Dakar Rally for Windows 95 (Japanese only PC game) \ VOGONS

Dakar Rally for Windows 95 (Japanese only PC game)

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First post, by VirtuaIceMan

Posted on 2016-03-23, 16:55

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I've recently noticed (for my complete PC rally games collection) that there was a PC port of the PSX game Dakar Rally 97 (PSX version shown here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_lOk-uXodY).

So I picked up this one: http://page13.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/r144164515

However, despite the seller claiming (Google translate) "It works with WINDOWS 7 32-bit.", I haven't yet been able to get it to do anything!

On Win 8.1 64bit the installer fails, and as it uses InstallShield 2, which is incompatible with 64 bit. The replacement Installshield installer I tried (for IS3) doesn't work - it threw a technical message up in Japanese (although I suspect there might be other replacements out there I could try).

So I went to VMware Player and booted up Windows 98SE (I don't think the game is D3D accelerated at all). The game then installed fine, but upon booting opens a small window then locks up that program. I presume it might initially try to load the AVI videos, but I'm not sure.

I plan to try it on my 32-bit WinXP machine (and possibly on Win98SE via VirtualPC), to see if that yields any results. It's all made trickier by the game, installer and error messages being in Japanese (although in-game most of the content seems in English from the user manual).

Anyway I'll report back more on it in time, if I get anywhere. Perhaps it actually does need a Win95 install and not Win98SE...

My PC spec: Win10 64bit, i7-4970K (not overclocked), KFA2 GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER, Creative Soundblaster ZXr, 16GB RAM, Asus Z97-A motherboard, NZXT 410 case, ROG Swift GSYNC monitor

Reply 1 of 27, by Davros

Posted on 2016-03-23, 18:31

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"for my complete PC rally games collection"
Do you have a list ?

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Reply 2 of 27, by Stiletto

Posted on 2016-03-23, 19:21

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Davros wrote:
"for my complete PC rally games collection"
Do you have a list ?

Have you even seen all the racing game threads he's started in The Guide (DOS/Windows) over the last 13 years? 😁

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do the Fandango!" - Queen

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Reply 3 of 27, by VirtuaIceMan

Posted on 2016-03-23, 19:30

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Davros wrote:
"for my complete PC rally games collection"
Do you have a list ?

I can put up a list later.

My PC spec: Win10 64bit, i7-4970K (not overclocked), KFA2 GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER, Creative Soundblaster ZXr, 16GB RAM, Asus Z97-A motherboard, NZXT 410 case, ROG Swift GSYNC monitor

Reply 4 of 27, by Myloch

Posted on 2016-03-23, 20:29

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I have quite some experience with japanese games. Did you try using msapplocale and setting jap language? Did you tried setting clock time zone to tokyo?

"Gamer & collector for passion, I firmly believe in the preservation and the diffusion of old/rare software, against all personal egoisms"

Reply 5 of 27, by VirtuaIceMan

Posted on 2016-03-24, 00:41

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Myloch wrote:
I have quite some experience with japanese games. Did you try using msapplocale and setting jap language? Did you tried setting clock time zone to tokyo?

Neither just yet, not had time, about to try some things though!

My PC spec: Win10 64bit, i7-4970K (not overclocked), KFA2 GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER, Creative Soundblaster ZXr, 16GB RAM, Asus Z97-A motherboard, NZXT 410 case, ROG Swift GSYNC monitor

Reply 6 of 27, by VirtuaIceMan

Posted on 2016-03-24, 00:53

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Removed for use elsewhere!

Last edited by VirtuaIceMan on 2019-04-01, 11:55. Edited 1 time in total.

My PC spec: Win10 64bit, i7-4970K (not overclocked), KFA2 GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER, Creative Soundblaster ZXr, 16GB RAM, Asus Z97-A motherboard, NZXT 410 case, ROG Swift GSYNC monitor

Reply 7 of 27, by VirtuaIceMan

Posted on 2016-03-24, 01:44

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Right, update on Dakar Rally 97 (as the voiceover shouts in-game):

WinXP 32bit on P4 = it works! It has a 3D accelerated mode but that runs way, way too fast.

