Play mxl 2.0 with CNC-DDraw in Windows 10

Need help installing the mod?
BrecMadak
Sasquatch
65 | 2
Hi p2w,

I did every step as in the readme file.
I still get this d2vidtest error after running and selecting the DD option:

And still getting unhandled exception upon closing the game.

I still have black bars on the sides, how is it possible to get rid of them?

Also, where has the d2 comment gone now in ddraw.ini?
User avatar
p2w
Mahasattva
911 | 58
Great Popularity Badge
Has a thread with over 50.000 views
Common Love Badge
Earned over 20 cookies
Great Supporter Badge
Donated 5 times
Great Auction Badge
Won 200 auctions
BrecMadak wrote:Hi p2w,

I did every step as in the readme file.
I still get this d2vidtest error after running and selecting the DD option:

And still getting unhandled exception upon closing the game.

I still have black bars on the sides, how is it possible to get rid of them?

Also, where has the d2 comment gone now in ddraw.ini?

seems you D2 installation is corrupted ? have you ever launch median-xl successfully before ??
BrecMadak
Sasquatch
65 | 2
Sure I've played median with the same installation before.
I switched back to using glide and have no problem with that unhandled exception whatsoever.

So TLDR is that CNC brings nothing new to the table other than the capabilities of glide as far as I've observed. No noticeable single graphical improvement over the good ol' glide. I struggle to understand why the devs even advertised it as never-before-seen since it won't remove black bars.
Kruno
Cultist
22 | 0
BrecMadak wrote:Sure I've played median with the same installation before.
I switched back to using glide and have no problem with that unhandled exception whatsoever.

So TLDR is that CNC brings nothing new to the table other than the capabilities of glide as far as I've observed. No noticeable single graphical improvement over the good ol' glide. I struggle to understand why the devs even advertised it as never-before-seen since it won't remove black bars.


I too have issues with cnc-ddraw. Works fine in Project Diablo 2, but when I installed it on MedianXL it did work, at 3fps on all renderers.

Back to Glide with D2DX, which seems better in everyway except for the shaders, I want the XBRZ. I will look into how much effort it would take to modify D2DX to use it.
User avatar
Legendaire
Dark Huntress
11 | 0
Common Supporter Badge
Donated 1 time
This is not working for me either. No upscaling seems to work whatsoever.

TLDR; if I use aspect ratio, fullscreen, boardered etc it all works. But the resolution never chanes from looking like a stretched 1024 x 768.

I have followed this guide, the installation guide, and a guide on reddit all from a clean install. None appear to affect my resolution, very frustrating.

Unfortunately it's making me not want to play the season, knowing it could look so much better.
Kruno
Cultist
22 | 0
I did manage to get it to work fine. Make sure you run D2VidTst.exe and set it to Direct DRAW, and not 3D. Also make sure you run Game.exe to start MedianXL, and NOT the launcher. You may need to alt tab a few times in game as well to fix issues.

My only issue is that my Window's cursor and the D2 cursor are both visible at the same time. I hope there is some way to disable the Windows cursor without setting my cursor to blank.ico.

Here is the ddraw.ini:

Code: Select all

; cnc-ddraw - https://github.com/CnCNet/cnc-ddraw - https://cncnet.org

[ddraw]
; ### Optional settings ###
; Use the following settings to adjust the look and feel to your liking


; Stretch to custom resolution, 0 = defaults to the size game requests
width=2560
height=1440

; Override the width/height settings shown above and always stretch to fullscreen
; Note: Can be combined with 'windowed=true' to get windowed-fullscreen aka borderless mode
fullscreen=true

; Run in windowed mode rather than going fullscreen
windowed=true

; Maintain aspect ratio
maintas=true

; Windowboxing / Integer Scaling
boxing=false

; Real rendering rate, -1 = screen rate, 0 = unlimited, n = cap
; Note: Does not have an impact on the game speed, to limit your game speed use 'maxgameticks='
maxfps=0

; Vertical synchronization, enable if you get tearing - (Requires 'renderer=auto/opengl/direct3d9')
; Note: vsync=true can fix tearing but it will cause input lag
vsync=false

; Automatic mouse sensitivity scaling
; Note: Only works if stretching is enabled. Sensitivity will be adjusted according to the size of the window
adjmouse=true

; Preliminary libretro shader support - (Requires 'renderer=opengl') https://github.com/libretro/glsl-shaders
; 2x scaling example: https://imgur.com/a/kxsM1oY - 4x scaling example: https://imgur.com/a/wjrhpFV
shader=Shaders\xbr\xbr-lv2-noblend.glsl

; Window position, -32000 = center to screen
posX=8
posY=31

; Renderer, possible values: auto, opengl, gdi, direct3d9 (auto = try direct3d9/opengl, fallback = gdi)
renderer=opengl

