How do you play current games in older configurations?

[NoStateofMind]

I have seen some people mention that some DX9 games can be played in DX8 or DX7. How do you do that? Can you do the same for OpenGL games? Thanks!

 

[Matthias99]

If the game can do it (HL2, Doom3, and FarCry all can), it's usually an option in its video settings (sometimes it's explicit; in other games, it is tied to the overall 'detail' setting). Obviously, if you don't have a DX9 card, it will back off to the lower settings and not let you turn it up, but you can usually choose to use a lower DX level for higher performance even if your card supports it.

Can you do the same for OpenGL games?

Generally, OpenGL is more widely backwards compatible, since until recently (when OpenGL2.0 was finalized), *any* shaders were done through special extensions, and the game engine had to be able to query the hardware and see what it could support. Unless the game refuses to run without such support, almost any OpenGL game should be able to run on DX7 hardware.

 

[NoStateofMind]

Well about a yr ago ( I think) I tried to play Far Cry with my 9200. Needless to say, it was like watching someone paint. Actually I think watching someone paint would be faster. Anyways, There is an option to play it in DX8/7 or lower OpenGL?

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Originally posted by: PC Surgeon
Well about a yr ago ( I think) I tried to play Far Cry with my 9200. Needless to say, it was like watching someone paint. Actually I think watching someone paint would be faster. Anyways, There is an option to play it in DX8/7 or lower OpenGL?

What was wrong with it? I have a 9200 128MB as well and had no problems running Far Cry at thirty frames per second at medium/low settings and 1024x768.

 

[NoStateofMind]

Im not sure what happened, all I know is that it wouldnt play

EDIT: Maybe it's because I didn't adjust the settings?

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Originally posted by: PC Surgeon
Im not sure what happened, all I know is that it wouldnt play

EDIT: Maybe it's because I didn't adjust the settings?

Possibly. I figured that my card would only play Far Cry at lowest settings and lowest resolution. When I tried that, everything was tinted purple and green. Later I allowed the game to detect settings for me, and it selected medium/low settings and a higher resolution. For some reason that fixed it.

 

[NoStateofMind]

Well this was a Demo version, I don't remember it detecting settings for me. Guess I could always try again.

 

[NoStateofMind]

Well I just played F.E.A.R. Demo on my 9200, I let it configure for me the settings. It played flawlessly! I am VERY PLEASED to know that I don't have to upgrade my VC just to play current games! I guess this goes for ALL games? CoD2 as well? If so I'm gonna buy them NOW!

 

[NoStateofMind]

I guess a little effort goes a long way. Downloaded some demo's and tried them out. They all work perfectly. I think my aprehension came from my experience with Far Cry. But I can see now that it isn't a problem playing cool games like that. Makes me wonder if I will ever upgrade!!! Thanks guys for the help. Great day for me, I can game without spending a fortune!

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Originally posted by: PC Surgeon
Well this was a Demo version, I don't remember it detecting settings for me. Guess I could always try again.

The demo had it for me. In the video settings window there was simply a button to press that would automatically detect the settings best for your computer.

 

[NoStateofMind]

Yeah I know (now) For about a year I thought I couldn't play these games! What an idiot! Well atleast I'm a happy idiot

 

[Munky]

You must have some low standards, because I tried to play HL2 on my 9000p, and while it was playable at 800x600 medium settings, I felt like I was missing out on some good graphics, so I upgraded. And HL2 is not that demanding compared to some newer games - Im thinking FEAR would have to be run at 640x480 on that card to be playable, and I'm not even sure if modern games support that low reolution.