Dungeon Keeper

Dungeon Keeper
Dungeon Keeper	1997
Dungeon Keeper 2	1999

Dungeon Keeper is a singleplayer and multiplayer bird's-eye view and first-person building and RTS game in the Dungeon Keeper series.

The game received the Deeper Dungeons expansion pack in November 1997, and official patches that improved the AI in the DOS version and introduced Direct3D support in the Windows version.

Most players currently play the game via KeeperFX for its quality-of-life improvements.

General information

Dungeon Keeper Wiki

Keeper Klan - A fansite for the series

Official KeeperFX website

GOG.com Community Discussions for game series

GOG.com Support Page

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		The DOS version requires files that remain on the CD, the path of which is indicated in `KEEPER.CFG`.
Epic Games Store		Gold edition.
GOG.com		Gold edition. DOS version pre-packaged with DOSBox.^[1]
Microsoft Store		Included exclusively with Xbox Game Pass for PC as part of its version of EA Play.
Origin		Included with EA Play. DOS version pre-packaged with DOSBox.^[2] DRM can be bypassed by replacing `<path-to-game>\DATA\DOSBox\DOSBox.exe` with the official DOSBox executable, but the client will no longer recognize the game.^[3] Manual link for EA App purchase.
Steam		Gold edition. DOS version pre-packaged with DOSBox. Included with EA Play (Steam).

Version differences

The Gold Edition comes with the base game, The Deeper Dungeons expansion, the Direct3D patch for Windows and DOS patch, official level editor, and exclusive desktop theme pack.

The GOG.com version is a cut-down version of the pack which only includes pre-configured DOS versions of the base game and The Deeper Dungeons expansion. All other extras are not present.

Demo

A free demo version is available from Keeper Klan.

Monetization

Type	Notes
Expansion pack	The expansion pack includes new single- and multiplayer levels along with improvements to the creature AI.
One-time game purchase	The game requires an upfront purchase to access.
Subscription gaming service	Available via EA Play.

DLC and expansion packs

Name	Notes
The Deeper Dungeons

Essential improvements

Patches

The latest patch for the DOS version fixes the AI, creature balance and creature activity algorithms. It can be downloaded from Keeper Klan.

The Direct3D patch for the Windows version can be found on Keeper Klan (incompatible with the GOG.com release).

An IPX multiplayer patch is also available.

KeeperFX

An open-source reimplementation of Dungeon Keeper that allows for modern OS support and extended functionality over the original release.

KeeperFX was forked into a project called "KeeperFX Unofficial", It included numerous new fixes and features over the original. That fork has now gone onto becoming the official version and thus is now called simply "KeeperFX". This maintained version can be downloaded from the Keeper Klan Forum and GitHub.

A full copy of the game (either retail or digital release) is required.

Game data

In-game options menu.

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
DOS	<path-to-game>\KEEPER.CFG
Windows	<path-to-game>\KEEPER.CFG^{[Note 1]}
macOS (OS X)	<path-to-game> (mounted in DOSBox)^{[Note 2]}
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/1996630/pfx/^{[Note 3]}

Save game data location

System	Location
DOS	<path-to-game>\SAVE
Windows	<path-to-game>\SAVE^{[Note 1]}
macOS (OS X)	<path-to-game> (mounted in DOSBox)^{[Note 2]}
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/1996630/pfx/^{[Note 3]}

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Epic Games Launcher
GOG Galaxy
Origin
Steam Cloud
Xbox Cloud

Video

In-game video settings. From left to right, top row first: Shadows, View Distance, View Type, Wall Height, Gamma Correction

Graphics feature	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution		Use `Alt`+`R` to toggle High Resolution mode. The game crops the top and the bottom of the screen, resulting in a smaller view of the game world.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed	For DOSBox toggle with `Alt`+`↵ Enter` (see the glossary page for other workarounds).
Borderless fullscreen windowed	See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS and 120+ FPS
High dynamic range display (HDR)

Input

In-game key map settings.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support		For DOSBox use the DOSBox Mapper (see the glossary page for other workarounds).

Controller types

Audio

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		SFX, Music
Surround sound
Subtitles		Most in-game messages and alerts still receive a highly visible notification. Enemy banter and level select narration receives no subtitles.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost		For DOSBox change the `priority` background value in the DOSBox configuration file.
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Czech				Fan - 1
Dutch
French
German
Italian
Polish
Russian				Unofficial localization by «Творческая группа "Дядюшка Рисёч»
Spanish
Swedish

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
LAN play		4	Versus
Online play

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP

Issues unresolved

Original Windows executables do not run/function

The following fix will allow the 3D accelerated executables to launch successfully. However, the main menu and cursor are unusable. The opening cutscene is also choppy

The fix was tested with the GOG.com release

Even with this partial fix, the software rendered executables (keeper95.exe and deeper95.exe) will not run at all.

