Guide Installing New Horizons for Laptops with two GPU's

[DavyJack]

I recently have a new laptop with two GPU's and installing New Horizons can be a bit tricky so...

For people that have two graphics card like me(check my specs in my signature below), this is how you should install this MOD without losing any visual improvement(s) and how to make it run smoothly(at least in my case, I've done several trial and error, even tried this but still didn't work until I got it to work smoothly and this is how I did it):

1. Download the latest MOD files and put them all together in a separate folder and NOT in your main game folder where the ENGINE.exe is at. Like this: You can put that folder beside your main game folder if you want just like this: IMPORTANT: MAKE SURE THE FILE EXTENSION FOR THE Build 14 Beta 4.0 Part 2: Contents Archive file IS STILL .TAR or THE INSTALLER WILL NOT RECOGNIZE IT.
2. Install everything you want using the Build14 installer except for that Intel Graphics Fix but make sure to include the ENB improved graphics.
3. Manually install the latest fixes by @Grey Roger, since the installer did not include that during Step 2, by extracting the files to your main game folder where the ENGINE.exe is at using your preferred app (I use 7-zip).
4. Download this d3d8.dll file (If it's not there anymore, see the attachment below) and also put it in your main game folder. Overwrite any existing file. -that certain wrapper version will force your game to use the GPU that's not Intel Graphics because this game is old and it may have been designed to just read your first display or GPU which is likely the Intel Graphics Card but don't quote me on that. Big thanks to crusader_guv from ModDB.com for this and @Pieter Boelen for pointing it out. This basically saved my game so I am very grateful.
5. Select appropriate settings for your game using Config.exe and run the game. Now, you may see a fog-like effect on the main menu if you're using Windows 10 or 11 so just run it using compatibility settings, I run it using Windows Vista Service Pack 2 and that should normalize your game.
6. During gameplay, you may experience stuttering and or slow motion-like effect because your rig is too much for the game because the game engine is old af. Use an app to limit the framerate to like 60-80 fps (EDIT: limiting it to 120 fps seemed to be better for my install this time: 19June2022). I use RivaTuner. This should fix it for you.
7. That's it. ENJOY exploring the Caribbean again with this classic game!


*So, basically I've compiled a lot of information from other threads to make life easier for newcomers to this site and to members as well including me. Lol. Sorry that I've been gone again for a while and will continue to be in and out due to work. I hope everyone stays safe and healthy.

 

[The Nameless Pirate]

Welcome back @DavyJack!
I hope you are doing well, and that you are enjoying your new computer. (Really good by the way. )

I have pinned this thread, it seems like something that will come in handy.

 

[FrozenHeart]

I used 2 GPU settings before. But did not experienced any problem.
Maybe it can happen with new update.
You can always select your preferred GPU by nvidia control panel. It has that options.
For AMD I dont know.
But will fellow these steps in my next installation.

 

[The Nameless Pirate]

I think that some people had problems with using the Nvidia control panel for this.
Unfortunately I don't have a computer with an Nvidia card and an Intel card to test this.

 

[FrozenHeart]

Its understandable.

In that case people can go to control panel of nvidia. [It can be used for any game.]
1> Select = 'Manage 3D settings' (on left)
2> Select Program setting tab on right side. (by default it is global settings)
3> In no 1. slot = Select a program to customize (from drop down menu).
4> In no 2. slot = Select high performance nvidia processor (from drop down menu)
5> Go below (scroll down) and select 'apply' or OK.
Done.

EDIT: Alternatively, right click on your game icon (desktop) and select (from pop-up) 'run with graphics processor' > select either 'high performance nvidia' or 'integrated graphics'.

OR fellow the steps as @Davy Jack said.

 

[DavyJack]

Its understandable.

In that case people can go to control panel of nvidia. [It can be used for any game.]
1> Select = 'Manage 3D settings' (on left)
2> Select Program setting tab on right side. (by default it is global settings)
3> In no 1. slot = Select a program to customize (from drop down menu).
4> In no 2. slot = Select high performance nvidia processor (from drop down menu)
5> Go below (scroll down) and select 'apply' or OK.
Done.

