Title:	Voodoo4+ Runner
Author:	Ruud Stijger
Email:	R.Stijger@chello.nl
URL: 	http://members.brabant.chello.nl/~r.stijger/learn_it/voodoo/index.html
	http://www.glideunderground.com/voodoorunner


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Voodoo4+ Runner provides you with:

- Custom settings for your games to run on your 3Dfx-Voodoo4 or higher 
- Start or customize games from the Runner's tray-icon 
- Change the current voodoo-settings 
- Change FSAA settings with only one click 
- Can restore previous settings when you finish the started game 
- One click to reset your Voodoo's current settings to:
   - Factory defaults 
   - Your own prefered defaults 
   - Previous settings 
- Ability to enter application commandline parameters
- Create shortcuts on the desktop that use Voodoo4+ Runner settings
- Windows 95/98/2000 compatible 
- Best of all: It's free! 


Please note that this is still a beta version, and that it will improve with your suggestions and comments. So, if you want to contact me, please do.


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[March 18, 2001]
Some people noticed that removing a file from VoodooRunner did not work. Since I couldn't reproduce it, I couldn't fix it... Until I installed Win2k lately. Unfortunatly, Win2k isn't very good in removing entire registry keys by itself, so it needs a lot of help while doing this. A lot of help from the program, that is. once again, a new fix, same version number.

0.74b [January 7, 2001]
Added possibility to create shortcuts on the Windows desktop. When using these shortcuts, Voodoo4+ Runner does not necessarily have to be loaded in memory.


0.73b [December 4, 2000]
Added four new Glide/OpenGL features:
1) Depth precision 16 bit 
2) Depth precision 32 bit 
3) Hidden Surface Removal
4) Guardband Clipping

Note: features 3 and 4 will only work with the vs-w9x-1.04.01-beta (and higher, I guess) drivers. Without these drivers, changing these options won't have any effect at all. If you don't have this driver installed, all the other functions will still work normally.


0.72b [September 21, 2000]
Moved the site to the GlideUnderground server.

Yet again these LOD settings.... Wolfgang Kriegl noticed that negative LOD values weren't processed. Thanks to him this is fixed now. Together with the last fix and moving to the new server, I thought it would be time for a new version again.

Fixed a problem with LOD settings; if a game was configured with LOD at -8 or +8, the latest two version would give an '...not an integer value error...' upon entering the configuration for that game. It's fixed now, but I still call it version 0.71b. I only got one notice about this, so I figure not many users set +8 or -8 for LOD.


0.71b [September 19, 2000]
Added 'video mode' to change the current video-settings (desktop resolution/color).


0.70b [September 17, 2000]
A lot of changes and additions this time. Almost a complete makeover... This one works with the latest beta-drivers (v5-w9x-all-1.01.03-beta). Valid FSAA settings for V4-4500 and V5-6000 cards and changing the current settings are the main improvements.

The program is not dependant of 3dfx-tools to be installed anymore. So if you can't install the tools (a lot of win2k users), you can use this instead. Please note that changes made by VoodooRunner will not be displayed by the tools anymore. Not that much of an issue anymore; see the next point.

All settings can be changed like 3dfx-tools: dubbleclick the tray-icon, and you can view and change the current settings.

Select your V4 or V5 for specific FSAA settings. First time VoodooRunner is started, it will ask to select your card. This can be changed anytime in the left-click menu.

Added new Direct3D settings:
  1) Mipmap buffering
  2) Maximum buffered frames

Changed LOD-values to 3dfx-tools-like values: ranging from -2 to 2, in 0.25 steps.


0.69b [September 5, 2000]
Added Direct-FSAA. Sounds like a new Microsoft feature? No such thing: use it to set your desired FSAA setting with one click in the popup-menu. This has nothing to do with running software directly from VoodooRunner, it's just a pretty handy gadget.

A note about the LOD-settings. The new 3dfx-drivers use settings from -2 to 2, in .25 steps. VoodooRunner still uses -8 to 8, but this represents the same values as 3dfx's: -8 = -2 and 8 = 2.

0.68b [July 26, 2000]
Added a left-click menu for the tray-icon. One of the options in this menu is removing Voodoo4+ Runner from the Windows registry.

0.67b [July 23, 2000]
Restoring Alpha-Blending and 3D Filter Quality settings were missed in the last release, which could end up in unwanted results. Another Fix, another release.

0.66b [July 23, 2000]
Got a notice that Alpha-Blending and 3D Filter Quality settings were not handled according to the users wishes, so I fixed it.

