America's army is extremely slow

JCdude2525 · 12-18-2004, 05:59 PM

Hello-
There may be threads on this already, but I didn't find any. Anyway, I recently finished
getting America's Army to load, and it runs extremely slow. Back a couple of months ago when I temporarly had Windows installed, I decided to give America's Army a try. It was fun, and it ran decently fast. Then, I moved back to Slackware, and forgot about it for a couple of more months. Yesterday, I installed America's Army again, and it runs extremely slow. Why is this?
My box has a 1 Ghz P3 processor, 512 MB of memory, and an ATI Rage 128 Pro with 16 MB video memory.

If my /etc/X11/xorg.conf has anything to do with it, here it is-

Section "Module"

# This loads the DBE extension module.

Load "dbe" # Double buffer extension

# This loads the miscellaneous extensions module, and disables
# initialisation of the XFree86-DGA extension within that module.
SubSection "extmod"
Option "omit xfree86-dga" # don't initialise the DGA extension
EndSubSection

# This loads the font modules
Load "type1"
# Load "speedo"
Load "freetype"
# Load "xtt"

# This loads the GLX module
Load "glx"
# This loads the DRI module
# Load "dri"

EndSection

# **********************************************************************
# Files section. This allows default font and rgb paths to be set
# **********************************************************************

Section "Files"

# The location of the RGB database. Note, this is the name of the
# file minus the extension (like ".txt" or ".db"). There is normally
# no need to change the default.

RgbPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/rgb"

# Multiple FontPath entries are allowed (which are concatenated together),
# as well as specifying multiple comma-separated entries in one FontPath
# command (or a combination of both methods)
#
#

FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc/"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/TTF/"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1/"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/CID/"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi/"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi/"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/local/"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo/"
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/cyrillic/"

# The module search path. The default path is shown here.

# ModulePath "/usr/X11R6/lib/modules"

EndSection

# **********************************************************************
# Server flags section.
# **********************************************************************

Section "ServerFlags"

# Uncomment this to cause a core dump at the spot where a signal is
# received. This may leave the console in an unusable state, but may
# provide a better stack trace in the core dump to aid in debugging

# Option "NoTrapSignals"

# Uncomment this to disable the <Crtl><Alt><Fn> VT switch sequence
# (where n is 1 through 12). This allows clients to receive these key
# events.

# Option "DontVTSwitch"

# Uncomment this to disable the <Crtl><Alt><BS> server abort sequence
# This allows clients to receive this key event.

# Option "DontZap"

# Uncomment this to disable the <Crtl><Alt><KP_+>/<KP_-> mode switching
# sequences. This allows clients to receive these key events.

# Option "Dont Zoom"

# Uncomment this to disable tuning with the xvidtune client. With
# it the client can still run and fetch card and monitor attributes,
# but it will not be allowed to change them. If it tries it will
# receive a protocol error.

# Option "DisableVidModeExtension"

# Uncomment this to enable the use of a non-local xvidtune client.

# Option "AllowNonLocalXvidtune"

# Uncomment this to disable dynamically modifying the input device
# (mouse and keyboard) settings.

# Option "DisableModInDev"

# Uncomment this to enable the use of a non-local client to
# change the keyboard or mouse settings (currently only xset).

# Option "AllowNonLocalModInDev"

EndSection

# **********************************************************************
# Input devices
# **********************************************************************

# **********************************************************************
# Core keyboard's InputDevice section
# **********************************************************************

Section "InputDevice"

Identifier "Keyboard1"
Driver "kbd"

# For most OSs the protocol can be omitted (it defaults to "Standard").
# When using XQUEUE (only for SVR3 and SVR4, but not Solaris),
# uncomment the following line.

# Option "Protocol" "Xqueue"

Option "AutoRepeat" "500 30"

# Specify which keyboard LEDs can be user-controlled (eg, with xset(1))
# Option "Xleds" "1 2 3"

# Option "LeftAlt" "Meta"
# Option "RightAlt" "ModeShift"

# To customise the XKB settings to suit your keyboard, modify the
# lines below (which are the defaults). For example, for a non-U.S.
# keyboard, you will probably want to use:
# Option "XkbModel" "pc102"
# If you have a US Microsoft Natural keyboard, you can use:
# Option "XkbModel" "microsoft"
#
# Then to change the language, change the Layout setting.
# For example, a german layout can be obtained with:
# Option "XkbLayout" "de"
# or:
# Option "XkbLayout" "de"
# Option "XkbVariant" "nodeadkeys"
#
# If you'd like to switch the positions of your capslock and
# control keys, use:
# Option "XkbOptions" "ctrl:swapcaps"

# These are the default XKB settings for Xorg
# Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
# Option "XkbModel" "pc101"
# Option "XkbLayout" "us"
# Option "XkbVariant" ""
# Option "XkbOptions" ""

# Option "XkbDisable"

Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
Option "XkbModel" "pc101"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"

EndSection

# **********************************************************************
# Core Pointer's InputDevice section
# **********************************************************************

