Anonymous edits have been disabled on the wiki. If you want to contribute please login or create an account.

Difference between revisions of "Interstate '76"

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
m
Line 25: Line 25:
 
|gogcom id    = 1207661003
 
|gogcom id    = 1207661003
 
|gogcom id side = 1207658836
 
|gogcom id side = 1207658836
 +
|hltb        = 4716
 
|strategywiki =  
 
|strategywiki =  
 
|mobygames    = interstate-76
 
|mobygames    = interstate-76

Revision as of 14:24, 21 January 2022

This page may require cleanup to meet basic quality standards. You can help by modifying the article. The discussion page may contain useful suggestions.
Interstate '76
Interstate '76 cover
Developers
Activision
Engines
MechWarrior 2
Release dates
Windows March 26, 1997
Taxonomy
Series Interstate
Interstate '76 on HowLongToBeat
Interstate '76 on MobyGames
Interstate '76 on Wikipedia
Interstate
Interstate '76 1997
Interstate '82 1999
Interstate: Outlaws (unofficial) 2007

Key points

The "servers" source code (Anet) was made open source in 2002.
Game lacks an FPS limiter and cause stuttering, physics and enemy AI problems at frame rates higher than 30 FPS.See High frame rate.
Game uses obsolete protocols/methods for multiplayer. Internet play requires a direct connection to the internet whilst LAN requires an IPX emulator. See Network for workarounds.

General information

GOG.com Community Discussions for game series
GOG.com Support Page
interstate76.com Fan site with tips, tricks and mods.
Local Ditch Gaming Source for tips.

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Disc check (requires the CD/DVD in the drive to play)
Windows
GOG.com
DRM-free
The Interstate '76 Arsenal edition.
Includes both the Nitro Pack expansion and Gold update.
Windows
Interstate '76 (base game) Demo is available
Interstate '76 Arsenal Demo is available

Version differences

A later version known as the "Gold Edition" was released which improved the graphics on the original game. It also came fully updated (version 1.2).
Interstate '76 was once bundled with Microsoft's Sidewinder Force Feedback Pro controller line up under the name "Sidewinder Force Feedback Pro Edition" (version 1.06). These copies often were bundled with graphics and computer manufacturer's hardware.

DLC and expansion packs

Name Notes
Nitro Pack DLC is a standalone program and does not require the original game.
Also known as Nitro Riders in some territories.
Windows

Essential improvements

Patches

You can find updates to the original retail, including the Gold edition patch, here. Note the GOG.com version is fully updated, thus these are unnecessary if purchased from there.
Nitro also has a Patch I & II, though these were only ever beta. Instead use the Unofficial Nitro Patch IV.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows <path-to-game>\[Note 1]
input.map for keyboard bindings
input.def and gamekey.def for additional bindings (not changeable through game dialogue)
internet.lst for server list
modem.ini for modem configuration
NSCR.DAT and user.mel for multiplayer configuration
reconfig.spc for car loadout

Save game data location

System Location
Windows <path-to-game>\save***.cmp[Note 1]

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
GOG Galaxy

Video

Video settings.
Video settings.

Graphics feature State WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution
4:3 resolutions only. Higher 4:3 resolutions can be forced for the Glide or Direct3D mode by using a wrapper such as dgVoodoo 2 (this does not change the aspect ratio, so widescreen resolutions will be stretched from 4:3).
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed
For software, a windowed mode can be activated by using the -gdi parameter. Unfortunately some have mentioned it to be broken on modern Windows. D3D and Glide can be forced in certain wrappers.
Borderless fullscreen windowed
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anti-aliasing (AA)
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
60 FPS and 120+ FPS
See High frame rate.
High dynamic range display (HDR)
See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

High frame rate

Frame rates higher than 30 FPS (24 FPS in some cases actually) cause stuttering, physics and enemy AI problems.
Force a frame cap in your graphics card control panel.
Nitro Pack users can get around this by using the NITRO.EXE-30FPS PATCH.
A similar patch for the base i76 game (GOG.com only) by user immi can be found here.
  • Versions of his patch that limit frame rate further can be found here.

Input

Input settings.
Input settings.

Enabling force feedback on the Gold Edition

Instructions[1]
  1. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ACTIVISION\
  2. Rename the Interstate'76FRC folder to Interstate '76.

Audio

Audio settings.
Audio settings.

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
CD Music, SFX, and Voice.
Surround sound
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
EAX support
A3D 1.0[2]
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
Brazilian Portuguese
Retail: Interestadual 76.

Network

Multiplayer types

Type Native Players Notes
LAN play
8 Versus
Uses old IPX protocol which is no longer supported on modern Windows. See IPX protocol deprecated for more. Could also try a Null-Modem emulator though this would be presumably slower.
Online play
8 Versus
Requires a direct internet connection (cannot be behind a router). Can be bypassed by using a tunneling program such as Tunngle. Nitro Pack users can get around this by using the Unofficial Nitro Pack Patch. GOG users should grab the version from here instead (no cd-check). A similar, though less robust, patch for the base i76 game can also be found in the later link.

Issues fixed

Corrupt graphics on Windows Vista and Windows 7

Use palette fix[citation needed]

See Rainbow color problems in older games.

Crashes on XP[3]

Open up the file database.mw2 (.tvf in Nitro) in a hex editor and find the last two "RIFF" extensions. Change them to something else, such as "PIFF". Alternatively, download this (or this for Nitro) pre-patched version.
Disable hardware acceleration for audio devices or disable sound in game.

