Another aspect of getting the best out of your game is tweaking a file called "UnrealTournament.ini" without quotes. You must first browse the directory that you installed UT on. example C:/UnrealTournament/
Go the the folder that is labeled "System" In here you will find a little file called UnrealTournament.ini, you can open it with notepad.
Inside you will find many different things to tweak. This is a list of configured settings that I recommend.
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[URL]LocalMap=CityIntro.unr
Changing the Local Map value to "UT-Logo-Map.unr" will disable the fly by movie at the beginning of UT, thus making UT load much faster. Changed to
[URL]LocalMap=UT-Logo-Map.unr
[Engine.GameEngine]CacheSizeMegs=4
The games default setting is 4, but I recommend setting this to 3/4 or 1/2 your system ram because UT wont need more than 512mb ever. I recommend a setting of 1/2. So if you have a system with 128mb of ram you would set to 64. A system with 256mb of ram you would set to 128. A system with 512mb you would set to 256 and so on. There are many different schools of thought on this, but on my system I've noticed an increase.
[WinDrv.WindowsClient]NoFractalAnim=TrueScreenFlashes=False
NoFractalAnim must be set to True if you use Opengl as your renderer
ScreenFlashes must be set to False. You dont want a minigun to blind you ;)
[Engine.Player]ConfiguredInternetSpeed=10000
The setting for netspeed is at default 5000, for Dialup use 5000, For Cable/Dsl use 10000. You can change these settings on the fly in the console in an "online game". To bring up the console in game, hit "~" without quotes or the tab key. This will bring up the console. Then type netspeed 10000 or whatever your heart desires. Be careful not to do this too many times online because the server will think you are cheating and kick you after the third try in a row. NEXT
[OpenGLDrv.OpenGLRenderDevice]
Refer to the example posted earlier in the blog.
[D3DDrv.D3DRenderDevice]
If you use Direct 3d as your renderer I'd recommend using TNSE's Direct3d renderer instead of the default. http://www.apbs47.dsl.pipex.com/ut/D3DTNSeDrv.zip Though I dont use Direct3d anymore I have tried this renderer out, and it does quite well. It comes zipped with Instructions for the noobs but if you get lost you can always try my settings. copy and paste
[D3DTNSeDrv.D3DRenderDevice]dwDeviceId=0dwVendorId=0Use32BitZBuffer=TrueUseVertexFog=TrueUseAGPTextures=FalseUseVideoMemoryVB=TrueUsePrecache=FalseUseVSync=FalseUseTripleBuffering=FalseUse3dfx=FalseUseGammaCorrection=FalseUsePalettes=FalseUseMultitexture=TrueUseTrilinear=FalseUseMipmapping=TrueDetailTextures=FalseDescFlags=0Description=HighDetailActors=FalseCoronas=FalseShinySurfaces=FalseVolumetricLighting=FalseUseMemoryMB=16UseCD2Textures=FalseDynTextUseMB=16Use16BPPTextures=FalseCompressLargeTextures=TrueMaxDynamicTextures=2000UseRealTimeTexAlloc=TrueCompressTexLargerThan=0DistanceFog=False
[Engine.Pawn]bNeverSwitchOnPickup=True
You dont want to be in a firefight and stumble upon another weapon that switches your current. Bad idea... NEXT
If you use openGL as a renderer for UT then this is one of the most important downloads you will ever need.
http://cwdohnal.home.mindspring.com/utglr/
A Tweaked out openGL driver for the best game on the planet. Just click "The latest stable OpenGL" and follow the "Install Instructions" a little further down the page. If you get lost adding settings you can always try my config which is set up for ATI based cards.
[OpenGLDrv.OpenGLRenderDevice]SinglePassFog=TrueZRangeHack=falseDetailMax=2BufferTileQuads=trueUseAGPTextures=falseRefreshRate=75 //set this to your monitors refreshrate, mine is 100DetailTextures=FalseUseTrilinear=trueUseS3TC=FalseUseTNT=trueLODBias=0 //set this to sharpen or decrease sharpness of textures -6 to 6UseMultiTexture=TrueUsePalette=TrueUseAlphaPalette=FalseTranslucency=1VolumetricLighting=FalseShinySurfaces=FalseCoronas=falseHighDetailActors=FalseMaxAnisotropy=0AlwaysMipmap=FalseUsePrecache=FalseSupportsLazyTextures=0UseBGRATextures=TrueUseAA=FalseUseSSE=TrueUseTexIdPool=TrueDynamicTexIdRecycleLevel=100UseTexPool=TrueTexDXT1ToDXT3=FalseSinglePassDetail=trueUseDetailAlpha=trueColorizeDetailTextures=FalseUseCVA=falseUseVertexProgram=FalseSwapInterval=0TruFormMinVertices=0TruFormTessellation=3UseTruForm=FalseAAFilterHint=0NumAASamples=0RequestHighResolutionZ=falseMaskedTextureHack=FalseFrameRateLimit=0UseMultiDrawArrays=falseCacheStaticMaps=FalseBufferClippedActorTris=TrueDetailClipping=falseMaxTMUnits=0NoFiltering=FalseUse16BitTextures=falseAutoGenerateMipmaps=FalseShareLists=FalseUseZTrick=falseMaxLogTextureSize=8MinLogTextureSize=0MaxLogVOverU=8MaxLogUOverV=8OneXBlending=FalseGammaCorrectScreenshots=FalseGammaOffsetBlue=0.000000GammaOffsetGreen=0.000000GammaOffsetRed=0.000000GammaOffset=0.000000DescFlags=0Description=RADEON 9200 SERIES NoMaskedS3TC=FalseTexDXT1ToDXT3=False
The Default
[OpenGLDrv.OpenGLRenderDevice]Translucency=TrueVolumetricLighting=FalseShinySurfaces=TrueCoronas=TrueHighDetailActors=TrueDetailTextures=True
Video Drivers are very important in FPS games like UT99, UT2k4 ect. I find it very important to always use a video driver that feels smooth and doesnt hitch my online play. Ive found that there are many other 3rd party drivers out there for your specific video card rather than the manufacturer's drivers. I have been using some drivers offered at http://www.driverheavendownloads.net/zeropoint.htm for my old ass Ati 9200 256mb Radeon. They imho provide better "frames per second" than Ati's drivers, tho they are based similar to them. ZeroPoint Drivers also provides drivers for Nvidia based cards as well. If ya dont like your current video driver or curious if you could get a little more from your video card try these out. Ive noticed an improvement in overall performance using these. Framerates in UT99 have improved from 100/offline, 75/online, to 190/offline, 100 online.
