Is there any way to run Brink without "going through" OpenGL?

(Left4Raptor) #1

As it stands, I am unable to play, or even see anything more than splash art, due to the fact that my graphics card’s drivers are incompatible with OpenGL 3.1.

“Then why not update your drivers?”

I can’t, unfortunately. My computer is a prebuilt machine, and Sony flashes the graphics cards that they use with something that makes you unable to get drivers for it from anywhere but Sony. As it stands, their most recent driver still does not add support for OpenGL 3.1 or higher. I have no clue when they will update their drivers again, and if their next update will even do what’s necessary to let me play Brink.

Other than my graphics card drivers, I’m almost completely sure my computer easily fulfills the minimum system requirements. I am not at my own computer at this moment, and I can’t remember the specs off the top of my head.

So, what I’m getting at here is, is there any possibility of running Brink without “going through” OpenGL? I apologize if this is a stupid question. I am quite computer-illiterate for someone who enjoys video games

(RR2DO2) #2

OpenGL is the graphics API we use to render Brink; it is required to be able to run the game.

(sirius89) #3

^This guy has no clue what he’s talking about.

Just don’t respond to him,he’s just trolling. :cool:

duckandhide

Little bit fun in these sad days must be. :smiley:

Yeah,Open GL is required,otherwise it wont work or result in some crazy crashes. ^^

(McAfee) #4

I think you will have to look into “modified” drivers, but this is at your own risk unfortunately. They usually just take the official drivers and ADD the IDs of video cards like yours, so that it can detect and install on your computer.

A few years ago I use to solve that type of issue with ATI cards using these drivers:
http://www.omegadrivers.net/

I remember he offered a few extra things other than the modified driver, but you could pick a custom install with only the modified driver.

I don’t know if he has actively continued his project. I don’t know the currently quality of his project. I don’t know if he also works with nvidia cards.

(asus) #5

Download GPU-Z or Speccy to find out exactly what model GPU you’re using, and I can point you to some bios files that you should be able to flash it to, along with a tutorial, which would let you update it with any drivers.

(McAfee) #6

You should point out that has even more risks. Like rendering the card a brick.

(asus) #7

The chances of bricking a card if you do it right (through DOS), which is the way I’d show him, are slim to none.

And the latest Omega drivers are from 2007 and won’t support OpengGL 3.1.

(Spectre-7) #8

That doesn’t sound very much like Sony to me (no offense), and I’m wondering if perhaps someone might have misinformed you… these things happen. And since there’s really no chance of avoiding OpenGL (it’s fundamental to how Splash Damage programmed the game), how about we take another shot at updating your video drivers? I can help if you give me a bit of information, and we should be able to get you updated without too much trouble.

First up, what version of Windows are you running? XP, Vista, Windows 7? And do you know if it’s the 32-bit version or the 64-bit version?

Next up, I need some information about your video card. You can get the specifics by following these steps:[ol]

[li]Go to the Wndows Start Menu and click on Run…
[/li][li]In the box that pops up, type in dxdiag and click on OK. This will start the DirectX Diagnostic Tool.
[/li][li]In that program, go to the Display tab across the top (should be the second one).
[/li][li]Report back what it says in 2 places:[ul]
[/li][li]On the left side, under Device, after Name: (the red square in the example)
[/li][li]On the right side under Drivers, after Version: (the blue square in the example)[/ul][/ol]
[/li]

dxdiag.png740x538

If you can get me that stuff, I’m almost sure we can sort out your driver problem. Thanks in advance. :slight_smile:

(asus) #9

[QUOTE=Spectre-7;317580]That doesn’t sound very much like Sony to me (no offense), and I’m wondering if perhaps someone might have misinformed you… these things happen. And since there’s really no chance of avoiding OpenGL (it’s fundamental to how Splash Damage programmed the game), how about we take another shot at updating your video drivers? I can help if you give me a bit of information, and we should be able to get you updated without too much trouble.

First up, what version of Windows are you running? XP, Vista, Windows 7? And do you know if it’s the 32-bit version or the 64-bit version?

Next up, I need some information about your video card. You can get the specifics by following these steps:[ol]

[li]Go to the Wndows Start Menu and click on Run…
[/li][li]In the box that pops up, type in dxdiag and click on OK. This will start the DirectX Diagnostic Tool.
[/li][li]In that program, go to the Display tab across the top (should be the second one).
[/li][li]Report back what it says in 2 places:[ul]
[/li][li]On the left side, under Device, after Name: (the red square in the example)
[/li][li]On the right side under Drivers, after Version: (the blue square in the example)[/ul][/ol]
[/li]

dxdiag.png740x538

If you can get me that stuff, I’m almost sure we can sort out your driver problem. Thanks in advance. :)[/QUOTE]

I was actually thinking this too but was too lazy to type it out.

OP, you should definitely try this first.

