I started to make a list because I was trying to avoid killing my CD-ROM by running games that need to constantly hammer my drive. It looks like I didn't make too many notes though. It looks like I switched to making notes about whether or not the game has copy protection (since I was converting my CDs to ISOs to address the issue).

A few examples from my notes:
Quake 3: "Patching to late point release gets rid of CD requirement"
Diablo II: "patch 1.12 and higher remove CD requirement"
Daggerfall: "Needs CD in drive to play"
Morrowind: "Needs CD in drive to play"

But then I have entries like these:
Hexen 2: "No copy protection; uses CD audio"
So that kind sounds like it needs the CD in the drive? I don't have any desire to play it, so I'm not going to pop the CD in or test running it off an ISO.

And then my notes get worse and worse 😁 X-Wing just says, "no issues." But I'm positive that one needs the CD in the drive to play. So maybe I tested an ISO with daemon tools and it was fine? Pfft. Wish I took that more seriously.

I probably have less than 50 games, so I might not be very helpful. But if you want to see if I have any notes about a particular game that I own, I'm happy to respond in this thread.

We can add at least three more:

-Quake II (release from GOG doesn't need the CD-ROM because it never had it)
-Unreal Tournament (patched to version 436)
-Quake (game has CD audio)

Quake II had CD audio and doesn't require the CD in since patch 3.20.
Some UnrealEngine1 games (that aren't Unreal Tournament <436) can be jimmied into seeking the CD path to .\ to defeat the 'protection' in the .ini.

There's also some other releases of CD games that leave the protection out entirely, like OEM copies of MDK2

Drakan - Order of the Flame: The latest official patch (445) removed the CD check.
MS Flight Simulator 95 and 98: No CD check
MS Flight Simulator 2004: The DVD version does not check for a disc in the drive (only the CD version does)

If you search for any game on the PC Gaming Wiki it will show what kind of copy protection is used (if any).

smtkr wrote on 2023-10-22, 02:29:

I started to make a list because I was trying to avoid killing my CD-ROM by running games that need to constantly hammer my drive.

An old Daemon Tools Lite release and - if needed - a NOCD patch will save your optical drive and media. CD Audio still works with Daemon Tools (by playing on the PCM out device), even if your sound card doesn’t have the analog CD IN port (or you are missing the cable).

Faster load times also mean you won’t spend as much time staring at loading screens.

And to top it all off, you can play games you enjoy and not restrict yourself artificially to games that happen to not need the CD at runtime.

tl;dr: Daemon Tools Lite + NOCD = “no games wear out your optical drive”

(Edit: Saw that you already used Daemon Tools, but leaving this info here for others.)

I also tested and found these

- Ultim@te Race Pro ( with latest patch 1.50, not sure about earlier versions )
- Test Drive Off Road 2
- Chasm The Rift
- Blood

Kalle wrote on 2023-10-22, 06:14:

Drakan - Order of the Flame: The latest official patch (445) removed the CD check.
MS Flight Simulator 95 and 98: No CD check
MS Flight Simulator 2004: The DVD version does not check for a disc in the drive (only the CD version does)

MS Flight Simulator 2002 does not check the CD (unless one changes the installed areas).

Links 2003 has SafeDisc on disc 1 and the disc is required to play even with full installation but, this requirement is removed in update 1.07.
Ignition does not require the disc on drive to play but you will lost audio tracks without it.

MMOs don't check CDs. 😀

Ultima Online
EverQuest
Phantasy Star Online
etc