Need For Speed 4 Modern Patch v0.1.0 [2016/05/11] (Portable)

A patch for the Need For Speed 4: High Stakes. This is a side project of the Need For Speed III Modern Patch. Currently, it has a small amount of fixes. The key features of this patch are portability (no more registry!) and high poly cars support (it is useful for modding). There is still no widescreen resolutions support.

How to install

  1. Copy DATA and SAVEDATA directories from the NFS4 CD to a new empty directory.
  2. Extract contents of the nfs4_modern_patch.7z (1.2MB) into that directory with replacement of files.
  3. Done!

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Plans: Milestone 1 (Full Widescreen Support)

Goal: $500.
Collected: $864 (the surplus will be moved to the next milestone).
Status: suspended.

Mandatory set of features:

  • Refactoring of the thrash init and get resolutions list code. It have to solve some compatibility problems with D3D renderers.
  • Widescreen resolutions support for the gameplay. It will be possible to choose it from the graphics settings in a general way.
  • Proper handling of all aspect ratios (from 5:4 to 16:9, inclusive 4:3 and 16:10). HUD will be adopted automatically for every supported resolution.
  • Better modding abilities. AllowHugeTextures setting support, which will allow to use textures up to 2048×2048.
  • Patching of the voodoo2a.dll to add an ability to use widescreen resolutions (a Glide API extension, by default only d3da.dll can use widescreen resolutions).
  • 32bpp support in the voodoo2a.dll (another Glide API extension).
  • Huge textures support in the voodoo2a.dll (and again, it's also a Glide API extension).

It is planned to release v1.0.0 when these features will be done and they will be stable. I'm planning to include some other nice features into the first release, but the list is not predefined. For example, I'll try to remove effect limitations in the menu for the D3D renderers.

  1. #201
    Dave

    VEG, have you considered uploading the source files for your patches to GitHub, so people can work on them even while you're busy with other things? It might result in some good things happening.

  2. #202
    Chief

    Yo Whats the format to enter a screen res override? I have a 1080P projector and in game it caps out at 1024 x 768. I would like to try for a higher 4:3 resolution.

    Thanks!

  3. #203
    VEG Author

    Dave,

    Hi. Sorry, missed your comment.

    No worries, I'm not that sensitive =)

    Unfortunately, development of the patches for the classic NFS games is still suspended, and I don't know when I get back to work on them. Sometimes I do some small patch-related things locally, but still nothing to share.

  4. #204
    BoxCarRacer

    Hi, VEG what would be the minimum monthly donation to keep the NFS 4 Modern patch updated frequently?

  5. #205
    VEG Author

    No, the project is suspended for now, and I don't know when it will be resumed.

  6. #206
    BoxCarRacer

    Thanks for answering. Please let me know if you plan to resume it in the future. I will be more than happy to help funding it. :D

  7. #207
    J.Euro

    A virus was detected on the modern patch 7z file

  8. #208
    VEG Author

    It is apparently a false-positive. Most probably it was complaining about dgVoodoo files in the archive. The dgVoodoo code is packed and some AV software doesn't like it.

  9. #209
    Benjamin Bisconer

    Hi, thanks for doing this!

  10. #210
    Jack Foxtrot

    Hey VEG, any chance you could fix the steering wheel? For some reason in High Stakes, the wheel in cockpit view doesn't rotate correctly, like it rotates on two axes instead of just one. So it rotates but it also tilts at the same time.

  11. #211
    VEG Author

    Jack Foxtrot, I didn't observe such a bug.

  12. #212
    Logan

    Hi
    This is very good work
    Is there such a game? Does anyone remember C3 Racing? Can anyone adapt the version for Windows 7-8-10?

    This is a very good game and I think it would be nice to include a donation
    Personally, I will pay $50,100.

    Please reply to my email xz_18@mail.ru

  13. #213
    VEG Author

    As far as I can see, C3 Racing was for PlayStation only. Just use an emulator to play the game.

  14. #214
    Jack Foxtrot

    Yeah it exists. It can be hard to notice depending on the car, but it's there.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqoaN-LPc1Q&t=2176s&ab_channel=Kirgeez-Gaming
    This video is a good example, it's most noticeable in the cockpit view for the Mustang. While it's a modded vehicle, this actually applies to all vehicles, both modded and vanilla. It just rotates weirdly like that for some reason, but even I could notice it for the vanilla game.

  15. #215
    VEG Author

    Looks more like an issue of this particular 3D model.

  16. #216
    Jack Foxtrot

    Again though this happens to all vanilla vehicles, not just modded ones.

  17. #217
    Whatscheiser

    VEG any chance I can get your input on this topic? (https://www.nfsaddons.com/forums//index.php?topic=2460.0)

    I'm getting 21:9 resolutions in NFSHS with proper FOV by editing some values in the vanilla NFSHS executable. But this is dependent on using that vanilla executable that looks for modified .dll files to be in the root game directory. The one's found in Felix Krull's widescreen mod here: https://gitlab.com/fkrull/porsche-graphics-hacks/-/releases

    The downside of course is that the vanilla executable is tied to Windows Registry and performance suffers quite a bit on modern operating systems. I'd rather use your modern patch, but I also don't want to be stuck on 4:3 resolutions. Is there any middle ground here? Can your modern patch make use of anything I have noted above?

