On my Core i7 iMac (3.5ghz Haswell) I find that the performance of Dark Forces is excellent. I can max out all the settings and the game runs *almost* as smoothly as I remember on my old G3 Mac.
However, the cut scenes suffer from quite severe audio stuttering. I am puzzled as to why this is the case, when the rest of the game runs fine.
Can anyone recommend an optimal setup for Dark Forces? I am running it in the default installation of Mac OS 9.0.4 with the 'standard' recommended SheepShaver settings.
Dark Forces - 'stuttering' cut scenes but fast gameplay
Moderators: Cat_7, Ronald P. Regensburg, ClockWise
Re: Dark Forces - 'stuttering' cut scenes but fast gameplay
I should add that the graphics in the cutscenes lag just as much as the sound ... seems the cutscenes require a whole lot more processing power than the actual game?
I tried running in 7.5.5 and 8.5 using the same ROM as my 9.0.4 install, and the speed is about the same in all of them.
So, it appears I have just hit a performance bottleneck in terms of what SheepShaver is capable of handling?
I tried running in 7.5.5 and 8.5 using the same ROM as my 9.0.4 install, and the speed is about the same in all of them.
So, it appears I have just hit a performance bottleneck in terms of what SheepShaver is capable of handling?
Re: Dark Forces - 'stuttering' cut scenes but fast gameplay
One other thing I noticed is that games that require QuickTime for cutscenes suffer from the same problem.
Castles Siege and Conquest runs very well within the actual game, but the intro and in-game QuickTime movies suffer from some sound stuttering and occasional lag (such as the sound going out of sync with people talking).
Again, I assume this just comes down to limits of what SheepShaver can handle without being able to tap into the power of modern graphic cards.
Castles Siege and Conquest runs very well within the actual game, but the intro and in-game QuickTime movies suffer from some sound stuttering and occasional lag (such as the sound going out of sync with people talking).
Again, I assume this just comes down to limits of what SheepShaver can handle without being able to tap into the power of modern graphic cards.
Re: Dark Forces - 'stuttering' cut scenes but fast gameplay
Lowering the window refresh rate might help.
Perhaps you can try to set it to 30?
Best,
Cat_7
Perhaps you can try to set it to 30?
Best,
Cat_7
Re: Dark Forces - 'stuttering' cut scenes but fast gameplay
I think I tried every combination of every preference setting (QuickDraw, JIT Compiler etc.), including all of the different refresh rates.
I even tried SheepShaver in a Mountain Lion VM in Parallels - as I read elsewhere that this fixed lag in other LucasArts games. However, no luck - runs just the same during the cutscenes.
I would put it down to something in the cutscenes that requires much more processing power than the actual game itself, or it is just code that does not run efficiently in SheepShaver. The game is otherwise quite playable, but if anyone comes across a 'fix' for the cutscenes I would be glad to know the answer.
I even tried SheepShaver in a Mountain Lion VM in Parallels - as I read elsewhere that this fixed lag in other LucasArts games. However, no luck - runs just the same during the cutscenes.
I would put it down to something in the cutscenes that requires much more processing power than the actual game itself, or it is just code that does not run efficiently in SheepShaver. The game is otherwise quite playable, but if anyone comes across a 'fix' for the cutscenes I would be glad to know the answer.