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Newer software updates for 3dfx cards under MS Windows 32 bit platforms are available to download in our common files section. These interest 3dfx Banshee, Velocity, Voodoo3, Voodoo4 and Voodoo5 owners running Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP OSes. At this time 3dfx Voodoo2 adapters are supported in DOS and Linux environments only. Please post your  feedbacks to our message board located at this link. MesaFX 0.5.1 is ready This new graphics library is OpenGL 1.3 compliant and supports 3dfx Voodoo Banshee, Velocity 100/200, Voodoo3, Voodoo4, Voodoo5 boards. MesaFX 5.1 works fine with Amigamerlin drivers series allowing a better execution of OpenGL 1.3 recent games, like Call of Duty. Besides, running older titles, like Quake 3 Arena, MOHAA, Serious Sam The Second Encounter, you can get both higher frame rates and better hardware performance with 32bit of color depth (this one by cards with VSA-100 chip-sets only). MesaFX 0.51 installation Install procedure is simple and fast, it has these following steps: -Unzipping the archive named mesafx_0.51.zip -Copying file named glide3x in Windows/System32 folder (MS Windows XP users) -Copying file named glide3x in Winnt/System32 folder (MS Windows 2000 users) -Copying file named glide3x in Windows/System folder (MS Windows 9X / ME users) -Copying file named openGL32 in game folder What is Mesa? Mesa is a 3-D graphics library with an API which is very similar to that of OpenGL. To the extent that Mesa utilizes the OpenGL command syntax or state machine, it is being used with authorization from Silicon Graphics, Inc.(SGI). However, the author does not possess an OpenGL license from SGI, and makes no claim that Mesa is in any way a compatible replacement for OpenGL or associated with SGI. Those who want a licensed implementation of OpenGL should contact a licensed vendor. We heartly thank the whole development team made up of these men: David Bucciarelli, Daryll Strauss, Keith Whitwell, Daniel Borca, Hiroshi Morii. And of course, Kudos to Brian Paul, sine qua non. Useful links Mesa3D Web Site MesaFX 0.51 download at 3dfxzone.it Official topic about MesaFX 0.5.1 Screenshots of Call of Duty with MESA 0.51 and 3dfx Voodoo5 5500 Screenshots of Wolfestain Enemy Territory with MesaFX 0.51 and Voodoo5 5500 Updated device drivers for 3dfx video cards Users Support

Source: http://www.3dfxzone.it/dir/news/3dfx/mesafx/index.htm

:D

That's great news!!   :o ;D

Anyone installed this yet?

I have tried them in my v3. It has more compatibility but the 3dfx splash screens seems software rendered ???

wrote on 18.12.03 at 01:32:49:

I have tried them in my v3. It has more compatibility but the 3dfx splash screens seems software rendered ???

Awwwright! Let me think... isn't it the splash screen is done in Glide?

Huh! should I tighten my anti-flame-armor belt?  ;D

MesaFx is great.  :)

Now I can finally run Pete's OpenGL 1.75 PSX graphics plugin before only 1.68 worked that is only until MesaFx came along.  ;) The same also goes for his Zinc plugin which had crashes under the ICD when running in a window which brings some questions I have about MesaFx.

This is the only minor thing I couldn't figure out about MesaFx. Why won't it run in a window? When the OpenGl app is set to run in a window Mesa runs it in full screen instead.  Also when an app is set to run in full Screen it does so but the image appears to be zoomed in on and quite off center.

Emulator related stuff I tried with XP and MesaFx:
Petes OpenGl graphics plugins work but not in a window.
Snes9x OpenGl bi-linear doesn't work as it only quickly exits but maybe that's because the program first starts OpenGl in a window. (note: works OK with native 3dfx OpenGL ICD)

Great work dborca, it makes a real good substitute,

PS: I noticed that the included glide3x.dll says "beta do not distribute": Oops  :o

EP

wrote on 18.12.03 at 21:33:57:

MesaFx is great.  :)

Thanks!


