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Hi.
I've heard many people have been having issues with playing GTA IV on integrated graphics (especially Intel).
I have an Intel HD Graphics (Core i5) and I'm pretty satisfied with what it has to offer ( although I still am looking to get a better card ). I installed GTA IV a couple months ago. And was able to run it. But it was missing textures to a level that I could only see the protagonist (Niko) and the vehicle I am driving (+ some peds).
I google'd a lot. And found many solutions to fix that issue and better yet, have better gameplay.
First
Getting rid of the missing textures. Here are the steps :
1- Create a commandline.txt file in your GTA IV directory.
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2- Open the file and type in "-noprecache -availablevidmem 5.0" (without the " " ). You can change the "5.0" to your likings, I just wrote it because it worked well for me.
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Second
Getting FPS and Gameplay Improvements. Here are the steps :
1- Download Intel Display Adapter Management Tool 2.0 (http://www.mediafire.com/?1uzwdtwezym)
2- Open it. And press on "Vertex Processing Modes for Specified Executables (Intel Only)"
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3- Click on Add All Supported Games
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4- Scroll down and find "gtaIV.exe" then select "gtaIV.exe" and press on "Change Vertex Processing Mode" - This will change the processing mode to "Software" (You can use this for many games, ex : I'm using it for Metro 2033 [Yes I was able to run it :D]
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Now close the tool. Next :
6- Go to your Control Panel (you might wanna have it showing "Large Icons" and not Category. Search for Intel(R) Graphics and Media and click on it.
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8- Go to "3D"
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9- There will be a tab called "Vertex Processing". Change the option to "Enable Software Processing" - This will activate the thing we did in the management tool ( Step 2 to 5 )
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10- Play the game.
NOTE: You will not be able to play IV:MP though. Rockstar Games must've added something in the latest patch that prevents the game from running on Intel Integrated Graphics.
Please keep in mind that I wrote this topic to help YOU. So please do not come in swearing at me. Also, I will not be help responsible for anything that YOU might have done wrong while following the steps. Everything you do following this topic is reversible.
Please share results, because I want to know how this works out for others.
EDIT: (10/2/2011)
Note : I found a way to play IV with patch 7. Yes, that means IV:MP works for me now. You can find the solution here. (http://www.argonathrpg.eu/forum/index.php?topic=63090.msg970696#msg970696) Although, if you want to play IV with patch 7, you can't use Intel Display Adapter Management tool, nor the Intel Control Panel.