ATI Agent Ruby

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Ask Agent Ruby: Whoah, partnership with AMD? Does that mean that NVIDIA support will slowly disappear and you will only be able to play the game in the future with an ATI card?

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Absolutely not! Nothing will change, except hopefully some better CoH/CoV support for ATI Radeon users.

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Sword wielding fashionistas' need more than one outfit -- Jacobi
Why wait for a contest, I want to offer a costume for Agent Ruby now -- gosh golly!!! Anywho, here it is...

AGENT RUBY

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Very nice, very nice indeed. I actually have a hero toon on Guardian (but male) who uses a similar color combo...

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Ask Agent Ruby: Heroes Or Villains? Both maybe?

Seems to me you a bit of both with hair like hero, clothes like villain, and attitude of mercenary! If you not want to disclose secret I understand ^.~ But don't think i am going let you parade around looking like that all the time. Come seeing me again and lets change up your look!

Love,
Mishii <3

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I like your take, and would agree on some of your suggestions. There have been a few people in this thread who've suggested updating the wardrobe, guess I'll have to do something about it!

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Ask Agent Ruby:

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there are some things still being tackled, but being a CoH player myself, I can tell you that there have been a lot of improvements over time

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I'm curious as to these improvements you speak of. While there may have been performance ups and downs over time, I've come across no functional changes that have resolved any of the known issues nor have I ever seen any of them listed in the patch notes for the new Catalyst packages over the past near four years.

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Believe me, I'm not saying things are perfect. But I've been playing the game since it launched too, and I know a long time ago we had some issues with shadows that have since been corrected, as an example. But as you can see from some of my posts, we do have some improvements to make and are trying to tackle this.

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You come to a fork in the road. On the left is a dark and heavily forested area. On the right, the path leads down to what appears to be a cave entrance. Which do you take?


*That's right, I ask the tough questions!!*

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I take the fork, then look around for a knife and spoon to complete the set.

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But do you then take the fork to eat cake, or pie?

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I know you can't comment on upcoming technology, and that puts a bite on what I can ask. I won't ask about 45nm processors so no questions about Fusion, can't touch the "CoH Divide" as far as graphics issues (Everyone else asked already, I'm sure you get the hint), and I don't own any ATI equipment (haven't since I had a PCI Diamond Stealth Radeon 9600 in a Celeron three years ago.) Since I'm soon to be in the market to build a new PC myself, the obvious question remains...

Ask Agent Ruby: What card or line do you advise for the budget-conscious (Cheap, but not "Value-conscious", I still want to play games in the first place... let's say less than $200 as a ceiling, $150-100 preferable) that are worth an MMO gamer's attention from ATI?

I qualify an MMO gamer's needs being different from other gamers as follows (this doesn't need to be a part of your published question, just for your sake):

-- solid performance, but it doesn't have to be bleeding edge effects (CoH uses DirectX 9/OpenGL 2.0 versus DirectX 10, I'm sure WoW and other MMO's are just a little below the curve too compared to the requirements of Crysis and others), has a good cross-section of graphic effects available: 2X or better Antialiasing, 4X or better Anisotropic Filtering, Shader 2.0/3.0 Support, adequate memory/GPU strength for world detail so we can see well, etc... we're not particularly hard to please. Unlike FPS Gamers, MMORPG Games do not rise dramatically in system requirements... Doing so cuts into people's ability to meet those standards, and that means less subscribers.

-- delivers consistent framerate above 30 FPS with aforementioned Graphic Effects "on" or better at common widescreen resolutions at or less than 1680x1050, considering I follow the System Recommendations in the first place... If I plug in a HD3000 into a Athlon-XP by some freak act of nature, I know the FPS will be weak regardless of what the card can do.

-- has ample heat dissipation: Every degree I can keep my PC below 45-50 C is important during a 3-4 hour long Task Force, even then, most of my real "sessions" run 6-8 hours long on weekends. As a correlation to heat, power consumption adequate for the task but doesn't require me to get a 600-800W "Crossfire-certified" monster of a PSU. Green-conscious (Low Power Consumption) is always good, but let's face it, most of us out here are hobbyists and given a choice between "Green Friendly" and "Runs Well", we're going to lean towards "Runs Well."

