YACMP: Yet Another Choppy Movie Problem

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Author Topic:   YACMP: Yet Another Choppy Movie Problem

Spencer Olson posted 02-17-99 08:45 PM ET
Well, I've been putting off posting this.. I'll make this brief.
Meets or exceeds all the requirements of the Recommended Configuration.
Direct X 6.1, newest possible video/sound drivers [cheezy lowest bidder cards].
Full install with about 170M free on the HD.
Downloaded the update.
Tried adding all the .ini modifiers.
Whenever the game plays an external movie, be it the intro movie or one for a secret project, the audio and video tends to get all choppy and unintelligable. Viewing the movies outside of the game works fine.
Great game otherwise.. but I've been finding the secret project movies kinda distracting.
Any advice here?
Spencer "How's the Macintosh port coming? ;^)" Olson
PersonaNonGrata posted 02-18-99 04:42 AM ET
I got somewhat the same problem too. Some of the secret projects movie would be stuttering (playing literally frame by frame). I had the full install. Hard disk about 400mb free with 0% fragmentation. My video card is a Matrox Mystique. Direct X 6.0. I dunno what's wrong. Mmmm... weeiiirrrd.
Jeffrey Morris FIRAXIS posted 02-18-99 11:19 AM ET
Things to try.
8BitMovieSound=1, directdraw=0 and/or Video Mode=800 in the alpha centauri.ini file.
Rename the sound.dll to sound.dl_. You'll get sound in the movie, but will let us know if it's a sound problem. (might be a winner, spencer. What's your soundcard?).
DX 6.1 and driver update (For Personae).
jkm
firaxis games
Spencer Olson posted 02-18-99 01:25 PM ET
OK, threw all that extra junk in there [actually, everything except for Mode=800 and Sound.dl_ had already been put into effect already ], but still no effect on the opening movie. For some reason, the in-game movies don't start getting really bad until I've been playing through a few turns, and I [sadly] don't have time to do that at work.
The sound card is a generic card made with ESS Technology chips.. I've got the newest drivers I could find between them and Microsoft. However, I have painfully learnt that going with the cheapest PC out there usually sticks you with badly supported audio/video cards. I know I for one will very seriously consider the situation next time I get a new WIntel PC.. even if getting real audio/video cards pump up the cost a couple hundred bucks, it's easily worth it down the road.
OK, enough babbling from me.. got any more ideas?
Spencer "No, really.. how's the Mac port coming? ;^)" Olson
Spencer Olson posted 02-18-99 01:26 PM ET
OK, threw all that extra junk in there [actually, everything except for Mode=800 and Sound.dl_ had already been put into effect already ], but still no effect on the opening movie. For some reason, the in-game movies don't start getting really bad until I've been playing through a few turns, and I [sadly] don't have time to do that at work.
The sound card is a generic card made with ESS Technology chips.. I've got the newest drivers I could find between them and Microsoft. However, I have painfully learnt that going with the cheapest PC out there usually sticks you with badly supported audio/video cards. I know I for one will very seriously consider the situation next time I get a new WIntel PC.. even if getting real audio/video cards pump up the cost a couple hundred bucks, it's easily worth it down the road.
OK, enough babbling from me.. got any more ideas?
Spencer "No, really.. how's the Mac port coming? ;^)" Olson
Fenris posted 02-18-99 01:43 PM ET
My card is also made with the ESS chips. I'm running a Compaq Presario and I've run through all the tips in the EA Help file...not all movies stutter and it gets worse the longer I've been playing...
Jeffrey Morris FIRAXIS posted 02-18-99 01:54 PM ET
Try v2.0 of the game. Also, run DXDiag.exe and see what it marks with an "!".
jkm
firaxis games
Spencer Olson posted 02-18-99 02:10 PM ET
Bah, knew I forgot something.. the sound drivers are uncertified. [Running Ver 2.0, of course] So now, the sound drivers are uncertified, I'll try to go back to an earlier, certified version of the driver and see what happens...
