Reinstalling GTR2 - best approach?

[wowbagger]

Hi,

I decided to reinstall this old beauty and am wondering if there is an accepted way to get the best out of her.

Spoiler: original post

Should I install the Anniversary patch and then start adding in HQ mods? Just the Anniversary patch? Just the various HQ mods? Something else?

Sorry, it's a bit befuddling coming back to this and seeing so many options now available.

Cheers

______________________________________________________
edit: to collect all the answers and information in one post.
credits to: everyone else in this thread.

1- install GTR2 either from dvd or steam

2- download and install GTR2 10th anniversary patch

3- right click on all EXE files inside GTR2 folder and set WinXP compatibility + Administrator rights

4- run GTR2config.exe (choose 32bits resolution, dx9) but Do NOT choose AA/AF here

-use Nvidia Profile Inspector to set AA/AF (set Antialiasing compatibility to Diablo II or Diablo III)

- turn off vsync (according to personal preference) - ffb in GTR2 seems to be tied to refresh rate

5- Install Bill2's Process Manager or Process Lasso and set GTR2's core affinity to use all cores of your processor. Set Administrator rights for Bill2's Process Manager or Process Lasso.

6- run GTR2.exe

Use JSGME (JoneSoft Generic Mod Enabler) to install tracks and mods.

HQ MODS are already included in 10th Anniversary patch, there are just more options to choose from in the HQ MODS collection - like different sparks effects for example.

Huge thanks from me to everyone who has been putting in hours to maintain and improve this legend of a game!

 

[GTR233]

I bump this MUST READ thread as I saw someone with difficulties to run GTR2

 

[fadsfas]

So. I Had problems with gtr2 with setting the processor affinity and some other stuff. i am doing a reinstall sometime. can someone give me proper instruction/detailed guide in order for me to have the best result in GTR2 like Improved FPS With more than 30+ cars etc. i am using the steam version btw and my os is windows 10.

 

[Bjarne Hansen]

Yes, read this thread from post one!

 

[fadsfas]

Alright thanks

 

[fadsfas]

The 10th anniversary patch it says it's null

 

[GTR233]

GTR2 10th Anniversary Patch is online again and the GTR2 HQ MODS COLLECTION will be re-uploaded in next days.

 

[Shovas]

Yay!

 

[Durge Driven]

Use JSGME (JoneSoft Generic Mod Enabler) to install tracks and mods.

If you have more then one install I recommend OVGME

OVGME lets you store your MODS folder anywhere on PC same as AC content manager ( which uses modified OVGME )

So with 3 or more installs you only need one MODS folder which also means you only have to update
mods in one archive not each GTR2

P.S.
I would give RunAFF a go for CPU priority, unlike the other programs it doesn't run in background

Dropbox - File Deleted - Simplify your life

www.dropbox.com

 

[ryan36brown]

Hi been reading through this thread and tried running AA as diablo and running exes as admin in win xp. Is it normal to still get quite a lot of popping in textures IE the pit buildings when exiting flicker when going past ?

 

[Bjarne Hansen]

If you are on Win 10 do not use Win Xp or any other comparability mode.
Just gtr2config.exe and gtr2.exe in admin mode.
AA as Diablo III
Then MSAA or SSAA as you want / can use or DSR for that matter.
There should be little or no popping in of textures.
Unless you run to high graphics settings for your hardware?

 

[ryan36brown]

Hi So in the end I did a clean fresh install of game with the HQ updates.

used profile inspector with diablo 2 and set anti aliasing settings (see below)
ran config as admin only
ran GTR2.exe without (so i can keep crewchief on)
Alt tab at start of each session and set cores to all (then tried bills process manager incase for some reason this was not working)

everything seemed all good until i loaded up a decent grid Spa and was bouncing between 15-40fps (this surprised me as my hardware i thought of as being okay)

i decided to lessen some of the in game graphic settings shadows/track detail/lights, then ran the HQ setup again to switch down the sky quality and lastly reduced anti aliasing settings to maybe give me performance back

however after trying a couple things the game no longer wants to launch and give me an error that then freezes my OS.

before I do another clean install, anymore tips for the framerate. Really want to get on this sim and run in full hq glory but just doesnt seem to want to play ball.

specs
GPU 3060 TI
CPU I7-9700f
2 sticks of 8gb ram

Profile inspector setting below

much appreciated in advance

 

[The Iron Wolf]

Hi So in the end I did a clean fresh install of game with the HQ updates.

used profile inspector with diablo 2 and set anti aliasing settings (see below)
ran config as admin only
ran GTR2.exe without (so i can keep crewchief on)
Alt tab at start of each session and set cores to all (then tried bills process manager incase for some reason this was not working)

everything seemed all good until i loaded up a decent grid Spa and was bouncing between 15-40fps (this surprised me as my hardware i thought of as being okay)

i decided to lessen some of the in game graphic settings shadows/track detail/lights, then ran the HQ setup again to switch down the sky quality and lastly reduced anti aliasing settings to maybe give me performance back

however after trying a couple things the game no longer wants to launch and give me an error that then freezes my OS.

