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Note: Hardware Rendering assumes you have a 12 Mb Voodoo 2 (running in 16 bit colour), if you have a lesser card like an ATI Rage 2, look at the software settings. Please note that a Voodoo 1 with a decent amount of video RAM shouldn't be too bad.
Later on (Last Revelation onwards) will assume a TNT2 or equivalent generation 3D card.
Our Opinion:
The biggest performance factor in the first instalment is video RAM. If you have a 2 Mb video card, you can run the game decently on a high end 486. I wouldn't recommend anything under a DX2-66, but a DX4-100 should be fine. If you are using a 486, make sure the CPU is made by Intel or AMD and the video card is VESA compatible. If you can't get Intel or AMD, you will have to get a 586 chip instead.As for RAM, 8 Mb is fine for DOS, although Win 95 users will need 12 to 16 Mb for decent performance. A 2x CD-ROM drive can have problems with the cutscenes because the data throughput is too small and can lead to this weird static sound coming up all the time. As far as CD-ROM drives go, a 4x speed should be sufficient.(If you are a DOS user, I recommended that you make a boot disk. If you are a Windows 95 user, this option may have too many problems.)
Anyone with a low end machine will have to run in low-res for passable performance, high res brings a 133 to its knees. If you want to max-out the game settings, I would recommend a Pentium 150, with an 8 Mb video card and 16 Mb of RAM.
These settings are pretty spot on, assuming you are running in low resolution software. We tested it on the resident P90 which has a 1 Mb S3 card with 32 Mb of RAM and a genuine Soundblaster 16. The game ran decently in 320x200 and 320x240 but started to slow at 400x300 and went horrid at 512x384 onwards. If you need to play fullscreen on a 90, run 320x240, otherwise try 400x300 with various screen sizes.
High resolution (640x480 and onwards) software will require a 150 with a 4 Mb video card. The video card doesn't play as big a role in this game, 4 Mb should be all you need for higher resolution software rendering.As for hardware, a P 90 should do fine at 640x480, although I would recommend a 120. With a TNT board, 800x600 in 32 bit colour is a good goal but you will probably need a 166 to 200 though.
Personally, I wouldn't have anything under 32 Mb of RAM and a 166. We saw a 166 with a 4 Mb ATI Rage 2 running just passably on 512x384 resolution. I played it fine on a 150 with 48 Mb of RAM and a 12 Mb Voodoo 2 with only the occasional "clunk". A PCI sound card doesn't go astray here although it's not a huge priority.This game generally needs a mid speed CPU and mid speed video card. As for software rendering, I wouldn't bother from here on in the series or things get a bit disappointing.
Believe it or not, this game will run passably on a 133 with a Voodoo 2 provided you have low texture detail. The cut scenes won't run properly though (a 133 is way too old), but if you disable FMV you won't really whinge. I know that FMV is part of the fun but that's what you get with an old PC. If you do have a 133, try overclocking it to 150 and installing a PCI sound card. I wouldn't use less than 32 Mb of RAM, use 48 or more if you can and run the game with low-res bump mapping. Volumetric effects makes almost no performance hit whatsoever, so it's certainly an option worth keeping. A good resolution for the game is 640x480.For those of you with more decent PCs, 48 Mb of RAM or more is good and high-res bump mapping with volumetric effects is okay with a 233 onwards. Try the game out in 640x480 first and then go up or down in resolution depending on how fast it goes.
For those of you who own a TNT2 board, try the game in 800x600 in 32 bit colour.
This game has no noticable performance difference whatsoever to the last instalment of the series, the only real difference is one extra move, NO BUMP MAPPING!, only 12 levels and an obligatory 33 Mhz increase in minimum requirements on the box so that the game won't look primitive. Just think of it as a level pack and you won't be upset (you can slap my thigh and call me Susan if I'll willingly pay the best part of $60 Australian for it though).
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