Requirements  |  Version Changes  |  Installation and Execution  |  Complete Breakdown  |  Legal


Requirements:

 

Version Changes:

Version 2.1

Version 2.0

Version 1.0

 

Installation and Execution:

1.)  Unzip the folder anywhere on your computer. It does not matter where you put it, it will find the location to your Unreal Tournament 2003 installation.
2.)  Open the folder.
3.)  Double click the [H]ardOCP UT2K3 Benchmarker.exe  (Note: You do need to have CD1 in your drive to run the tests, this is a limitation of the game)
4.)  Select if you wish to run the tests with the Demo or the Full Version UT2K3 depending on what you have installed.
5.)  Select if you want to run in Direct3D or OpenGL rendering.
6.)  Put a check next to which resolution(s) you want to test.
7.)  Click on which Quality Setting you want to test.

Note:  If you click on the Custom Test button and get an error about missing COMDLG32.OCX, or an out of memory error it means you need to install the COMDLG32 files to your C:\Windows\System32 folder.  The files are located on the root of the benchmarker folder in the folder called comdlg32.  Simply copy these files into your C:\Windows\System32 directory and then the Custom Test button will work.

The benchmark will then begin to run through the tests. Seven maps will be tested in the High Quality and Low Quality setting. Depending on if you chose just one resolution or all resolutions the test could take a very long time to run. Thirty minutes to an hour to run one quality setting may not be uncommon if you choose All Resolutions, especially on a slow system.

When the tests are done an HTML file is placed in the benchmarker directory called results.html.  It will automatically open the results HTML file in your default browser.  It will show three tables.  The first is the Low FPS numbers attained in the benchmark, these are the lowest frames per second recorded in the benchmark run.  The next table shows you the Average FPS results.  The last table shows you the Highest FPS results in the benchmark run.  Each table lists the resolution(s) you selected on the sides with the map name on the top.  At the very bottom it will list for you the criteria that you chose to run the tests at.  If you wish to save this HTML file it is important to do so immediately because as soon as you run any more tests it will overwrite this HTML file. So you need to save it somewhere else or rename it if you want to save the results from the test run.

The High Quality Test: This test runs using an INI file that is customized to use the maximum quality possible by the game.

The Low Quality Test: This test runs using an INI file that is customized to use the minimum quality possible by the game.

The CPU Test: This test runs using an INI file that is customized to put as much stress on the CPU as possible. To achieve the best results, please run this test at 640x480.  Only one Map, Inferno is used for this test.

The Custom Test: This test runs using the options that you select. It can run with or without sound; using any INI file that you make (or it can use the default ones); and using any Map that you want. First you need to select whether to test with the Demo or Full Version, and the Rendering Engine and then the resolution(s) you wish to test with.  When you are selecting the level to use, please only use levels that came with the game when it shipped. Others WILL NOT work. To run the test, select all of the options that you want, and press "Run Test."  The maps with an asterisk beside them are the built in maps that have can run a flyby.  If you get an error about missing COMDLG32.OCX or an out of memory error you need to install the COMDLG32 files that are located in the comdlg32 folder in the root of the benchmarker folder.  Copy the files to your C:\Windows\System32 folder. 

Note: Many of the levels that you can choose for the custom test DO NOT have a flyby path. They just sit at the start position for the entire benchmark. You may move around during these benchmarks if you wish, to give yourself an idea of the average framerate as you move around the level but they cannot be used for fair comparisons given their random nature.  

OpenGL and Direct3D: This allows you to change between the two rendering engines. This is controlled using the INI files, so it WILL NOT do anything when choosing a custom INI file. 

 

Complete Breakdown:

Here is a more detailed explanation of what exactly the script is doing. When the EXE is first launched it will search for your location of Unreal Tournament 2003. When it finds it the buttons will then be available for you to control. When you press which quality setting you want to test the program will make a new directory under your UT2003 folder and copy our custom quality setting INI file into that folder. Then it will automatically run the tests one after the other without user intervention. After all tests have been run it will create an HTML file with the results which are taken directly from the lowframerate.log file in the Benchmark directory in UT2K3.  The results in this log file are exactly the same as the results in the CSV's. It will then clean up after itself and delete the custom INI file and folder from your UT2003 directory leaving it just like it was.

With this utility you have 3 different tests, High Quality, Low Quality and a CPU Test. You can use each one accordingly combined with IQ features such as Anti-Aliasing and Anisotropic filtering should test your system thoroughly with this game. This utility does now work in Windows 98/SE, ME, 2000 and XP.

I will break down here exactly what this script is doing for your reference.

For the MaxDetail.ini I made the following changes:

[D3DDrv.D3DRenderDevice]

DetailTexMipBias=-0.8
DefaultTexMipBias=-0.8
UseTripleBuffering=True
UseCompressedLightmaps=False

(We felt that slightly more aggressive LOD would both sharpen image quality and increase the demand slightly for the highest detail quality setting.)

For the MinDetail.ini file I made the following changes:

[D3DDrv.D3DRenderDevice]

DetailTexMipBias=0.8
DefaultTexMipBias=0.8
UseTripleBuffering=False
UseCompressedLightmaps=True

(This positive LOD bias would give it a slightly more blurry texture but would help to increase performance.)

We also included a CPU Test INI file that has lowered quality settings to test and compare CPU’s and Motherboards using Unreal Tournament 2003. Only one map was used, Inferno. We have also set all quality settings to their lowest and turned off detailed settings. The two main settings we have disabled to make sure the CPU is doing as much as possible is UseHardwareTL=False and UseHardwareVS=False. This will ensure the video card to have less effect on the games performance putting the entire burden on the CPU for comparison testing.

We feel that our slight modifications represent a better highest quality setting and a better lowest quality setting for comparing video cards.

Happy Gaming!

 

Legal:

Use of this software by HardOCP.com is submitted to acceptance of all the terms of this License.

This software is not sold, but only licensed. This software cannot be sold or included in any other program or commercial package. You may NOT alter, delete, or add any files in the distribution package.


Disclaimer of warranty:

The software and accompanying written materials are provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. The Licensee agrees that the Author shall not be liable for any incidental, indirect, special, or consequential damages, including, but not limited to, loss of profits, business interruption, loss of information, incurred by the Licensee or any third party, even if the author has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Upon using the software, the user agrees with the above statements.

KB Networks, Inc. DBA HardOCP.com Copyright © 2002. All rights reserved.

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Brent Justice aka [H]Drone
[H]ard|OCP : http://www.hardocp.com
Email : brent@hardocp.com

02-23-2003

“Please don’t edit the built in INI files. This will change the quality settings and fair comparisons will no longer be possible. Any tweaks/comments/suggestions/flames should be directed to me and I will make appropriate changes and re-distribute”

Thanks,
Brent
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