; Developer mode (don't lock the cursor)
devmode=false

; Show window borders in windowed mode
border=true

; Save window position/size/state on game exit and restore it automatically on next game start
; Possible values: 0 = disabled, 1 = save to global 'ddraw' section, 2 = save to game specific section
savesettings=1

; Should the window be resizable by the user in windowed mode?
resizable=true

; Enable linear (D3DTEXF_LINEAR) upscaling filter for the direct3d9 renderer
d3d9linear=true

; Enable upscale hack for high resolution patches (Supports C&C1, Red Alert 1 and KKND Xtreme)
vhack=false

; cnc-ddraw config program language, possible values: auto, english, chinese, german, spanish, russian
configlang=english



; ### Compatibility settings ###
; Use the following settings in case there are any issues with the game


; Hide WM_ACTIVATEAPP and WM_NCACTIVATE messages to prevent problems on alt+tab
noactivateapp=false

; Max game ticks per second, possible values: -1 = disabled, -2 = refresh rate, 0 = emulate 60hz vblank, 1-1000 = custom game speed
; Note: Can be used to slow down a too fast running game, fix flickering or too fast animations
; Note: Usually one of the following values will work: 60 / 30 / 25 / 20 / 15 (lower value = slower game speed)
maxgameticks=-2

; Windows API Hooking, Possible values: 0 = disabled, 1 = IAT Hooking, 2 = Microsoft Detours, 3 = IAT+Detours Hooking (All Modules), 4 = IAT Hooking (All Modules)
; Note: Change this value if windowed mode or upscaling isn't working properly
; Note: 'hook=2' will usually work for problematic games, but 'hook=2' should be combined with renderer=gdi
hook=4

; Force minimum FPS, possible values: 0 = disabled, -1 = use 'maxfps=' value, -2 = same as -1 but force full redraw, 1-1000 = custom FPS
; Note: Set this to a low value such as 5 or 10 if some parts of the game are not being displayed (e.g. menus or loading screens)
minfps=-1

; Disable fullscreen-exclusive mode for the direct3d9/opengl renderers
; Note: Can be used in case some GUI elements like buttons/textboxes/videos/etc.. are invisible
nonexclusive=false

; Fixes issues where the pitch of a surface is not a multiple of 4
; Note: Enable this if some parts of the screen are being displayed diagonally
fixpitch=false

; Force CPU0 affinity, avoids crashes/freezing, *might* have a performance impact
singlecpu=true

; Available resolutions, possible values: 0 = Small list, 1 = Very small list, 2 = Full list
; Note: Set this to 2 if your chosen resolution is not working, set to 1 if the game is crashing
resolutions=2

; Child window handling, possible values: 0 = Disabled, 1 = Display top left, 2 = Display top left + repaint, 3 = Hide
; Note: Disables upscaling if a child window was detected
fixchilds=2

; ### Game specific settings ###
; The following settings override all settings shown above, section name = executable name




User avatar
p2w
Mahasattva
911 | 58
Great Popularity Badge
Has a thread with over 50.000 views
Common Love Badge
Earned over 20 cookies
Great Supporter Badge
Donated 5 times
Great Auction Badge
Won 200 auctions
Kruno wrote:I did manage to get it to work fine. Make sure you run D2VidTst.exe and set it to Direct DRAW, and not 3D. Also make sure you run Game.exe to start MedianXL, and NOT the launcher. You may need to alt tab a few times in game as well to fix issues.

My only issue is that my Window's cursor and the D2 cursor are both visible at the same time. I hope there is some way to disable the Windows cursor without setting my cursor to blank.ico.

Here is the ddraw.ini:

Code: Select all

; cnc-ddraw - https://github.com/CnCNet/cnc-ddraw - https://cncnet.org

[ddraw]
; ### Optional settings ###
; Use the following settings to adjust the look and feel to your liking


; Stretch to custom resolution, 0 = defaults to the size game requests
width=2560
height=1440

; Override the width/height settings shown above and always stretch to fullscreen
; Note: Can be combined with 'windowed=true' to get windowed-fullscreen aka borderless mode
fullscreen=true

; Run in windowed mode rather than going fullscreen
windowed=true

; Maintain aspect ratio
maintas=true

; Windowboxing / Integer Scaling
boxing=false

; Real rendering rate, -1 = screen rate, 0 = unlimited, n = cap
; Note: Does not have an impact on the game speed, to limit your game speed use 'maxgameticks='
maxfps=0

; Vertical synchronization, enable if you get tearing - (Requires 'renderer=auto/opengl/direct3d9')
; Note: vsync=true can fix tearing but it will cause input lag
vsync=false

; Automatic mouse sensitivity scaling
; Note: Only works if stretching is enabled. Sensitivity will be adjusted according to the size of the window
adjmouse=true