--sko
Fenris posted 02-18-99 02:14 PM ET
I'm running v2.0. Not sure about the certifications...according to Compaq they are but your utility is unsure...
Spencer Olson posted 02-18-99 03:23 PM ET
Well, I slapped in the drivers off of the CD.
The opening movie is still sometimes a little choppy, but things actually do appear to have improved. I'll post an update when I get a chance to play a bit longer, and experience more secret project movies.
So, it's better, but not fixed.
Spencer "Will play SMAC for food" Olson
Jeffrey Morris FIRAXIS posted 02-18-99 04:38 PM ET
Fenris: Unfortunately, DXDiag is not our puppy. It's Microsoft's. What's it say about your setup?
Fenris posted 02-18-99 04:59 PM ET
It clears my video with flying colors, but shows uncertified on audio. I've downloaded the latest drivers according to Compaq, without any change. I thought I read somewhere that I'd need to reinstall the game in order for it to find the new drivers...is that right?
Jeffrey Morris FIRAXIS posted 02-18-99 06:39 PM ET
I don't think so. Have you got DX 6.1 yet? If not, give it a shot. Also, are you forcing your swap file to a certain size? If so, try letting windows determine it's size.
jkm
firaxis games
Fenris posted 02-18-99 07:52 PM ET
No, I'm not forcing the swap file and I'm trying to d/l the DX 6.1. I'll let you know how that turned out. I did change DS3D=0 and EAX=0 without any effect...
Spencer Olson posted 02-19-99 09:42 PM ET
Other weird thing.. sometimes, when the Secret Project movies finishes, the mouse pointer is missing when I get back to the game.
Well, I'm trying the uninstall/reinstall path, like Fenris got to work, but first I'm going to -again- defrag this damn hard drive.. I hate to think I need to go pick up Norton for Win98 just so I can defrag the swapfile to improve performance, but if that's what it ends up taking..
BTW, in order to get playuv15 to display the movies, I have to use the -software command line option, does that give any extra insight?
Spencer "damnit, and I'm the first with needlejets.. hurry defrag!" Olson
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Author	Topic: YACMP: Yet Another Choppy Movie Problem
Spencer Olson	posted 02-17-99 08:45 PM ET Well, I've been putting off posting this.. I'll make this brief. Meets or exceeds all the requirements of the Recommended Configuration. Direct X 6.1, newest possible video/sound drivers [cheezy lowest bidder cards]. Full install with about 170M free on the HD. Downloaded the update. Tried adding all the .ini modifiers. Whenever the game plays an external movie, be it the intro movie or one for a secret project, the audio and video tends to get all choppy and unintelligable. Viewing the movies outside of the game works fine. Great game otherwise.. but I've been finding the secret project movies kinda distracting. Any advice here? Spencer "How's the Macintosh port coming? ;^)" Olson
PersonaNonGrata	posted 02-18-99 04:42 AM ET I got somewhat the same problem too. Some of the secret projects movie would be stuttering (playing literally frame by frame). I had the full install. Hard disk about 400mb free with 0% fragmentation. My video card is a Matrox Mystique. Direct X 6.0. I dunno what's wrong. Mmmm... weeiiirrrd.
