Links 2003 will not run

[Mailman]

I would be inclined to try 1920 x 1080 upscaled as that is the same aspect ratio as your monitor.

The Ryzen is unknown to me, so something about it or its configuration etc could be a factor.

On my own Windows notebook I am suspect about the Intel GPU drivers could be causing me problems.

Des

Yes I have got Links working upscaled from Links display mode 14 (1920x1080) upscaled to my present monitor a while back. That enabled me to select the option to maintain 'aspect ratio' within the NvCpl as opposed to my present Links mode 15 (1920x1200) selecting the scaling option 'Full-screen' that stretches the Links display to fill the whole screen. This is the best visually for my present monitor. I have also tried mode 15 with 'aspect ratio' set on NvCpl that produces side bars.

The kicker is that whatever combination of scaling mode and resolution I use, I see the same behaviour. I'm not out of ideas yet.

I shall try hooking up my 24" (1920x1200) monitor soon to see if Links works any better on that display.

Before signing off I restarted Links again this session and only took 4 goes to get it going < 1 min of actual time (I'm happy enough with that )

[Mailman]

I would be inclined to try 1920 x 1080 upscaled as that is the same aspect ratio as your monitor.

Just an update of what I've done recently that has seen some progress:

TBH I've never quite understood exactly what is going on with the general term 'scaling' but I had a slight lightbulb moment last night which has seen a marked improvement in Links 2003.

• I changed the Links display resolution in the registry to mode 14 i.e. 1920 x 1080.

• I selected NIS (Nvidia Image Scaling) within the global Manage 3D parameters list of settings plus sharpening set to 10% (the scale goes from 0-100) and overlay indicator checked. Note this now forces any scaling to be done on the dedicated GPU rather than on the display.

• I also selected Anisotropic Filtering x16 and Antialiasing FXAA within the Links 2003 Program tab. This had to be created by pointing towards the Links MMIII.exe Image scaling was set as 'Use Global setting (On)'. Doing the scaling just in the program tab was not as effective as doing it globally.

• In the 'Adjust Desktop Size and Position' tab with the Nvidia Control Panel the user cannot change any of the settings - they are set to 'Aspect Ratio' scaling mode, GPU scaling. Leaving the Links resolution at 1920 x 1200 (mode 15) introduces black bars.

I repeated the same setup on my Windows 10 dual-boot partition with the latest Nvidia driver,

The net result of all of this was a crisp fullscreen image now showing on the display (native 2560x1440 resolution). Bunker edges, cartpath edges and wires etc are smooth and best of all the image is no longer blurred because of the sharpening going on. Selecting the overlay indicator shows a small green NIS at the top left of my monitor when NIS + sharpening is taking place. Links is now looking better than it ever did.

Re the restarts, they are still happening but I think they are slightly better than they have been of late. Reducing running services via my 'Killer Intelligence App' is helping or so it seems.

[dwg]

So you are using Nvidia to scale the image rather than the CPU. This raises the question as to in Links do you have it set to Windowed or full screen mode, If Links is set to full screen mode then I would think Links may be doing something to scale the image, given that it uses that setting when removing borders.

I am watching your progress with great interest. Anything with higher resolution could be of interest in the wider community.

[dwg]

I am thinking that your start up problems do not sound to be video related, they may need investigating elsewhere. Perhaps Event Viewer may show something, any error messages may be useful.

[Mailman]

So you are using Nvidia to scale the image rather than the CPU. This raises the question as to in Links do you have it set to Windowed or full screen mode, If Links is set to full screen mode then I would think Links may be doing something to scale the image, given that it uses that setting when removing borders.

I am watching your progress with great interest. Anything with higher resolution could be of interest in the wider community.

In Links I have it set to fullscreen in both the registry which is replicated in the graphics settings. I have managed to fire Links up in windowed mode before but results were no better (in terms of loading up) than selecting fullscreen mode.

I may be wrong on this but it seems to me that going along the NIS (Nvidia Image Scaling) GPU scaling route takes the Links in-game HD image resolution (1920 x1080 as set in the registry) and transforms this display resolution on the GPU itself before outputting it to my display resolution (2560 x 1440). Aspect ratio scaling mode works without any bars due to the resolution (mode 14) chosen. If I select mode 15 aspect ratio scaling mode does not work without introducing the side bars because aspect rario mode is manadatory with NIS it seems. However I've found performing fullscreen scaling on the display (rather than the GPU) will scale (and stretch) a 1920 x 1200 links resolution without side bars but the image is not as crisp particularly as the 'sharpen' filter does not work on Links using display scaling.

Whatever is going on, it is difficult ATM to get an accurate screenshot of what I am seeing on my display (when Links does fire up) - it seems that when I do a fullscreen capture of the Links screen (via the usual methods) the size of the screengrab is slightly smaller than what I am seeing when I play Links. Possibly I am seeing the screengrab prior to image processing (upscaling and sharpening) being carried out by the GPU. Next thing on the to do list is to work out the best way to get an accurate screenshot of what I am actually seeing. That and finding that elusive key to first time loading every time.

[Mailman]

Anything with higher resolution could be of interest in the wider community.

OK I think I am at a point where I think I know what is going on with NIS (Nvidia Image Scaling) via the GPU.

• Links sets the input for the displaydepending on what resolution is set - in my case 1920 x 1080 (mode 14 display in the registry).

• I have installed both Geforce Experience App (More on that later) along with Nvidia Control Panel (NvCP).

• I have enabled NIS within the global tab on NvCP also setting sharpen to 10%. Doing this created 5 additional resolutions within the Scaling Resolution section of Display. These are 50% - 85% of the native screen resolution - in my case 50-80% of 2560 x 1440. I also added a LinksMMIII profile, set NIS to use Gobal Setting (on), anisotropic filtering to (on X16) and FXAA to (on)

• I then went into the Geforce app and created a Links profile. Witin the Links profile settings within the app, I now see confirmation of the settings - NIS (on) , Anisotropic Filtering to on (x16) and FXAA set to on. However I can also choose the maximum scaling that the GPU carries out via NIS of 85% ( I could not do this in the NvCP). Selecting 85% via the app provides an input resolution of 2176 x 1224 for 1440p output (after Nvidia apply their NIS wizardry) rather than 1920 x 1080 without NIS being applied

It is this combination of a higher input resolution for the scaling and some sharpening that is creating a much better visual image from me of Links than say performing 'ordinary scaling' from 1920 x1080 (or 1920 x 1200) where the pixels are streched to fill the display. Obviously I might be able to create some additional custom resolutions at an even higher % rate getting closer to the native where the stretching is reduced even further . I believe NIS was originally created for games that proved too taxing for larger resolution monitors and provided a method of reducing the overhead for the GPU. I think though it can be used for older games (such as Links) that were created in the days of 1600 x 1200 monitors being the king of the hill. I'm sure you could use the same technique with 4k monitors as well, potentially getting an input resolution of 3264 x 1836 (@85%).

https://www.gpumag.com/nvidia-image-scaling explains it all much better than I can.