How to play Project IGI 1 on Windows 8.1Pro, Windows 10 etc

Project IGI 1 used to work well upto Windows 7 but later versions have probably changed driver framework and that is causing poor performance. However there is solution to it and it worked for me.

I was getting very low FPS on my Windows 8.1 Pro with AMD 9600P which can run many modern games at high speed. IGI 1 will not run better even after setting it in XP compatibility. Here is solution in steps :

This solution requires a graphics card with DirectX 10 support. If card is older better is to install Windows 7 or below to play game as these cards were made many years ago.

• Install game and set compatibility of IGI.exe to Windows XP. Right Click on IGI.exe goto compatibility tab and choose Windows XP.
• Download dgVoodoo 2 from http://dege.freeweb.hu/. I tested version 2.55.4.1 which worked.
• Extract dgVoodoo zip file somewhere and copy 3 dll files from MS folder (D3D8.dll, D3DImm.dll, DDraw.dll) to location where IGI.exe is present.
• Run IGI.exe and it might work well.

IMPORTANT:

If your graphics have vulkan support then you can try this also https://github.com/doitsujin/dxvk/releases

How it works?

Windows esp older versions allow loading dll files from multiple locations. The 3 dll files will be loaded from game directory instead of DirectX install location. These dll files catch game's graphics communication and pass to real DirectX dlls allowing customized behavior. This way game can run. 

This solution can be used on other games also. Refer to dgVoodoo's help. 

How to play old UnrealTournament on 64Bit windows 8 or above

I tried playing UT99 i.e. UnrealTournament on Windows 8.1Pro but all i got is black screen showing pre-caching. Most of time it just crashed. I had to use task manager to get out of game screen. Tried changing compatibility settings to XP or 98 but didn't worked. Users are left with last option to edit the ini files of game itself. Here is what worked for me.

Go to game directory and locate (for example) E:\Games\UnrealTournament\System\UnrealTournament.ini this file. Inside ini file there is below setting for multiple drivers:



WindowedViewportX=800
WindowedViewportY=600
WindowedColorBits=16
FullscreenViewportX=800
FullscreenViewportY=600
FullscreenColorBits=16


Change 16 bits to 32 bits and game might work. Change the settings of all driver entries. Like this


WindowedViewportX=800
WindowedViewportY=600
WindowedColorBits=32
FullscreenViewportX=800
FullscreenViewportY=600
FullscreenColorBits=32


Also put below setting to run game in windowed mode which is safe for start. Press maximize button on game window to go full screen.


StartupFullscreen=False


Try using software render device as it runs at full speed on almost all latest PCs. Even in powersave mode my laptop with AMD 9600P APU is running at full speed. The game WORKS on windows 8 i tested. ENSURE bits are 32 otherwise game may crash. Change resolution from here also. You may try other advanced settings also to make game look better. Enjoy UT99 as it still rocks :).

FreeForm Optics Android app help

FreeForm Optics is an optics app to dynamically create complex lenses and test how refraction happens. It can make bezier based concave & convex lenses and freeform lenses by painting them. This page gives quick help for the app. Before help below are some notes and other important information.



Features

• As the app name says it allows free forms of lenses. Just paint lenses like an artist.
• Supports standard lenses i.e. concave & convex lenses with editing option.
• Non freeform lenses are created using bezier curves.

NOTE(s):

• Freeform lenses don't have a fixed focus since surface cannot be easily described mathematically. Please don't expect focal length support!.
• In reality there is no fixed focal length of an optical object. Only highest dense focus is considered as focal length. This can easily be tested by creating a convex lens and increasing rays to 100+.
• This app is mostly suitable for research or innovative purposes. Can be very helpful in teaching optics.
• Red rays are inside medium. Green rays are result rays coming out from medium. Yellow rays are TIR (Total Internal Reflection) rays.

Limitations:

App has some rules not knowing which can cause incorrect optics or loss of data.

• Rays start from left and reaches right end. No other direction is supported.
• Lenses when selected show rectangular bound. Bounds of lenses should NEVER overlap as it leads to bad optics.
• Currently nothing can be saved for reload. Always save result as image for reference. Active work loss due to app going background can happen.
• UNDO REDO is not available.

Quick Help:

• Set total rays using Rays button.
• Create lens using + button. Use - button to delete lens in EDIT MODE.
• Double tap on a lens to enter edit mode.
• EDIT MODE: Use Move button to ENABLE lens movement.
• EDIT MODE: Use X, Y buttons to enable disable movement along respective AXIS. Disabled AXIS icon becomes faint. Example if X is locked only Y AXIS movement is allowed.
• EDIT MODE: Use Edit to change shape of bezier lenses.
• Export image of optical setup from actions buttons on right bottom.

App doesn't need much help if a user knows about bezier. Before reading further do take a look at beziers here WIKI.


Double tap on any lens to enter EDIT MODE. Below illustrated images show the details of UI. Please open IMAGES in new tab or save them. They offer standalone help.

DISCLAIMER:

This app doesn't guarantee to achieve optics of real laboratory. Focuses on making small lenses and combinations to make foundation of bigger work.