Need For Speed III Modern Patch v1.6.1 [2016/10/28] (HD + Widescreen + Portable)

“Need For Speed III: Hot Pursuit” is the first 3D game of my life. When I've seen the game first time, I was extremely amazed because I'd never seen 3D games before. It was in 2000. I can't count hours which I've spent in the Split Screen mode with my cousin. And the music... it's so awesome, so I'd recorded it on an audio cassette, and listened it hundreds of times.

And now, years later, I had tried to play this game. But the game refused to run on modern hardware. So, I had tried to investigate how to fix it. I had a little carried away by this. As the result I've created an impressive patch. 25000+ lines of assembly code, 150+ days of reverse-engineering and coding, 40 sheets of A4 paper were covered with writing during development, a huge list of changes...



Hometown in widescreen resolution

Key Features

  • Full widescreen and HD resolutions support. You can easily use resolutions like 1920×1200. Now the game supports all aspect ratios from the 5:4 to 16:9, inclusive 4:3 and 16:10. HUD will be adopted automatically for every aspect ratio.
  • Improved graphics. No more cars with non-rotating wheels, better textures and models for other's cars (original game reduces size of textures even on maximum graphics settings), better graphics in the rear view, etc.
  • New graphics settings: Rear View Detail (High/Medium/Low), Rear View Camera From (In Car Camera/Active Camera, it decreases the blind spot), Fog (On/Off, like in the NFS4), Wide View Angle setting (useful for the widescreen resolutions).
  • Fog effect and light beams support in DirectX 6/7 (they were exclusive effects for the 3dfx Voodoo).
  • Portability. All system settings are loaded from the ini file. No more registry!
  • Compatibility. Most problems with modern Windows were fixed. Full support of multi-core processors. Original game can work properly only on one core. This change dramatically improves performance of the nGlide and the dgVoodoo.
  • Alt+Tab support. You can safely minimize the game when nGlide or dgVoodoo driver is used.
  • Built-in screenshoter. Just press Print Screen key, and a screenshot will be saved into the screenshots subdirectory in the JPG/PNG/BMP format.
  • Improved keyboard support in the menu. Now it is much more consistent. You can also use the Tab and Shift+Tab to switch between elements.
  • Better modding abilities. The game doesn't crash when high-poly cars are used. Also it possible to use huge textures up to 2048×2048 (original limit was 256×256).
  • Optimizations. 10 times faster gameplay loading on modern systems. To skip loading animation just press any key.
  • Bugfixes. More than 200 changes at all!

Screenshots


Before and after: cars have better textures, side mirrors don't disappear


How to install

  1. Copy FEDATA and GAMEDATA directories from the NFS3 CD to a new empty directory.
  2. Extract contents of the nfs3_modern_patch.7z (1.6MB) into that directory with replacement of files.
  3. Done!

Join our Telegram group chat!

Join this Telegram group chat. You also can find other NFS3 fans for network multiplayer games.

If you are a server, ports 1030 and 9803 have to be accessible from the network, so you have to add the appropriate permit rule in your firewall for the nfs3.exe and configure a port forwarding properly. If you're a client, port forwarding isn't required.

Plans

Donated: $270.
Status: suspended.

Planned features:

  • [Done] Sharp fonts and other elements in menus on D3D renderers, just like when Glide renderers are used.
  • [Done] The problem with visible black polygons (e.g. near the Old Church) on the DX7 renderer will be solved.
  • [Done] Movies support for the DX8 renderer.
  • [Done] 32bpp rendering for movies. Menu will also work in 32bpp video mode and it will look better. Now it works in 16bpp.
  • Simple windowed mode for the DX6/DX7/DX8 renderers. It will be possible to enable it using ini file.
  • Investigation about how to add an ability to restore minimized game when it works in fullscreen mode.
  • Separate “Frame Size” and “Frame Cropping” graphics settings instead of the current combined one.
  • Rewriting of the code which uses the mouse cursor in the exclusive mode. The game will use the default system behavior of the mouse cursor. It will solve many small problems with the mouse cursor in this game. For example, your cursor will be able to leave the window of the game (when it works in a window) without pressing any keys. Also it will solve problems with mouse lagging on some computers.
  • Solving of the problems with loading of ghost and replay files from other players (when the other player has a little bit different set of cars in his game).
  • An optional ability to change structure of the game directories using the ini file. It may be useful for modding. It will be more flexible than the install.win from the original versions. For example, you will be able to move all save files to some separate directory (e.g. "savedata").
  • An optional ability to load a thrash driver from the root directory, as it was in the original version of the game.

These features are planned for the v1.6.1, v1.6.2 and v1.6.3. A beta version is here.

  1. #351
    atao

    Many many many many thanks from China!

  2. #352
    KyoriAsh

    Hi VEG, I have some unintended question for you, that is:

    What video codec do I need to install for Windows 10 as Need For Speed III and IV don't come out with cinematics, but only the movie sound.

    I did tried to find out what caused this, but unable to find out where it is, so the only thing left is to ask here.

    Sorry for inconvience.

