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MDK

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
MDK
MDK cover
Developers
Shiny Entertainment
Mac OS (Classic) Shokwave Software
Publishers
North America Playmates Interactive Entertainment
Interplay Entertainment
Release dates
DOS May 7, 1997
Windows May 7, 1997
Mac OS (Classic) June 18, 1997
macOS (OS X) (DOSBox) October 26, 2012[1]
Taxonomy
Monetization One-time game purchase
Modes Singleplayer
Pacing Real-time
Perspectives Third-person
Controls Direct control
Genres Action, Shooter, TPS
Themes Comedy, Sci-fi
Series MDK
MDK on HowLongToBeat
MDK on MobyGames
MDK on Wikipedia
MDK
MDK 1997
MDK 2 2000
MDK 2 HD 2011

MDK is a singleplayer third-person action, shooter and TPS game in the MDK series.

General information

Hectic HQ - Fan site for the game
GOG.com Community Discussions for game series
GOG.com Support Page
Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Disc check (requires the CD/DVD in the drive to play)
Disc check can be bypassed with the -iamapirate command line argument.
DOS
Windows
Mac OS
GOG.com
DRM-free
Windows version pre-configured with nGlide (3DFX) and GOG.com's own DirectX wrapper (Software).
OS X version instead uses DOSBox via Boxer (32-bit only).[2]
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Steam
Icon overlay.png
DRM-free after installation through Steam client (notes may include more details)
Windows version pre-configuerd with nGlide (3DFX) and narzoul's DDrawCompat (Software). Software executable uses Steam DRM, 3DFX executable is DRM-free.[3]
Windows
The GOG.com Windows release does not include the original desktop icon. A replacement can be found here.
A free demo version is available from Archive.org.

Version differences

Some versions of the game were toned down, changing the green alien blood to blue and removing head shots.[4][5] A comparison of altered versions does not exist as of this writing, but the GOG release uses unedited data.

Essential improvements

Patches

  • The official 3dfx-patch is available at soggi.org.

Improve performance in DOSBox

Edit DOSBox configuration file

Edit the following values:

  • output=surface to output=opengl
  • memsize=16 to memsize=31
  • cycles=auto to cycles=auto limit 100000

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
DOS <path-to-game>\MDK.CFG
Windows <path-to-game>\MDK.CFG[Note 1]
Mac OS (Classic)
macOS (OS X) <path-to-game>/MDK.CFG<path-to-game> (mounted in DOSBox)[Note 2]
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/38450/pfx/[Note 3]

Save game data location

System Location
DOS <path-to-game>\SAVES
Windows <path-to-game>\SAVES[Note 1]
Mac OS (Classic)
macOS (OS X) <path-to-game>/SAVES
<path-to-game> (mounted in DOSBox)[Note 2]
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/38450/pfx/[Note 3]

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
GOG Galaxy
Steam Cloud

Video

Direct3D settings.
Direct3D settings.

Graphics feature State WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution
Defaults to 600x360 windowboxed to 640x480. See Widescreen resolution.
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)
Use a D3D or Glide wrapper then force in control panel. Some wrappers provide this option builtin.
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Use a D3D or Glide wrapper then force in control panel. Some wrappers provide this option builtin.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
Use nGlide (see Widescreen resolution).
60 FPS and 120+ FPS
Frame rate is capped at 30 FPS. Cap can be forcibly disabled using the -nosync parameter, though this breaks physics and jumping.
High dynamic range display (HDR)

Widescreen resolution

Higher resolutions can be used (stretched/pillarboxed 4:3 only).
Use nGlide[citation needed]
  1. Install nGlide for versions other than GOG.com (the GOG.com version already includes it).
  2. Run nGlide from the Start screen/Start menu.
  3. Set the resolution and aspect ratio preference (4:3 for pillarboxed, fit to screen for stretching from 4:3).
  4. Run the game in Glide mode (MDK3DFX.EXE).
Use dgVoodoo 2
  1. Download dgVoodoo 2.
  2. Extract dgVoodooCpl.exe and the contents of the MS\x86 subfolder of the dgVoodoo 2 archive to <path-to-game>.
  3. Run dgVoodooCpl.exe .
  4. In the dgVoodoo configuration dialog, in the General tab, set the window mode to Windowed with the option Stretched, keep Aspect Ratio.
  5. In the DirectX tab, set Resolution to Max 2x for optimal image quality. For better performance, set Resolution to Max instead (the image will be slightly blurry as a result of the region-of-interest zoom).
  6. Right-click the dgVoodoo banner at the top to make a context menu appear, then enable Show all sections of the configuration.
  7. Switch to the GeneralExt tab that just appeared in the top-right corner then set Display ROI to 16:9 subrect, centered.
  8. Optional: To use an alternative for bilinear texture filtering, force point sampling for textures in the DirectX tab of the dgVoodoo configuration panel.
  9. Run the game in Direct3D mode (MDKD3D.EXE).

