Tired of low default refresh rates? Want an easy fix?

[GX-Buck]

Quite a few people probably know about this, but i'm sure there are quite a few still that do not, so consider this a public service.

 

As most of us know, Win2k/WinXP both have a bad habit of setting the refresh rate very low when running a 3d application.

 

Unlike a vast majority of programs, The Quake3 engine contains a cvar to allow you to change the refresh rate within the game

 

to set the refresh rate:

Open the console (Shift+~), and type:

r_displayrefresh XX (where XX is your desired refresh rate in Hz. make sure you pick a value that is supported by your monitor, otherwise the display output will be out of range and go blank.)

 

Then:

vid_restart

 

The problem with this is that the setting will not get stored to config, and will need to be entered manually every time. To have the setting applied automatically at startup:

 

Create a new text file named "Autoexec.cfg" and place it in the same directory as the games config files (\Program Files\Lucasarts\Star Wars JK II Jedi Outcast\Gamedata\base)

 

open the new Autoexec.cfg file that you just created and enter in it:

 

seta r_displayrefresh 85

vid_restart

 

Now your refrsh rate will be set to the value that you desire automatically when you start the game. This applies to both Multiplayer, and single player. The quake3 engine executable will go looking for an autoexec.cfg file on startup, and will execute any commands it contains if found.

 

So far i'm having a blast with this game. I think i'm about halfway thru, and loving it. God job Raven!

 

 

Buck

General all around techie like person

firingsquad.gamers.com

www.viahardware.com

[Chiles4]

Thanks, GX! I run Win98SE but when I switched to 11x8 res, the game seemed to pick a funky refresh rate - had to resize the screen alot with manual controls.

 

The command you used to do this, is it really SETA or just SET ?

[GX-Buck]

"The command you used to do this, is it really SETA or just SET ?"

 

If you are going to enter the commands manually in the console, just type the commands themselves (no set, seta)

 

the prefix is only used for command entries in a cfg file. It's not really neccesary per to say, but I tend to follow the pattern that the developer written cfg's use, and they use the "seta" command prefix.

 

 

Another thing that i've found helps with loading is to add a "com_hunkmegs XXX" to your sp cfg. you can pretty much add it anywhere.

 

boosting the Hunkmegs setting from it's default of 64 (which controls the total memory allocation the game will use- someone else said it just controls how much memory for models, but i'm pretty sure it's total memory usage by the application. someone from Raven can clear this up if i'm mistaken.)

 

Typically it's best to limit the hunkmegs setting to 3/4 total ram. If you have 384MB or more in your system, set the hunkmegs to 128 to improve the loading speeds and overall game performance.

 

 

as far as you saying the game "resized" the screen when you selected a higher resolution, that's a side effect of the monitor's own attributes. lower refresh rates tend to not fill out the veiwable area quite right at higher resolutions. Instead of manually fiddling with the parameters of the viewable area, try bumping up the refresh rate.

 

Again, remember to stay within the limits of your monitor's capability. You won't damage the monitor (it will protect itself and shut off, usually giving you an "out of range" display on the screen, meaning that the input signal is outside of it's support ability.), but you will end up with a blank display, and the inability to see what's going on.