detected then output goes to the debug output
; if true and no debugger detected then output goes to 'dgVoodoo.log'
; (not implemented yet, always the default debug output is used)

Info = enable
Warning = enable
Error = enable
MaxTraceLevel = 0

LogToFile = false

Please advise!

P.S.: Is there a SPOILER feature in the forum, so I could post my dgVoodoo config, without cluttering the whole page?

Last edited by Dornil on 2018-10-22, 13:05. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 1 of 114, by DosFreak

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You can use code tags or upload the attachment.

I don't know if Dege checks this forum or not so may want to let him know.

How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
Make your games work offline

Reply 2 of 114, by tincup

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+1

It would be awesome to get this underapprciated gem flying again properly in W10 with dgV2!

After migrating to W10 recently I finally got it running under a W95 daum dosbox build but you're limited to orignal res and filtering and no widescreen, and also under DXwnd with some options fiddling - but with the same tearing in the cockpit per OP's pix, again no widescreen and a bit choppy/buggy overall.

Reply 3 of 114, by captain_koloth

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Have been fooling around with this again hoping that some combination of new GPU drivers, dxwnd updates, Windows updates would improve this state of affairs, but no luck for me so far. Anyone had any success getting this to run on Win 10 in 2019 in anything other than software rendering? I’ve experimented with dxwnd, dgvoodoo, and nglide, but haven’t gotten any results better than Dornil.

Reply 4 of 114, by tincup

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captain_koloth wrote:

Have been fooling around with this again hoping that some combination of new GPU drivers, dxwnd updates, Windows updates would improve this state of affairs, but no luck for me so far. Anyone had any success getting this to run on Win 10 in 2019 in anything other than software rendering? I’ve experimented with dxwnd, dgvoodoo, and nglide, but haven’t gotten any results better than Dornil.

Not really. The best I can do is under dosbox W95 emulation. Resolution max 640x480 @ 4:3 only (no wide screen), but it sets to 3dfx and has no screen tearing. Mig Ally is a prime example of why a retro XP rig is handy to keep around.

Reply 5 of 114, by Dornil

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A little update, if anyone is interested: I've been advised to put these files ( https://yadi.sk/d/gIIxbgifRFVxQw ) into game forder. And it helped! Not perfect (cannot turn on antialiasing except for FXAA and fps drops at low altitude), but still quite playable.

Reply 6 of 114, by captain_koloth

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Dornil wrote on 2020-03-26, 06:24:

A little update, if anyone is interested: I've been advised to put these files ( https://yadi.sk/d/gIIxbgifRFVxQw ) into game forder. And it helped! Not perfect (cannot turn on antialiasing except for FXAA and fps drops at low altitude), but still quite playable.

The download link doesn't seem to work, can you try uploading the files again or somewhere else?

Reply 8 of 114, by smisk

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I've been trying to get this game working on Win10 as well, without much luck. I installed per the instructions here, but every time I launch the game I got a popup on the main menu with the message "Mig Alley requires a minimum desktop setting of High Color at 800x600...", as soon as I close this dialog the game crashes. Only way I've been able to get past this is by using Win98/ME compatibility mode, but then when I try to load into a mission I get a DirectDraw error and the game crashes. Anyone seen something similar?

Reply 9 of 114, by Dornil

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My configuration is:
I5 2500K, overclocked to 4200
NVidia GTX 1060 6gb, 397.31
Windows 7 Ultimate

Attaching the file now.

Attachments

  • Filename
    mig.rar
    File size
    1015.22 KiB
    Downloads
    211 downloads
    File license
    Public domain

Reply 11 of 114, by Steve68

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I was also stuck at the 74% install crashing from the True Type Font bug. If you install Microsoft Word you will get past this bug. Seems dumb that Rowan did that early on. Obviously they realized the problem with the 123 patch. Now I get the same problem as smisk listed above. The game launches to the splash screen followed by a error message box stating the recommended desktop settings. Sadly if you adjust your desktop to those settings the game still gives the same error message. This is after installing the BDG Mig Alley patch 0.85F

Reply 12 of 114, by Narzoul

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Latest experimental release of DDrawCompat should now fix the performance issues affecting this game (and some other titles that rely heavily on either indexed primitives or system memory vertex sources, such as Midtown Madness 2). It shouldn't have a black box covering most of the screen either.