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This is the only minor thing I couldn't figure out about MesaFx. Why won't it run in a window? When the OpenGl app is set to run in a window Mesa runs it in full screen instead.  Also when an app is set to run in full Screen it does so but the image appears to be zoomed in on and quite off center.

Well, I'm not doing Win32 specific code. Bah, I can't stand it. Usually, Kool does that, I am specialized in OpenGL state machine.  ;D Eventually, we'll add windowed modes, too! ;)
As a side-effect of not doing Win32 code is that the published DLL is compiled with MinGW. Bwahahahahaha!


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Great work dborca, it makes a real good substitute,

Eheheh! Mesa is the most advanced 3dfx OpenGL there is. It might not be as fast as 3dfx DLL in certain situations, but it surely beats everything when it comes to extensions. And we're still working on Mesa...


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PS: I noticed that the included glide3x.dll says "beta do not distribute": Oops  :o

Yeah... I can't take care of everything on this world. It seems that little thingie escaped me. Well, take it as a WIP warning. Otherwise, you have my blessing.  :P

PS: I will send another version for upload today! WGL_3DFX_gamma_control really works this time.

wrote on 19.12.03 at 08:37:28:

PS: I will send another version for upload today! WGL_3DFX_gamma_control really works this time.

ok, that's why quake3 is too dark and the gamma slide has no effect?  ;)


this driver works great in call of duty
it can lauch ut2k3 in opengl mode too (that's not possible with wickedgl or default ICD)
but many textures are black (same bug I had with the old "koolsmoky's  alternate opengl" in counterstrike)

this is great anyway, ultimately it could allow to play ut2k3 on voodoo2  8) (maybe it runs under linux?)

wrote on 19.12.03 at 15:52:51:

ok, that's why quake3 is too dark and the gamma slide has no effect?  ;)

Exactly! But since I am not a gamer, I only upgraded Quake3 last night (from 1.11 to 1.32)  ;D


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this driver works great in call of duty it can lauch ut2k3 in opengl mode too (that's not possible with wickedgl or default ICD) but many textures are black (same bug I had with the old "koolsmoky's  alternate opengl" in counterstrike)

Hmmm... black textures? try to decrease texture memory usage (smaller textures). Mesa has a nice texture swapping algorithm, but... ohwell... nothing is perfect!


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this is great anyway, ultimately it could allow to play ut2k3 on voodoo2  8) (maybe it runs under linux?)

AFAIK, it runs under Linux! I'll check again. I hope I didn't screwed anything on the way ;)

yeah, new mesa rocks!!!!  8)
call of duty no problems,
but i got the same as Blazkowicz in ut2k3: black textures on the ground,  the game was - of course - in full screen mode but i didn't got the whole picture, like if it was cut off on all 4 sides..anyway, the remaining picture seemed a little bit "zoomed" (looks like a lower screen resolution than i run it). er, my texure details were set to medium, maybe i should decrease 'em. does that go together with mesa's s3tc incompatibility? i'm only asking because some textures looked still as they should look (except the black ones) and some effects weren't shown correctly..
remember, ut2k3 opengl renderer is not supported by epic and it's just a little add-on which isn't really developed anymore --> maybe the renderer causes the problems, not mesa  ;)

another question: concerning the modified glide3x.dll, does it has any effects on glide games?

I tried the first Unreal, no problem
I guess nearly all glide games use glide2x.dll anyway ??


I tried Counterstrike too
and there are issues with decals and alpha blending

When I shoot on wall I spread black squares instead of bullet holes ;D, the bomb point is a 50x50cm red square ; and you see black where you should see through textures with 1 bit alpha


(btw counterstrike is fine with MiniGL 1.49, looks better than wickedGL in this game)


that's not dramatic since this MesaFX is great for newer games :D
I even wonder if it will be able to run doom3 (slow and ugly of course, w/o bumpmaps,  but I'll still do it ;D)

wrote on 19.12.03 at 19:10:00:

I tried the first Unreal, no problem I guess nearly all glide games use glide2x.dll anyway ??

that's why I'm asking for  ;) Unreal- & UT- engine based games all use glide2x..maybe op flashpoint makes use of glide3x  :-/


