Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed


⤏ Go to series page
The Need for Speed	1994
Need for Speed II	1997
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (series)
Need for Speed: High Stakes	1999
Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed	2000
Need for Speed: Underground (series)
Need for Speed: Most Wanted (series)
Need for Speed: Carbon	2006
Need for Speed: ProStreet	2007
Need for Speed: Undercover	2008
Need for Speed: Shift (series)
Need for Speed: World	2010
Need for Speed: The Run	2011
Need for Speed Rivals	2013
Need for Speed (2016)	2016
Need for Speed Payback	2017
Need for Speed: Edge	2017
Need for Speed Heat	2019
Need for Speed Unbound	2022

Warnings

SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see Availability for affected versions).

Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed, also known as Need for Speed: Porsche 2000 in Europe and Need for Speed: Porsche in Latin America and Germany, is a singleplayer and multiplayer racing game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts. It is the fifth entry in the Need for Speed series.

As its name suggest, Porsche Unleashed centers around the Porsche brand, with car models ranging from years 1950 to 2000.

It was released in North America on March 29, 2000, followed by the Europe and Japan releases on July 21, 2000 and August 9, 2001 respectively.

The game is unplayable without patches on modern Windows OS. (See Verok/Verokster's patch and NFS5 Essentials)

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		SafeDisc DRM^{[Note 1]}

SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).

This game is not available digitally.

Essential improvements

Verok/Verokster's Need For Speed V - Porsche Unleashed Patch

Fixes numerous compatibility issues, adds support for external 3rash API renderers (DirectX, Glide, and OpenGL), implements proper widescreen support with correct FOV, and more

Mirror of the patch from archived blog page of the author (Original link - archive password is NFS)

Depending on your system, certain renderers (DirectX, Glide, and OpenGL) may work better than others. If you encounter bugs or crashes, try switching renderers.

Potential updates behind Patreon paywall (as of 2023-07-16, the latest version is v1.06, dated 2021-11-16, the same as posted here)

SilentPatch

Fixes numerous compatibility issues, fixes issues caused by Verok's Modern Patch

Use with Verok's Modern Patch is strongly recommended, although not mandatory

NFS5 Essentials

NFS5 Essentials fixes numerous compatibility issues, and adds the 4 official downloadable cars and enhances graphics.

Remember to install NFS5 Essentials after installing the game

May conflict with Verok/Verokster's patch

Skip intro videos

Delete/rename video files^{[citation needed]}

Delete, move or rename the following files:

<path-to-game>\FEData\Movies\EArts-av.mad
<path-to-game>\FEData\Movies\inPC-av.mad

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\SaveData\^{[Note 2]}

Configuration is stored in each individual profile

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\SaveData\^{[Note 2]}

Video

Video settings.

Graphics feature	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution		Use Felix Krull's Widescreen Fix or Verok's NFSV Patch.
Multi-monitor		Use Felix Krull's Widescreen Fix.
Ultra-widescreen		Use Felix Krull's Widescreen Fix.
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed	See Windowed.
Borderless fullscreen windowed	See Windowed.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)	See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anti-aliasing (AA)	See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
High-fidelity upscaling	See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Vertical sync (Vsync)	Enable by default.Tripper Buffer is aviable in 3D Setup
60 FPS
120+ FPS	Menu FPS unlocked; race FPS locked at about ~93 fps.
High dynamic range display (HDR)	See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Windowed

Use Verok's NFSV Patch^{[citation needed]}

Force windowed^{[citation needed]}
Download and run DxWnd. Click on File, then Import. Import `Need for Speed 5 Porsche Unleashed.dxw` from the `exports` folder. Set the path to `<path-to-game>\Porsche.exe`. Set the window position and size. Set Desktop for borderless fullscreen windowed. Click OK, then File and Save.

Force windowed (using dgVoodoo2)^{[citation needed]}

Download and extract dgVoodoo 2.
Open the MS folder and copy the contents to the installation folder.
Run dgVoodooCpl.exe.
Click on "Add" and choose the installation folder.
Enable "Enumerate refresh rates"
Set it to "Windowed"
Uncheck "Capture mouse" (Alt+Tab doesn't work most of the time, so double-clicking out of game's window is the only way to switch apps)
Check "Center App window" (optional)
Go to the DirectX tab.
Set the resolution from the list
Disable "dgVoodoo Watermark"
Uncheck "Application controlled fullscreen/windowed state"
Click OK.

Input

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion		Mouse is not used during gameplay.
Controller
Controller support		Any DirectInput controller.
Full controller support
Controller remapping
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback		DirectInput controllers only.
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

Audio

Audio settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
French
Japanese
Brazilian Portuguese				Released as "Need for Speed: Porsche 2000".

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Players	Notes
Local play	Console versions only.
LAN play	8
Online play	8	The official multiplayer service has been shut down.

Connection types

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

Issues fixed

Menu/game lag when using a controller/Axes do not function correctly (Windows 8 and later)

Use devreorder to force intended device (needs dinputto8)^{[citation needed]}

This method forces the device enumeration order and hides enumerable devices other than your selected controller from the game, preventing the game from parsing far too many devices at once.

