hello,I have a question,I've read about amigamerlin 3
and the sfft drivers and that stuff,and I was wondering,
are they for 2k/xp only?
is amigamerlin 2.9 the final version for 9x or is there
going to be a 9x version of the new drivers?.
the sfft is "the most advanced directx core" but,
it's frustrating for 9x users (like me) that it's avaiable
onyl for 2k/xp. it should be avaiable for both platforms.
ok,I know,programming drivers and optimizing them and
everything is not a "ok,sure,I'll do it,I'll post the link in 5
minutes" thing,but I'm worried they stopped working
in stuff for 9x.
I'm going to try anyway the sfft alpha 33 drivers,just
in case,I'll try both the legal way and the "ilegal way"
(replacing the amigamerlin 2.9 files and installing that
modified amigamerlin set,or manually replace the
files in c:\windows\system,that kind of stuff),
but I don't have any hopes.
btw,I'm using 98 first edition in an amd k6-2 500mhz
processor,64mb ram,and voodoo 3 2000 pci 16mb.
so far the amigamerlin 2.9 are the best drivers I've tryed,
(that's old news,I know),but I started looking for
newer drivers since I saw something frustrating:
some weeks ago I was testing xp,(argh...don't get
me started about how much it SUCKS...),and I found
that the amigasport drivers have a "force 3d now" feature,
and I was amazed that the speed in max payne
really increased a lot!!,it was actually working faster
than with the amigamerlin 2.9 in 98,EVEN WITH THE
COMPUTER "underclocked" TO 400MHZ (xp refused to
complete an installation and/or boot at 500mhz ??),
AND,CONSIDERING THE OVERALL DECREASE IN
PERFORMANCE BECAUSE OF XP!.
it's slower,bigger,unusable,unbearable...argh,no way
I'm going to use xp. NEVER,I'll stay with the DOS family
of OSes.
anyway,I still can't believe max payne was faster
under that circunstances,and I bet it was the
"force 3dnow" feature in the amigasport drivers.
I tryed to install those drivers in 9x,edit the inf,replace
the files,etc etc,but I had no lock,so,am I stuck with
a slower performance or is there any hope of
even better drivers than the already great amigamerlin 2.9?

I'm afraid the current Status of Win9x 3dfx Direct3D Drivers may indeed be the final status quo.

Usage of 2000/XP DirectX Drivers under Win9x is impossible, because the Win2k/XP WDM Driver model is different than Win9x. (technically, in the early days MicroSoft promised compatibility between the Win98SE WDM Driver architecture and the Win2000/XP WDM, but as usual they 'failed'... They intentionally cut-off the Win98SE WDM by implementing changes which made it incompatible, in order to enforce sales of the new OS)

Mixing Driver components as you need them is not illegal btw, you can do with them whatever you want on your computer ;)
Alot of people do this, and sometimes it's the only way to keep all components up-to-date (e.g. implementing latest Glide/MesaFX/SFFT Cores into their favorite Driver Package, which is usually somewhat behind the latest Core releases)

Technically, with the K6-2 500 you're not using even a Voodoo3 to its maximum potential, no matter how hard you tweak your Systems. Alot of people found their Voodoo3/4/5 Cards to really appreciate faster Athlon or AthlonXP power.
That also remedies some of the need for Tweaks to speed things up, as the only limitation remaining is usually the general compatibility with some of the later Games. That limit is then usally set by the max. capabilities of the respective OpenGL and Direct3D Cores.

As said, with Win9x the air has become very very thin in the DirectX part, Win2000 would bring you a bit further (no need for WinXP, which I ultimately dislike myself).

I'm not sure about the status (SFFT releases have become somewhat infrequent), but you could ask him in the 3dfxzone.it Forum about a possibility to release a Win9x Core as well.