Section "InputDevice"

# Identifier and driver

Identifier "Mouse1"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "PS/2"
Option "Device" "/dev/mouse"

# Mouse-speed setting for PS/2 mouse.

# Option "Resolution" "256"

# When using XQUEUE, comment out the above two lines, and uncomment
# the following line.

# Option "Protocol" "Xqueue"

# Baudrate and SampleRate are only for some Logitech mice. In
# almost every case these lines should be omitted.

# Option "BaudRate" "9600"
# Option "SampleRate" "150"

# Emulate3Buttons is an option for 2-button Microsoft mice
# Emulate3Timeout is the timeout in milliseconds (default is 50ms)

# Option "Emulate3Buttons"
# Option "Emulate3Timeout" "50"

# ChordMiddle is an option for some 3-button Logitech mice

# Option "ChordMiddle"

EndSection

# **********************************************************************
# Other input device sections
# this is optional and is required only if you
# are using extended input devices. This is for example only. Refer
# to the xorg.conf man page for a description of the options.
# **********************************************************************
#
# Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier "Mouse2"
# Driver "mouse"
# Option "Protocol" "MouseMan"
# Option "Device" "/dev/mouse2"
# EndSection
#
# Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier "spaceball"
# Driver "magellan"
# Option "Device" "/dev/cua0"
# EndSection
#
# Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier "spaceball2"
# Driver "spaceorb"
# Option "Device" "/dev/cua0"
# EndSection
#
# Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier "touchscreen0"
# Driver "microtouch"
# Option "Device" "/dev/ttyS0"
# Option "MinX" "1412"
# Option "MaxX" "15184"
# Option "MinY" "15372"
# Option "MaxY" "1230"
# Option "ScreenNumber" "0"
# Option "ReportingMode" "Scaled"
# Option "ButtonNumber" "1"
# Option "SendCoreEvents"
# EndSection
#
# Section "InputDevice"
# Identifier "touchscreen1"
# Driver "elo2300"
# Option "Device" "/dev/ttyS0"
# Option "MinX" "231"
# Option "MaxX" "3868"
# Option "MinY" "3858"
# Option "MaxY" "272"
# Option "ScreenNumber" "0"
# Option "ReportingMode" "Scaled"
# Option "ButtonThreshold" "17"
# Option "ButtonNumber" "1"
# Option "SendCoreEvents"
# EndSection

# **********************************************************************
# Monitor section
# **********************************************************************

# Any number of monitor sections may be present

Section "Monitor"

Identifier "DellMonitor"

# HorizSync is in kHz unless units are specified.
# HorizSync may be a comma separated list of discrete values, or a
# comma separated list of ranges of values.
# NOTE: THE VALUES HERE ARE EXAMPLES ONLY. REFER TO YOUR MONITOR'S
# USER MANUAL FOR THE CORRECT NUMBERS.

HorizSync 31.5 - 48.5

# HorizSync 30-64 # multisync
# HorizSync 31.5, 35.2 # multiple fixed sync frequencies
# HorizSync 15-25, 30-50 # multiple ranges of sync frequencies

# VertRefresh is in Hz unless units are specified.
# VertRefresh may be a comma separated list of discrete values, or a
# comma separated list of ranges of values.
# NOTE: THE VALUES HERE ARE EXAMPLES ONLY. REFER TO YOUR MONITOR'S
# USER MANUAL FOR THE CORRECT NUMBERS.

VertRefresh 50-90

EndSection

# **********************************************************************
# Graphics device section
# **********************************************************************

# Any number of graphics device sections may be present

# Standard VGA Device:

Section "Device"
Identifier "Standard VGA"
VendorName "Unknown"
BoardName "Unknown"

# The chipset line is optional in most cases. It can be used to override
# the driver's chipset detection, and should not normally be specified.

# Chipset "generic"

# The Driver line must be present. When using run-time loadable driver
# modules, this line instructs the server to load the specified driver
# module. Even when not using loadable driver modules, this line
# indicates which driver should interpret the information in this section.

Driver "vga"
# The BusID line is used to specify which of possibly multiple devices
# this section is intended for. When this line isn't present, a device
# section can only match up with the primary video device. For PCI
# devices a line like the following could be used. This line should not
# normally be included unless there is more than one video device
# intalled.

# BusID "PCI:0:10:0"

# VideoRam 256

# Clocks 25.2 28.3

EndSection

# Device configured by xorgconfig:

Section "Device"
Identifier "ati128pro"
Driver "r128"
VideoRam 16384
# Insert Clocks lines here if appropriate
EndSection

# **********************************************************************
# Screen sections
# **********************************************************************

# Any number of screen sections may be present. Each describes
# the configuration of a single screen. A single specific screen section
# may be specified from the X server command line with the "-screen"
# option.
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen 1"
Device "ati128pro"
Monitor "DellMonitor"
DefaultDepth 16

Subsection "Display"
Depth 8
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection
Subsection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection
Subsection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection
EndSection

# **********************************************************************
# ServerLayout sections.
# **********************************************************************

# Any number of ServerLayout sections may be present. Each describes
# the way multiple screens are organised. A specific ServerLayout
# section may be specified from the X server command line with the
# "-layout" option. In the absence of this, the first section is used.
# When now ServerLayout section is present, the first Screen section
# is used alone.