before I do another clean install, anymore tips for the framerate. Really want to get on this sim and run in full hq glory but just doesnt seem to want to play ball.

specs
GPU 3060 TI
CPU I7-9700f
2 sticks of 8gb ram

Profile inspector setting below

much appreciated in advance

View attachment 499772

Did you check performance suggestions in the Crew Chief Plugin manual? It sounds like you tried all the right things (shadows/headlights and opponent details medium are the main guys), but one suggestion that might've been overlooked - make sure GTR2 memory usage is below 3Gb. Once you hit 3Gb, performance drops sharply and there's nothing that can be done, at least not yet, except for choosing the right mods that conserve the memory - most precious resource in GTR2.

Another thing, Beta version of the Plugin supports disabling rain reflections, which makes rain always playable at a cost of some eye candy.

PS: You did apply 4Gb patch, right?

 

[ryan36brown]

Did you check performance suggestions in the Crew Chief Plugin manual? It sounds like you tried all the right things (shadows/headlights and opponent details medium are the main guys), but one suggestion that might've been overlooked - make sure GTR2 memory usage is below 3Gb. Once you hit 3Gb, performance drops sharply and there's nothing can be done, at least not yet.

Another thing, Beta version of the Plugin supports disabling rain reflections, which makes rain always playable at a cost of some eye candy.

Rapid response, In all honesty not visited the Crew Chief manual yet.

what is the best way to reduce the memory usage if that is indeed the case ?

will try disabling reflections also, i dont mind less eye candy for the sound of Jim reminding me im locking up into la source every lap.

 

[The Iron Wolf]

Rapid response, In all honesty not visited the Crew Chief manual yet.

what is the best way to reduce the memory usage if that is indeed the case ?

will try disabling reflections also, i dont mind less eye candy for the sound of Jim reminding me im locking up into la source every lap.

Best way to reduce memory usage is to choose the right mods. Some mods hit 3Gb mark with 23 cars For EEC 2.3, for example, make sure to drop opponent detail to medium (as well as shadows/headlights). I can have 57 cars at nords, but only after I lower the settings. Chosing better mods is normal in moddable game though, that's part of a deal.

Make sure you have 4Gb patch applied to your GTR2.exe, otherwise perf will drop even earlier.

one more thing... CC plugin got updated recently... you may want to let it re-create CrewChief.ini, that will enable all the critical fixes.

 

[Bjarne Hansen]

Your hardware are plenty for Gtr2.
Why do you not use CC to utilize all the cores in your Cpu?
The very first settings in crewchief.ini
Your main issue are the crazy amount of AA you apply.
try MSAA x4 and SGAA at x4
Always have the same value on those likex2 or x4
Or even try use DSR and apply maybe x2 MSAA and x2SGAA.

Another thing are in general conversion from Grid tend to be poorly optimized for Gtr2. very long LOD and most textures got alpha channels when not needed.
Still you should have +120 fps in clear weather on that track in Gtr2 with your hardware
And that is with all gtr2 graphics setting on Max.
Depending on monitor resolution. if you got 4kthen it would be less but then you can also lower AA even more.

 

[Ray Moulad]

After several attempts with display settings, I wanted to try again with the Nvidia DSR. But the screen does not scale, the display is much too big and I can't do anything...
I can't see what parameter I'm forgetting!

 

[AMA_King]

Your hardware are plenty for Gtr2.
Why do you not use CC to utilize all the cores in your Cpu?
The very first settings in crewchief.ini

Trying to verify if I am using all cores available to the game...

I have CC and it works but I do not have "crewchief.ini" in any folders.

I've searched: C:\Program Files (x86)\Britton IT Ltd\CrewChiefV4
C:\GTR2HQ
C:\GTR2pNg

My hardware basics:
AMD Ryzen 7 - 3700x
64GB DDR4-3200 RAM
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 8GB GDDR6
OS Drive - 1TB M.2 SSD - WIN-10 PRO-64
Game Drive - 6TB WD BLACK 7200rpm

 

[GTR233]

Bjarne is gone so he will never answer...

Crewchief.ini is in GTR2\PLUGIN\ folder, for you especially then :
- c:\gtr2hq\plugin
- c:\gtr2png\plugin

I do not have my pc at the moment so I do not recall exactly if there is a S or not for plugin spelling (could be plugin or plugins)

 

[blackskull101]

I do not have my pc at the moment so I do not recall exactly if there is a S or not for plugin spelling (could be plugin or plugins)

It's "Plugins"