Descent II
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Revision as of 19:52, 12 December 2020 by Dandelion Sprout (talk | contribs)
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|
| Developers | |
|---|---|
| Parallax Software | |
| Mac OS (Classic) | Interplay Entertainment |
| Publishers | |
| Interplay Entertainment | |
| Engines | |
| Descent | |
| Release dates | |
| DOS | March 13, 1996 |
| Windows | March 13, 1996 |
| Mac OS (Classic) | 1997 |
| Windows (DOSBox) | July 22, 2008 |
| macOS (OS X) (DOSBox) | October 26, 2012[1] |
| Linux | Source ports only |
 |
|
| Descent | |
|---|---|
| Descent | 1995 |
| Descent II | 1996 |
| Descent 3 | 1999 |
| Descent (cancelled) renamed to S.T.F.U (Ships That Fight Underground) | April 2024 |
Key points
- Engine is open source with modern multi-platform ports available. It is highly recommended to use either DXX-Rebirth or D2X-XL.
General information
- Official game site
- GOG.com Community Discussions for game series
- GOG.com Support Page
- Steam Community Discussions
- Descent II source code download page
Availability
| Source | DRM | Notes | Keys | OS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail | |
Startup disc check | |
|
| GOG.com | |
DOS version pre-packaged with DOSBox.[2] | |
|
| Steam | |
DOS version pre-packaged with DOSBox. | |
Version differences
- The Infinite Abyss and Definitive Collection have slightly remixed versions of the game's sound track.[3]
DLC and expansion packs
| Name | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| Vertigo Series | |
Essential improvements
Patches
- The latest official patch 1.2 (DOS, Mac, Win95/98), Rendition Vérité patch (requires patch 1.2) and S3 ViRGE patch are available at soggi.org.
- The 3dfx-patch Release 6 is available at soggi.org.
- Unofficial Unauthorized D2 Sound Patch - Corrects D1 robot sounds in D2.
Source ports
- There are four (five technically) source ports available for Descent. These ports are major upgrades to the game and will improve almost all aspects of the game. Most notably, these ports support Windows, OS X, and Linux natively without the need for DOSBox.
| Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| DXX-Rebirth | Focused mostly on maintaining original gameplay and being authentic. Feature List | |
| D2X-XL | Focused mostly on graphical and gameplay improvements. Changelog/Feature List | |
| DXX-Retro | Based on DXX-Rebirth. Focused mostly on improving multiplayer. Source & Changelog | |
| Project D2X | Very old source port, hasn't been updated in a long time. This project was the base for DXX-Rebirth & XL | |
Descent: Maximum
- Descent: Maximum was the PlayStation version of Descent II. An unofficial total conversion can be downloaded here.
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
| System | Location |
|---|---|
| DOS | |
| Windows | <path-to-game>\[Note 1] |
| Mac OS (Classic) | |
| macOS (OS X) | <path-to-game> (mounted in DOSBox)[Note 2] |
| Steam Play (Linux) | <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/273580/pfx/[Note 3] |
Save game data location
| System | Location |
|---|---|
| DOS | |
| Windows | <path-to-game>\[Note 1] |
| Mac OS (Classic) | |
| macOS (OS X) | <path-to-game> (mounted in DOSBox)[Note 2] |
| Steam Play (Linux) | <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/273580/pfx/[Note 3] |
Save game cloud syncing
| System | Native | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| GOG Galaxy | ||
| Steam Cloud |
Video
In-game video settings.
In-game screen resolution settings.
Graphics settings (GOG.com version)
| Graphics feature | State | WSGF | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Widescreen resolution | A source port is required. See Source ports. | ||
| Multi-monitor | Use D2X-Rebirth (D2X-XL has incorrect scaling). | ||
| Ultra-widescreen | Use D2X-Rebirth (D2X-XL has incorrect scaling). | ||
| 4K Ultra HD | |||
| Field of view (FOV) | |||
| Windowed | Toggle with Alt+↵ Enter (when using DOSBox). | ||
| Borderless fullscreen windowed | |||
| Anisotropic filtering (AF) | A source port is required. See Source ports. | ||
| Anti-aliasing (AA) | A source port is required. See Source ports. | ||
| Vertical sync (Vsync) | A source port is required. See Source ports. | ||
| 60 FPS | |||
| 120+ FPS | A source port is required. See Source ports. | ||
| High dynamic range display (HDR) | See the glossary page for potential alternatives. | ||
Input
In-game key map settings.
