Fallout 2 mod FO2 Engine Tweaks (Sfall)

Just an update,

When I strip them from their armor, their look is back to normal.
When equiping armor, it get back to being broken.

@Update 2: I am getting somewhere :) After reinstalling pure RP + ECCO 0.63b, now I see the companions correctly, although I am getting the red warning message about RP ddraw.ini being replaced and that I should revert as soon as possible.

@Update 3: Reinstalled RUP again on top of RP, then ECCO and for it went to normal. I will see how it goes.
 
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I'm getting a lot of lag whenever I switch mode to 4 in ddraw.ini, i.e. whenever I'm using DX9.
I'm on win10, downloaded from steam with RPU v18, and the High Resolution Patch 4.1.8.

I get lag (moving the mouse, selecting, and the characters moving) whenever I set mode to 4 (also tried 6). It runs fine with mode 0. I've tried it with
GPUBlt=1,
Use32BitHeadGraphics=1,
SingleCore=1,
OverrideArtCacheSize=1

Does anyone know what might be the issue?
 
Those options shouldn't have anything to do with the lag.
Try setting BackgroundKeyboard and BackgroundMouse options in ddraw.ini, or EXTRA_WIN_MSG_CHECKS in f2_res.ini.
 
NovaRain said:
Those options shouldn't have anything to do with the lag.
Try setting BackgroundKeyboard and BackgroundMouse options in ddraw.ini, or EXTRA_WIN_MSG_CHECKS in f2_res.ini.
Click to expand...
thanks that improves it. It went from skipping frames to now is just moving in slow motion. As soon as I change the mode back to 0 it runs smooth though.
 
hmm, so I think it might be an issue with the game using my laptops integrated graphics instead of my gpu. When I run the game, the task manager shows the integrated graphics working, and no activity on the geforce gpu. I've added the fallout2.exe and fallout2hd.exe files to the windows graphics performance preferences set to the geforce gpu but still it only appears to use the integrated graphics.

nvm, it looks like if I put it in mode 4 it uses the nvidia gpu, but still slow and choppy.
 
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ViperDaimao said:
hmm, so I think it might be an issue with the game using my laptops integrated graphics instead of my gpu. When I run the game, the task manager shows the integrated graphics working, and no activity on the geforce gpu. I've added the fallout2.exe and fallout2hd.exe files to the windows graphics performance preferences set to the geforce gpu but still it only appears to use the integrated graphics.

nvm, it looks like if I put it in mode 4 it uses the nvidia gpu, but still slow and choppy.
Click to expand...

GPUBlt=1,
correct

Use32BitHeadGraphics=1,
Wrong!!, performance mode is =0
SingleCore=1,
Wrong!! If using medicore cpu or a laptop this should be set to =0
all =1 does is set affinity to core#0 (the first cpu core) this core is usually occupied by other windows tasks as well namely Firewal& Antivirus etc. plus everyother stuff you've got launched in the background. =0 will cause windows to spread/y the load (yea baby cum!) evenly among all cores (as should be).

OverrideArtCacheSize=1

Depending on resolution you play, probably WRONG!! =1 replaces value art_cache_size= in fallout2.cfg and sets it to 256 megabytes of fallout2's virtual memory space to be set as graphics cache. For most large maps when playing for example 1920x1080 this is not enaugh!! try setting OverrideArtCache=0 and open fallout2.cfg with notepad and set to at least art_cache_size=261. This is a tricky part as setting it too high will cause proplems with other fallout2 stuff (remember that fallout2 is a 32bit program without large adress awareness. This means fallout2 can still only use 2GB of virtual memory, part of which is the art_cache_size=,and the rest goes to other fallout stuff such as scripts etc. since nowadays Sfall rulez You'll need at least 1,5GB of the 2GB virtual memory adress space reserved for script stuff and sfall) that will leave you with up to 512 MB of graphics cache, however sometimes fallout may refuse to run if you set art_cache_size to such high amount. I'd generally stick to what russian modders settled on the 261 megabytes.

