“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
- Copy FEDATA and GAMEDATA directories from the NFS3 CD to a new empty directory.
- Extract contents of the nfs3_modern_patch.7z (1.6MB) into that directory with replacement of files.
- 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.
OMG thank you!! I played this game daily forever back in 98, downloaded like 500 cars off the internet too, different maps. But sadly I didn't have a 3Dfx card since I was a kid and had no cash etc. So the addition of your "light beams" on directx is really awesome! I used to dream about seeing the reflection of the cars in the menu, the flying car brands in the menu, and the light beams... :(
Thanks again!
The cockpit view doesn't work. Is that a bug, or it wasn't implemented in the PC version? The "In Car" camera seems to work just like the Bumper camera, with no dashboard or steering wheel.
Someone, don't enable “Wide Screen” setting in the graphics settings. This option makes 2:1 field of view and disables dashboard rendering. The game supports widescreen resolutions without this setting.
Is this v1.4.0 final patch for NFS3 or there will be more?
Milan, it is the release version of the v1.4.0. I will write an announcement about it a little bit later.
Also there is a new group chat for people who likes NFS3: https://join.skype.com/xLP4dCluGg1s
I like NFS3 and I've played it a lot back in the day but NFSHS is my favourite in the series and first NFS on second place. Can't wait for NFSHS patch.
short question, is an English version of the CD nessesary? Because i m using the my original German CD and I can run the game. I allways get an error that I should copy the two folders from the CD again.
Thanks for your reply.
Peter, no, you can use any NFS3 CD. Just change the Language setting in the nfs3.ini to German.
yessssssss 1920×1080 resolution Thanks man
I'm trying to get NFS III to run on a computer I just cobbled together. It's Windows 98SE with a Quadro2 Pro (based on GeForce3). Doesn't matter if I use this patch or not, the game will load and play intro videos, but as soon as it gets to the menu I can't see anything. Any thoughts on that?
Disregard previous comment. I finally got it working with the DX8 driver, which runs pretty good but I do experience lag in some areas. I have a TNT2 I'm going to try next, and if that fails I have a trusty old Voodoo3.
Mike, it is better to use DX6 on Windows 98. If it works laggy, just set lower graphics settings. Modern Patch makes High graphics settings more beautiful, but it requires more system resources. Medium values have to look like like High graphics settings in the original game.
Thanks for your awesome work! This brings life back into one of my favorite games.
Hi mate. Rapped I stumbled on this! Unfortunately you'r download file is not working. According to WinRaR, "Error, operation failed"
Or am I missing something?
Thanks in advance! :)
Daz, the archive definitely is ok. Try to use 7-zip to extract this archive: http://www.7-zip.org/.
Excellent! Works like a charm! Thanks a tonne really appreciate you'r time and effort that has gone into this. It's truly beautiful! Loved this game as a young fella :)
Question. Not sure why, I've been playing the game for few days now. All of a sudden, the cars are steering super fast (tapping steering button on controller, cars go instantly full lock, where as they used to be smooth in steering).
It's not the tuning of the car everything is at 0%.
Cheers mate
Hi VEG,
I can't say how important your patch is for so many people who grewed up with these good old legendary classics!
My favorite NFS is Porsche Unleashed, but I also like all the predecessors!
Please make also a modern patch for NFS High Stakes and if it's possible for Porsche Unleashed. I already created some fixes, but you have definitely more knowledge than me and all others. It would be nice to have modern patches for NFS 2 to NFS 5.
I need help with "Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine" to get real widescreen support. It's also one of the best games ever created and we really need your assembling knowledge. Maybe you can take a look at this.
Thanks for your fantastic work!
Hi,
Noticed something strange.
After a race, you have the race results. There is a button there,called 'More', that is showing different stats. The accelaration table is most of the time empty.
I' ve done dozens of laps and that table is empty every time. Maybe you can check this issue when you have the time.
Great work , really love it.
Hi Veg, got my turning issue sussed, it was my controller not the game!
Hello
Excellent work works fantastic but it is possible to return the bar carrying the previous version? looks a little fake the when it is filled despite established 10 seconds to start giving me good memories when going loading slowly and not so fast . Thank you very much.
just discovered this patch through youtube user 'xelerate'.
he's linked to a zip file of the game with patch already installed.
thanks for all your effort evgeny.
the 1920x1080 resolution looks great on my tv.
VEG, what is meant by "allow huge textures" in the nfs3.ini?
I also noticed that you changed the alpha lighting to 75. But this is not a correct value by the game. 70 or 80 would be correct. I prefer 70.
An other thing is that I recommend these camera settings as the defaults:
Camera 1: In Car
Camera 2: Bumper Cam
Camera 3: Roof Cam
Camera 4: Heli Cam
The reason why I don't like standard camera settings is because the position is always fixed behind the car while it should be more dynamic.
