Battlefield : I'm in

[Winin]

I got the game and made my account and everything. What is the best way to find each other? Gamespy Comrade? Is there something in game?

On Gamespy, I'm "[CoT]Chickenhawk"
In game, I'm "Winin"

Is there a way to get it to support wide screen monitors? I have a hott new rig, and I have to play in stretched low res mode instead of 1680x1050. Also I get super bad video lag when there are lots of explosions. I guess I need to turn down some effects.

All in all (played one offline map), it feels a lot like BF1942, which is a good thing.

[GrilledCheese28 (aka Aruth)]

There is an in-game buddy list. Its on the bottom left of the main out-of-game screen.

Is there a way to get it to support wide screen monitors? I have a hott new rig, and I have to play in stretched low res mode instead of 1680x1050. Also I get super bad video lag when there are lots of explosions. I guess I need to turn down some effects.

I haven't looked into WS since I don't have a WS screen, personally.

My guess your lag is something out of the game...i.e. your vid card or its settings. I'm playing with every graphic option maxed and don't have any video lag (my card is an EVGA geForce 8800 GTS Superclocked).

Make sure in your video card settings you are not forcing AA or AS, but letting the application decide.

[Macaubre]

to get 1680x1050 you have to edit your BF link to the game. I guess the installer did put the icon on your desktop, now, right click it, and select proprieties. Then from there, find the "Target" box and add to it after the +fullscreen 1 option the following:

+szx 1680 +szy 1050

Then start BF. You should then be at the max resolution. Why does the game doesn't support it from the configuration option in-game is beyond me.

[Winin]

Thanks for the tips. I'll stick to the in-game buddy list and get rid of the gamespy software, though it or Xfire are good for finding people if you all play multiple games.

I'll have to check my graphics card settings. I have an ATI Radeon X1300:
ati.amd.com/products/RadeonX1300/index.html

I might need to dig out my old nostromo pad again. I haven't used it since BF 1942.

[GrilledCheese28 (aka Aruth)]

I have an ATI Radeon X1300

That's probably your problem right there. You need to dial back your graphics settings. As much as I love ATI cards (even though last upgrade I switched to nVidia), the 1300 does not have much horsepower. Not to bag on it too much, but we're talking about a sub-$100 video card here. Hi-rez + mid-to-hi graphics settings = more than this lil guy can handle.

Heres a general comparison, based on decent resolutions in BF2142. Unfortunately, they only tested with max graphic settings:

[Winin]

Ahh, it was the one that came with my new Dell. The upgrade option was for a mid-list nvidia, so it didn't seem worth it. Ah well, it will give Margot something to get me for my birthday.

I'll crank back the settings and go to full screen res and I'll be happy.

--Winin

[Kaarenyth]

You all make it sound like so much fun... I'm going to try to pull down the demo and eval - probably next weekend though (Not sure what the demo timebomb is) since I'm traveling this week.

[Winin]

The link didn't come through, Aruth. Could you try again please? My screen turns to a slideshow when people do orbital strikes. I think I can't fully appreciate my new system without a decent card.

thanks!

And it is quite fun, Kaar.

[GrilledCheese28 (aka Aruth)]

www23.tomshardware.com/charts16/738-739-277.png

[Winin]

I'm just getting a png file of their logo, but on the site I found an article with best gaming cards for the money.

www.tomshardware.com/2007/04/09/the_best_gaming_video_cards_for_the_money/

It looks like this one is a good bet (high end, but not bleeding edge):

Best PCI-E Card For ~$280
GeForce 8800 GTS (320mb version)
Codename: G80
Process: 90 nm
Universal Shaders: 96
Texture Units: 54
ROPs: 20
Memory Bus: 320-bit
Core Speed (MHz): 500
Memory Speed (MHz): 800 (1600 effective)

The GeForce 8800 GTS is the little brother of the 8800 GTX; both are based on the same Nvidia next-generation DirectX 10 GPU. The 8800 GTS is slightly crippled compared to the GTX, but it will still beat powerhouse cards like the dual-GPU 7950 GX2 in many cases. At the $300 price point, this card really brings unheard of performance for the price - it isn't notably slower than its 640mb 8800 GTS cousin, which costs almost $100 more.

I can play pretty smoothly at high rez but with everything turned off, but where is the fun in that.

[GrilledCheese28 (aka Aruth)]

Ok I have no idea why the pic link won't work. Shows fine for me...I was looking at Tom's Hardware VGA chart.

That card you mention is what I have, but I have a factory overclocked version: eVGA 8800 GTS Superclocked. Works great!

Got it from Newegg a couple months ago for $280 + free copy of Dark Messiah of Might & Magic.

I don't normally like to spend that much on a card, but it had been a few years since I bought one, so I splurged a little.

BTW, I don't know if nvidia's driver is up to snuff yet with Vista. I've heard of people having problems. Just another reason I am not going to Vista until sp1 or after the rest of the world has more time to develop proper drivers for it.

[GrilledCheese28 (aka Aruth)]

One more thing...dunno how anxious you are to get a new video card, but one thing to consider is that ATI is supposed to be getting their DirectX 10 card out soon. They are way behind schedule...was supposed to be out already. Anyways, once that comes out, nVidia will no longer have the DirectX10 market cornered with their 8x series, and you can probably expect a price war to start. Advantage: you.

[lanir]

Go to here instead
www23.tomshardware.com/charts16/

and look for this file. 738-739-277.png

That is what I had to do to see the chart. ;D

[Winin]

I can play fine with full rez and distance, but lowest effects. So I'm ok for now. I'll see what happens when there is some DX 10 competition.

Also, that still just gives me their logo.

Ahh, turns out that was the wrong file. I needed to look at 783-739-276.png
www23.tomshardware.com/charts16/738-739-276.png