Win98SE in Virtual PC on P4 = it works! No 3D acceleration option though, as VirtualPC doesn't support it (although I did choose a different option from the installer menu, so maybe that's related?).

Win8.1 64bit = installer won't work as 16bit (and drop-in replacements are a newer version).

Win98SE in VMware on Win8.1 machine = doesn't work, locks up with a small black game window, does this both with and without D3D enabled in VMware.

So, yeah, it works on older computers :-p maybe 32bit is the key. Still more to investigate...

p.s. it's a rubbish game; 6 stages, a handful of quite unexciting trucks to race, the same handling/draw depth issues as the PSX version. Max res of 800x600 32bit.

My PC spec: Win10 64bit, i7-4970K (not overclocked), KFA2 GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER, Creative Soundblaster ZXr, 16GB RAM, Asus Z97-A motherboard, NZXT 410 case, ROG Swift GSYNC monitor

Reply 8 of 27, by Myloch

Posted on 2016-03-24, 11:57

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VirtuaIceMan wrote:

WinXP 32bit on P4 = it works! It has a 3D accelerated mode but that runs way, way too fast.

Try a cpu limiter or (I suggest) a framelimiter: I usually use bandicam (it's free), I enable framerate limit and I put it to 30 or 60 fps.

"Gamer & collector for passion, I firmly believe in the preservation and the diffusion of old/rare software, against all personal egoisms"

Reply 9 of 27, by Davros

Posted on 2016-03-24, 14:06

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I have SoftKey Rally challenge Doesnt seem to be on your list
edit:
unless its this one
Rally Challenge (Silver Lightning Software / The Learning Company)

Hardcore 4x4 assuming you didnt count it cos its 4x4's since you have a monster truck game listed
Colin McRae Rally Remastered, maybe you dont count it because its a remake and a poor one at that
the flatout series - sort of rallyish maybe you dont consider them rally games.
fuel - rallyish more offroad free roam sandbox

also
WRC 3 FIA World Rally Championship

Last edited by Davros on 2016-03-24, 14:22. Edited 1 time in total.

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Reply 10 of 27, by VirtuaIceMan

Posted on 2016-03-24, 14:20

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Davros wrote:
I have SoftKey Rally challenge Doesnt seem to be on your list edit: unless its this one Rally Challenge (Silver Lightning Softwa […]
Show full quote
I have SoftKey Rally challenge Doesnt seem to be on your list
edit:
unless its this one
Rally Challenge (Silver Lightning Software / The Learning Company)

Hardcore 4x4 assuming you didnt count it cos its 4x4's since you have a monster truck game listed
Colin McRae Rally Remastered, maybe you dont count it because its a remake and a poor one at that
the flatout series - sort of rallyish maybe you dont consider them rally games.
fuel - rallyish more offroad free roam sandbox

Rally Challenge = same one
Hardcore 4x4 not included as different, otherwise I'd have Test Drive Offroad series... some games I have do have trucks (esp. the Dakar ones) but they're sort of "rally" more 🤣.
Colin McRae Rally mobile port; oops forgot that one!
Flatout I had listed as games that rally fans would enjoy at one point.
Fuel = futuristic offroad sandbox!

Last edited by VirtuaIceMan on 2016-03-25, 00:40. Edited 1 time in total.

My PC spec: Win10 64bit, i7-4970K (not overclocked), KFA2 GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER, Creative Soundblaster ZXr, 16GB RAM, Asus Z97-A motherboard, NZXT 410 case, ROG Swift GSYNC monitor

Reply 11 of 27, by Azarien

Posted on 2016-03-24, 19:11

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installer and error messages being in Japanese

You may try posting a screenshot and maybe I'll be able to decipher it. But it has to be properly displayed, i.e. not garbage.

