shadowmage wrote on 2026-06-22, 18:30:

Thanks for the link. I tested the vga-ddraw wrapper on Windows NT 3.51, and both the StarCraft demo and the Red Alert 1 demo wor […]
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Thanks for the link. I tested the vga-ddraw wrapper on Windows NT 3.51, and both the StarCraft demo and the Red Alert 1 demo work.

WineD3D does not work with the StarCraft demo for me either, but vga-ddraw does. Interestingly, the opposite is true for the Commandos demo: it works with WineD3D, but not with vga-ddraw.

The following games also work with the vga-ddraw wrapper on NT 3.51:

Baldur’s Gate demo, Age of Empires demo, and Age of Empires II demo, Heroes of Might and Magic III demo.

I have not tested the dsound wrapper from that project yet. I currently use dsound.dll from DirectX 7 or DirectX 8, and both work. I also forgot to mention that the Darkened Skye demo works on Windows NT 3.51 through 3dfx Glide, and dsound.dll from DirectX 8 works with it as well.

So far, compatibility seems to depend heavily on the individual game and the wrapper being used:

vga-ddraw: StarCraft demo, Red Alert demo, Baldur’s Gate demo, Age of Empires demo, Age of Empires II demo, Heroes of Might and Magic III demo.

WineD3D: Commandos demo, Heroes 3 demo and the previously mentioned Direct3D games.

Some games may work with one wrapper but not the other.

IIRC games utilizing Direct3D or OpenGL need something from ddraw.dll, but not the entire thing. Also, wrappers may not always implement everything and in modern Windows, they're deferred to the official DirectX dll in the system.

Back then I managed to get XTOM 3D to run using OpenGL (Mesa 7.5 GDI) and PAL-DDRAW, provided it's set to use the current system resolution. It's too slow to be playable at high resolutions (e.g. 1920x1080x32), but without any noticeable graphical glitch. Perhaps rebooting Windows with a lower resolution like 640x480 or 800x600 I might get a better, playable frame rate.

Note that PAL-DDRAW doesn't work with StarCraft or other DDraw games, as it doesn't cover some functions like DirectDrawCreate, which are deferred to the official DirectX ones.

So for now, vga-ddraw works for things that require full DDraw functionality, despite current limitations. For D3D/OpenGL games other wrappers may also work.

Update the wrapper. You may need to launch the game twice for the wrapper to recognise whether it is using D2D or D3D.

please use a geforce 6/7 card with the forceware drive 77.72
starcraft, aoe, patricier 2/3,anno 1602 (1702 possible - not tested), baldurs gate 1 /2 , diablo 2, x tension, midtown madness (ony start but wip) , x2, ST Armada 1, "Have a nice day".

generell : wip

Hi all, here is a new version.
d2d should be work. there some issue with keyboard inputs in textfields.
new: because the dinput x beyond the frontiert and xtension - 2 games with d3d support from 99/2000 was not developed for nt4, run on nt4 now.

Midtown madness dont run.
the old game "Knights and Merchants" run too.

please test and give me feedbacks.

update
please help me for tests

xbtf and xtensions work please choose the dx7 dsound.dll and own (eigene) dinput.dll
x2 works too, complete with ingame animation (new ddrawex) , please use here dx8 dlls
anno 1701 is wip - (run without maxsound.dll)
midtown madness works too, but you must disable the npc.

test on geforce 7800, should work in geforce 6000 too

a own dsound and dinput is in process

Novanianer wrote on 2026-07-20, 13:30:

update please help me for tests […]
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update
please help me for tests

xbtf and xtensions work please choose the dx7 dsound.dll and own (eigene) dinput.dll
x2 works too, complete with ingame animation (new ddrawex) , please use here dx8 dlls
anno 1701 is wip - (run without maxsound.dll)
midtown madness works too, but you must disable the npc.

test on geforce 7800, should work in geforce 6000 too

a own dsound and dinput is in process

Star trek Starfleet Command 1 and Star trek starfleet d3d worts too

Novanianer wrote on 2026-07-20, 13:30:

update please help me for tests […]
Show full quote

update
please help me for tests

xbtf and xtensions work please choose the dx7 dsound.dll and own (eigene) dinput.dll
x2 works too, complete with ingame animation (new ddrawex) , please use here dx8 dlls
anno 1701 is wip - (run without maxsound.dll)
midtown madness works too, but you must disable the npc.

test on geforce 7800, should work in geforce 6000 too

a own dsound and dinput is in process

Hi Novanianer,
Thank you for uploading new version of WineD3D for NT 4.0! Which WineD3D version are you using? Is it based on an older legacy version? Could you also upload the source code for your WineD3D build that works on NT 4.0?

shadowmage wrote on 2026-07-20, 14:19:

Novanianer wrote on 2026-07-20, 13:30:

update please help me for tests […]
Show full quote

update
please help me for tests

xbtf and xtensions work please choose the dx7 dsound.dll and own (eigene) dinput.dll
x2 works too, complete with ingame animation (new ddrawex) , please use here dx8 dlls
anno 1701 is wip - (run without maxsound.dll)
midtown madness works too, but you must disable the npc.

