RayStorm

This page is for the original PC port based on the PlayStation version. For the arcade version included in the Ray'z Arcade Chronology, see Ray'z Arcade Chronology.

RayStorm

Developers
	Taito
Publishers
Europe	Empire Interactive
Japan	CYBERFRONT Corporation
Release dates
Windows	April 6, 2001
Taxonomy
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	Bird's-eye view, Scrolling
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Arcade, Shooter
Vehicles	Space flight
Themes	Sci-fi
Series	RAY

RAY
Layer Section	1997
RayStorm	2001
RayCrisis	2001
Layer Section & Galactic Attack S-Tribute	2022
Ray'z Arcade Chronology	2023

Key points

The PC version is also known as Operation: RayStorm 2291 in Europe.

Runs at a higher resolution than the PlayStation version, along with more audible sound effects and faster loading times.

Runs badly on Windows 8 and 8.1. See low frame-rate fix for these operating systems.

Missing the "Neu Tanz" soundtrack for the Extra Mode from the PlayStation version.

General information

Official Taito Corporation website

Cuirous Cat — a fansite dedicated to the RAY and Ace Combat series (Japanese)

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		Can be played without the disc after launching the game, but music will not play and load times increases. See Run without the CD for a workaround.

Although it was not released in North America, it can be played on any system regardless of region settings.

PC version is not available digitally.

Essential improvements

Run without the CD

Restores music playback without requiring the disc, fixes the BGM volume slider in the Sound Setting, and _inmm allows each of the game's music tracks to be swapped between the original arcade music and "Neu Tanz" soundtrack from the PlayStation version.

Does not make the game portable for certain releases.

Create a hglcore.ini in <path-to-game> and use _inmm.dll

Download and install the patched _inmm.dll 2.38 here. Insert the game disc into the CD drive, then rip the music as MP3 or WAV files and store them in a convenient location (e.g. My Music). foobar2000 and its encoding packs can rip the game's music from the disc in these formats. Eject the game disc once the music has been successfully ripped. Go to <path-to-game> and drag and drop the game's RayStorm.exe onto _inmmcnf.exe in _inmm.dll's installation folder to patch the executable. A back up of the unpatched executable is also created to undo the changes. Create a new folder in <path-to-game> with a descriptive name for the game's music (e.g. AUDIO, MUSIC), then move all of the ripped music files into this new folder. While in <path-to-game>, create a new text file and name it hglcore.ini, the fill in this file with the following with a text editor such as Notepad: hglcore.ini: AllDevicePass=true FullScreen=true UseZBuffer=true UserHEL=true CDCheckPass=true Run _inmmcnf.exe, then from the Method tab set *.mp3 and *.wav to DirectShow, then go to the _inmm.ini tab and click the Add button, add all of the game's music files from the folder containing the files, and click Open. Click the Save button and save this file to <path-to-game> where the patch executable is. Launch the game. The game should now launch without needing the disc in the CD drive and _inmm.dll should play the game's music.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\CONFIG.SGS

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\bu00_BISLPS_00678

Video

External configuration tool.

Graphics feature	State	Notes
Widescreen resolution		Only 320x240 and 640x480 available.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed		Always runs at fullscreen by default. See Windowed for a fix.
Borderless fullscreen windowed		Not possible due to the low resolution.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anti-aliasing (AA)		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
High-fidelity upscaling		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Vertical sync (Vsync)		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
60 FPS
120+ FPS		Capped at 60 FPS, and gamespeed is tied to frame-rate.
High dynamic range display (HDR)

Windowed

Use wndmode
Download wndmode here. Extract to the contents of wndmode.zip to <path-to-game>. Right-click RayStorm.exe, go to "Properties" from the context menu, then go to the Compatibility tab in the Properties window, then set the game's Compatibility Mode to Windows XP (Service Pack 3), and then click Apply to save the changes.

Input

Remapping.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping		Configurater.exe rebinds PlayStation inputs to keyboard, in-game actions must be configured though the Options menu.
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus		Mouse not used at all.
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support		DirectInput. Controllers must be enabled with Configurater.exe.
Full controller support		The game must be closed by pressing Alt+F4 or closing the window if forcing the game to run in windowed mode.
Controller remapping		Configurater.exe rebinds PlayStation inputs to controller, in-game actions must be configured though the Options menu. Movement is bound to left analog stick.
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers		For XInput support, see Controller support.
Xbox button prompts
Impulse Trigger vibration

PlayStation controllers		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.

Generic/other controllers
Button prompts		Configuration tool references controller buttons by number. PlayStation prompts are shown in-game regardless of input method.

Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Digital movement supported
Simultaneous controller+KB/M		Game only accepts input devices assigned to each player.

Controller support

A fix is required for the game to recognize XInput D-pad and analog triggers when assigning controls.

Use XInput Plus

Download and run XInput Plus. Set the Target Program to RayStorm.exe. Go to the Key Assign tab, then go to Left Stick and assign it to Multiple Key, then check Left Stick and DPAD. Go to the DirectInput tab, then check Enable DirectInput Output. Click Customize, then assign the following buttons: Left and Right Triggers as Button 7/8, respectively Back/View and Start/Menu buttons as Button 9/10, respectively Left and Right Stick buttons as Button 11/12, respectively And the Guide button as Button 13 Click Apply to save settings and install DLLs into the installation folder. Configure your controller settings with the external configuration tool and remap the in-game controls accordingly from the Options menu. The game should be able to register XInput D-pad and analog triggers as DirectInput buttons.

Audio

In-game audio settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Has separate sliders for BGM and SE, but the BGM slider does not affect the volume of CD audio when played from the CD drive. Can be fixed by using _inmm.dll (see Run without the CD).
Surround sound
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Royalty free audio
Red Book CD audio		On Windows, CD music might not play correctly; see the troubleshooting guide for solutions.

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English				No speech outside of the game chatter and music lyrics.
Japanese				In-game chatter and some music tracks are in English.

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
Local play		2	Co-op
LAN play
Online play
Asynchronous multiplayer

Issues fixed

Low frame-rate on Windows 8 and 8.1

The game will run at half speed on Windows 8 and 8.1 due to poor implementation of older Direct3D support. This issue however is not present on Windows 10.

Make sure to use one of these fixes at a time.

Force windowed mode

Use Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit
Follow the instructions found here to learn how to install and use Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit. Notes Frame-rate my fluctuate during gameplay.

Use a modified DDRAW.dll
Download the modified DDRAW.dll. Extract the contents of the archive anywhere on your computer, then copy the DDRAW.dll from the folder that matches your operating system and place the file into <path-to-game>.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	7

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

Soft resetting the game

Holding down the game's L1 + R1 + Start + Select buttons for a few seconds during gameplay will soft reset the game similarly to the PlayStation version.

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	98, ME, XP, 2000
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium 233 MHz or AMD equivalent
System memory (RAM)	64 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	60 MB
Video card (GPU)	4 MB of VRAM DirectX 7 compatible
Sound (audio device)	DirectX compatible
Other	CD ROM drive speed x2