And the last thing is that the menu screen is out of the range of my monitor.
Hopefully you can fix/add this to the next update.
Thanks!!!
Tuurngait,
All settings have descriptions in the readme.
Why 75% isn't a correct value?
Hi VEG,
when you click on the arrows of the alpha lighting slider, you will notice that the game uses only steps of 10, which means correct values are: 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100.
You can probably set it to 75 manually in a config file, but this value is not meant to exist.
Tuurngait, it's a general slider. You can choose any value. Just try to drag the small thing inside the slider :) Any value is correct.
UPD. I have changed the step size to 5%.
Okay, great work! Thank you VEG!
I still have just one (big) problem. The menu screen is out of my monitor:
http://fs5.directupload.net/images/160417/6zuolrh8.jpg
All other games and in-game it's correct and also not a configuration problem of my monitor. I tried all aspect ratio options. Do you know what this is?
Thanks again, VEG.
Tuurngait,
1. What OS and GPU are you using?
2. What version of the patch (file version field in the version information)?
3. What renderer are you using?
4. Have you tried to use other renderer?
5. Do you have 640×480 resolution in the graphics settings of the game (can you provide a screenshot of the resolutions list)?
6. Do you have the same problem with the original version of the game?
1. Windows 10 x64, but I had this issue also on Windows 7 x64 before I used your patch. GPU is GTX 970.
2. Version 1.5.3 beta, but as I said this issue is not part of your patch, it's a general problem with the game.
3. nGlide
4. Yes, but nothing helped.
5. In-game I have 3840x2160, but I will try 640x480 and take a screenshot.
6. Yes.
Are 640×480 present in the resolutions list or not? It is possible that your GPU driver doesn't allow 640×480 or it have some problems with this resolution.
Only dgVoodoo fixed the problem by a 4:3 menu screen, but shows corrupted graphics in-game even with AA disabled. I can only exit the game with task manager then. There is a fix in the Windows ACT compatibility toolkit called "LazyReleaseDC" that should solve the problem, but it doesn't. Maybe there are other fixes, but I already tried allcompatibility modes.
Sorry, I missed your reply. Yes! 640x480 is present in the options, but it doesn't fix the problem.
640x480 works in-game, but the menu screen is not affected by the resolution. No matter which resolution I set, it's always out of range and even when I set my TV to 4:3.
And I noticed an other visual thing that seems to be a bit strange. The cars looks like to be compressed somehow. When playing with 4:3 resolutions (640x480) and scaling to 16:9 full screen then the proportions are correct as you can see here:
http://fs5.directupload.net/images/160418/wj6kpnil.jpg
But when playing with 16:9 resolutions (1920x1080) then it looks extremely compressed:
http://fs5.directupload.net/images/160418/qmgggejh.jpg
But here is an other problem: Only the tires are wrong in the first example and correct in the second. That's really really strange, but I know how a Lamborghini looks from side view and it is NEVER so compressed like in the second example. So I assume there must be something wrong with the scaling.
Tuurngait,
OMG, it's a TV... You have to setup it as a general display, not TV (just disable all "image improvers" of your TV). My TV also have same feature which makes image bigger and cuts edges. But it can be disabled. So, it's not a problem of the game. It's a problem of your TV :)
Just see at the wheels. The first image is definitely stretched, the second image is right. I think that you have played to much with invalid proportions, so now you think that stretched version is right version =) But it is definitely is not true.
Oh, I understand what's wrong. You're overplayed NFS4, where the 3D models of bodies of most cars are squeezed. Just see to the tail lights of the Lamborgini Diablo SV. In the NFS4 they have wrong proportions (it's mistake in the 3D model, whole car body have wrong proportions), but in the NFS3 they are round, as it have to be. Comparison: http://veg.by/z/2016-04-18-21-29-32-a35461ff.jpg. NFS4 have too much such problems with proportions not only with 3D models of cars. Some road signs also have wrong proportions. For example: http://veg.by/z/2015-07-25-19-52-48-bba725a4.jpg (there is image have right proportions, but 3D model of car body and sign have wrong proportions, and deviation is different for the every model). NFS3 doesn't have such problems in the models. NFS4 have bugs even in tracks from the NFS3. http://veg.by/z/2016-04-18-21-12-44-39d10126.jpg, for example. NFS3 doesn't have such glitches. I think that developers of the NFS4 were drunk all the time during NFS4 development after the release of the NFS3 :)
Okay, maybe it's a problem of my TV, but I already disabled all of these "image improvers" and NFS 3 is the only game where this happens. But I can live with this.