OR fellow the steps as @Davy Jack said.

Yeah, I tried that as I mentioned in my first post and unfortunately, it didn't work for me.

Welcome back @DavyJack!
I hope you are doing well, and that you are enjoying your new computer. (Really good by the way. )

I have pinned this thread, it seems like something that will come in handy.

Thank you TNP! Yes, I'm always glad to be in these waters. It's my virtual home.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Download this d3d8.dll file (If it's not there anymore, see the attachment below) and also put it in your main game folder. Overwrite any existing file. -that certain wrapper version will force your game to use the GPU that's not Intel Graphics because this game is old and it may have been designed to just read your first display or GPU which is likely the Intel Graphics Card but don't quote me on that.

So it WORKS?
That is...
That is PRETTY EPIC!

 

[MrMister]

Soooooo, what the custom d3d8.dll does is simply "force your game to use the GPU that's not Intel Graphics", right?

That worked fine enough for me in the past, but my new laptop's integrated graphics chipset is an "AMD Radeon (TM) Graphics", not an Intel, and the custom wrapper does not seem to work in forcing the game to use the nVidia card instead.


Any hope you could update it to also ignore AMD Radeon (TM) Graphics too?

EDIT: Mind you, the chipset seems powerful enough to run the well enough in 1080p, but I'd still like to use the nVidia Control Panel to force antialiasing on the game.

Disabling the AMD Chipset in Device Manager makes the game render through CPU alone, instead of using the nVidia card.

 

[DavyJack]

Greetings! As of today, I can very much say that what I wrote here still works. I got a new laptop so I needed to reinstall the game again.

But...I did not follow the steps to the letter. Just got what I needed to start the game off. So, I disabled my other graphics card so my computer only uses the NVIDIA. And unfortunately, I still needed to use the compatibility mode and RivaTuner for the game to actually function right. Without the compatibility mode, I still see the "fog-like" effect and without using the RivaTuner to limit the FPS, it's like playing in 5x slow motion. But the game actually worked up to 120 FPS cap this time instead of the usual limit of 60-80fps. For this laptop (see specs on my signature) I'm using right now, the sweet spot seemed to be at 120FPS when limiting it using RivaTuner. At 60-80fps, it's alright but there are more small lags and slow motion. Above 120FPS, the game runs in slow motion again.

EDIT: DO NOT set the max FPS to over 100. I have recently been having problems with crashing and lowering it back down to around 60-80fps seems to make it go away.

Soooooo, what the custom d3d8.dll does is simply "force your game to use the GPU that's not Intel Graphics", right?

That worked fine enough for me in the past, but my new laptop's integrated graphics chipset is an "AMD Radeon (TM) Graphics", not an Intel, and the custom wrapper does not seem to work in forcing the game to use the nVidia card instead.


Any hope you could update it to also ignore AMD Radeon (TM) Graphics too?

EDIT: Mind you, the chipset seems powerful enough to run the well enough in 1080p, but I'd still like to use the nVidia Control Panel to force antialiasing on the game.

Disabling the AMD Chipset in Device Manager makes the game render through CPU alone, instead of using the nVidia card.

Hello! So, the file isn't really mine and as you said, you don't have an Intel Chipset so you really don't need the custom d3dl file. Your AMD Radeon should be good enough for the game to function right. And yes, as you don't have an Intel Graphics Card the d3dl file doesn't have anything to force out of or ignore. But if you really want to use your NVIDIA graphics card, then just go to NVIDIA Control Panel>3D Settings>Manage Display Mode>then select NVIDIA GPU only, as I did on mine. I also did this because my other graphics card (Intel Iris XE) keeps giving me trouble and Dell Tech Support uninstalled the other driver and set up my computer as so using the NVIDIA control panel.