Section "ServerLayout"

# The Identifier line must be present
Identifier "Simple Layout"

# Each Screen line specifies a Screen section name, and optionally
# the relative position of other screens. The four names after
# primary screen name are the screens to the top, bottom, left and right
# of the primary screen. In this example, screen 2 is located to the
# right of screen 1.

Screen "Screen 1"

# Each InputDevice line specifies an InputDevice section name and
# optionally some options to specify the way the device is to be
# used. Those options include "CorePointer", "CoreKeyboard" and
# "SendCoreEvents".

InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"

EndSection

# Section "DRI"
# Mode 0666
# EndSection

Any ideas/suggestions? Thanks.

-Jim

m00t00 · 12-18-2004, 07:23 PM

*sigh*. You dont have any hardware acceleration. Please google it, or search the boards.

kaega2 · 12-19-2004, 01:26 AM

ATI released official linux drivers a little while ago. I think it's on their website somewhere. I read it on linuxtoday.com but wasn't able to find the article again.

JCdude2525 · 12-19-2004, 02:07 PM

Hello-
OK, I'm going to use the NVIDIA drivers. And, since the stable 2.4.26 openmosix patch was relaced,
I'm going to use it with that and compile it (since I have to for the openmosix patch), then I'll have to
figure out what else you have to do to /etc/X11/xorg.conf. I knew that something wasn't right with my video card,
because I noticed when I played the games the processer would go to 100%, and on windows it would go to 10-20%.

I was thinking about using the ATI drivers, but I have two video cards, and they are both different. One is
a 3dfx, and the other is my Rage 128 pro. So, I assume that if I use the NVIDIA driver I can configure both of
these to use 3d acceloration. Yes, according to my xorg.conf I only have one monitor, I'm hoping to pick up another
monitor from somewhere so I can make a dual-head.

-Jim

Electro · 12-19-2004, 03:17 PM

No, nVidia modules (drivers) are for nVidia cards only which 3DFX and ATI is not.

Change
Driver "vga"
to
Driver "rage128"

I think. Then uncomment
Load "dri"

Also uncomment
Section "DRI"
Mode 0666
EndSection

Your card will not give you a lot of performance for America's Army. You can get a nVidia GeForce4 Ti4600 or nVidia GeForce4 Ti4800 because they are cheap and better than GeForceFX 5600.

[quote]
ATI released official linux drivers a little while ago.
[quote]
Unfortunately its for 8500 series and up.

JCdude2525 · 12-19-2004, 06:38 PM

OK then. But that takes me back to my original problem. America's Army is using up all the Processing power when it is suppost to be using 3D accelloration. Plus, I have this problem now-

Code:

jim@goldeneye:~$
Xlib:    extension "GLX" missng on display ":0:0".
Xlib:    extension "GLX" missng on display ":0:0".
Signal: SIGSEGV [segmentation fault]
Aborting.


Crash information will be saved to your logfile.
X Error of failed request:   BadColor (invalid colormap parameter)
    Major opcode of failed request:   79(X_FreeColormap)
    Resource id in failed rwquest: 0x180000c
    Serial number of failed requests: 110
    Current serial number in output stream: 112
jim@goldeneye:~$

So, now what?

Also, I might use the 3dfx card as the primary one now, instead of the ATI one. Because I looked on Google for Voodoo3 Linux drivers and found some, and looked in the HCL here and saw some nice feedback on it.

By the way, incase I didn't mention it-
The ATI card is a Rage 128 Pro - AGP connectoin
The 3dfx card is a 3dfx Voodoo3 - PCI connection
They both have 16MB video memory.

Any more comments/suggestions?

Thanks

-Jim

JCdude2525 · 12-19-2004, 07:19 PM

OK, I made the 3Dfx Voodoo3 card the primary video card. Startx wouldn't load, so I ran xorgconfig
again a couple times, then rellized that it won't run on any color bits except 24 bit, and xdm started
and it works just fine now. I told it to use the tdfx driver. I started America's Army, and gkrellm didn't
say that my processor was at 100% capacity as it was trying to load, where if I used my ATI card
with it's regular driver (r128) it says it's at 100% (when I told xorg to use the nvidia driver for the
ATI card, when it loaded it didn't go to 100%), so I guess this means 3D acceloration is working?

The only problem is that when I try to run America's Army, it gives me this error (actually, this is
from glxgears, but it gives the same GLX error, just the America's Army one is a lot longer)-

Code:

jim@goldeneye:~$ glxgears
Xlib:     extension  "GLX"   missing on display ":0.0".
glxgears: Error: couldn't get a RGB, Double-buffered visual.
jim@goldeneye:~$

So, what do I do now?

Thanks
-Jim