Jump to content

Leaderboard

Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation since 08/12/2024 in Posts

  1. Dear PCGamingWiki Team, I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to express my concerns regarding the current state of the mod section on PCGamingWiki pages. While I appreciate the effort to provide a comprehensive resource for PC gamers, I believe that the mod section, as it stands, is messy and convoluted. The primary issue is that this section has become a repository for personal preference mods rather than actual game fixes. This not only dilutes the purpose of the wiki but also makes it challenging for users to find essential fixes and improvements. The inclusion of numerous personal mods has led to bloated wiki pages, making navigation and information retrieval cumbersome. In my opinion, the creation of this section was a mistake. It detracts from the core mission of PCGamingWiki, which is to provide clear and concise information on game fixes and improvements. I suggest a reevaluation of the mod section’s purpose and a possible restructuring to ensure that it aligns more closely with the wiki’s primary goals. I look forward to any changes that can enhance the user experience on PCGamingWiki.
    3 points
  2. Speaking in my capacity as a senior editor for PCGamingWiki, I agree with your opinion that the dedicated mods section of articles is, in hindsight, a mistake for all the same reasons you've already stated. Thus, I am in favor of removing the section entirely except in very specific circumstances, such as Grand Theft Auto 4 thanks to the sheer abundance of minor-yet-critical fixes available beyond the major and mission-critical (e.g. needed to run on modern systems and hardware) ones. With the section gone, the only mods left would be those which are mission-critical, ones which fix objective game issues, and other things which PCGamingWiki has chosen to prioritize over the years, such as fan translations, adding widescreen support to games which otherwise lack it, and so on. All that said, I and other PCGamingWiki staff are having an internal discussion regarding this issue because you took the time to voice your concerns. Thank you!
    2 points
  3. I believe the mod section was introduced to guide users towards mods that address significant game issues, such as crashes, poor performance, and other critical problems that can hinder the gaming experience. Is my believe PCGamingWiki primary goal is to provide users with reliable information, tweaks, and fixes to ensure they can enjoy their games to the fullest. In my view PCGamingWiki is not intended to be a general repository for all types of mods. For those looking to explore a wide variety of mods, including those that enhance gameplay, add new content, or offer cosmetic changes, people can visit dedicated modding communities such as Nexus Mods and other similar platforms. These communities are well-equipped to cater to the diverse interests of mod enthusiasts and provide a comprehensive selection of mods. I believe the mod section may have been a mistake and I often see it as unnecessary. There are multiple instances where this section is abused, leading to an overwhelming number of entries that do not necessarily cover any essential tweaks and/or fixes that our community often relies on.
    2 points
  4. So, I've noticed nobody talks about modding old games here, so I'll break the tradition. Many people know old games have many issues running on newer monitors with aspect ratios different from what they used to be designed for, like 4:3 and 5:4, including no support for any kind of widescreen or wider resolutions, or when they do, they have a fixed field of view or it gets reduced with a wider resolution. Many old engines have the option to set a widescreen resolution, but just don't expose it to the user through the in-game settings, so editing through the Registry or external .ini/.cfg/.xml or other similar kind of files might be needed. Usually when it's not possible to edit settings through external files or through Registry, it's needed to edit the executables themselves or other files around it directly (usually it can be DLLs, but not only), by using softwares that can edit the code in those files in hexadecimal form, like the so-called hexadecimal editors, or hex editors for short, or even using memory scanners/debuggers like Cheat Engine. Why widescreen fixes matter Many beloved PC games from the 1990s and early 2000s were designed for 4:3 or 5:4 monitors. On modern widescreen displays (16:9, 21:9, even ultrawide), they either stretch, letterbox, or simply refuse to launch at anything beyond their legacy resolutions. By applying a few straightforward tweaks - editing config files or hex‑patching executables - you can unlock native widescreen support, restore proper field of view (FOV), and keep the originals looking their best. 1. Check for built‑in widescreen support Before diving into hex editing, see if the game already supports custom resolutions: 1. In‑game settings: Browse graphics or display options. 