Problem running TDM on laptop - native resolution not working

[s.urfer]

I recently purchased a used gaming laptop, model Terra 1590, reportedly something of a MSI Ghost derivative. Has a dedicated GTX970M video card, the monitor has full HD resolution. OS is Win10 Pro anniversary edition with the latest Nvidia drivers.

Trouble is, I can't get it to use the native resolution. I can run it at 640x480, everything beyond that results in a distorted display, where I can only see the top left part of the "screen".

Several searches came up blank, any suggestions?

[nbohr1more]

Did you update Darkmod.cfg with the correct resolution, aspectRatio, and fovRatio, arguments per the resolutions wiki:

 

http://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Resolutions

 

?

[s.urfer]

Well, edited the Darkmod.cfg file by adding

 

seta r_customHeight "1080"
seta r_customWidth "1920"
seta r_fullscreen "1"
seta r_mode "-1"
seta r_aspectRatio "1"

to the end of it.

 

Which didn't yield the desired effect. The resolution lines got replaced with

 

seta r_customHeight "1440"
seta r_customWidth "2560"

for whatever reason.

 

Changing them back to my native resolution and changing seta r_aspectRatio "1" to seta r_aspectRatio "4" did nothing, as did adding seta r_fovRatio "16:9"

 

Added a screenshot, which shows the problem...

 

I would also like to add, that the graphics indicator in blue means the GTX vidcard is not used. Forcing TDM to use the GTX changes nothing but the colour of the indicator, going orange

Edited September 1, 2016 by s.urfer

[nbohr1more]

1) Make sure your darkmod folder is owned by the Windows user you login as an is not set to Read Only

 

2) Disable Desktop Effects:

 

To begin the process, type sysdm.cpl in Run box (Windows + R) and hit Enter to open the System Properties.

 

Select the Advanced tab and under Performance, click on Settings.

 

In the Performance Options box, select the Visual Effects tab.

 

Check "Adjust for Best Performance" then click Apply.

 

3) Disable High DPI

 

Right Click on TheDarkMod.exe or your shortcut, go to the Compatibility Tab and check "Disable Display Scaling on High DPI settings"

 

4) Try adding those resolution cvars to an autoexec.cfg file.

[s.urfer]

Thank you very much for your assistance, I really appreciate it!

 

Changed the folder to be fully accessible by all users.

 

Opened system properties and changed visual effects to best performance.

 

Then I got lost, I have a compatibility tab with the desired setting under Win7, but not under Win10...

 

[edit] Found it and changed it ...

 

Created an autoexec.cfg file int the darkmod folder, containing

 

seta r_customHeight "1080"
seta r_customWidth "1920"
seta r_fullscreen "1"
seta r_mode "-1"
seta r_aspectRatio "1"

seta r_fovRatio "16:9"

 

Starting TDM with those settings now results into OK menues but utterly distorted graphics into the mission. I guess I'll fiddle around with those settings a bit.

Edited September 1, 2016 by s.urfer

[nbohr1more]

Try:

 

(right click on desktop) screen resolution > make text and other items larger or smaller > Set to Medium

 

also

 

Fov Ratio is a decimal percentage. 16:9 is 1.7777777777

so

 

seta fovRatio "1.778"

[s.urfer]

^^

OK, that fixed the distortion.

 

The main point seems to be the "Disable Display Scaling on High DPI settings". With that set, I could get rid of all manual manipulations in the Darkmod.cfg.

 

The Game still is running with the intel graphics by default, but that is no real problem.

 

Thanks again for your help!

[AluminumHaste]

I haven't had to screw with Hybrid graphics in a long time, I do remember it being a pain and never working right.

Normally I would just go into the BIOS and disable the IGP so the 970 is the only graphics adapter windows sees.

[New Horizon]

I haven't had to screw with Hybrid graphics in a long time, I do remember it being a pain and never working right.

Normally I would just go into the BIOS and disable the IGP so the 970 is the only graphics adapter windows sees.

