2.11 Problem on Older Single Core PC's and Older Video Cards

[Buddye]

We have had two problem with people reporting a CTD who had older PC's (non-dual core) and older 256MB video cards.

We added the following notes to the Release notice. Please review Note #5:

Note1: this update will bring *any* previous version up to 2.11. You do not need any previous patches at all.

Note2: You will need the latest DirectX to run 2.11.
[/b]You will get a missing .dll error if you do not. When you run the 2.10 self-installer it will point you to the Microsoft DirectX update page. Update to DirectX9.0c (June version). Unfortunately, there are multiple versions of 9.0c so if in any doubt, update.

Note3: The MultiSkin patch should go ON TOP OF Battle of Britain 2: Wings of Victory v2.11 Patch (English) OR Battle of Britain 2: Wings of Victory v2.11 Patch (International)
You should have a 256M gfx card to be sure to run without issues.

Note4: How to back up your existing settings from earlier BoBII updates.
Buddye's installation guide HERE-> http://www.a2asimulations.com/forum/vie ... 0&t=19368B
Back up your Bdg.txt and \savegame, \2dGauge, and \keyboard folders (these folders contain all your settings and joystick buttons)

Note5: If you have a low end system and experience a crash once into 3D, go to your bdg.txt file and set LANDSCAPE_TEXTURE_SIZE = 1024 (the default is 2048). This will reduce the landscape texture resolution by a factor of 4 and should help users with low system memory.

Note6: Windows Vista and Window 7 users. All Vista and Windows 7 users will need to apply the 'Vista/Windows 7 fix' to your desktop shortcut as a fresh 2.11 install will overwrite the previous shortcut.
Right click on shortcut and go to properties. Go to the compatibility tab. Check "disable desktop composition" and check the privilege level, run this program as an administrator.

Note7: Forcing VSync with ATI card
There is a known issue with the latest ATI cards and VSync. See http://www.a2asimulations.com/forum/vie ... 10&t=21660
In short, you need to right click your ATI tray icon and enable through that (Wait for vertical refresh->Always on).

Note8: Framerates over densely populated areas of 3D objects
See the section later in this thread. Object rendering is not as efficient as we hope to make it in the future. Be prepared to check your Ground Object Density settings in densely populated urban areas. See b

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We made a decision to default the Bdg.txt parameter "LANDSCAPE_TEXTURE_SIZE " to 2024 as it is our new high res landscape textues. We wanted players to enjoy the new textures and we only had one active Beta tester who was having the CTD. Our logic was that most players today would be OK on the new settings.

If you experience a CTD, shortly after entering 3D , and your PC is older (single core) with an older video card then please try the following Bdg.txt setting:

LANDSCAPE_TEXTURE_SIZE = 1024

We want players with modest PC and video cards to enjoy BOBII but as you all know technology does move forward at a rapid pace and the BDG always trys to keep BOBII up with as much new tech as we can.

Also review the following BOBII 2.11 performance tuning thread:

http://a2asimulations.com/forum/viewtop ... 17&t=10091

For an older single core PC, I would load BOBII version 2.09. You will get the best AI for dog fighting and you will give up all the new landscape, new models/objects, a few major amd minor features, and some fixes (almost 1.5 years of work). I would not install multi Skin unless you have a vido card with greater than 250k of memory (note - MultiSkin can be turned off in the BDG.txt).

You can still get 2.09 on the Gamershell link:

http://www.gamershell.com/pc/battle_of_ ... loads.html

You may have to reduce your settings. See this thread for some BOBII tuning info:

http://a2asimulations.com/forum/viewtop ... 17&t=10091