Armada 1 problem with nvidia cards (fixed in driver 350.12)

[yochenhsieh]

posted on October 8th, 2014, 2:40 pm

Last edited by yochenhsieh on April 13th, 2015, 3:54 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Hello,
I have some sort of "polygon tearing" problem in Armada 1 with my newly bought nvidia gtx 750. After searching the web I found the problem seems fixed during 2011 via a driver update. But now I have this problem and cannot fix it. I have tried:
Update driver
Install patch 1.3
Set compatibility mode to WinXP or Win2000
Run as Administrator
The above means all failed. Does any one have suggestions? Please don't suggest vmware or virtualbox, thanks.

Having used Ati/AMD for almost ten years, I started to regret just after a month...

EDIT: It's fixed in driver 350.12 just less than a month after I reported the bug.

posted on October 8th, 2014, 2:50 pm

Try purging all of the GeForce drivers installed on your system, restarting the computer, then installing the latest drivers. A1 also has its own safe mode (a shortcut for it should have been installed to your start menu). I'm not entirely sure what it's intended for but you may try loading the game that way and seeing what happens. Also, could you please post a screenshot? I'm not sure what you mean by polygon tearing.

posted on October 8th, 2014, 3:00 pm

Hi
The tearing looks like these shots:

Armada 2014-10-08 22-53-09-02.jpg (90.74 KiB) Viewed 2296 times

Armada 2014-10-08 22-53-10-19.jpg (87.46 KiB) Viewed 2296 times

Armada 2014-10-08 22-53-14-53.jpg (64.31 KiB) Viewed 2296 times

My Armada 1 install is modded with updated graphics and models, I'm afraid I don't want to play it in safe mode, which is pixel based software rendering. (I'm sure my mods working fine when I use Ati/AMD video cards.)

[edit]
Tried uninstall driver, reboot and reinstall again. Still the same.
Tried reinstall original Armada 1, patch 1.2, patch 1.3, without my mods, Still same problem (less intensive, though).
Tried software mode. Played like old DOS game. No tearing but I really don't want to play it that way.

posted on October 8th, 2014, 5:28 pm

I remember that glitch. I don't think I ever saw it on an Nvidia card, though, just Intel integrated. :shrug: After some Googling, I found a suggestion. After installing the latest Nvidia drivers, you want to...

Recreate the Armada PRF file.
1) Delete ARMADA.PRF from the Armada directory.
2) Start a NEW game (this will regenerate the PRF).
3) End the new game (if so desired).

posted on October 9th, 2014, 1:36 pm

I remember that glitch. I don't think I ever saw it on an Nvidia card, though, just Intel integrated. :shrug: After some Googling, I found a suggestion. After installing the latest Nvidia drivers, you want to...

Recreate the Armada PRF file.
1) Delete ARMADA.PRF from the Armada directory.
2) Start a NEW game (this will regenerate the PRF).
3) End the new game (if so desired).

Tried it and not work. But still thank you for this tip anyway.

posted on March 31st, 2015, 2:25 am

Some more info with nvidia graphic errors:

For GeForce 600 series and previous cards, you can install driver 309.08 to make Armada I work. On the nvidia site, select GeForce 7 series (NOT 700) and you can download 309.08 driver.
However, as this driver is a bugfix of the very old 30x.xx driver, you may encounter other problems with new games.

For the new GeForce 700/900 series, there is no any way to fix the problem until nvidia or anyone else decide to do something with it.

posted on April 12th, 2015, 3:54 pm

I've been trying to get the game running again recently, and while it does run and is technically playable, it has sound and graphics glitches.

This includes the polygon tearing that was already described in this thread, ships going invisible or having texture problems, some "stuff" blocking sight if you go to certain areas with your camera, loading screens flashing like mad and cutscenes misbehaving in various ways (the Premonition distress call in the first mission was louder than it should be, and after saving the ship it played both the transmission cutscene as well as the audio of the mission end cutscene, which ended the mission after a few seconds and skipped to mission 2).
Also, although it could be due to my second monitor (as I recall the intro worked before I used it), the game skips the intro cutscene. ALT+Tabbing also needs to be avoided, as you cannot tab back in. It should also be noted that the cursor in the actual missions (menus are fine) is a bit slow, although that could be due to the game running at a higher resolution than it was originally made for.

I could probably try to make a video if needed.

I tried deleting the Armada PRF, as suggested, but that only reset my video settings.

posted on April 13th, 2015, 3:20 am

Better buy an AMD video card instead. I highly doubt nVidia will fix their driver for a 15 years old game.

posted on April 13th, 2015, 3:24 pm

I just wanted to add that I just played the second mission of the game in Safe Mode. That worked without major problems, but the resolution switch (640*480) wrecked my Desktop Icons (luckily I have a program to restore it), and the game itself looked REALLY awful.

I would really like to enjoy this game in it's true glory.

posted on April 13th, 2015, 3:26 pm

I will be damned...

It's fixed in driver 350.12 released today!!!
(My god. They really fix driver for 15 years old game!!!)

Guess I'll keep that GTX 750 for a while longer...

posted on April 13th, 2015, 3:33 pm

I'm installing the new Drivers ASAP, then I'll see if it works for me as well. Finger crossed!

EDIT: I can confirm, it works. Just played the third mission. Although the game still refuses to play the intro by any means.

posted on April 13th, 2015, 4:21 pm

That's odd. Intro works for me. Just copy STIntro.bik to your Animations folder.

posted on April 13th, 2015, 4:46 pm

I checked the folder, the file was missing. I reinstalled the game, Intro plays now.

Does anyone have experience when it comes to recording the game? Fraps doesn't seem to recognize it by any means.

posted on April 14th, 2015, 2:30 pm

Just noticed something else:
If I start the game while my second monitor is NOT active, the game will only get to the menu, and only take up a quarter of the screen (in my case it chilled in my upper left corner). The Menu will lack animations and pressing any buttons will cause the game to tab out (which it doesn't like).

When I turned on my other monitor, it worked fine.
This could be because my second monitor was active when I reinstalled the game.

posted on April 20th, 2015, 12:56 pm

I just noticed that the Intro is gone again, including the STintro.bik.

Not sure why that could be.

EDIT: DERP. @yochenhsieh I get what you were trying to tell me now.
The intro is normally located on the disk, and I play without the disk (I think because of Patch 1.3, the game won't ask for it, but won't find the intro were it expects it).