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Hi Tahquitz - before I go any further, I want to be clear that I a) work for AMD, 2) am much more familiar with our own products vs. the competition's and c) will not be making any comments on our competition, as I am trying to just be as informative on our products as I can be, and turning it into an "us vs. them" discussion does not add value.

Now, onto your question. Even taking the state of the economy into account, it's a great time if you're looking for a new video card. The advances that have been made over the past year in getting high end features and performance in more affordable solutions is pretty incredible. I would recommend you take a good look at our ATI Radeon 4000 series, and in particular the HD4800 and HD 4600 class of graphics cards.. Both share the same overall family of features (DX10.1, HD video decode, improved AA/AF) but more importantly, both are good options from both a power and price perspective.

So let me start you off with two suggestions:

1) Palit Radeon HD 4670 Super - The HD 4600 line is a great mainstream offering - you can find lots of options for some good cards typically well under $99 US. You can check out a good review of the HD 4670 when it was launched here to get a better feel for what a 4670 is capable of (of course I'd recommend checking more reviews as well). You can get it for a pretty decent price (under $99 US), an example is here.

2) Palit Radeon HD 4850 512MB - The HD 4800 line is notched in between the mainstream and enthusiast - great for any game, but doesn't necessarily break the bank. And again, you can find lots of great deals and options for some fantastic cards typically well under $199 US. You can check out a good review of the HD 4850 from Palit here, but there are literally dozens of reviews out there for the HD 4850 you can check out. It's available here right now for $169.99. I use the HD 4850 in my system at home, and with my 1440x900 panel (not the highest end, but pretty decent resolution), I have yet to find a game that I can't play at max settings.

From reading your post, it looks like you've already got a great idea of what you need, and have started some research, so I don't need to tell you that you should do some more research on us and our competitor, look for great deals (there are lots of them out there right now), and most importantly find the card series that's right for you and your budget - as you said, not everyone needs the highest end graphics card or rig to have a great gaming experience.

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You come to a fork in the road. On the left is a dark and heavily forested area. On the right, the path leads down to what appears to be a cave entrance. Which do you take?


*That's right, I ask the tough questions!!*

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Well, where do we start? First we can take a step back and tackle the basic philosophical question of freedom, which fundamentally asks whether we truly have free will? But I don't think there is enough room in this thread to go down that road (pun intended). I could choose not to go down either path, but as the American philosopher, William James, put it, “When you have to make a choice and don't make it, that is in itself a choice.” So, I would say the forested area, because even when you enter it you will still decide your direction, whereas the cave will lead you.

...That, and I get really freaked out by caves.

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I know you're probably tired of hearing this question but I'm not sure how you're replying to these questions sooo...

Ask Agent Ruby: I have Radeon ATI 3600 series HD Card on 3 gigs of ram and a 2.6ghz quad core AMD processor. Not sure about the motherboard - windows vista 32 bit. I know people on systems with inferior (by comparison to my card's potential) NVidia cards and 1/3rd the memory I have on windows XP that can get to enjoy the maximum visual affects that this game has to offer. I get a reduced framerate and buggy water effects instead. Will ATI, given their new partnership, address these issues any time soon?

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Ask Ruby,

above me and,

I have always wondered this. I have the same card mentioned above, the ATI 3600 HD (thats what it says) but its supossed to be the overclocked vertion. The 3650, BUT, it doesnt say the 3650, it says the 3600 when I check my hardware. And also in the part you can overclock the card more in the ATI controls, when you unlock it, it wont let you put it where it is supossed to be.And that is at 800 and 400. It says and stays at 724 and 396. The card is supossed to be at 800 and 400 minimum and it is supossed to be a 3650. Also, when I go to get drivers for the card on the AMD/ATI site I can never find the 3650, only the 3600 drivers.

Can you please tell me why this is? If not here hopfully in a PM so it doesnt get lost in the forum mess this will end up becoming lol.

Thanks in advance, Whiteseeker

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Hi Whiteseeker - the 3650 is part of the ATI Radeon HD 3600 family, so when you check in Catalyst Control Center it will list the family and not the specific variant, and that's how it's listed (by family) when you're looking for a driver as well. As for the changing the clocks, I assume you're using the OverDrive feature - I apologize but I don't have details around this to be able to answer correctly. I would recommend you check out our Catalyst Crew Feedback Program and submit this issue, or if you've registered your product, you can also submit this to our Customer Care program. Hope this helps!

