Nascar 2002
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#82
Here's what I did to increase FPS (Frames Per Second) in Nascar 2002. If your FPS is too low, you will experience a very unsmooth game, which is no fun when going 3 wide in Turn 2 at Daytona. There was nothing magical done here, I just took all the info I received from the forums and some trial and error and came up with what worked for me. Thanks to everyone who gave me their insight on the forums! Also, the same procedures will work with Nascar 4 and for the most part with similar systems as mine. I have a NVidia based video card and always use OpenGL, so that's what this article will apply to. FYI this was written in February 2002.
The first thing you should do is check what kind of FPS you are getting currently. To do this, hit "F" when you are in the driving the car, and it will show the FPS on the top right of the screen. Frames lower than 30 will result in stuttering graphics and makes it difficult to drive precisely. Drive around a track like Daytona with 42 computer car opponents and keep your eye on the FPS. It will change depending on where you are on the track, and how many cars are on the screen with you. You want to get close to as many cars as you can to see how the FPS reacts. Try to do the same thing each time you make a change so that you can see if what you did has helped. 2002 is more of a system hog than Nascar 4 is, so you must have a pretty powerful computer to enjoy this game fully.
Nascar .ini File Tweaks
There are a few things you can modify in the .INI files that reside in the Papyrus folder. I recommend you back up each of these files before you make any changes just in case. If you installed the game normally, they're in this folder:
C:\Papyrus\NASCAR Racing 2002 Season
Open up the core.ini file in Notepad. Be very careful not to change anything by mistake as this may cause the game to crash or not even load. Look for this line:
[FileLRUCache]
CacheSize=4194304 ; Bytes of DAT file LRU Cache size to allocate
Change this setting to the number below by just adding a 1.
[FileLRUCache]
CacheSize=14194304 ; Bytes of DAT file LRU Cache size to allocate
Now look for this line:
[Memory]
MaxBlockSize=131072 ; max size before allocating separate block.
To calculate the correct number, take the amount of RAM you have and multiply it by 1024.
I.E.: 512 X 1024 = 524288, so your new line would look like this:
[Memory]
MaxBlockSize=524288 ; max size before allocating separate block.
Save the new file by clicking File and Save in Notepad.
Now open up the rend_ogl.ini file in Notepad. Look for this line:
TextureSetSize=43015201
You will need to calculate this number with this formula:
((MB of video card ram) X (1048576)) - ((4 X Screen Resolution Width) X (Screen Resolution Height) X BPP))
Note BPP = 2 for 16 bit color and 4 for 32 bit.
I.E. ((64 X 1048576)) - ((4 X 1600 X 1200 X 4)) 67108864 - 30720000 = 36388864
Next look for this line:
AnisotropicLevel=8
Change this to a 0. (AnisotropicLevel=0)
Save the new file by clicking File and Save in Notepad.
Nascar Game Tweaks
Now that you've got that done, it's time to load up the game. Go to Options, and then click the Graphics tab. You'll see this menu:
These are the settings I use. You can play with them during an OFFLINE race if your FPS is too low. Of course, the more options you have clicked on, the lower your FPS will be. Your goal is to keep the FPS over 30 at all times to avoid those stutters that will inevitably cause a wreck. The first setting under Quality (Anisotropic Filtering) is the one of the main FPS hogs, so leave it unchecked unless you have a super fast system. The other ones under Quality can be unchecked if needed and will boost FPS some. The Maximum Oppenents Drawn can be tweaked if you notice that your FPS drop too low when there are a lot of cars on the screen.
Now click on the Sound tab. You'll see this screen:
The only thing that is important for FPS here is the Maximum Sounds Played. If you still do not have enough FPS, you can drop it down to 8 as shown, which should increase FPS some. Hit DONE and check your FPS now.
Misc.
In C:\Papyrus\NASCAR Racing 2002 Season\players , go to your player name and then open player.ini and look for this line:
[Graphic Options]
texture_quality=-1
Change the -1 to 100, it should give you a better picture.