 

Probably the best idea.

[Bikerdude]

I haven't had to screw with Hybrid graphics in a long time, I do remember it being a pain and never working right.

Normally I would just go into the BIOS and disable the IGP so the 970 is the only graphics adapter windows sees.

And mostly likely you will only find the hybrid driver from the laptop manufacturer, what's the make/model of your laptop..?

[AluminumHaste]

Oh I remember the days of editing inf files to get drivers installed for laptop makers!

http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/

 

While you can get pre-modified inf files, I would try a generic Nvidia driver off their site first, and see if that works.

[s.urfer]

And mostly likely you will only find the hybrid driver from the laptop manufacturer, what's the make/model of your laptop..?

It's called Terra Mobile 1590 Gaming. Reportedly based on some international MSI model.

 

The originally installed drivers with the 1511 edition on it seemed to be MS/intel/Nvidia, so I did an clean install with the 1607 edition and waited for Windows update to come up with the drivers.

 

Strangely enough, I can't see a performance hit with TDM when letting it choose the internal HD4600 instead of forcing it to use the GTX970M. Perhaps I should try something more demanding then Closemouthed Shadows

 

Any suggestions for a mission, that is taxing the vidcard?

Edited September 2, 2016 by s.urfer

[AluminumHaste]

http://www.thedarkmod.com/missiondetails/?id=105

[nbohr1more]

The caves on mission 1 of No Honor Among Thieves are probably on of the most taxing areas from any mission. Also try Penny Dreadful 2 and 3 as well as Crucible of Omens: Behind Closed Doors, Not an Ordinary Guest, and Rightful Property. These should all give your machine a workout though that Intel GPU is actually pretty good so you might not see too many slowdowns. Anything roughly above a geforce 640 with 1gb of VRAM and a 128-bit memory controller is probably more CPU bound than GPU bound except at extreme resolutions and/or AA settings.

[Bikerdude]

Strangely enough, I cant see a performance hit with TDM when letting it choose the internal HD4600 instead of forcing it to use the GTX970M. Perhaps I should try something more demanding then Closemouthed Shadows

That GTX 970M should be absolutely & totally massacring the HD4600 (its 800-1000% faster). When playing any game, you should have you set windows to max perf mode. And do you have the latest drivers install for the

• HD4600 - https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/81496/Intel-HD-Graphics-4600-for-4th-Generation-Intel-Core-Processors
• GTX970M - http://www.geforce.co.uk/drivers/results/107076

[nbohr1more]

Yes the 970 is way more powerful but TDM won't use that extra power except:

 

Increasing resolution above 720p

Increasing AA above 2x

Maps with large shadow fill like NHAT

 

Most of the other slowdown issues will be caused by the CPU. Doom 3 uses roughly equal CPU and GPU resources whereas other engines that are more GPU based will see more benefit from that GPU.

 

It's still a shame if you're stuck running on the intel vs the 970. That extra resolution and AA is nothing to sneeze at.

[Bikerdude]

You say that, I have a HD5500(1 or 2 gens up from the 4600) based laptop and @720p the training mission only gets me around 25fps at the worst spot with all settings at lowest. Which btw is about the same as the 8800GT in my MacPro, a GTX970M at the same spot would see no FPS drops at all. In fact that 970 would play PD3 and CoO:BcD with out any fps drops @720p.

 

As we know IDtech4 thrives on an intelCPU/nvidiaGPU combo, so the Surfer would be far better of running the 970 for any/all FPS based games

[AluminumHaste]

Well it's easy to test, download GPU-Z, run it, and have it run in the background while playing.

Check GPU usage graph to see what the game is actually using.

 

https://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/2764/techpowerup-gpu-z-v1-10-0/mirrors

[s.urfer]

Right. On COOBCD the difference is more than noticeable, especially when running 8x AA and AIF. Fortunately, using the high power thingie is just a right click away