Greetings and Welcome to an LGR Thing!

Today, we're trying something a little bit absurd with Windows 98 and this 12 megabyte Voodoo 2 accelerator card from 1998: we're gonna be playing Doom 3 from 2004. This was absolutely not supported natively, at minimum it required a 64MB GPU and Windows 2000 or XP, but I remember seeing posts about this Voodoo 2 Windows 98 mod back in the day and always wanted to try it.

To set up our system for this little experiment, I usually have a Voodoo 3 in here, but today I'll be dropping in this lovely STB BlackMagic Voodoo 2 card, which was actually my first 3D accelerator back in the day. And since this only does 3D and doesn't do any 2D processing, I'm gonna pair it with this 4MB ATI 3D Rage Pro card from 1997. Just gonna stick 'em into their respective PCI 2.0 slots right next to each other, since around back they need to be connected with this little SVGA cable in order for the graphics cards to work together.

I'll just be using the latest referenced rivers for each card in Windows 98 Second Edition, nothing special in that regard. As for Doom 3, the installer will immediately throw up a message about Windows 98 not being supported, but just click through and let it happen. And do note that you will need to use the original retail release of Doom 3. The BFG re-release won't work at all, and the Steam version relies on protection that isn't compatible with Windows 98.

Also, it may ask about updating to DirectX version 9.0b, and if you don't have it then install it, or even better install 9.0c like I did here. Once your system restarts, you'll need to update Doom 3 to version 1.31, and I've found that I get the best results by updating to 1.1, then 1.3, then 1.31. Each of these are included in the D3_patch folder in the archive I've put together for this video, no need to worry about hunting down any of these.

Next navigate to the Doom3_v2_patch folder in the archive and open the executable there. First thing it presents is a list of Doom 3 PAK files to extract before running the patch, so you'll need an extraction program like WinRar or 7-Zip to get into these. Navigate to the Doom 3\\base folder and open up PAK000, PAK002, and PAK004.pk4. Then just extract the required folders into the same "base" folder you found the PAK files.

So by the end you should have folders in there titled Materials, GUIs, Particles, Textures, and Models. Head back to the patch program and we can adjust the texture sizes, and while the default settings will work just fine on a Voodoo 2, I was curious to see how low it could go so I chose the minimum settings. And also make sure the two checkboxes at the bottom are checked, at least for the kind of setup in this video, and finally click "Run" and let it do its thing.

This can take quite some time, it may even look like it's frozen for a while, but yeah it'll eventually get there. What it's doing is going through each of those files you extracted and converting them into much lower-fidelity versions that can be displayed on a Voodoo card, as well as plopping down some modified executables and config files so Doom 3 won't refuse to run on such a low-spec system.

After ten or fifteen minutes, head back to the archive and the OPENGL32 folder, then copy over that entire thing into the same Doom 3 "base" folder we've been using. Then go back into the game and you'll have an autosave. Load that and bam, it skips that glitch and gets you into the game.

Finally, it's time for Doom 3! Soldier:

