New UT OpenGL Renederer and Guide to set up UT for high res S3TC OpenGL graphics

[oldfart]

BenSkywalker told me about this awhile ago, and I thought it would be a good idea to post for people who have never heard of it . This is THE way to play UT! The graphics are substantially better looking using OpenGL/high res S3TC graphics.

UT came with an extra CD that was meant for use with S3 graphic cards running MeTal. This CD contains high res S3TC textures that make the game look much better than the standard res graphics. There have been several OpenGL renderers that can be used to take advantage of the increased graphics quality on non S3 cards. I've used it with nVidia and ATi cards with very good success.

Download the file here here Chris Dohnal has been working on the renderer to make it even better than it was. Things like SSE support, and a fix for nVidia cards are new among other things.

I also posted this info on the Bleedin Edge Forums with a few screenshots. Take a look if you want to see the difference this mod can make.

To set it up, follow the steps below.

1) Be sure your UT install is patched to version 436
2) Install the high res textures off UT CD #2. If you dont have it, there is no point going any further
3) Unzip and install the OpenGLDrv.dll file in the \UnrealTournament\System directory (rename old one)
4) Modify your UnrealTournament.ini file to look like this: These are my tweaked settings, they may not be optimal for your setup.

[Engine.Engine]
GameRenderDevice=OpenGLDrv.OpenGLRenderDevice
----------Dont change anything else in the section--------


[WinDrv.WindowsClient]
WindowedViewportX=640
WindowedViewportY=480
WindowedColorBits=32
FullscreenViewportX=1280 <-------- set to the res you prefer
FullscreenViewportY=1024 <-------
FullscreenColorBits=32
Brightness=0.700000
MipFactor=1.000000
UseDirectDraw=True
UseJoystick=False
CaptureMouse=True
StartupFullscreen=True
CurvedSurfaces=False
LowDetailTextures=False
ScreenFlashes=True
NoLighting=False
SlowVideoBuffering=True
DeadZoneXYZ=True
DeadZoneRUV=False
InvertVertical=False
ScaleXYZ=1000.000000
ScaleRUV=2000.000000
MinDesiredFrameRate=28.000000
Decals=True
NoDynamicLights=False
UseDirectInput=True
ParticleDensity=0
NoFractalAnim=False
SkinDetail=High
TextureDetail=High


[OpenGLDrv.OpenGLRenderDevice]
RefreshRate=0
VolumetricLighting=False
UseVertexSpecular=False
DisableSpecialDT=False
SupportsLazyTextures=0
Use4444Textures=False
HighDetailActors=True
GammaOffset=0.000000
UseMultiTexture=True
UseAlphaPalette=True
MaxLogTextureSize=0
MinLogTextureSize=0
DetailTextures=True
ShinySurfaces=True
UseFilterSGIS=True
AlwaysMipmap=True
UseTrilinear=True
UsePrecache=True
LODBias=0.000000
ShareLists=False
MaxAnisotropy=0
UsePalette=True
Translucency=True
MaxLogVOverU=0
MaxLogUOverV=0
Coronas=True
UseS3TC=True
UseTNT=False
MaxTMUnits=0
Description=
DescFlags=0
NoFiltering=False
TruFormMinVertices=0
TruFormTessellation=3
UseTruForm=False
NumAASamples=0
UseAA=False
RequestHighResolutionZ=True
MaskedTextureHack=False
SwapInterval=-1
UseVertexProgram=False
UseCVA=False
UseMultiDrawArrays=False
AAFilterHint=0
TexDXT1ToDXT3=False <-------***See nVidia note:***
DynamicTexIdRecycleLevel=100
UseTexPool=True
UseTexIdPool=True
UseSSE=2 <-------------0 = off; 1 = on; 2 = auto detect support
BufferClippedActorTris=False
SinglePassDetail=False
ColorizeDetailTextures=False
DetailClipping=False
UseDetailAlpha=True
AutoGenerateMipmaps=False
UseBGRATextures=True
UseZTrick=False
OneXBlending=False
GammaCorrectScreenshots=True

***For nVidia cards:***
TexDXT1ToDXT3=1
Use this if you have an nVidia GForce/2/3/4 card. This forces DXTC1 calls to DXTC3. nVidia had a bad DXTC1 implementation that made certain texturs look ugly. This is the same as the "Ugly Quake3 sky" issue if you are familiar with it.

 

[oldfart]

Bump for 2nd shift

 

[AmdInside]

Thanks for the info. Maybe I'll fire up UT this weekend to try.

 

[ethebubbeth]

any way to use those textures in d3d? I have windows xp so i'm stuck with a 60hz refresh in opengl games

 

[oldfart]

No, they are for OpenGL and S3 Metal APIs only. You can easily fix the 60 Hz OpenGL thing. There are tools that can override the default refresh rate available for both nVidia and ATi cards. Post a question about the 60Hz problem including the kind of card you have and someone will help you out.

 

[ethebubbeth]

well i'd assume i'd just have "REPOST!!!!!!!!" thrown at me... would reforce work? Nvidia has a little utility built into their drivers but it's only for d3d

 

[oldfart]

Reforce would work. I use nVmax. There are also others. Since you have an nVidia card, use the TexDXT1ToDXT3=True option.

