Setting up LEGO Island is generally straightforward on PCs of its era, however some extra effort and considerations are sometimes required depending on how modern your system is.
Jan 04, 2018 DgVoodoo 2.53. DgVoodoo 2 is a wrapper for old graphics API's for Windows. By downloading this file, you agree that you understand and accept the section titled: Terms & Disclaimer shown at the bottom of this page. If you have not read, understand or agreed to that Disclaimer, close this dialog and do not download this file. The stock installer located at INSTALL.EXE should run fine on any version of Windows (ignore SETUP.EXE as it's a 16-bit application that won't run on any 64-bit version of Windows). This will provide a fairly standard install of LEGO Island authentic to the era, with the obvious caveat that it doesn't take into account some extra steps. I saw countless tutorials on how to setup dgVoodoo and so on, but when i'm going display settings it's like it doesn't exist. It doesn't make any sense since I moved all of its archives in Shogo's folder and setup mostly everything. Setup dgvoodoo2. But I'm not sure if it is a retro build or just an old build. Conf file to store settings, and it can't write to Program Files unless the dgVoodoo control panel is run as administrator, or the game is moved to a non-system directory (such as your Desktop or just root C: ). DgVoodoo Downloads:: dgVoodoo is a Glide Wrapper that implements Glide 2.11 and Glide 2.43 API by using DirectX. DgVoodoo provides support to run Windows-based and DOS-based applications using Glide, and it can also emulate VESA 2.0 for DOS applications.
- 1Installing
- 1.1Standard
- 2Playing LEGO Island
Installing
Standard
The stock installer located at INSTALL.EXE should run fine on any version of Windows (ignore SETUP.EXE as it's a 16-bit application that won't run on any 64-bit version of Windows). This will provide a fairly standard install of LEGO Island authentic to the era, with the obvious caveat that it doesn't take into account some extra steps required on modern versions of Windows:
D3DRM.DLL
Main article: Direct3D Retained Mode
From Vista onwards, D3DRM.DLL - a DLL required to run LEGO Island - was removed from Windows itself and has to be manually restored. While the DLL is on the LEGO Island CD (located at redistdirectxd3drm.dll), it's recommended to use a newer version that was released with Windows XP for better compatibility. You'll want to place D3DRM.DLL into LEGO Island's install folder (usually C:Program Files (x86)LEGO Island).
No-CD Patch
Main article: NOCD.SI
If you want LEGO Island to run without a CD, it's as simple as copying the Lego folder from the CD to LEGO Island's install folder (usually C:Program Files (x86)LEGO Island). You'll want to merge with the LEGO folder that already exists and don't worry about replacing the file NOCD.SI (it's the same file so skipping or replacing it makes no difference).
Japanese Version
For unknown reasons, the Japanese LEGO Island installer features a version check that fails if the version of Windows you're using is not 4.x (e.g. 95, 98, or Me). This means the installer will fail on any Windows version newer (starting with Windows 2000). As such, for this version you should probably use the LEGO Island Alternative Installer.
Alternative Installer
A community alternative installer exists to make up for the shortcomings of the stock installer. It will automatically copy D3DRM.DLL from the CD as well as the LEGO folder if you select a 'Full' install. This is generally a much easier and more fool-proof option than the stock installer.
Playing LEGO Island
Persistent save data
Dgvoodoo Setup Program
Main article: Compatibility Issues
LEGO Island stores its save data in its program folder, which in modern software is a big no-no due to inherent security risks involved. From Windows Vista, access to the Program Files folder was restricted to administrator access only, preventing LEGO Island from saving game data. The solutions are generally as follows:
- Using LEGO Island Rebuilder. Rebuilder functions as a launcher that automatically redirects save data to a safe location so that administrator privileges are not required. This is the simplest and most recommended solution.
- Run LEGO Island as administrator. Relatively simple by right clicking LEGO Island and selecting 'Run as Administrator' or opening 'Properties', navigating to the 'Compatibility' and selecting 'Run as Administrator' so that the game is always run as administrator.
- Re-installing LEGO Island to a non-restricted location. Often this is a second drive on your PC or somewhere in your home folder. This will work, but may get complicated depending on where you choose to install it.
Turn speed
Main article: Turn Speed
LEGO Island infamously ties the turn speed to the frame rate, meaning the much faster computers of the day heavily impact the game's controls and playability. It's recommended to use LEGO Island Rebuilder which has parameters for separating the turn speed from the frame rate as well as changing the turn and walk speeds in general.
'To configure LEGO Island' doesn't save
This issue is similar to the save data not saving correctly but a slightly different presentation. In this scenario, the data is not being saved to the game's program folder, but rather the registry's HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE hive - another section of Windows that has become more restricted in over time due to inherent security risks.
For some reason, running CONFIG.EXE as administrator doesn't seem to address this issue. It seems the only way to make it save configuration data is to set its compatibility mode to 'Windows 95' (right click > Properties > Compatibility tab).
General graphical glitches
Main article: Compatibility Issues
LEGO Island relies on various dated DirectX APIs that have seen numerous changes over the decades since its release. As such, using Direct3D HAL can result in various graphical glitches and crashes that impact the game's playability. To address this, it's recommended to either use a software mode instead ('Ramp Emulation', 'RGB Emulation', or 'MMX Emulation') as those are CPU-based and have therefore been largely unaffected by the changes to the Direct3D API, or to use dgVoodoo which translates LEGO Island's outdated DirectX 5 calls to modern DirectX 11 calls. This has the advantage of allowing other graphical tweaks too, such as increasing the resolution, adding anti-aliasing, overriding texture filtering, and more.