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Ruby,

Ignore these nubs and thier lack of manners. Your costume looks better than most I see in game. You don't need to change a thing.

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Well thank you, Jacobi_Law!

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Ask Agent Ruby:
Who is your greatest nemesis? The Static Charger, Major Meltdown, Operative Overclock, or perhaps the Diabolical Dust Bunny?

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None of the above: it's Optico! Watch this...

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Ruby

I would like to make your over! Please allow me to inject some style into that look

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Really?? Is it that bad?? Although, seeing all the great costumes in Pocket D over the past two weeks does make me feel a little bland...

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Ask Agent Ruby: Hi there. By chance has a representative of AMD/ATI read this thread in the tech forum which details all the long standing incompatibilities between CoH/V and ATI's drivers?

Followup: What course of action are AMD and NCNC taking in order to make this particular gaming experience less of a problematic hassle for those that currently own ATI video cards?

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Hi there - and thanks for your question! I've addressed this in a couple of posts already, but let me assure you we are going to try to address these issues! Also, thanks for pointing out the thread - I have shared it with some folks internally to use as another reference point.

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Ruby

Welcome to the forums, I enjoyed meeting you in Pocket D on Pinnacle. May your journey through CoX be a pleasurable one! I look forward to seeing the winners of the server Contest.

My question to you is, what do you think of CoX ?

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Hi EnnVee - the truth is, I've been playing CoX since it launched - I am a huge comic book geek, and when this game was first announced I was bouncing off the walls in anticipation. I mainly play on Guardian, and about 6 months ago finally got my first level 50 toon (while I love CoX, I am the world's worst player). I've been part of a pretty large SG the entire time I've been playing, and I play mainly on the CoH side. I have CoV and jump in from time to time, but I'm too much of a goody two-shoes (whatever that means). It's hard to find a game where the devs care as much as they do here, and the content updates are amazing. Although I play a lot of other games, for me nothing comes close to overall the CoX experience.

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Ruby,
Welcome to Paragon City, Rhode Island, and the Etoile Islands! Do you expect ATI support for the long-standing compatibility issues with CoX, or are things more or less going to stay as they are?
Regards,
Than

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Hi! I think my above post should help with this question.

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I know you're probably tired of hearing this question but I'm not sure how you're replying to these questions sooo...

Ask Agent Ruby: I have Radeon ATI 3600 series HD Card on 3 gigs of ram and a 2.6ghz quad core AMD processor. Not sure about the motherboard - windows vista 32 bit. I know people on systems with inferior (by comparison to my card's potential) NVidia cards and 1/3rd the memory I have on windows XP that can get to enjoy the maximum visual affects that this game has to offer. I get a reduced framerate and buggy water effects instead. Will ATI, given their new partnership, address these issues any time soon?

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Hi Sithus - yes, these issues are being looked at to see how they can be addressed. I don't have a timeline yet, but as we make improvements, we'll be providing updates to the Community managers so that they can let everyone know. Being a CoH player myself, I understand where you're coming from and I hope you'll stick with us while we try to improve the CoH/CoV experience for the community.

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Hi Agent Ruby,

Here in Paragon City and the Rogue Isles, heroes and villains have a wardrobe of costumes to pick from. I see you haven't maximized your wardrobe as of yet. So I would ask/suggest that if you offer another contest, it should be to give YOU a costume makeover -- are you game?! Don't be afraid it won't hurt,...much!

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I LOVE that idea - the response to this contest (especially the in-game visits to Pocket D) has been great, so I hope we can do another contest down the line and give away some more goodies.

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Sorry you had to arrive at such a tumultuous time in the game.

About the only two worse times might have been the GDN and ED.

Other than that, welcome, hope you enjoy the game!

[/ QUOTE ] Thanks, but to be honest, it's been a lot of fun! Meeting everyone on the servers has been so cool, and I'm looking forward to doing more tonight and tomorrow.

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Ask Agent Ruby: What kind of product do you put in your hair to make it withstand all those explosions without so much as moving?

[/ QUOTE ] It's actually a hair helmet.

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Tell Agent Ruby: I am really happy you changed costumes. The one you had on last night was lame.

