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SWAT 3 - LAST RESORT GAME MODIFICATION


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7 years 10 months ago - 7 years 10 months ago #100 by Slippery Jim
Replied by Slippery Jim on topic 2D Menus
Sorry for the back to back posts but it makes it easier to keep the ideas separate.

I have confirmed that the problem isn't because of the GameCopyWorld cracked executable. I copied over the GOG.com executable and renamed it so the LR mod would think it was one of the modified GameCopyWorld cracked executables.

The fps problems were still there.

Since the GOG.com version also did not have the M3nu.dat hack that as a problem can also be ruled out.

Also since the GOG.com version did not have the texture size hack (increasing textures beyond 256x256) this can also be ruled out.

I need some sleep and will experiment tomorrow once I get some sleep. I will also retest what I have done in case I made a mistake.

The original main menu graphics released with Swat 3 were 24 bit colour. As far as I recall the only change with the LR mod is the map replacement textures are 24 bit colour. When Sierra packaged up the original map textures they reduced them to 8 bit colour (256 colours).

The other question is could the problem partially be with the .con file changes? With 800x600 there wasn't much changes made with the LR mod.

UPDATE: Just thought of something else. The Callup screen was modified in the LR mod in two ways. These two additions need to be checked to see if somehow and for some reason they are causing lag. The OPTIONS button and the HOST IP tab could be causing grief.

UPDATE2: I deleted all the .CON file changes in 800x600 and the lag still exists. The additions I mentioned above can be ruled out as the source of the troubles

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7 years 10 months ago - 7 years 10 months ago #101 by Slippery Jim
Replied by Slippery Jim on topic 2D Menus
I keep saying I am going to sleep but then I decide I want to run one more test, lol.

Okay so I ran tests to see if the problem was in 05.res (the common files) used in the LR mod. This file contains the M3NU.DAT file among other things.

* I renamed the M3NU.DAT file back to MENU.DAT and re-modified the .EXE to use the MENU.DAT file. It didn't fix the problem.

* I deleted all the contents of 05.res one folder at a time to try to narrow down a troublesome file. Nothing fixed it. It doesn't appear to be a problem with the 05.res file.

* As a test I manually edited the "Swat.ini" file to turn off the Last Resort mod. This way none of the LR files would be loaded into memory. I used the modified GameCopyWorld executable and the lag was still there.

* With all of the LR files still deactivated and not loading in I copied over the GOG.com executable and used it instead of the GameCopyWorld version. In theory this should fix the FPS issue. This is the same as turning of the LR mod with the toggle switch at the top. Turning off the LR mod with this method has been shown to fix this problem. NOPE! still the FPS problem.

Now I am starting to beat my head against the keyboard.

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7 years 10 months ago - 7 years 10 months ago #102 by Slippery Jim
Replied by Slippery Jim on topic 2D Menus
Hmmm, here is a thought.

Maybe the problem is that the hacked executable or even the GOG.com version being renamed to "swat_800x600.exe" is the problem. Maybe the renaming process confuses the .executable or the Direct Draw windows?

If this is true why would it running in window mode fix the problem? Why would it only occur in full screen mode?

Maybe I am so tired my logic is completely flawed.

UPDATE: EUREKA! Problem solved!! The cause of the problem was the renamed .EXE file

If I turned the Last Resort mod on and renamed the "swat_800x600.exe" back to "swat.exe" the lag went away. The mod can be run without the FPS issues.

Now I need to think about how I can solve this problem in a more elegant fashion.

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7 years 10 months ago #103 by DarkSynopsis
Replied by DarkSynopsis on topic 2D Menus
lol, once you start toying with something its not easy to leave it and just go grab some sleep :P

Awesome you found the problem, odd that its simply caused by the .exe being renamed.

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7 years 10 months ago - 7 years 10 months ago #104 by Slippery Jim
Replied by Slippery Jim on topic 2D Menus
Argg, I slept for 4 hours but was woken by a phone call.

Not sure why the drop in FPS would occur because of the file rename. I wonder if it isn't the real problem but is actually a way of fixing the problem with Nvidia drivers because it is looking for "swat.exe"

If you look in the Nvidia Control panel they have an entry for Swat 3 already by default. It may be detecting the .exe and applying the fix. I guess as a test I can try seeing if I can copy and paste the Nvidia fix for a renamed .exe file from the LR mod.

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7 years 10 months ago #105 by Bounty2k3
Replied by Bounty2k3 on topic 2D Menus
Well I did wonder why you used M3NU, but I thought it was because swatdata.res was still being called upon in the swat.ini file. It wasn't until I looked into your 800x600 exe file that I noticed you changed it in there to M3NU. So all I had to do was change my menu.dat to M3NU.dat in my mod and my main menu took over. This will allow me in the future to create menus for it (Which I have already started working on one).

You may be correct about the no-cd exe, but in this case I doubt it. With LR mod off and just running the no-cd exe, I have zero lag with going to callup. I only receive the lag on full screen with the LR mod.

Personally I like the LR mod. But, I like fullscreen even more than windowed mode. Windowed mode still allows for distractions in the back ground whereas I'd like to just see the game while playing.

Now, I also tested the 800x600 exe by changing it from M3NU to MENU inside the exe. The lag still occurs in fullscreen. I might possibly try to find the original swat.exe, and run it with your file name. I just need to mount a copy of the CD in a virtual drive. This should provide good enough testing although it won't allow for the higher 512x512 bitmaps.

After doing all of this, I believe the underlying issue will be the way swat 3 is hard coded.

Just ask for me to test things out if you wish, I just want it all to work and I'm willing to help out.

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