VP's problem with shader effects

[VarsityPuppet]

Hey all, I know this is probably a pretty common sight for you tech help people, but this is all new to me, because up until recently I could only play Kotor 1 or 2 on my xbox!

Now that I've got the computer power to do it though, I wanna try out the huge reskins and remodel mods out there...


I've gotten both Kotors to run (Windows 7, hooray!) without crashing, which in itself, was quite a feat.

But, none of the shader effects work!

In Kotor, Sith Troopers are all white and in TSL, everything is semi-transparent!


Is there something I'm missing here, or is it just my specs?


[SWKotOR]
ReportDateTime=4/26/2010 12:11:23 PM
SysInfoVersion=v1.00.60
GameExists=1
GameVersion=v2.10.427
GameInstallLocation=C:\Program Files (x86)\Games\KotorII\

[OS]
Name=WinXP
Version=Windows XP v5.1 build 2600 Service Pack 2
Service Pack=None
Status=Pass

[SwapFiles]
?:\pagefile.sys=0

[CPU]
CPUCount=1
CPUSpeed=2593
CPUFamily=6
CPUModel=7
CPUStepping=10
CPUVendor=Intel
CPUName=Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU E5300 @ 2.60GHz
Status=Pass

[Memory]
RAM=4088
Status=Pass

[Disk Free Space]
C: (NTFS), UNICODE=528.92GB
D: (NTFS), UNICODE=1.06GB
Status=Pass

[CD-ROMs]
DriveLetters=E:\
Drives=ATAPI DVD A DH16AAL ATA Device,hp DVD-RAM GH40L ATA Device

[Video]
Video Card Name=RDPDD Chained DD (The actual is an Intel g33/g31 Chipset)
Video Memory=256
Desktop Resolution=1440x900x32 @ 60Hz
DirectX=DirectX 9.0c (4.09.00.0904)
OpenGL Version=1.4.0 - Build 8.15.10.1912
OpenGL Vendor=Intel
OpenGL Renderer=Intel Bear Lake B
Vid Card Status=Warning
Vid Card Driver Status=Pass
GL Status=Pass
DX Status=Pass

[Audio]
Sound Card Name=Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Status=Pass

Everything else runs relatively fine, just the shading effects won't show up is all :/

[Q]

Thanks for posting your specs, VP. It's going to make this easy. Unfortunately, it is your specs, well one in particular. You have Intel integrated graphics, which the games don't officially support. There are a couple of things that you can do, however, that will most likely help. Try them out one at a time.

First, open your Intel graphics control panel (Start>Control Panel>Appearance and Personalization) and hit the "3D Options" button. A settings menu will pop up, and you'll need to change "Flipping Policy" to "blit".

Second, you should do the Dantooine lag fix:
First, figure out where the .ini is installed. Default is "C:\Program Files\Lucasarts\swkotor(2)\swkotor(2).ini". If its not in that location, then your going to have to do some searching around on the hard drive a bit.
When you find it, just double-click on the file to open it in Notepad.
Scroll down the file until you find the Graphics Options
Under the last line ("last line" as in the last line of the list of entries under "Graphics Options", NOT the last line of "swkotor(2).ini), add "Disable Vertex Buffer Objects=1", without the quotes.
Goto File, then Save.

I'm also going to warn you that the Intel GMA 3100 GPU in your chipset is an incredibly weak GPU that will struggle even with old games like KotOR. If you live in the States, you could get a video card for $50 or even less that would eat these two games for breakfast and even allow you to play modern games. The difference between Intel integrated graphics and the cheapest nVidia or ATI cards is like night and day.

[VarsityPuppet]

Thanks for posting your specs, VP. It's going to make this easy. Unfortunately, it is your specs, well one in particular. You have Intel integrated graphics, which the games don't officially support. There are a couple of things that you can do, however, that will most likely help. Try them out one at a time.

First, open your Intel graphics control panel (Start>Control Panel>Appearance and Personalization) and hit the "3D Options" button. A settings menu will pop up, and you'll need to change "Flipping Policy" to "blit".

Second, you should do the Dantooine lag fix:


I'm also going to warn you that the Intel GMA 3100 GPU in your chipset is an incredibly weak GPU that will struggle even with old games like KotOR. If you live in the States, you could get a video card for $50 or even less that would eat these two games for breakfast and even allow you to play modern games. The difference between Intel integrated graphics and the cheapest nVidia or ATI cards is like night and day.


already tried those, still no shaders... Damn.

Oh well, the games both run well, it's the shading that's annoying me >:(.

I do have one problem though: My computer is a miniature sized desktop, and the guy who sold it to me said that I need a certain type of graphics card to install in there, should I upgrade it.

[Q]

OK, I just did a little more research on your particular Intel GPU, and I found out that it lacks hardware transform and lighting capabilities. In other words, it has no shaders, and there's simply no work-around for that.

As for upgrading, is your computer in a teeny case? Will it require a low profile card?