Add partial compatibility (GOG.com release)^[4]

Download and setup dgVoodoo 2.
Once the initial setup is done, go to the MS\x86 subfolder and copy the D3DImm.dll and DDraw.dll files into <path-to-game>.
Afterwards, download the Direct3D Patch (alternate download) and extract its contents to <path-to-game>.
Next, open KEEPER.CFG with a text editor.
Change the value of INSTALL_PATH from C:\ to <path-to-game>.
- When the DOS version wants to be used again, revert INSTALL_PATH back to C:\ to avoid issues.
Save the changes.
Run either keepd3d.exe (base game) or deepd3d.exe (The Deeper Dungeons expansion).

Reversed audio (DOS version)

Some users reported reversed audio.^[5]

Issues fixed

Installing under modern Windows

The game installer is 16-bit only, making it impossible to install the game without a 3rd party solution.

Use KeeperFX

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	5	Windows version only, requires an official patch.
Software renderer
DOS video modes	VGA, SVGA

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Audio	Miles Sound System
Cutscenes	Smacker Video Technology

Playing the retail DOS version without CD

Copy over data from CD and change INSTALL_PATH^{[citation needed]}

Install the game normally.
Copy data, ldata and levels folders from the CD's/Keeper path into <path-to-game>, overwriting files when prompted to.
From inside the copied data, move DD1TEXT.DAT and TEXT.DAT from their language folder according to desired game's language into the main <path-to-game>\data folder.
Change the INSTALL_PATH line in <path-to-game>\KEEPER.CFG to point to <path-to-game>.

Playing the Deeper Dungeons expansion without CD

Use DOSBox to mount an empty folder with the `MOUNT` command using the suffix `-t cdrom -label KDDISK1`^{[citation needed]}

System requirements

DOS
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	6.2
Processor (CPU)	Intel 486
System memory (RAM)	8 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)
Video card (GPU)	VGA, SVGA 1 MB of VRAM

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	95	98
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium 150 MHz	Intel Pentium 200 MHz
System memory (RAM)	16 MB	32 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	5 MB	300 MB
Video card (GPU)	4 MB of VRAM DirectX 3.0 compatible	DirectX 5.0 compatible

macOS (OS X)
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	10.6.8
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core Duo 2 GHz+
System memory (RAM)	1 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	200 MB
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%\VirtualStore on 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. For the GOG.com release, file changes in DOSBox are redirected to <path-to-game>/cloud_saves/ even if GOG Galaxy is not used (this folder contains all redirected files, so some files in the cloud_saves folder might be temporary files or other files that do not contain saves or settings).
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1
Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
- File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.
- Games with Steam Cloud support may also store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/1996630/.
- Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.
- The app ID (1996630) may differ in some cases.
- Treat backslashes as forward slashes.
- See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

References

↑ List of GOG games using DOSBox, page 1 - Forum - GOG.com - last accessed on May 2023
↑ Verified by User:ThatOneReaper on November 19, 2016
↑ Verified by User:Plok on 2023-05-19
↑ Verified by User:ThatOneReaper on November 19, 2016
↑ DK Gold Stereo Reversed - GOG.com forums

[gamedir-4] 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).

[DOSBox_mounted-5] 2.0 ^2.1 File/folder structure within the installation folder reflects the path(s) listed for DOS game data. For the GOG.com release, file changes in DOSBox are redirected to <path-to-game>/cloud_saves/ even if GOG Galaxy is not used (this folder contains all redirected files, so some files in the cloud_saves folder might be temporary files or other files that do not contain saves or settings).

[Proton_path_note-6] 3.0 ^3.1 Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.
Games with Steam Cloud support may also store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/1996630/.
Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.
The app ID (1996630) may differ in some cases.
Treat backslashes as forward slashes.
See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

[4] File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.

[5] Games with Steam Cloud support may also store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/1996630/.

[6] Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.

[7] The app ID (1996630) may differ in some cases.

[8] Treat backslashes as forward slashes.

[9] See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

[1] List of GOG games using DOSBox, page 1 - Forum - GOG.com - last accessed on May 2023

[2] Verified by User:ThatOneReaper on November 19, 2016

[3] Verified by User:Plok on 2023-05-19

[7] Verified by User:ThatOneReaper on November 19, 2016

[8] DK Gold Stereo Reversed - GOG.com forums

[1]

[2]

[3]

[Note 1]

[Note 2]

[Note 3]

[4]

[5]

Developers

	Bullfrog Productions
Publishers
	Electronic Arts
Engines
	Magic Carpet
Release dates
DOS	June 26, 1997
Windows	June 26, 1997
Windows (DOSBox)	June 2, 2011
macOS (OS X) (DOSBox)	October 18, 2012
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase, Expansion pack, Subscription gaming service
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	Bird's-eye view, First-person
Controls	Multiple select, Point and select
Genres	Building, RTS
Art styles	Cartoon
Themes	Fantasy
Series	Dungeon Keeper