Brand new SFI2 issues(compatability?)

[Streakfalcon 57]

Ok just got sf2i and it "ships" with the feb10 patch. You have to download the march 10 patch and install yourself. I merged mine with sf2e and all seemed well. I cant get the game to recognize the emb series mod that works so well in NF4+ under the June09b patch.Also it seems the new widesky for sf2 doesnt work. Can someone who is patched to that level confirm this for me and post a workaroubd if possible? Are there that many differences between the 2nd gen games and or patches?

[+Dave 2,322]

Skip March Patch. Its broke.

[jomni 6]

Sorry but I'm not into environment mods. I think I deleted the widesky mod in my NF4+ install.

 

Are you running Windows Vista/7 or XP?

 

I had no use for the emb mod since I'm now using dx10 in Vista.

If you check your options.ini, you can force it to use dx9. Maybe this will make emb series mod to work.

[Streakfalcon 57]

Wow quick responses!, Good thing the game comes with feb patch. Just learned the subtitles are missing from the hud, no way of telling which weapon youve selected. I run on vista 32 home premium and I have always used the emb patch cause it boosts framerate immensely. I never had to force dx9 with the June09b patch so i guess thats a recent development? Widesky I could live without but the stock clouds are so cotton ball puffy, I'd like at least to use the cloud bmp that comes with the mod. March patch won't seem to recognize it. Do I need to set effects to unlimited to see the latest grafic candy with dx10?

[Fubar512 1,350]

Do I need to set effects to unlimited to see the latest grafic candy with dx10?

 

Yes. Using the ENB series instead of using the default advanced shaders is taking a step backwards in efects quality. The issue that you're experiencing with the widesky mod is most likely due to that version not being up to date, and therefore not taking advantage of DX10 material shaders.

[Streakfalcon 57]

Thanks guys for the info. For the uninitiated, here's some FYI. Yes, the March patch is broke, TK says another is forthcomming. I have a good mid-range rig;Dual core pentium, 4gigs of ram, Vista 32 home premium, GeForce GT240 512mb GDDR5 ram. NF4+ runs great with EMB shader mod. 25+ fps all day long. I just bought SF2I and merged it with a fresh instal of SF2E after installing Europe first. It patched to Feb2010 after install.You have to download and install March patch separately.I played it stock with effect on unlimited(on high the effects look the same as always) and watched the new effects shaders make awesome fuzzy relections and light but at about 15 frames per second the gameplay was too choppy for me to enjoy. I also lost my favorite clouds used with the widesky mod. If you are used to an older patch in the 2nd generation sims you may need to open the options ini and force DX9 AND set effects to high in game. Yes this will kill DX10 and the advanced shader eye candy, but it might return the game to playable status framerate wise.Framerate and widesky was restored with this edit. Hope this helps others like me without uber computers who still want SF2I.

Edited May 3, 2010 by ikon71

[Streakfalcon 57]

Now the only questions I have left are; If I install a stock SF2I stand alone patched to Feb10 and dont touch the options ini, does the game only use DX10 when the effects are set to unlimited? What dx does it use when I set the effects to high. I ask because its a 20fps decrease on unlimited and I want to use bump mapping when it comes out and I assume that will only work with unlimited settings right?. Does anyone get good frame rates using unlimited and or DX10 shaders? If so what spec computer? Finally, if Im not using unlimited effects, and the game defaults to dx9, do I still have to make all the new effect and HUD entries for add on planes post feb2010 patch?

Edited May 3, 2010 by ikon71

[FastCargo 412]

For the STOCK game: The game only activates bump mapping with Object detail set to 'Unlimited'. It uses DX10 shaders all the time though...you need to add the shader lines. It won't use DX9 unless A) Your video card can't do DX10 or B) You force DX9 in the options.ini file or C) You are on WinXP.

 

The biggest jump I had in frame rates for DX10 was to set Shadows to 'low'. And this was with a NVidia 8600GT at 1440x900.

 

One other thing you can do to get the bump mapping without overloading your video card memory with 3rd party aircraft, is to extract the FLIGHTENGINE.INI file and place it in your mod directory in the Flight folder. Then go into it and edit this section:

 

[unlimitedDetailOption]

HorizonDistance=100000.0

DetailMeshSize=6

DetailLevel=2

WaterEffect=2

NoiseTexture=1

MaxTextureRes=-1

 

This way, if you set something to Unlimited, you can still tweak it to get the results you want...for instance, the MaxTextureRes line can be adjusted to limit the size of the bitmaps for textures (I set mine to 2048).

 

FC

[Streakfalcon 57]

Thanks for the reply man, Unlimited object doesnt kill my framerate, just unlimited Effects. Good to know cause I just dont see enogh difference to use it.