Now let's talk about the proportions. You have right about some models in NFS 4 that were wrong. And I agree with you about the tires in NFS 3. But the car model is wrong in NFS 3. Here are some comparisons with a real Diablo side view.
640x480 in 16:9 full size
http://fs5.directupload.net/images/160418/6fwink2w.jpg
1920x1080
http://fs5.directupload.net/images/160418/i32wpjmj.jpg
Real car
http://fs5.directupload.net/images/160418/hpxbx3y4.jpg
http://fs5.directupload.net/images/160418/85lrtpvq.jpg
Compare this with the 1920x1080 picture and you will see how the NFS 3 model is wrong. I doesn't have played too much NFS 4 ;-) but I directly see when a car has wrong proportions.
What do you mean?
Tuurngait, camera in the pause flies a little bit higher, so you're looking at the car at the different angle, so the car seems higher that your toy, which you're holding at the right angle.
Probably, 3D model of the Lamborgini Diablo SV is a little bit higher that the real car, but it's not rendering bug, it's just a model. NFS4 have even more higher version of this car :)
I will take a look how it is in NFS 4.
Maybe the 640x480 model is "a bit" stretched and the 1920x1080 model definitely too short. Then the correct proportion would be a halfway between these both. Seems like that 16:9 resolutions better should be handled like 16:10. Oh yeah, I tested it and 1680x1050 looks great when stretched to 16:9. The car looks very realistic. Maybe you can change the image FOV to correct the proportions? Or maybe add an option in the nfs3.ini? That would be great.
I tested NFS 4 and the track bug is really part of the game, but the back lights of the Diablo SV are round:
http://fs5.directupload.net/images/160418/zf7xsxfs.jpg
And the side view is also correct (except the tires again):
http://fs5.directupload.net/images/160418/hb8wruu9.jpg
Tuurngait,
definitely no. It's original proportions of the 3D models and I'm not going to change proportions of everything just because of a little bit unrealistic proportions of the original 3D model of the Lamborgini Diablo SV. You can use car editor to change 3D model directly if you wish.
NFS4 doesn't support widescreen properly. You're running 4:3 as 16:9, and wrong proportions of the 3D model of the car's body seems right just because everything is stretched. Surprise! So, wrong proportions of the overall image compensate wrong proportions of the car, but everything else is squeezed.
Sorry,VEG,but that's not true. I tested a bit more and I noticed that the opposite is fact. The car model in NFS 3 is wrong and in NFS 4 it's correct. And not only the Diablo, every car is compressed in NFS 3 when using wide-screen resolutions!
In your NFS 4 Diablo SV picture are not just the back lights wrong, the whole car has wrong proportions. You just notice this easily on things that should be normally round like tires or the back lights. But in wide-screen resolutions the car proportions are correct in NFS 4. In NFS 3 it's the opposite. 4:3 is correct only when stretched to wide-screen and 16:9 is wrong by default (it's like 4:3 unstretched).
In my picture above you can see that the back lights and the car proportions are correct in my NFS 4, but here in NFS 3 the back lights are oval (wrong):
http://fs5.directupload.net/images/160418/k8io7hyk.jpg
NFS 3
4:3 @wide-screen, round back lights (correct):
http://fs5.directupload.net/images/160418/fant89z6.jpg
4:3 unstretched and 16:9, oval backlights (wrong):
http://fs5.directupload.net/images/160418/3i8gpzvi.jpg
NFS4 doesn't support widescreen resolutions. You're running 4:3 as 16:9. As the result everything is stretched.
Pixels have to be square. If some model looks wrong when pixels are squire, it means that the 3D model is wrong. Do you understand it?
Ok, I can repeat it. If some model looks right when pixels are not squire, it means that the 3D model is wrong. Is it clear?
So, if you would like to see how 3D models of the cars look like, do it only when 4:3 is displayed as 4:3 and only 4:3, not 16:9 nor 16:10.
Yes, I understand what you mean. You think NFS 4 models are wrong in 4:3, but they look correct when stretched to wide-screen. Okay, but nowadays everyone plays in wide-screen and so will have correct proportions (even when this is just a surprise). But in NFS 3 it's the opposite. Models are correct in 4:3, but wrong in wide-screen. So you may will have round back lights when stretching 4:3 to wide-screen, but without stretching or original 16:9 the back lights are oval and wrong. My question only was if you can fix this or maybe add an option to the nfs3.ini that everyone can play with the FOV. I think that would be helpful and a nice feature for many people.
Look, we both love this good old game and only want the best possible experience. But you are the one who have programming knowledge and can create a perfect patch for this masterpiece. I only can say what I would like to have optimised and I think this is the reason for this blog that people can discuss about your awesome project. We should work together. I am the one who worked for years on NFS Porsche Unleashed and I really appreciate your excellent effort.
