Need Help With G3!!!!

[kenmalecki]

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I just installed G3 on my IBM R40 laptop (Pentium M 1.3GHz, XP Pro, 750GB RAM, 32MB Radeon 7500). It installed fine, and I connected the interlink OK, but when I click Run RealFlight, I get the Loading screen for 5 seconds, then an error message "Error creating effect GrassBillboards". When I click OK, I get a second error message "Error creating effect TreeBillboards". I get 6 of these error messages, and I click OK to each. Then Windows shuts down G3, asking me if I want to send an error report to Microsoft.

Anyone have this problem? G2 runs perfectly on the same computer. I was hoping I could get G3 running.

[Malc C]

Have you tried updating your graphics drivers, and the version of Direct X running on the computer

[rutat]

I am pretty sure that the 7500 does NOT have DX9 support in hardware which is required for G3.

[kenmalecki]

Thanks guys! I did update the drivers recently (for G2). And I installed DX9 from the G3 Disk #2.

But now an update and a bunch more questions - I used the Registration/Update page to download the latest version of G3. It took a while, but worked fine. Then I was able to get G3 running, HOWEVER rutat you are right, the 7500 is not up to it. It runs, but the graphics are low quality, there are no shadows, and detail on the the more complex planes and helis flickers in and out. I guess I need to upgrade my video card. That's where the questions come in.

I looked at the recommended cards at www.realflight.com and there are only a few that are tested and sure to run. And one of the messages from RF recomends Nvidia GeForce 6800 as best. Is that still the best, or would any later version of the GeForce card work as well or better? Anyone like the Radeon card better than GeForce? I've never upgraded a video card before. Is it a chip that you buy, or a card (which requires an open card slot)? Are they all standard (plug the old one out and the new one in)? Can any desktop PC be upgraded? Can any laptop PC be upgraded? I hope I'm not sunk because I have a laptop!
Thanks!
Ken

[rutat]

First, try turning off shadows, etc. That might help the frame rate ad performance.

The GF 6800 has been exceeded in the last couple of months. Mostly due to the vid bus - PCIe (express). The GeForce 7 with 512 mb of ram is near the top. The thing ou need is PixelShader 3.n etc. BTW, Age of Empires III is the new graphics test std. Certainly higehr cards will work better - just be sure you get the highest OpenGL and PixelShader and as many pipelines as you wallet can afford.

As far as laptop upgrades go, you won't like this: upgrading a laptop is NOT a cost effective idea. Limited bus, no options etc. And costly. Cheaper to buy an eMachines desktop with a killer PCIe vid card. Most recent desktop PCs will have an AGP slot that goes to 8x but a few more recent ones have the new PCI express slot for even better perf.

[kenmalecki]

rutat, Thanks for the great answer. I guess I'll just watch the graphics flicker on my laptop until I buy a new pc (won't be soon). Even though the graphics are degraded, the flight physics seem to be OK, and that's what a sim is really for anyway.
Ken

[Sky HawK]

I purhcased and installed a RADEON 7000 64MB DDR Memory card in my computer to get G3 and AeroFly Pro to work. Took about 5 minutes and $50 to get it done and it fixed all the errors.

The HawK

[rutat]

That is great (albeit a bit weird since it does not have HW surpport fro DX9) but that is NOT a laptop card. BTW, the OP's original video subsystem is rather specific so AFAIK there is not even an upgrade from Lenovo (formerly IBM).

[Sky HawK]

Ohhhhhh.....a laptop..... :o my bad :rolleyes:

[kenmalecki]

Yep. There are a few downsides to all that wonderful portability!
Ken

[rutat]

Well, there are some almost-gaming level laptops now. Not cheap. Like Dell's MX 170 with 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 7800 GTX - inly $4300 USD!! For the upcharge you cn easily get a second machine that supports a real graphics card. I keep a couple boxes around the place just for gaming and leave the laptop for business.

[Chazzman]

SkyHawk

you were extremly fortunate with your video card and G3 working
My FIRST video card was a Radeon 7500, it worked like crap!!!
I ended up huyig a Radeon 9600 more money this card workis fine