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...since this MesaFX is great for newer games :D I even wonder if it will be able to run doom3 (slow and ugly of course, w/o bumpmaps,  but I'll still do it ;D)

whoho, don't think so...but mesafx 5.1 won't be the last version, somebody told me..  ;)
well, without bumpmaps you won't see anything in doom3, therefore you can't disable the combination of bumpmaps and dynamic lights therein.

wrote on 19.12.03 at 21:31:52:

but mesafx 5.1 won't be the last version, somebody told me..  ;)

Hum... and who might that be? :P

Guys, I am NOT a gamer. I usually work on an as-required-by-friends basis! Just point me to the demo exhibiting the issue, and I'll try to fix it. That is, provided is not too big...  ;D

Anyway, thanks for ther reports, so far ;)

PS: I backed up a download link at http://www.geocities.com/dborca/mesa/mesa.html

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Mesa 6.0 will be the next stable release and will support all OpenGL 1.5 features.

guess you know where from I've taken that  ;)


http://www.unrealtournament.com/ut2003/downloads.php

that'll point you to the demo...well, it is 142mb  :P



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Special welcome to our visitors from Dresden, Germany.

Thanks..  :)

Okidok, I placed the Mesa0.51 into the Archive as well :)

Ok here is a picture of what the zoomed in bug looks like.

In fullscreen with Pete's OpenGL PSX graphics plugin ver. 1.75 using ePSXe, this is what I get when running the plugin full screen at 800x600 under XP.
http://www.wiu.edu/users/muerp1/psxbios.jpg

However, running at 640x480 works fine in full screen as show in the picture below.
http://www.wiu.edu/users/muerp1/psxbios1.jpg


BTW: When running the application in a window at 800x600, Mesa goes full screen but it is not zoomed in on nor off center. So if you want hi res full screen, just select run in a window and then you will have hi res full screen.

Note: ePSXe and Pete's plugins are also available for linux as well but I don't have a unix based OS installed to test. All you need is a PSX bios (512K), Petes plugins, and you can run the bios to test just like I did.

Thanks for reading and hope this helps someone realize you can get hi res full screen if you run the application in a window.

EP

wrote on 20.12.03 at 21:27:51:

Ok here is a picture of what the zoomed in bug looks like.

Thanks for all the info! Koolsmoky is already working on the Win32 interface, so stay tuned.  ;)

In the meantime, I released 0.51b!

Since I am a lazy bastard, I won't write all that story again. Please have a look at http://www.3dfxzone.it/enboard/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=358&whichpage=7

It fixes UT2k3 (partially).  :o

Guess what? the alpha blending errors in Half-Life/Counterstrike I told you about have gone  :o

I had noticed the same kind of errors in medal of honor (you can see them in the training course, there's a lot of vegetation there), there are gone too


You fixed ut2k3,  quake3, quake3 based games, half-life and  its mods
that's great for such a small version number change  :D

but there's still a problem
using MesaFX seems to add some mouse lag
it's very noticeable in game menus, but it's still there when playing

everyone else noticed it?
I am under windows 98SE with amigarmerlin 2.9 and a V5 5500 AGP

wrote on 22.12.03 at 21:58:46:

You fixed ut2k3,  quake3, quake3 based games, half-life and  its mods that's great for such a small version number change  :D

Yup! that's me!  ;D ;D ;D


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but there's still a problem using MesaFX seems to add some mouse lag it's very noticeable in game menus, but it's still there when playing

Hum, this seems to be a Win32 specific issue (DirectInput or some other windoze crap)! I have to talk to Koolsmoky!


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I am under windows 98SE with amigarmerlin 2.9 and a V5 5500 AGP

Me too! The lag becomes really annoying when in FSAA mode.