  3. #353
    Walter

    For playing movies you have to use 16 bit resolutions on the menu. Also DX9 can't render them if I recall correctly.

  4. #354
    VEG Author

    Walter, actually, current beta can play movies in 32bpp modes. DX8 also renders movies without any problems now. BTW, there is no DX9 Thrash Driver. It just doesn't exist.

  5. #355
    KyoriAsh

    BTW, there is no DX9 Thrash Driver. It just doesn't exist.

    I'm using nGlide driver for NFSIII and IV, so it seems that I missed out nGlide driver general?

  6. #356
    Rul0rofHyrulo

    First of all. Wow! I can't thank you enough for this patch.
    I basically kept searching pretty much every year if there is smth like this to be able to play the game on modern systems. I know it was possible but there always been some kind of issues. Either the GPU wasn't recognized and i had to stick with software renderung or other weird issues. This patch however solves all the issues. It btw blows my mind how great this game plays with a 360 controller. However there is one thing, and i know it is much to ask. But is there any way to also get Force Feedback to work on a 360 pad? I wouldn't ask this if this patch wouldn't be that awesome already.

  7. #357
    Rul0rofHyrulo

    Sadly i can't edit my comment. I did some reasearch and found a solution. http://lavendy.net/special/driver/xi/index.html
    All you got to do is install that and you're good. I seems to work for a lot of older games.

  8. #358
    VEG Author

    Rul0rofHyrulo, I've never tested Force Feedback. Does it work nicely with this library? Does Force Feedback settings page look nice? Because I had done some changes in the menus and I'm not sure if they are OK for the Force Feedback menu.

  9. #359
    Rul0rofHyrulo

    VEG it works like charm. I don't see anything negative happening on the Force Feedback menu.

  10. #360
    Tuurngait

    VEG can you enable Ferrari and Mercedes cars in Hot Pursuit mode? Or is it already done by the patch?

  11. #361
    De-M-oN

    Thats easy to change with NFS Wizard.

  12. #362
    harshit vashisth

    THANK U SOOOOOOOOO MUCH VEG!!!!!!!!
    U JUST BROUGHT MY CHILDHOOD BACK!!

  15. #365
    KyoriAsh

    Hi Veg,

    After some research, I found out that NFS4 Modern Patch was able to playback the movie normally but not NFS3 Modern Patch, and I did tried on the old NFS3 Vista Patch which was made by other person last time, and it's able to play back the movie normally under Windows 10 RedStone 2.

    So... would you able to fix the movie playback for NFS3 Modern Patch?

    Thanks in advance.

  16. #366
    VEG Author

    KyoriAsh, it has to work. Version of the NFS3 Modern Patch? Which renderer are you using? Are you sure that your copy of the NFS3 has files of movies?

  17. #367
    Momo Shiina

    There will be a final version of current beta 1.6.2? You should include dgVoodoo2 v2.5.4 which contains a lot fixes.
    But I still use nGlide for playing.

  18. #368
    VEG Author

    Momo Shiina, v1.6.2 isn't finished yet. It will be released when it will be ready, of course.

  19. #369
    KyoriAsh

    KyoriAsh, it has to work. Version of the NFS3 Modern Patch? Which renderer are you using? Are you sure that your copy of the NFS3 has files of movies?

    I'm using ThrashDriver=nglide and I'm 300% sure that I have files of movies

  20. #370
    VEG Author

    KyoriAsh, maybe NoMovies is 1 in the nfs3.ini? Do you hear at least the sound of the movies? Or the game just skips them.

  21. #371
    KyoriAsh

    KyoriAsh, maybe NoMovies is 1 in the nfs3.ini? Do you hear at least the sound of the movies? Or the game just skips them.

    [NFS3]
Language=english
NoMovies=0
ThrashDriver=nglide
IntroSplashTime=2
LoadingSplashTime=2
Hide16bitModes=0
Use32bitModeInMenu=1
AllowHugeTextures=1
OwnHeapLimitMb=32
SingleProcAffinity=0
PreventMinimize=0
NoErrorReporting=0
ScreenshoterEnabled=1
ScreenshoterFormat=png

    At least the sound of the movies was playing

  22. #372
    VEG Author

    KyoriAsh, you have Use32bitModeInMenu=1, and if you're using v1.6.1, movies can't be rendered in 32bpp modes. It is clearly mentioned in the readme.txt. If you wish to use 32bpp mode for the menu, please use the latest beta. It supports 32bpp rendering of movies. But in this case you have to use dx7 or dx8, because nglide has a bug with 32bpp support. The bug is inside nGlide itself, and maybe it will be fixed in the next version of the nGlide.

  23. #373
    KyoriAsh

    Oh that's the reason the cutscene is not playing, problem solved.
    Also re-read the readme.txt, had changed to dgvoodoo to suit Win 10

  24. #374
    danielmana8

    Thank, Good job. Greeting from Veenzuela!!!

  25. #375
    Jim

    VEG, thanks!!! The game is gorgeous on my 43" 4K IPS.

