leileilol wrote:

i'll mention there isn't a video card in the world that will make Half-Life magically playable on a 486. You don't need to goosechase over it

Sounds like a challenge I will not be able to pass up. I enjoy pushing my super 486's to the limit. I currently have these setup in cases:

1) Cyrix 5x86-133/4x - Voodoo3-3000 - 128 MB - 1024 KB cache - AWE64Gold - Ultra2 SCSI - Win95c/WinNT4 - SiS 496/497
2) IBM 5x86c-133/2x - Matrox Millennium G200 - 128 MB - 1024 KB cache - Yamaha 718 SAx w/XR385 - Ultra2 SCSI - Win95c/WinNT4 - UMC 88881/8886
3) Am5x86-160 - Geforce2 MX400 or ATI Rage 128VR - 64 MB - 256 KB cache - AWE64Gold - Ultra160 SCSI - Win95c/WinNT4 - UMC 8881/8886

It took forever to establish optimal driver versions for the GeForce2 and ATI Rage128VR. Refer to my link of exotic graphic card experiments on 486s here, Modern graphics on a 486 . I quietly update this post regularly.

The 3rd system also functions well with a POD100 and does not have issue with the caveats noted below.

Caveats: GeForce2 Direct3D drivers will not function with the Am5x86, however OpenGL drivers work fine. Some D3D games have problems with the ATI Rage 128's Direct3D drivers when the Am5x86 is used, but not with the Cyrix 5x86. No Geforce2 driver versions will function with Cyrix 5x86 chips in W9x or NT4. ATI Rage 128 VR drivers will function with Cyrix 5x86 chips, but only in Win9x, not NT4. Voodoo3 and Banshee cards do not function on UMC 8881/8886 chipsets. Matrox G200 does not have working OpenGL drivers in Win9x which function on 486-class CPUs (D3D works though). Matrox G200 require OpenGL wrapper for the Quakes in Win9x using 486-class CPUs, however the WinNT4 OpenGL driver works. Due to these limitations, I could not decide if I should use the GeForce2 or ATI Rage 128 VR in the 3rd system. Are there any OpenGL games from 1996-1998 that might run well on the Am5x86 and the GF2? I am also considering just making it a POD100 system.

Which of the above noted graphic cards will work best with Half-Life? Is Half-Life glide-, Direct3D-, or OpenGL-based? Are there any patches I will need for these cards to get Half-life running?

With using only the default GLQuake game settings, the Cyrix 5x86-133/Voodoo3 and Am5x86-160/GF2 systems yield around 24 fps. The fastest I could get Quake II running on a 486 was with an Am5x86-160 using a Geforce2 MX400 in NT4. The framerate without sound enabled and all other game settings at default was 16.6 fps (640x480x16). From this result, others more familiar with Half-life and Quake 2 playback might be able to make an educated guess as to what the Half-life frame rate might be.

Great 486s... but from that era I can only see Intel cpu sorry.. 😁 A 486DX4 100Mhz is the real last 486 to my view.

Now I switched cpu from the P100 to the P166 MMX (ceramic) with the Mystique + Voodoo combo to benefit from the Matrox 2D quality. Well obviously great difference with this cpu, Half life runs WELL! I would say almost 20fps 640p nice quality and smoothness.
But I have to say I don't really like this cpu era cause I didn't have it in the correct year.

386SX wrote:

A 486DX4 100Mhz is the real last 486 to my view.

That is but one interpretation. I could attempt to run Half-life on an Intel DX4-100-WB if that is what fits your desire. I will be running some stability tests on several QFP IBM 5x86c at 133 MHz, but will look into running Half-life following these tests. Is the game OpenGL, Glide, or Direct3D capable?

feipoa wrote:

386SX wrote:

A 486DX4 100Mhz is the real last 486 to my view.

That is but one interpretation. I could attempt to run Half-life on an Intel DX4-100-WB if that is what fits your desire. I will be running some stability tests on several QFP IBM 5x86c at 133 MHz, but will look into running Half-life following these tests. Is the game OpenGL, Glide, or Direct3D capable?

That's nice! Well it would be nice to see how it scale from Dx4 100 to best 5x86 with the same configuration.

Half life has both D3D and OpenGl with the support of 3dfx miniGl or generic. 😉

In that case, I have a lot of testing ahead of me as I will want to test the Am5x86, Cx5x86, and i486 in WinNT4 and Win9x using the Voodoo3, Ati Rag128 VR, GeForce2 MX400, and Matrox G200 in order to find the fastest possible combination.

feipoa wrote:

In that case, I have a lot of testing ahead of me as I will want to test the Am5x86, Cx5x86, and i486 in WinNT4 and Win9x using the Voodoo3, Ati Rag128 VR, GeForce2 MX400, and Matrox G200 in order to find the fastest possible combination.

Don't forget the POD.

There's poor compatibility between hl and your P1 rig. Half Life got higher system requiments. If you want enjoy Half-Life in full it's glory you should install it on 200Mhz CPU with 8-12MB graphics. You should change the game or just install other FPS. Also installing HL1 on 486 isn't good idea, if you will run it just for fun, not to enjoy gameplay

Does Half-life have any sort of benchmark feature?

