PSO + Voodoo 3 2000 possible?

[mphilips]

Hey all, I've never really tried to get an unsupported game to work before, but I am wanting to get Phantasy Star Online to work on my old computer - its running on a 1ghz celeron with a voodoo 3 2000 and 512mb ram.

 The game is pretty old, although a new version is in beta right now and that is what i am mainly interested in. It has the same graphics as the old one though.

Pretty much all I know is it has a min. req. of a 32mb video card, the rest of the computer is above the min spec.

Anyway, I am hoping someone could give me some info on what to start with or even if it is possible?  I apologize if this post doesn't make much sense, but I am pretty lost when it comes to this, and I have been reading the forums for a bit now, yet I could use someone to help.

Thanks

[r21vo]

any links for demo version?
which drivers have you tested?

[mphilips]

Well, no real demo version. It is free to play, the main game can be downloaded off fileplanet.com and the main site is http://psobb.com

For drivers, I've tried Amigamerlin 3.1 R1  and I tried that MesaFX at the same time (assuming I set them up correctly, I did follow the directions so I think they were set up right). I couldn't find any info on other drivers though. The game loads screen starts to load then just crashes with no errors.

[ps47]

is the game d3d or opengl?

edit: I'll download it and see what I can do.let the testing begin!

edit2: hmmph,their downloads server is down..I'll try fileplanet.

..I assume you have xp,right? amigamerlin driver is for voodoo4/5 only,maybe thats why it is not working..

[r21vo]

just tested PSO demo (13mb ver.):
Amigamerlin 3.0 - closes on startup
Amigamerlin 3.1 + SFFT28 - works fine, but hangs up after some action
Rashly 1.1XP - works, with some glitches, hangs up after some action.
I guess that is d3d game.

[ps47]

try lowering resolution and details.I'll see how the game behaves on my system..

[r21vo]

There's no option screen, no configuration file.

[mphilips]

Well, the options menu isn't that great :\ but the resolution for the game starts at 640x480, there are a few other options you can lower.  
 
I'll try out Rashly and the SFFT28 and see what happens (never even knew about those) I appreciate the info/help that has been given so far. Thanks

edit: I forgot to mention I am indeed on XP

[ps47]

just a little note: uninstall all previous voodoo drivers and load the SFFT A28 driver via the device nanager.you can find the driver here:
https://www.3dfxzone.it/news/reader.php?objid=946

[youkaizero]

Simply put, no.
PSO needs a 32 mb card, and a voodoo 2 only has 8.The processor and the ram is enough, but the video card cant support it.
Even if it was sli, PSO is said only to be compat with the voodoo 4,5 5500/6000.If you check online, you can find a 64 mb card for cheap.Hell, you can get an Nvidia 5200 for cheap.


If you want PSO for free check psocheats.net

[ps47]

voodoo3 has 16 megs of memory,and it doesnt need more cause the max texture size is just 256*256.the official requirement of 32 MB of video memory is not that important.for example,hitman contracts officially requires a 64 MB hardware T&L card,and it works fine on a voodoo2 anyway (but you better have a powerfull CPU if you want to be above 20FPS)..

[youkaizero]

From what Ive seen with Sega games on pc you need the right amount of memory for games, not to much, not to little, the exact amount they set for it.Example.
Sonic Heroes PC
Sonic Adventure DX PC.
Both require 64mb.
My ATI Radeon x300(128 mb) has so many problems with theese games.Details can't go that high, but speed it good.
So I plug in the ATI ALW Rage 3d pro(32 mb).It gets details better than the x300, but speed lacks.
I didnt test this yet with PSO, but I soon will.I know Sonic Heroes and AdventureDX run with the same engine, but I don't know about PSO.But from what ive seen of these Sega games, best bet right now is to just get PSO on dreamcast, Gamecube, or Xbox(Xbox live required for PSO).Or, if you have a PS2, wait for Phantasy Star Universe.Or get the 5200 LE with 64 mb.

[ps47]

he probably wants to run it on the voodoo3,or not at all.and I would avoid fx5200 at all costs,especially the LE edition (64-bit).anything worse than r9550 128-bit is not worth buying today..

[youkaizero]

Well atleast he's sticking with his Voodoo card.Mine is just laying around...
But good news for him.
I plugged my old Voodoo 3 into the backup server (Dual Intel Pent 4 1.5 grhz, 1gig memory, 80+ maxtor).
Sadly PSOBB will not run with the voodoo 3.It can't get textures or speed.You only get about 1-5 fps.But PSO will run with it.There are certain times when the fps will drop though.Mainly during boss battles.Textures, qaulity, everything of the game isn't that bad.Little choppy when attacking, but it works.