  26. #376
    Tenrai

    Heya Veg, are you planning to do a Modern patch for Porsche unleashed and Hot pursuit 2 aswell?
    They are filled with problems that seems endless within the new OS
    like the game crashing at boot, game crashing at loading screen, Game crashing before a race etc
    And perhaps something to play NFS 2 SE with no problems

  27. #377
    Tuurngait

    Tenari, that would be definitely fantastic. But for now you can use my patch for Porsche Unleashed from here:
    http://www.iplounge.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2370

    Hot Pursuit 2 runs fine with No-CD exe, just stretched in wide-screen.

    VEG, are you still working on v1.6.2 and on the NFS 4 patch?

  28. #378
    Paul

    No sign of Veg I'm afraid. I'm starting to worry about these amazing projects....

  30. #380
    Alex

    Yeah, I am concerned as well that Veg has been strangely quiet over the past few months.

  32. #382
    VEG Author

    NRV85, you don't need to install nGlide. Modern Patch has an own version of nGlide (a special one).

  33. #383
    Tom Explodes

    Hey, just curious if anyone here can help, I have a Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback Wheel, and I can play Hot Pursuit with it, but the force feedback doesn't work for some reason. I can't seem to find any useful information on the web, so I thought I'd take a shot in the dark here. Thanks!

    Also, making this work on modern OSes is AWESOME and I really appreciate it. I love NFS3.

  34. #384
    Tom Explodes

    Sorry, can't seem to edit. Anyway, on second glance, I'd say the ff is working, in that changing stick volume makes the wheel easier/harder to turn and collisions make it jump a tiny bit, but that's about it. Is it just me or is it a bit lackluster?

  35. #385
    Momo Shiina

    nGlide 2.0 was released. Are you planning to update the driver in your patch? And in general are you still working on it?

  36. #386
    VEG Author

    Momo Shiina, currently, the project is suspended. But I have plans to resume it in the future.

  37. #387
    szponzord

    VEG, NFS III is my favourite game from the past, it's sick that improvements for this game are still in development. I love playing it on splitscreen with my brother and cousing.
    Thanks for you work, mate!

    P.S. if PayPal doesn't work in Belarus maybe you should check out if Skrill works.

  38. #388
    Playaveli

    Thanks, great work!! Please go for windowed mode support! Need this for Crossover MAC! :-) Would also like to donate, if that happens!

  39. #389
    tkrojam

    Many many many many thanks from Hong Kong!a@a.com

  40. #390
    Spadge

    Hello guys!

    Can someone help me with some troubleshooting? I already went through the readme & the comments and I coudln't solve the problem.
    The movies don't work in my game (intro & idle cinematics) even though I have "NoMovies=0" & "Use32bitModeInMenu=0".

    I installed the NFS4 patch & had no problems there, so I don't understand why it doens't work on NFS3. What am I doing wrong?

    Greetings,
    Spadge

  41. #391
    Spadge

    Okay, turns out that the CD which I used did not include the movies on it, installing the version provided by VEG fixed that for me!

    EDIT: I do have another issue though which is graphical. There are weird textures around the trees, a problem I do not have with Rejzor's vista version, I took some screenshots:

    http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2018/09/2/1519754888-nfs3-0001.png

    http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2018/09/2/1519754884-nfs3-0002.png

    http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2018/09/2/1519754885-nfs3-0003.png

    Does anyone else have the same graphical bugs? Where could it come from? Any idea how to fix it?

    Greetings,
    Spadge

  42. #392
    VEG Author

    Spadge, it is caused by antialiasing which is probably forced by your GPU driver.

  43. #393
    Spadge

    Thanks VEG! I'll try without anti-aliasing. Switching from Nglide to Vodoo or Direct X has fixed the issue for me aswell. Thanks for your reply!

  44. #394
    777777

    i have a question is there a way to edit the cop ai files to have more than two police chasing an ai driver?

  45. #395
    VEG Author

    I don't know.

  46. #396
    Inukaze

    HI there i had test the NFS III Modern Patch and its wonderful, i am GNU/Linux user, i use Wine Stable (The Lastest Version with Tag Stable on site of winehq).

    http://veg.by/en/projects/nfs3/

    i just had a little bug, when i click "exit" the process never ends fine. i ever must close from the terminal using the command killall -9 nfs3.exe

    For the next version that can be fix ?

    another thing i want to ask. if possible using for example nglide, the game interface can be resize / scaled to the resolution i had on the desktop ?

    Thanks for readme :=)

  47. #397
    Walter

    Veg, what tool are you using to compile the asm file? I want to see if I can do something about the 6 gears limit for my Aventador (obvious NO because I'm no programmer XD) but I am curious about it. I think I may know why it happens, so not all hope is lost.

  48. #398
    VEG Author

    Walter, I use IDA as a disassembler and FASM as an assembler.

  49. #399
    Walter

    Cool, now I just have to make it actually compile XD (it won't compile even without touching a thing, so I guess I messed up with IDA). Thank you again.

  50. #400
    VEG Author

    It doesn't work like that. It's not possible to disassemble something automatically with 100% accuracy. IDA helps a lot, but it is not a magic wand. You should investigate the code using IDA, assemble pieces of your code using FASM, and replace code directly in the binary of the game using your pieces of assembled code.

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