*awaits w9x and dos ports*

leileilol wrote on 2022-12-19, 23:33:

*awaits w9x and dos ports*

same here

I'm waiting for 32-bit color/lightning, anti-aliasing and texture filtering support.

I can compensate somewhat the lack of anti-aliasing and texture filtering by downsampling from 8K though and it's already a huge improvement over the DOS version.

Save support is also nice, the game isn't made for it sure, but do you know how annoying it is to have a crash late in the sewer level and have to replay the entire god-awful level? I do.

Support for XP and lower, then i can play in my widescreen laptop

DOS port will be nice, but in my 486 the original game is fine, i dont think this will be like fastdoom to doom and i will get too much extra fps

4K gameplay footage, if that's your sort of thing. It looks pretty damn good and I'll take it for a spin later, since I am intimately familiar with the game, having played both the Demo and the CD-ROM release, back in the day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyv15MMA3og

RetroGamer4Ever wrote on 2022-12-25, 19:01:

4K gameplay footage, if that's your sort of thing. It looks pretty damn good and I'll take it for a spin later, since I am intimately familiar with the game, having played both the Demo and the CD-ROM release, back in the day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyv15MMA3og

My god, look horrible! the bilinear in gun ruins everything

theelf wrote on 2022-12-25, 19:48:

RetroGamer4Ever wrote on 2022-12-25, 19:01:

4K gameplay footage, if that's your sort of thing. It looks pretty damn good and I'll take it for a spin later, since I am intimately familiar with the game, having played both the Demo and the CD-ROM release, back in the day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyv15MMA3og

My god, look horrible! the bilinear in gun ruins everything

There will be texture mods and such, to go with the advanced rendering, so you just have to be patient and wait for the right stuff to come along.

RetroGamer4Ever wrote on 2022-12-25, 20:29:

theelf wrote on 2022-12-25, 19:48:

RetroGamer4Ever wrote on 2022-12-25, 19:01:

4K gameplay footage, if that's your sort of thing. It looks pretty damn good and I'll take it for a spin later, since I am intimately familiar with the game, having played both the Demo and the CD-ROM release, back in the day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyv15MMA3og

My god, look horrible! the bilinear in gun ruins everything

There will be texture mods and such, to go with the advanced rendering, so you just have to be patient and wait for the right stuff to come along.

jeje im waiting 32bits and XP support

i was more or less active in the old project foru., darkxl , but i think is dead now

Looking forward to this new one!

and yes, all kind of filtering looks terrible for me in this games, but high res rendering in other side looks good

theelf wrote on 2022-12-25, 20:58:

jeje im waiting 32bits and XP support

This weekend I worked on making an XPmod version, of the The Force Engine project v1.00.
There is a recent Linux pull request version over at github, which goes a long way in making it build with MinGW32/GCC, instead of MSVC. Though there were still quite a few changes required.
The package is available for download, on my Website here in the back-ports section. ReadMe included.

Besides that, Thanks a lot LuciusDXL! Really nice to be able to play the old classic with sharp graphics and such.

gerwin wrote on 2022-12-26, 20:02:

This weekend I worked on making an XPmod version, of the The Force Engine project v1.00. There is a recent Linux pull request v […]
Show full quote

theelf wrote on 2022-12-25, 20:58:

jeje im waiting 32bits and XP support

This weekend I worked on making an XPmod version, of the The Force Engine project v1.00.
There is a recent Linux pull request version over at github, which goes a long way in making it build with MinGW32/GCC, instead of MSVC. Though there were still quite a few changes required.
The package is available for download, on my Website here in the back-ports section. ReadMe included.

Besides that, Thanks a lot LuciusDXL! Really nice to be able to play the old classic with sharp graphics and such.

Hi!!! thanks a lot, i like your web site, i will check for other downloads

Ok i tested Dark Forces, run, but is like 1fps, not possible to play, any advice? my computer is a C2Q 2.5ghz, ATI 5760. In software mode is like 1fps, in GL mode is like 1fps too, but with bad graphics

theelf wrote on 2022-12-25, 20:58:

jeje im waiting 32bits and XP support […]
Show full quote

RetroGamer4Ever wrote on 2022-12-25, 20:29:

theelf wrote on 2022-12-25, 19:48:

My god, look horrible! the bilinear in gun ruins everything

There will be texture mods and such, to go with the advanced rendering, so you just have to be patient and wait for the right stuff to come along.

jeje im waiting 32bits and XP support

i was more or less active in the old project foru., darkxl , but i think is dead now

Looking forward to this new one!

and yes, all kind of filtering looks terrible for me in this games, but high res rendering in other side looks good

The Force Engine does nearest neighbour interpolation for weapons, not bilinear as you mistakenly called it. If you don't like how weapons look now filtering is what you want. If it isn't, then it can't be that terrible if you can't tell the difference.

