Sacred 2 - Fallen Angel

What works

• Installation runs but it doesn't end correctly (doesn't ask for the second disk)
• Activating the game (Securom Protection) works fine.
• Launching the game with Win XP compatibility works fine.
• Movies, quest, main menu and playing a short game work.
  

What does not

• Launching the game with Win Vista compatibility doesn't work
• Launching the game without the d3dx9_36.dll in System32 doesn't work
• Audio in the main menu and during the game doesn't work (seems that there are problems with openAL(!?))
• Every String of Text in the main menu and during the game (for example items name and description) are missing.
  

Workarounds

What was not tested

Version of Sacred 2 different from the italian one, the elité add-on, the patched game.

­I run the game and registered the standard output:­

Hardware tested

Graphics:

• GPU:
• Driver:

Additional Comments

It has been necessary to copy the d3dx9_36.dll in System32 and selecting the Win XP compatibility before getting it working.

### Installation ###

Installation from DVDs does not work (It does not ask for second disk, up until now)

Howto:
Copy both the DVDs onto the same directory tree on your personal system.
Launch installation from that directory, and enjoy Sacred 2.

### Activation ###

You may encounter problems while activating Sacred 2 Gold Edition: the activation may hang on several minutes and then fail, or the game may be activated and still ask for licence activation.

Howto:
Verify that you have read/write/execute permissions onto all the directories the game uses, because the activation needs to create several files in your local file system. Then execute the game always from the local directory of sacred:

cd $HOME/.wine/drive_c/Programs/Deep Silver/Sacred 2 - Gold/system
wine ./sacred2.exe

Remember that you can activate the game even manually, this way should always work.

(Note: for me there haven't been any issue in Securom ACTIVATION since the 1.2 version of wine)

### Improve Poor Graphic Performance  ###

Some users observed that on certain platforms, disabling Physx helps improving performance.

Another trick is to Locate the Directory: /home/your_user_account/.wine/drive_c/users/your_user_account/Local Settings/Applications/Ascaron Entertainment/Sacred 2
Create a NEW file named <o­ptionsCustom.txt> and write these lines:

settings.enableMobilitySupport = 0
settings.usePhysHW = 1

Save and quit.

### Get Audio Working ###

Patched Version of Sacred 2.64.0, or even the game from the dvd box itself, may encounter Audio Glitches or complete absence of Audio.

Fix: (works with both 32 and 64 bit architectures)

Open Configure Wine and select the tab named "Libraries".

Set an override for the library openal32, and select from the Modify Menu the entry Native then Builtin.

OR

Put DIIOverrides key for openal32 to native and native only. (Anders Erik Hägg)­

­ 

### Get Video Working ###

There should not be any graphic issue with current versions of wine.

Anyway, there are some Game (not Wine) specific solution to some graphic problems.

Do not hesitate to post problems you encounter: common solutions would then be added.

### Avoiding Crashes ###

Ascaron released a tool that helps in crash avoidance: Sacred 2 - Cleanup Utility

### Directx9c - (Obsolete) ###

Important:What Follows is no more needed for newer Versions of Wine. It has been kept for Completeness and old versions users.

You need to copy a native d3dx9_36.dll to your $HOME/.wine/drive_c/windows/system32/ directory. You may download it fr­om here or get it from an existing Windows installation.

If you still face troubles you may have to turn on FBO. To do so, open registry (wine regedit) and add the following String-Value: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Wine\Direct3d\OffscreenRenderingMode and set it to "FBO" (without the "").

If the game still doesn't run you got the same problem as me, and probably a ATi graphics card, and/or a 64 bit system.