Hi all,

I used to play games like Red Baron and F1 Grand Prix back in the last century. But then I got a Mac laptop. More recently due to health problems I have decided to return to some of my previous interests.

At first I thought I would find a s/h graphics card, preferably the 3DFX Voodoo5 5500  and build a modern system around it, but as I learnt more about PCs I have found the problems becoming more and more obvious. eg there are no new motherboards with AGP 3.3v. It is apparently possible to use a Glide Wrapper with eg a Geforce FX5900 which will emulate quite well when running RB3D and is at least AGP v3 compatible - but it is all starting to get a bit silly (and neadlessly expensive) trying to find lots of discontinued kit to string together, especially with using s/h components which may be missing the original manuals. I can't spend all day walking around computer fairs and s/h shops any longer.

So I am now determined to build a properly new 3ghz twin core machine with a PCI Express 16x graphics card. It will be running WinXP and have 2GB ram.

Can you tell me how that will affect my experience with RB3D? Will I be able to use eg Glidos to improve the experience? Are all the calls utilised in the software by 3DFX now forgotten, or will a new card support any of it - and will it matter???

Can you recommend any specific graphics cards (modern ones), I am not looking for enormous size (price!), I have no interest in modern first person blood and entrails shoot 'em ups. I'd like to spend no more that £100 and preferrably less than £50...

Will I be able to use a new flat screen monitor (typically DVI and 1440 x 900) when the best RB3D can output is 1024 x 768, or should I stick with an old 'bottle' monitor?

Thanks,

P.

How about adding a V3 or V5 PCI as a second monitor device? Most good LCD's have VGA and DVI inputs, you could run the 3dfx board to the second input and enjoy.

The wrapper is nice but some games don't play well nor does it look the same as running actual voodoo hardware IMHO.

Quote:

The wrapper is nice but some games don't play well nor does it look the same as running actual voodoo hardware IMHO.

Too true!

Also the "wrapper" you are talking about is GLiDOS.

This is GREAT - WHEN it works!
(and your luck may vary a LOT!)

Better sticking with a PCI V3 or V5500 as a secondary.

Then just add a monitor switch and voila!

There are a number of Red Baron sites with information that might be of interest:

http://www.wings-of-valor.net/files/documents/xpworkarounds.pdf
http://newbie.wings-of-valor.net/
http://swwisa.net/resources/newbie.html

Hi,

Good of you all to reply, my thanks. (and interesting some of those links)

Am I coming to understand that I really should concentrate on finding all the bits for a properly 'old' machine like a P111 at around 900mhz with a true 3DFX card if I want to play RB3D properly?

Or should I concentrate on researching the necessary hardware to run Over Flanders Fields (MS Flight Sim 3)? Will THAT run on modern hardware with a modern graphics card?

P.

Well, there will be advantages and disadvantages to both approaches.  Unfortunately, I am still strictly "old school" in my approach, so I can't really comment on what to expect on modern hardware.  I have the following machines that I use for gaming:

GAMEBOX1
Soyo SY-7VBA133U Motherboard
Intel Pentium III 933 MHz CPU
256 MB SDRAM
Seagate 120GB Hard Disk Drive 7200 RPM
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! Platinum
3dfx Voodoo5 5500 AGP Graphics Adapter (OEM)
Windows 98 SE

GAMEBOX2
Soyo SY-7VCAE Motherboard
Intel Pentium III 933 MHZ CPU (OEM)
512 MB SDRAM
Seagate 80GB Hard Disk Drive 7200 RPM
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! Platinum 5.1
Visiontek GeForce4 Ti-4200 Graphics Adapter (OEM)
Windows 98 SE

GAMEBOX1 is configured for Glide games, and I had Red Baron 3D and Grand Prix Legends particularly in mind when I built it.  Even so, it is not a panacea when it comes to playing Glide titles.  Voodoo5 5500 has a problem in Red Baron 3D where the game crashes to the desktop at the end of Fly Now missions when the desktop resolution is the same as the in-game resolution.  The workaround is to make the two resolutions different.  However, this was not an issue when playing the game on a 233 MHz Pentium MMX machine with a Voodoo2 adapter.

GAMEBOX2 is configured to play more recent games (i.e., 2002-2005) that require a GeForce or ATI card.  I have tried Red Baron 3D in this configuration with a Glide Wrapper, but there is quite a performance hit.  With GAMEBOX1 I usually get about 60-80 FPS in Glide mode, but it drops to about 20-40 FPS on GAMEBOX2.  So if you are going to use a Glide wrapper, you definitely need a much faster configuration to compensate for the performance hit (assuming you demand the same level of performance).

Soyo has stopped manufacturing motherboards entirely, so I can relate to your frustration with trying to get parts.  I built GAMEBOX1 and GAMEBOX2 back in 2001.  I don't think I would be willing to spend the time required to gather the parts for such machines today, and I would be reluctant to get used parts for such machines in any event.

If you can't get an answer to your question about Over Flanders Fields in this forum, you might consider asking at SimHQ in the Over Flanders Fields sub-forum:

http://www.simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php