Difference between revisions of "Emperor: Battle for Dune"
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− | ===Playing with | + | ===Playing with out CDs & restoring cutscenes=== |
+ | (There has been serious misinformation surrounding this subject that needs addressing) | ||
+ | *The official SafeDisk patches (SETUP.exe/EMEPROR.exe) only remove the advanced SafeDisk checks that broke under Windows 10. | ||
+ | *Several generic volume label CD checks persist during campaign selection even after the official install fixes are applied. | ||
+ | *The patch was never meant to remove the CD requirement, only restore playability. | ||
+ | *THERE IS NO '''OFFICIAL''' WAY TO PLAY WITHOUT A CD. You will have to source the '''UNOFFICIAL''' GAME.EXE patch (Google it) | ||
+ | *The following steps only work to restore cutscenes when using the '''UNOFFICIAL''' GAME.exe patch | ||
+ | *These facts were carelessly omitted in the original version of this article. | ||
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{{Fixbox|description=Follow the procedure carefully | | {{Fixbox|description=Follow the procedure carefully | | ||
− | comment= The previous version of this section was factually incorrect and responsible for hundreds of misguided forum queries I've had to correct in community circles for over the past | + | comment= The previous version of this section was factually incorrect and responsible for hundreds of misguided forum queries I've had to correct in community circles for over the past 5 years. The SafeDisk patch only removes SafeDisk, it does not remove all CD checks outright, leaving several volume label checks behind. You cannot get NOCD to work using official sources, editing resource.cfg and moving the files over alone. A third cracked "Game.EXE" is required. If it is against the rules to discuss this it is best to delete this entire sub-section as everything mentioned is invalidated and made pointless because none of it is possible without. Resource.cfg was intended to let the player move the cutscenes to their hard drive to improve load times, they were still expected to keep the CD in the tray to prove ownership of the game. This was normal in 2001 even though it seems absurd now. It just turned out to be a matter of convenience that we can use the resource.cfg to direct the game to it's cutscenes after a NOCD patch is applied. This was never the intent. Had I know this was where the source of bad information was coming from I would have acted sooner. The original guide fails to mention it depends on unofficial modified executables and has been out for so long it has resulted in a persistent belief the game can be made to run without CD's using only official resources. I can't. I can only assume the author pirated a copy of the game that came with the crack already and was unaware of the fact when they wrote this guide. I've already had to correct this article once and someone came back around and reversed the corrections. Please if you value correct information leave my changes applied. If you take issue with my references to unofficial sources remove this section entirely as the NOCD section was giving the wrong impression that NOCD works with official sources. IT DOES NOT,IT NEVER HAS, IT NEVER WILL, WHOEVER THOUGHT OTHERWISE WAS MISTAKEN }} |
− | |||
+ | # Source the unofficial 1.09 NOCD GAME.EXE and copy over the original GAME.EXE. | ||
+ | # Applying this patch breaks cutscenes(because they are on the CDs) You will have to follow the remaining steps below to restore cutscenes in-game. | ||
# Copy the contents of the game disks 2, 3, and 4 into separate folders in the games directory, e.g. CD2, CD3, and CD4. | # Copy the contents of the game disks 2, 3, and 4 into separate folders in the games directory, e.g. CD2, CD3, and CD4. | ||
# Edit the file <code>{{p|game}}\resource.cfg</code>. Look for the following section, where the letter <code>X:\</code> represents the drive you installed the game from: | # Edit the file <code>{{p|game}}\resource.cfg</code>. Look for the following section, where the letter <code>X:\</code> represents the drive you installed the game from: |
Revision as of 10:39, 16 October 2021
Developers | |
---|---|
Westwood Studios | |
Intelligent Games | |
Publishers | |
Electronic Arts | |
Release dates | |
Windows | June 12, 2001 |
Taxonomy | |
Modes | Singleplayer, Multiplayer |
Pacing | Real-time |
Perspectives | Bird's-eye view |
Controls | Multiple select, Point and select |
Genres | RTS |
Themes | Sci-fi |
Series | Dune |
Dune | |
---|---|
Dune | 1992 |
Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty | 1992 |
Dune 2000 | 1998 |
Emperor: Battle for Dune | 2001 |
Frank Herbert's Dune | 2001 |
OpenRA (unofficial) | 2010 |
Dune: Spice Wars | 2023 |
Dune: Imperium | 2024 |
Dune: Awakening | TBA |
General information
- Dune2K.com - A major Dune fansite with an active community
Availability
Source | DRM | Notes | Keys | OS |
---|---|---|---|---|
Retail | SafeDisc v2 DRM - removed with the official install fix; see Playing without the CD |
Essential improvements
Install Fix + Patches
- Install Fix Fixes Installation and Game Startup. Required on Windows 10+
- Patch 1.09 updates the game to the latest version.
Official Install Fix procedure for Windows 10
- Copy ONLY the setup up folder of disc 1 to the hard drive.
- Replace the setup executable INSIDE the setup folder with the one from the official install fix.
- Install the game.
- Extract the file
EMPEROR.EXE
from the install fix archive and copy it to<path-to-game>
, overwriting the old file. - The Official Win 10 Install Fix is now Complete
- Install Patch 1.09.