(Left4Raptor) #10

[QUOTE=Spectre-7;317580]
First up, what version of Windows are you running? XP, Vista, Windows 7? And do you know if it’s the 32-bit version or the 64-bit version?

Next up, I need some information about your video card. You can get the specifics by following these steps:[ol]

[li]Go to the Wndows Start Menu and click on Run…
[/li][li]In the box that pops up, type in dxdiag and click on OK. This will start the DirectX Diagnostic Tool.
[/li][li]In that program, go to the Display tab across the top (should be the second one).
[/li][li]Report back what it says in 2 places:[ul]
[/li][li]On the left side, under Device, after Name: (the red square in the example)
[/li][li]On the right side under Drivers, after Version: (the blue square in the example)[/ul][/ol]
[/li]
If you can get me that stuff, I’m almost sure we can sort out your driver problem. Thanks in advance. :)[/QUOTE]

My computer runs Windows Vista, the 64-bit version.

My graphics card is the NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT, and the driver version is 8.16.0011.8691 (English).

I’m sorry that I gave this to you so late, I couldn’t find the time to get on my computer and look it up until now.

(Nail) #11

newer drivers here:

http://esupport.sony.com/CA/perl/swu-download.pl?mdl=VPCCW192S&upd_id=6215&os_id=45

(Left4Raptor) #12

[QUOTE=Nail;317999]newer drivers here:

http://esupport.sony.com/CA/perl/swu-download.pl?mdl=VPCCW192S&upd_id=6215&os_id=45[/QUOTE]

Nope. I got multiple errors. It said that I had a 32-bit uninstaller on a 64-bit system, then said that my OS is not Windows Vista 64-bit, even though it is.

(Instant_Soldier) #13

Being that DX is prevalent, and functional, why was OpenGL selected for the renderer?

(Nail) #14

did you follow the instructions on that page ?

I’m sure you did, but just asking to make sure

(Left4Raptor) #15

[QUOTE=Nail;318180]did you follow the instructions on that page ?

I’m sure you did, but just asking to make sure[/QUOTE]

To be honest, I was stupid and didn’t.

Then, I tried again while following the instructions as well as I could (I couldn’t clear out my taskbar completely), got the same exact error. :confused:

(Nail) #16

found these, you may have to install your drivers in Safe Mode to get past some other programs

http://www.laptopdrivers.net/download/25997/sony_vgn-aw_310j%2fh_nvidia_geforce_9600m_gt_video_driver_for_windows_vista_home_premium_64-bit.htm

(Left4Raptor) #17

[QUOTE=Nail;318223]found these, you may have to install your drivers in Safe Mode to get past some other programs

http://www.laptopdrivers.net/download/25997/sony_vgn-aw_310j%2fh_nvidia_geforce_9600m_gt_video_driver_for_windows_vista_home_premium_64-bit.htm[/QUOTE]

I tried installing it through Safe Mode. No dice. It rebooted my computer, didn’t update anything.

(Nail) #18

could try dropping a ticket to sony support asking about new drivers, funny they wouldn’t install

(system) #19

[QUOTE=Left4Raptor;317995]My computer runs Windows Vista, the 64-bit version.

My graphics card is the NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT, and the driver version is 8.16.0011.8691 (English).

I’m sorry that I gave this to you so late, I couldn’t find the time to get on my computer and look it up until now.[/QUOTE]

Your “GeForce 9600M GT” (32 Cores) is way below the minimum spec “GeForce 8800GS” (96 cores). So I guess the drivers are the smaller problem.

(Spectre-7) #20

[QUOTE=Left4Raptor;317995]My computer runs Windows Vista, the 64-bit version.

My graphics card is the NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT, and the driver version is 8.16.0011.8691 (English).

I’m sorry that I gave this to you so late, I couldn’t find the time to get on my computer and look it up until now.[/QUOTE]

Unfortunately, YoungGuns has it right. Mobile versions of GPUs are designed to require less power and produce less heat than their desktop counterparts, and because of this, they offer a rather unique gotcha as far as minimum requirements go. In this case, you could probably expect your 9600M GT to perform about the same as a previous generation 8600 GT, as they have very similar specs.

It sucks, and I wish there was another answer. Gaming on laptops is always a bit more difficult, though, and I’d suggest being very cautious any time your system seems to be at or near the minimum requirements, because a laptop will very likely be beneath them instead.

All that being said, I think there is an appropriate driver upgrade for that chipset. System manufacturers always suggest you use their own drivers rather than those provided by the original hardware manufacturers (Nvidia in this case), and they always do a poor job of keeping those drivers up to date. The part they don’t mention is that they very, very rarely actually do anything to customize those chipsets, and so the original manufacturers drivers are actually the better choice 9 times out of 10.

I’d suggest giving these drivers a shot. I still don’t think you’re going to get a satisfactory experience out of Brink, but these should be the correct drivers for your hardware and should offer you the best shot.