Rice's Video Plugin: INI Configuration Discussion

[Iconoclast]

While the programmers are doing the plugin fixing, after testing about 100 games, I've noticed that 80 of these 100 games can be configured in Rice's INI to have better graphics emulation than you have when using Rice's default configuration, if existing for the game. I don't mean to bag on his hard work, now, as I know he probably hasn't had that much time to completely test configuration options, but I have found that changing the INI configuration of Rice's plugin can make quite a positive difference in graphics emulation, though not as much as improving the plugin via programming or its sourcecode, though in ways that changing the sourcecode might not succeed in....

So, I start this thread, not just to show off my pathetic changes, but maybe some of us could note some INI update suggestions to improve the plugin via its INI configuration as well?

Here is my work so far, attached to this post, but it wasn't near half the size it is now before I discovered Rice's 5.9.9 configuration and merged both, though I only tested 40 of the hundreds of new entries Rice's came with and fixed 35 of them.

[Iconoclast]

Take for example, the INI configuration entry for Banjo-Kazooie in the above-attached INI file, has no change from its original configuration in Rice's 5.9.9 configuration version.

Iconoclast comes in, starts testing the game, and makes several changes.

Name=Banjo-Kazooie
NormalAlphaBlender=1
NormalColorCombiner=1
FrameBufferEmulation=3
RenderToTexture=4
ScreenUpdateSetting=4

He states that this configuration fixes a couple things that Rice's default does not fix through his summary of changes:

• Enabled frame buffer attempts to try to render the pause screen and Bottles' secret jigsaw challenges (updated rendering to texture and frame buffer emulation settings).
• Smoke/alpha issues fixed (forced Normal Blender from default-on to off)

If you have it on you, you could also post the old configuration before you changed it just for clarity. He then updates his own attachment with these changes.

Please, be very careful on what you change and what you think fixes the graphics emulation. If you claim that Normal Blender, for example, fixes some alpha issues within the game, also make sure that these fixes are worth all of the possible negative side effects the game will have in turn! I will test the changes you make and download the ROM if I have to in order to avoid this mistake, but I could miss it, so please be careful not to give false configuration.

[Iconoclast]

Again, this is not actually an update, but another example of a fix I made.

Name=THE LEGEND OF ZELDA
AccurateTextureMapping=1
NormalAlphaBlender=1
NormalColorCombiner=1
PrimaryDepthHack
FrameBufferEmulation=3
RenderToTexture=4

What this configuration fixes that Rice's default (or the previous configuration version) does not:

• Improves the appearance of Link on the Equipment subscreen (rendering to texture setting change).
• Correctly emulates the background when you pause the game (rendering to texture and disabling accurate texture mapping).
• Fixes quick geometric glitch in the N logo at the very start of the ROM (primary depth hack enabled).
• Fixes some pause screen rendering and slight transparency in Link's head (normal blender disabled).
• Forced Normal Combiner option from default-off to off in case user has screwed around and made the default option on in the universal game setting defaults of the plugin.

[Rice]

Iconoclast

Thanks very much for your effort.

You should understand that the results are dependent on your hardware configuration and the render you are using (DirectX or OpenGL).

I really don't suggest to use the NormalAlphaBlender=1 or NormalColorCombiner=1 options. They are only useful for low end video cards that do not support pixel shaders. If your video does support pixel shaders, then you certainly want to stay with both options = 0, in that way pixel shaders can be actually used.

If you have a decent video card, you should not need to worry about the combiner and alpha blender setting for any games. Just make sure you are using pixel shader color combiners instead of other combiner options.

For games you know which could be using frame buffer effects, you may want to mix around the frame buffer settings. This was where I didn't spend much time to test.

[Iconoclast]

I think Blender/Combiner=1 means Off and Blender/Combiner=2 means on, in case of a mix-up you might have. If not, I didn't know there was a =0 setting and I kind of need a briefing of these settings so I know what to do/when to use them.

[Rice]

I forgot 1 means on or off. I guess you're right.

[Iconoclast]

Okay. From what I've observed, at least with these two alpha and color settings, =1 means off, =2 means on, and if it's unspecified, it means the plugin uses the default setting, from under the Default Game Options tab, containing the universal default settings for all N64 ROMs that are used when the setting is not specified under the Current Game Options tab. I use =1 when I see some sort of alpha issue in the game, and for color combiner, I use =1 after testing it with =2, forcing the option on, to see if it grayscales any textures. If so, I force it off, though off is already the default option, just to be safe. That's how I configure these two options.

As for forcing them on, I think I did that with a couple of games or so, but only with Normal Alpha Blender, in the case where I caught no negative side effects but at least one positive effect of the option. So, why might it be a bad idea to turn these on, again? Like, what happens if the system/video card doesn't support it?

Edit: I also turned Normal Color Combiner on one for Star Wars Rogue Squadron. Despite the games that are unplayable using the plugin, I still make an effort to make the game go as far as it can without crashing and with minimum graphics issues.

[Enzo Dragon]

Very nice. I'm going to try to help you out with this, Iconoclast. I'll screw around with it later.

[mudlord]

Thanks for that IC, this will really help out in my bug testing....

[Iconoclast]

Take your time finding any configuration fixes. Also, this INI should make games like Stunt Racer 64 and World Driver Championship boot properly in Project64, a thing no other graphics plugin can accomplish.

And, sorry, guys, I haven't fixed anything, yet. During summer vacation, I plan on downloading all the N64 commercial ROMs, configuring them on Rice's, one-by-one. I did attempt this once, but I only made it from the #-B ROMs. I never started the C-Z ROMs.