Too low art_cache_size= will cause slow scrolling speed, and general choppines, although mouse lag is probably due to SingleCore=1 *or* You're using a system with insufficient amount of ram like a x64 bit windows with 4GB or less ram. If so than don't expect Fallout2 with recent sfall build to run smoothly.
 
gustarballs1983 said:
GPUBlt=1,
correct

Use32BitHeadGraphics=1,
Wrong!!, performance mode is =0
SingleCore=1,
Wrong!! If using medicore cpu or a laptop this should be set to =0
all =1 does is set affinity to core#0 (the first cpu core) this core is usually occupied by other windows tasks as well namely Firewal& Antivirus etc. plus everyother stuff you've got launched in the background. =0 will cause windows to spread/y the load (yea baby cum!) evenly among all cores (as should be).

OverrideArtCacheSize=1

Depending on resolution you play, probably WRONG!! =1 replaces value art_cache_size= in fallout2.cfg and sets it to 256 megabytes of fallout2's virtual memory space to be set as graphics cache. For most large maps when playing for example 1920x1080 this is not enaugh!! try setting OverrideArtCache=0 and open fallout2.cfg with notepad and set to at least art_cache_size=261. This is a tricky part as setting it too high will cause proplems with other fallout2 stuff (remember that fallout2 is a 32bit program without large adress awareness. This means fallout2 can still only use 2GB of virtual memory, part of which is the art_cache_size=,and the rest goes to other fallout stuff such as scripts etc. since nowadays Sfall rulez You'll need at least 1,5GB of the 2GB virtual memory adress space reserved for script stuff and sfall) that will leave you with up to 512 MB of graphics cache, however sometimes fallout may refuse to run if you set art_cache_size to such high amount. I'd generally stick to what russian modders settled on the 261 megabytes.

Too low art_cache_size= will cause slow scrolling speed, and general choppines, although mouse lag is probably due to SingleCore=1 *or* You're using a system with insufficient amount of ram like a x64 bit windows with 4GB or less ram. If so than don't expect Fallout2 with recent sfall build to run smoothly.
Click to expand...
thanks. I'm using a laptop with 8gb ram and a geforce gtx 1050 and an i5.
I tried changing OverrideArtCacheSize to 0 and set the art_cache_size to 261, along with SingleCore=0 and Use32BitHeadGraphics=0 but it's still very choppy and slow.
I've attached my ddraw.ini and the f2_res.ini from when I click the "Manually Edit Config" button on the Fallout 2 Hi Res Patch Config program.
 

Attachments

ViperDaimao said:
thanks. I'm using a laptop with 8gb ram and a geforce gtx 1050 and an i5.
I tried changing OverrideArtCacheSize to 0 and set the art_cache_size to 261, along with SingleCore=0 and Use32BitHeadGraphics=0 but it's still very choppy and slow.
I've attached my ddraw.ini and the f2_res.ini from when I click the "Manually Edit Config" button on the Fallout 2 Hi Res Patch Config program.
Click to expand...

Sorry 4 the delay I was chatting on discord.

I hope You've changed file extension from .ini to .txt because the forum doesn't accept ini files. I do hope You'll know how to revert it.
PRO tip:
don't use in game options to configure f2_res.ini or it may fuck stuff up.

anyways, I assume You're using integrated soundcard so lowered sound buffers to what it might actually have.
other stuff:
cpu handling was totally fucked up in settings. so I've set them to the same what I'm using (and yeah my CPU is a potato compared to yours)
there were inconsistencies in sfall and HRP resolutions. If You've set them on purpose than I'm sorry I've messed them up. It is generally best to set them in HRP and don't set them in sfall (use both is only for freaks that only *think* they achived an ideal fallout setup).

Also I hope you haven't messed with commands order, as I don't remember the proper sequencing in RPU. In rest of the mods I tend to use sfall-Extended by Mr.Stalin, it has different sequences of commands.

anyways Your rig should do just fine. if after applying the changes i provided You still have issues, then look up your power scheme setup in Control Panel. those bitche$ in M$ tend to set power scheme to battery saving castrating laptop's efficiency in favour of battery uptime. and all reasonable players play when thery're pluged in.
if you don't have 'high performance' power scheme unlocked and enabled, then say so, and I'll wrap up a little tutorial on how to unlock and enable it in win10. most settings there are the same but GPU efficiency is sort of dependant on it too and power saving mode can signifcantly remoove balls from your laptop's calculating power.

