BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2023-07-07, 05:00:

I have a hard time finding how to install Rayman 2 and then play it on any OS after Windows 7 (or Vista too). The game doesn't install, so I just copied what Windows XP installs. However, the executable then doesn't work for the game. I have heard about Ray2Fix, which is not compatible with the CD version and doesn't fix the game to start. There's R2_Patcher, which launches a cmd window and does nothing. There's Rayman Control Panel, which was suggested in many places but all it finds in the computer is DOSBox.

I also tried to copy-paste a random no-CD off the internet and it doesn't work, and maybe is bugged because it doesn't work on XP either/

Suggest me something to run the game.

You probably need to look at somewhere for a binary/build that doesn't contain the outdated (16-bit) CD protection scheme (SafeDisc perhaps?).

I bought a CD a long time ago and I'm also having a hard time getting it working on new OSes. I used to play that game on Windows 2000 mostly as my PC at that time had a tendency to freeze/hang when playing it on Win9x.

It seems Rayman 2 had different versions using different protection schemes. As I couldn't get my original media to work on Win7+ I looked for different versions... There was a version whose copy protection appears at a much later point in the game, showing a large "CD MISSING" warning, and it seems most of the patchers I found were meant for that particular version (I think it was called "experience"), but not the 16-bit CD protection one.

PS: Ideally, if you managed to get the game working on new Windows, consider using a modern Glide wrapper. It'll significantly improve graphics quality and enable much higher resolution than the game originally supports.

LSS10999 wrote on 2023-07-07, 05:20:

You probably need to look at somewhere for a binary/build that doesn't contain the outdated (16-bit) CD protection scheme (SafeD […]
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BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2023-07-07, 05:00:

I have a hard time finding how to install Rayman 2 and then play it on any OS after Windows 7 (or Vista too). The game doesn't install, so I just copied what Windows XP installs. However, the executable then doesn't work for the game. I have heard about Ray2Fix, which is not compatible with the CD version and doesn't fix the game to start. There's R2_Patcher, which launches a cmd window and does nothing. There's Rayman Control Panel, which was suggested in many places but all it finds in the computer is DOSBox.

I also tried to copy-paste a random no-CD off the internet and it doesn't work, and maybe is bugged because it doesn't work on XP either/

Suggest me something to run the game.

You probably need to look at somewhere for a binary/build that doesn't contain the outdated (16-bit) CD protection scheme (SafeDisc perhaps?).

I bought a CD a long time ago and I'm also having a hard time getting it working on new OSes. I used to play that game on Windows 2000 mostly as my PC at that time had a tendency to freeze/hang when playing it on Win9x.

It seems Rayman 2 had different versions using different protection schemes. As I couldn't get my original media to work on Win7+ I looked for different versions... There was a version whose copy protection appears at a much later point in the game, showing a large "CD MISSING" warning, and it seems most of the patchers I found were meant for that particular version (I think it was called "experience"), but not the 16-bit CD protection one.

PS: Ideally, if you managed to get the game working on new Windows, consider using a modern Glide wrapper. It'll significantly improve graphics quality and enable much higher resolution than the game originally supports.

I changed the title a little bit because the game works on my Windows 7 64-bit without installation. I copied the CD, ran GXSetup because that seems necessary always for removing the "Graphics DLL not found" error. And then Rayman2.exe is executable. It was then that I also found that Windows 7 CAN INSTALL the game, something I wasn't expecting.

The game doesn't work neatly; on my real Windows XP, I needed to just execute the file and it works, on my VMware I need DxWnd. On Windows 7 its opposite, VMware doesn't need DxWnd while my real machine needs it.

I downloaded the GOG game from somewhere and that doesn't run either. I don't think GOG is distributing 16-bit binaries for money, right?

If you can help me streamline my search, can you try the game using DxWnd (first enable Expert mode form menu bar), run with the following settings: Hook/Inject DLL, Compat/Handle Exceptions. If it doesn't, can you try these attached files on your end natively, ann it doesn't attach DxWnd to the files. By your statement, and what PCGW says (but for the setup), these files shouldn't be 16-bit DRM and should work on your Windows 7.

BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2023-07-07, 05:33:

I changed the title a little bit because the game works on my Windows 7 64-bit without installation. I copied the CD, ran GXSetup because that seems necessary always for removing the "Graphics DLL not found" error. And then Rayman2.exe is executable. It was then that I also found that Windows 7 CAN INSTALL the game, something I wasn't expecting.

The game doesn't work neatly; on my real Windows XP, I needed to just execute the file and it works, on my VMware I need DxWnd. On Windows 7 its opposite, VMware doesn't need DxWnd while my real machine needs it.

Actually you can use a Glide wrapper for this game if you're running it on modern Windows with modern hardware. That will overcome a lot of limitations, though I'm not sure how the game performs on a VM... I haven't used DxWnd before, however...

BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2023-07-07, 05:33:

I downloaded the GOG game from somewhere and that doesn't run either. I don't think GOG is distributing 16-bit binaries for money, right?

If you can help me streamline my search, can you try the game using DxWnd (first enable Expert mode form menu bar), run with the following settings: Hook/Inject DLL, Compat/Handle Exceptions. If it doesn't, can you try these attached files on your end natively, ann it doesn't attach DxWnd to the files. By your statement, and what PCGW says (but for the setup), these files shouldn't be 16-bit DRM and should work on your Windows 7.

Rayman 2 is 32-bit. It's the CD copy protection scheme that is 16-bit, which is causing the headache. Same for many games during that era.

GOG builds are DRM-free which effectively removes this particular headache so one could install it on later Windows with less hassle. You already owned the original media anyway...

Can't be of too much help if it's about Win10/11. I never used Win11, and Win10 was never a good idea for older, pre-Win10 games to begin with -- M$ is constantly making breaking changes in the lower-level APIs that it's only a place for stuffs that officially requires/supports Win10/11.

LSS10999 wrote on 2023-07-07, 05:55:

Actually you can use a Glide wrapper for this game if you're running it on modern Windows with modern hardware. That will overcome a lot of limitations, though I'm not sure how the game performs on a VM ...

I don't have a problem there; I have used both nGlide and dgVoodoo2 as well, and all work very well, on Windows 7. The issue is to start the game...

LSS10999 wrote on 2023-07-07, 05:55:

Rayman 2 is 32-bit. It's the CD copy protection scheme that is 16-bit, which is causing the headache. Same for many games during that era.

That's my doubt. The clokspl.exe is not 32-bit, but is it 16-bit or DOS based? VirusTotal says nothing about the file, and DOSBox hangs on the program; OTVDM launches something and crashes. I am going to proceed with thinking its DOS based instead. But it gets more confusing, why does it work on Windows Vista 64-bit and Windows 7 64-bit then?

Again SafeDisc is unsupported on Windows 10, where is my "Login with administrative privileges and try again" window 😀

All I can make out of this is, Windows 7 and Vista 64-bit has/had limited 16-bit support for certain stuffs. I remember upto sometime in 2021, early 32-bit InstallShield would work, but someday it stopped working and since then OTVDM was launching them as a 16-bit IS, same continued in Windows 11. Same here, there was 16-bit code that ran on Win Vista/7 and then was removed in Win 10, which basically means DRM won't work which also means the SafeDisc "Login with..." message isn't pushed.

Btw do you know of any other game which has a 16-bit/DOS DRM? I always checked the clokspl.exe and it was the first time that it was not a 32-bit PE.

LSS10999 wrote on 2023-07-07, 05:55:

Can't be of too much help if it's about Win10/11. I never used Win11, and Win10 was never a good idea for older, pre-Win10 games to begin with -- M$ is constantly making breaking changes in the lower-level APIs that it's only a place for stuffs that officially requires/supports Win10/11.

I was asking if you help me test in your own Windows 7...

BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2023-07-07, 06:10:

Again SafeDisc is unsupported on Windows 10, where is my "Login with administrative privileges and try again" window 😀

I recall M$ explicitly broke it because those CD protection schemes have vulns that can be exploited to some extent.

I think there were some guides available somewhere on how to configure Win10 to make SafeDisc work, with a disclaimer regarding the security risks.

BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2023-07-07, 06:10:

Btw do you know of any other game which has a 16-bit/DOS DRM? I always checked the clokspl.exe and it was the first time that it was not a 32-bit PE.

