1995 Frame Rate Tests

[Bullethead]

For a variety of reasons, I haven't been able to do anything with AH2 since 1991.  I just got 1995 and EEK!!!  My framerate was MUCH, MUCH worse than 1991.  So I did all the old tests asked for back than and compared my results with what I got in 1991.  It's pretty ugly.....

System Info:  1.7 GHz P4, 512MB RAM, ATI Radeon 9600 Pro w/128MB, WinME, DX9.0

All this done in the tower at A1 in 1024x768x32, gamma = 1, Level of Detail <---, unlimited textures size and frame rate, horizon on, disable palettized textures off, and clipboard minimized.

Test 1
Bumps on, Transitions on, DOS <--
1991:  FR 34, VM 129.9, VMU 53.1
1995:  FR 10, VM 129.9, VMU 32.2

Test 2
Transitiosn on, no bumps, DOS <--
1991:  FR 32, VM 129.9, VMU 49.6
1995:  FR 10, VM 129.9, VMU 32.2

Test 3
No bumps, no transitions, DOS <--
1991:  FR 44, VM 129.9, VMU 46.5
1995:  FR 11, VM 129.9, VMU 32.2

Test 4
No bumps, no transitions, DOS -->
1991:  FR 73, VM 129.9, VMU 41.6
1995:  FR 28, VM 129.9, VMU 32.2

My GAWD, that's a huge change for the worse .  So I fiddled around with various settings until I got the highest FPS.  Here's what I had:

BH's Test
No bumps, no transitions, DOS -->, LOD -->
1995:  FR 50, VM 129.9, VMU 32.2

Well, that's at least a playable frame rate, even with tracers shooting, despite being significantly lower than what I could get in 1991 with LOD all the way up.    HOWEVER, it's not playable for other reasons.  Stuff on the ground is invisible except at VERY close range.  This includes town buildings, all ships in task groups, and the truck convoys.  None of these things are visible beyond about d2.5

OK, I've been gone a while and lots of things have happened.  Is there something I missed that will help this?  Or has everybody seen a similar drop in FPS over time?

[WhiteHawk]

what kind of ram u got?  I had a similar system with pc133 RAM.  That is a big NO GO!:(   My new system holds a fairly solid 70fps in AH2.   70 is my monitor refresh rate.

[Bullethead]

I'm pretty sure it's PC133 RAM....

This is all very discouraging.  In 1991, I actually got about 10 FPS better with 256MB RAM and a 64MB GeForce3 than I did when I switched to 512MB and a 128MB Radeon 9600 Pro.  And now in 1995 I've lost the majority of the FPS I had in 1991!!  Geez, I was expecting an improvement instead, due to optimization going on while I was gone.  

Looks to me that right now, the minimum system for AH2 is a 2.5+ GHz machine with a GeForce5.  OTOH, the CPU speed might be misleading if, as you say, the older type of RAM used by older P4s is the real problem.

Oh well.  I don't have a new system bugeted until about this time next year, so if AH2 comes out before then, you won't see me for a while.