Although be advised that running in high efficiency mode will eat your batery charge in no time, so switch to power saving mode whenever you're not plugeed to a charger

oops forgot to attach the files:P
 

Attachments

ViperDaimao said:
thanks. I'm using a laptop with 8gb ram and a geforce gtx 1050 and an i5.
I tried changing OverrideArtCacheSize to 0 and set the art_cache_size to 261, along with SingleCore=0 and Use32BitHeadGraphics=0 but it's still very choppy and slow.
Click to expand...

From your configs I'd set ProcessorIdle=1 in ddraw.ini or CPU_USAGE_FIX=1 in f2_res.ini (use only one), other than that, your configs seem fine to me. Also in my previous post I mean choosing BackgroundKeyboard/Mouse=1 in ddraw.ini OR EXTRA_WIN_MSG_CHECKS=1 in f2_res.ini.

I usually run tests on multiple desktops and rack servers, from Pentium II (yes it works) to recent Xeon, but sadly I don't own a laptop. The closest spec I have is a Gen7 i5 with integrated graphics, but it can handle things pretty well with those settings (one of my main test machines).

Also, a few notes (probably not really helpful, but just in case):
  • SingleCore option was made to prevent some supposed "multihreading bugs" in old times.
  • Originally, art_cache_size was set by Fallout's setup program according to your system memory, but some old re-release on physical CD/DVD and all digital releases (Steam and GOG) use a pre-generated fallout2.cfg in their installation which usually has a low value (it's only an issue if you play mods with custom art assets, like RP), so the option was a convenience for people running RP w/o the need of tweaking that line manually.
  • As for GPUBlt, sfall will automatically switch it off internally if it finds that your graphics couldn't enable it, but it runs fine with the integrated graphics from my Gen7 i5 (Intel's integrated graphics isn't that bad). Enabling Use32BitHeadGraphics doesn't do anything if your game doesn't have the files, the worst thing would happen is keep running a few more useless checks here and there, but if that can hider your game performance for real, your system might have bigger problems than "game plays slowly".
 