High-definition Patch
Main article: dgVoodoo
LEGO Island was only ever designed to run at 640x480 which was relatively standard at the time. Given the much larger variety of resolution available today, it may be desirable to run the game at a higher resolution. Currently, the best way to do this is with dgVoodoo, which allows users to override the resolution to one of their choosing. Note that this is unfortunately not a true widescreen patch, the game will still have a 4:3 aspect ratio that will get stretched to whatever resolution you choose. As such, it's recommended to use a 4:3 resolution to maintain LEGO Island's native aspect ratio (e.g. 1440x1080 instead of 1920x1080). Currently LEGO Island Rebuilder is working on a true widescreen patch to address this issue.
See also
By UI_JessUI_Jess. Last updated
If you want a video tutorial, I made one here on youtube:
if you wanted a document version with different formatting: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LC-Et_JrDIppk0dW2TBr9EFsCjF9-Ync2uR-jCh2MMQ/edit?usp=sharing
Things you will need in order to get the game going:
A copy of the game (you need to find it or buy it yourself)
DGVoodoo
Dege patch
Patcher
All the patches and dgvoodoo can be found in the resources tab.
First step is to run the setup.exe on the disc file. You can choose where you want to install the game, but this guide will assume that it is installed in the default position. Choose standard instead of space saving and let it install the game.
If the install doesn’t run, there’s a few things you can do to get around it. First open task manager and go to the details tab. Look for 32-bit setup launcher. When you find it, right click and select analyze wait chain. Close the programs you find in there and then run the setup again. This should work, if not you could also copy the donald folder on the disc file to the desktop, but it will create another issue you will need to fix later.
This next part is subject to change if a new patch is developed, but for now it is necessary for the most consistent performance. If on the patcher’s github page there is a version 1.2 or newer you can ignore this step.
You will want to copy the GliDX6vf.dll and paste it in the DLL folder of the game. You can find the game by going to program files > Disney Interactive > Donald Duck by default. When you copy it over it should ask to replace the dll that is already there. You want to replace it with the new one.
Next you need the patcher. You will want the 1.0 version of the patch unless 1.2 or newer is out. You will want to copy the patcher into the donald duck folder that contains the donald.exe. If you see a Donald.exe.bak file you will want to delete it. It is not always there, and if it is not, it will not be a problem. When you run the patch, make sure to do it as admin and that it says it is successful. It should create a Donald.exe.bak file in the folder.
This patch is the same as changing the hex code, if you have seen if from another video. The 1.1 version also does this, but it doesn’t fix the frame rate dropping issue as well as the dege patch.
There are different executables included with the dege patch dll that are supposed to be better for different aspect ratios. I have not had time to test them, but if you want they are available and they should not need the patcher on the speedrun.com resources page in order to work.
Next you will need to copy dgvoodoo as well as the dlls included with it into the donald duck folder where the donald.exe is. You will need to run dgvoodoo and confirm a few settings. Make sure that dgvoodoo has selected the right file by pressing the . button in the upper right corner. If you want to speedrun the game, you will need to make sure that Enumerate refresh rates is on and that in the glide and directx tabs, both resolutions are at 60hz and have forced vsync on. This locks the game at 60fps. If the game runs higher than 60fps it will run faster and will not be accepted on the leaderboard. If you are just looking to run the game, feel free to tinker with these things as much as you want.
And there, your game should be good to go. You can run donald.exe and begin playing.
A couple additional troubleshooting notes:
If you want the opening and ending videos, you will need to run the game in compatibility mode. This unfortunately interferes with the autosplitter for speedruns which is why most runners are not running this way. It will also make it harder to capture using obs. I usually use windows xp service pack 3.
If you get the “graphics Dll not found” error, you will want to check this file: %LOCALAPPDATA%VirtualStoreWindowsUbiSoftubi.ini If the file is not in this exact location, you will want to create the path and then create the file with the contents of:
[Donald]
GLI_DllFile=GliDX6
GLI_Dll=DirectX6
GLI_Device=Direct3D HAL
GLI_Driver=display
InstallCount=1
Language=English
Cached
or
[Donald]
GLI_DllFile=GliDX6
GLI_Dll=DirectX6
GLI_Device=Direct3D HAL
GLI_Driver=display
InstallCount=19
Language=English
GLI_Mode=1 - 640 x 480 x 16
See Full List On Pcgamingwiki.com
This error normally occurs when the installer isn’t run. The file location and name need to be exactly the same or it doesn’t work.
If you run the game and nothing happens or it is only in the background of the task manager, it is likely that either something is preventing it from running or that the patch did not work correctly. I’d make sure to double check that antivirus software isn’t preventing it, and that the patch did work. If the game has the same issue after this, you should look into disabling dep on windows. It has prevented a few people from launching the game in the past.
If you are having issues with missing textures, white textures, and textures disappearing, enable fast video memory access in the directx section of dgvoodoo.
If you get the error “Donald CD not found” you need to mount the CD and run the game again. As far as I am aware there is not a cracked version of the game.
If on restart of the computer, the donald.exe is gone, it is likely there is another donald.exe somewhere in the same drive. You will want to delete the one you are not using to play the game.
That is about everything I can think of to get the game running on windows 10 in the most stable way possible. If you need help getting the game to work, feel free to contact me on discord, twitter or youtube.
Dgvoodoo 2 Setup Guide
Special thanks to:
Robin
Spitfire_x86
Rib
Dege
AMathMonkey
For getting the game to the place that it is today.