Look up DarkXL videos if you want to know how bilinear filtering looks.

Ideally I would say the weapons, and all textures, should be integer scaled to high resolution then filtered. That way graphics would retain the pixelated look, without the pixel crawling and uneven scaling associated with nearest neighbour interpolation. But until any sort of filtering is implemented, it's a bit early to ask for everything.

theelf wrote on 2022-12-27, 09:33:

Ok i tested Dark Forces, run, but is like 1fps, not possible to play, any advice? my computer is a C2Q 2.5ghz, ATI 5760. In software mode is like 1fps, in GL mode is like 1fps too, but with bad graphics

GL/Software should look practically identical with the exception of perspective correction and some minor clipping issues. If you think it has "bad graphics" other than that, it's a bug you should probably describe in more details so gerwin can figure out if it's an issue with the XP port or something that should be reported to luciusDXL.

theelf wrote on 2022-12-27, 09:33:

Ok i tested Dark Forces, run, but is like 1fps, not possible to play, any advice? my computer is a C2Q 2.5ghz, ATI 5760. In software mode is like 1fps, in GL mode is like 1fps too, but with bad graphics

I found the following myself, using this x86 XPmod TFE port:
1) Core i5-3550 + AMD Radeon HD 7750 + Windows XP x86 - I found no Radeon drivers compatible with GPU mode. In Software mode it runs a bit slow. What helps is to set desktop resolution to 800x600, then run the game at 800x600. This avoids software upscaling, the upscaling somehow slows things down significantly.
2) Core i5-3550 + AMD Radeon HD 7750 + Windows 7 x64 - Works well GPU mode, but not all Radeon driver versions are compatible.
3) Core i3-3220 + nVidia Geforce GT 710 GDDR5 + Windows XP x86 - Works well in GPU mode.

TFE renderer Software-mode: slow in higher resolutions or with software-upscaling.
TFE renderer GPU-mode: OpenGL 3.3 with extensive use of GLSL shaders to emulate the original renderer. I found Windows XP Radeon drivers do not like such, either slow or failed rendering (Same as ION Fury and Tomb1Main). nVidia Windows XP drivers are much better in this regard. GPU mode is told to be faster then software mode.

I am also a bit annoyed with how TFE runs on system 1 above. I even used the AMD Shader compiler to check all shaders, then made adjustments, but GPU rendering still bugs out on that system (only showing 3D ship object and weapons+HUD). Maybe the future brings some improvement, maybe not. I read that the OpenGL 3.3 requirement for GPU rendering will remain.
For the moment I won't bother LuciusDXL with any of these back-port related findings. Instead just be grateful he managed to offer TFE as it is. He wrote about attending to Linux-porting in January, lets see how that goes.

gerwin wrote on 2022-12-27, 15:00:

I found the following myself, using this x86 XPmod TFE port: 1) Core i5-3550 + AMD Radeon HD 7750 + Windows XP x86 - I found no […]
Show full quote

theelf wrote on 2022-12-27, 09:33:

Ok i tested Dark Forces, run, but is like 1fps, not possible to play, any advice? my computer is a C2Q 2.5ghz, ATI 5760. In software mode is like 1fps, in GL mode is like 1fps too, but with bad graphics

I found the following myself, using this x86 XPmod TFE port:
1) Core i5-3550 + AMD Radeon HD 7750 + Windows XP x86 - I found no Radeon drivers compatible with GPU mode. In Software mode it runs a bit slow. What helps is to set desktop resolution to 800x600, then run the game at 800x600. This avoids software upscaling, which somehow slows things down significantly.
2) Core i5-3550 + AMD Radeon HD 7750 + Windows 7 x64 - Works well GPU mode, but not all Radeon drivers are compatible.
3) Core i3-3220 + nVidia Geforce GT 710 GDDR5 + Windows XP x86 - Works well in GPU mode.