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sfall 4.3 and 3.8.30 are released on SourceForge, along with their respective modders packs.
Changelog said:
v4.3
>Fixed the original engine issues with being unable to register animations in certain situations in the game
>Fixed a crash bug introduced in 4.2.9 with the fix for the 'Leave' event procedure in AddRegionProc function
>Fixed a bug in ObjCanSeeObj_ShootThru_Fix that could cause a hang in some cases
>Fixed the check of the ammo cost for a shot in CheckWeaponAmmoCost
>Fixed set_critter_burst_disable script function, which now applies only to weapons with the burst attack as the secondary mode
>Fixed the error handling in create_object_sid script function to prevent a crash when the proto is missing
>Fixed METARULE_CURRENT_TOWN metarule function not returning the correct index of the current town at the start of a new game
>Fixed the auto-close containers mod for gravesites and not closing containers in some cases (in the modders pack)
>Fixed and improved the functionality of AllowLargeTiles
>Restored the functionality of obj_under_cursor script function for the movement cursor (changed in 4.2.9)
>Improved the hero appearance mod to be able to load the interface text from text\<language>\game\AppIface.msg
>Improved the functionality of TranslationsINI to also search for the ini file relative to the text\<language>\ directory
>Improved the 'order to attack' mode in NPC combat control mod. Now the target can only be assigned if the party member sees it
>Improved the fix for a duplicate obj_dude script being created when loading a saved game
>Rewrote the priority score calculation in AIBestWeaponFix, and changed the option to be enabled by default
>Changed FastShotFix to be disabled by default
>Removed DataLoadOrderPatch from ddraw.ini because there is little reason to turn it off
>Added a fix for the script attached to an object not being initialized properly upon object creation
>Added a fix to prevent the player name from being displayed at the bottom of the dialog review window when the text is longer than one screen
>Added a fix for the in-game quest list not being in the same order as in quests.txt
>Added a fix for multihex critters hitting themselves when they miss an attack with ranged weapons
>Added a fix to the placement of multihex critters in the player's party when entering a map or elevation
>Added a fix to the starting position of the player's marker on the world map when starting a new game
>Added a fix for AI not checking the safety of weapons based on the selected attack mode
>Added a fix for the incorrect check and AP cost when AI reloads a weapon
>Added a fix to AI behavior to prevent the use of healing drugs when not necessary
>Added a fix for the incorrect object type search when loading a game saved in combat mode
>Added a few fixes for issues with knocked out/down critters. Now the combat doesn't automatically end if the target is only knocked out
>Added a tweak to prevent NPC aggression when non-hostile NPCs accidentally hit the player or members of the player's team
>Added a tweak to play the 'magic hands' animation when using an item on an object. This also prevents a few issues with scripted animations not playing
>Added a tweak to remove the unspent skill points limit
>Added an option to disable the special handling of city areas 45 and 46 in the engine when visiting Area 45
>Added a new value to AIDrugUsePerfFix to allow NPCs to use only the drugs listed in chem_primary_desire and healing drugs
>Added support for loading premade character GCD/BIO files from the premade\<language>\ directory for non-English languages
>Added support for loading fonts from the fonts\<language>\ directory for non-English languages
>Added a debug option to control messages relating to engine fixes in the debug log
>Added a debug message about a missing combat object
>Added a new argument to HOOK_CALCAPCOST hook script
>New script function: set_quest_failure_value
>New hook scripts: hs_bestweapon, hs_canuseweapon
>Updated NPC armor appearance mod to prevent NPCs from picking up and trying to equip disallowed weapons in combat
>sfall can now load a localized sfall_xx.dat resource file instead of the default sfall.dat
Click to expand...

Note about AIBestWeaponFix option:
It has been rewritten and is now enabled by default. Now the calculation is:
Base Priority = (weapon min dmg + weapon max dmg) / 4 (half of the average damage)
If the weapon has a weapon perk, Base Priority will be multiplied by 2.

Check my release post of sfall 4.1 in case you're wondering how it worked before or in vanilla.
 
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sfall 4.3.0.1 and 3.8.30.1 are released on SourceForge. They are hotfix releases for the previous version.
Changelog said:
v4.3.0.1
>Fixed a crash bug introduced in 4.3 with the fix for animation registration
>Fixed a bug in AIDrugUsePerfFix that could cause a hang in combat
>Fixed the extra check for friendly fire not working if the 'area_attack_mode' parameter in the AI packet is not set or set to no_pref
>Added a fix for chem_primary_desire values in party member AI packets not being saved and reset correctly
Click to expand...
There are some game crashes/hangs reported with RPU v20 due to a few critical bugs in 4.3.

EDIT: There was an error in the earlier release of 4.3.0.1/3.8.30.1 (dll date June 9). Please re-download the release if you cannot interact with doors or lockers. Sorry for the trouble.
 
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sfall 4.3.0.2 and 3.8.30.2 are released on SourceForge. They are maintenance releases for the previous version.
Changelog said:
v4.3.0.2
>Fixed a bug introduced in 4.3 that caused a hang when opening the pipboy if the value of a quest location in quests.txt is less than 1500
>Fixed a bug introduced in 4.3 that caused a black screen after starting a new game without the hi-res patch
>Fixed a bug in INVENTORYMOVE hook that caused duplicate items when canceling moving an item into bag/backpack
>Updated French translations (from HawK-EyE)
Click to expand...
 
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4.1.2 Changelog said:
(...)
>Added a fix for the exploit that allows you to gain excessive skill points from Tag! perk before leaving the character screen
Click to expand...

You can still use other perks such as Thief, Mr. Fixt, Medic, Survivalist to exploit this mechanic; Pick the perk, lower the skills that were increased by the perk, use those skill points on whatever you want.

