Strike Fighters gone Kaputski

[Rambler 1-1 9]

Hey all, I think I need some help.

 

A couple of years ago, I bought a copy of Strike Fighters Project One (the real one, not the Wal-mart Fiasco version), and I installed it on my computer. It worked fantastically, and I had great fun Kick'n some serious MiG Butt. However, about a year ago, my computer got a virus and had to be re-formatted. After this, I tried to install SF again, but every time, after playing in campagn mode for a while, the game would crash once you clicked the "Fly" button at the hangar screen. I would then delete and re install the game, but every time this would happen, and now it just won't let me fly at all (this also happened whenever I got a game patch or upgrade). What's going on? I really want to be able to play this game again. What should I do? HAAAALLLPPP!!!!!

 

My comp is a dell Demension 2100 with an intel celeron processor and the stock graphics card. it runs Windows XP. I have tried using DirectX 8.1 that is included on the game, and the latest version as well.

 

please tell me if I shuld be asking somewhere else, 'cause I'm kinda new to these forums. Thx!

[+Spectre_USA 7]

The incapable of completing campaigns was a big issue in the beginning, but later patches did eventually fix that.

 

It was not the 1st couple, but the 3rd or so.

 

You are not saving the old campaigns and trying to tuck them back into a fresh install are you? That will never work.

 

Fresh install, patch it to the max, and you should be good to go.

 

I was on the original beta team, and remember the WalMart fiasco all too well.

 

Have fun!

[Rambler 1-1 9]

Nein, herr Spectre.

 

I deleted it, re-installed it, added the service pack and patch from the Third Wire website and I didn't put in my old player profile or campaign. it looked really nice, the music sound was better and the setup was better, but as soon as I pressed "Fly" in the hangar screen, it went belly up. whenever I plress "fly", the game crashes and sends me back to my desktop. Is it the game or my computer? I have a feeling it's either my Processor or my pathetic video card.

[RunsWithScissors 0]

What is your video card? If it's the Intel 810e (or similar), yeah you might wanna get something newer. Integrated video like that is ok for office stuff, but not so good for gaming.

[Rambler 1-1 9]

What is your video card? If it's the Intel 810e (or similar), yeah you might wanna get something newer. Integrated video like that is ok for office stuff, but not so good for gaming.

yeah, my video card is pretty close to that. I have a choice of getting a new video card or this machine or getting an older machine with a better processor (pentum 3). Now my question is, how high end a vid card will i need? 256megs? 128megs? what do you guys run? I can only get PCI cards for this thing.

[gerald14 0]

Well how much will you spend? What type of PCI? PCI or PCI express? I have a ATI 2900 with 512mb. I used to have two x1950 pro's. For the video card may be a 7600 ( it's the best for your money) or a x1950 pros (these are sweet).

[RunsWithScissors 0]

A Pentium 3 isn't a better CPU than a Celeron, IIRC (not much of an Intel guy). But if you have to go PCI (not PCI Express), you're gonna be better off saving up & getting a whole new PC (I can help you out with that. Just got my brother a new mobo, AMD X2, 8600GTS, 2GB ram, 400GB HD & a 550w PS for something like $500) But if it's PCIE, there are a lot of choices. I'd need what your specs are currently to make a guess on where you can go on a vidcard. You don't want to get some uber-fast $400 one then have it waiting on your CPU or RAM all the time.

[Rambler 1-1 9]

A Pentium 3 isn't a better CPU than a Celeron, IIRC (not much of an Intel guy). But if you have to go PCI (not PCI Express), you're gonna be better off saving up & getting a whole new PC (I can help you out with that. Just got my brother a new mobo, AMD X2, 8600GTS, 2GB ram, 400GB HD & a 550w PS for something like $500) But if it's PCIE, there are a lot of choices. I'd need what your specs are currently to make a guess on where you can go on a vidcard. You don't want to get some uber-fast $400 one then have it waiting on your CPU or RAM all the time.