Notes

Does not stretch the game.
Uses Direct3D executable, which allows using high-resolution textures (512×512).
Still not true widescreen.
16:9 resolutions work the best – no bars on top and bottom and only small bars on the sides.
16:10 resolutions – small bars on top and bottom, but still better than without the fix.
Use Idarion's widescreen fix[6]
  1. Download Idarion's widescreen fix for Beyond Good and Evil.
  2. Download nGlide 0.97 (other versions cause graphical glitches).
  3. Extract the nGlide 0.97 archive into <path-to-game>.
  4. Click on "nGlide_config".
  5. Set Aspect ratio to "Fit to screen" (the BGE fix expects image that is horizontally stretched).
  6. Paste the files from the BGE widescreen fix into the installation folder.
  7. Edit d3d9.ini and make sure bPillarBox16to9=false.
  8. Run MDK3DFX.EXE.

Notes

Doesn't stretch the game.
Still not true widescreen.
Requires running in Glide mode, which limits texture resolution.
16:9 resolutions work the best – no bars on top and bottom and only small bars on the sides.
16:10 resolutions – small bars on top and bottom, but still better than without the fix.

Input

Keyboard and mouse State Notes
Remapping
Only first 4 mouse buttons can be bound.
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
For DOSBox set in the DOSBox configuration file.
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
Special version for the Sidewinder Force Feedback Pro was available.
Full controller support
Controller remapping
Can't map POV hat.
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion
Controller types
XInput-compatible controllers
PlayStation controllers
Generic/other controllers
Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Sidewinder Force Feedback Pro only, requires special patch.
Digital movement supported
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

WASD + Mouse

Edit MDK.CFG[7]
  1. Open MDK.CFG (or create it if it doesn't exsist).
  2. Replace the contents of the file with:
MDK.CFG
; MDK Configuration file automatically generated by MDK
cddata = .\
hddata = .\
hduse = 2
MouseWAxesMap = A0G
MouseWButtMapB = 2
MouseWButtMapC = 32
KeyUp = 17
KeyDown = 31
KeyJump = 57
KeySniper = 44
KeyLookUp = 19
KeyLookDown = 46
KeyZoomIn = 19
KeyZoomOut = 46
KeyItemNext = 18
KeyItemPrev = 16
KeyItemUse = 33
KeySideL = 30
KeySideR = 32
Brightness = 1
ForcePCorrect = TRUE 
D3DOptions = -2147352475 

Notes

Easier and more modern control scheme.
The controls for the flying sections gets switched around.

Audio

Audio settings.
Audio settings.

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Effects and Music.
Surround sound
A3D version only, see EAX note.
Subtitles
All dialogue is text-based.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Alt+Tab disabled in software rendered version.
EAX support
A3D 1.x was added with a patch. The D3D version can be found here although the software (Win95) version is not available on the net.[8]
Royalty free audio
The ending cutscene features the official music video of "Non Non Rien n’a changé" by Billy Ze Kick, in which the protagonist Kurt Hectic makes a cameo appearance.
Red Book CD audio
PS1 port only.

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
French
German
Italian
Polish
Brazilian Portuguese
Retail only (Atlam Toys).
Spanish

Issues fixed

Installing on 64-bit versions of Windows

The retail release uses a 16-bit installer that does not work on 64-bit versions of Windows (the autorun launcher will open, but installation will not continue after clicking on a flag for the language to use).
Install with a replacement 32-bit installer[9]
  1. Insert the CD.
  2. Copy the entire CD contents somewhere temporarily.
  3. Download the InstallShield 3 32-bit Generic Installer.
  4. Go into the SETUP folder.
  5. Go into the folder for the language you want to install (e.g. ENGLISH).
  6. Copy the downloaded InstallShield 3 installer file into this folder.
  7. Run install32.exe and follow the steps to install the game normally. The temporary copy of the installer files can be deleted after installation has completed.