0.65b [July 21, 2000]
Added ability to disable V-Sync for both Direct3D and Glide/OpenGL.

Added ability to limit (Glide-) texture memory to 2MB. This is for old Glide games, that run on Glide 2.x or lower. For instance, Red Baron 3D running on a V5 without this feature anabled shows black holes in the landscape without this feature enabled.

Applications in the run-menu now appear in alphabetical order.


0.64b [July 18, 2000]
Added gamma settings for both Direct3D and Glide/OpenGL.

Fixed an error that occured when entering or exiting the settings-windows for a program that doesn't exist anymore. A broken program-icon will indicate if the program is missing from its expected location.

Fixed an error that sometimes occured after having removed a program from the list.

Fixed the possibility to let the program hang by clicking on the close-button (that topright cross) instead of the OK-button.

Fixed the possibility to open more than one file-opendialog.

Did some code optimizing and cleaning.


0.63b [July 12, 2000]
Oh man, another one. Since I added LOD-support a lot of things went wrong. Little things that can make a whole program stink. Anyway, I noticed that when no user-settings were entered before, the program would hang itself up when trying to do so now, showing the same error I said I fixed in version 0.62b... finally that's fixed too. 


0.62b [July 12, 2000]
Oops, typing a 4 instead of a 5 can really make a lot of difference when programming. So here is the third update for today: LOD-setting really work the way they should now.


0.61b [July 12, 2000]
Updates, updates, updates. This could be driving you crazy, I know. It's just that every time I get a new idea, hear/read suggestions, or find a flaw (lot's of times, look below) and I have time, I jump behind my keyboard and make it so. Just check the page now and then*. (* now and then: every two hours?)

Added an option to choose if the program should restore settings after finishing the started game. When this is turned off, the started game won't be polled for activity at all. This way, Voodoo4+ Runner can't have any affect on game-performace once started. Don't worry: your desired settings still work for the game, they only won't be restored afterwards. This new option can be found in the defaults-menu.


0.6b [July 12, 2000]
Fixed LOD not being handled by Factory- and User-defaults.


0.59b [July 11, 2000]
Added LOD (Level Of Detail) settings for both Direct3d and Glide/OpenGL

Added ability to change desktop settings before starting a game. This is because some games (Quake2 based games) use the current desktop settings for colordepth. This way you're able to play Quake2 in 16bit color mode, when your desktop is configured to 32bit color (or the other way around).

Fixed a problem with the about-screen able to be opened more than once.


0.58b [July 9, 2000]
A lot of games are running a bit (a shitload of bits) slower when running via VoodooRunner. I fixed this by giving the user control of when the program should poll to see if the started application is still running. Instead of checking all the time, the program now polls as a default only every three seconds. This can be altered in the range from 1 to 15 seconds. This new function can be found on the 'Additional settings' tab.


0.57b [July 9, 2000]
Added possibility to run at Windows startup.

Did some code-optimalization.


0.56b [July 9, 2000]
Fixed major error in registry settings.Flickering Glide / OpenGL games run fine again. After installation, you should click 'Reset factory defaults', and reconfigure all installed games in the config menu. Removing and adding again could be an even safer procedure.


0.55b [July 9,2000]
Minor fix, but pretty important: Win95/98 card detection should work better. I couldn't try this on my machine, so please let me know if you've had that problem and it's gone now.


0.54b [July 9, 2000]
Added a startup-debug option. Since I've tested this program only on a few machines, I can't be sure that every machine will detect the card like it's supposed to. If you have Win95/98/2000, and it still refuses to start, start the program with the '-debug' parameter (V4Runner.exe -debug). Now you see the card detection on screen. Copy this info into your mail-editor and show it to me. That way I should be able to figure out what goes wrong.


0.53b [July 8, 2000]
A lot of fixing to do this first day... Windows2000 should work fine now. I'm not promissing anything, but it worked fine on my machine. However, if you still should see a message that no Voodoo4 or higher is found, please contact me. 

Optimized memory usage when user is not using the settings screen. (most of the time, I guess) 


0.52b [July 8, 2000]
Fixed application startup directory problems. 

When changing the name of an existing profile, the user can decide to remove the former name-entry or leave it be. This can be an easy way to have multiple entries of the same game, but with (minor) differences in the settings. (example: Quake3 4xFSAA, Quake3 noFSAA). 


0.50b [July 8, 2000]
First published version 

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Happy gaming!