Stiletto wrote on 2022-03-24, 21:55:

Interesting. I had to think about where I had heard of Tenberry Software before, we better know them (still) as Rational Systems […]
Show full quote

lolo799 wrote on 2022-03-24, 20:35:

While browsing old magazines I found this short test of the Matrox Impression Plus/Lite. The last paragraph says something inter […]
Show full quote

While browsing old magazines I found this short test of the Matrox Impression Plus/Lite.
The last paragraph says something interesting:

Developers interested in these cards should contact Matrox, which has a development kit available for them. In addition, a certain company called TenBerry Software has just released a driver capable of exploiting the accelerated functions of the card from DOS. To date, only an SVGA version of Doom has seen the light of day, but Virgin is already announcing that some of their future products will include an option using this card. Infogrames and Adeline Software also say they are interested.

Assuming it's true, has anyone heard or read about such a version of Doom?

Interesting. I had to think about where I had heard of Tenberry Software before, we better know them (still) as Rational Systems, the creators of DOS/4G, DOS/4GW and the rest.
search.php?keywords=tenberry
Perhaps that driver is preserved in the Wayback Machine somewhere, but I suppose it more likely that it were only available for purchase.

I don't know about that version of Doom though, I don't think that I have heard of it before!

Interesting. I have never heard about it too. I believe it was only announced but never released.
Nothing about it the earliest archived Tenberry page: https://web.archive.org/web/19961223175028/ht … w.tenberry.com/
Also nothing downloadable package/driver on Archive.org which archived from tenberry.com : https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.tenberry.com/*

Stiletto wrote on 2022-03-24, 21:55:

Side note, it took me a little to notice that we haven't heard from frequent thread bumper RaVeN-05 in a number of weeks. Turns out, he is one of our many Ukrainian posters on VOGONS too. 🙁 Stay safe...

He is might on the front or in an area protection unit. 🙁 Stay safe...

Source code for Wipeout (Dos/Windows/PSX) dropped https://twitter.com/forestillusion/status/150 … 048268176990209 Its an ATI CIF game so might be of interest to some in this thread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcD420hP3YM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTCT32S-9Ok

dr.zeissler Connectix?
Btw Wipeout Dos/Windows port has partial Playstation emulator build in (GTE)

Love classic emulators ! 32bit's era was still tricky with epsxe not so long ago on multicore hardware (in a higher resolution though)... It fascinates me how well it must be optimized to achieve a comparable result on PII hardware.
I was also very impressed by Bleem!, even more on the Dreamcast (doubled resolution, trilinear filtering).

I would like to clarify whether I understand PowerVR unofficial support in the context of 'Rune.' I have a system with:

Windows 98SE/DirectX 8.0a/IE5.5 SP2
ATI Rage Fury Pro 32MB
3dfx Voodoo2 8MB (Reference Driver 3.03.00)
Matrox m3D PowerVR PCX2 (Matrox Driver 4.10.01.0018-4.1.1.5)
No other patches installed
No KernelEX

I have installed 'Rune' Gold (v1.07; no other modifications; straight from the discs). When I select the option for which video driver to use, I have these options:

3dfx Glide
Direct3D
PowerVR SGL
Software

I select the 'Rune' PowerVR SGL video driver option, and the game looks and plays great.

Does this thread need to be updated or do I have something misunderstood about official support?

I don't see a mention of PowerVR in the readme files (thus making this unofficial, but could it be unmentioned instead of unofficial?), but I don't need KernelEX mentioned here: (https://gona.mactar.hu/3D/) to use PowerVR, either. Or maybe 'Rune' data just needs to be updated at Gona site to remove KernelEx requirement?

Meatball wrote on 2022-04-20, 18:59:

I would like to clarify whether I understand PowerVR unofficial support in the context of 'Rune.' I have a system with: […]
Show full quote

I would like to clarify whether I understand PowerVR unofficial support in the context of 'Rune.' I have a system with:

Windows 98SE/DirectX 8.0a/IE5.5 SP2
ATI Rage Fury Pro 32MB
3dfx Voodoo2 8MB (Reference Driver 3.03.00)
Matrox m3D PowerVR PCX2 (Matrox Driver 4.10.01.0018-4.1.1.5)
No other patches installed
No KernelEX

I have installed 'Rune' Gold (v1.07; no other modifications; straight from the discs). When I select the option for which video driver to use, I have these options:

3dfx Glide
Direct3D
PowerVR SGL
Software

I select the 'Rune' PowerVR SGL video driver option, and the game looks and plays great.

Does this thread need to be updated or do I have something misunderstood about official support?

