This sounds like the same issue I encountered with Viper Racing. I worked around it by using a version of WineD3D that requires renaming ddraw.dll and hex editing the game binary to change ddraw.dll to the match the renamed file.

You may be able to use the file rename/hex edit binary method with DDrawCompat/dgVoodoo2, but I've never tested it.

I'm not sure exactly which WineD3D version I'm using, so I've attached it with the control panel applet in case you might need that.

Also, keep in mind that I'm not certain this will help as I don't have NASCAR Heat, but it's worth a shot as both games are by the same developer.

Good luck m8. 😉

What version of the game are you running? There were official patches for the game.

i installed the heatcore version here https://heatfinder.net/downloads?c=3 and i also have the cdrom and so could get the circuits from that to also then use in the heatcore version as it doesnt install with all the original circuits. The circuits however dont seem to have anything to od with the issue, as it happens on the in-car textures too and also for newer mod circuits

I will try the suggestions above.

So help over at dxwnd forum has allowed me to at get this game now hooked in Dxwnd, so also there might be a solution among all its settings

hi can you explain a bit more - how do i edit hexes? and what do i rename ddraw.dll to ? does that matter? also where do i place the files? in the Run folder in Nascar Heat?

Here are the steps I used for Viper Racing:

1. Rename ddraw.dll to dwine.dll
2. Place dwine.dll, libwine.dll and wined3d.dll in the folder containing race.bin
3. Open race.bin in HxD Portable
4. HxD menu > Search > Find > (Text-string tab) Search for: ddraw.dll > Ok
5. Replace ddraw.dll text with dwine.dll then save the file

Note1: HxD makes a backup by default, but making a manual backup before editing by copying/pasting the original race.bin to wherever you backup files isn't a bad idea.

Note2: Viper Racing race.bin contains the string DDRAW which I replaced with DWINE just for consistency. The case doesn't matter though. The filename doesn't matter either, I chose dwine.dll simply because the other files have 'wine' in their filenames heh.

hi
okay i went through the process of stciking teh wined3d files in the folders (wasnt sure whether the game uses the Run folder or the DataCD folder so changed files in both) and i changed DDRaw.dll to dwine.dll and then in the hex editor searched for DDRAW.DLL - there were three instances of it in the race.bin file, so i changed them all to DWINE.DLL

and ..... sadly nothing changed the game still looks like what is in the attached screenshot, a wireframe textureless area around whatever the players viewpoint is.

Hmm... There should be some change if the game is using the file you edited during a race. It's unlikely that this graphics issue matches being wrapped to OpenGL. I suppose it's not impossible though, depending on your GPU or drivers.

Check the file/path that the game is running from by alt-tabbing to Task Manager during a race. I checked Viper Racing's running binary by opening Task Manager before launching the game, then alt-tabbing to it during a race, right-clicking race.bin and clicking Properties. My thinking here is the file you edited may be the one used for the frontend.

If the game binary filename and location shown in Task Manager matches the file you edited, WineD3D unfortunately doesn't help in NASCAR Heat and hopefully someone else can think of another solution.

If that's the case, in the meantime you could try using the same method with DDrawCompat/dgVoodoo2 by renaming their ddraw.dll to dwine.dll, removing the WineD3D files and testing each wrapper separately. It might not work, but that's the only other thing I can think of to try.

Thanks for your help i will probe further - but why does changing the ddraw.dll file name in the binary have an effect at all? the file ddraw.dll is in the folder and so if thats what the binary is originally asking for, then how does changing the file name make a difference?

okay this is interesting when i check in Task manager, it is not race.bin that is being used, it is Heat.bin and that file is in my appdata/local/temp folder - what is going on here? so should i change that file? I notice if i remove the heat.bin file, the game just recreates it again in the temp folder when play the game again

actually i see that altering heat.bin does nothing, everytime the game starts its just a copy of race.bin, but i dont know where its copying it from as i altered both the files i thought i found, wish i could know what race.bin files its using, i couldnt see that in the task manager

okay i found that the heat.bin file in the temp folder is generated from the patch.bin file for the Heatcore version of Nascar Heat which is in the main game folder. I changed the ddraw.dll refs in the patch.bin file.... and the game crashes. Did you have multiple ddraw references in the game binary to change?

i tried with DDRAWCOMPAT ddraw.dll file and if i use that then trying to run the game just brings up a message that DirectX couldnt be initialised, check its installed.

If i could just just figure out how to get this game to recognise Dgvoodoo or DDrawcompat in a way that lets me actually use their features, i imagine i could find a settign that fixes this weird missing texture issue

Agathosdaimon wrote on Yesterday, 03:41:

Thanks for your help i will probe further - but why does changing the ddraw.dll file name in the binary have an effect at all? the file ddraw.dll is in the folder and so if thats what the binary is originally asking for, then how does changing the file name make a difference?

No problem. That's the thing, without more knowledge of the game's programming, finding a fix is just trial and error. My install of Viper Racing ignores wrappers named ddraw.dll too, but using WineD3D works for that game. This is the first time I've seen anyone else with this problem, so I figured it's worth trying what works with a similar game. There's obviously some differences between Viper Racing and NASCAR Heat, making troubleshooting more difficult.

From what you've described, it sounds like you may be close to a solution. Try restoring the files you modified from backups before testing other wrappers. Hex editing is only intended to work around the game ignoring wrappers named ddraw.dll by forcing it to look for a different filename. Sorry if that was kind of confusing.

Anyway, DDrawCompat generates a log when loaded, so try putting that wrapper in every folder you can find that the game uses (including the temp folder) after restoring the modified files to contain the string ddraw.dll. Even if the wrapper has some compatibility issue, checking the folders for the log file can help identify where the game is loading from, which if successful, would allow testing dgVoodoo2.

okay i found the fix that corrects all the textures now - i use dgvoodoo but i put the files in my temp folder, which is certainly quite strange, but if thats what the game wants, okay then

Cool. Glad you got it sorted. 😀