  18. #218
    Max

    Hi, I'm in similar point, I'm trying to have a Portable install of the game but I'm missing some registry or file changes the patch applies, because once I uninstall the game, and try to rebuild the registry entries and files deleted, the game gives an error about accessing memory, and if I enable Windows 98 compatibility mode it then requests the "-PatchRestart" parameter, but adding it doesn't change anything.
    On the other hand your patch is already portable, but I cannot use the widescreen aspect ratio mentioned above. The source code is available so it could be added to your patch.

  19. #219
    Blazer

    How i can unlock all cars & tracks? without complate game because cheats and savegame files not working with this patch.

  20. #220
    TastyPierogy

    Whatscheiser,

    Yeah this. I kinda mada it to work replacing the voodoo2a file in the subfolders of the driver folder. It works but there are big glitches that I could not fix at all.

    Would be amazing if anone would be able to fix that giving use real widescreen finally in this game

  21. #221
    Daniel

    Hello
    I'm having trouble getting the game to run under Windows 11.
    I have done everything as described.
    After clicking on the icon the screen goes black, and after a while it goes back to the desktop.
    Please help.

    Greetings

  22. #222
    VEG Author

    Does the NFS3 Modern Patch work? Try to use another renderer in the nfs4.ini.

  23. #223
    Daniel

    Thank you for your answer.

    The game only starts when I set the software mode.
    I downloaded the nfs4_modern_patch.7z file and did it according to the instructions.
    I have an nvidia GPU.
    Installed nGlide 2.10

  24. #224
    VEG Author

    You also can try renderers from the NFS3 patch. They are compatible, and the NFS3 patch has newer versions. DX8 might be the best option for a modern OS.

  25. #225
    Daniel

    Game run with NFS 3 patch, only mode dgVoodoo run. When choice DX8,7,6 game run, but graphic options screen size BAD TEXT INDEX 0 and when go play game still work, sound is OK, but screen is black.

  26. #226
    Cris

    Hey Veg, huge thanks for releasing this patch!! The game is awesome with high poly cars.
    I tried setting Variant=4 in the ini to play it as the Australian version and I noticed that it makes the cars have the Australian livery in every USA / Canada track. Do you know if this is normal? Thanks in advance

  27. #227
    VEG Author

    Cris,

    Hi. I didn't investigate what changes are done by this setting. I just moved it from registry to the ini file to make it portable, but behavior of this setting is unchanged. Thanks to you, now I know one of the differences that it makes =)

  28. #228
    Cris

    Ah alright, thanks Veg!! It must be the normal behavior of the game then, unless the Australian one has a special .exe but I doubt it. I was curious about what the Austrlian version did in PC, I see it's different than PS1 (where only Durham gets Australian liveries in the Australian version). It's nice that with that simple .ini setting now those "hidden" liveries are used. The only other difference I noticed is that the main menu shows photos of Australian cars on the "video wall" before showing the photo of the Corvette.

  29. #229
    VEG Author

    Cris, all versions except Japanese use the same exe file, the difference is selected by this Variant setting.

  30. #230
    its_ryko

    Thanks so much for these patches! I was having issues with NFS3 and NFS4 defaulting in-game controls to Joycon 1. When I tried to rebind the controls to either a keyboard or a physical controller it would only register the input as "Joycon 3 X axis right". I couldn't find anyone with a similar issue. However with a clue from commenter, BC, I went into Device Manager on my computer, "Human Interface Devices", and realized I had a vJoy device active. Upon disabling it both games register my keyboard for bindings like normal. Hope this helps someone!

    I had previously attempted unplugging any extra USB connections but the vJoy driver is always active so physically unplugging or not plugging in didn't have an affect.
    This issue did not interfere with menu navigation.
    vJoy driver probably from installing ps3 controller or mayflash gamecube adapter. (Wii U adapter WUP-028 is unaffected by disabling vJoy device and still works)

  31. #232
    TSF_Ukraine

    Hello, VEG! :)

    We would like to thank you for making this fantastic patch - thanks to the expanded memory settings, we were able to use it for running our newly developed Ukrainian translation & dub mod (https://www.nfsaddons.com/downloads/nfshs/tools/8016/ukrainian-translation-dubbing-mod.html).

    Wasn't possible with the vanilla, since the new BNKs are way larger than the original counterparts - but your patch works miracles.

    So, thank you! :D

  32. #233
    james gue

    i try to download this and it says its a virus and cant continue this sucks. y

  33. #234
    VEG Author

    TSF_Ukraine, thanks for the feedback =)

    james gue, What antivirus do you use? It's a false-positive, check your antivirus settings to allow this download.

  34. #235
    Wookie

    Is 1600x1200x16 max res?

  35. #236
    VEG Author

    Most probably yes, I didn't touch this part in NFS4. If you want proper support of modern resolutions, try the NFS3 Modern Patch, it's way more better and supports widescreen resolutions too.

  36. #237
    BraveDraognWolf

    I had to come back to this game after some time. But, I forgot I had this issue where the game crashes when I try to go to the track selection. So that means I can't change laps/weather. I'd have to go into career mode and choose a tier that has a track with 4 laps.

  37. #238
    BraveDraognWolf

    Edit: Never mind my last issue. A couple years back I used the original files from the disc to try and fix it and for some reason it didn't work. I tried it again and my issues are fixed.

  38. #239
    san

    virus detected

  39. #240
    VEG Author

    false positive

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