HL2 on Directx 7

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BrownTown

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I know all of you prolly have bought your 1337 DX9 video cards, but I plan to be palying HL2 in DX7 with my 32meg card, so what i want to know is are there any screenshots of exactly what DX7 HL@ will look like with no shaders and bump mapping, and reflective water? Also, I could find benchmarks for different cards in DX8 and DX9 modes and the cards ran much faster in DX8, is it safe to assume that my card will run even faster (relative to its crappy performance of course :p) in DX7?. I ahve 32meg mobile ATI radeon 9000 with 128 meg AGP bus which defaults to DX7 in HL2 according to the article that also says GF4 FX cards default to DX8. It gets 4800 in 3DMark2001 at 1024x768x32 if that helps yall out as well.

Anyways thx for yout time, plz dont just post to make fun of my computer :frown: .
 
i think it supports 6.0, but it WOULD be like hl1.....but ya know w/e...it's still hl2, it'll still be great stuff, even if it looks bad
 
you could probably play HL1 with that piece :LOL:



It probably will run, but it will most likely look like crap and play like crap too
 
it will run and look like crap but it wont play like crap DOOM3 is dependent on graphics not HL2
 
I imagine that HL2 will look like all modern 3D games using the DX 7 codepath. Possibly slightly better since Valve has made a effort for low-end hardware performance.
 
That is correct, you will be able to run HL2, it will not have any eye candy... (I wonder what it will actually look like on dx7 settings, hmm...) but HL has never been about the graphics (wink) it is about the sotry/content, and that doesn't change.
 
You can see what DX7 looks like easily. In the console, type mat_dxlevel 70 and wait a couple of seconds. It really looks funny.
 
well i get (in the stess test)

dxt 7: 82 fps
dxt 8.1: 59 fps
dxt 9 : 33.5 fps

but it looks like crap and no shaders. but the water looks good for no shaders.

and BTW dxt 9 shows no water...

EDIT:

WTF i get 53.5 fps when i use dxt 6 but 82 with dxt 7??? thats weird...
 
Dx7 looks good... for a dx7 card, your do fine playing hl2 and imo it wont look too bad...
 
Hey Bigcheese, what's your comp specs? Cause I have the same water problem in DX9, and I have a NVidia FX 5900.
 
Bigcheese said:
EDIT:

WTF i get 53.5 fps when i use dxt 6 but 82 with dxt 7??? thats weird...
Click to expand...

Doesn't surprise me. DX 6 only has the graphics card doing texturing and the CPU does the rest. DX 7 enables the fixed function hardware transform and lighting capabilities of your card which off-loads additional stuff from the CPU onto the graphics card which explains the performance increase.
 
So could we get a screenshot from the stress test running at DX7 or something?
 
yer pictures all over the board would be good :)

shit we can't post them in here now can we? , maybe if some hosts them :B
 
lol i have an FX 5900 also...

i cant take screen shots.. it says in the console "command shot unknow" or somthing like that. but i have it set to a difernt key than normal...

also i want to know why i get such bad fps in this game... i can run unreal tornament 2004 at holy s**t settings with AA and AF maxed out at a constant 70 fps (my monitor refresh rate so its rilly higher) and it looks alot better than Counter stirke it just donst have the water effects which dont evan work in dxt 9 on my comp...

i am starting to think that Valve made Nvidia perform worse or just did not test it at all...

EDIT btw i am running
p4 2.0
768 of the most frigen exspenive memory :| ever. $350 dor 512 :eek:
and i did have my card over clocked but i started getting artifacts so i put it back to normal.
 
I think it may be a hardware fault with the FX series. Looks like if we want pretty water, we'll either have to upgrade, or play in 8.1.
Here is the water rendering in DirectX 8.1 and DirectX 9.0.
Ignore the image flaws, that's my upload's fault. I have no idea why it does that.

/me crosses fingers for a software problem, instead.
 
wow with dx7 the pictures of the stained glass stuff and everything doesnt even show.
 
On DX 6, it's not even a reflective surface. It's just pure white. :x
 
Darkknighttt said:
wow with dx7 the pictures of the stained glass stuff and everything doesnt even show.
Click to expand...

Thats because they are DX9 shaders, however its worth remembering those are merely examples not stuff used within maps.

From studying the preload files (only a little mind) there are alternate textures and models for the different dx code paths, im assuming it will be the same for maps, pehaps the DX7 maps have less water areas etc.
 
thanks for answering everyone, especially those who posted screens and FPS counts, all your posts have been really helfull. It's good to know that VALVE cares enough about those of us with low end hardware to still make their game work for us. Actually its really good business for them, im deffinitely gonna buy the game, nad im not gonna buy DOOM3 casue when i asked DOOM3 people this type of question they just laughed in my face :angry: . No matter what it looks like so long as i can get good framerates i will enjoy it, i loved HL1 at 640x480 on a celeron 600mhz with integrated gfx, and compared to that HL2s gonna look a whole lot better :) .
 
Bigcheese said:
well i get (in the stess test)

dxt 7: 82 fps
dxt 8.1: 59 fps
dxt 9 : 33.5 fps

but it looks like crap and no shaders. but the water looks good for no shaders.

and BTW dxt 9 shows no water...

EDIT:

WTF i get 53.5 fps when i use dxt 6 but 82 with dxt 7??? thats weird...
Click to expand...

It's not that wierd if you think about it, optimizations made for later versions of DirectX, they keep making it better.
 
