Fallout 2 mod FO2 Engine Tweaks (Sfall)

@Mr.Stalin
Here you go...
this is a legit playthrough. the Night Vision perk is there because I use fo2tweaks. beyond that there's also stealcheat.int and Nirran's RapidPerks (although I didn't use the "Here and Now perks" perk in my legit playthroughs.).
I haven't touched the files in any way. Just saying to be clear.

 

Hi,

I'm trying to make RP work with SFall but it is slow/laggy.

Downloaded RP from there:
http://www.killap.net/fallout2/expansion/2.3.3/F2_Restoration_Project_2.3.3.exe

No mod added other than French trad (that should not impact Sfall as far as I can tell by checking trad files):
https://fallout-generation.com/mwg-...eppPQ7Cg-XlrhocbbGMmfPl5DM9KnnnIKf42KBRMw,&dl

By deleting or renaming ddraw.ini, the game run as expected at normal speed. But, if I'm not wrong, it disables SFall.

I tried various trick as using the speed section of ddraw but it seems to have no effect. Even started the game at 10000%

Tried each option of GPUBlt.

Tried to restart the game each time I changed ONE parameter (maybe I have not done so sometimes).

Also searched a lot on various forum and was able to set exactly the resolution I want by twicking SFall and f2_res_Config.exe. 1920*1080 in ddraw and a resolution of 950*540 (as explained in this thread https://www.nma-fallout.com/threads/how-to-set-correct-widescreen-resolution-for-fallout-2.213432/)

I've propably missed something but not able to find what.

Have someone got any clues?

I would appreciate any help because it seems good work have been done in Sfall and I really want to use it.

I do not post computer specs or things like that because I do not think it is related to issue, but feel free to ask.

PS: added my current ddraw file

 

Did you update your sfall version? The one included in official RP 2.3.3 is ancient.
And without ddraw.ini sfall still loads, just with all settings in their default values.

 

Have You tried setting:
SingleCore=0
OverrideArtCacheSize=0

& in fallout2.cfg set:
art_cache_size=261
?

SingleCore=0 is sometimes needed because some CPUs don't like affinity set to first core.

OverrideArtCacheSize=1 forces art_cache_size= in fallout2.cfg to 256MB. Sometimes (especially if you've enhanced Fo2 graphics by force in your graphic's driver settings) 256MB may not be enaugh, to run the game smoothly. Russian modders found the setting art_cache_size=261 in fallout2.cfg to be the sweet spot.
so in order to set the value higher than 256MB you need to set:
OverrideArtCacheSize=0 in ddraw.ini
art_cache_size= to a greater value (261 preferred) in fallout2.cfg

Please do note that if You haven't touched OverrideArtCacheSize= setting and already have '0' in it *and* you did not mess with art_cache_size= than do note that Fallout 2 natively has this value set to art_cache_size=8 (yes that is 8MB) which is fine by itself in native Fo2 resolution, however if you set [your Fo2 resolution] to anythig higher [either by ddraw.ini or f2_res.ini], than this [art_cache_size=8] value in fallout2.cfg gets hilariously little in comparison to what's needed.

 

@gustarballs1983
Download the fixed script gl_sfall-mods.int for the UsePartySkills option.

 

Thank You!!!
this is great... I'll go check it out right away.

 

The art cache size was set according to the system memory, not the game resolution. The original setup.exe sets the value during installation, and it's about half and a bit more of the system memory. For example, for 256 MB system memory it's 130; for 512 MB it's 261; for 1 GB it's 523. The default of 8 was for the game's minimum system requirement (16 MB). The option was merely an convenience to fix EPA crashes (due to the number of art assets in the maps) without the need to change cfg setting manually.

 

Strange since the day I got my hands on fallout 2 cd it always set 8MB in fallout.cfg despite that when i got Fallout 2, the rig i had back at that time had 32MB of RAM (i never had a pc with less RAM [ as I was an Amiga peasant earlier]). for more than last 10 years now I'm sitting at 8GB of RAM, and my fallout2.cfg doesn't magically turn to art_cache_size=4096 post install. It always sets '8' same as in fallout.cfg perhaps gog installer tweaked something, as i bought Fo2 on CD, DVD,steam and gog plus one US version CD form a gaming magazine i got as a christmas present from one of my Highschool pals, however I'm quite sure Fallout can't set half os system memory to fallout's graphic cache as other half would be consumed by windows itself (as windows always did consume up to half of system's memory for registry cacheing), So where would be the place for rest of fallout's math in RAM?

@Mr.Stalin
the updated sfall-mods.int is great.
Just a small question, can something similar be done to steal skill?
I mean it's obvious it can't be set under the same boolean in sfall-mods.ini as UsePartySkills= , so perhaps PartyStealSkill=, plus similar mechanic to UsePartySkills=, in sfall-mods.int?
I mean I don't remember if any of the classic Fallout games have a thief as a party member (well except Katja but she's actually a scavenger not a thief), but such mechanic would be pretty convinient, especially if somebody in a galaxy far far away intends to make a Fallout TC mod with an actual thief as a party member. this would couple nicely with that Perks for party members option I've read You're working on

 

No. This will require additional special hacking of the engine.