TFE renderer Software-mode: slow in higher resolutions or with software-upscaling.
TFE renderer GPU-mode: OpenGL 3.3 with extensive use of GLSL shaders to emulate the original renderer. I found Windows XP Radeon drivers do not like such, either slow or failed rendering (Same as ION Fury and Tomb1Main). nVidia Windows XP drivers are much better in this regard. This mode is told to be faster then software mode.

I am also a bit annoyed with how it runs on system 1 above. I even used the AMD Shader compiler to check all shaders, then made adjustments, but GPU rendering still bugs out on that system. Maybe the future brings some improvement, maybe not. I read that the OpenGL 3.3 requirement for GPU rendering will remain.
For the moment I won't bother LuciusDXL with any of these back-port related findings. Instead just be grateful he managed to offer TFE as it is. I read he wants to attend to Linux-porting in January, lets see how that goes.

In this case , for XP and lower, still better to use old darxl port, maybe use the last source and add some improvements

I remember darxl works fine in my pentium 3 laptop in high res, it was just buggy, i made some fix back on the time to fix some of them

I forget about dark forces until this tread, now i want to play again!

About resolution i tested in tft 1920x1080 and 640x400 in crt

But even with low res, is same 1fps

ZellSF wrote on 2022-12-27, 12:09:

The Force Engine does nearest neighbour interpolation for weapons, not bilinear as you mistakenly called it. If you don't like h […]
Show full quote

theelf wrote on 2022-12-25, 20:58:

jeje im waiting 32bits and XP support […]
Show full quote

RetroGamer4Ever wrote on 2022-12-25, 20:29:

There will be texture mods and such, to go with the advanced rendering, so you just have to be patient and wait for the right stuff to come along.

jeje im waiting 32bits and XP support

i was more or less active in the old project foru., darkxl , but i think is dead now

Looking forward to this new one!

and yes, all kind of filtering looks terrible for me in this games, but high res rendering in other side looks good

The Force Engine does nearest neighbour interpolation for weapons, not bilinear as you mistakenly called it. If you don't like how weapons look now filtering is what you want. If it isn't, then it can't be that terrible if you can't tell the difference.

Look up DarkXL videos if you want to know how bilinear filtering looks.

Ideally I would say the weapons, and all textures, should be integer scaled to high resolution then filtered. That way graphics would retain the pixelated look, without the pixel crawling and uneven scaling associated with nearest neighbour interpolation. But until any sort of filtering is implemented, it's a bit early to ask for everything.

theelf wrote on 2022-12-27, 09:33:

Ok i tested Dark Forces, run, but is like 1fps, not possible to play, any advice? my computer is a C2Q 2.5ghz, ATI 5760. In software mode is like 1fps, in GL mode is like 1fps too, but with bad graphics

GL/Software should look practically identical with the exception of perspective correction and some minor clipping issues. If you think it has "bad graphics" other than that, it's a bug you should probably describe in more details so gerwin can figure out if it's an issue with the XP port or something that should be reported to luciusDXL.

In the video the weapons have filtering or the video have bad scaling or something

theelf wrote on 2022-12-27, 16:44:

ZellSF wrote on 2022-12-27, 12:09:

The Force Engine does nearest neighbour interpolation for weapons, not bilinear as you mistakenly called it. If you don't like h […]
Show full quote

theelf wrote on 2022-12-25, 20:58:

jeje im waiting 32bits and XP support […]
Show full quote

jeje im waiting 32bits and XP support

i was more or less active in the old project foru., darkxl , but i think is dead now

Looking forward to this new one!

and yes, all kind of filtering looks terrible for me in this games, but high res rendering in other side looks good

The Force Engine does nearest neighbour interpolation for weapons, not bilinear as you mistakenly called it. If you don't like how weapons look now filtering is what you want. If it isn't, then it can't be that terrible if you can't tell the difference.

Look up DarkXL videos if you want to know how bilinear filtering looks.

Ideally I would say the weapons, and all textures, should be integer scaled to high resolution then filtered. That way graphics would retain the pixelated look, without the pixel crawling and uneven scaling associated with nearest neighbour interpolation. But until any sort of filtering is implemented, it's a bit early to ask for everything.

theelf wrote on 2022-12-27, 09:33:

Ok i tested Dark Forces, run, but is like 1fps, not possible to play, any advice? my computer is a C2Q 2.5ghz, ATI 5760. In software mode is like 1fps, in GL mode is like 1fps too, but with bad graphics

GL/Software should look practically identical with the exception of perspective correction and some minor clipping issues. If you think it has "bad graphics" other than that, it's a bug you should probably describe in more details so gerwin can figure out if it's an issue with the XP port or something that should be reported to luciusDXL.

