Posted May 17, 2020
I purchased the original BloodRayne during the weekly sale and had performance issues running it on a laptop running Windows 10 1909 with an integrated Intel GPU and a discrete Nvidia GPU. There have been a few posts on how to fix this using dgVoodoo, but the linked article from Steam does a poor job with the configuration. Hopefully this post will help others run the game properly. I’ve attached screenshots to this post to assist with configuration.
In my case, the issue was caused by Nvidia’s Optimus technology choosing to run BloodRayne on integrated hardware instead of my Nvidia device. You can read more about Optimus here:
https://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/optimus/technology. I’ve had this issue with other applications, but I was unable to force the discreet card in the Nvidia control panel.
The only tool needed to fix this is dgVoodoo. I am using version 2.63.2. It can be found here: http://dege.freeweb.hu/dgVoodoo2/dgVoodoo2.html. dgVoodoo is a wrapper for old graphics applications that outputs them using a modern interface. You can read more about it here: http://dege.freeweb.hu/dgVoodoo2/Readme.html
The fix:
After installing BloodRayne, download the dgVoodoo2 archive. Like any file downloaded from the internet, be sure to scan for malware first. Unzip the archive and copy the following files to your BloodRayne installation directory:
dgVoodooCpl.exe
MS\x86\D3D8.dll
MS\x86\D3D9.dll
MS\x86\D3DImm.dll
MS\x86\DDraw.dll
Running dgVoodoo is as easy as clicking on the executable in the BloodRayne directory.
1. Start with clicking the .\ button in the Config Folder / Running Instance box at the top. This will drop the configuration into the running directory.
2. Set the appearance scaling mode to Centered. This will keep the 4:3 aspect ratio and not stretch the image.
3. Switch to the DirectX tab. Under Miscellaneous, force VSync and uncheck dgVoodoo Watermark
4. Click Apply and OK.
• Feel free to force anisotropic filtering and MSAA. MSSA is a big performance hit on my machine, but you may have better results.
• Note that while VSync is forced, the cutscenes are still rendered at 29FPS.
• A resolution can be forced on this screen that will not retain the 4:3 aspect ratio. I recommend using the configuration tool provided by the game to avoid stretching the image.
• The system requirements for this game require 128mb of VRAM, recommended is 512mb. So far, I haven’t run into any issues with the default of 256mb.
After configuring dgVoodoo, launch BloodRayne. At the configuration tool, be sure to turn up the texture detail, turn on bump mapping, dynamic shadows, and set water reflections to high. All resolutions are in 4:3 and will persist unless a resolution is forced by dgVoodoo.
Another thing to note is that some of the videos may not play in the correct aspect ratio. To fix this, navigate to the BloodRayne install directory, then to video. Right-click on the Cutscene executable > Properties. On the compatibility tab, check Run in 640 x 480 screen resolution. Click Apply and OK.
Please leave a comment if you have any questions. I’ll be happy to assist.
In my case, the issue was caused by Nvidia’s Optimus technology choosing to run BloodRayne on integrated hardware instead of my Nvidia device. You can read more about Optimus here:
https://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/optimus/technology. I’ve had this issue with other applications, but I was unable to force the discreet card in the Nvidia control panel.
The only tool needed to fix this is dgVoodoo. I am using version 2.63.2. It can be found here: http://dege.freeweb.hu/dgVoodoo2/dgVoodoo2.html. dgVoodoo is a wrapper for old graphics applications that outputs them using a modern interface. You can read more about it here: http://dege.freeweb.hu/dgVoodoo2/Readme.html
The fix:
After installing BloodRayne, download the dgVoodoo2 archive. Like any file downloaded from the internet, be sure to scan for malware first. Unzip the archive and copy the following files to your BloodRayne installation directory:
dgVoodooCpl.exe
MS\x86\D3D8.dll
MS\x86\D3D9.dll
MS\x86\D3DImm.dll
MS\x86\DDraw.dll
Running dgVoodoo is as easy as clicking on the executable in the BloodRayne directory.
1. Start with clicking the .\ button in the Config Folder / Running Instance box at the top. This will drop the configuration into the running directory.
2. Set the appearance scaling mode to Centered. This will keep the 4:3 aspect ratio and not stretch the image.
3. Switch to the DirectX tab. Under Miscellaneous, force VSync and uncheck dgVoodoo Watermark
4. Click Apply and OK.
• Feel free to force anisotropic filtering and MSAA. MSSA is a big performance hit on my machine, but you may have better results.
• Note that while VSync is forced, the cutscenes are still rendered at 29FPS.
• A resolution can be forced on this screen that will not retain the 4:3 aspect ratio. I recommend using the configuration tool provided by the game to avoid stretching the image.
• The system requirements for this game require 128mb of VRAM, recommended is 512mb. So far, I haven’t run into any issues with the default of 256mb.
After configuring dgVoodoo, launch BloodRayne. At the configuration tool, be sure to turn up the texture detail, turn on bump mapping, dynamic shadows, and set water reflections to high. All resolutions are in 4:3 and will persist unless a resolution is forced by dgVoodoo.
Another thing to note is that some of the videos may not play in the correct aspect ratio. To fix this, navigate to the BloodRayne install directory, then to video. Right-click on the Cutscene executable > Properties. On the compatibility tab, check Run in 640 x 480 screen resolution. Click Apply and OK.
Please leave a comment if you have any questions. I’ll be happy to assist.
Attachments:
general.jpg (83 Kb)
directx.jpg (84 Kb)
correct_aspect_r.jpg (340 Kb)
incorrect_aspect.jpg (500 Kb)
Post edited May 17, 2020 by TCloud9
