Steam updates
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Re: Steam updates
Posted by Andrei on Sat Jan 20th at 3:54pm 2007


Can't. run. hammer.
Andrei MAAAAAD! <img src=" SRC="images/smiles/icon_evil.gif">




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Re: Steam updates
Posted by Orpheus on Thu Jan 25th at 12:42am 2007


I now have everything reinstalled in steam and it all looks AOK. I have noticed however that I cannot noclip in HL1 anymore, in spite of me having my loading properties with "-dev"

Anyone know how I clip again?

I also wanna know since I didn't previously have it installed, what exactly are the differences in HL1DM/S ?

Can we load our normal maps in it?





The best things in life, aren't things.



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Re: Steam updates
Posted by Rumple on Thu Jan 25th at 2:10am 2007


might need to put "developer 1" or "developer 2" (sans quotes) in the console, I think you need "sv_cheats 1" on as well.


<A HREF="http://rumple.biz" TARGET="_blank">SourDough2.0</A> - With Strawberry Jam



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Re: Steam updates
Posted by fishy on Thu Jan 25th at 2:38am 2007


-dev in the command line is normally enough, afaik. that's all i've added to the target field in a desktop shortcut, and it's always worked fine.

i don't think sv_cheats prints console messages/warnings to the screen the same as -dev does, so -dev is probably better for maptesting.




i eat paint



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Re: Steam updates
Posted by Orpheus on Thu Jan 25th at 3:11pm 2007


I dunno if this is bragging rights or not, but I would be curious to know how our machines stand up to one another using the HL2 video stress tester.

If you're wondering where its at, its under "Tools" then "Source SDK Base"

Anywho, here are my results, as paltry as they are:

thumbnail





The best things in life, aren't things.



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Re: Steam updates
Posted by BlisTer on Thu Jan 25th at 3:54pm 2007


if i remember correctly i think i had about 30 fps average




These words are my diaries screaming out loud



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Re: Steam updates
Posted by Orpheus on Thu Jan 25th at 4:04pm 2007


I was wondering about mine, it seems awfully low. *shrugs*

I wonder if it pre-sets everyone to the exact same settings?

I gots a really big card, 15fps seems a tad off.





The best things in life, aren't things.



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Re: Steam updates
Posted by reaper47 on Thu Jan 25th at 6:58pm 2007


Hmm... I had something around 40. That was with a Radeon 9800 pro (128MB), 1200x960, HDR enabled and texture settings to high. And it felt much slower than the number.

What are your settings, Orpheus? This doesn't seem right indeed.






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Re: Steam updates
Posted by Orpheus on Thu Jan 25th at 7:05pm 2007


If you're asking about settings, then one assumes its not a one size fits all test?

That would seem to undermine the testing. Someone could set their machine at a very low threshold and get really high scores.

I dunno my settings. I just took the test without setting anything up in advance. :/

[EDIT] Perhaps you guys should retake the test. Perhaps it was advanced in a patch recently and is now harder. REmember, I just reinstalled everything. Mine is totally new.





The best things in life, aren't things.



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Re: Steam updates
Posted by Crono on Thu Jan 25th at 8:17pm 2007


No matter how many times I try the video stress test never activates HDR ... it works in all the other games, just not in the stress test.

All the settings were maxed out (My card doesn't support above 4x MSAA), I turned off vsync (I like it on, so that I don't get taring), my average, thought a little misleading, was 54.18 fps.

I'm going to try the CS one, I know HDR works there.

Yeah, okay, no HDR. The settings were the same and the result was 90.81 FPS.
I don't know why HDR isn't working in the stress tests ... especially because it works in all the games.



Blame it on Microsoft, God does.



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Re: Steam updates
Posted by Orpheus on Thu Jan 25th at 8:20pm 2007


Here is my settings: thumbnail

So why is my frames so low?





The best things in life, aren't things.



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Re: Steam updates
Posted by Crono on Thu Jan 25th at 8:22pm 2007


And your video card's specs are ... ?


Blame it on Microsoft, God does.



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Re: Steam updates
Posted by Orpheus on Thu Jan 25th at 8:24pm 2007


7800gs 256 and the newset drivers.



The best things in life, aren't things.



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Re: Steam updates
Posted by Crono on Thu Jan 25th at 8:36pm 2007


Alright, got it. Take a look at this list of chipsets.

You have a 7800 GS, I have a 7900GT. Two major differences: 1) My GPU clock is almost 2 times as fast and 2) I have almost 10 more pipelines for pixel shaders.

HL2 is a very post process heavy game. Things like HDR, AA, and AF all use shaders (as well as shader effects in the game, like water, heat, some other crap too).

Try turning HDR off, since HDR is pretty calculation intensive and see how your FPS fares. Having HDR and AA on at the same time bogs down most all computers because they're both per-pixel effects and they're not terribly efficient.

Just to note, however, I never experience bad drops or sluggish game play when playing with these things on in HL2, so I'm not sure why they'd be that low ... do you notice it when you're playing? If you don't, there's no reason to worry.



Blame it on Microsoft, God does.



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Re: Steam updates
Posted by Orpheus on Thu Jan 25th at 8:42pm 2007


So far I have not come across any map that bogs down. However, the test map in this case is the lost coast and it has an immense area to render.

I will retest with alternate settings as you suggested.

How does one alter the test to use another game besides lost coast?

So, given the higher settings I used, 15 fps might be just right for my card?





The best things in life, aren't things.



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Re: Steam updates
Posted by Crono on Thu Jan 25th at 8:50pm 2007


You can't it's lost coast or the original one with CS:S

One thing I forgot to mention, if you want those things on, try lowering your resolution. Jagged edges shouldn't be too bad, since you have AA on and that will make your video card do much less work on pixel to pixel effects.

For instance, I'm running at 1680 x 1050, so that means that to do a 8 instruction effect ... where you only access each pixel once, is 14,112,000 instruction executions, where as, if you were running at something like 1024 x 768 (to note, I have a 16:10 monitor, so there's no other resolution I can use) then the instruction count is far lower, something like 6,291,456, it's half as much work.

So just keep in mind that a lot of these effects are per-pixel, the higher the resolution the more the work (it actually grows quite large very quickly). If you can lower your resolution, try lowering it and see what you get then too.

I still can't get HDR to work in the tests ... that is so lame.



Blame it on Microsoft, God does.



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Re: Steam updates
Posted by reaper47 on Thu Jan 25th at 8:55pm 2007


I can't install LC because I have to save hard-disk space. Does that sound pathetic? I think any hardware upgrade to this PC is a waste of money. At least that says a thing or two about my comp. <img src=" SRC="images/smiles/icon_smile.gif">





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Re: Steam updates
Posted by Orpheus on Thu Jan 25th at 9:22pm 2007


My HDR is most definitely working. I can see a distinct difference when I hit apply, while turning it off and on.

also, here are my new stats, but just turning off HDR.

thumbnail





The best things in life, aren't things.




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