Topic on User talk:Osprey

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Thanks. Yeah, I spend way too much of my spare time researching and making sure that my solutions work. In fact, I just spent the last few hours researching and then editing the Jedi Outcast page (what's wrong with me?). It sounds like you're the same way.

Regarding AA/AF, it sounds like you eventually discovered the same thing, but I definitely saw improvement when I forced them in the dgVoodoo control panel. You do need to run it from the game folder or else your settings might be saved to the global dgVoodoo settings (stored in AppData\Roaming), and since the settings in the game folder take precedence, they'll never be applied that way. Running dgVoodooCpl.exe from the game folder avoids that issue. I did say in my instructions to extract it directly to the game folder, so I think that it should be clear enough in the next step that it's to be run from the game folder.

As for the unofficial patch, I realize that it, alone, may not be enough for everyone to run the game, just like -windowgui or dgVoodoo may not be enough on their own, either. It's a good first thing to try, though, since it runs just fine in Windows 10 without any compatibility settings and so many other fixes and mods assume that it's been applied or require it.

As for -windowgui and JKDF2.com, that website is a little out of date, IMO. They say that -windowgui is absolutely essential to get 3D acceleration, but I get 3D acceleration on my desktop and my ancient laptop without using that parameter. They also say that the AMD fix is necessary for AMD users, but both of my systems have AMD GPUs and I haven't had to use it, nor have I really even heard of anyone else needing it (anymore).

You mention the CD and GOG versions. There's an issue. When you install the GOG version, it adds a compatibility database to the registry that applies compatibility settings for JK.exe. Those compatibility settings don't seem to be necessary with Windows 10, especially not with the unofficial patch applied, and actually can prevent music from working in the game. That's why I added the fix that recommends renaming JK.exe to JediKnight.exe or something else (or editing the settings out of the registry) if you don't get music with the GOG release. The settings might also affect 3D acceleration and running the game for some people. It's also worth pointing out that, because the settings apply broadly to JK.EXE, they'll apply to non-GOG installations of the game, so, if you have both CD and GOG versions installed, you need to be careful that the GOG settings aren't affecting your CD installation. You can ensure that they're not by renaming the CD version's JK.exe to something else, too.

I felt confident enough in my steps to get JK working because I posted them earlier over on the GOG forum and quite a few people have told me that my steps got the game working for them when it wasn't before (and my post is "highly rated"). A few also said that it didn't help, but I'm pretty sure that that's because I originally recommended one of the alternate ddraw.dll files, instead of dgVoodoo, and I've since updated my recommendations accordingly. Of course, that's just with the GOG version, but once you apply the unofficial patch and remove the GOG compatibility settings (by renaming JK.exe), it's almost not the GOG version anymore, so the steps should work for other releases (and I've tested them with the CD release). My instructions are here, if you'd like to take a look and see if any of it helps you run the game better:

https://www.gog.com/forum/star_wars_dark_forces_series/jedi_knight_mots_hardware_acceleration_graphic_patches_for_all/post175

Anyways, it's a tricky game to get working, especially because there are so many different fixes, and tricky to put into wiki form. It's easy for me to just say "do these steps" in a message board post, but more challenging to adapt them to a wiki, where every type of problem has its own section. The JK wiki is already so bloated with potential fixes. I, personally, think that trying to keep fixes a bit simpler, even if they may not work for everyone, helps the readability of the page. I mean, I could add 5 different information notes like "May not work with..." under every fix, but that would probably do more harm (to readability) than good, so I resist the temptation and leave it up to the reader to interpret the fix as a potential solution, rather than a guaranteed one. That's me, though.

Sheeh. I talk about editing pages as much as I actually edit them! Cheers.