Won't install on 64-bit systems

A German website has a custom installer here. It also includes and installs the patches, up to the Gold Edition.
The setup.exe wont run on 64-bit computers due to the fact that 16-bit compatibility and DOS support was removed from theses versions. Luckily the files on disk are not compresses and can merely be copied over.
Installing the game (retail only)[citation needed]
  1. Create a folder in the following path and copy the files into it: C:\Program Files\Activision\Interstate '76\. You can leave the folders "AVI", "Demo", and "Direct X" and, of course, the setup.exe. Although the game can run just fine now, you can't install patches without registry keys (if you have the fully patched Gold Edition you can skip the rest).
  2. Open Registry Editor and add the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\I76.exe.
  3. Now add the following strings: for "Name" add (Default), for "Type" REG_SZ and "Data" add this path C:\Program Files\Activision\Interstate76\I76.exe.
  4. Add yet another string with the following: "Name" Path, "Type" REG_SZ, "Data" C:\Program Files\Activision\Interstate76.
  5. You need to create another key now, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Activision\Interstate '76\1.06. Note that the 1.06 at the end may differ depending on your game version. Now back up to the "Interstate '76" part of that key you just made and add these strings: "Name" EXE, "Type" REG_SZ, and "Data" i76.exe. The update should now be able to detect your game.
You may also be able to perform this more quickly by saving the following file as i76.reg and running it to add the keys:
REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\I76.exe]

"(Default)"="C:\Program Files\Activision\Interstate76\I76.exe"

"Path"="C:\Program Files\Activision\Interstate76"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Activision]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Activision\Interstate '76]

"EXE"="i76.exe

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Activision\Interstate '76\1.06]

Textures are "flipped" with other textures in glide mode[4][5][6][7][8]

This is a bug in some glide wrappers. Reduce the texture memory to 2MB to get around this.
If you are running a real VooDoo card, add the following to a batch file followed by the game's executable:
SET SST_TMUMEM_SIZE=2
nitro.exe

Game crashes after mission 12

Official response from Activision rep:[9][10]

"This problem can be fixed by retrieving the I76shell.dll from the 1.06 or 1.08 patch for the original I76 W95. Do not install the 1.06 patch to the Gold Edition! It will crash. Instead, extract the 1.06 patch to a new folder. Copy the I76shell.dll file to the Gold Edition directory. Only 1 file will be replaced.

I tested Gold i76 using the i76shell.dll file from the 1.083 patch. It worked! I was able to get into the 13th level without a page fault crash. Be sure to back up the original .dll file though before doing this. The Gold edition will crash on Instant Melees with 1.08 .dll file installed. I would only use the 1.08 file temporarily for the purpose of gaining access to the 13th level."

You could simplify this process by renaming the patch dll to I76shell_1083.dll (GOG.com version already includes it), then using the following batch scripts to enable and disable the fix. Name them as such:

EnableM13.bat

@echo off
if exist I76shell.bak goto error
ren I76shell.dll I76shell.bak
ren I76shell_1083.dll I76shell.dll
goto fix

:error
echo Mission 13 Fix already enabled! If you are experiencing crashes in
echo melee or other single player missions, run RevertM13.bat instead.
pause
goto end

:fix
echo Mission 13 Fix enabled. Run RevertM13.bat to disable.
pause
goto end

:end

RevertM13.bat

@echo off
if exist I76shell_1083.dll goto error
ren I76shell.dll I76shell_1083.dll
ren I76shell.bak I76shell.dll
goto fix

:error
echo Mission 13 Fix NOT enabled! If you are experiencing crashes in
echo mission 13, run EnableM13.bat instead.
pause
goto end

:fix
echo Mission 13 Fix reverted. Run EnableM13.bat to re-patch.
pause
goto end

:end

Unhandled exception error

Run as administrator[citation needed]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>.
  2. Right-click on i76.exe or nitro.exe and select Run as administrator.
Run in compatibility mode[11][citation needed]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>.
  2. Right-click on i76.exe or nitro.exe and select Properties.
  3. Select the Compatibility tab and tick Run this program in compatibility mode for:
  4. From the drop-down menu choose Windows 95 or Windows 98 (use Windows XP (Service Pack 3) for the GOG.com version) and click Apply.
Disable display scaling on high DPI settings[citation needed]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>.
  2. Right-click on i76.exe or nitro.exe and select Properties.
  3. Select the Compatibility tab and tick Disable display scaling on high DPI settings and click Apply.
Restrict game to one core[citation needed]

See Force CPU affinity.

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D
Launch the game with the -d3d parameter.
DirectDraw
Only used for main menu. D3D or Glide are used for actual gameplay.
OpenGL
PowerVR only (MiniGL). Launch the game with the -powervr parameter.
Glide 1.0 Requires wrapper, such as nGlide, to work on modern systems. Launch the game with the "-glide" parameter.
Software renderer
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows
Setup.exe is 16-bit.

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Audio WinMM For music only. GOG.com version uses a wrapper.
Cutscenes Smacker Video Cutscenes remain on disk in the retail version.
Multiplayer ANET

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 95
Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium 90 MHz
System memory (RAM) 16 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 75 MB
Video card (GPU) SVGA
1 MB of VRAM


Notes

  1. 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%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).

References