Introduction and the Issue
I'm making this "build" because this game is a bit of a nightmare to setup, there are a couple of fan patches which work to an extent, but I wanted to make a 100% unmodified build of the game using nothing but wrappers (DGvoodoo2 and DxWnd). Also restoring a lot of effects that were missing (whether they were turned on in the games' settings or not, such as fog, shadows, explosions on walls etc.).
First of all, the installer itself is 16bit, which means it cannot be launched on a 64bit machine. Therefor I installed my own CD on a Windows XP 32bit machine and copied it over to my modern PC. Next we are going to use DGvoodoo2 and DxWnd to play the game, making ZERO alterations to any game files. And best of all, the game is completely portable, meaning no need for CDs (physical or mounted), it just runs!
Setting up and running
You will need 3 things (click each to download):
- Pre installed Game (check pinned messages in #phantom-menace, I can't link to it directly on SRC)
- DxWnd
- DxWnd config
Now, make a folder on your C:\ root called Games, then extract and move the game folder to it so you have "C:\Games\LucasArts\The Phantom Menace" (if you want to change this read on).
Next extract DxWnd (I recommend moving it to My Documents or Documents depending on Windows version, its a very good application for running older games and making them windowed too). Open DxWnd and right click in the window and selection "Import..." select "Star Wars - Episode I - The Phantom Menace.dxw", right click the newly added icon named "Star Wars - Episode I - The Phantom Menace" and click Modify, edit the "Path:" to "C:\Games\LucasArts\The Phantom Menace\WMAIN.exe". Click File and Save.
Now just double click "Star Wars - Episode I - The Phantom Menace", click OK to confirm saving virtual registry settings, and the game should launch with all visual effects intact.
I have extensively tested this on both Windows 7 64 bit and Windows 10 64 bit on intel integrated graphics, AMD integrated graphics and an Nvidia GPU, it has worked well on all systems I've tested it on.
There is no need to run the game in compatibility mode or run as admin (unless you have the game running from the Program Files folder, which is why I recommend C:\Games).
Changing Game Directory
If you want to place the game elsewhere, in DxWnd go to Options and select Extended mode. Then right click "Star Wars - Episode I - The Phantom Menace" and click Modify, edit the "Path:" to where "WMAIN.exe" is, then go to the Registry tab and change the FOUR lines pointing to "C:\Games\LucasArts\The Phantom Menace" - make sure you use double \ for each directory as seen here. If you plan to move the game to Program Files you must run the game and DxWnd as admin to save, change settings etc. - ticking the "Acquire Admin Caps" box.
Changing Position & Resolution
This game actually uses two resolutions, one for the menus and one for the game itself. It's highly recommended to stick with 640X480 (set by default ingame) and instead integer upscale to what you what it to be. For this, go into the game folder and open dgVoodooCpl.exe, go to the DirectX tab and change 640X480 to either 1280X960 or 1920X1440 - keeping the 4:3 aspect ratio to avoid potential problems or graphical glitches (make sure your monitors' vertical resolution is compatible obviously). It must be integer scaled (divisible by 480), otherwise there are graphical glitches, particularly in the menus.
In DxWnd right click "Star Wars - Episode I - The Phantom Menace" and click Modify, then change "Window initial position and size" to match what you set in dgVoodooCpl.exe, position can be wherever on the screen you want the game window to be (example: X: 1280 , Y: 600 will place the window in the bottom right on a 1920X1080 display).
Do not change any other settings in either dgVoodooCpl.exe or DxWnd!
Windowed or Fullscreen
By default I've set the game to run in a modal window (borderless) which you can position anywhere you like using coordinates (see above). To make it run fullscreen and/or on a second monitor, do not untick the "Run in Window" option, instead simply specify the monitor number and change your monitor resolution to match with the scaling settings above (keep X,Y coordinates at 0,0 respectively), so if you have a want 1280X960, specify 1280X960 in dgVoodooCpl.exe's DirectX tab, and also DxWnd's "Window initial position and size":
Do not change any other settings in either dgVoodooCpl.exe or DxWnd!
Then right click on your desktop, Display Settings, scroll down and click Advanced Display Settings, Display Adapter Properties, List All Modes and select 1280X960.The game will now display in "fake fullscreen" when launched on the respective monitor.Some GPU software will let you set custom resolutions in their respective control panels, also allowing custom resolutions, such as 1920X1440 etc. which by default Windows doesn't let you set, using Custom Resolution Utility you can allow Windows to set this however. Simply Add 1920X1440 60Hz in CRU, then double click the Restart64 exe, which will refresh your monitors, just wait a few seconds until it all comes back, then you should see 1920X1440 available from the "List All Modes" menu above.
Capturing in OBS
Capturing in OBS is a lot easier now, launch the game and ctrl+alt+del, bring up task manager, now open OBS, either Game Capture or Window Capture and select WMAIN.exe, then go back into the game. If there is a cursor in the center just click and it should disappear, if not restart the game.
