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  • Your Master Guide to get LRR to run

    • aidenpons
    • Written By aidenpons
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    • Comments 15 comments

    Most people these days are running Win10. If you are running an older OS, the process is much the same. If you're on Linux or Mac, this guide doesn't incorporate that yet.

     

    This isn't the One Guide to Rule them All, although it may become that eventually: this is merely an amalgamation of a lot of stuff around the forum in one easily-findable place. Hopefully it'll be updated to all the stuff around the forum as I do so (anybody with mod powers is welcome to edit this and add things).

    Hopefully it'll also contain a few more pictures as time goes on.

     

     

    Step #0: Do you even have a CD & a CD drive?

    I imagine there are a number of categories people fall into:

    - Those that have a legitimate CD back from whenever that still works. You might not have a CD drive for it, though
    - Those that had a CD, and it's scratched
    - Those that never had a CD and want to see what LRR's all about

    To those not in the first category, RRU doesn't condone piracy. We won't host a download link of Lego Rock Raiders here. But if you're looking for one... they're, uh, not very hard to find.

    So if you have an .iso - which there are a couple of legitimate ways you could actually get one - and you don't know what to do with it, the tool WinCDEmu will be able to get the .iso to load:

    https://wincdemu.sysprogs.org/

    From that it probably won't install :P but at least the next step will allow you to get the files off the virtual CD...

     

    Step #1: Does the game install fine?

    Don’t install it into Program Files: move it somewhere else. Win10 hates you editing Program Files, even sometimes when as an admin: just install it to C:\Games or something like that.

    Yes: Huzzah, continue!

    No: Give this a go:

    https://www.rockraidersunited.com/topic/3904-lego-media-alternate-installers/

    or direct link: https://github.com/le717/Rock-Raiders-Alternate-Installer/releases

    Does that not work / prove too complicated? Try out the ultra-manual way of installing LRR, copying the files off the disk by hand:

    https://www.rockraidersunited.com/topic/2843-installer-not-working-you-can-salvage-your-game/

    That guide mentions pointing Universal Extractor to data.cab - I got better results by pointing it to data1.hdr . Just point it to all the files! and you should be fine.

    While you're here, make a backup of all the files; coping the CD files to your hard drive may also be a good idea. Also while you're here, you can delete the shortcuts the default installer likes to put on the desktop: they won't immediately be helping us.

    Minus the Useful Files folder and the LegoRR.exe - Shortcut , the installation should look like this:

    large.LRR_Installation.PNG.d990a422216c18a5411b84f7d900d1e2.PNG

     

     

    Step #2: What is the size of LegoRR.icd?

    0 kB: Congratulations, you have the DRM-free copy of LRR. This means it’ll actually run on Win10. (Like mine is, in the above screenshot).

    720 kB or anything else: This means LRR needs the disk to run via Safedisc and because Safedisc support was taken out for Win10, you won’t be able to run this executable: but we still have a solution! Download this:

    https://www.rockraidersunited.com/files/lego_rock_raiders/resources/lrr-masterpiece-edition-exe-r249/

    and replace your existing LegoRR.exe and LegoRR.icd with that.

     

    Step #3: Does LegoRR do something by running LegoRR.exe?

    Yes: Hooray!

    Somewhat: is it complaining about missing d3drm.dll?

    Curiously the d3drm.dll provided on the (or at least my disk) isn’t actually the one LRR wants... I got it off my Lego Island 1 disk and it worked fine. We have uploaded it for you here:

    https://www.rockraidersunited.com/files/lego_rock_raiders/resources/d3drm-r53/

    Unzip that and move d3drm.dll so it’s sitting next to your LegoRR.exe executable (like in the screenshots below).

     

    No: Does it do absolutely nothing? Something must have gone wrong in step #1 or #2. Also, don't launch it by the shortcuts on your desktop, as those have command line parameters that aren't useful right now. I reccomend just right-clicking LegoRR.exe and selecting Create Shortcut.