[/ QUOTE ] Agreed, the jacket look works much better, and I can hide more swords in it.

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Agent Ruby: Pie or Cake?

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Calash, this is a complex question that requires serious thought, so it's not something that I want to answer in a frivolous way, as you deserve an honest answer.

But that said, I'll go with pie every time. Cake is too dry, and doesn't go well with ice cream.

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Ask Agent Ruby: Will I be able to run the Palit Radeon HD 3850 SUPER+ 1GB Video Card running Windows XP and not Vista?

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Hi Starwind - absolutely! That is a great card, regardless of XP or Vista!

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Ask Agent Ruby: Hey Ruby, although Linux is not an officially supported platform for City of Heroes, with the recent announcement of the partnership between NCsoft and Transgaming for City of Heroes on the Mac, and Transgaming's diligent work on getting City of Heroes to work on Linux via Cedega, I am hopeful that some sort of official support for a Linux client is coming.

What kind of official support does ATI provide for their video cards on Linux? How has ATI worked with the open source community and organizations such as Canonical to ensure that desktop Linux works as well as possible with their cards? Has ATI worked with Transgaming (and if not, are any plans in the works) for assisting their developers in ensuring that games that work under Transgaming works as well as possible on ATI's products?

Also, what are some of the advantages of ATI video cards versus ATI's competitors on a desktop Linux platform?

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Hey TonyV - thanks for the question. We have a dedicated Linux team in-house and not only release a monthly Catalyst driver for Windows platforms, but we also do the same for Linux! While I am not the Linux expert, there are some great sources I can point you to:
1) ATI Catalyst 8.11 (latest release) for Linux
2) Official AMD Linux driver FAQ
3) Unofficial AMD Linux drive Wiki

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Ask Agent Ruby:

One of the things that many players will want to ask you about is the difficulties with in the past is using some of the higher-end effects, such as High water effects, FSAA Depth of Field, and other settings with ATI graphics cards in general. Do these settings still cause problems with City of Heroes/ Villains? If so, are they being addressed?

Thanks for stopping by our forums!

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Great question - there are some things still being tackled, but being a CoH player myself, I can tell you that there have been a lot of improvements over time. A few things to point out:

First, AMD releases a new CATALYST driver every month with performance and feature improvements, so it's always a good idea to keep your drivers up to date

Second, we have a great support program through our "Catalyst Crew" program - the Crew is a group of dedicated (some would say fanatical ) Catalyst testers who put our drivers through the ringer regularly, and test against as much as they can. They also try to reproduce as many issues that are submitted as possible, and you can submit any issues you encounter HERE.

Finally, our Catalyst Control Center (CCC) has a number of options you can optimize to change things like AA, AF and a number of other features, which sometimes helps in improving performance and image quality. There are also some good resources on our website on how to optimize CCC for a better gaming experience.

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Ask Agent Ruby: what costumes have you seen in game that really impressed you?

Ex

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First of all, congrats on being first in line.

For me, I really appreciate a few kinds of costumes - I LOVE "classic" hero costumes that look like someone just stepped out of a comic book, but is original enough to not make you think of an established character (there have been lots of great designs I've seen across the servers that have been fantastic). I also look for really funny ideas (last night meeting Captain Inadequate was hilarious).

But I think so far, one of my favourites (can't remember the server) was someone who came in as a Toy Soldier.

<center><h1>Greetings Heroes and Villains!</h1>

<img src=http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk218/NCNiviene/City%20Of/RubysaysHi.jpg>
I am ATI Agent Ruby</center>

You may have seen me in Pocket D recently as part of the Palit/AMD/City of Heroes "Create a Character" Costume Contest festivities, now here is your chance to get to know me and AMD a lot better!

I will be joining you on the forums in this thread from now until Monday, December 1st to answer your questions on anything from AMD products (Phenom™ processors, ATI Radeon graphics, AMD motherboards) to the recently-announced partnership with NCSoft and City of Heroes/Villains - or whatever else you’d like to know about.

There will obviously be some things I will not be able to comment on (like unannounced products or technology), but I’ll do my best to answer your questions, so be sure to think of something good and get to posting soon!

In order for me to address your questions quickly it would be helpful for you to use the following format:
Ask Agent Ruby: insert question here

I look forward to hearing your questions and getting to know you better.

Yours,
Ruby