Missing textures, Steam Overlay won't work

Run in 3dfx mode[citation needed]

See Widescreen resolution. Use Alyxx's fan patch for Steam version.

Kurt and/or explosions appear white in Direct3D

Change the 'Masked textures' setting[citation needed]

From the main menu of the game.

  1. Select Options
  2. Select Direct3D
  3. Change the option Masked textures from Texture alpha to Chroma keying

Other information

Also supported the now antiquated RRedline graphics API for Rendition Redline cards.
Also supported the now antiquated PowerSGL API on PowerVR cards.

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 3 A wrapper to emulate older graphics cards, such as dgvoodoo, may be necessary to avoid missing or corrupt textures. Use the MDKD3D exe to launch the game.
DirectDraw
Software mode also uses DirectDraw acceleration if available.
Glide 1.0 Requires wrapper, such as nGlide, to work on modern systems. Use the MDK3DFX exe to launch the game.
Software renderer
Launch with the MDK95 exe. The MDK exe is only for DOS mode.
Renamed to MDK_soft in digital release.
DOS video modes SVGA Use the MDK exe to run in DOS mode, others are Windows only.
Removed in digital release.
ExecutablePPC16-bit 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Run the DOS version in DOSBox.
Mac OS (Classic)

Restore DOS functionality

GOG stripped out DOS support from their version to save space, and Steam is missing all versions except the Direct3D version.
Acquire the original files from the OS X release (GOG.com version)[10]
  1. Download the Mac OS X version from GOG.com.
  2. Open the .dmg archive with an archive manager such as 7-Zip. Navigate to MDK/MDK.app/Contents/Resources/MDK.boxer/.
  3. Extract the contents of ./C.harddisk/ to the location where DOSBox will mount the C: drive (or the computer's actual C: drive if on a real DOS machine).
  4. Extract the contents of ./D MDK.cdrom/ to it's own folder. Create a disc image of the contents of this folder using a program such as AnyBurn[Note 4]. If done correctly, AUTORUN.INF should be found at the root directory of the disc image. This will be image mounted on disc drive D:.[Note 5]
  5. Open DOSBox and mount as necessary, or insert the newly created disc into disc drive D: the real DOS machine.
  6. Launch the game from C:\SHINY\MDK\MDK.EXE.

System requirements

DOS
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 6.2
Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium 60
System memory (RAM) 16 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 17 MB
Video card (GPU) SVGA
Can be forced to run on a 486 using the -486okbyme parameter. If doing so, also using the -iam486 parameter is recommended (reduces detail).
Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 95, 98 (XP, Vista for digital)
Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium 60 (1 GHz for digital)
System memory (RAM) 16 MB (256 MB for digital)
Hard disk drive (HDD)
Video card (GPU) DirectX 3 (7 for digital) compatible
Can be forced to run on a 486 using the -486okbyme parameter. If doing so, also using the -iam486 parameter is recommended (reduces detail).
Mac OS
Minimum
Operating system (OS) System 7.5
Processor (CPU) PowerPC 100 MHz
System memory (RAM) 16 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 3 MB
Video card (GPU) Color display at 640 X 480 resolution
macOS (OS X)
Minimum
Operating system (OS) 10.6.8 (uses 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. 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. 2.0 2.1 File/folder structure within the installation folder reflects the path(s) listed for DOS game data.
  3. 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>/38450/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (38450) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.
  4. For optimal results, use ISO9660 file system with DOS 8.3 naming and disallow lowercase names
  5. You can also burn it to a CD if the DOS machine does not have a disc image mounting program.

References

  1. GOG.com adds Interplay games for Mac OS X ● GOG.com - last accessed on 9 June 2023
  2. Verified by User:SirYodaJedi on 2019-12-20
    It still includes the OS X version, but doesn't list it due to not having been updated for 32-bit compatibility.
  3. Verified by User:AmethystViper on 2022-06-29
  4. gog.com - last accessed on May 2023
  5. http://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?t=38298&p=343447
  6. gog.com - last accessed on 9 June 2023
  7. gog.com - last accessed on May 2023
  8. MDK A3D patch!? - VOGONS forum - last accessed on May 2023
  9. MDK won't install on Windows 10. - Articles and troubleshooting - PCGamingWiki PCGW Community - last accessed on 10 August 2021
  10. Verified by User:SirYodaJedi on 2019-12-04
    Verified with mdk_1.0.0.8.dmg