Reply 12 of 27, by VirtuaIceMan

Posted on 2016-03-25, 00:48

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Okay I got it working fine on Win8 64bit, by installing it on Win98SE virtual machine then moving files and registry key over, and tweaking the latter (I also initially had to run the game with a compatibility mode applied, but I've removed it now). Oh and the game needs D3DRM.DLL in the game folder too (which is on the CD-ROM in the DirectX sub-folder). I haven't yet been able to get CD audio working in-game though; there are 3 options when installing the game, and I'm not sure what the difference is, so I'll review those in the next few evening/s.

It actually runs nearer to the correct speed on my modern PC, though there's some graphic glitches on edges of textures and in the GPS menu overlay. Early D3D fun....

Anyway, I should be able to write a guide to install it without needing Win98, as I tried building the folder with assets from the CD-ROM directly (rather than installing on Win98 first) and that worked too! So, in the end, not too bad!

My PC spec: Win10 64bit, i7-4970K (not overclocked), KFA2 GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER, Creative Soundblaster ZXr, 16GB RAM, Asus Z97-A motherboard, NZXT 410 case, ROG Swift GSYNC monitor

Reply 13 of 27, by Joey_sw

Posted on 2016-03-25, 02:52

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Azarien wrote:
installer and error messages being in Japanese

You may try posting a screenshot and maybe I'll be able to decipher it. But it has to be properly displayed, i.e. not garbage.

and you can use older version (which still support non-NT windows) of NJStar CJK viewer to make it shown as proper far-east character on non-DBCS Windows.

-fffuuu

Reply 14 of 27, by VirtuaIceMan

Posted on 2016-03-25, 09:44

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The error messages were caused by me running the game without Registry strings copied over

My PC spec: Win10 64bit, i7-4970K (not overclocked), KFA2 GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER, Creative Soundblaster ZXr, 16GB RAM, Asus Z97-A motherboard, NZXT 410 case, ROG Swift GSYNC monitor

Reply 15 of 27, by VirtuaIceMan

Posted on 2016-03-26, 00:47

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RIght, confirmed, there's no CD audio in WinXP or newer - there's an error message that comes up the first time the game boots, with something about CD-DA, but I need to get the PC to show Japanese characters in order to analyse what it says. I tried using ALchemy but that did nothing.

p.s. when installing there's 3 choices, which seem to be Typical, Minimum and Maximum, you then have to say No then Yes to avoid installing DirectX3 and get on with installing the game (all of which is a moot point on 64bit, as the installer is 16bit so won't work!)

More on this another time... including a how-to-install guide and maybe a screenshot 🤣.

My PC spec: Win10 64bit, i7-4970K (not overclocked), KFA2 GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER, Creative Soundblaster ZXr, 16GB RAM, Asus Z97-A motherboard, NZXT 410 case, ROG Swift GSYNC monitor

Reply 16 of 27, by Myloch

Posted on 2016-03-26, 14:16

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VirtuaIceMan wrote:
RIght, confirmed, there's no CD audio in WinXP or newer - there's an error message that comes up the first time the game boots, with something about CD-DA, but I need to get the PC to show Japanese characters in order to analyse what it says. I tried using ALchemy but that did nothing.

Use ms applocale to fix japanese characters, that I previously already mentioned.

Use _inmm to fix cd audio.

"Gamer & collector for passion, I firmly believe in the preservation and the diffusion of old/rare software, against all personal egoisms"

Reply 17 of 27, by VirtuaIceMan

Posted on 2016-03-29, 00:31

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Myloch wrote:
VirtuaIceMan wrote:
RIght, confirmed, there's no CD audio in WinXP or newer - there's an error message that comes up the first time the game boots, with something about CD-DA, but I need to get the PC to show Japanese characters in order to analyse what it says. I tried using ALchemy but that did nothing.

Use ms applocale to fix japanese characters, that I previously already mentioned.

Use _inmm to fix cd audio.

_inmm worked, CD is back, should have thought of that, as I use it for Sega Rally 2!

