Windows 10/11 compatibility via DGVoodoo2

[Hollenhammer]

Surprised no one has mentioned this solution but patching the game to 1.2 resulted in my game crashing often. Doing the software renderer = 1 resulted in my game crashing often.

Checking PCGAMINGWIKI i discovered another solution. dgvoodoo2. Download it (its safe and the site owner is aware of the false flagging). Extracted, grab DDraw.dll and D3Dlmm.dll from the MS folder, I picked x86, and drop them in the base Tropico 2 Directory. They won't overwrite anything. You can either confirm now to see if its working (via watermark) or move on to use the dgvoodoo2 profiler to turn the watermark off. Do this by adding a path to the Tropico 2 folder and unticking the watermark on the DirectX tab.

Before doing this the game wouldn't start 2/3rds of the time and alt tabbing would mean i tab back into weird colours. Now I can alt tab just fine and the game hasn't crashed since. This solution may not work if you don't meet the system requirements for dgvoodoo2, however.
--------------------------
2022 Update: Here's the process in an easy to digest form given the amount of bad advice that people are giving in other threads.

From a fresh install:
*Patch the game to 1.2
https://www.gamepressure.com/download.asp?ID=2970

*Crack the exe with a nocd crack. You cannot launch the game via steam anymore. Send a shortcut of Tropico2.exe to your desktop
--NO compatibility options need to be set--

*Download dgvoodoo2 from the website

*Extract the archive to its own folder anywhere on your hard drive (somewhere easy to access)

*Navigate to the MS/X86 folders and copy out DDraw.dll and D3Dlmm.dll into Steam\steamapps\common\Tropico 2
This folder should already be open from when you cracked the executable

*Use the dgvoodo2 software (dgvoodocpl.exe) and add the Tropico2 directory

*Click the DirectX Tab and untick dgvoodoo watermark (This is how you can verify that you've done everything correctly) If required I can take pictures of how I have dgvoodoo set up but honestly nothing else is changed. Resolution is unforced, vsync is off

You will want to maintain a 4:3 aspect ratio to make the game look correct and that's all there is to it. You don't need to edit any ini files and this provides the best level of compatibility. You can alt tab without issue

[Tsuichoi]

Originally posted by Hollenhammer:

I just ran through a fresh install to see how my instructions hold up. Everything still works besides the original download link, which fouled. I've changed it to the gamepressure link. The download should be a zip file holding an exe. Do not download an exe with a name like "Setup for.."
tropico_patch_v12.zip and 8.49mb in case the new link goes bad in another 4 years.

As for those two files, they're both in my Tropico2 directory and I assume were downloaded as a part of the steam download. If you verify integrity it will change your exe back, but it could be worth a try.

Based on your response, I did try verifying file integrity and that error went away. However, on launch, it crashes instead. Should I just reinstall and go through your steps again?

[Hollenhammer]

At risk of overloading everyone with information, I think i've got an even better solution. I was trying to fix the aspect ratio (given it should be 4:3) and doing so with dgvoodoo2 causes the mouse cursor to flicker. Special shoutout to the thread that pointed me towards this: https://www.gog.com/forum/alien_nations/cursor_problem_windows_10

I removed the two dll files that I copied over from dgvoodoo2 and put in the single file that you get from https://github.com/narzoul/DDrawCompat and it just works. Shift+F11 is the overlay hotkey to check if its working properly. I've given this about 20 seconds worth of testing but it seems to alt-tab perfectly, keep a good framerate, and keep aspect ratio.

so to reiterate: From a clean download (make sure you have those files Steam User Tsuichoi mentioned in the folder as a part of the download)

1. Patch game to 1.2 - This was distributed as an 8.49mb zip file
   
2. Get a no-cd crack for version 1.2. Right click this exe after you overwrite the old exe and send to desktop. This is now how you start the game. No compatibility settings are required and No ini settings need to be changed.
   
3. put ddraw.dll from the latest release on https://github.com/narzoul/DDrawCompat/releases in the same folder as the .exe (...\Tropico 2). You do not need the debug version. The filename of the one I did testing with is DDrawCompat-v0.5.1.zip
   
4. Start the game from the desktop. Change resolution in game to either 1280x1024 or 1600x1200. Or don't, that's your call.

If anyone tries this, let me know how it goes for you


edit: doing some testing and the Shoreline (ocean animation) has problems. Investigating


edit 2: where I'm at with this is I can mostly get the ocean animation looking good (though square in areas) using dgvoodoo2 to force aspect ratio. These animations only seem to appear in hardware mode. The other problem is doing this makes a second (smaller) cursor appear and flicker constantly.
DDrawCompat is ideal here as it naturally keeps aspect ratio and just drops in, no configuration required. Problem is you can only run on software, because on hardware the beach will all be squared edges and not animate. I don't remember having these problems when I was doing this in Windows 10 (when I started this thread).
I tried dxwnd. Tried. Won't try again.
Last line would be emulating an old computer in PCEM (and putting the game in effectively naked), but then it's not even remotely easy to walk someone through or even troubleshoot for many multiple reasons. I don't feel like trying this right now.

