OpenGL Renderer

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Master_Kale
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Post by Master_Kale »

metche_steele wrote:ok, theoretically, say we included the renderer in the installation package. Could we install it and auto update the players .ini settings? ...tho they would have to switch to openGL to see the effects. If the user has all this installed and switches to directX will they still be able to play it that way also?
Well, we could either use an entirely different .ini file, or we could replace the existing DeusEx.ini with a DeusEx.ini that has all the settings for the new renderer.

Adding in the code for the renderer to the ini file only affects play with the OpenGL engine; DirectX will remain untouched, so players using DirectX won't notice a difference.

As for switching over to the OpenGL setting for video, thats something the player will have to do. We can just make a note of it, though, in a readme or something.
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Post by metche_steele »

Sounds good! Maybe as you say, we should create a seperate .ini file just in case. I think if we can initiate a load of testing on this beast and make sure its pretty much bullet proof then were onto a winner. However we must must must contact the guy before we include it in the package. Its his work and he will recieve full credit for it. Just need to make sure hes cool with the idea :)

Metz.
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Post by metche_steele »

Righty I tried it last night and followed your instructions to the T, Kale, but I must agree with Jonas, I didnt see any different tbh. Maybe it is only really beneficial for peeps with low end gfx cards? That wont stop us from including it in the installer if most people would be able to benefit from us - im just saying, I dont think its useful for people with mid-high end cards.

Sorry I couldnt respond last night on msn :) I was away from my comp and youd gone before i could answer. Basically lets hold off opening communication with the openGL creator until we know where we stand with it :)

Cheers!
Metz.
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Post by Solid_Choke »

metche_steele wrote:Righty I tried it last night and followed your instructions to the T, Kale, but I must agree with Jonas, I didnt see any different tbh. Maybe it is only really beneficial for peeps with low end gfx cards? That wont stop us from including it in the installer if most people would be able to benefit from us - im just saying, I dont think its useful for people with mid-high end cards.

Sorry I couldnt respond last night on msn :) I was away from my comp and youd gone before i could answer. Basically lets hold off opening communication with the openGL creator until we know where we stand with it :)

Cheers!
Metz.
What type of graphics card do you have? What version of OpenGL does it run? And what drivers were you using? Also what video settings do you run the game on?
I don't mind doing testing on my own, and will gladly post my results in this thread.
I currently have access to:
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Enhanced OpenGL Renderer Testing Template

Post by Solid_Choke »

I'm going to use this post as space to come up with a template in which we can test the results of the OpenGL renderer.


Enhanced OpenGL Renderer Testing Template

[Standard Renderer]
Processor Type:
Graphics Card Type:
Video Driver Version:
Video Settings:
Image Quality: 5 out of 10
FPS:

[Enhanced Renderer]
Processor Type:
Graphics Card Type:
Video Driver Version:
Video Settings:
Image Quality: ? out of 10
FPS:

I will continue to edit this post until a complete template is agreed upon. Also I think it would make sense to set the image quality on the regular render as a 5 out of 10 and then judge the image quality of the enhanced renderer based on that(either higher or lower). Also the FPS should be measured from the same save file in both the standard renderer test and the enhanced renderer test. What else should I include in the testing data? Ideas? Discuss...
Last edited by Solid_Choke on Thu Jul 28, 2005 11:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by metche_steele »

Hi there! What a great Idea Solid .....maybe Kale could have some input on this also?

My gfx card is Radeon 9800pro. Standard settings look fine and crisp (the used to look naff on my old Geforce 2 TI. Trying the openGL with a 9800 makes no difference for me.
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Post by Master_Kale »

I used the new renderer on 2 different cards, an nVidia GeforceFX 5200 and now on an ATI Radeon 9550.

With the GFFX, I noticed a HUGE difference between DirectX and the new OpenGL renderer. With my new ATI card, I...well...

Hmm...

Now that I think about it, I never ran the game in DirectX on my ATI card. I purchased the card after I found the new renderer, and never looked back.

Time for some benchmarking! I'll post results as soon as I get time to play around with the game. And if anyone knows the command to show FPS in-game for Deus Ex, that'd be a great help!
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Post by Shadowtruth »

you can always use fraps... www.fraps.com/ or... enable cheats and put this "timedemo true"
Preston

Post by Preston »

I'd suggest taking screen captures so you can do a side-by-side comparison of the graphics.
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Post by Master_Kale »

Alright, I took a couple screenshots just to compare the differences. On my machine, I notice quite a graphic difference between the Direct3D (DX-9c) and DX OpenGL (v1.14) drivers. Take a look:

The Deus Ex logo on the main screen
Image
I've highlighted the graphical differences I noticed

A 4x zoom-in of Page's shoulder seen during the opening movie
Image

I know its only 2 instances of graphics in-game, but I think it shows a definite difference between the 2 graphic drivers.

I'll add more as I remember how to skip levels, so stay tuned!
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Post by Jonas »

I take it you had the same anti-aliasing level on both examples?
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Post by Master_Kale »

Yeah, all video settings were the same for either renderer.
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Post by metche_steele »

Kale: thats the same conclusion I saw when Phas pointed it out to me ...I think peeps will see a greater difference no older and slower machines but on decent machines it looks like it gets rid of the jaggies.

Please keep those comparison pics coming along with benchmark details :D

Metche.
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Post by Master_Kale »

Some more comparison pics:

One of Tong's "henchmen"
Image

The Statue in Battery Park
Image

And the Versalife woman in the Wanchai Market District
Image

I've tried to imitate the same situations for each comparison pic, and the settings I use are the same for both Direct3D and OpenGL.

As I was telling Pedro during a chat, the OpenGL renderer gets rid of some minor graphical problems, but all these small "imperfections" add up quickly and make, to me, a HUGE difference in the gameplay.

Hope this helps, Metche!
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Resolution.

Post by Solid_Choke »

I'm not sure if this is the appropriate place to post this, but does anyone know if the maximum resolution of 1280x800 is an Unreal Engine based limitation or is it an artificial game specific limitation? I would sure love to play Dues Ex atleast in my native LCD resolution of 1280x1024 if not 1600x1200. Also the finer details of the high resolution textures would be much more apparent if we could break through the resolution limits of the stock install of Deus Ex. Does anyone know for sure?
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