 

I'm afraid a new computer, as much as I'd enjoy it, is out of the question. My comp has four PCI (NOT PCI express) buses that run at 33MHz each. I put in another RAM card, so there's 512 MB RAM now. I'm probably looking for somthing in the $100 range, because, like you said, any more than that and I may as well get a new comp. I've come to thinking that anything would be better than what's in there now. what other info might you need?

[RunsWithScissors 0]

This might work pretty well: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814102434

 

That's assuming what you have is either the onboard video, or an older card than this.

[Rambler 1-1 9]

This might work pretty well: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814102434

 

That's assuming what you have is either the onboard video, or an older card than this.

 

yeah, I've got the stock onboard video, I think it is an 810e. This looks pretty good, it's not overkill or anything. It has kinda low ratings on that site, though. How reliable is newegg.com for ordering online? I kinda hafta... uhhh.... convince my parents.... heheheh.. Anyway, thanks for the help.

[RunsWithScissors 0]

newegg is awesome. i always go there 1st. don't put too much into what they're saying there. they're basing that on the fact that it's older tech. compared to what you have, it'll be much faster. it should work fine for third wire's stuff. probably won't do much for something like bioshock or oblivion, though

[Rambler 1-1 9]

Bioshock or oblivion? If I played those, I wouldn't be on this site. I can be a person in real life. I CAN'T take out enemy fighters in real life (yet), so I'm forced to fly a desk. I'll track this sucker down and try it out. A million thanks, RWS!

[RunsWithScissors 0]

No problem, R1-1. Glad I could help.

[Rambler 1-1 9]

...I'm not out of the woods yet...

 

ok, so strike fighters now runs. (YES!!!! ) but now, there's another problem. Whenever I get into a dogfight, or within 0.1 NM of an enemy aircraft in my favorite F-8E (from Column5.us) while over a city, The sim goes all chunky, aka the frame rates drop like an F-4 after a SAM strike. I dropped the ground object detail to minimum, but it's still pretty bad. Also, It runs chunkily ( is that a word?) if I put quality on max. I don't think this $100 video card should do that. Am I expecting too much? Is there anything I can do about this?

 

on the bright side, even if it is chunky, I'm back to slashing MiGs in my Crusader. At lest I can still do that!

[RunsWithScissors 0]

If you're near Hanoi, it bogs down pretty bad anyway. What resolution are you running at? You might also need to drop other settings. Try starting with everything on low & raise each setting one at a time. Fly around for a bit, & if it's ok, raise another. Keep it up until it gets to the point where it's too choppy for YOU. Experiment with 'em til you're happy. Other than that, your PC not having AGP or PCI-E is the main bottleneck. Also, anytime there are a lot of aircraft, sams or AAA, it's got a LOT of calculations to make.

[Rambler 1-1 9]

YES! I FOUND THE SWEET SPOT! I had one or two really nice dogfights (see "How do you like your MiG?" thread), untill my joystick wonked out... Planes won't bank right anymore! Dang! Anyway, Thanks for all the help, and If I ever have problems with the GAME again, I know who to talk to!

[Viper6 3]

...I'm not out of the woods yet...

 

ok, so strike fighters now runs. (YES!!!! ) but now, there's another problem. Whenever I get into a dogfight, or within 0.1 NM of an enemy aircraft in my favorite F-8E (from Column5.us) while over a city, The sim goes all chunky, aka the frame rates drop like an F-4 after a SAM strike. I dropped the ground object detail to minimum, but it's still pretty bad. Also, It runs chunkily ( is that a word?) if I put quality on max. I don't think this $100 video card should do that. Am I expecting too much? Is there anything I can do about this?

 

on the bright side, even if it is chunky, I'm back to slashing MiGs in my Crusader. At lest I can still do that!

I have found that if you switch the radar mode to AA (less objects eating up resources) it should run more smoothly, you can still press "E" to find ground targets if need be.