steinerrr 13 Posted June 5, 2024 Just wondering, do we have any topics around that focused on the technical aspects of compatibility with modern hardware, or perhaps anyone who looked at the game executable from a technical point of view, using a disassembler or similar software? Its 2024 and the game engine is starting to show its age. There are a few topics with usual suggestions like mandatory use of legacy PhysX driver 9.13.0604 (already bundled with GOG copy) and setting the Win XP SP3 compatibility mode + admin. I hate to say it though, looks like the underlying issues are getting worse. I've recently got my machine fully upgraded to 2024 hardware, using 14600k CPU and 4060Ti RTX GPU. Now for Sacred 2, the black screen + hangup issue on game launch just wouldn't go away even with all of the old remedies applied (Windows 10). The only thing that allows the game to launch now is Win 98 or 95 compatibility, however this mode has significant downsides with very poor memory management and low performance, significant loading times, etc. Does anyone know what those compatibility modes actually do for the game, the difference between XP3 and Win98 and what is the executable lacking currently that it requires those modes to be used?
ameaeth 54 Posted June 5, 2024 Interesting and important topic @steinerrr. I'm planning to upgrade my machine to new hardware as well and thinking of future generations of Sacred/Sacred 2 players and their most likely newer systems, some readily available solutions would certainly be helpful.
gogoblender 3,406 Posted June 5, 2024 Quote Just wondering, do we have any topics around that focused on the technical aspects of compatibility with modern hardware, or perhaps anyone who looked at the game executable from a technical point of view, using a disassembler or similar software? Its 2024 and the game engine is starting to show its age. There are a few topics with usual suggestions like mandatory use of legacy PhysX driver 9.13.0604 (already bundled with GOG copy) and setting the Win XP SP3 compatibility mode + admin. I hate to say it though, looks like the underlying issues are getting worse. I've recently got my machine fully upgraded to 2024 hardware, using 14600k CPU and 4060Ti RTX GPU. Now for Sacred 2, the black screen + hangup issue on game launch just wouldn't go away even with all of the old remedies applied (Windows 10). The only thing that allows the game to launch now is Win 98 or 95 compatibility, however this mode has significant downsides with very poor memory management and low performance, significant loading times, etc. Does anyone know what those compatibility modes actually do for the game, the difference between XP3 and Win98 and what is the executable lacking currently that it requires those modes to be used? Bugs are bugs... and they LOVE to be buggy, Sacred 2's been shown to be buggy with a lot of modern hardware...even if using the usual's such as legacy physx driver 9.13.0604 (already bundled with the GOG copy) and setting windows XP SP3 compatibility mode, some issues persist. Black screen and hang-up issue on game launch continue even with these remedies applied on Windows 10 Windows 98 or windows 95 compatibility will probably allow the game to launch but with poor memory management and awful performance Regarding your specific hardware, the Intel Core i5-14600K CPU should be good for gaming, especially with its 5.30 GHz single-core max turbo boost frequency2. ... paired with your RTX GPU (wont ask how many lawns you had to cut to buy that :D) the setup should be solid, but sacred 2's compatibility issues might persist because of its ageing engine. What kind of issues are you getting running the game already with your set up? is it game stopping or minor annoyances? gogo
idbeholdME 436 Posted June 23, 2024 (edited) Whatever you do, make sure you play in a window. For whatever reason, the fade in/out transitions to/from black, like on loading screens, tend to get stuck on the display for 10+ seconds when the game is running in fullscreen, even if the loading is long finished and the game is already running in the background. Seems to be some screen refreshing issue tied to the engine behavior. This goes completely away if you play in a window. That should solve the vast majority of critical issues (other than the occasional crashes of course). Edited June 23, 2024 by idbeholdME 1