    At the very least you should be presented with a box like this. If you aren't, check #1 and #2 again, and if it still does nothing - that's what this forum is for!

    Spoiler

    large.LRR_Box1.PNG.3cde1c7e024699e352dd2c71078cba5c.PNG

    By the way, this box doesn't show up in your taskbar and if you click out of it has a nasty habit of hiding behind other windows. If you lost it, press Windows+D to minimise all windows, then click on any other window to open it - this box will also magically pop up again.

     

    But wait, all the buttons are greyed out! This guide is the most comprehensive in what to do: https://www.rockraidersunited.com/guides/run-rock-raiders-in-windowed-mode-r3/ Sure, it's about windowed mode, but the important thing is to change the colour settings. Here's what that guide says you need to do if you're on Win10 (other OSes available and more technical details in the guide; this is just a short summary)

    Right-click LegoRR.exe, go to the Compatibility tab, click Reduced Colour Mode, and change that to 16-bit. You don't actually need compatibility for XP or admin, interestingly enough (although it doesn't hurt to have them on!). Like this:

    Spoiler

    large.LRR_CompatMode.PNG.d0c9d36b60edfa0e76f84487e8ed76be.PNG

     

    And the result should look like this, and you should now be able to launch LRR!

     

    Spoiler

    large.LRR_Box2.PNG.7fbbff461f76bccd4b9d07f08e0f4adb.PNG

     

    By the way, don't use RGB Emulation: it has literally never worked for anyone in the history of LRR. Sure, it launches, but it will always crash within the minute. Direct3D HAL is what we want.


     

     

     

    Step #4: Does the game unplayably lag?

    Or any other sort of general visual that makes the game literally unplayable

    No: Lucky you. Everyone else I know of has this problem. :P

     

    Yes:  This guide explains what you need to do: https://www.rockraidersunited.com/guides/lego-rock-raiders/run-lego-rock-raiders-with-dgvoodoo-r7/

     

    Yes, Option 2: In addition to dgVoodoo there's also ddrawcompat. I know nothing on the technical knowledge of this, but wander over to here:

    https://www.rockraidersunited.com/guides/run-lego-rock-raiders-with-dgvoodoo-r7/?do=findComment&comment=250

    which will redirect you to here:

    https://github.com/narzoul/DDrawCompat/releases/tag/experimental

    Grab the experimental - yes, go one step ahead of the stable and grab the experimental - download. Place the resulting ddraw.dll in your LRR directory, and run LRR.

    Don't run dgVoodoo and ddraw at the same time, you only need one. I don't know a lot about the technical way either of them work. Feel free to toy around!

     

     

     

     

     

    At this point the game should be playable. It might be in the wrong language, the sound isn’t playing, cutscenes don’t exist, etc; but at the least it should be running and playable.

     

     

     

    Step #5: [Optional] Do you want to run the game in windowed mode?

    Windowed mode allows you to check any other application without having to alt+tab, which LRR handles very poorly. Additionally, windowed mode can fix a bunch of silly stuff LRR does - it's more reliable than fullscreen.

    https://www.rockraidersunited.com/guides/run-rock-raiders-in-windowed-mode-r3/

     

     

    Now onto troubleshooting!

     

     

    Problem #1: The game isn’t in the language I want

    Currently the only translation pack we have is in English. If you have LRR in another language, even if you don’t want it, you might want to upload it to the Files database (a more rigorous system (perhaps a language switcher in Cafeteria?) can be implemented later).

    https://www.rockraidersunited.com/files/lego_rock_raiders/resources/english-lrr-pack-r301/

    Download that, unzip, and merge the Data folder and overwrite LegoRR1.wad

     

    Other languages? This is still a WIP. There might be some way to get them off the disk? Try Universal Extractor and open any .cab files you see with that:
    https://www.legroom.net/software/uniextract

     

     

    Problem #2: The cutscenes aren’t playing

    If you still have the disc, you can copy them from Data\AVI on the disk to Data\AVI in your LRR directory. Alternatively, download them here:

    https://www.rockraidersunited.com/files/lego_rock_raiders/resources/rock-raiders-avi-cutscenes-r296/

    and extract those into your Data\AVI folder.

