Quote:
Originally Posted by propbeanie
Some how or other, I forgot about my surgery tomorrow morning, so it would be Friday evening before I try that... It's a bear gettin' old...
DiectX v9 has been around since 2002, and Silent Hunter III since 2005. SH4 has a lot of 3 in it, and I wonder about the differences in the DirectX versions that over-write the game's v9...  |
Good points. OK. I think we may be tilting at windmills. I'm intrigued though.
By the way, I am using the time that the upper limb of the sun, or moon, is on the horizon as my sunset/moonset, Base Time. The object is completely gone over the horizon.
So, here is what I am currently going to try. I have downloaded and installed the DX9 2010 Runtimes from Microsoft.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/down...s.aspx?id=8109
This is a two step process. First download the file to any folder you wish and then run the installer (as administrator). Some say that this is unnecessary as Windows 10 (probably other older versions of Windows, after XP) install all variations of Direct X for backward compatibility. None the less, I installed it. You can probably check by searching for "d3d9.dll". I use the App "EVERYTHING" as my computer file search engine.
https://www.voidtools.com/downloads/
Next step is to create a shortcut to desktop from the executable you are using to start SH4 (in my case I renamed SH4.exe to FOTRSUv71.exe)
Right click on the shortcut and in the target field add "-force-d3d9" (without the quotes) For example my installation is on Drive D in the Subsims subfolder, so mine reads
"D:\Subsims\SH4FOTRSU\FOTRSUv71.exe -force-d3d9"
Run SH4 from the shortcut. I don't know how you can tell if it works or not but I believe the research I did to get there. (see EDIT 1) Follow the instructions for GOG on the following link.
[EDIT 1] Yes, I have found the way to check to see what version of DirectX that SH4 is currently using. Download Process Explorer from Microsoft. I put it in my Utilities folder. Run it as administrator. In the "View" tab, select "Show Lower Pane" and then "Lower Pane Views", select "DLLs". I can verify that my FOTRSUv71.exe is using d3d9.dll.
[EDIT 2] This track appears to be a red herring. Even with compatibility settings off, SH4 will (automatically?) use the d3d9.dll. I found this out by removing compatibility settings, running the game directly from the executable, (no shortcut) and checking Process Explorer.
I'm still proceeding with my 1x test, as described, just in case I'm missing something. #TiltingAtWindmills
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sys...ocess-explorer
https://inxile.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/...ctX-9-Windows-
Test the game to make sure it still works. In my current test I am going with 1x play with Vertical Sync on to see if there is a difference in my previous test points, 01/03/1944 Sunset (1840 Almanac time, 1827 Base Time) and the 01/04/1944 Moonset (0016 Almanac time, 0029 Base Time).
I am also using the WinXP SP2 compatibility mode and running as Administrator and forcing DX9.
In addition, I have found the extension for the nVidia control panel, "nVidia Inspector", which allows you to create a profile using your SH4.exe and then limiting the frame rate to whatever you choose.
I'm not sure if this will actually have any effect on SH4 at all, even with frame rate limited. I tested it to make sure it actually limits the frame rate, it does, but I have yet to do a 1x test with it activated in order to observe whether or not it has any effect at all.
https://www.guru3d.com/files-details...-download.html
I'm going to try the 1x with Vertical Sync on plus the XP SP2 compatibility and forcing DX9 before I introduce frame rate limiting.
[EDIT 3] I ran the test (1x, VS on, XP SP2 compatibility, forced DX9, admin) and got a slightly different result. Hmmm. Gained 2 to 3 minutes of accuracy in favor of the Almanac time. Base time on earlier runs for the 1/3/1944 sunset were consistently 1827. On this run, Base time indicated 1/3/1944 sunset 1830. Almanac sunset is 1840. I'll need to run this test again to be sure.
I'm trying frame rate limiting next to either rule it out or verify the error is directly related to fps.
[EDIT 4] OK. I ran the test (1x, VS on, XP SP2 compatibility, forced DX9, admin and frame rate limited to ~54-55 fps. There is definitely a difference in my arrival at the 1/3/44 sunset point (154 deg. 0 min. east, 25 deg. 52 min S) Base time for sunset (upper limb setting below horizon) was 1847 which is 7 minutes later than the Almanac prediction (1840). My first test runs had sunset occurring consistently at 1827, 13 minutes early with VS on and 60 fps. My next test run with XP SP2 compat. and forced DX9 was 1830, ten minutes early. It looks like fps definitely has an effect on the celestial sphere synchronization issue. Wow, I was not expecting that because the frame rate limiter is external to the game. This is now beyond my pay grade. I don't understand the timing issues in game from way back in 2007 when SH4 was being developed. All I can do now is tweak my nVidia Inspector settings until I've minimized the sync issue. Time to just PLAY THE GAME which, BTW, is still great after all these years! FOTRSU makes it even greater! My solution may vary widely with your solution if you even dare take this long road to perdition.
Simply put, set VS on and play at 1x to 2048x time compression and ignore the errors.
I've got coffee!!! And, the next few days off.
Oh, one thing that gets me through the 1x play is listening to Fred's Radio Stations, I have many, while interacting with the game. I love vintage radio.
Propbeanie, Good luck with your surgery. Getting old is, well, challenging. I just turned 70 myself. Egad!