Q
- The game runs just fine in skirmish and singleplayer..
but when i create, or join, a server, the game runs ridiculously
slow. Why, and how it could be fixed?
A - If you have already installed
the newest patch, best option is that your friend's computer
is a)slow or b)misconfigured. Most probably B. Why? Because
the Z2 netcode "levels down" the gameplay taking
as reference the slowest performance machine. To exemplify,
I have an Athlon 1.3Ghz, my friend's got an Athlon 900Mhz,
both with Geforce2GTS'. His performance sucked, and so did
mine when we tried to play multiplayer. After profiling,
I found out his fps were around 20, and mine was around
120. So I've applied the "fast setting" in geforcetweak
(www.guru3d.com) at his machine, his performance jumped
up to 90 fps and then everything went smooth. Ok, so his
machine is not as fast as mine, and I actually end up playing
at "900"mhz and this is somewhat deceptive, but
things are getting better at each patch released. Maybe
the bitbros will be even kind enough to add some prediction
or assyncronous code and we'll finally be able to multi
at our fastest speed, who know? ;)
Q
- Why I can't run the game using my ATI card?
A - Everyone that have a choice
should run away from the ATI cards as much as they can,
since it's the only card that has many issues with Z:SS.
Anyway, if you have one, you can try the newest Beta drivers,
which according to the Bitmaps solves the problem.
Q
- from the launcher i click on the play button and it starts
up the little z2 logo and after that it disappears and I'm
still at desktop...
A - Doesn't the taskbar show
steel soldiers up? If it does, just click it and there you
go. This is a well known issue with Windows 2000 which was
fixed in the v2 patch.
Q
- Z:SS always starts in 640x480 mode. Why? I haven't got
a clue! Before each session I now have to adjust all settings
to suit my personal taste.
A - Although far from obvious,
use profiler to define you preferred settings. I suggest
disabling Detail Textures, Antialiasing and V-sync, and
selecting 16-bit for both options to assure best performance.
In patch 3 sometimes you have problems to keep your preferred
settings - like the auto-deselect mode - throughout game
sessions.
Q
- I've tried everything to get this running but can't pass
from start screen! I'm about to get nuts about it. Should
I throw the game away or return it?
A - Don't! Are you crazy to
miss this marvelous babe? Supposing you have the most recent
drivers for everything (specially if you own a SB Live),
did you:
1) Phisically removed your soundcard?
2) Borrowed a friend's video card and checked if it worked?
3) Reinstalled your whole system and OS bare bones (no cards
or peripherals other than the video card)?
Although very radical solutions, if these don't work you
probably have a motherboard problem and should e-mail EON
support directly. (support@EON-digital.com)
Q
- What should I do if I keep getting DirectX errors??
A - (by Cotsz) Do as follow:
1. Uninstall your previous drivers of all yours graphics
card.
2. Delete your DirectX directory (C:\WINDOWS\DirectX).
3. Clear all files in your C:\WINDOWS\TEMP (and/or C:\TEMP).
4. Scan your disk C:\ (Scandisk) under Windows (really impotant)
And eventually Defrag it too.
5. Install the latest version of all your graphics card
drivers (and as posible, versions for DirectX 8).
6. Install DirectX 8.0a.
Q
- How do I play multiplayer on Gamespy?
A - First download gamespy
arcade, it's an automated process after you click the big
button on the top of the www.gamespy.com homepage. After
it runs, close the help window (after reading it, preferably
:)) and check if it has found Z:SS in your hard drive, you'll
have the Z:SS logo somewhere on the left part of the screen
if you're all set. Click the logo and you'll be taken to
the chat section (players willing to have a Z:SS match).
Then if there's a game open and players are all set just
double click the game name on the top of the screen. There
ya go.
FAQ
- Problems and Performance Part 2
