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General information
- Official source code
- GOG.com Community Discussions for game series
- GOG.com Support Page
- Steam Community Discussions
Availability
Source |
DRM |
Notes |
Keys |
OS |
Retail |
|
Oversized DRM in US release (lead-out area shortened and used for data, to prevent most contemporary CD-RW drives from copying the method), LaserLock DRM in European release. Can be removed using an officially sanctioned no-CD patch. |
|
|
GOG.com |
|
Descent 3 + Mercenary. Comes pre-configured with nGlide. |
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Steam |
|
Descent 3 + Mercenary.[5] Linux and macOS versions are enhanced ports.[1] |
|
|
- Two demo versions were released.
Monetization
DLC and expansion packs
Essential improvements
Patches
- Latest patches for every game version available here
Skip launcher
Skip intro videos
- An injector program that patches the game with fixes and changes, including windowed and borderless fullscreen modes, new mouse code, OpenAL support, and the ability to change the field of view.
- In early development.
- Currently only patches the OpenGL renderer.
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
- It's unknown whether this game follows the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux. Please fill in this information.
Save game data location
-
*.plt
in the installation folder stores pilot-related settings.
Video
Add resolution switches[7][8]
|
- Go to the shortcut/launcher properties:
- If skipping the launcher, right-click the
MAIN.EXE shortcut and choose Properties.
- If using the launcher, run it and go to Setup, Misc.
- If using InjectD3, open
InjectD3Configuration.exe .
- Add the desired resolution in the following format to the applicable command line arguments field:
-width 1920 -height 1080 -aspect 1.78
-aspect should be 1.78 for 16:9 or 1.6 for 16:10 (calculate by dividing width by height)
- Click OK to save the changes.
- Additionally, for InjectD3, launch the game from
InjectD3Configuration.exe , as the arguments will only work if the game is launched from there.
Notes
- If the output is pillarboxed in-game, use the key to the left of ← Backspace to zoom in.
- Resolutions higher than 2048 pixels on either axis will crash the game; use dgVoodoo 2 to remove resolution limits.
|
Input
Audio
Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
Separate volume controls |
|
Sound and Music. |
Surround sound |
|
Via A3D 2.0 and DirectSound3D |
Subtitles |
|
|
Closed captions |
|
|
Mute on focus lost |
|
|
EAX support |
|
EAX 2, DirectSound3D, A3D 2.0[9]
Correct support for the latter requires latest patch[10] |
Localizations
Network
Multiplayer types
Type |
Native |
Players |
Notes |
LAN play |
| 16 |
Co-op, Versus
|
Online play |
| 16 |
Co-op, Versus The official HEAT service has been shut down. |
Connection types
Issues fixed
"Error: Unable to set temporary directory to ... The directory is in use" error at launch
Delete .lock file[citation needed]
|
- Go to
<path-to-game>\custom\cache .
- Delete
.lock
- The game should now start normally.
|
Mouse movement issues on Windows 8.1
- For the GOG.com version, use the Windows 8.1 mouse lag fix installer from the game library.
Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
Direct3D |
6 |
|
OpenGL |
1.2 |
|
Glide |
3 |
|
Executable | PPC | 16-bit |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
Windows | | |
|
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macOS (OS X) | | | |
|
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Linux | | | |
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Mac OS (Classic) | | | |
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- The 64-bit executables for OS X and Linux are currently only available for the enhanced Steam ports, and there are no plans for a Windows release of said port.[1]
Disable motion blur
Disable Windows 95 compatibility (Steam)
Disable Windows 95 compatibility[5]
|
- Go to
<path-to-game> and edit descent3install.vdf with a text editor.
- Replace the install script with:
installscript"
{
"firewall"
{
"Descent 3" "%INSTALLDIR%\main.exe"
}
}
"kvsignatures"
{
"installscript" "ae6f36bbf6850d924011583c9a45f397d815843cb8aa9e03b04367c4563bebd81dc1104a1b27bda3699bff37cbcda2c2277b94558559994a055fe20da5d65710611ed3335789a2ecc6210350c503dfa1b366b4a6a8d3807e8351e27f698df33c4b2d6ee3b3eeec1c65b699efb437b15c4dc2cd726a0b9c1eae6d7f7855469b0f"
}
- Save the changes.
- Right click on
descent 3.exe and choose properties.
- In Compatibility tab disable
Run this program in compatibility mode with and click OK.
- Right click on
main.exe and choose properties.
- In Compatibility tab disable
Run this program in compatibility mode with and click OK.
|
System requirements
Windows | Mac OS (Classic) | macOS (OS X) | Linux |
Windows |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
95 |
98, NT |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Pentium 200 MHz
| Intel Pentium II 300 MHz |
System memory (RAM) |
32 MB |
64 MB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
210 MB |
500 MB |
Video card (GPU) |
4 MB of VRAM DirectX 6.1 compatible
| 8 MB of VRAM |
Mac OS |
|
Minimum |
Operating system (OS) |
7.5 |
Processor (CPU) |
PowerPC 604e |
System memory (RAM) |
32 MB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
350 MB |
Video card (GPU) |
6 MB of VRAM |
Notes
References