FranknFurter, I had replied about it
here and
here. Actually, this DX9 isn't a DX9 renderer, it's just a dx7z.dll with changed version information and without any code changes. This dx7z.dll is taken from the "2002 FIFA World Cup Korea Japan". It uses Thrash API v115. NFS4 requires Thrash API v106, and it seems that Thrash API v107 is also ok. I'm not sure if Thrash API v115 will be fully compatible with NFS4. DX8 has Thrash API v115 also and it is not fully compatible with NFS3 and NFS4.
My patch includes dx7a.dll which is based on the dx7z.dll from the Motor City Online (from some version of this game). Thrash API is v107 in this DX7. It is very close to the v106 which is required by the NFS4. Also it seems that NFS3 also works nice with renderers with Thrash API from v104 to v107. Thrash API v11x had changed second digit in the version, it seems that it means some major differences without full backward compatibility.
But it is possible that dx7z.dll with Thrash API v115 is still compatible. Thrash API has an ability to set required version, and if a renderer supports previous versions of the API, it can work as a renderer with different version of Thrash API. Maybe dx7z.dll is able to work as it has Thrash API v106. Had anyone tested this renderer heavily?
BTW, have anyone any archived copy of the Motor City Online except the version which is available in the internet? As far as I know, this public version is a beta, and it is not the final release of the MCO. It would be nice to have the final release of this game. It seems that
this guy has a copy of the latest release, but I can't register on this board to ask him about it because registration is broken on this site.
UPD. If you have more free time, please test these original DX7 renderers:
http://veg.by/files/nfs4/dx7drivers.7zAny differences between them are interesting: performance, rendering, compatibility, etc. Please test them on the NFS3 and NFS4 separately. dx7api107 is from the MCO and current DX7 is based on this one. dx7api113 is from some newer version of the MCO. dx7api115 is from the FIFA 2002. All three these renderers are original, there are no any modifications. But if we will see if some version is better than others, maybe it will be better to use it as a base for patched DX7.
You can use something like FRAPS to measure FPS. BTW, maybe someone knows any better tool for measuring FPS?
Don't forget to mention your hardware (GPU, CPU, RAM), OS version, your game settings.