test on geforce 7800, should work in geforce 6000 too

a own dsound and dinput is in process

Hi Novanianer,
Thank you for uploading new version of WineD3D for NT 4.0! Which WineD3D version are you using? Is it based on an older legacy version? Could you also upload the source code for your WineD3D build that works on NT 4.0?

the "wrapper" base on wined3d 1.2 with many modifikation. as info source use is wined3d 1.7 and 9 , and "bill's version" from "experience" leak. but things have come to a standstill at the moment on d3d dx7 on armada....

important: the true wined3d / softgpu f.e. works with mesagl - over cpu , slow but one file for all. i use nvidia's icd, but nvidia remove some functions for gefore6/7.

sourcecode: later

here the sourcecode
v91ARM - is not ARM - only a name for armada
I hope the others make progress.

For DirectX on NT4, whether native (which is extremely difficult) or as a wrapper, you cannot swap files; you have to write them yourself. Newer versions are written in the wrong C++ or use APIs that NT4 doesn’t recognise, so they have to be adapted to the ICD. Not all ICDs support all OpenGL functions. NVIDIA’s ntoglnt.dll is actually quite ‘accommodating’ with OpenGL 2.0. 3dfx cards are good, but expensive. I don’t think S3 or SIS had any OpenGL support at all, or perhaps they used a wrapper themselves. Essentially, the only affordable options were ATI and NVIDIA.

Or you could write a new driver using OGL for NT4.

But then we’re back to ‘writing’ rather than copying.

I just copied d3d8/9 too 😜

Novanianer wrote on 2026-07-21, 10:11:

here the sourcecode
v91ARM - is not ARM - only a name for armada
I hope the others make progress.

Thank you for the source code, Novanianer!

Thanks to your WineD3D build, I managed to run various versions of Half-Life on ancient Windows NT 3.51, including legacy Counter-Strike versions.

For playing Half-Life, I use the OpenGL renderer, but on Windows NT 3.51 I still needed WineD3D for the game menus. Without WineD3D, I could not even get Half-Life to start. WineD3D is not really needed for the in-game 3D rendering, but it is needed to get through the menus.The latest Half-Life version I managed to run on Windows NT 3.51 is 1.1.0.8, along with Counter-Strike 1.3.

Here is my YouTube video. First, I play Counter-Strike Beta 6.1 on Windows NT 3.51, and then I play Counter-Strike 1.3 against bots. Counter-Strike 1.3 starts at 15:36. At the end, I also run and play Half-Life 1.1.0.8, which starts at 28:48. All of this is running on Windows NT 3.51 through QEMU:

https://youtu.be/BVAPO151v8U

And here is another YouTube video where I play Counter-Strike Beta 6.1 online multiplayer with real people (not bots):

https://youtu.be/1PZMPPC45Ms

Of course, all of this is also possible on Windows NT 4.0. On NT 4.0, I can also run and play Counter-Strike 1.5 and Half-Life 1.1.1.0, which for some reason do not work for me on Windows NT 3.51.

shadowmage wrote on 2026-07-21, 12:06:

Thank you for the source code, Novanianer! […]
Show full quote

Novanianer wrote on 2026-07-21, 10:11:

here the sourcecode
v91ARM - is not ARM - only a name for armada
I hope the others make progress.

Thank you for the source code, Novanianer!

Thanks to your WineD3D build, I managed to run various versions of Half-Life on ancient Windows NT 3.51, including legacy Counter-Strike versions.

For playing Half-Life, I use the OpenGL renderer, but on Windows NT 3.51 I still needed WineD3D for the game menus. Without WineD3D, I could not even get Half-Life to start. WineD3D is not really needed for the in-game 3D rendering, but it is needed to get through the menus.The latest Half-Life version I managed to run on Windows NT 3.51 is 1.1.0.8, along with Counter-Strike 1.3.

Here is my YouTube video. First, I play Counter-Strike Beta 6.1 on Windows NT 3.51, and then I play Counter-Strike 1.3 against bots. Counter-Strike 1.3 starts at 15:36. At the end, I also run and play Half-Life 1.1.0.8, which starts at 28:48. All of this is running on Windows NT 3.51 through QEMU:

https://youtu.be/BVAPO151v8U

And here is another YouTube video where I play Counter-Strike Beta 6.1 online multiplayer with real people (not bots):

https://youtu.be/1PZMPPC45Ms

Of course, all of this is also possible on Windows NT 4.0. On NT 4.0, I can also run and play Counter-Strike 1.5 and Half-Life 1.1.1.0, which for some reason do not work for me on Windows NT 3.51.

Well, in that case, the ChatGPT wrapper acts as a go-between. It tells the application what it wants to hear 😁

d2d was rewrite on some points, there a separate surface for the mouse.
dx5 d3d work but with mini slight stutter - i downt know why - but NFS 3 run on nt4 - please use fakewindows:2000 + noglprobe

generell: WIP
tests with geforce 6/7
if you can GDI Mouse - use this - with software mouse there some texture glitches
if you can opengl - use opengl as renderer 😉

By the way, Windows NT 4.0 turned 30 today! 🥳