Games that just look and/or play better on 3dfx hardware...

[Golgatha]

Ok, so several responses I've just made to threads this morning are the brain child that is this thread. Here's my list of games I've either played or still play that just look and run better on old, decrepit 3dfx hardware.

Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VIII
Counter Strike v1.6
Half Life
Quake 2 and subsequent games based on this engine (see Half Life above).
TA: Kingdoms and Expansion
Diablo 2
Need for Speed 2 and 3
Shogo MADD
Serious Sam

I'm sure I'm forgetting some, so help an older gamer out please AT!

 

[dakels]

I still have my old 3DFX cards. I can't imagine how my voodoo3/4 card runs better then my Radeon4850. Even if it is drastically inefficient, the raw processing power more then makes up for it no? Or does it have to do with GLIDE or something?

 

[Smilin]

Shogo ran better on the TNT2. That thing needs a sequel bad..it had some really intense multiplayer. The mechs had more of that light and mobile "Robotech" feel than the colossus heavy "Mechwarrior" feel.

 

[HannibalX]

Star Siege: Tribes looked great on the Glide API. You will want games that can use the 3dfx Glide API. Games that just use Open GL won't look any better or worse on 3dfx hardware.

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: dakels
I still have my old 3DFX cards. I can't imagine how my voodoo3/4 card runs better then my Radeon4850. Even if it is drastically inefficient, the raw processing power more then makes up for it no? Or does it have to do with GLIDE or something?

I suppose I should clarify that "better" means no difference in perceivable gameplay with better IQ/particle effects/etc.

e.g. IMO the AA of Half Life and its mods looks way better on Voodoo 4/5 class hardware than on any other type of hardware I've tried to run it on.

Another e.g. Final Fantasy VII only supports hardware with 8bit pallettized texture support, so 3D acceleration is only possible on 3dfx hardware.

 

[Schadenfroh]

UT and Deus Ex was nice on my Voodoo5 5500.

 

[nismotigerwvu]

I think we should mention that halflife was based more on highly modified quake I code with some elements of quake II sprinkled in but emphasis on the highly modified. +1 for Diablo II

 

[CP5670]

Nuclear Strike (Glide only)
Freespace 1 and 2 (the glowmap effect was only present on Glide mode back then)
Motorhead (didn't necessarily look better, but there was one wireframe mode cheat that only worked on Glide)

UT and Deus Ex was nice on my Voodoo5 5500.

These games definitely used to run better on Glide back then, but there are enhanced D3D and OGL renderers available for them now that work better.

Descent 3 is another example of a game that had better performance (although not better IQ) on Glide at its time, but modern cards can easily handle the D3D mode.

 

[ivan2]

add Star Siege (non Tribes) to the list.

Also that N64 emulator.

 

[Modelworks]

Tomb Raider - the game that shipped first with the cards.

 

[jcwagers]

The original Unreal.

 

[imported_Uwe]

Red Baron 3D. Still has an somewhat active online community...full of cranky old men. The mods to this game have allowed it to stand the test of time.

http://www.wings-of-valor.net/
rb3d.net

 

[MrWizzard]

I used to have 2-5 I sold them all and made some nice money. Especially my 5s the SLI ones. $200+ for each of those. I just learned how to use glide wrappers and don't need the voodoo cards anymore.

My vote BattleZone with the ?large assets? mod.

 

[dakels]

I think I had a game back that ran GLIDE called Oni or something. I never got into it but I remember how incredible it looked.

 

[CP5670]

My vote BattleZone with the ?large assets? mod.

Those did look nice, but they worked fine on D3D mode too.