2. Config file entries: Look for resolution, width or height in .ini, .cfg or .xml files in the game folder or the Documents folder (either user one or public one). 3. Registry keys: Search under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\<GameName> or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\<GameName>, or even look for the publisher or developer names as well. 2. Editing external config files When settings aren’t exposed in menus, try this first: Locate the file: Common names include settings.ini, user.cfg, or graphics.xml. Open in a text editor: Notepad++ or VS Code are ideal. Modify resolution lines: width = 1920 height = 1080 Save and test: Launch the game and verify. If it crashes or reverts, restore your backup and proceed to the next step. Tip: Always make a copy of the original file before editing. 3. Hex‑patching the executable If no external file can be changed, you must patch the game binary: Backup the EXE/DLL: Copy game.exe (or relevant DLLs) to a safe folder. Open in a hex editor: HxD (free) or 010 Editor (paid) work well. Search for known resolution values: 640x480 = 80 02 00 00 & E0 01 00 00 (little‑endian) 800x600 = 20 03 00 00 & 58 02 00 00 Replace with your resolution: For 1920x1080 use 80 07 00 00 and 38 04 00 00. Save and test: Run the game; if it fails, revert to the backup. Warning: Hex patching can permanently corrupt executables, so always work on copies. 4. Adjusting aspect ratio and field of view Even when resolution changes, the FOV may stay locked: Aspect ratio values: Some engines store a float (e.g. 1.3333 for 4:3). Look for 3F AA AA AB (IEEE‑754 for ~1.33) and replace with 3F 99 99 9A (~1.777 for 16:9). The value might be from the division of width by height or even the inverse, height / width. FOV multipliers: Search for common degree values (60° = 3C 70 00 00, in radians or as a multiplier). Increase by the ratio of new AR to old. Usually, the field of view is defined in the main executable or a DLL, most times close to where the far and near clip planes are calculated, see here for some documentation about clipping planes. DLL hooks: Enthusiast patches (e.g. Widescreen Fixer on GitHub) automate this by injecting a DLL at runtime. 5. Using memory scanners/debuggers & editing assembly When config file or simple hex patches aren’t enough, you can dive deeper with memory scanners (e.g. Cheat Engine) and debuggers/disassemblers (e.g. x64dbg, IDA Pro). This lets you locate values in RAM at runtime, inject code, or permanently patch the game’s machine code. 5.1 Memory Scanning with Cheat Engine Launch & attach Start the game and open Cheat Engine. Click the computer icon and select the game’s process. Finding values in RAM Exact Scan: If the game’s running at 800x600, scan for the integer 600 (4‑byte). Filtered Scan: After changing resolution in‑game to 1024x768, scan again for 768 - this narrows down candidate addresses. Pointer Scan: Once you’ve isolated the runtime address, use “Pointer scan for this address” to locate the static pointer chain. This lets you reapply your patch each launch without rescanning. Freezing or modifying values Double‑click the found address to add it to your table. Change its value to 1080 (for 1920x1080) or check “Active” to freeze it. Tip: Values can be stored as floats (e.g. FOV multiplier) or doubles—try scanning “Unknown initial value” and change the in‑game setting to filter. 5.2 Patching assembly in memory Instead of just editing data, you can hook the code that reads or writes to it: Find the instruction Right‑click your found address in CE → “Find out what accesses this address.” CE will break into the debugger showing the instruction(s) (for example, mov [eax+0x10], ecx). Code injection Use “Auto Assemble” in CE to inject a small script that overrides the value or skips a clamp routine. Example of a CE script to bypass a clamp at address 0x00401000: [ENABLE] aobscanmodule(CLAMP, GameX.exe, 89 91 10 00 00 00) alloc(newmem,2048,GameX.exe+401000) label(returnhere) newmem: mov [ecx+0x10], dword ptr [esi] // set custom width jmp returnhere GameX.exe+401000: jmp newmem returnhere: [DISABLE] CLAMP: db 89 91 10 00 00 00 dealloc(newmem) Saving this script in CE lets you enable it each play session. 