; Preliminary libretro shader support - (Requires 'renderer=opengl') https://github.com/libretro/glsl-shaders
; 2x scaling example: https://imgur.com/a/kxsM1oY - 4x scaling example: https://imgur.com/a/wjrhpFV
shader=Shaders\xbr\xbr-lv2-noblend.glsl

; Window position, -32000 = center to screen
posX=8
posY=31

; Renderer, possible values: auto, opengl, gdi, direct3d9 (auto = try direct3d9/opengl, fallback = gdi)
renderer=opengl

; Developer mode (don't lock the cursor)
devmode=false

; Show window borders in windowed mode
border=true

; Save window position/size/state on game exit and restore it automatically on next game start
; Possible values: 0 = disabled, 1 = save to global 'ddraw' section, 2 = save to game specific section
savesettings=1

; Should the window be resizable by the user in windowed mode?
resizable=true

; Enable linear (D3DTEXF_LINEAR) upscaling filter for the direct3d9 renderer
d3d9linear=true

; Enable upscale hack for high resolution patches (Supports C&C1, Red Alert 1 and KKND Xtreme)
vhack=false

; cnc-ddraw config program language, possible values: auto, english, chinese, german, spanish, russian
configlang=english



; ### Compatibility settings ###
; Use the following settings in case there are any issues with the game


; Hide WM_ACTIVATEAPP and WM_NCACTIVATE messages to prevent problems on alt+tab
noactivateapp=false

; Max game ticks per second, possible values: -1 = disabled, -2 = refresh rate, 0 = emulate 60hz vblank, 1-1000 = custom game speed
; Note: Can be used to slow down a too fast running game, fix flickering or too fast animations
; Note: Usually one of the following values will work: 60 / 30 / 25 / 20 / 15 (lower value = slower game speed)
maxgameticks=-2

; Windows API Hooking, Possible values: 0 = disabled, 1 = IAT Hooking, 2 = Microsoft Detours, 3 = IAT+Detours Hooking (All Modules), 4 = IAT Hooking (All Modules)
; Note: Change this value if windowed mode or upscaling isn't working properly
; Note: 'hook=2' will usually work for problematic games, but 'hook=2' should be combined with renderer=gdi
hook=4

; Force minimum FPS, possible values: 0 = disabled, -1 = use 'maxfps=' value, -2 = same as -1 but force full redraw, 1-1000 = custom FPS
; Note: Set this to a low value such as 5 or 10 if some parts of the game are not being displayed (e.g. menus or loading screens)
minfps=-1

; Disable fullscreen-exclusive mode for the direct3d9/opengl renderers
; Note: Can be used in case some GUI elements like buttons/textboxes/videos/etc.. are invisible
nonexclusive=false

; Fixes issues where the pitch of a surface is not a multiple of 4
; Note: Enable this if some parts of the screen are being displayed diagonally
fixpitch=false

; Force CPU0 affinity, avoids crashes/freezing, *might* have a performance impact
singlecpu=true

; Available resolutions, possible values: 0 = Small list, 1 = Very small list, 2 = Full list
; Note: Set this to 2 if your chosen resolution is not working, set to 1 if the game is crashing
resolutions=2

; Child window handling, possible values: 0 = Disabled, 1 = Display top left, 2 = Display top left + repaint, 3 = Hide
; Note: Disables upscaling if a child window was detected
fixchilds=2

; ### Game specific settings ###
; The following settings override all settings shown above, section name = executable name




try to delete d2dx and glide related files in d2 folder , i have this problem too ,after removing files ,it works for me .
Kruno
Cultist
22 | 0
p2w wrote:
Kruno wrote:I did manage to get it to work fine. Make sure you run D2VidTst.exe and set it to Direct DRAW, and not 3D. Also make sure you run Game.exe to start MedianXL, and NOT the launcher. You may need to alt tab a few times in game as well to fix issues.

My only issue is that my Window's cursor and the D2 cursor are both visible at the same time. I hope there is some way to disable the Windows cursor without setting my cursor to blank.ico.

Here is the ddraw.ini:

Code: Select all

; cnc-ddraw - https://github.com/CnCNet/cnc-ddraw - https://cncnet.org

[ddraw]
; ### Optional settings ###
; Use the following settings to adjust the look and feel to your liking


; Stretch to custom resolution, 0 = defaults to the size game requests
width=2560
height=1440

; Override the width/height settings shown above and always stretch to fullscreen
; Note: Can be combined with 'windowed=true' to get windowed-fullscreen aka borderless mode
fullscreen=true

; Run in windowed mode rather than going fullscreen
windowed=true

; Maintain aspect ratio
maintas=true

; Windowboxing / Integer Scaling
boxing=false

; Real rendering rate, -1 = screen rate, 0 = unlimited, n = cap
; Note: Does not have an impact on the game speed, to limit your game speed use 'maxgameticks='
maxfps=0