In the video the weapons have filtering or the video have bad scaling or something

The weapons do not have filtering in the video. The engine does not support it. Video scaling also doesn't make a that huge difference, I can tell even at 480p that it does not have any filtering (it does get tricky at 360p, but that doesn't explained why you said the weapons look bad and not you know, everything).

ZellSF wrote on 2022-12-27, 16:57:

theelf wrote on 2022-12-27, 16:44:

ZellSF wrote on 2022-12-27, 12:09:

The Force Engine does nearest neighbour interpolation for weapons, not bilinear as you mistakenly called it. If you don't like h […]
Show full quote

The Force Engine does nearest neighbour interpolation for weapons, not bilinear as you mistakenly called it. If you don't like how weapons look now filtering is what you want. If it isn't, then it can't be that terrible if you can't tell the difference.

Look up DarkXL videos if you want to know how bilinear filtering looks.

Ideally I would say the weapons, and all textures, should be integer scaled to high resolution then filtered. That way graphics would retain the pixelated look, without the pixel crawling and uneven scaling associated with nearest neighbour interpolation. But until any sort of filtering is implemented, it's a bit early to ask for everything.

GL/Software should look practically identical with the exception of perspective correction and some minor clipping issues. If you think it has "bad graphics" other than that, it's a bug you should probably describe in more details so gerwin can figure out if it's an issue with the XP port or something that should be reported to luciusDXL.

In the video the weapons have filtering or the video have bad scaling or something

The weapons do not have filtering in the video. The engine does not support it. Video scaling also doesn't make a that huge difference, I can tell even at 480p that it does not have any filtering (it does get tricky at 360p, but that doesn't explained why you said the weapons look bad and not you know, everything).

In the video i see a lot of filtering in weapons and hud, if you say there is not filtering, then is the video

theelf wrote on 2022-12-27, 16:43:

About resolution i tested in tft 1920x1080 and 640x400 in crt
But even with low res, is same 1fps

I would suggest for speed test, run TFE with software-renderer in Windowed mode, at a low resolution. And make sure it does NOT upscale, like 800x600 has to give an 800x600 pixel window.
Use in-game console (tilde key) with command "setsubrenderer classic_float".
Make sure there is a midi device on the system to receive the midi music.
Maybe disable mouse-look, so the view does not skew up or down.
Disable VSync of course.

Edit: The command has an 'r' in front "rsetsubrenderer classic_float".

Huge thanks to the creators! This is so cool to finally have this mod. Works perfectly in software mode, and I enjoyed the gameplay very much.
However there were some minor glitches in OpenGL mode. But as there is no visual difference with software mode, it's not an issue at all.
Just wonder if there is a way to select any mission without completing one after another? Or maybe transfer completed missions form a differnt computer where I advanced much further?

theelf wrote on 2022-12-27, 17:01:

ZellSF wrote on 2022-12-27, 16:57:

theelf wrote on 2022-12-27, 16:44:

In the video the weapons have filtering or the video have bad scaling or something

The weapons do not have filtering in the video. The engine does not support it. Video scaling also doesn't make a that huge difference, I can tell even at 480p that it does not have any filtering (it does get tricky at 360p, but that doesn't explained why you said the weapons look bad and not you know, everything).

In the video i see a lot of filtering in weapons and hud, if you say there is not filtering, then is the video

There's no bilinear texture filtering in the game nor is any visible in the video.

I don't know what you're seeing that you're not liking, I'm just repeating that you're using the wrong word for it. It's misleading and might confuse other people.

Bondi wrote on 2022-12-27, 17:31:

Huge thanks to the creators! This is so cool to finally have this mod. Works perfectly in software mode, and I enjoyed the gameplay very much.
However there were some minor glitches in OpenGL mode. But as there is no visual difference with software mode, it's not an issue at all.
Just wonder if there is a way to select any mission without completing one after another? Or maybe transfer completed missions form a differnt computer where I advanced much further?

It's an old game. It has cheat codes. But you're supposed to carry over equipment between missions, so...