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QuakeWorld Fix for iMac Voodoo2 owners
Eric Rybski sent information on how to fix the problem of running Quakeworld on iMacs upgraded with the Microconversion's Voodoo2 card:
The necessary commands for setting video refresh rates is specifically set, it
seems, only by the QuakeWorld RAVE (or Quake RAVE) applicaton. I was able to
enable 3Dfx support for QuakeWorld by first running the QuakeWorld RAVE app,
going to the options menu, selection video size of 800x600 under the video tab,
and then quitting the application. I then ran the QuakeWorld 3Dfx app to verify
that 800x600 worked....it ran just fine.
I then opened up the config.cfg file in the qw folder (this is in the same
folder as the QuakeWorld application), and then looked for the following lines:
vid_refresh "95.000000"
Note the vid_refresh line. For my revision A iMac (and I assume for all
revision B iMacs, too) 640x480 runs at a refresh rate of 117Hz, and 800x600 at
95Hz. Thus, I changed the above lines to the following in the config.cfg file:
vid_refresh "117.000000"
After saving this file, I ran QW 3Dfx & it worked wonderfully at 640x480! As
an added precaution to make sure that the refresh rate and game resolution
information was retained (since this information may be changed/deleted by the
3dFX app since it was intended for use with the RAVE app), I added the latter set
of vid commands to the autoexec.cfg file in the id1 folder. I believe this would
insure that these settings are preserved every time I ran QuakeWorld 3Dfx (but
have not verified yet whether or not this step is necessary).
So, in summary, here are what I believe are the _minimal_ necessary steps to
get QuakeWorld 3Dfx to work in 640x480:
On a side note, I would like to say that I have had incredible performance
results with the iMac voodoo2 card! Installation took almost exactly 1 hour
(this is the second time I've modified an iMac, but I'm always careful to insure
no problems related to static discharge while working with the motherboard, not
stressing parts while disassembling/assembling the computer, etc.) from shutting
down the iMac before disassembly to installing the drivers after re-assembly.
The color manual was very specific about every part of the hardware installation,
greatly simplifying the task, and there were no complications to speak of.
Performance is, on average, nearly equal to (and sometimes exceeding) that of my
PowerMac 8600/300, 160 megs RAM, with a 12-meg version of the MicroConversions
Voodoo2 card even though I am running with 32 megs real, 64 megs virtual RAM on
the iMac! (If you would be interested in timedemo information with various 3Dfx
enhanced games, I would be more than willing to spend the time obtaining this
information.)
I have to say that MicroConversions has done a wonderful job here. Even
shipment of the card was problem-free...it took less than 24 hours from placement
of the order to receipt of the card from MacZone!
Sincerely,
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