TheDark

Tired of the start-up movies? Disable them.
Here's how. Boot up steam, go to your games, right click TF2 > Properties > Set Launch Options and add the following line: -novid





Now, another cool little tweak you can use it -heapsize basically it uses the amount of ram you tell it too use. When using this tewak, it's recommended to use half your ram rather then all.

The easiest way to get a rough estimate on how much ram you have.. would be going into the start menu, right clicking "My Computer" and going to Properties. If you can't find it there, then I suggest downloading cpuZ and run that. Once it's done, click the "Memory" tab. It's also a nice way to find out what else you have in your system. Another way, is opening your run tool and typing in dxdiag.exe

Once you've found out how much ram you have in your system, multiply that number by 1024 and then divide that by 2.

So, if you have 1024mb of ram, you're heapsize should be: 524288.
I have 3072mb of ram. my heapsize is: 1572864, in the image it's less because I used 2048mb.


Now, directX levels. These can be put into either your about config, or directly into the area we just added our heapsize.

There are a few different settings here.

-dxlevel 96-99 = Directx 9.0 (Maxed Quality)
-dxlevel 95 = Directx 9.0 (Higher Quality)
-dxlevel 90 = Directx 9.0
-dxlevel 81 = Directx 8.1 (Medium Quality)
-dxlevel 80 = Directx 8.0 (S'medium Quality)
-dxlevel 70 = Directx 7.0 (Lower Quality)


Here are some random tricks for the advanced menu.

By adding -noborder you remove the borders from the window if you're playing in windowed mode.
If you have a Nvidia Graphics card, by putting in -gl is forces Open GL mode. For ATI card, put -d3d

If you know your monitors refresh rate, you can set your games maximum refresh rate to match your monitor by adding a simple command line -refresh # My monitors refresh rate would be 60. So, I input -refresh 60

By adding -console to the command line, you can help increase your start-up time. Rather then the background being the main focus of loading, your console is. Which, is no doubt simpler.
-novid also helps speed up your load time.

-32bit enables 32bit mode. This is mainly for 64bit users.
-width [resolution width] this sets a custom resolution width. -height [resolution width] this sets your resolution height. So, for example.. my desktop resolution is 1680x1050. So, I input -width 1680 -height 1050, this sets a custom resolution.

-windowed enables window mode. Works well with -noboder and -width/-height explained above.



My autoexec.cfg has these settings within it's mighty lines.

cl_forcepreload 1 //Forces Textures to load before hand.
cl_updaterate 67 //Keeps your rates up to date!
cl_cmdrate 67 //Helps keep rates steady.
mat_picmip -10 // Explained Above
mat_dxlevel 98 //Enables dx10 support or at least improved quality and sometimes frame rate..
mat_specular 1 //Enables specular lighting,


Links:
I recommend using NotePad++ it's very clean and organized. Great for editing your .cfg files. NotePad++

If you'd like some special tweaks, contact me!

i_ame_killer_2

Looks good

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click here

good stuff. i'll have to try some of it out. huge image lol

TheDark

Thanks!
Thank you, have fun. And yeah, the image is really big. It took me about an hour to make the layout just right, then the writing began. lol

TheDark

Bump. Anyone else have any input?

[FDG]Explosion

How much of a performance level hit, if any, does dxlevel 95-99 and the texture tweaks have? If i can even do that on XP

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Rest in peace D.Speed°TBAPb

TheDark

To my knowledge there shouldn't be a problem using these in XP. If, however, you decide to use them hopefully your card is up to par. I can run everything maxed out with a 8800GTS. The texture tweaks require a little more performance from your card since, well, they really increase the quality.

Most people I can can use all these settings without a problem. If they're causing any, you can back down a few steps by turning the tweaks down a little. They shouldn't cause any major problems if they cause any at all. Good luck, and have fun!

[FDG]Explosion

Havnt tried the texture ones, but DXLevel above 90 and Heapsize crashes to desktop upon loading a map....

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Rest in peace D.Speed°TBAPb

DarkNite

You should add a section explaining the

mat_queue_mode commands seeing as TF2 is not fully dual-core optimized and enabling those settings on some systems can practically double FPS if not make the game unstable.

Nice guide

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Lorna DEREK. Rich-a-la-la - Sarahhh. VI-KY.

TheDark

Hmm.. I'm not sure I have an answer as to why, but I know some others were having similar problem. I'd just leave the -dxlevel settings alone, and try the texture ones to see if those work for you. Some people have problems with one, and no problems with the other. Increasing the -dxlevel above 90 doesn't make that major of a difference anyways.

Well, I personally have had many problems with the mat_queue_mode commands on both my dads, and my own computer. I'll think about adding that in, but most people I know who have tried using these settings have had more problems then framerate increases.

Thanks for the input, though. I'll consider it.