How can I improve performance on Half Life running on Windows 98 SE \ VOGONS

How can I improve performance on Half Life running on Windows 98 SE

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First post, by assortedkingdede

Posted on 2022-11-25, 20:24

assortedkingdede Offline

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Rank: Newbie
Posts: 76
Joined: 2022-06-16, 17:42

Half Life runs decent on my Win 98 build but I think I could be much better. There are frame rate dips when there is more action on screen.
The recommended specs are:

Pentium 166 MHz
32 MB RAM
OpenGL- or DirectX-compatible 3D accelerator.

My specs are:
Pentium III 866 Mhz
128 MB
GeForce2 MX 100/200 64 MB (Driver 28.32)
P6BAP-A+ Motherboard

One unusual thing I noticed is that the system identifies itself as Windows Me despite it being a Windows 98 SE install which is strange since I explicitly installed Windows 98 SE. Any info will help. Thanks!

Reply 1 of 4, by X86

Posted on 2022-11-25, 20:37

X86 Offline

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Location: Richmond, Texas (united states)

Mine is the same way. windows 98 se identifies as me... Have you installed a later patch for half life ? also check for latest geforce drivers.. You can still get them from the nvidia web site under legacy drivers... also what resolution are you running at ? other than that your system specs should be more than enough to run that game just fine.

Reply 2 of 4, by DosFreak

Posted on 2022-11-25, 20:45

DosFreak Offline

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For some reason this comes up quite often here but you'd think it would be common knowledge by now. The newer versions of the unofficial SP you are using uses a file from Windows ME. If it bothers you then you either have to hexedit that file or revert that file or use an old version of the SP or don't use the unofficial SP.

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Reply 3 of 4, by assortedkingdede

Posted on 2022-11-25, 21:20

assortedkingdede Offline

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Rank: Newbie
Posts: 76
Joined: 2022-06-16, 17:42

X86 wrote on 2022-11-25, 20:37:

Mine is the same way. windows 98 se identifies as me... Have you installed a later patch for half life ? also check for latest geforce drivers.. You can still get them from the nvidia web site under legacy drivers... also what resolution are you running at ? other than that your system specs should be more than enough to run that game just fine.

I am using the driver that I have found to work best with my hardware, the newest one caused a lot of issues. I am running the game at 1024 by 768. I am using Direct 3D for rendering. I am using GOTY edition which I do not believe is patched. (Note: just discovered OpenGL gives much high FPS)

Last edited by assortedkingdede on 2022-11-25, 21:25. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 4 of 4, by assortedkingdede

Posted on 2022-11-25, 21:21

assortedkingdede Offline

Rank Newbie

Rank: Newbie
Posts: 76
Joined: 2022-06-16, 17:42

DosFreak wrote on 2022-11-25, 20:45:

For some reason this comes up quite often here but you'd think it would be common knowledge by now. The newer versions of the unofficial SP you are using uses a file from Windows ME. If it bothers you then you either have to hexedit that file or revert that file or use an old version of the SP or don't use the unofficial SP.

Did not know that, guess I should do a bit more research before I download an OS. Thanks!

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