I don't see a mention of PowerVR in the readme files (thus making this unofficial, but could it be unmentioned instead of unofficial?), but I don't need KernelEX mentioned here: (https://gona.mactar.hu/3D/) to use PowerVR, either. Or maybe 'Rune' data just needs to be updated at Gona site to remove KernelEx requirement?

This info comes from leileilol, we have not tested Rune.
If Rune rendering looks perfect on your Windows 98SE without KernelEx, I will update my page and remove KernelEx requirement.

Gona wrote on 2022-04-21, 08:26:

This info comes from leileilol, we have not tested Rune.
If Rune rendering looks perfect on your Windows 98SE without KernelEx, I will update my page and remove KernelEx requirement.

Thanks, Gona. I will check once more to confirm any issues between renderers and I will update you.

For sure, Rune Gold runs without KernelEX, but maybe leileilol can clarify the problem(s) with Rune and SGL, which require KernelEx. I think original information came from this thread Re: PowerVR Fun Thread. I did no hacking or modifying any files. I installed Rune Gold and it worked.

I reinstalled Rune and the Valhalla expansion (Rune Gold v1.07) and still never using KernelEx and it mostly runs fine. Upon closer inspection, I see 2 issues:

1 - When shadows are set to "blob" they don't appear. Full shadows look OK.
2 - There seems to be some kind of draw issue - (I don't have the technical knowledge to explain it). In certain instances, you can see polygons, which should be hidden/covered-up from the player's perspective. For example, some candles behind a wall can be seen as if they are in front of the wall, or the main character's left arm can be seen swinging about while running even though his back is covering the arm, or an axe hanging on the back of one of the village warriors can be seen even though he is standing in front of it). I tried the latest reference drivers in addition to the latest m3D drivers, but there was no change. Is this what KernelEx would fix, or the game was reported not to run at all without KernelEX?

If it wasn't for those issues, the PowerVR version would be hands down the best. The colors and contrasts and the crispness of the graphics (640x480 and even 512x384) really "pop."

DirectX has its own issues - the menu lettering is somewhat broken (DX7 and DX8a tried), and the colors are dull and lifeless.

Glide has no problems and looks great, but not as good as PowerVR.

Posts made 11yrs ago definetly should not be taken at face value, so test and verify. If your latest test works then go with that.

Meatball wrote on 2022-04-21, 23:03:

Glide has no problems and looks great, but not as good as PowerVR.

you are just joking now.

PowerVR is spewing alpha-blended lightmaps with very low stepped 4-bit filtering. All effects are pushed through an alpha blend because it can't support any other blending functions. Alpha modulation involves subtraction (textures look soaked away rather than smoothly fading). There are also no detail textures nor volumetric fog/lighting rendered on PowerVR. The lighting only looks a little brighter, because SGLDrv was developed at a time when Unreal didn't regress the lighting balance on GlideDrv for multitexturing (itself a mandela effect and variable on different voodoo hardware and unreal versions), so SGLDrv tried to follow the lighting balance of the software renderer (as it had overbrights)

KernelEx happens to bypass initialization exceptions in SGLDrv and I didn't have "Rune Gold" when I tried it 11 years ago (only the initial release), and I'm pretty sure I still had to uncomment SGLDrv.int like every other UnrealEngine game on the 1999 iteration (which implies that it's no longer supported)... When SGLDrv fails, it'll gracefully use SoftDrv instead. If it "looks good", it's probably SoftDrv. SoftDrv's also known to have many sorting issues with meshes (one big reason why Deus Ex strongly warns against using it as it'll break everyone in a suit/coat)

leileilol wrote on 2022-04-22, 00:09:

Meatball wrote on 2022-04-21, 23:03:

Glide has no problems and looks great, but not as good as PowerVR.

you are just joking now. PowerVR is spewing alpha-blended lightmaps with very low stepped 4-bit filtering. All effects are pushed through an alpha blend because it can't support any other blending functions. Alpha modulation involves subtraction. There are also no detail textures nor volumetric fog/lighting rendered on PowerVR.

KernelEx happens to bypass initialization exceptions in SGLDrv and I don't have "Rune Gold" when I tried it 11 years ago, and I'm pretty sure I still had to uncomment SGLDrv.int like every other UnrealEngine game on the 1999 iteration...

I understand you did not have 'Rune Gold' 11 years ago. I was trying out my PowerVR against this awesome list everyone worked hard to gather. When I found a possible update might be needed (and actually 2 - I could not get Turok: Dinosaur Hunter to work with PCX1 - Gona has a "?" for it - but I want to check it out again in the future before I submit the finding), I figured I could help out. So, I wanted to follow up with the experts in this thread. You are being one of them.

Please see the photos attached. The game looks pretty good to me. I didn't have to comment out or mess with any files. Just a plain old install. Also, I see a flaw in the Glide rendering now. Look to the sky. See the seams? Now I can confirm Glide, Direct3D, and SGL renderers have a problem of one kind or another. (At least in this 'Rune' version and/ video drivers, OS, etc.)