5.3 Permanent assembly patching in EXEs/DLLs To avoid running scripts every time, you can patch the binary or DLL directly: Disassemble the module Load game.exe (or the relevant DLL) into IDA Free, Ghidra, or x64dbg. Identify the routine that handles resolution, aspect‑ratio clamping, or FOV calculation. Understand the Machine Code Little‑Endian: Multi‑byte immediates appear reversed in hexadecimal. Instruction Length: You cannot overwrite an instruction with a longer one without shifting downstream code; you may need to fill with NOPs (0x90) or use a jump instruction to a codecave that the game doesn't make use of. Apply the Patch Example: original bytes at 0x00401000: 0F 8C 1A 02 00 00 jl 0x40121C ; clamp if width < min To skip the clamp, change 0F 8C (JL - jump if larger) to 90 90 (NOP NOP), NOP means no operation, so the CPU won't execute anything and will continue execution after those: 90 90 1A 02 00 00 Save the patched binary or DLL and test. Warnings: Backups are mandatory. Keep copies of every original module. Checksums & signatures: Some games verify executable integrity, patching may trigger anti‑tamper or anti‑cheat and cause crashes or bans. Packers/compressors: If an EXE is packed (UPX, Themida), unpack it first or your patch may never be reached at runtime. 5.4 Best practices & cautions Always work on copies. Never patch a live install. Document your changes. Keep a changelog of offsets, original bytes, and replacements. Watch for side effects. Skipping a clamp may break UI layout or cause rendering issues. Legal considerations. Patching code for personal use is generally tolerated, but distribution of modified executables can violate EULAs. Community resources. Search forums (e.g. XeNTaX, PCGamingWiki) to see if others have already mapped the same functions. EDITING FILES So to start editing files, a hex editor like it was mentioned above is needed. Usually HxD is a good choice, it's not too hard to learn and has all that's needed for a hex editor. 1. First open the file you want to edit on it either by dragging the file onto the HxD window, or press Ctrl+O and open it from there. 2. Then, when the file is opened, it's time to search for values. First press Ctrl+F, this window will appear, if wanting to find a hexadecimal number, change the datatype to "Hex-values", for integer numbers it's "Integer number" and for floating point numbers like those shown in the "Aspect Ratio" section, change it to "Floating point number". 3. Let's take this example for Lego Racers 2. The game only supports the following resolutions by default: 640x480, 800x600 and 1024x768. 5. To find the right resolution, it's needed to find both width and height values that are close enough to eachother in a file. For that, this program made by myself can be used to determine that: https://github.com/alphayellow1/AlphaYellowWidescreenFixes/releases/tag/utilities 6. Put the downloaded executable in the same folder where the game exe is, run it, put the executable name, write one of the resolutions the game supports, set the byte search range to 15 and type Enter. 7. Since the 800x600 resolution has the least amount of close enough pairs in the executable (just 1), we'll go with it. 8. Go back to HxD, press Ctrl+G and search for the address that was found for the width: 0002A912 (just for info, each pair of numbers or letters represents 1 byte, so the highlighted value below is 2 bytes long). 9. 9. Highlight it, then go to the right side of the window in the "Data inspector" tab, and go to the row where it says Int16. 10. Change it to the desired width, and type Enter. 11. Do the same for the height, highlight the value in the right address you found in the program above and change the value in the Int16 row at the right side. Save the file. 12. Now inside the game, we can see the new resolution that was changed earlier above now appears in the graphics settings, but if it doesn't appear, just set it to the one you changed before (so change it to 800x600 and the resolution in-game will change to the one you set in the file). 