Skip intro videos
Delete/rename video files[citation needed] |
---|
Delete or rename the file |
Lag fix in Windows 8/10
Follow the procedure[citation needed] |
---|
The game lags terribly in modern operating systems, such as Windows 8 and 10. In order to fix this, you have to use "dgVoodoo 2" by Dege. Follow the instructions in this video (Dark Ruler fix). The game will now run at 60 FPS in Windows 8 and 10. (Note: the program may be detected as malware; the developer of the program (Dege) asserts that it's merely a false positive).
|
Playing with out CDs & restoring cutscenes
(There has been serious misinformation surrounding this subject that needs addressing)
- The official SafeDisk patches (SETUP.exe/EMEPROR.exe) only remove the advanced SafeDisk checks that broke under Windows 10.
- Several generic volume label CD checks persist during campaign selection even after the official install fixes are applied.
- The patch was never meant to remove the CD requirement, only restore playability.
- THERE IS NO OFFICIAL WAY TO PLAY WITHOUT A CD. You will have to source the UNOFFICIAL GAME.EXE patch (Google it)
- The following steps only work to restore cutscenes when using the UNOFFICIAL GAME.exe patch
- These facts were carelessly omitted in the original version of this article.
Follow the procedure carefully |
---|
- Source the unofficial 1.09 NOCD GAME.EXE and copy over the original GAME.EXE.
- Applying this patch breaks cutscenes(because they are on the CDs) You will have to follow the remaining steps below to restore cutscenes in-game.
- Copy the contents of the game disks 2, 3, and 4 into separate folders in the games directory, e.g. CD2, CD3, and CD4.
- Edit the file
<path-to-game>\resource.cfg
. Look for the following section, where the letterX:\
represents the drive you installed the game from:
CD1 .\data\ CD2 X:\ CD3 X:\ CD4 X:\
8. Replace the letter X:\
with the respective folders for each disk, e.g.
Make sue you do the same for the Movies files as well.
CD1 .\data\ CD2 .\CD2\ CD3 .\CD3\ CD4 .\CD4\
9. Save the file and run the game.
}}
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
System | Location |
---|---|
Windows | HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Westwood\Emperor\Options\[Note 1] |
Save game data location
System | Location |
---|---|
Windows | <path-to-game>\DATA\saves\[Note 2] |
Video
Graphics feature | State | WSGF | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Widescreen resolution | Forcing a resolution other than 4:3 results in a cropped screen. See the WSGF entry. | ||
Multi-monitor | |||
Ultra-widescreen | |||
4K Ultra HD | |||
Field of view (FOV) | |||
Windowed | Use dgVoodoo 2 | ||
Borderless fullscreen windowed | |||
Anisotropic filtering (AF) | |||
Anti-aliasing (AA) | Can be forced in video card's Control Panel or by using dgVoodoo 2. | ||
Vertical sync (Vsync) | See the glossary page for potential workarounds. | ||
60 FPS and 120+ FPS | UI animations are framerate dependent and seem to be intended for 30 FPS, playing twice as fast as they should at 60 FPS and four times as fast at 120 FPS. |
Input
Keyboard and mouse | State | Notes |
---|---|---|
Remapping | Mouse controls can't be changed. LMB is for selection/orders, RMB is deselection/viewport panning, LMB+RMB viewport rotation. | |
Mouse acceleration | ||
Mouse sensitivity | ||
Mouse input in menus | ||
Mouse Y-axis inversion | ||
Touchscreen optimised | Depends on system to co-operate. Only if touch input doubles as mouse input (tapping = LMB, holding = RMB, etc.). No special touch-screen controls or touch-screen control-overlay | |
Controller | ||
Controller support |
Controller types |
---|
Audio
Audio feature | State | Notes |
---|---|---|
Separate volume controls | Music, Sound and Voice | |
Surround sound | ||
Subtitles | ||
Closed captions | ||
Mute on focus lost |
Localizations
Language | UI | Audio | Sub | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
English | ||||
French | ||||
German | ||||
Korean | ||||
Traditional Chinese |
Network
Multiplayer types
Type | Native | Players | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
LAN play | 8 | Versus |
||
Online play | 4 | Versus |
Other information
API
Technical specs | Supported | Notes |
---|---|---|
Direct3D | 7 |
Executable | 32-bit | 64-bit | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Windows |
Middleware
Middleware | Notes | |
---|---|---|
Cutscenes | Bink Video | |
Multiplayer | Westwood Online |
System requirements
Windows | ||
---|---|---|
Minimum | Recommended | |
Operating system (OS) | 95 | 98, 2000, ME |
Processor (CPU) | Intel Pentium II 400 MHz | |
System memory (RAM) | 64 MB | |
Hard disk drive (HDD) | 600 MB | |
Video card (GPU) | 16 MB of VRAM DirectX 7 compatible |
Notes
- ↑ Applications writing to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE
will be redirected to other locations based on various criterias, see the glossary page for more details. - ↑ When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below
%PROGRAMFILES%
,%PROGRAMDATA%
, or%WINDIR%
might be redirected to%LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore
on Windows Vista and later (more details).