Download briankendall's devreorder and elishacloud's dinputto8.
For devreorder, extract devreorder.ini and x86's dinput8.dll into main game directory.
For dinputto8, extract dinput.dll into main game directory as well.
Edit devreorder.ini - under the [order] and [visible] sections, add a line with your controller's name as it appears in the Windows USB controllers list; i.e. "Controller (XBOX 360 For Windows)". If you have multiple controllers of the same name, you can also use the unique GUID of the controller in curly brackets instead, i.e {01234567-89ab-cdef-0123-456789abcdef} The program DeviceLister.exe included with devreorder can be used to find the both the controller name and its GUID.

This was tested with Verok's NFSV patch. Needs more testing, but likely works with other versions.

As this method affects which devices are visible to the game, you may have to remap your controller again after installing these files.

There may still be minor menu lag.

Low FPS on modern systems or Crash after click RACE

(DirectX 10.1/+) Use dgVoodoo wrapper^{[citation needed]}

Download newest dgVoodoo 2.
Extract it and place it in a convenient place.
Copy dgVoodooSetup.exe and D3DImm.dll and DDraw.dll from MS\x86.
Go to the <path-to-game>\ and paste all the files nearby game executable.
Start dgVoodooSetup.exe and configure it.
Select Virtual 3D Accelerated Card under Videocard and set its RAM to 65536 kB.
In the configurator, go to DirectX>set fast memory access, and 1024MB, to fix FPS issues.
For further FPS issues, go to DirectX->Resolution>Desktop, and set the lowest resolution in game options (the HUD will be very large, consider disabling it in the game's Display settings or by RBM).

In case of white textures bug, use version dgVoodoo 2.53.

Low textures in cockpit view

Run the game in Windows Vista compatibility mode (without Service Pack) and as administrator^{[citation needed]}

Random crashes

Add EmulateHeap^{[citation needed]}

Go to nGlide compatibility page.
Find Need For Speed 5: Porsche Unleashed on the list and download a fix for it.
Extract the fix and run PatchInstall.bat to apply the EmulateHeap attribute.

Notes

Do not run nfs5.reg unless using the nGlide wrapper for this game.

Normandie crash

Use Need for Speed Porsche Unleashed Widescreen Fix^{[citation needed]}

Turn off Lens flare^{[citation needed]}

In game, go to Options.
Go to Graphics tab and go to Advanced Settings.
Turn off Lens flare.

Notes

If turning off Lens Flare doesn't do the trick, turn off the rear view mirror as well (F6 in race).

Replace the skybox file^{[citation needed]}
Go to `<path-to-game>\GameData\Track\Sky` Rename `Farmland.bin` to `Farmland_backup.bin`. Make a copy of `Forest.bin` and name that copy `Farmland.bin`.

Use EmulateHeap metod^{[citation needed]}

Go to nGlide compatibility page.
Find Need For Speed 5: Porsche Unleashed on the list and download a fix for it.
Extract the fix and run PatchInstall.bat to apply the EmulateHeap attribute.
Run nfs5.reg so that the game is forced to use the api glide
Install NGlide
Select video backend in Vulkan.Do not select DirectX or automatic because the game will crash only vulkan works

As a negative point this solution requires a graph that supports vulkan

Game crashes at save menu, or can't load save file without crashing ("FILE_save - unable to open file .\savedata\nfs5.trk [FILE=\real\cmn\hlsfile.c, LINE=628]" dialog box)

Change game installation folder permissions^[3]

Create the savedata folder in <path-to-game> if it doesn't already exist, or copy existing savedata folder to use existing save games
Remove the read-only attribute from all files in <path-to-game> by right-clicking the game installation folder, clicking "Properties", then unchecking "Read-only"
Give all users full control of <path-to-game> by right-clicking the game installation folder, clicking "Properties" -> Security -> Edit -> Add ->, then type in "Everyone" (or, if your Windows installation's language is set to a language other than English, you'll likely need to use the name of the equivalent usergroup is, such as "Jeder" in German or "Todos" in Spanish). Then, with "Everyone" selected, make sure "Permissions for Everyone" are all set to "Allow".

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	7
OpenGL		Verok/Verokster's Patch adds support for OpenGL 1.1/3.0
Glide		Native support.

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	95, 98
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium MMX 200 MHz	Intel Pentium 300 MHz
System memory (RAM)	32 MB	64 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	150 MB	625 MB
Video card (GPU)	Direct3D compatible 4 MB of VRAM	8 MB of VRAM

Notes

↑ SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows 10^[1] or Windows 11 and is disabled by default on Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 when the KB3086255 update is installed.^[2]
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 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

↑ Not Loading in Windows 10; this will break thousands of - Microsoft Community - last accessed on 2017-01-16
↑ Microsoft - MS15-097: Description of the security update for the graphics component in Windows: September 8, 2015 - last accessed on 2018-02-16
↑ [missing title] - last accessed on 2023-07-24

[3] SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows 10^[1] or Windows 11 and is disabled by default on Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 when the KB3086255 update is installed.^[2]

[gamedir-4] 2.0 ^2.1 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).

[1] Not Loading in Windows 10; this will break thousands of - Microsoft Community - last accessed on 2017-01-16

[2] Microsoft - MS15-097: Description of the security update for the graphics component in Windows: September 8, 2015 - last accessed on 2018-02-16

[5] [missing title] - last accessed on 2023-07-24

[Note 1]

[Note 2]

[3]

[1]

[2]

Developers

	EA Canada
Publishers
	Electronic Arts
Release dates
Windows	March 28, 2000
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	First-person, Third-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Racing, Vehicle simulator
Vehicles	Automobile, Street racing
Art styles	Realistic
Themes	Contemporary, Europe, Historical
Series	Need for Speed