ErikH2000
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2794
Registered: 02-04-2003
IP: Logged

Hey, can anybody besides me reproduce this?

1. Set your video mode to 24-bit.
2. Start DROD.
3. Switch to windowed mode if you are in fullscreen.
4. Go to title screen.
5. Go to game sceen.
6. Check for a garbled area covering the top third or so of the screen. It should be pretty obvious.
7. Repeat steps 4,5,6 several times if you don't see the problem in step 6. It doesn't garble every time, but I usually get it within 5 tries. Maybe try 15 times before giving up.

I would like to know if anyone besides me is seeing this.

-Erik

____________________________
The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals | twitch stream | youtube archive (NSFW)

Oneiromancer
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2936
Registered: 03-29-2003
IP: Logged

By "video mode", do you mean "color quality?" On both of my computers, I can only set this to 16 or 32 bit, not 24. Perhaps you need to restart your computer before starting up DROD again when you change this? Unless you keep it on 24 bit all the time...but since you say to switch to that mode it seems like it isn't your default.

Game on,

____________________________
"He who is certain he knows the ending of things when he is only beginning them is either extremely wise or extremely foolish; no matter which is true, he is certainly an unhappy man, for he has put a knife in the heart of wonder." -- Tad Williams

StuartK
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 564
Registered: 06-10-2003
IP: Logged

My NVidia display drivers only have 16 bit or 32 bit options. Nothing inbetween...

ErikH2000
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2794
Registered: 02-04-2003
IP: Logged

StuartK wrote:
My NVidia display drivers only have 16 bit or 32 bit options. Nothing inbetween...

Yeah, you, Neil, and Mike are all in the same boat. Only some cards/drivers support the 24-bit mode it appears.

BTW, for anyone else who might be listening: If you can run the above tests in 24-bit mode, please report back results even if you DON'T see the garbling.

-Erik

____________________________
The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals | twitch stream | youtube archive (NSFW)

Schik
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

Rank Points: 5383
Registered: 02-04-2003
IP: Logged

The boat's getting crowded here. Move over, Mike! Dangit Neil, get your elbow out of my face!


____________________________
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals.
--Mahatma Gandhi

ClaytonW
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 961
Registered: 02-04-2003
IP: Logged

I can switch to 24-bit, and I tried this 20 times each in 640x480, 800x600, and 1024x768 (all in windowed mode).

I'm not seeing it.

mrimer
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

Rank Points: 5058
Registered: 02-04-2003
IP: Logged

I think Erik's pixels are wearing out. I think you can recharge your monitor at those places where they do ink cartridges.

____________________________
Gandalf? Yes... That's what they used to call me.
Gandalf the Grey. That was my name.
I am Gandalf the White.
And I come back to you now at the turn of the tide.

Sokko
Level: Smiter

Rank Points: 336
Registered: 02-25-2003
IP: Logged

24 bits is such an odd color depth I don't know why any monitor would display it at all. It's like an imaginary number or something; logically it can't exist, but it does. It's like a byte and a half. Ow, Schick, you stepped on my foot!

____________________________
How many boards would the Mongols hoard if the Mongol hordes got bored?

ErikH2000
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2794
Registered: 02-04-2003
IP: Logged

Sokko wrote:
24 bits is such an odd color depth I don't know why any monitor would display it at all. It's like an imaginary number or something; logically it can't exist, but it does. It's like a byte and a half. Ow, Schick, you stepped on my foot!

Probably about half of the cards I've owned have displayed at 24bits. But my config is behind the times, so maybe 24-bit just isn't around in modern cards. I don't know.

As for oddness, it is actually a pretty obvious choice. Colors are expressed as combinations of red, green, and blue. 24 bits allows one byte for each of the three colors.

I am going to let this bug go unless maybe 2 or 3 people suddenly pop up and say they have the same thing.

-Erik

____________________________
The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals | twitch stream | youtube archive (NSFW)

StuartK
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 564
Registered: 06-10-2003
IP: Logged

ErikH2000 wrote:
As for oddness, it is actually a pretty obvious choice. Colors are expressed as combinations of red, green, and blue. 24 bits allows one byte for each of the three colors.

The data path to the card will still be 32 bits though, so it would just mean extra padding of the data sent to the card.

Actually, my cheap n' cheesy graphics card on my PII does have a 24 bit option (I've not tested it yet) but I wouldn't use the resulution anyway, because it's /incredibly/ slow. As I remember, it's something to do with the limited memory on the card (24 bit does allow higher screen resolutions) and there needing to be a translation performed for every screen update.

I am going to let this bug go unless maybe 2 or 3 people suddenly pop up and say they have the same thing.

Can it be fixed with a driver update? Is it a known bug with your particular flavour of card? I get far superior performance at 32 bits, so is that option available for you?

[Edited by StuartK on 09-16-2003 at 08:00 PM]

ErikH2000
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2794
Registered: 02-04-2003
IP: Logged

StuartK wrote:
Can it be fixed with a driver update? Is it a known bug with your particular flavour of card? I get far superior performance at 32 bits, so is that option available for you?

It might be a problem with my specific card. I was in 32 bit mode and then I switched to 24 bit. The reason I switched to 24 bit was that the DROD graphics are internally stored as 24 bit, so I actually get better performance in DROD at 24 bit.

Later on we will probably change the internal graphic buffers to store in a color mode that always matches the current display, and this workaround won't matter.

-Erik

____________________________
The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals | twitch stream | youtube archive (NSFW)

StuartK
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 564
Registered: 06-10-2003
IP: Logged

ErikH2000 wrote:
I was in 32 bit mode and then I switched to 24 bit. The reason I switched to 24 bit was that the DROD graphics are internally stored as 24 bit, so I actually get better performance in DROD at 24 bit.

Now I'm curious if the graphics were stored in 32 bit, whether my screen update would be faster on my Duron with 16-or-32 bit only display options. Is the fact some translation seems to be required slowing things down? This would probably be easier to fix than introducing the OpenGL display option that was mentioned before. Or am I just speaking rubbish?

[Edited by StuartK on 09-16-2003 at 08:21 PM]

ErikH2000
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2794
Registered: 02-04-2003
IP: Logged

StuartK wrote:
Now I'm curious if the graphics were stored in 32 bit, whether my screen update would be faster on my Duron with 16-or-32 bit only display options. Is the fact some translation seems to be required slowing things down? This would probably be easier to fix than introducing the OpenGL display option that was mentioned before. Or am I just speaking rubbish?

The translation does slow things down. I'm not sure where you'll be with your Duron. Definitely try fullscreen, although it will request 24-bit mode as well and possibly end up doing translation again if it doesn't get 24-bit from your card. I suppose I should look into updating that, but it is too late into DROD:AE to consider it. We have many routines like the screen fade that depend on accessing pixels in 24 bit.

-Erik

____________________________
The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals | twitch stream | youtube archive (NSFW)