13. Now during gameplay we can check the proportions look correct but the camera view looks cropped in relation to 4:3, which means the field of view is reduced with wider resolutions, this scaling behavior is called Vert-, because the vertical field of view is reduced to accomodate the new aspect ratio. This means we have to increase it. 14. For the field of view, it was found the game stores FOV values as degrees, and after some experimentation, it's found the value is 90º. Note that in some games, they might store FOV for different areas of the game in more than one place, it might be either the same value as normal gameplay one, or might be a different FOV value altogether, like using one FOV for menus and another FOV for gameplay, or even different FOVs for each mission. For first-person games, they might store a FOV value for the camera and another one different altogether for the weaponmodel. Also cutscenes might have its own FOV assigned to it (either a universal FOV value for cutscenes, or even different FOV values inside the same cutscene, or each type of cutscene having its own FOV), so beware. 15. In HxD, press Ctrl+F, change the tab to "Floating point number" and type 90, change "Search direction" to "All", and click in "Search all". 16. All the found 90 values are listed below: 15. To edit each value, double click on one of the results below, and then go to the right side, and change the value in the "Single (float32)" row. You can try editing each value to a much higher one like 130, noting in which address the value is before changing it (see the second screenshot below this one), then saving the file, starting the game and going into gameplay, and seeing if the FOV became much higher, then if not, closing the game and coming back to HxD, changing the value back to 90 in the address you noted before, and going to the next value and doing the same process again until the camera FOV changes in-game. 16. It won't take long to find out it's the second value responsible for the camera FOV ingame, highlight it and change the value according to WSGF's FOV calculator: https://www.wsgf.org/fovcalc.php . Leave it as it is, and change the "number of monitors across" to 1, and change the resolution to the desired one above (in my case it's 1920x1080). 17. Copy the value after where it says "New hFOV =", only copy the number in bold. Also note that if the standard FOV isn't 90º but another number, you can change the number that is after "Old hFOV:" to that one to get the correct FOV for your aspect ratio. 18. After copying the number in step 17, go back to HxD and paste it in the "Single (float32)" row of the second address that was found in the first screenshot of step 15. 19. Now going back in-game, we can see the resolution and field of view were successfully changed and the game is fixed! ADVANCED EDITING THROUGH MEMORY HACKING If changing resolution or FOV values in files doesn't change anything in-game, then memory scanning/debugging softwares like Cheat Engine and code disassemblers like OllyDbg and x32dbg are needed. I'll expand on this section later.
    2 points
  5. 1. Both the Legacy PhysX and the newest one are meant to be installed simultaneously. 2. Sounds like you have a pirated copy, which we cannot help with.
    1 point
  6. Archive.org has it archived through two different sources (I've verified the two files are identical): https://archive.org/download/ftpwizworks_250620/ftp.wizworks.com.zip/ftp.wizworks.com%2Fpatches%2Fjnicklaus5%2Fjack51up.exe https://archive.org/download/LEVEL0298R/LEVEL0298R.iso/Updates%2FJack Nicklaus 5%2FJACK51UP.EXE One of them also carries an update for the fourth game: https://archive.org/download/ftpwizworks_250620/ftp.wizworks.com.zip/ftp.wizworks.com%2Fpatches%2Fjnickluas4%2Fjack41up.exe That source can be browsed here: https://ia803200.us.archive.org/view_archive.php?archive=/0/items/ftpwizworks_250620/ftp.wizworks.com.zip JACK51UP.EXE
    1 point
  7. Hi, I snuck in and added support for the oculus/meta keywords to that template, so they should now work 🙂
    1 point
  8. Your suggestion have now been implemented, and the "Color blind mode" row will become visible with the auto-populated glossary link when set to unknown or false, as long as the notes parameter is empty. The change will take effect the next time a page is refreshed, which may take a couple of days in some instances.
    1 point
  9. I don't know if this is even legal since that abandonware games are still copyrighted despite that they are no longer sold.
    1 point
  10. This is an amazing initiative—huge thanks to Doblando en España for bringing full Spanish voiceovers to such a classic game! It’s great to see these gems made more accessible and immersive for Spanish-speaking players.
