|
Posted
on August 22, 2001 by Thomas
McGuire
Display Settings Optimization
#3
Character
Shadows. This slider controls the LOD used for shadows cast by models.
When set to Low shadows are disabled, which will provide best
performance. Medium will provide a simple circular show, while High
provides 2 shadows cast beneath characters feet. The shots below illustrate the
difference between no shadows & High quality shadows.
Low
|
High
|
|
|
|
Don’t let the added realism
overwhelm you. If you have CPU resources to spare then you should set this to High
(More because you can, than because it looks good), although most users would be
recommended to set this to Low.
Sound
Channels. This slider controls the maximum number of
simultaneous Audio channels. The number of Channels varies with the slider
position selected, i.e. Low allows for 8, Medium allows for 10, High
allows for 12. You should set this to High unless you have a very slow
CPU, or rather old Soundcard (Most modern Soundcards support at least 32
3D streams), e.g. Vortex 1 based Soundcard.
Sound
Variations. This slider controls the amount of variation during
Audio playback in the Game. Setting this to Low will reduce system RAM
usage, although the audio will have a more generic feel to it given the lack of
variety. If you have greater than 64MB RAM then you should set this to Medium,
while those with 128MB RAM or more should set this to High.
Material
Variations. This slider controls the type of debris caused by
weapon fire, with Higher settings allowing for more realistic debris to
be displayed upon bullets/explosives hitting terrain, i.e. terrain damage will
display debris appropriate with the object hit. Using a Lower setting can
improve performance by using more generic debris – which may be useful for
those with a low amount of RAM, &/or Video memory. The screenshots below
illustrate the difference between Low & High material
variations.
Low
 |
High
 |
As you can see the High
setting displays debris appropriate with the material being hit by weapon fire,
whereas the Low setting displays merely small chunks of cement, despite a
wooden floor being hit.
|