Oh, btw, I almost forgot  :P There is release 0.51c bringing GL_REPLACE/GL_ADD for pre-Napalm core multitexturing.  ;)
http://www.geocities.com/dborca/mesa/mesa.html

Happy holidays for everyone!

yeah, tried mohaa and this one works great man! i can watch now all intro sequences, the game menu is shown correctly and non of the issues described in mohaa's readme appeared!

you know, that's like another christmas gift for me, thanks man, you're doing great work!  :)

I found a thing about mouse lag

Today I got  a new screen (IBM G76, 17")

so I wanted to try insane resolutions in quake1 and 2. With BOTH the default ICD (from amigamerlin 2.9) and MesFX 0.51c (edit : tried 51d too), even with Wicked GL, an  important mouse lag occurs at 1280x1960 and it's very high in 1600x1200   (FSAA 4x always enabled  8) with LOD -1.5)
mouse lag is very noticable  in 1024x768,  but I don't feel it in 640x480

So it's  dependant on resolution   (mesaFX being more laggy than default ICD and wicked)

BUT  it totally disappears if I use MiniGL (v 1.49 ; the one in quake2 won't let me go higher than 800x600)
Even in 1600x1200 there's no mouse lag  (hehe, that's the equivalent of playing in 3200x2400 :o )


maybe you knew this behaviour, but I tell you anyway

good luck fixing that ;)






please go on, you're the best!


http://forum.hardware.fr/images/perso/roi.gif

Check this out:
http://www.3dfxzone.it/enboard/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=730

also here for release G:
http://www.3dfxzone.it/enboard/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=358&whichpage=9

Well, the current MesaFX release (0.51gSR)'works' with Unreal Tourney... :D

Except that it has a bug that creates 'black lines' on most of the objects in the game (medkits, etc...) :'(

I'm using the Amigamerlin 3.0 drivers... ;)

Hope this bug report helps! :)

I just tried MesaFX 0.51gSE on my voodoo1..  and quake3 runs perfectly!
I couldn't spot any visual bug !
even the MiniGL showed corrupted (a bit) menus

My system is :
dual Pentium Pro 200mhz
160MB of EDO ECC RAM
Ultra SCSI RAID
crap integrated Cirrus Logic 1MB
3DFX Voodoo1 4MB running Iceman 1.00.01
Sound Blaster 16
win 2k pro + SP3

the framerate is in the 5-20fps range
it even runs with the texture slide at 3/4 (a bit slower than 2/4), which is great since the texture memory is only 2MB

Bots are not even that tough to kill in hardcore mode (but they are so dumb)

it's also awesome to see all the supported extensions

I just copy pasted the opengl32.dll from the archive
I didn't even looked at the voodoo2 fix
the glide3x.dll  included in the Iceman driver was sufficient as well

I ran quake1 before quake3 : monsters, weapons and console background were left untextured
I had first tried Cube  ( http://wouter.fov120.com/cube/ ) : it ran without bug but really slow ( 5fps' ish ) , but I can blame it on the slow CPU and 3D card ;D


Thanks for turning that 1996 piece of hardware into a opengl 1.3 compliant part  :D

I didn't want to say anything but... :P

Is anyone actually READING these bug reports anymore? :o

Hello? ???

Hm, the way I know Daniel so far, I'm quite sure he is very busy... ;)

Otherwise, one can always try to Post in the respective 3dfxzone.it Forum area as well; that could improve the response time somewhat if the Bug Report is important/urgent :)

wrote on 23.01.04 at 22:18:13:

Hm, the way I know Daniel so far, I'm quite sure he is very busy... ;)

Thx! ;D Yeah, I was busy. And still am...


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Otherwise, one can always try to Post in the respective 3dfxzone.it Forum area as well; that could improve the response time somewhat if the Bug Report is important/urgent :)

However, worry not! I do keep an eye on the threads...

BTW, somebody reports Voodoo3+NWN is broken in Fourth Edition...  :-/ Hum... 4th ed was meant to FIX such things...

@Blazkowicz:
I am amazed you managed to run Mesa on Voodoo1. I myself couldn't do it! :P Dunno... maybe I used the wrong Glide3x.dll. However, I didn't bothered too much (about 15 minutes), after which I took another decision: I just created the Glide3x sources for Voodoo1/Rush! They shall get into SourceForge CVS this week.