Will warcraft 3 *need* a hardware T&L capable card?

[Noriaki]

Will warcraft 3 *need* a hardware T&L capable card?

I know the egine is capable of using hardware T&L...but how complex will it be? With a Duron @ 1000Mhz (266Mhz FSB) can I do it with a non-T&L card?

 

[QuestionsandAnsweres]

since its not OUT and i cant play it my self. u should be able to play it wihtout T&L card. but what video card do u have?

 

[Noriaki]

lol yeah I know it's not out.

I should rephrase the question.

I'm wondering if anyone has heard if War3 will have a pure software mode or if you have to play it with hardware T&L.

I have a TNT2m64. Piss poor card but for Warcraf2, Starcraft, Baldur's gate, etc it's fine. I really only play 2D games.

And Final Fantasy anything on my playstation

 

[aznmist]

Yes Warcrat 3 will need a T&L Engine...If you catch up with the game, it was metioned that it has realtiem lighting. Day becomes night and etc... need meaning that if would help with performace...

it's time to get a geforme mx

 

[TunaBoo]

Whens the release date/ Blizzard never pushes the hardware envelope, they aim for the masses. I am pretty sure my kyro2 and 1.4GHz w/ 512 DDR will be plenty of power for the game.

 

[Noriaki]

Well I have a GeForce 256 SDR available for $50.

I'm just wondering if I should buy it....I really don't play any 3D games....

Tunaboo: I think the release date is around Xmas of this year.

 

[Helznichtzwei]

I would go for a GF2 MX card.

My suggestion would be a MX400 w/32 meg for around $70, much better performance. $50 for the GF256 sdr is a rip off, I paid ~$75 for mine over a year ago.

The GF256 T&L is not that good (compared to the GF2 line).

 

[Jittos]

Chisrtmas is a long time from now, you can think about buying a new Vvideo card when it's really close to release date. Also, by that time, price of today video card would have droped alot too.

 

[MrBond]

Yes, I'd advise waiting. Prices will only come down, and by then, if there's a Geforce3 Mega or whatever they're calling the next GF3 version, you may be able to pick up a GF2 Ultra for a reasonable price.

 

[Noriaki]

lol yeah, I just thought about it because of the cheap GF now.
by the by, that was $50 canadian (= ~$33 US), not $50US

I think I'll just carry on as is.

 

[johneetrash]

supposed to come out this christmas? that means its really gonna be out next year summer

 

[LuNoTiCK]

LoL the original release date was december 2000. I remember that. Than it got pushed back to march 2001. Than to july 2001. Than to december 2001. It just keeps getting pushed back. It's going to be like 2005 before it comes out and it's really pissing me off.

 

[TunaBoo]

<< LoL the original release date was december 2000. I remember that. Than it got pushed back to march 2001. Than to july 2001. Than to december 2001. It just keeps getting pushed back. It's going to be like 2005 before it comes out and it's really pissing me off. >>



Starcraft was pushed back what, 2 years?

Blizzard does not release a game till it is ready, and that is FINE. I'd rather a game is DONE before being released, as many are. Its part of what sets Blizzard apart from the rest.

 

[Adul]

blizzard preferes having a quality game instead of releasing crap. I say take has long has you need. Just make sure its good. I can't wait for WC3.

 

[boran]

about the T&amp;l issue (the question of this topic)
I think it will be a long while before we'll see games that really REQUIRE a T&amp;L 3D chip .. notr a single game manufacturer would make a game like this now because the target market wouls be soo small (on this forum I think that about 60 % have a T&amp;L capable card (maybe even more) but in real life (the whole pc world thus) i think the T&amp;L part is merely 20 % (this is a VERY optimistical estimate) so selling a game that can only be run by 20 % of the consumers and not all that 20% willl like the game ... so it would be a very small target market ... a manufacturer always want a product that sells or is salable to as many customers as possible (that's the reason why sometims ridiculously low minimum requirements are stated upon packagings
(hell I coulnt even run Midtown maddnes with this comp while having 2x the reccomended amount of ram and 100mhz more processor power...)

 

[MGMorden]

<< LoL the original release date was december 2000. I remember that. Than it got pushed back to march 2001. Than to july 2001. Than to december 2001. It just keeps getting pushed back. It's going to be like 2005 before it comes out and it's really pissing me off. >>



Umm, no. The projected date was around now (July 2001). Then it got &quot;pushed back&quot; until christmas (can't really say pushed back for real b/c the only thing straight from blizzard I've ever heard is &quot;this winter&quot; in their latest trailer). It was never scheduled for X-Mas 2000 though.

And as far as the card goes, don't worry about it. If it absoulutely needs the T&amp;L then pick up a $50 (US ) GF2MX to go with the game (which will probably $50 itself anyways).

 

[damocles]

I believe you will be able to play it without *hardware T&amp;L

 

[nortexoid]

i don't think any game in the near future will ever require hardware T&amp;L...
it'll support it....

 

[wake]

No, development for this game has been going on for a long time, and is designed to work on Pentium 200's (serously).
When development for this game started, T&amp;L was completely unheard of. You can't just add T&amp;L on as an afterthought, it needs to be implemented into the game from the ground up.

 

[zephyrprime]

I'd think the warcraft 3 would use Hardware TL through DirectX. If so, won't directx's software TL kick in if your hardware doesn't support TL? Or am I totally wrong on this?

 

[MGMorden]

<< No, development for this game has been going on for a long time, and is designed to work on Pentium 200's (serously).
When development for this game started, T&amp;L was completely unheard of. You can't just add T&amp;L on as an afterthought, it needs to be implemented into the game from the ground up. >>



I seriously doubt it'll work on a P200. And it's already been established that Warcraft 3 WILL use a hardware T&amp;L unit, it's just a matter of requiring it. Understand that a game doesn't come out reflecting the technology that was available when it was started. It comes out reflecting the tech when it was completed. They can always tweak things, make something more detailed and generally just adapt things to what the consumer market can accept (that's the whole point of modular coding).