| Keyboard and mouse | State | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Remapping | ||
| Mouse acceleration | ||
| Mouse sensitivity | ||
| Mouse input in menus | A source port is required. See Source ports. | |
| Mouse Y-axis inversion | ||
| Controller | ||
| Controller support | A source port adds modern controller support. See Source ports. | |
| Full controller support | ||
| Controller remapping | ||
| Controller sensitivity | ||
| Controller Y-axis inversion |
| Controller types |
|---|
| XInput-compatible controllers |
|---|
| PlayStation controllers |
|---|
| Tracked motion controllers |
|---|
| Generic/other controllers |
|---|
| Additional information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Controller hotplugging | ||
| Haptic feedback | ||
| Digital movement supported | ||
| Simultaneous controller+KB/M |
Audio
| Audio feature | State | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Separate volume controls | ||
| Surround sound | ||
| Subtitles | Available through D2X-XL | |
| Closed captions | ||
| Mute on focus lost | Can be enabled through DOSBox's priority settings (use the pause emulation option). | |
| Red Book CD audio | Choice of Red Book or MIDI music (configured with SETUP.EXE). |
Localizations
| Language | UI | Audio | Sub | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | ||||
| Russian | Fan translation by users site «Descent2.ru» |
Network
Multiplayer types
| Type | Native | Players | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAN play | 8 | Co-op, Versus |
||
| Online play | 8 | Co-op, Versus |
||
Connection types
| Type | Native | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Matchmaking | ||
| Peer-to-peer | ||
| Dedicated | ||
| Self-hosting | ||
| Direct IP |
VR support
| 3D modes | State | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Native 3D | Use D2X-XL (anaglyph, 3D TV).[4] | ||
| Nvidia 3D Vision | See Descent 1 - 2 (DXX-Rebirth) [OpenGL]. | ||
| vorpX | G3D Officially supported game through D2X-XL, see official vorpx game list. |
||
| Headsets | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| SteamVR | This game might be playable with the Revive Compatibility Layer (compatibility list). | ||
| Oculus VR (LibOVR) | Use D2X-XL.[4] | ||
| Windows Mixed Reality | This game might be playable with the Revive Compatibility Layer. | ||
| Devices | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tracked motion controllers | |||
| Traditional controller | See Input for details. | ||
| Keyboard/Mouse | |||
| Play area | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Seated | |||
| Standing | |||
| Room-scale | |||
Other information
API
| Technical specs | Supported | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| DirectDraw | 2.1 | |
| OpenGL | 1.0 | Requires a source port or official OpenGL patch from interplay. Also is a selectable rendering option in DOSBox. |
| Glide | Requires an official patch from interplay. Also require a fork of DOSBox with Glide support if being player in DOSBox. | |
| Software renderer | Default mode in source ports and only mode without graphics patch from interplay | |
| DOS video modes | VGA, SVGA |
| Executable | PPC | 16-bit | 32-bit | 64-bit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows | 64-bit requires a source port. | ||||
| Linux | Requires a source port. | ||||
| Mac OS (Classic) |
Middleware
| Middleware | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| Audio | Human Machine Interface (HMI) audio drivers |
System requirements
| DOS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Minimum | Recommended | |
| Operating system (OS) | 5.0 | 6.2 |
| Processor (CPU) | Intel 486DX 50 MHz | Intel Pentium |
| System memory (RAM) | 8 MB | 16 MB |
| Hard disk drive (HDD) | 50 MB | 300 MB |
| Video card (GPU) | SVGA video card | |
| Mac OS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Minimum | ||
| Operating system (OS) | System 7 (classic) | |
| Processor (CPU) | PowerPC 601 90 MHz | |
| System memory (RAM) | 8 MB (3 can be virtual memory) | |
| Hard disk drive (HDD) | 18 MB | |
| Video card (GPU) | 640x480 display with 256 colors | |
| Windows | ||
|---|---|---|
| Minimum | Recommended | |
| Operating system (OS) | 95 | 98 |
| Processor (CPU) | Intel 486DX 50 MHz | Intel Pentium |
| System memory (RAM) | 16 MB | 32 MB |
| Hard disk drive (HDD) | 700 MB | |
| Video card (GPU) | SVGA video card | |
| macOS (OS X) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Minimum | ||
| Operating system (OS) | 10.6.8 "Snow Leopard" (runs in DOSBox) | |
| Processor (CPU) | Intel Core Duo 2 GHz | |
| System memory (RAM) | 1 GB | |
| Hard disk drive (HDD) | ||
| Video card (GPU) | 64 MB of VRAM | |
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 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%\VirtualStoreon Windows Vista and later (more details). - ↑ 2.0 2.1 File/folder structure within the installation folder reflects the path(s) listed for DOS game data.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in
~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/273580/in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (273580) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.