    1 point
  11. If you're signed in on the wiki, you can use the Cargo drilldown to get that information: https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Special:Drilldown/L10n?Language=English
    1 point
  12. This mod includes a full dub of the game Unreal (1998) plus the marine dub from Return to Na Pali (1999), which the Spanish version does not include. This mod aims to complement the Unreal Gold dub with the parts not dubbed into Spanish. Classic audio is not included, only those recorded to enhance the gaming experience. In addition, it includes a guide on how to install the mod, some tips to improve the experience, and a cast statement. This project was carried out by Doblando en España, a non-profit project that aims to dub classic games into Spanish. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW_fCJnsUTo https://www.moddb.com/mods/doblaje-unreal-gold-espaol/downloads
    1 point
  13. https://web.archive.org/web/20140721041716/http://www.crydev.net/dm_eds/files/General_Downloads/Crysis_2_ModSDK_1.1_1107.exe Or PCGW's new mirror that I uploaded just now:
    1 point
  14. The 1st person mode you're talking about is just a 3rd person mode with camera moved to the player character's eyes level, thus it's very experimental and not recommended for standard gameplay. But if you really want to have it, then follow this guide to extract game's files from the .DAT archives and then look up this topic to know what you should modify in those unpacked files. PS. If you can't access values in the FPP camera topic, then install uBlock Origin and add this custom filter to it: rockraidersunited.com##.ipsEmbeddedVideo
    1 point
  15. Hello! I was wondering if anyone knows who was the author of the widescreen fix for the 2003 game No Man's Land: Fight for your Rights. The game uses .rda files that are also used in the Anno series from Anno 1701 onward, yet the unpacking tools for those games don't support the version used in No Man's Land. However, someone was able to extract them to make the widescreen fixes (it's an .ini file with the original German developer notes). Does anyone know?
    1 point
  16. The original WSGF page for this game lists the original submitter and another person who updated something there. The first (jackfuste) was quite a regular contributor for a number of games but hasn't been active for a few years now and you may be able to track them down to get in touch but you'll have to use their Reddit or Discord now since their forums are no longer active. I couldn't find a mention for No Man's Land on any old thread sadly. https://www.wsgf.org/dr/no-mans-land/en
    1 point
  17. Hello, I've been a member of this wiki for a long time. I've always thought this wiki is very helpful, often containing tips, tricks and workarounds for various games. But something is missing. I realized today when my friend was unable to get "The Isle" working and I was curious what version of C++ / .NET it needs to run that this wiki does not contain the information pertaining to which versions the game requires. This would greatly improve the ease of troubleshooting (Repairing/Reinstalling the required libraries) when figuring out why a game is crashing when all other requirements are met. So, I think it'd be cool if we just updated the wiki for all games under system requirements to include: C++ Redistributable Required: YYYY .NET Framework Required: YYYY Additionally, I know we place the "Minimum System Requirements" and "Recommended System Requirements" where the developers place them, but I think we can do better - as theirs is usually a rough estimate.
    1 point
  18. Tried everything in the game's article, restarted my PC multiple times at different moments of fixing and it doesn't work. I think the game no longer works on newer machines. My PC is Ryzen 5600X and RX 6600 I get this error message and a blank window after closing it. FullScreenEx = false avoids this behavior but it crashes with a different message.
    1 point
  19. I completely agree! A dark mode option would make browsing much more comfortable, especially for extended periods. Your example in GIMP sounds like a great starting point—just reducing brightness slightly can make a big difference. Maybe adding a toggle option with different darkness levels would cater to everyone’s preferences. Hope the devs consider this!
    1 point
  20. Have you tried this fix? https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Unreal_II:_The_Awakening#Intro_does_not_play_properly_in_Windows_Vista_or_later I know its not specifically for this game, but it does add back DirectMusic related .dlls into newer versions of Windows, so it might work.
    1 point
  21. The website is too bright and it needs a "dark mode" to make it more comfortable for us. I made a very simple example in GIMP. The white parts are changed to value 95, the availability box to 90 and background is set to 80. Even this minor change makes it more comfortable to look at, while it doesn't impact the overall design. This would be a good enough start, but others may like even darker mode.
    1 point
  22. Actually no, the game is based on the CPA engine aka Ubisoft OpenSpace. And also no, it wasn't hard to find the right hex-values to change, it's just a little trial and error 🙂I recently released a widescreen fix for it, so PCSX2 is no longer needed to play the game on PC properly 😉
    1 point
×
×
  • Create New...