How to get Deus Ex 2 (demo or full) working smoothly.

[BoomAM]

Hi.
I know that alot of people have been having performance problems in Deus Ex 2. After alot of different tweak trying and several DX2 installs, ive managed to find a way to make it playable.
This is from an ATI user perspective. So nVidia users having problems will have to find another way to speed it up.
Its very simple really. And quite unbeliveable as well.
Its called DNA drivers. Its a 3rd party driver set for ATI cards, and they have some sort of tweak/s in them to boost performance alot, with no image quality loss.

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DNA Drivers Official Website
Link to the latest (as of now) DNA drivers.

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First you have to install the 3.9s. The uninstall, just the control panel for them, then install the DNA drivers, and reboot. And thats all there is to it.
I can`t actually get fraps to display in DX2 Full, so i used an alterative method of measuring the difference. In the first room that you start in, theres a fan above you. With Cat 3.9, it stuttered everynow and then. With DNA, it was perfectly smooth, as was combat in the first area/s. Not a tried and aproved method of benching, but it works!. lol.

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Any idea on how to get the console working in DX2?
Because if i remember correctly, then all Unreal baced games can call the fps, by the command; "Stat fps".

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As for *.ini tweaking.
Goto .....\Deus Ex - Invisable War\System.
Make "Default.ini" non read-only.
There are a few settings there that you can edit.
In particular.
Find "fov__d", and change the value to 68 to move the HUD to the edges of the screen.
Find "cachemegs" under [Engine], and change it to something like 32 or 64. I find it helps stability a bit (i have it set to 64).
Also change a setting called "mouselaginterval" from 75, to 0, to get rid of that awful mouse lag effect in game.

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Hope all this helps you enjoy the game a bit more.
Lets also hope that a patch for the game comes out to fix some of the problems, and that the fixes in the DNA drivers make it into Official Catalyst 3.10 drivers.

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##EDIT 1##
In the "default.ini" file, there are four settings under Direct3D render;
"DetailTextures",
"VolumeticLighting",
"UseTrilinear" and
"Use32bitTextures".
After a few tests, they don`t appear to alter anything.
I have a couple of screenshots that i`ll upload sometime tomorrow showing the same scene with all of those switched off (which is the default), and on.
I suspect that they are just remenants of the old Unreal Render that have yet to be removed, as IonStorm have re-written the rendering engine for Deus Ex 2.

##EDIT 2##
Here are the comparison shots i promised. I decided to upload them tonight, so theres less for me to do tomorrow!.
The shots are really early in the game, so there is next to no spoiler/s.
Deus Ex 2, with "Unreal GFX Options" On.
Deus Ex 2, with "Unreal GFX Options" Off.
As you can no doubt see, there is next to no difference whatsoever. The only noticeable differences are the hud position/size and the keypad. The HUD position/size difference is probably a scaling problem when converting to jpg from bmp, and the keypad glow seems to be the only difference that there is.
The detail textures can sometimes affect the weapon marks on the walls (i think, i may be getting confused with something else), in both of the above settings, i fired at the walls, and no mark was left.

 

[TheVrolok]

Originally posted by: BoomAM
Hi.
I know that alot of people have been having performance problems in Deus Ex 2. After alot of different tweak trying and several DX2 installs, ive managed to find a way to make it playable.
This is from an ATI user perspective. So nVidia users having problems will have to find another way to speed it up.
Its very simple really. And quite unbeliveable as well.
Its called DNA drivers. Its a 3rd party driver set for ATI cards, and they have some sort of tweak/s in them to boost performance alot, with no image quality loss.

-----------------------------------------

DNA Drivers Official Website
Link to the latest (as of now) DNA drivers.

-----------------------------------------

First you have to install the 3.9s. The uninstall, just the control panel for them, then install the DNA drivers, and reboot. And thats all there is to it.
I can`t actually get fraps to display in DX2 Full, so i used an alterative method of measuring the difference. In the first room that you start in, theres a fan above you. With Cat 3.9, it stuttered everynow and then. With DNA, it was perfectly smooth, as was combat in the first area/s. Not a tried and aproved method of benching, but it works!. lol.

-----------------------------------------

Any idea on how to get the console working in DX2?
Because if i remember correctly, then all Unreal baced games can call the fps, by the command; "Stat fps".

-----------------------------------------

As for *.ini tweaking.
Goto .....\Deus Ex - Invisable War\System.
Make "Default.ini" non read-only.
There are a few settings there that you can edit.
In particular.
Find "fov__d", and change the value to 68 to move the HUD to the edges of the screen.
Find "cachemegs" under [Engine], and change it to something like 32 or 64. I find it helps stability a bit (i have it set to 64).
Also change a setting called "mouselaginterval" from 75, to 0, to get rid of that awful mouse lag effect in game.

-----------------------------------------

Hope all this helps you enjoy the game a bit more.
Lets also hope that a patch for the game comes out to fix some of the problems, and that the fixes in the DNA drivers make it into Official Catalyst 3.10 drivers.

Good post. Ion Storm also has an "Official Tweak Guide" on their forums located here. That may work for some of you.

With a bit of tweaking I've got it playable at the expense of anything considered decent graphics, so I think I'm going to wait till I upgrade my vid card and the patch comes out before I get too into it.

 

[BoomAM]

Good to hear that another person`s got it running well(ish).
The way i did it, i did`nt have to sacrefice anything.
Running at 1280x1024@Max Everything. Bloom On. V-Sync on. No AA or AF.
The *.ini file has also been set to use 3D sound hardware.
Unfortunatelly, i wont get to have a decent crack at DX2 till wednesday. As i spent most of today tweaking my system, and i have a 14hour day tomorrow (10hour college, 2 hour footy training, 2 hours worth of bus rides!)