; Vertical synchronization, enable if you get tearing - (Requires 'renderer=auto/opengl/direct3d9')
; Note: vsync=true can fix tearing but it will cause input lag
vsync=false

; Automatic mouse sensitivity scaling
; Note: Only works if stretching is enabled. Sensitivity will be adjusted according to the size of the window
adjmouse=true

; Preliminary libretro shader support - (Requires 'renderer=opengl') https://github.com/libretro/glsl-shaders
; 2x scaling example: https://imgur.com/a/kxsM1oY - 4x scaling example: https://imgur.com/a/wjrhpFV
shader=Shaders\xbr\xbr-lv2-noblend.glsl

; Window position, -32000 = center to screen
posX=8
posY=31

; Renderer, possible values: auto, opengl, gdi, direct3d9 (auto = try direct3d9/opengl, fallback = gdi)
renderer=opengl

; Developer mode (don't lock the cursor)
devmode=false

; Show window borders in windowed mode
border=true

; Save window position/size/state on game exit and restore it automatically on next game start
; Possible values: 0 = disabled, 1 = save to global 'ddraw' section, 2 = save to game specific section
savesettings=1

; Should the window be resizable by the user in windowed mode?
resizable=true

; Enable linear (D3DTEXF_LINEAR) upscaling filter for the direct3d9 renderer
d3d9linear=true

; Enable upscale hack for high resolution patches (Supports C&C1, Red Alert 1 and KKND Xtreme)
vhack=false

; cnc-ddraw config program language, possible values: auto, english, chinese, german, spanish, russian
configlang=english



; ### Compatibility settings ###
; Use the following settings in case there are any issues with the game


; Hide WM_ACTIVATEAPP and WM_NCACTIVATE messages to prevent problems on alt+tab
noactivateapp=false

; Max game ticks per second, possible values: -1 = disabled, -2 = refresh rate, 0 = emulate 60hz vblank, 1-1000 = custom game speed
; Note: Can be used to slow down a too fast running game, fix flickering or too fast animations
; Note: Usually one of the following values will work: 60 / 30 / 25 / 20 / 15 (lower value = slower game speed)
maxgameticks=-2

; Windows API Hooking, Possible values: 0 = disabled, 1 = IAT Hooking, 2 = Microsoft Detours, 3 = IAT+Detours Hooking (All Modules), 4 = IAT Hooking (All Modules)
; Note: Change this value if windowed mode or upscaling isn't working properly
; Note: 'hook=2' will usually work for problematic games, but 'hook=2' should be combined with renderer=gdi
hook=4

; Force minimum FPS, possible values: 0 = disabled, -1 = use 'maxfps=' value, -2 = same as -1 but force full redraw, 1-1000 = custom FPS
; Note: Set this to a low value such as 5 or 10 if some parts of the game are not being displayed (e.g. menus or loading screens)
minfps=-1

; Disable fullscreen-exclusive mode for the direct3d9/opengl renderers
; Note: Can be used in case some GUI elements like buttons/textboxes/videos/etc.. are invisible
nonexclusive=false

; Fixes issues where the pitch of a surface is not a multiple of 4
; Note: Enable this if some parts of the screen are being displayed diagonally
fixpitch=false

; Force CPU0 affinity, avoids crashes/freezing, *might* have a performance impact
singlecpu=true

; Available resolutions, possible values: 0 = Small list, 1 = Very small list, 2 = Full list
; Note: Set this to 2 if your chosen resolution is not working, set to 1 if the game is crashing
resolutions=2

; Child window handling, possible values: 0 = Disabled, 1 = Display top left, 2 = Display top left + repaint, 3 = Hide
; Note: Disables upscaling if a child window was detected
fixchilds=2

; ### Game specific settings ###
; The following settings override all settings shown above, section name = executable name




try to delete d2dx and glide related files in d2 folder , i have this problem too ,after removing files ,it works for me .


Fixed. Thank you!
kurnis
Acid Prince
49 | 0
So what is the accepted "best settings" for cnc-ddraw config?

Right now these are the settings I'm using, and I feel like it should look better. No major flaws, but it just doesn't look like the videos posted on youtube

ImageImageImage
User avatar
p2w
Mahasattva
911 | 58
Great Popularity Badge
Has a thread with over 50.000 views
Common Love Badge
Earned over 20 cookies
Great Supporter Badge
Donated 5 times
Great Auction Badge
Won 200 auctions
kurnis wrote:So what is the accepted "best settings" for cnc-ddraw config?

Right now these are the settings I'm using, and I feel like it should look better. No major flaws, but it just doesn't look like the videos posted on youtube

ImageImageImage

what video you refered to ? post a link pls