I ran CS:Source on my GeForce4 before I got my x800 and I couldn't tell I was missing out on anything. The major things I noticed were the shadows under the player models... in dx7 it was just a round shadow, but in dx9 it outlines the player and their gun, etc.

Otherwise dx7 still looked good and gave me smooth frame rates on the gf4.
 
:naughty: Honestly, DX7 doesn't even look THAT bad like some of you said, of course it is missing some effects and whatnot, but still... it looks decent.
 
the majority of the time spent recently on HL2 was optimizations for the dx6/7 paths. the models are in such a way that the texture go right on top, so the dx path you've selected determines what textures skin the model.

This is part of the reason that HL2 is taking so long....it's like making 3 whole games....three sets of textures. Then Dx9.c comes out (and personally, i think that the release of HL2 has been partly affected by servicepack2 and DX9c rollouts, even tho Gabe used to work for microsoft, and had a major role in .NET design)...

Every single one of us, no matter what the hardware, is in for the most amazing gaming experience in a long time. Source integrates AI, physics, and multiple DX paths all in one neat bundle, perhaps changing gaming as we know it...and I really think that noone should worry about what's to come. Gabe said mid to late september, and judging by the preloads and such, he may have been right on in August(as he apparently posted on HLfallout, and was pretty much comfirmed by the "Fool's Gold" post that originated there), or he may have been off by a few weeks...either way who cares...


What happened to people's trust? The Binks go to show....the game is gonna be great. For everyone.
 
For those running CS:S or the Stress Test on a GF4: You can only play in DX7? What about DX8?
 
Lukes Wall said:
For those running CS:S or the Stress Test on a GF4: You can only play in DX7? What about DX8?
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure they play in DX8 not DX7. The GF4s were pretty good cards in their time.
 
Bandwidth exceeded. BTW, those FPS don't help him at all. You're card is way better than his, so of course running at a different version of DX is going to make yours perform better. Oh, and why are you people putting down Doom 3? It has some of the most amazing optimization I've seen to date for a PC game. I saw some people running it on a Voodoo 5! Sure, it looked horrible, but they were getting 30 FPS. In your eye...
 
Bigcheese said:
lol i have an FX 5900 also...

i cant take screen shots.. it says in the console "command shot unknow" or somthing like that. but i have it set to a difernt key than normal...

also i want to know why i get such bad fps in this game... i can run unreal tornament 2004 at holy s**t settings with AA and AF maxed out at a constant 70 fps (my monitor refresh rate so its rilly higher) and it looks alot better than Counter stirke it just donst have the water effects which dont evan work in dxt 9 on my comp...

i am starting to think that Valve made Nvidia perform worse or just did not test it at all...

EDIT btw i am running
p4 2.0
768 of the most frigen exspenive memory :| ever. $350 dor 512 :eek:
and i did have my card over clocked but i started getting artifacts so i put it back to normal.
Click to expand...

Hey Bigcheese...

Try updating your drivers to the latest beta or version...

My buddy was getting the same results as you, then he updated his drivers. He has a 5900 ultra aswell... I never forgave him for that one lol.

If thats not the case with you, my guess is that your processor isn't suffiecient enough to run your card... Which I know it isn't...

My buddy has a AMD 64 FX btw and he use to get around 35 fps but now gets around 50 to 70fps on the S-test if im not mistaken (he got a big performance boost is what im trying to say)...

so try the driver solution and if that doesn't work out then im suggesting that it's your processor.
 
i have non ultra and tell me where to get thees drivers. i updated to the newest ones using the nvida thing but are there better ones?

btw i am getting a 3.2ghz ang a gig of ram rilly soon :) (new mobo)
 
Envi_81 said:
Hey Bigcheese...

Try updating your drivers to the latest beta or version...

My buddy was getting the same results as you, then he updated his drivers. He has a 5900 ultra aswell... I never forgave him for that one lol.

If thats not the case with you, my guess is that your processor isn't suffiecient enough to run your card... Which I know it isn't...

My buddy has a AMD 64 FX btw and he use to get around 35 fps but now gets around 50 to 70fps on the S-test if im not mistaken (he got a big performance boost is what im trying to say)...

so try the driver solution and if that doesn't work out then im suggesting that it's your processor.
Click to expand...
That's all he gets? Are you sure? My specs are below, and I get 85 on the stress test...
 
Guys, considering what you're missing on the lesser dx levels, DX7 rendering looks really nice in hl2, the only think thats not *really* good, is the water, but thats because we're all used to far etc quality water.
DX7 is nice
DX8 is really nice, looks real pretty.
DX9 is OMGWOWCOOLTBHKTX
 
MaDMaXX said:
Guys, considering what you're missing on the lesser dx levels, DX7 rendering looks really nice in hl2, the only think thats not *really* good, is the water, but thats because we're all used to far etc quality water.
DX7 is nice
DX8 is really nice, looks real pretty.
DX9 is OMGWOWCOOLTBHKTX
Click to expand...

your right, everyone is too used to far cry quality graphics and thinks taht when HlL2 isn't in Dx9 mode then it'll look crap, infact it looks completley fine. I'll probably be in dx8 mode for multiplayer, just for the higher fps, the special effects aren't needed then.
 
oldagerocker said:
your right, everyone is too used to far cry quality graphics and thinks taht when HlL2 isn't in Dx9 mode then it'll look crap, infact it looks completley fine. I'll probably be in dx8 mode for multiplayer, just for the higher fps, the special effects aren't needed then.
Click to expand...

I only got a 10% increse in framrate in DX8, doesn't seem worthwhile to lose the visual quality.
 
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