To anyone that reads this post, and wether they find it helpful or not, reply back, and we`ll see what we can do to get it working fully on your systems.

 

[snidy1]

Mine runs fine except for choppy graphics on the faces of correctors some times, is there a quick fix I can do for this?

 

[Gibson12345]

I only had to modify one setting to get it running well on my system.

Set MouseLagThreshold=0 in the default.ini.

Literally, the difference was night and day. Completely unplayable to smooth with one tweak.

For reference, my PC:
P4 2.26ghz > 2.55ghz
512mb RAM
GeForce4 4200

 

[bootoo]

How is the gameplay compared to the original?

I've played a lot of games through and it's the only game I still dream of. Including hl (oh yeah, I have nightmares of the evil monkeys in sshock2 once in awhile, so glad I sold it)

 

[Gibson12345]

I'm a little disappointed with the gameplay, not because it's bad, but because the original was so damn incredible that I was expecting my mind to be blown. Instead, it's just "very good."

The game overall feels a little dumbed-down: there is no skill system (but biomods are much cooler), and the inventory is very small, with each item taking up an equal amount of space. No more stocking your character with grenades because you made the concious choice NOT to carry that GEP gun.

 

[BoomAM]

Even with my tweaks, in the seattle areas, it still gets a little jerky. Not that much though.
If a patch and/or system upgrade would allow 40+fps constant, then i would enjoy it alot.

 

[0roo0roo]

i wonder what mouselagthreshhold really does...

 

[0roo0roo]

also wonder why theres no in game way to set direct 3d sound to on hmmm

To get a major preformance boost, try this. While in the game, Alt-Tab out. Then use task manager to close Ion Launcher. Alt-Tab back into the game and play away. The down side is this has to be done after every load.

You're welcome.


Update: There's a better way to do this. Leave the cd out when you start the game and insert it when it ask for it. This way Ion Launcher doesn't even load. Just remember to remove the cd before loading the next level, or save, ect.

this from the link in this thread was also odd

 

[BoomAM]

I think that, that only happens (the ion storm launcher), when its played from the CD thing that pops up. From a desktop shortcut, it doesnt happen.
Ive also heard that changing resultions, then changing it back to the one you want can boost performance, but it doesnt seem to work on my system.

I managed to take some fps reading in my tweaked DX2 install.
At 1280x1024@max w/ bloom & v-sync. No AA/AF.
I get about 27-30fps in most areas, and in big complex areas and/or in battles, it drops to about 23-25fps.
Not ideal, but still playable.
Roll on Cat 3.10 & DX2 Patch........

 

[0roo0roo]

running newest ati drivers, on a lowly 9000 pro, 640x480 with low shadows.. w00t..

must upgrade...sooon!

 

[elanarchist]

Try setting Deus Ex 2 to Windows 2000 comptibility mode. Fixed literally 80% of the performance problems I had been having and a really simple fix too.

 

[Doh!]

Originally posted by: BoomAM
I think that, that only happens (the ion storm launcher), when its played from the CD thing that pops up. From a desktop shortcut, it doesnt happen.
Ive also heard that changing resultions, then changing it back to the one you want can boost performance, but it doesnt seem to work on my system.

I managed to take some fps reading in my tweaked DX2 install.
At 1280x1024@max w/ bloom & v-sync. No AA/AF.
I get about 27-30fps in most areas, and in big complex areas and/or in battles, it drops to about 23-25fps.
Not ideal, but still playable.
Roll on Cat 3.10 & DX2 Patch........

That's w/ a Radeon 9700 Pro, right? If so, the tweaks won't do crap for my 9000 Pro (sold my 9700 Pro).

 

[BoomAM]

With 9700pro.
The tweaks arnt exclusive to the 9700 and above. They will also work on any ATI cards that the Catalysts will run on.

 

[Doh!]

I was referring to the fps's. Even w/ the tweaks, my card will be a slideshow if 9700 Pro averages 27~30 in most areas.

 

[AnyMal]

Am I the only one here who thinks it's just plain ridiculous and wrong to pay $50.00 for a game that does not work out the box even with the latest hardware?

 

[BoomAM]

Originally posted by: AnyMal
Am I the only one here who thinks it's just plain ridiculous and wrong to pay $50.00 for a game that does not work out the box even with the latest hardware?

It works. Just not as it should!. lol.
But when a games as good as DX2, it doesnt bother me that much.

 

[BoomAM]

Patch Out.
Direct DL Link (About 2.5mb in size)
Changes contained within the v1.1 patch

- Defaulted Bloom to off when starting a new game.
- Adjusted mouse movement to eliminate feeling of "lagginess".
- Adjusted the HUD so that it is pushed toward the edges of the screen.
- Added option for turning all shadows off. This can massively improve performance, especially at higher resolutions.
- Shrunk all text sizes.
- Reworked mouse-based UI control within the inventory and biomod screens:
. Right-clicking will now swap items in the inventory and toolbelt screen.
. Added buttons for installing weapon mods and biomods.
. The biomod/inventory/datavault hotkeys are now toggles (the same buttons will now both open and close these subscreens).
- Added quicksave/quickload keys. (F10/F12)
- Non-hostile AI's will now go hostile much sooner if shot.
- Eliminated monitor resyncing during level transition and savegame loads.
- Increased the headshot damage multiplier for the pistol.
- Increased the damage of the stun prod.