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Game Patches - G200 vs. m3D - Sites |
Unreal's performance can and should be tweaked to get a better experience ... I've posted a page including my suggestions for setting up Unreal, including some recommendations for PowerVR users. If you're running Unreal on a PowerVR card, you'll want to change the default options. See what you think...
I've removed the beta G200 Direct3D patch for Unreal, now that Direct3D support is built in to the game (from 2.18). If you happen to have the same combination of video cards as me (a Millennium G200 and an m3D), you may be interested in the benchmarks I've posted running the two cards head-to-head in Unreal below. Unreal is the only reason I've kept the m3D in my machine - even with version 2.20, I just can't get the G200 running the game properly.
Patch 225f sees the return of A3D sound support, but still no PowerVR ... check the release notes in the Info link for full details. Note that you'll need version 2.14 of a3dapi.dll for the A3D support.
Note that the patch (224v) didn't support A3D sound - either version 1.0 or 2.0 - or the PowerVR. In my opinion, this is a major reason not to bother with the patch.
Note also that the previous patch - build 220 - prevents you from using your old saved games. There is a workaround for this problem, though, which I'm quoting straight from Don Ramirez - posted below.
Unreal Patches
| File | Date | Description | Info | Size |
 Epic |
14.07.00 | Patch to take Unreal up to version '226 Final'. The File link includes a few download locations - pick your favourite. This includes the latest Direct3D and sound code from Unreal Tournament. Check the Info link for the release notes. | Epic |
7,497Kb |
| unrealpatch225f.exe | 06.06.99 | Patch to take Unreal up to 'build 225f'. Check the Info link for the release notes before installing this version. | Epic |
7,168Kb |
| UnrealPatch224v.exep | 02.05.99 | Patch to take Unreal up to 'build 224v'. Check the Info link for the release notes before installing this version. | Epic |
7,039Kb |
| UnrealBeta220.zip | 13.12.98 | Patch to take Unreal up to 'beta build 220'. Check the Info link for the long list of changes. Note that this patch takes a long time to install - about 15 minutes. | Epic |
6,423Kb |
| unrealbeta219.zip | 03.11.98 | Patch to take Unreal up to 'beta build 219'. Slight tweaks for the Internet play changes for 2.18; it's also compatible with servers running 2.18. Check the Info link for details. | Epic |
2,166Kb |
| unrealbeta218.zip | 25.10.98 | Patch to take Unreal up to 'beta build 218'. Internet play should be much better for modem connections with this release (but servers must be running 2.18 too); an 'alpha-test' Direct3D patch is also included. Check the Info link for details on setting up your Internet gameplay. | Epic |
2,163Kb |
Using old saved games after patching Unreal to build 220
Quoted directly from Don Ramirez, snagged from Blue's News:
Unreal - G200 versus m3D
Well, I decided to bite the bullet and run my m3D against the G200 now that we have a single version of Unreal which supports both. Now, this is the first Direct3D support to be built in to the game, and it'll most likely improve, but it's also possible that Unreal's OpenGL support, with the OpenGL ICD from Matrox that we're still waiting for, will offer better performance than Direct3D. The results below are for the m3D through PowerSGL, and the G200 through DirectX. Both tests have the same set of unreal.ini settings for the renderers. System configuration for the tests:
Each of the tests were run after a clean boot, using timedemo02, for a couple of passes of the flyby. Here are the frames-per-second (FPS) results:
| Video Card | Resolution | Min FPS | Average | Max FPS | Comment |
| m3D (PowerSGL) | 640x480 | 21.33 | 35.10 | 64.00 | Unreal configured as described here. |
| G200 (Direct3D) | " | 12.80 | 24.39 | 57.11 | Registry tweaks for Unreal D3D off. |
| G200 (Direct3D) | " | 11.89 | 21.69 | 32.00 | Registry tweaks for Unreal D3D on. |
| m3D (PowerSGL) | 800x600 | 15.75 | 25.12 | 32.00 | Unreal configured as described here. |
| G200 (Direct3D) | " | 10.67 | 19.02 | 32.00 | Registry tweaks for Unreal D3D off. |
| G200 (Direct3D) | " | 9.14 | 15.67 | 29.09 | Registry tweaks for Unreal D3D on. |
So - it's close, but until the Direct3D support in Unreal is improved, or Matrox release the OpenGL ICD (and it works with Unreal's OpenGL support !), the m3D wins out. Basically, G200 Direct3D Unreal suffers from a low minimum FPS - I think it's this factor that's the real decider, because this is what the system approaches when there's a lot going on in the game.
Now, I realise that frame rates aren't everything - and I'd have to say that in all the configurations I tested, the m3D looks 'smoother', the transitions from frame to frame were cleaner. On the other hand, the G200 has a more vibrant colour display, and supports the fog ... which looks very cool. Hopefully, support for Unreal under the G200 can only get better ... although if the PowerVR Series 2 hits the shelves before that, I'll have the best of both worlds !
