Hardware Mode vs. Ambient Lighting?

[TUN3R]

Hallou,

Recently I decided to reinstall Jazz Jackrabbit 2... well actually I decided a long time ago but Microsoft does not approve of free thinking and tries to sabotage my game all the time :P Anyway so I installed Jazz Jackrabbit 2 The Secret Files (plus Christmas Chronicles, piece of cake) and wile it runs fine I decided to try and run it in compatibility mode with Windows 98, since that fixed a lot of problems with other post 2005 games. And while it runs and looks better, the game seems to lag whenever the User Interface is brought up (in game menu, level start screen etc) if Hardware Mode is ON. Not a major issue but still...

Now I haven't been able to notice a difference in graphics when turning it off, what does it actually do?

My specs:

Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
Intel Core i5-661 3.33 GHz (Dual Core)
4GB DDR3 RAM
GeForce GTX550 Ti 1GB, badass.
Mouse and keyboard... from Microsoft :D
My current JJ2 is torrented, I still have the original disks but when I dug out the case it was full of dog piss so I'd rather not put it in my DVD-rw :P I have the original, TSF (which includes the original) and Christmas Chronicles which doesn't seem to work with the other two unless you copy + paste the needed files manually.

Oh and on a side note, I switched to 64bit OS recently, back when I had a 32bit OS (also Windows 7 Ultimate) the game seemed to run well for a few weeks then suddenly stopped working, wasn't able to fix it with reinstall. Wai?

[Jgke]

Use Ambient Lightning, it's better anyways.

[Violet CLM]

Hardware Acceleration disables ambient lighting and various transparency effects.

[Obi1mcd]

Most computers can handle JJ2 at its best settings anyway these days, and if your computer can run Windows 7, then it should be capable of running JJ2 without Hardware Acceleration.

[Treylina]

I dislike using ambient lighting because some people abuse it to the point that it makes it hard to see your surroundings, or completely abuse it to the point where you can only see it yourself (these tend to be nub levels, but the main reason is because it's way easier to see my surroundings). I have hardware acc off too though.

[Jgke]

I personally dislike people who play (proper) levels with ambient lightning off. Sometimes the creator wants to limit the view to just the surroundings of the player.
Also, a about 5-10% drop in lightning just creates a nice mood for the level. If your monitor can't show the level properly, then either up contrast/brightness or change your monitor :)

[TUN3R]

Hmm I didn't know that. Thanks!

Anyway, regarding the 2nd problem... what are the chances that JJ2 will suddenly stop working again?

[Obi1mcd]

To be honest, I have no idea about your second problem. By 'stopped working', do you mean that it wouldn't start up?

[Jgke]

I believe I know what is your problem, atleast if you are using JJ2+. (And if you aren't, then you should)
Simply add '-menu' in the shortcut's target, without the ''.

[TUN3R]

Nope I don't have it. I remember I tried it back when I had Windows XP and a crappy PC, it kept saying it's incompatible with my version although I tried several.

And by ''stopped working'' I mean I would get a ''program stopped working'' error whenever I started the game.

[Grytolle]

You don't need any compability mode for JJ2. It runs find on Win7 and Vista (and XP, summing up all the OSes I've used it on)

[Jgke]

And for JJ2+, jazz2online.com/jj2+

[TUN3R]

You don't need any compability mode for JJ2. It runs find on Win7 and Vista (and XP, summing up all the OSes I've used it on)

http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/2203/unledebz.png

You were saying? :P

[Jgke]

Uh, that's a completely different problem. Check your PM, I sent you a link (inb4 mods read it)

[TUN3R]

Yeah it works now, still not sure what JJ2+ does though...

[Violet CLM]

http://www.jazz2online.com/d3/plus-readme.txt

[TUN3R]

Still confused :-/

[Obi1mcd]

JJ2+ is basically a patch for JJ2 that adds a heap of stuff and fixes a bunch of bugs. Most of it is for multiplayer, but there's been some single player stuff added recently, so it's worth getting. Note that it only works with normal 1.23 or TSF, so if you have one of the Christmas versions of JJ2 or the LK Avalon version (which it seems you have) then you won't be able to use it. To be honest I have very little idea of what the LK Avalon version is, but it doesn't work with JJ2+, or some other useful programs, so you'll have to find a way to get a normal version of JJ2 if you want to use Plus.

[TUN3R]

I got rid of the LK Avalon thing. As for CC, I simply copied it's files (levels, episodes, tilesets, music etc) over TSF and it works fine :P

[Sean]

The LK Avalon version is a TSF version created by the Polish company LK Avalon, and it includes a Polish translation of JJ2. That's about the only difference that I know, and I can't for the life of me understand why JJ2+ doesn't work with it.

[Jgke]

It has (afaik) different memory addresses (or something). That prevents JJ2+ from working :/

[TUN3R]

Huh, I don't remember Polish in the options.