Longbow 2 - Display Modes ** Advantages and disadvantages of using each display mode. Also, differences you will notice when switching from Software to Hardware-accelerated modes (Direct3D + 3DFX). ** All tests were conducted and results found by myself and no one else. ** Results as found after being tested on my old PC. Specs were: AMD Duron 750MHz CPU, 128Mb PC133 SDRAM, 3dfx Voodoo3 16Mb AGP, MS Windows 98 SE. [Tower PC] To select the different display modes, first you must install the Longbow 2 Display Driver Update [download], then run the 'lb2cfg.exe' in your LB2 install folder. Next, select the display type and click OK. Run the game. Software The good: + 100% compatible with all video cards + Yaw works + Virtual Cockpit views are fully functional, although framerate is very low + no graphics 'faults' + no color distortion The bad: - shitty framerates - graphics options cannot be set to MAX - will lag game too much - no fancy hardware-accelerated effects (explosions, lighting, transparency, blending modes) Direct3D The good: + orange, textured bullet tracers for friendly and enemy units + debris and explosions for cannon, rocket impacts + fireball explosion upon destruction of buildings, vehicles, etc. + varied shade and transparency for damage smoke + colored lighting + full dynamic lighting in Virtual Cockpit views + missile flash + gorgeous smoke effects + photo-realistic external views + 8/16-bit textures + lovely lens flare + cloud and shadow edges are smoother and much less pixellated + TADS camera views (DVO, DTV, FLIR) and PNVS have a higher color spectrum and shading + FLIR color invert works correctly + you can see the MPSM rocket sub-munitions explode + the flares are visible, from the Black Hawk and Kiowa + blistering framerates and stunning graphics The overall quality of the graphics improves dramatically. The framerate improves and the whole game just looks amazing. The bad: - only about 75% compatible with all video cards, and may lack functionality - strange lines that come from smoke, mainly on the Hellfire - Virtual Cockpit view MFD's/Upfront Display on Apache do not update - sometimes flares on enemy choppers still have the color mask - Minigun sound on Black Hawk is distorted - some menu captions have distorted colors, are blurry - such as on 'exit mission' pop-up - screenshots are fucked up, you need a third-party program for D3D shots - the overall handling of the choppers seems to be harder - sometimes the yaw is useless The Virtual Cockpit view MFD's, etc. do function properly with DirectX 9. 3DFX Run the 'dgVoodooSetup.exe' in your LB2 install folder and setup like this: Tab#1 / Tab#2 The good: + about 90% compatible with all 3DFX video cards, and may lack functionality + all the advantages of D3D mode + smooth graphics + high framerates + all graphics options can be set to MAX + all effects and displays are correct - the MFD's, etc DO update! + lovely lighting effects, real-time lighting, lovely + high-res/high-detail object textures + AS IT WAS MEANT TO BE! The bad: - Yaw is still a problem (CPU really) - strange effect with smoke (only in some light conditions) - Black Hawk Minigun sound still stutters - 2D cockpit instrumentation/HUD components offset - misaligned textures at certain distances - some menu text blurred (mainly Exit prompt box) This is clearly the best mode. Longbow 2 still has the yaw problem in Glide, but this is clearly a CPU fault, due to too much processor power. The graphical bad points are just down to not 100% compatible driver versions for the graphics card - if you get the right one, these can all be cleared up. <><> ** Results as found after being tested on my new PC. Specs are: Intel Pentium 4 processor 2.80GHz, 512Mb DDR RAM, ATI Radeon IGP 345M 64Mb, MS Windows XP Home Edition [Laptop] 3DFX (with Glide Wrapper - dgVoodoo v1.50 Beta) Run the 'dgVoodooSetup.exe' in your LB2 install folder and setup like this: Tab#1 / Tab#2 The good: + 100% compatible with all video cards, with full functionality (to date) + EVERYTHING! The bad: - Yaw is still a problem (CPU speed) - Black Hawk Minigun sound still stutters ** Flyboy personally recommends the dgVoodoo v1.50 glide wrapper by DEGE for use with Longbow 2 in 3DFX mode ** Glide Wrappers Test I tested the following glide wrappers with LB2 on my latest spec (above), and here are the results: * Boost.Wrapper Build 166 - error occurs, can't even initialize. Shit. * dgVoodoo v1.40+ - PERFECT! * eVoodooXP 3.2 - all grey screen. Shit. * GL2Ideal v1.4 - crashes to desktop when you try to enter mission. Shit. * OpenGLide v0.05 - error occurs/crashes when you try to enter mission. Shit. * XGL200 0.04a - all black screen. Shit. * zeckensack's Glide wrapper 0.84c - everything works, but parts of the cockpit turn black. No good. I also tested, but to no positive outcome: Clide R2.4, GL2Ideal v1.6, GliD3D v0.24, MGlide 1.246H, XGL200 0.04a a.k.a. Scott's Glide Wrapper *** Want to see some results? Click here to go to the Longbow 2 Display Mode Comparison page ***