I added UTBench benchmarks.

1280 x 1024 | 4X AA, 16X AF | OpenGL as above, D3D max detail configuration, sound on

D3D:
Min 41.18; max 105.25; ave 76.56

OpenGL:
Min: 51.38; max 116.86; ave 84.02

Not only do you get better graphic detail, but faster performance as well. That is a rare combo!

 

[Excelsior]

I can attest to the increase in quality. These S3TC textures are the sh!t. The only downside. The last time I ran it, it didn't work well with my Radeon. seems to work great with Geforce card but not Radeons.

 

[oldfart]

Im running a 9700 Pro. I can assure you, it works VERY well. Try the latest OpenGL renderer I linked to.

 

[Vrangel]

Talking about Benskywalker, is he gonna reopen gamebasement.com at all ?
His radio game music was awesome.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

^

 

[Excelsior]

Originally posted by: oldfart
Im running a 9700 Pro. I can assure you, it works VERY well. Try the latest OpenGL renderer I linked to.

Oh ok, mustve been since I tried it a few months ago.

 

[Matt84]

texture detail is lightyears ahead of the standard UT graphics. Will have to play around with the gamma though because some areas are way to bright and some are way to dark.

 

[BFG10K]

TexDXT1ToDXT3=False

I'm a bit skeptical about this bit working as the textures are encoded in DXT1 format which means they require DXT1 calls to decompress them. As such the DXT1 decompressor of nVidia's needs to be changed before the 16 bit issue is gone. If it was a simple case of just using DXT3 calls instead then nVidia's own driver switch would've fixed the issue years ago.

Non-GF4/FX owners, I'm curious to see what your results are by toggling this switch.

 

[Regs]

Is UnrealTournament.ini in the systems file? I can't find it any where... :/

 

[Vrangel]

Non-GF4/FX owners, I'm curious to see what your results are by toggling this switch.

DXT bug is still there using GF3 with latest drivers. I dont have UT installed anymore
but in Q3A its there as always.

 

[Excelsior]

Originally posted by: BFG10K

TexDXT1ToDXT3=False

I'm a bit skeptical about this bit working as the textures are encoded in DXT1 format which means they require DXT1 calls to decompress them. As such the DXT1 decompressor of nVidia's needs to be changed before the 16 bit issue is gone. If it was a simple case of just using DXT3 calls instead then nVidia's own driver switch would've fixed the issue years ago.

Non-GF4/FX owners, I'm curious to see what your results are by toggling this switch.

Well from the POV of a Geforce2 GTS owner it worked very well. I used to do this switch and the quality difference was amazing. The detail..wonderful.

 

[MDE]

I'm going to have to try this out on my GF4 Ti4600. Looks like this is better than increasing resolution for better detail.

 

[MDE]

How do I put this in? Do I replace the sections there or do I just paste in your settings at the top of the file? I keep getting errors no matter what I change.

EDIT: do you mean the UT2003.ini file or create a file called UnrealTournament.ini?

 

[BFG10K]

DXT bug is still there using GF3 with latest drivers. I dont have UT installed anymore

Well from the POV of a Geforce2 GTS owner it worked very well. I used to do this switch and the quality difference was amazing. The detail..wonderful.

I know the bug is there and I also know that the textures work on GeForce cards, but that's not what I'm asking.

I'm asking whether the TexDXT1ToDXT3 switch in this renderer cures the banding problems from S3TC in places such as the coronas.

EDIT: do you mean the UT2003.ini file or create a file called UnrealTournament.ini?

This renderer is for the original Unreal Tournament, not UT2003.

 

[MDE]

No wonder why it wouldn't work. Don't I feel like a moron...

 

[Auric]

ATI's drivers have a refresh rate override option for OpenGL, in addition to the MS one for DX.

I fondly remember enjoying UT hi-res textures mit mein Savage4. MeTaL was the last and the best of the independent renderers and was simply the fastest and purtiest to use. Meanwhile, the swinish masses were too busy arguing about whether Voodoo (with its crappy Glide renderer) or TNT pwned the other to realize what they were missing out on, nevermind the ignorance of just what that second disc was for! Perhaps it was denial. I had long since retired UT before the OpenGL S3TC hack originally came out. It would be interesting to see how a modern card could make it even purtier at high resolutions with AA and AF and whatnot but I can't be arsed since space fantasy shoot-em ups are not my cuppa.

 

[Brian48]

Has anyone noticed any texture problems with the weapons models and such? I've noticed that this OpenGL driver is much faster than the previous one I downloaded from Epic's site, but the image quality with the hi-res textures seem degraded. I've tried various settings to see if it corrects the problem, but so far no dice. I've even tried it with FSAA+Aniso enabled/disabled.

Here's a pic of what I'm talking about. Notice the blocky "lines" on the rifle?

FYI: I'm using Cat 3.6 with both my 9700 Pro and 9700np.

 

[BenSkywalker]

The S3TC3 fix for nVidia cards does not work(shouldn't surprise anyone as the textures are precompressed in S3TC1).

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Is there any way to play this on the demo version?