    You may also need to download and install this, the codec for playing the videos:

    https://www.rockraidersunited.com/files/lego_rock_raiders/resources/indeo-iv50-avi-codec-r111/

    but I am unsure how necessary this is.

     

     

    Problem #3: The game crashes on any non-tutorial level start

    I’m not sure how common this problem is anymore. However it might yet be an issue.

    This may be because the game is trying to play the cutscenes, which in LRR sometimes crash the game. Fortunately this can be disabled very easily with mods (DontPlayAVIs TRUE), and for your convenience this has also been uploaded for English:

    https://oresome.rockraidersunited.com/download/233

    Overwrite your existing LegoRR1.wad with that download.

     

     

    Problem #4: The in-level music isn’t playing

    I actually never realised LRR had music until topics on the forum popped up about it…

    We have a guide for this too!

    https://www.rockraidersunited.com/guides/lrr-music-without-cd-fix-r11/

    Alternatively, you can download the music files from here:

    https://www.rockraidersunited.com/files/lego_rock_raiders/resources/lrr-music-collection-ogg-r259/

    and just put them in VLC or Windows Media Player in the background.

     

    Problem #5: The main menu music isn't playing

    Curiously the fix for this is totally different to the fix for the in-game music. For some reason the music files in the .cab data files are corrupted. This means that if you installed your game manually by extracting the cab, the music files will show up in Data\Sounds: but they'll be entirely unable to be played by the game or something like VLC media player, if you try.


    However, on the disk, the files under Data\Sounds aren't corrupted.

    So copy stats.wav and atsmodel.wav from [CD]\Data\Sounds to [YourLRRInstallation]\Data\Sounds and it should work when you start the game!

    Don't have a CD? They're here on RRU for your convenience: https://www.rockraidersunited.com/files/lego_rock_raiders/resources/atmosdel-and-statswav-r323/ 

     

     

    Problem #6: Chief’s Briefings don’t play, but the files are all intact

    1. Backup LegoRR1.wad.

    2. Extract LegoRR1.wad with the Wad Recycler: https://www.rockraidersunited.com/topic/3742-wad-recycler-2/

    3. Open LegoRR.cfg and search "@Sounds"

    4. This should jump you to heaps of properties defining sound file paths. Now, to make them work you need to remove all the '@' symbols from the start of the sound file paths.

    5. Run search and replace to remove all the '@' symbols.

    6. Save and rebuild your LegoRR1.wad file.

     

    Problem #7: Black screen on any tutorial level & when you find the Tool Store

    I have no clue why this happens, but sometimes when a script camera function is called (usually SetCameraGotoTutorial, but CameraLockOnObject will also do it) the screen blacks out (the camera seems to go to NaN...?). The bad news is that there's nothing you can do about this. (I guess I could make a mod that removes that from the script...) The good news is that this only affects the tutorial levels, the very first level (Driller Night), and the next 'central' level, Frozen Frenzy: and Frozen Frenzy will only blackscreen at the end just before you win.

    Fortunately there's a way to bypass Driller Night: if you use the -programmer command line parameter with LRR, or enable debug keys via any other method (eg Cafeteria or mods), debug keys are enabled: and these include Ctrl+S to instantly win the level (and also break the sound a bit in the process). Thus you can then save and continue with LRR as normal.

     

    There's no way to recover the tutorial levels though. Fortunately you'll learn all you need to know through regular gameplay (the tutorials don't even tell you about recharging crystals, erosion, lasers, upgrading vehicles, reinforcing...). If you're really desperate to hear Chief's calming voice, you can unpack your .WAD files (see Modding section below), and navigate to LegoRR1\Sounds\Streamed\Training\ and then Chief's voice lines are in the folders there. The text for the messages, if you would prefer to read them, is the .txt file in LegoRR1\Levels\TutorialLevels\<tutorial-you-want>

     

     

    Problem #8: My problem isn’t listed!

