So out of curiosity I installed LB2 on my older windows 7 64-bit laptop to see if it would work -- and potentially with a notion to make a few FRAPS videos if it looked good. I have the LB2 Anthology CD's in storage, but have the 4 disks ripped to ISO's (Longbow Anthology is Longbow Gold FX + Longbow 2 already patched to v2.09F with the D3D Update). After LB2 Final database patch, dgVooDoo 1.50,
Saitek HOTAS install, etc, etc, it works and looks good though I had to fix 2 issues.
I had to force LB2 to use my NVIDIA card instead of the integrated Intel chipset; and had a strange error in event viewer that was causing crashes related to DWM but that was fixed by checking 'Disable desktop composition' in the LB2 Compatibility tab. And it works, and is surprisingly stable. After maxing out AA Settings in the NVIDIA Control Panel and Running FRAPS at 60 FPS I could even capture great looking Lossless HD vids!
I solved the Low-Rotor RPM Stall permanently by capping the frame rate (using NVIDIA Inspector 1.9.7.3) to 43 FPS. This made the stall happen the correct amount and also solved the exagerated altitude dependant effects. What I couldn't fix (with FPS capping or CPU slow-down using CPU processor states & limiting CPU multipliers) was the HE rockets falling short.
Then I noticed something strange...
I wonder if the Rocket Accuracy problem is due to something other than the CPU speed. I observed that there is a buggy "range-to-target" value when switching between TADS and FCR. When activating the Laser in TADS the Range-to-target distance switches to meters, then when going back to FCR the distance is massively different (much more than I remember back in the Win98 days). The difference is usually around 200 meters! (See the pics below.) And at long range it can be as much as 500 meters different. In Windows 98 I distinctly remember those distances being close, but not exact. This was consistent with Laser targeting being the most accurate followed by FCR, followed by TADS triangulation. The game introduced a very minor fudge factor to show that FCR ranges weren't as good as Laser ranges.
But to be .5 km different, something just doesn't seem right.
Even more strange, is that when going from TADS Laser back to FCR, if the FCR sweep is not over the target, the Target Reticule drops and no longer sits over the target but to a place in front of the target (which is usually where the rockets land when they miss). When the target reticule drops the FCR range increases even though the spot on the ground in front of the target is actually closer. The distance should be decreasing, not increasing. Then once the FCR sweep passes over the target, the reticule returns to the correct spot and the range decreases -- exactly opposite of what it should be doing.
To check this, I compared other Glide Wrappers and tried different resolutions, as well as in software mode, and even on an old Vista machine. They all show this behavior, and of course the HE rockets all land prematurely short of their target. Too bad I don't have a Windows 98 machine around to see if these range-to-target values are normal. I'd love to know if anyone else can confirm this. Try it in Instant Action on a stationary target like a building. Even when I land right next to a building and target it, the distances between TADS and FCR can vary by as much as 15 meters -- that's crazy!
I wonder if the HE rockets landing short is due more to this possible range-to-target bug and only slightly related to the CPU being too fast. One hypothesis is that there is a bug in the range and targeting system on newer machines which is why the rockets miss. Is it caused by the Glide Wrappers, or some other part of the game which is incorrectly calculating distances? We may never know, but wouldn't it be great if this were solved?
~Victor1
Notice: TADS Laser Range-to-Target 5402 meters: Notice: FCR Range-to-Target 5908 meters, 506 meters different than TADS Laser range:That's 0.5 km difference and I can't imagine that is how the game is designed to work.
It gets even weirder, and I can't believe I never noticed this behavior until now.
Notice: TADS Laser Range-to-Target 95 meters: Notice: FCR Range-to-Target 111 meters (TADS 95m), Target Reticule in front of target and yet range is greater:When switching from TADS to FCR, the reticule moves off target and should be giving a shorter range, but instead gives a greater distance! Rockets usually fall short and land in this vicinity.
Notice: FCR Range-to-Target 107 meters:Once an FCR sweep pics up the target, the reticule moves back onto the target, but the distance decreases and it is 9% different than what the TADS Laser shows at 95 meters.
Notice: Target Reticule in front of target between TADS to FCR switch:Could this be why HE Rockets always fall short? Is the targeting system being fed incorrect distances?
And again...
Notice: TADS Laser Range-to-Target 1757 meters: Notice: FCR Range-to-Target 1832 meters (TADS 1757m), Target Reticule in front of target and yet range is greater: Notice: FCR Range-to-Target 1823 meters:After an FCR sweep the reticule moves over the target and the distance is updated, though it's still 67 meters different than TADS.
One more...
Notice: TADS Laser Range-to-Target 264 meters: Notice: FCR Range-to-Target 302 meters (TADS 264m), Target Reticule in front of target and yet range is greater: Notice: FCR Range-to-Target 299 meters (TADS 264 meters):