Conclusion/recommendations:
Looks good in s3d, usable HUD. This is the best of the three old PoP games.
Shutterglass modes should work on modern systems.
Game notes:
Camera - a 3rd person game with normally good camera mouse-control. Also has temporary far-away area and 1st-person views.
This is the one where he looks more realistic and not so cartoony like in Sands of Time. He starts in a castle battle again.
Game has long video at new game start and I don't know how to bypass it.
Game has cool acrobatic combat moves and is sometimes pretty violent. Other times it's just a climbing/jumping platform adventure game.
iZ3D issues: tested with 7800GTX-162.50 + iZ3D-1.10
1) HUD: bad depth - no real fix yet but usable.
Details: Health-bar too close but visible. Help-text 2d and good unlike previous 2 PoP games.
Workaround: Use smaller 3d settings with big-screen projector to help solve HUD problem.
Additional workaround: use shift-left instead of a symmetric 3d shift. This keeps the HUD visible in both eyes and is already set for you in the profile data below. Change it back if you want to see the difference.
2 ) Autofocus: Somehow this game doesn't need autofocus as much as the older two games. You can stick with just one set of 3d settings that work with the cutscenes and be pretty happy with those setting most of the time. Still, I decided to use the same strategy here as on the previous 2 PoP games and set the 3d preset hotkeys to be the same as the game's view-changing keys so 3d settings change at the same time that you change your view. Normally you shouldn't toggle the view keys but instead just select the view you want: "F" = 1st person, "X" = reset view, "Q" = far-away view. Sometimes, though, you'll want to double tap "F" so you have the "cutscene" settings for your normal view since there are so many short 3d cutscenes in this game. I think you'll be pretty happy if you just stick to the "F" preset most of the time.
3 ) in-game graphics settings:
Shadows and Special Effeccts on max gave me no problems during the time tested.
I generally keep Anti-aliasing (FSAA) and Fog off.
4 ) Shutterglassable? Yes, worked fine for me with my 7800GTX.
3d profile settings notes:
Your profile data, for XP users, is in:
C:\Documents and Settings\"windows login name"\Application Data\iZ3D Driver\UserProfile.xml
and for Vista---> C:\Users\"windows login name"\AppData\Roaming\iZ3D Driver\UserProfile.xml
In order to use these settings, insert/replace the following block of text in your UserProfie.xml file.
If you want to save your original settings, save them in a backup file beforehand.
3d Presets are set from least 3d to most:
Preset 1 is for 1st-person view and 3d cutscenes.
Preset 2 is for normal zoom.
Preset 3 is for long-distance area-views.
Code: Select all
<Profile Name="POP3">
<File Name="POP3.exe" />
<ShowWizardAtStartup Value="0" />
<SwapEyes Value="0" />
<!-- 0 = symmetric, 1 = right shift, 2 = left shift -->
<SeparationMode Value="2" />
<LaserSightEnable Value="0" />
<Presets>
<Preset Index="0">
<One_div_ZPS Value="0.554235" />
<StereoBase Value="0.208968" />
<AutoFocusEnable Value="0" />
</Preset>
<Preset Index="1">
<One_div_ZPS Value="0.491731" />
<StereoBase Value="0.284957" />
<AutoFocusEnable Value="0" />
</Preset>
<Preset Index="2">
<One_div_ZPS Value="0.099106" />
<StereoBase Value="0.723279" />
<AutoFocusEnable Value="0" />
</Preset>
</Presets>
<Keys>
<!-- "F" 1st-person key doubles as preset 1 key -->
<SetPreset1 Key="70" />
<!-- "X" reset-view key doubles as preset 2 key -->
<SetPreset2 Key="88" />
<!-- "Q" distant-view key doubles as preset 3 key -->
<SetPreset3 Key="81" />
</Keys>
</Profile>
miscellaneous notes:
I haven't played this game much so it's possible that more s3d issues show up in later levels.
DX9, 1.4GB hard drive space, from 2005.
--- iondrive ---