My PC spec: Win10 64bit, i7-4970K (not overclocked), KFA2 GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER, Creative Soundblaster ZXr, 16GB RAM, Asus Z97-A motherboard, NZXT 410 case, ROG Swift GSYNC monitor

Reply 18 of 27, by VirtuaIceMan

Posted on 2016-03-29, 00:53

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Here's a mini guide to install it, if anyone else ever comes across the game!

The setup program is 16bit so won't install on 64bit machines.

1. Either install on a virtual PC then copy across the install folder, or create a folder to install the game into, then move into it the DATA and DATA256 folders from the CD-ROM, plus the contents of the DATAFILE folder. Also move D3DRM.DLL from the DIRECTX folder over into the game folder too.

2. Create a text file and enter the following into it. IMPORTANT: if you're installing to a non-64 bit system, remove the parts that say "\Wow6432Node" (this may not even be necessary, as the game will likely install on 32bit systems!). Also: change the paths to reflect where you installed the game, if it's not in c:\games\dakar97 (but remember to keep the double \\'s).

1Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
2
3[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Elcom]
4
5[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Elcom\Dakar Rally]
6"KeyboardType"=hex:00
7"Keyboard1"=hex:12,00,00,00,2d,00,00,00,1f,00,00,00,20,00,00,00,25,00,00,00,32,\
8  00,00,00,31,00,00,00,24,00,00,00,26,00,00,00,18,00,00,00,23,00,00,00,30,00,\
9  00,00,15,00,00,00,16,00,00,00
10"Keyboard2"=hex:c8,00,00,00,d0,00,00,00,cb,00,00,00,cd,00,00,00,48,00,00,00,4b,\
11  00,00,00,4d,00,00,00,50,00,00,00,49,00,00,00,51,00,00,00,47,00,00,00,4f,00,\
12  00,00,4c,00,00,00,52,00,00,00
13"SideWinder1"=hex:40,00,00,00,20,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,80,00,00,00,10,00,00,00,\
14  00,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,08,00,00,00,00,08,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
15  00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00
16"SideWinder2"=hex:40,00,00,00,20,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,80,00,00,00,10,00,00,00,\
17  00,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,08,00,00,00,00,08,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
18  00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00
19"JoyStick1"=hex:40,00,00,00,80,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,08,00,00,00,00,08,00,00,10,\
20  00,00,00,80,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
21  00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00
22"JoyStick2"=hex:40,00,00,00,80,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,08,00,00,00,00,08,00,00,10,\
23  00,00,00,80,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
24  00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00
25"PSX"=hex:04,00,00,00,10,00,00,00,01,00,ff,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
26  00,01,00,7f,00,7f,00,7f,00
27"ScreenMode"=dword:00000000
28"NoBackground"=dword:00000000
29"NoTexture"=dword:00000000
30"RenderingQuality"=dword:00000001
31"TextureQuality"=dword:00000000
32"3DHardware"=dword:00000000
33"Emulation"=dword:00000000
34"ShowStatus"=dword:00000000
35"DInputUse"=dword:00000001
36"MovieUse"=dword:00000001
37"SoundUse"=dword:00000001
38"CdUse"=dword:00000001
39"SavePath"="c:\\games\\dakar97"
40"DataPath"="c:\\games\\dakar97"
41"MoviePath"="D:\\"
42"MixerDisp"=dword:00000001
43"Version"=dword:000003e8
44"CDDrive"="D:\\"
45
46[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Elcom\Dakar Rally\1.0]

3. Apply _inmm.dll to the DAKAR.EXE file (and generate _inmm.ini from the CD Tracks) to get CD music back.

Note: if you want a full install, drag across the MOVIE folder into the game folder and update the "MoviePath"="D:\\" line above to point to "c:\\games\\dakar97" instead.

My PC spec: Win10 64bit, i7-4970K (not overclocked), KFA2 GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER, Creative Soundblaster ZXr, 16GB RAM, Asus Z97-A motherboard, NZXT 410 case, ROG Swift GSYNC monitor

Reply 19 of 27, by vetz

Posted on 2016-03-29, 07:04

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Nice guide VirtuaIceMan! What about the speed issues, did you resolve them?

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