I'm open to any improvements or suggestions here lol

[Tsuichoi]

Originally posted by Hollenhammer:

At risk of overloading everyone with information, I think i've got an even better solution. I was trying to fix the aspect ratio (given it should be 4:3) and doing so with dgvoodoo2 causes the mouse cursor to flicker. Special shoutout to the thread that pointed me towards this: https://www.gog.com/forum/alien_nations/cursor_problem_windows_10

I removed the two dll files that I copied over from dgvoodoo2 and put in the single file that you get from https://github.com/narzoul/DDrawCompat and it just works. Shift+F11 is the overlay hotkey to check if its working properly. I've given this about 20 seconds worth of testing but it seems to alt-tab perfectly, keep a good framerate, and keep aspect ratio.

so to reiterate: From a clean download (make sure you have those files Steam User Tsuichoi mentioned in the folder as a part of the download)

1. Patch game to 1.2 - This was distributed as an 8.49mb zip file
   
2. Get a no-cd crack for version 1.2. Right click this exe after you overwrite the old exe and send to desktop. This is now how you start the game. No compatibility settings are required and No ini settings need to be changed.
   
3. put ddraw.dll from the latest release on https://github.com/narzoul/DDrawCompat/releases in the same folder as the .exe (...\Tropico 2). You do not need the debug version. The filename of the one I did testing with is DDrawCompat-v0.5.1.zip
   
4. Start the game from the desktop. Change resolution in game to either 1280x1024 or 1600x1200. Or don't, that's your call.

If anyone tries this, let me know how it goes for you


edit: doing some testing and the Shoreline (ocean animation) has problems. Investigating

Thanks for the tips! I will try a clean reinstall tomorrow, followed by all the original steps listed (since that appears to have done something, though what i'm not sure yet) and I will report my findings then. Stay posted.

[Tsuichoi]

Verify integrity did not work this time, both errors popped up.

[Hollenhammer]

You're missing binkw32.dll and mss32.dll?
I've archived my ones for you and uploaded them here https://www.mediafire .com/file/a0cbubdmhd4a6ie/ missing_files.rar/file

These go in the base game directory. It's very strange that they weren't included as a part of your download, as they should be.

[Tsuichoi]

Originally posted by Hollenhammer:

You're missing binkw32.dll and mss32.dll?
I've archived my ones for you and uploaded them here https://www.mediafire .com/file/a0cbubdmhd4a6ie/ missing_files.rar/file

These go in the base game directory. It's very strange that they weren't included as a part of your download, as they should be.

Thanks! The errors have disappeared, but the game crashes instead :(

[Hollenhammer]

I notice you've run the game through steam (I checked your profile). If you've followed my steps regarding patching to 1.2 and then cracking the game, you can't play it through steam anymore. The crack removes the cd check and doesn't come with steam drm in.

[Tsuichoi]

Originally posted by Hollenhammer:

I notice you've run the game through steam (I checked your profile). If you've followed my steps regarding patching to 1.2 and then cracking the game, you can't play it through steam anymore. The crack removes the cd check and doesn't come with steam drm in.

I see, maybe I did it wrong. You install targeting the steam folder no?

[Hollenhammer]

If you're patching the game, you need to point it to the directory where Tropico 2 is. It doesn't know. If you're using dgvoodoo2 profiler, you also need to point that at the Tropico 2 directory (Add button on the "Config Folder / Running Instance" section)

[Tsuichoi]

Originally posted by Hollenhammer:

If you're patching the game, you need to point it to the directory where Tropico 2 is. It doesn't know. If you're using dgvoodoo2 profiler, you also need to point that at the Tropico 2 directory (Add button on the "Config Folder / Running Instance" section)

That is what I did, including a copy of the shortcut to desktop. Not sure what you mean about adding a button..

[Hollenhammer]

This https://imgur.com/5CwVUD5

[Tsuichoi]

Originally posted by Hollenhammer:

This https://imgur.com/5CwVUD5

Yep, that is where I've had it.

[Hollenhammer]

I don't really have any other information to go on here besides Steam not downloading files it should by default

[SteahmChip]

Github release is found HERE (more exact link)
https://github.com/narzoul/DDrawCompat/releases/tag/v0.5.1

[AranwenL]

went through everything, game became super laggy and mouse was duplicated.