 

The engine itself doesn't change the art cache value (only generates a default one if it's not in cfg). It was set by the original setup.exe, and I don't know the algorithm how it sets the value, maybe it's (system memory in KB(base2) / 2000) - 1.
I just did some installation tests from my original CD in Win2000 VM to check the values, because it's easy and fast to change the system memory.
GOG version is simply extracting an existing installation with pre-generated cfg to the specified path. There's no value setting procedure in it.

 

@Mr.Stalin
I've found a bug in the way CombatControl= function consumes a perk window.
Got a save for this. I want to bank my level 6 perk to level 9 in Fo : et tu, so that i can pick Better Criticals and Bonus Rate of Fire, as both skills are present on lvl 9 and there's not much important stuff to get at lvl 6. I use CombatControl=2. when i activate combat and skip turns of my party NPCs until combat ends, and next I open player character sheet, and boom banked perk window is gone. I'm able to circumvent this as I could use Nirran's RapidPerks to get 'Here and Now Perks' perk to give me more perk windows when i reach level 9, but it would be rather a cheat, besides those playing legitimately would be shocked that suddenly they loose a perk. @NovaRain this was a bug in normal sfall not long a go as well (although i don't remember if it was fixed) I specifically remember posting about the same issue before.

I attach a save game of lvl 6 with banked perk window from Fallout et tu played with sfall eXtended v4.2.6. (SAVE02)

EDIT:
Found another bug the so called infamous sudden end of combat in a middle of a fight.

Simply put the conditions for it to happen is:
1.CombatControl= is enabled
2.party npc is beeing currently controlled during combat mode
3.aiming cursor is hovered over player character (vault dweller) when controlling an party NPC during combat mode.

if the above conditions are met the combat mode suprisingly ends despite still hostile critters beeing present and even attacking. got (SAVE03) just before fight with gizmo in Fo et tu and sfall eXtended. it is easy to check there ( after combat ends you're teleported back to junktown gate as usual, despite gizmo and or his guard still beeing alive). ( this bug goes towards any combat not just gizmo ( it might be simple pressing "a" and spacebar + hover over vault dweller while having someone in party).

 

@NovaRain @Mr.Stalin

sorry for double posting, although I'm not sure that if i edited my old post this bug would be noticed.

today I've toyed with: AllowDShowMovies=1

it appears that converting a movie to mpeg1video with mpeg1 as codec, and then renaming the final file to .avi one can succesfully playback thevideo in any resoution, regardless of HRP and Sfall resolution settings, however this playback has it's issues and I think this bugged behaviour can be fixed with sfall update.

As I was saying when playing the movie without corresponding <videoname>.pal and <videoname>.cfg, One get's strange sidebar colors like blue or white, however when one uses those files with an .avi file there are slight artifacts during playback.
so perhaps the best solution would be to not use .pal and .cfg files for the movies and force set black background for video playback

 

I just did a test with AllowDShowMovies. I download Lexx's re-scaled videos, rename credits_new.mp4 to credits.avi and put it in Data\Art\cuts. The video is played normally in all DX9 modes with art_cache_size=256 (I have video codecs installed), so I'm not sure what "issues" you're having.

 

i also have video codecs installed. CCCP which stands for Combined Comunity Codec Pack and the issues are related to .cfg and .pal files that must come with the video. if they do come than there are artifacts in the video if they are not present in the same catalogue as the file then sidebars which are present when watching 4/3 video on a 16:9 screen are not black but eigther blue or white...

 

I've never seen such problems.
This is probably some local incompatibility issue of yours with HRP. Many people have noticed blue curbs due to HRP.
Whether there are such problems without HRP?

 

Sorry to keep you waiting. I did not understood at first if it was a rethorical question as in a [sigh...], or were You actually asking, since there was no inversion in the question.
yes as a matter of fact it is HRP's fault...
when launched without HRP there's no need for the .cfg file and no artifacts, or colorfull borders at all, although video is a bit more choppy probably would require higher bitrate encoded for smoother playback, although I've already set it to around 14Mb.

Edit:
I've already managed to convert most of the videos for Fo1 from You tube (Ryan's Cinematics channel), converted them to mpeg-1 video codec: mpeg1, and audio mpeg-2. I gave them a go to Lexx for testing, and He claims He encountered issues while playbacking them ingame in Fallout: et tu. Namely there was something with playbacking them as a cutscene and also HRP interface got all black when returning from pipboy replay.

 

Keep in mind, however, that I did not update to the latest Sfall dev version. So I'm not sure if the issues I had were just because of that.

 

not one of your bugs is not confirmed.
Write your actions in more detail, there.

 

I've dropped a line as You've requested. Managd to narrow down the bug to Et Tu specifically. No other game based on fallout 2 engine is affected. If You require more info I'll write it down later as it's allmost 1AM, I must get some sleep.

 

I always felt that being able to doing this was a bug in itself.