Jeffrey Morris FIRAXIS	posted 02-18-99 11:19 AM ET Things to try. 8BitMovieSound=1, directdraw=0 and/or Video Mode=800 in the alpha centauri.ini file. Rename the sound.dll to sound.dl_. You'll get sound in the movie, but will let us know if it's a sound problem. (might be a winner, spencer. What's your soundcard?). DX 6.1 and driver update (For Personae). jkm firaxis games
Spencer Olson	posted 02-18-99 01:25 PM ET OK, threw all that extra junk in there [actually, everything except for Mode=800 and Sound.dl_ had already been put into effect already ], but still no effect on the opening movie. For some reason, the in-game movies don't start getting really bad until I've been playing through a few turns, and I [sadly] don't have time to do that at work. The sound card is a generic card made with ESS Technology chips.. I've got the newest drivers I could find between them and Microsoft. However, I have painfully learnt that going with the cheapest PC out there usually sticks you with badly supported audio/video cards. I know I for one will very seriously consider the situation next time I get a new WIntel PC.. even if getting real audio/video cards pump up the cost a couple hundred bucks, it's easily worth it down the road. OK, enough babbling from me.. got any more ideas? Spencer "No, really.. how's the Mac port coming? ;^)" Olson
Spencer Olson	posted 02-18-99 01:26 PM ET OK, threw all that extra junk in there [actually, everything except for Mode=800 and Sound.dl_ had already been put into effect already ], but still no effect on the opening movie. For some reason, the in-game movies don't start getting really bad until I've been playing through a few turns, and I [sadly] don't have time to do that at work. The sound card is a generic card made with ESS Technology chips.. I've got the newest drivers I could find between them and Microsoft. However, I have painfully learnt that going with the cheapest PC out there usually sticks you with badly supported audio/video cards. I know I for one will very seriously consider the situation next time I get a new WIntel PC.. even if getting real audio/video cards pump up the cost a couple hundred bucks, it's easily worth it down the road. OK, enough babbling from me.. got any more ideas? Spencer "No, really.. how's the Mac port coming? ;^)" Olson
Fenris	posted 02-18-99 01:43 PM ET My card is also made with the ESS chips. I'm running a Compaq Presario and I've run through all the tips in the EA Help file...not all movies stutter and it gets worse the longer I've been playing...
Jeffrey Morris FIRAXIS	posted 02-18-99 01:54 PM ET Try v2.0 of the game. Also, run DXDiag.exe and see what it marks with an "!". jkm firaxis games
Spencer Olson	posted 02-18-99 02:10 PM ET Bah, knew I forgot something.. the sound drivers are uncertified. [Running Ver 2.0, of course] So now, the sound drivers are uncertified, I'll try to go back to an earlier, certified version of the driver and see what happens... --sko
Fenris	posted 02-18-99 02:14 PM ET I'm running v2.0. Not sure about the certifications...according to Compaq they are but your utility is unsure...
Spencer Olson	posted 02-18-99 03:23 PM ET Well, I slapped in the drivers off of the CD. The opening movie is still sometimes a little choppy, but things actually do appear to have improved. I'll post an update when I get a chance to play a bit longer, and experience more secret project movies. So, it's better, but not fixed. Spencer "Will play SMAC for food" Olson
Jeffrey Morris FIRAXIS	posted 02-18-99 04:38 PM ET Fenris: Unfortunately, DXDiag is not our puppy. It's Microsoft's. What's it say about your setup?
Fenris	posted 02-18-99 04:59 PM ET It clears my video with flying colors, but shows uncertified on audio. I've downloaded the latest drivers according to Compaq, without any change. I thought I read somewhere that I'd need to reinstall the game in order for it to find the new drivers...is that right?
Jeffrey Morris FIRAXIS	posted 02-18-99 06:39 PM ET I don't think so. Have you got DX 6.1 yet? If not, give it a shot. Also, are you forcing your swap file to a certain size? If so, try letting windows determine it's size. jkm firaxis games
Fenris	posted 02-18-99 07:52 PM ET No, I'm not forcing the swap file and I'm trying to d/l the DX 6.1. I'll let you know how that turned out. I did change DS3D=0 and EAX=0 without any effect...
Spencer Olson	posted 02-19-99 09:42 PM ET Other weird thing.. sometimes, when the Secret Project movies finishes, the mouse pointer is missing when I get back to the game. Well, I'm trying the uninstall/reinstall path, like Fenris got to work, but first I'm going to -again- defrag this damn hard drive.. I hate to think I need to go pick up Norton for Win98 just so I can defrag the swapfile to improve performance, but if that's what it ends up taking.. BTW, in order to get playuv15 to display the movies, I have to use the -software command line option, does that give any extra insight? Spencer "damnit, and I'm the first with needlejets.. hurry defrag!" Olson