So clokspl.exe has both 16-bit and 32-bit versions? I never really cared, just that its icon kind of looked like those from old 16-bit Windows era so I assumed they're all the same.

A trivial way to determine 16-bit or 32-bit is to use Dependency Walker. If it's 16-bit, it'll tell you right away that it's not a 32-bit PE executable.

LSS10999 wrote on 2023-07-07, 07:46:

I recall M$ explicitly broke it because those CD protection schemes have vulns that can be exploited to some extent. […]
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BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2023-07-07, 06:10:

Again SafeDisc is unsupported on Windows 10, where is my "Login with administrative privileges and try again" window 😀

I recall M$ explicitly broke it because those CD protection schemes have vulns that can be exploited to some extent.

I think there were some guides available somewhere on how to configure Win10 to make SafeDisc work, with a disclaimer regarding the security risks.

BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2023-07-07, 06:10:

Btw do you know of any other game which has a 16-bit/DOS DRM? I always checked the clokspl.exe and it was the first time that it was not a 32-bit PE.

So clokspl.exe has both 16-bit and 32-bit versions? I never really cared, just that its icon kind of looked like those from old 16-bit Windows era so I assumed they're all the same.

A trivial way to determine 16-bit or 32-bit is to use Dependency Walker. If it's 16-bit, it'll tell you right away that it's not a 32-bit PE executable.

I went to Int Archive to find things to compare, I got some interesting results. Hopefully these don't violate forum rules.

1. I got a release that had copyright from 2002-2003, but files and folders were dated from 18 Nov 1999. The Acrobat folder was missing, but was placed in a zip file with InstallShield installer in "Manuels" folder with 5 languages, there was a US, Brazil branding in the site. Tonic Trouble folder exists.
2. A release, copyrighted sticker in 1999, files from 7 Sept 1999 and folders from 4 July 2001. It featured 8 language pdf for Manuals in "Manual" folder and the names were different from the ones with the above release. No Tonic Trouble folder. It had a M6 Multimedia (French) branding (apparently there was a stick figure with the release).
3. Same as above. No M6 Multimedia branding.
4. A release with no CD photo, files and folders from 6 Feb 2002. Everything was same like the above release.
5. A release completely same as the above release. I got the CD cover for this one, it said "Version Francaise" and CD copyright was in 2001. So the above should be same version too, I suppose.
6. A release with files dating 7 Sept 1999 (German manual dates 17 Mar 2000) and folders dating 22 Mar 2000. Tonic Trouble folder exists. Has only English and French adobe reader setup. Has UK branding.
7. My release, copyrighted sticker in 2000, files from 7 Sept 1999 and folders from 30 August 2000. It featured 8 language pdf for Manuals with same naming like the above 2. Tonic Trouble folder exists.

There's more, but upto this, I have one comment: ALL EXECUTABLES are same. All of them behave the same. The gamedata is same in size and so are the no of files. You can copy one set of files to the other release and they work.

I found the problem. The DRM loaded Rayman2 was stuck in memory. All I had to do was Kill it.

Now for playing the game, I had to copy Rayman2.exe from GOG, Data\Vignette.cnt from the CD and C:\Windows\Ubisoft\ubi.ini to game folder.

Things get interesting here: GOG gives us Data/World/Levels/LEVELS0.DAT file only, but the game CD has LEVELS1.DAT and LEVELS2.DAT, both of which are BIGGER in size than LEVELS0.DAT. Is GOG giving an incomplete game?

Next problem: The DX6 renderer would render pixelated. I quickly remembered that GXSetup.exe was reporting negative values, so there was the problem: the video memory was too large for the game. Using DxWnd to limit the reported video memory, the game was working fine now. Note that the window can be removed using ForceSimpleWindow shim, or DXPrimaryEmulation -DisableMaxWindowedMode shim or the DxWnd equivalent for both shims.

Then

Now

LSS10999 wrote on 2023-07-07, 05:55:

Rayman 2 is 32-bit. It's the CD copy protection scheme that is 16-bit, which is causing the headache. Same for many games during that era.

There is no such 16bit protection scheme, its broken on fully patched windows 7, and beyond because of the disabling of Secdrv.sys and subsequent removal on windows 10 and later.