For the sake of consistency, I think all perks that increases the skill should be banned from this exploit as well.
 
sfall 4.3.1 and 3.8.31 are released on SourceForge, along with their respective modders packs.
Changelog said:
v4.3.1
>Fixed the Jet addiction not being removed when using the antidote in some cases
>Fixed the key repeat delay and rate when enabling the game speed tweak
>Fixed a possible crash at the end of the playback of alternative sound files
>Fixed a rounding error in Glovz's damage formula
>Fixed and improved NPC combat control mod and the behavior of SpeedInterfaceCounterAnims=3
>Improved the rendering performance of DX9 graphics modes
>Improved and tweaked the page control in ExtraSaveSlots
>Changed the way AutoQuickSave works. Now it sets the number of pages used for quick saving
>Changed SingleCore to set processor affinity to the second processor core if available
>Changed HOOK_CANUSEWEAPON hook script to run for both the player and NPCs
>Excluded the walking animation from the debug message about a missing critter art file for stationary critters
>Excluded the animated colors from TravelMarkerColor (same as in 3.8.x)
>Removed unnecessary check on action points when AI reloads a weapon (added in 4.3)
>Removed AffectPlayback from ddraw.ini because it's not practical
>Added a fix for a crash when opening a file with name containing a '%' character
>Added a fix to prevent the main menu music from stopping when entering the load game screen
>Added a fix to display the palette color with index 255 correctly in DX9 mode when using the hi-res patch
>Added a fix for grave type containers in the open state not executing the use_p_proc procedure
>Added a tweak to update unarmed attacks after leveling up
>Added a tweak to keep the selected attack mode for unarmed attacks when closing the inventory or when the combat ends
>Added a tweak to display the actual damage values of unarmed attacks in the inventory
>Added an option to enable fade effects for background music when stopping and starting the playback
>Added an option to automatically search for new SFX sound files at game startup
>Added a config file to change the requirements and effects of unarmed attacks
>Added a config file to change some engine parameters for the game mechanics
>Added the ability to continuously play the music when moving to another map that uses the same music
>Added the ability to set custom names for unarmed attacks in the inventory to TranslationsINI
>Added support for using the newline control character '\n' in the object description in pro_*.msg files
>Added support for the new 'Healing Item' flag to item protos. Now AI will also use items with this flag for healing in combat
>Added support for the new 'Cannot Use' flag to the misc flags of item objects. This flags makes a weapon object unusable in combat
>Added missing sounds for the buttons on the world map interface (similar to Fallout 1 behavior)
>Added 5 metarule3 macros for controlling the save slot with scripts to sfall.h in the modders pack
>New script functions: set_scr_name, obj_is_openable
>Updated NPC armor appearance mod to prevent NPCs from equipping 'unusable' weapons
>Included Brazilian Portuguese and Polish translation (from Felipefpl and Jaiden)
Click to expand...
Note about the new AutoSearchSFX option:
The engine itself can search for new SFX sounds and create a list at game startup. The code has existed since FO1, only in FO2 it was blocked in favor of sndlist.lst for a faster game startup. The startup time with the option enabled is about 4-5 seconds more on my old Pentium 4 desktop, so it shouldn't be a problem on newer systems.
The major benefit is now you don't need to use regsnd.exe to register new SFX sounds, just put them in the folder is enough.
 
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The current 3.8.x is more like a trimmed down version of 4.x. It lacks some features and doesn't support as many hook scripts as 4.x does, but still receives bug fixes whenever possible, occasionally new features backported from 4.x.
In most cases you should just use 4.x. The main reason 3.8.x still being constantly updated is my obsession of supporting old systems (e.g. Pentium II with Win2000).
 
Hello i want to use special extended ascii characters such as (ş, Ş, ğ, Ğ, İ, Ö) in my fallout language translation. Original engine do not support these. I asked maybe sfall supports? Anybody have an idea?

Thanks in advance....
 
Anybody can give a hint how to print text in the in game monitor/log/status information window for debug purposes?
Any other ways for debug output?
I have read through https://sfall.bgforge.net and didn't find reference to that.

Never mind. Found it.
display_msg
 
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