All settings for PowerVR (Matrox m3D PCX2) and the Voodoo2 (8MB) were set to factory defaults before I took the comparison shots. 640x480@85Hz - 800x600/16bit desktop.
PowerVR was set to 32-bit color in-game. Voodoo 2 was set to 16-bit color in-game.

THAT IS NOT POWERVR YOU ARE SEEING.

leileilol wrote on 2022-04-22, 00:09:

When SGLDrv fails, it'll gracefully use SoftDrv instead. If it "looks good", it's probably SoftDrv.

Please familiarize yourself with UnrealEngine's software renderer.

leileilol wrote on 2022-04-22, 01:28:

THAT IS NOT POWERVR YOU ARE SEEING.

leileilol wrote on 2022-04-22, 00:09:

When SGLDrv fails, it'll gracefully use SoftDrv instead. If it "looks good", it's probably SoftDrv.

Please familiarize yourself with UnrealEngine's software renderer.

Yep, that's exactly what is going on. I removed the SoftDrv.dll and .int files, and the game failed to load. Thanks! I would not have figured this out in a million years without an accidental stumble or days, weeks, oar month of actually looking into the UnrealEngine (which I have no interest in doing.) Thanks for clearing this up and helping my knowledge!

Lunatik (1998) [English] (CD) [ATI OEM] - Need to be tested with PowerVR accelerator, it has calls to sgl.dll and many sgl_* API function calls inside main exe file

RaVeN-05 wrote on 2022-04-26, 08:59:

Lunatik (1998) [English] (CD) [ATI OEM] - Need to be tested with PowerVR accelerator, it has calls to sgl.dll and many sgl_* API function calls inside main exe file

Good to see you back RaVeN, we were worried due to the war in Ukraine. Hope you and your family are safe!

I actually own this version of the game and I did test it on a system with PowerVR card installed. I looked to try and activate other types of API's, mostly ATICIF, but I could just make the game (or shall we call it techdemo) run in Direct3D.

Thank you! Thanks everyone for support. Sorry for going offtopic. Still dangerous as rest of Ukraine , everyday rocket treats =( i am from Kharkiv , still no quiet here.

Meatball wrote on 2022-04-22, 01:20:

I understand you did not have 'Rune Gold' 11 years ago. I was trying out my PowerVR against this awesome list everyone worked h […]
Show full quote

leileilol wrote on 2022-04-22, 00:09:

Meatball wrote on 2022-04-21, 23:03:

Glide has no problems and looks great, but not as good as PowerVR.

you are just joking now. PowerVR is spewing alpha-blended lightmaps with very low stepped 4-bit filtering. All effects are pushed through an alpha blend because it can't support any other blending functions. Alpha modulation involves subtraction. There are also no detail textures nor volumetric fog/lighting rendered on PowerVR.

KernelEx happens to bypass initialization exceptions in SGLDrv and I don't have "Rune Gold" when I tried it 11 years ago, and I'm pretty sure I still had to uncomment SGLDrv.int like every other UnrealEngine game on the 1999 iteration...

I understand you did not have 'Rune Gold' 11 years ago. I was trying out my PowerVR against this awesome list everyone worked hard to gather. When I found a possible update might be needed (and actually 2 - I could not get Turok: Dinosaur Hunter to work with PCX1 - Gona has a "?" for it - but I want to check it out again in the future before I submit the finding), I figured I could help out. So, I wanted to follow up with the experts in this thread. You are being one of them.

Please see the photos attached. The game looks pretty good to me. I didn't have to comment out or mess with any files. Just a plain old install. Also, I see a flaw in the Glide rendering now. Look to the sky. See the seams? Now I can confirm Glide, Direct3D, and SGL renderers have a problem of one kind or another. (At least in this 'Rune' version and/ video drivers, OS, etc.)

All settings for PowerVR (Matrox m3D PCX2) and the Voodoo2 (8MB) were set to factory defaults before I took the comparison shots. 640x480@85Hz - 800x600/16bit desktop.
PowerVR was set to 32-bit color in-game. Voodoo 2 was set to 16-bit color in-game.

skybox error in glidemode is very common... I really love that game on my R128pro on G4cube, colors and textures look fantastic on this.

Are these APIs only for 3D acceleration, or can they be used for 2.5D games? IINM rebel moon is not a true 3D game, correct?

eddman wrote on 2022-07-09, 10:13:

Are these APIs only for 3D acceleration, or can they be used for 2.5D games? IINM rebel moon is not a true 3D game, correct?

Sure, for example there's a Glide (not what this thread is about, I know) version of GTA, a 2D game.