😁 😁 😁 😁 😁

Using my S3 Vorge GX2 card with TV-out I managed to capture some footage. I was expecting to use the S-VIDEO connector for recording, but to my surprise the S3 GX2 has a possibility to output VGA and TV signals at once (I expected a card from 1997 to only do one at the time). When this feature is enabled the VGA signals are also converted into something that is compatible with a TV. All resolutions and refreshrates are changed within the card to 720x480 (NTSC resolution). Thanks to this I was able to capture the VGA signals at high quality. If anyone else has a Avermedia Gamebroadcaster HD I recommend getting a GX2 if you need to capture Windows games below 640x480 (the combo VGA/TV output also works in DOS, but there you can just use the other trick I've already mentioned in another thread).

Anyway, since this has been kind of a project to me, I made a 3D acceleration comparison episode on it. Should be the first video footage ever from the S3 Virge version of the game as far as I know.

Just too bad there is no Virge wrapper, as this is one of the few games that would benefit from it..

filipetolhuizen wrote:

OMG, I waited so long to see this! I can't believe how great it looks! If only it was D3D...
Hey, now there's another thing, there are more damageable spots than the original version too!

It has as many damage spots as the Sony PSX version. Perhaps this build uses some code from that version instead than PC DOS one.

mgtroyas wrote:

filipetolhuizen wrote:

OMG, I waited so long to see this! I can't believe how great it looks! If only it was D3D...
Hey, now there's another thing, there are more damageable spots than the original version too!

It has as many damage spots as the Sony PSX version. Perhaps this build uses some code from that version instead than PC DOS one.

Yes, this is probably true. The S3 Virge versions seems to be a port of the Playstation version instead of the MS-DOS.

It just doesn't seem have one more division and other drivers as well. Does the car handle slightly different too?

filipetolhuizen wrote:

It just doesn't seem have one more division and other drivers as well. Does the car handle slightly different too?

Not sure what you mean with "one more division and other drivers as well.", but as far as I experienced there was no difference in how the car handled in the MS-DOS version compared to the S3 Virge.

Does this version have the multiplayer mode?

lolo799 wrote:

Does this version have the multiplayer mode?

Yes it does, same as the DOS version as far as I remember (cable and IPX network)

The DOS version only has serial cable support.
Destruction Derby 2, on the other hand, supports everything (IPX, TCP/IP, serial and modem), but only in low-res.

lolo799 wrote:

The DOS version only has serial cable support.
Destruction Derby 2, on the other hand, supports everything (IPX, TCP/IP, serial and modem), but only in low-res.

I will admit I just did it by memory and checked on Mobygames. After starting the game up it does ONLY have "hot seat" support. Meaning two or more players have to take turns. This counts for both S3 Virge and MS-DOS version. I checked both 😀

But are you sure on Destruction Derby 2? If you read the CGW review from March 1997 it says it does not have any networking capabilities.

I also checked with the Destruction Derby 2: Mystique version and CGW is correct, you can only "hotswap" as multiplayer.

vetz wrote:

filipetolhuizen wrote:

It just doesn't seem have one more division and other drivers as well. Does the car handle slightly different too?

Not sure what you mean with "one more division and other drivers as well.", but as far as I experienced there was no difference in how the car handled in the MS-DOS version compared to the S3 Virge.

DD for PC has 4 divisions, white, yellow, red and black, with 4 drivers each. The Playstation version has 1 more division (cyan) and 4 more competitors.

The DOS version serial link is run through the setup:

Reflections released a patch to add the multiplayer mode for DD2.

lolo799 wrote:

The DOS version serial link is run through the setup:

Reflections released a patch to add the multiplayer mode for DD2.

Thanks for sorting that out 😀

As for the S3 Virge, there are no other .exe files to start the multiplayer, so "hotseat" is the only possible solution.

I checked the readme on the DD2 multiplayer patch, no good new for Matrox users;

Attn: Mystique owners, the game should run fine on your system.
However, there is NO chip acceleration for the game.

DD for PC has 4 divisions, white, yellow, red and black, with 4 drivers each. The Playstation version has 1 more division (cyan) and 4 more competitors.

You have 15 competitors, so that is the same as MS-DOS.

Diamond released a fix for the refresh rate for Destruction Derby, you might be interested:
ftp://ftp.isu.edu.tw/Hardware/Diamond/display … x0/s3dddtsr.txt

Nice, but as you probably have seen from my episode, I managed to capture the game in the end 😀

I've included the s3dddtsr.exe file as an attachment incase someone needs it.

Yes, I saw the video, nice stuff!
Could you run the setup.exe from the DOS version in the S3 version directory and try to run a serial link game?

Got the game recently and I suffered the dreaded "out of sync" problem mentioned in Diamond's s3dddtsr.txt document.
Too bad the fix only works with stealth3d bioses, I wonder if some talented users can adapt it for generic virge cards (or maybe modify game exe?) Only solution so far that worked is to change monitor and that's pretty lame, considering that I payed money for this, if you ask me.

But yeah, the game is hella better than basic dos release. This literally screams for a s3 wrapper, I hope to see the day it will run on modern systems in its full glory!

I have the normal dos version (original cdrom). Can I make it work with s3 acceleration using those .exe file(s)? Or does anyone know where to get a S3 verion cd (or image)?

No you can't convert the DOS version over since it involves pre-converted textures and a different audio track order. You'll have to hunt for the Stealth3D 2000 Descent2/Destruction Derby combo disc.

leileilol wrote:

No you can't convert the DOS version over since it involves pre-converted textures and a different audio track order. You'll have to hunt for the Stealth3D 2000 Descent2/Destruction Derby combo disc.

Thank you.

That's a real shame... iT'S ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITES.

Do you have a picture of the cd? I can't make out what to look for when using google images.