Sorry it took me some time to get back to it. My Windows XP laptop was buried under a pile of paperwork that I had to sort through first. 🤦🏻

ntalaec wrote on 2025-10-15, 19:55:

To get the game fully working in my Windows XP machine I have to set compatibility to Windows 95 or 320x200 and 640x400 resolutions won't work.

Ah, thanks. I had a similar problem (sometimes the resolutions were working, but inconsistently).

ntalaec wrote on 2025-10-15, 19:55:

Could you try this options in your computer to see if there is any frame limit? You can see the framerate if you type frametime during gameplay.

Sure, here are some test results:

Running with Win95 compatibility with no parameters:
320x200 - over 1300FPS, unplayable
640x480 - over 500FPS, unplayable
640x400 w/o cockpit - 'not supported by driver' message
800x600 w/o cockpit - around 250FPS, dropping under 200FPS when there is action on screen; borderline-playable even though bobbing is a bit fast

With -ddemul:
Same results as above.

With -emul:
Errors out with unsupported display mode.

With -hw_3dacc:
Some changes to average FPS in each mode, but not big ones.

General observations:
All modes still have graphical glitches both in the menu and in game (cockpit sometimes disappearing)
Going from maximum to minimum window size increases relative FPS 2x to 3x.

Without Win95 compatibility:
320x200 - unavailable
640x480 - around 100FPS, somewhat playable
640x400 w/o cockpit - around 200FPS, borderline playable
800x600 w/o cockpit - around 100FPS, somewhat playable
Going from maximum to minimum window size increases FPS 4x-8x - too fast.

Using DxWnd
With FPS limit and delay = 16msec in the Timing tab, 60FPS limit works in all modes, except with cockpit when it falls to 30FPS.
It seemed pretty stable during fights, so either the PC is more powerful or I haven't gotten to sequences with enough action.
It does not work when the program (Descent II) was set to Win9x compatibility mode, at least it didn't on my machine.
So, ironically, the only resolution where I couldn't get any sort of FPS limit was 320x200, the opposite of yours.

dr_st wrote on 2025-11-01, 10:47:

Sure, here are some test results:

Many thanks for all the tests @dr_st. Much appreciated.

I'm surprise you have graphical glitches in an old computer. The Windows 95 version works with issues but without graphical glitches in Windows 10. Without any wrapper and without setting compatibility to Windows 95, the menu loads fine. The game works setting Windows 95 compatibility. In Windows 10 only 640x480 and 800x600 resolutions work and the game it's unplayable due to high frame rate, but there are no graphical glitches. Movies won't play unless you use a wrapper.

It seems that your CPU it's twice as fast as mine (Intel Atom N280).

What a pity. Seems that the frame limit it's a setting in my computer, but not in game. I don't know where it could be, because the drivers for Intel GMA 945 don't have any option to limit the frame rate. But 320x200 works flawlessly, constant 60 fps and without frame time issues.

ntalaec wrote on 2025-10-15, 19:55:

I would like to play this game without source ports or wrappers. Besides that, in my Windows XP computer I can't get a locked 60 fps gameplay with DxWnd. To get it working I have to check the limit option in Timings tab and the Vsync in DirectX (2) tab. I get a 60 fps limit but as soon as there's enough action, framerate goes single digit. Don't know why.

To get the game fully working in my Windows XP machine I have to set compatibility to Windows 95 or 320x200 and 640x400 resolutions won't work. In your machine, besides compatibility you could try the parameter -emul or -ddemul. There is also the undocumented parameter -hw_3dacc. By the way, with the parameter -nomovies, movies aren't required if you use the no-cd crack.

These are some captures of the game running in my Windows XP computer in 320x200 resolution (with frame limit) and 640x480 resolution with full and minimum window size. Could you try this options in your computer to see if there is any frame limit? You can see the framerate if you type frametime during gameplay.

Non 640x480 resolutions are enabled by Compat tab/Fake Version-Win95. The game needs EmulateHeap so enabling that is enough through Microsoft ACT to have minimal interference with the hooking process.