When I look at the models in original 4:3, then NFS 3 has wrong proportions (oval back lights etc.). The same is in 16:9, because NFS 3 has "correct" wide-screen support with your patch so that the car won't get stretched. But this exactly is the problem. It better should be stretched to have correct proportions. In 16:10 it looks most realistic. Back lights are round and the car mesh is almost real. So the 16:10 FOV would be perfect for all resolutions, 4:3and 16:9.
No, it's not an IMHO, it's a fact. Some of models in the NFS4 have wrong proportions.
It's only some 3D models of car bodies. Model of the 3D world looks stretched, car wheels look stretched, cars with right proportions of their 3D models look stretched.
When you're running 4:3 as 16:9, it is not a widescreen resolution. It's just stretched 4:3 resolution. Don't mess the words, please.
NFS3 supports widescreen resolutions. And when 16:9 displayed as 16:9, 4:3 displayed as 4:3, visible proportions of everything will be absolutely the same.
Specially for you:
http://veg.by/files/nfs3/images/screenshot_011_1280x960.jpg — a real 1280×960 (4:3).
http://veg.by/files/nfs3/images/screenshot_012_1280x960.jpg — 1280×720 (16:9) inscribed into the 1280×960.
Try to switch between these images quickly and you will see that proportions of the visible image aren't changed. Everything is rendered as it have to be rendered. There is no stretched things. Just because NFS3 supports widescreen resolutions properly.
And again, when you're running 4:3 as 16:9, it's not a widescreen resolution, it's just stretched 4:3 resolution.
As I have said before, NFS3 modern patch renders all 3D models as they were created by the NFS3 developers.
Do you propose to ruin proportions of all other objects just because you don't like proportions of the Lamborgini Diablo SV 3D model?
As I had said before, if you don't like how original model of the Lamborgini Diablo SV looks like, just get car editor and change this car. It is not needed to ruin everything just because original 3D model of the Lamborgini Diablo SV looks a little bit higher than the real Lamborgini Diablo SV in the real world. All models of cars in the NFS3 are very simplified models of the real cars, many of them differ from the real ones much more than Lamborgini Diablo SV. But it doesn't mean that it have to be changed. If you don't like some model, just recreate it from the scratch. NFS3 Modern Patch supports huge textures and high poly cars, so you can use as much polygons as you wish. It is not needed to fix models through the ass, just because it fixes one thing and ruins everything else.
Modern Patch doesn't prohibit you to set any 4:3 resolution and stretch it to 16:9. So if you like 4:3 stretched to the 16:9, just set 4:3 resolution and stretch it to 16:9. What is the problem?
VEG, how is NFS4 patch progressing? Will you release some beta patch soon? Also would you consider doing a patch for first NFS: SE? It's the only old NFS that cannot be played on modern windows. It's made to work with DX2 If remeber correctly. You don't need to do anything fancy like NFS3 patch just to make it work on newer windows. I would kill for that patch. Please consider doing it someday.
Milan, unfortunately I don't have enough free time for this project now. I have to find a new job. So, I don't know when the NFS4 Modern Patch v0.1 will be released.
VEG, why did you decide to do NFS3 patch instead of NFS4 in the first place? I mean the driving is almost if not completley identical in both games and NFS4 has better graphics and new tracks to drive + old ones from NFS3. It's just strange that you picked NFS3 instead of NFS4. For me NFS4 is the example of perfect arcade racing game that only needs better graphics and sound without any gameplay changes.
Milan, just because I like NFS3 and don't like NFS4 :)
NFS4 looks like a careless work. There are ugly menu, ugly HUD, 3D models with wrong proportions (car bodies, road signs), and even NFS3 tracks are spoiled in the NFS4 (e.g. random upside-down trees). Also I don't like the physics model of the NFS4. Few new effects of the NFS4 worth nothing. If you care about effects, just use the latest version of the Need For Speed (2015). IMHO, the only valuable thing in the NFS4 is the new tracks.
NFS4 Modern Patch is just a side project of the NFS3 Modern Patch, and it is not strange that NFS4 version have such low priority.
BTW, you can download the latest preview version of the NFS4 patch here: http://veg.by/files/nfs4/nfs4_modern_patch_alpha.7z
You misunderstood me VEG. I don't care that much about graphics. When I started with gaming a long, long time ago the games didn't have graphics. I've just mentioned that HD remake without any changes to gameplay would be nice. You also mentioned the physics. Did you mean like driving? I have both games installed and I see literally no difference. Also I don't care for the menu looks and I always turn off HUD completley and cockpit view on for proper driving expirience. 3D models are good for that year. If NSF3 was your first NFS game ever than I understand why you like it better.