I'm not sure about the cockpit holes on Nvidia, since I don't have such a GPU for testing. As a matter of fact, I also don't know if the performance fix works with Nvidia GPUs at all without introducing additional graphical glitches, so any feedback is appreciated.

https://github.com/narzoul/DDrawCompat/releas … ag/experimental

Reply 13 of 114, by tincup

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Narzoul wrote on 2020-05-26, 22:02:

Latest experimental release of DDrawCompat should now fix the performance issues affecting this game (and some other titles that rely heavily on either indexed primitives or system memory vertex sources, such as Midtown Madness 2). It shouldn't have a black box covering most of the screen either.

I'm not sure about the cockpit holes on Nvidia, since I don't have such a GPU for testing. As a matter of fact, I also don't know if the performance fix works with Nvidia GPUs at all without introducing additional graphical glitches, so any feedback is appreciated.

https://github.com/narzoul/DDrawCompat/releas … ag/experimental

Thanks for the update! A few days ago I rejoined the battle to get MA running on W10. as running under Daum has proven less than ideal. Now I have more stuff to work with...

What basic MA install should this ddraw be included with? Vanilla, v124 or bdg? I'm slow getting up to speed on this...

Reply 14 of 114, by Narzoul

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tincup wrote on 2020-06-04, 02:24:

What basic MA install should this ddraw be included with? Vanilla, v124 or bdg? I'm slow getting up to speed on this...

I've used only the official 1.23 patch, nothing else. I don't think the BDG patches should affect it in any way though.

I know there are some still some 2D glitches (which aren't there natively), mostly in the campaign screen.
Some performance drops remain too, when looking at many airplanes at once. I'm working on fixing those.
You can report additional issues also here: https://github.com/narzoul/DDrawCompat/issues/12

Reply 15 of 114, by Agathosdaimon

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thanks Narzoul - this has fixed the black loading screen issue for me and it all runs great now - havent encountered any performance drop, though i am not running it at the highest resolution - 1024x768 suits me fine enough. overall it looks fantastic!

Reply 17 of 114, by Agathosdaimon

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for my part - i am running windows 10 64bit on an ASUS ROG laptopm with the graphics card being Geforce GTX 860M.
the game exe is set to winxp sp2 compat and run as admin. Also i have only installed the 1.23 patch - the disc itself is 1.1 . i tried the DBG unofficial patch and the game would not work withit except in Dxwnd however i had all the usual graphics errors there.

Reply 18 of 114, by captain_koloth

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Agathosdaimon wrote on 2020-06-04, 11:09:

for my part - i am running windows 10 64bit on an ASUS ROG laptopm with the graphics card being Geforce GTX 860M.
the game exe is set to winxp sp2 compat and run as admin. Also i have only installed the 1.23 patch - the disc itself is 1.1 . i tried the DBG unofficial patch and the game would not work withit except in Dxwnd however i had all the usual graphics errors there.

Yes, that is consistent with my results on the BDG patch.

Reply 19 of 114, by Narzoul

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captain_koloth wrote on 2020-06-04, 10:40:

This doesn't work for me at all on an Nvidia card. Can you tell me more about your configuration, compatibility mode if any?

I have Windows 10 version 2004 with an AMD Radeon RX480 and an integrated Intel HD 4600.

Without any compatibility changes, the game fails to start with a "Not Enough Virtual memory." error message when there is more than 2GB free memory. For that, I use the GlobalMemoryStatus2GB compatibility fix, applied via Compatibility Administrator (from Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit). Alternatively, I think you can use any of the compatibility modes from Mig.exe's Properties/Compatibility tab, e.g. Windows 8 compatibility mode seems to work also. Older compatibility modes will apply a lot more fixes, which can sometimes just cause more issues (e.g. stuttering sound), so I recommend choosing the highest version that the game runs with (or better yet, apply only the specific fixes you need via Compatibility Administrator).

Also, the 1.23 patch is needed, otherwise parts of the menus (e.g. all tabs under Preferences) won't show up at all.

You'll have to be more specific about what "doesn't work for me at all" means exactly. Does the game not start up? Does it crash before entering a mission? Are there graphical issues? Performance issues? Is there any error message? What's in the DDrawCompat-Mig.log file?