I have installed Half-life on my three 486 systems. I have tested it with the Matrox G200 (D3D), Ati Rage 128 VR (in D3D and OpenGL modes), and the Voodoo3. The game speed feels very similar to Quake II, so somewhere in the 8-17 fps range, depending on the graphic card, OS, and CPU. I felt the game responded the best on the Voodoo3, however I did not know what I was doing in the game. A good deal of time is spent on some tram, following which I spent most of the time looking for the hazard suit. I found myself in a locker room and decided to quit the game. I never saw any action. Is there a quick means to jump right into the action?

I did not test the GF2 and POD, as this would require opening up the case.

I removed the check box from "enable high quality sounds (for fast computers)".

feipoa wrote:

Does Half-life have any sort of benchmark feature?.

There isn't any HL quake-like time-benchmark, but if you wish you can see HL engine features how they will be rendered by your GPU and API. I think this is only alpha stuff, you can check it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h7bTo5xLyQ

feipoa wrote:

Does Half-life have any sort of benchmark feature? […]
Show full quote

Does Half-life have any sort of benchmark feature?

I have installed Half-life on my three 486 systems. I have tested it with the Matrox G200 (D3D), Ati Rage 128 VR (in D3D and OpenGL modes), and the Voodoo3. The game speed feels very similar to Quake II, so somewhere in the 8-17 fps range, depending on the graphic card, OS, and CPU. I felt the game responded the best on the Voodoo3, however I did not know what I was doing in the game. A good deal of time is spent on some tram, following which I spent most of the time looking for the hazard suit. I found myself in a locker room and decided to quit the game. I never saw any action. Is there a quick means to jump right into the action?

I did not test the GF2 and POD, as this would require opening up the case.

I removed the check box from "enable high quality sounds (for fast computers)".

Open the console with the '~' key, type in these commands:
sv_cheats 1
map c1a0c

Then when the map has loaded (you'll see a black screen with the text 'UNFORESEEN CONSEQUENCES' when this has happened), type in the console: give item_suit

If you did it correctly (some times it will not, then you have to repeat the previous step), the HUD will appear.

feipoa wrote:

Does Half-life have any sort of benchmark feature? […]
Show full quote

Does Half-life have any sort of benchmark feature?

I have installed Half-life on my three 486 systems. I have tested it with the Matrox G200 (D3D), Ati Rage 128 VR (in D3D and OpenGL modes), and the Voodoo3. The game speed feels very similar to Quake II, so somewhere in the 8-17 fps range, depending on the graphic card, OS, and CPU. I felt the game responded the best on the Voodoo3, however I did not know what I was doing in the game. A good deal of time is spent on some tram, following which I spent most of the time looking for the hazard suit. I found myself in a locker room and decided to quit the game. I never saw any action. Is there a quick means to jump right into the action?

I did not test the GF2 and POD, as this would require opening up the case.

I removed the check box from "enable high quality sounds (for fast computers)".

That sounds just like the first time I played Half Life. 🤣 I want to play through it just so I understand what's going on in HL2.

In short, I found the game to be playable on the Cyrix 5x86-133/4x - Voodoo3 system and the Am5x86-160 - ATI Rage 128 system, but not so much with the Matrox G200. I will try the game with the Am5x86-160 and the GeForce2 MX400 as I would expect it to be a little faster than the Cyrix 5x86-133/4x - Voodoo3 system, especially in NT4 with OpenGL.

TwOne wrote:

Open the console with the '~' key, type in these commands: sv_cheats 1 map c1a0c […]
Show full quote

Open the console with the '~' key, type in these commands:
sv_cheats 1
map c1a0c

Then when the map has loaded (you'll see a black screen with the text 'UNFORESEEN CONSEQUENCES' when this has happened), type in the console: give item_suit

If you did it correctly (some times it will not, then you have to repeat the previous step), the HUD will appear.

Pressing ~ while on the tram did not bring up the console - nothing happened. Perhaps the ~ option is version-dependent? I am using version 1.0.0.9

feipoa wrote:

TwOne wrote:

Open the console with the '~' key, type in these commands: sv_cheats 1 map c1a0c […]
Show full quote

Open the console with the '~' key, type in these commands:
sv_cheats 1
map c1a0c

Then when the map has loaded (you'll see a black screen with the text 'UNFORESEEN CONSEQUENCES' when this has happened), type in the console: give item_suit

If you did it correctly (some times it will not, then you have to repeat the previous step), the HUD will appear.

Pressing ~ while on the tram did not bring up the console - nothing happened. Perhaps the ~ option is version-dependent? I am using version 1.0.0.9

Should work on every version. You may need to enable console either in game settings, or you might need to add -console to the shortcut path. I used version 1.1.1.1 (Steam version), which has the console enabled by default.

How about playing the game on a faster system until the action start,then save an move over the savegame to the system u need.

Saving the game is a good idea, but I am at the stage whereby I cannot figure out how to put on the hazard jump suit. I think it is in the locker room. I think the game should play best with the GF2. At 1280x1024, with sound on and all default settings, I get over 26 FPS in GLQuake's timedemo 1 and 15.5 fps with Quake II timedemo 1 at 1280x960.

The hazard suit isn't in the locker room. Keep checking the other corridors.

Read a walktrough on gamefaqs.com or watch one on youtube.

I remember playing HL on Pentium 200 w/o MMX, 96MB of RAM and a Voodoo 2. Adding RAM certainly helped shorten the loading times 😀

feipoa, see if this walkthrough on Youtube helps:

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