    Make a forum post! Google! Or wait for me to repopulate this list with less common issues (not recommended...)

     

     

     

     

    I want to get into modding!

    The first step in any LRR modding is to unpack your .WAD files. I recommend the Wad Recycler:

    https://www.rockraidersunited.com/topic/3742-wad-recycler-2/

     

    If you want to use .wad files for your mods, you can recompile the wads each time. Alternatively, you can run without any wads: move the contents of the new folders LegoRR0 and LegoRR1 under Data (so the Data folder contains stuff like a folder called AVI, a folder called Vehicles, a folder called Sounds, Lego.cfg…). This makes modding to test things much quicker, as you can edit level files without needing to restart LRR.

     

    The topic is a little old, but mostly correct (save for priorities and a little bit of level scripting), and outlines what can and cannot be modded with LRR:

    https://www.rockraidersunited.com/topic/3252-things-we-know-about-modding-lrr/

     

    Tools you’ll likely need include Notepad++ (Notepad, but better, and also free). If you want to do map creating, you’ll need

    Map Creator: https://www.rockraidersunited.com/topic/630-map-creator-0910/ , used for creating map data

    NPL Scripter: https://www.rockraidersunited.com/topic/2143-npl-scripter-v21-update/ , used for creating level scripts (predominately “collect X crystals to win,” but we can do much more than that… https://kb.rockraidersunited.com/Writing_NERP_Scripts

     

    Cafeteria also allows you to create patches which resolve all the incompatibility issues you could ever dream of, though that's far beyond the scope of this guide, though I will link Cafeteria:

    https://www.rockraidersunited.com/topic/4521-cafeteria-10-beta-7-launcher-mod-loader-for-lrr/

    and its patch documentation (not always 100% up to date, just refer to a patch like CE:Core instead)

    https://www.rockraidersunited.com/topic/6139-cafeteria-patch-documentation/

     

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My game just shows a black screen whenever I start it, I'm using Vista, would that be the cause of this??

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8 minutes ago, daviyo5 said:

My game just shows a black screen whenever I start it, I'm using Vista, would that be the cause of this??

Vista is unlikely to the problem (should definitely be workable!), black screen usually means the videos aren't playing properly. You'll need to either remove the cutscene files / take the CD out, or enable DontPlayAVIs TRUE in the cfg, which this LegoRR1.wad (which also has english language packed into it, unfortunately) if you replace the existing one with it will do.

 

I was sure I put this in the guide somewhere but I clearly just didn't.

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18 minutes ago, aidenpons said:

Vista is unlikely to the problem (should definitely be workable!), black screen usually means the videos aren't playing properly. You'll need to either remove the cutscene files / take the CD out, or enable DontPlayAVIs TRUE in the cfg, which this LegoRR1.wad (which also has english language packed into it, unfortunately) if you replace the existing one with it will do.

 

I was sure I put this in the guide somewhere but I clearly just didn't.

I actually suggested to copy the AVIs from the CD to the local folder, that doesn't do anything for me unfortunately, so that's probably why.

 

I do, however found myself with a new problem: it gets stuck on the main loading screen, or it's incredibly slow to load.

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8 minutes ago, daviyo5 said:

I actually suggested to copy the AVIs from the CD to the local folder, that doesn't do anything for me unfortunately, so that's probably why.

 

I do, however found myself with a new problem: it gets stuck on the main loading screen, or it's incredibly slow to load.

hmm, LRR never freezes on the loading screen - not that I've heard of - it just usually crashes :P or loads eventually. Maybe make yourself a sandwich, come back, and see if it's loaded? Despite how small the game's assets are, the game's loading is not very speedy, so it still takes a bit even on good machines

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It is unfortunately very much stuck, even adding dgVoodoo2.53 doesn't do anything, and thinking that it used to work just some 4 weeks ago

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