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enGreetings and welcome to an LGR thing!And today we’re trying something a littlebit absurd with Windows 98 and this 12 megabyteVoodoo 2 accelerator card from 1998: we'regonna be playing Doom 3 from 2004.This was absolutely not supported natively,at minimum it required a 64MB GPU and Windows2000 or XP, but I remember seeing posts aboutthis Voodoo 2 Windows 98 mod back in the dayand always wanted to try it.I’m gonna go ahead and show each step ofthe process to setting this up, but I’llalso provide typed instructions and linksto the files used in the video description,so if you wanna just see the resulting gameplayfeel free to skip ahead.As for the rest of you, well, let’s getthe Lazy Green Giant set up to do this thing.I usually have a Voodoo 3 in here but todayI’ll be dropping in this lovely STB BlackMagicVoodoo 2 card, which was actually my first3D accelerator back in the day.And since this only does 3D and doesn’tdo any 2D processing, I’m gonna pair itwith this 4MB ATi 3D Rage Pro card from 1997.Just gonna stick ‘em into their respectivePCI 2.0 slots right next to each other, sincearound back they need to be connected withthis little SVGA cable in order for the graphicscards to work together.I’ll just be using the latest referencedrivers for each card in Windows 98 SecondEdition, nothing special in that regard.As for Doom 3, the installer will immediatelythrow up a message about Windows 98 not beingsupported, but just click through and letit happen.And do note that you will need to use theoriginal retail release of Doom 3.The BFG re-release won’t work at all andthe Steam version relies on protection thatisn’t compatible with Windows 98.Also, it may ask about updating to DirectXversion 9.0b, and if you don’t have it theninstall it, or even better install 9.0c likeI did here.Once your system restarts you’ll need toupdate Doom 3 to version 1.31 and I’ve foundI get the best results by updating to 1.1,then 1.3, then 1.31.Each of these are included in the D3_patchfolder in the archive I’ve put togetherfor this video, no need to worry about huntingdown any of these.Next navigate to the Doom3_v2_patch folderin the archive and open the executable there.First thing it presents is a list of Doom3 PAK files to extract before running thepatch, so you’ll need an extraction programlike WinRar or 7-Zip to get into these.Navigate to the Doom 3\\base folder and openup PAK000, PAK002, and PAK004.pk4.Then just extract the required folders intothe same “base” folder you found the PAK files.So by the end you should have folders in there titled Materials, GUIs,Particles, Textures, and Models.Head back to the patch program and we canadjust the texture sizes, and while the defaultsettings will work just fine on a Voodoo 2,I was curious to see how low it could go soI chose the minimum settings.And also make sure the two checkboxes at thebottom are checked, at least for the kindof setup in this video, and finally click“Run” and let it do its thing.This can take quite some time, it may evenlook like it’s frozen for a while, but yeahit’ll eventually get there.What it’s doing is going through each ofthose files you extracted and converting theminto much lower-fidelity versions that canbe displayed on a Voodoo card, as well asplopping down some modified executables andconfig files so Doom 3 won’t refuse to runon such a low-spec system.After ten or fifteen minutes, head back tothe archive and the OPENGL32 folder, thencopy over the DLL file to the main Doom 3directory,right alongside the main executables for the game.And now it’s time to see if it worked!Open Doom3_V2.bat and if all went well you’llsee a 3dfx logo on startup.Aw yeah.The intro videos didn’t work for me so youcan just press escape to get past those, andfinally we’re in the main menu.Still not ready to play the game itself though,just go into the options and crank thingsdown as low as they’ll go, save, then quitthe game.We should now have a config file in the “base”folder, so go ahead and open that in a texteditor and add the line seta r_singlelight“0” right below the final seta r linein that file, then save and make it read-only.You may be tempted to skip this step and seehow it goes without it, but trust me, it’sworth it for the performance and aestheticenhancements.Once you get Doom 3 opened up again, starta new game and see if it works.If not and you get this empty window here,I’ve got a fix for that too.Back in the archive there’s a savegame folder.Just copy that entire thing into the sameDoom 3 “base” folder we’ve been using,then go back into the game and you’ll havean autosave.Load that and bam, it skips that glitch andgets you into the game.Finally, it’s Doom 3 time!Soldier: \"Welcome to Mars. All new arrivals need to check in at reception.\"Hehe, ahh such as it is.But I mean, considering this is a 12 megabytecard running on an unsupported operating system,it’s not *that* bad...Sure you don’t have like, *any* of the graphicalfeatures that made Doom 3 such an impressivetechnical achievement, but at the same timeI think it’s oddly charming.Looks kinda like a prototype or something.It looks better than some modern early access games I’ve seen on Steam,which is actually kinda sad.Oh and in case you forgot what it was *supposed*to look like, here’s the game runningon Ultra on a PC that legitimately supports it.Receptionist: \"Okay, there's a few things we need to take care of first.\"\"This is your personal data assistant. You'll need this to access\"\"all secure areas. If you get clearance for any security zones,\"\"it'll download directly. It's important so don't lose it!\"Swann: \"Tell me, Dr. Betruger, why are so many workers spooked,\"\"complaining, requesting transfers off Mars?\"Betruger: \"They simply can't handle life here. They're exhausted and overworked.\"\"If I had a larger, more competent staff and bigger budget\"\"even these few accidents could've been avoided...\"Hehe, okay so the character models are straightup horrificand/or amazing depending on where you stand.And the texture resolution and model complexityis drastically reduced all-around, but it’sstill unmistakably Doom 3.You even still get the interactive user interfacesfound on displays and panels throughout thegame, the patch doesn’t seem to touch theseat all.Which is good because they’re rather necessaryto the gameplay.Speaking of which, Doom 3 remains rather playable,if understandably choppy.And hey, don’t have to worry about aboutswapping flashlights anymore, bonus! Nyah!But yeah, even when the action heats up andthings slow down, the controls remain rensponsive-ishand the FPS doesn’t tank as much as I anticipated.Part of that undoubtedly has to do with the1GHz Pentium III CPU in this system, but still.Even that is a generation behind and muchslower than the 1.5GHz Pentium 4that Doom 3 lists as its minimum supported processor.So all things considered, even though it candip into single digit frame rates when you’reup against multiple enemies, I still thinkthis is holding up surprisingly decently.I mean I’m not gonna recommend actuallyplaying the game this way,holy crap no, this is awful.But it’s an absurd, charming kind of awfulthat only comes from purposely breaking PCgames to run on configurations that they werenever, ever meant to.Oh and in case you’re wondering if it’llwork with an even older Voodoo 1 card, I wasn’table to get that going at all with this 4megabyte Diamond Monster 3D.The patch technically supports it, but thegame itself crapped out every time I loadedit, even with alternate WickedGL librariesinstalled. Oh well.That’s about it for this video, I just wantedto share this weirdness since I got a kick out of it.Ever since I saw the posts on gaming forumsfourteen or so years ago I always wanted totry this out, but by 2004 I’d moved on from Voodoo graphics cardsand gotten myself an ATi Radeon 9800 series board.It didn’t run Doom 3 perfectly either, buthey, at least it was capable of taking careof business on its own.Dang, the 9800 Pro, now that’s a card Ihaven’t experienced in ages.Buuuut anyway, before I get myself distractedwith questionable eBay searches I’m gonnago and say that’s it for today!I hope you enjoyed this little dive into somesilliness.I do not in any way recommend doing this,unless you’re bored and have some old hardwarelying around and in that case do check outthe video description for all the files.And check back for more LGR as well, thereare new videos every week.And as always thank you very much for watching!\n"