Updated OpenGL patch for Prophecy and Secret Ops (August 11, 2011)

AD

AD

Finder of things, Doer of stuff
PopsiclePete has released a new version (1.2) of the OpenGL renderer for WCP and SO. Built on the foundation created for the updated graphics seen in Standoff, the new patch sports several exciting features. This release also supports HCl's lastest WCP enhancement pack, but there are still some gliches with DVD playback while the game is running fullscreen that were not able to be fixed in time for this release.

Pete didn't stop there though. He also made the effort to update the Wing Commander: Prophecy demo and his enhanced installer for Secret Ops to include the lastest files and to fix various compatibility issues with UAC and 64 bits operating systems. You can find download links to all the files below along with some contrasting screenshots of the imrpoventes you will see with this new update over the stock direct-3D mode.

  • Fixed compatibility for Intel onboard video and some ATI cards
  • Fixed other compatibility issues
  • Added support for lighting effects: bloom and automatic specular
  • Added high-resolution art, some from Standoff, some built especially for this package (ie. high-res cockpit elements)
  • Edited the original launchers for easy access to the OpenGL setup
Click to expand...


OpenGL package for WCP/SO

WCP Demo

Secret Ops enhanced installer







​





​





​

--
Original update published on August 11, 2011
 
Last edited by a moderator:
this update simply cannot be ignored.. the comparison shots totally sell it. and as secret ops is available here at the CIC it'd be criminal not to invest some time in this.
 
Did the demo have lens flares and long-distance fogging implemented? I just had a play around with the demo with OpenGL and there doesn't seem to be any lens flares. Checked Standoff and the lens flares are present.

Edit: Hmm, I may have a problem. No lens flares on Secret Ops either. Don't have my Prophecy discs with me at the moment, so I can't test that...

Another edit: Here's a comparison between DirectX and OpenGL. This first image was made seven years ago with HCl's original high-resolution patch (which had fixed resolution options) and DirectX renderer. A second image is made with the new OpenGL enhancement. Ooh, pretty.

(Can't use attachments because of the 1 MiB limit.)
 
Hey Wedge. Alex disabled the lens flare when HDR is enabled, because the two effects didn't look good together, IIRC. The reason why you have lense flare in Standoff might be that HDR doesn't work on your Standoff setup ? The new GL is more compatible with a broader range of video card than the last one we distributed with Standoff.

Bottom line: we'll have an updated Standoff GL released soon, and if you want lense flare, disable HDR.
 
Ah, okay. Funny, Standoff seemed okay to me, and I'm currently running on a Radeon HD 6950. Hmm, just did a quick test to see what you think. What characterises HDR? It's more than specular highlighting, isn't it? I also notice the Standoff fighter exhaust seems to be more intense than the Prophecy/SO ones, but I imagine that's due to the design of the fighters themselves and doesn't have anything to do with the renderer.

Anyway, I suppose HDR is nicer to have than lens flares, but would have been nice to have both.

Edit: I did a quick visual comparison between HDR and no-HDR in Secret Ops, and it seems that the specular highlighting the former is more intense and the shadows are darker. Which makes sense for high-dynamic range rendering. I'm wondering if I should actually leave HDR off, then, since some of the shadows in HDR mode makes the overall scene seem too dark.
 
Was revising my screen-shot collection recently... made a couple that might be useful for some as wallpaper material. Nothing involved except the original game, the OpenGL renderer, and a bit of cropping:
Didn't make these specifically for 16:9 aspect ratios, so if you're cropping to HD resolution, you might lose a bit of the ships. Sorry.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top