Messages

Nice to find you here.
I also did my own combined patch last year. I talked to you already on NFSCars.
I remember I told you to delete one file because I thought it is redundant, it had the same size as original file. Reason is I wanted this patch to really be as clean as possible, because IPLounge's patches were a real mess. That's why it took me my whole summer vacation and then some to study every single file.
But when I compared in HEX editor I realized it actually was modified, but you weren't on the forum since.
Anyway, it's been so long, I have to check things again.

Also since then I came a long way, that means I have every NFS Redump image, if anyone wants.

I am satisfied with your answer.
If there was a downloadable update, it would be on their official site. At least it is for HP2.
On NFS3 website I also found there was an Auto-Patcher.

I already know the differences between 3.0, 3.2, 3.4 and 3.5. And I already downloaded all the CD's from Keiiko's Mega link.

SafeDisc doesn't work on Windows 10 anyway, so this 3.5 official exe is no good to me anyway, same for cracked exe's. We already solved which files you need in the thread Difference of patches.
It was more for comparing official to cracked, but at least I did this for v3.4.
Reason for this was I first thought EA used Myth's crack, as it says official update on iplounge.net, but it's not official.
That wouldn't be the first case of this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myth_(warez)
So now I have all the information and all the files that exist for NFS5.

EDIT:
I downloaded all PC Zone CD's from 2000 from archive.org, from July to December (demo is on June's), and there's only a NFS HS update 4.44. But it's an exe. I always found it strange how come the NFS5 one comes in a zip and you have to manually copy files to different folders.
Now I know, it's third party.

EDIT2:
If you download 35nocd.zip from iplounge.net, it has the files from EAUpdate, proof is in the file update.log.

Have you checked that, does it already contain a crack?
Additionally the file dates display August 2000... when the patch actually has been released...?

As I said, I checked all that I could find on internet.
I also checked the official sites in the topic "Old Need for Speed Websites - Nostalgia & History". They only have the demo and the 4 cars.
Sites that I mentioned have the best version of this update, but it's still not original.

Every other file except the exe and the 3 txt files is dated 3.4.2000.
I also found cracked updates 3.3, 3.4 and 3.5 from MYTH.
3.3 is very rare, never heard of this one before, but I always wondered if it existed. Reason is it was never released in stores, from NFO: "The european store final had 3.0, USA had 3.2.". And then there was also v3.4 CD. I don't think there's a CD version of v3.3 and v3.5.

v3.3 - 3.4.2000
v3.4 - 3.5.2000 (only exe is changed from v3.3)
v3.5 - 26.6.2000, properties.txt 27.6.2000 01:38 (only exe is changed from v3.3)

I presume version.txt wasn't changed, so official ones were released on the same day.
In v3.5, every file is the same as the one from iplounge, only it doesn't have the ReadME!.txt from 10.8.2000.
So this update from iplounge (and Game Front and NFS-Planet) is certainly not the official one and was repacked from MYTH release in august 2000.

If not on internet, what's left is CD's from PC magazines from 2000. I had them, but I threw them away in 2012.

While most NFS related things are in the "pub/ea/" path, beware that some files have been stored in different locations.
(for example the Voodoo3 patch for NFS3 is at

Do you know where to find NFS 5 updates? I need the official one, mainly 3.5.
I'm 100% sure the one that is on iplounge.net is not the official one as it has a cracked exe.
And exe is from 26.6.2000 and readme from 10.8.2000, so it was certainly packed later.
I also found the same one on Game Front and NFS-Planet, and slightly modified zip on Patches Scrolls.

I really want to play this game with a wheel. I have Thrustmaster RGT FFB and Logitech DFGT.
Farthest I came was getting it to work with Xbox 360 gamepad. But it's no good anyway, always around 3s slower times than with keyboard.
Option 1 is to plug the mouse and keyboard into USB3.
Option 2, better one, is to install porsche.sdb from Complete Patch.

But none works with all 3 of my wheels and Xbox One controller.
It recognizes analog inputs under control settings, but once you get to play, only digital inputs work.

Second problem is that it is very time consuming to set all the inputs, as the game starts to lag like hell.

Then I thought to try other Windows. I now have Windows 10 64-bit. Others that would be good to try:
-Windows 98: wheel won't work, as you can only get Windows 7-10 drivers:
http://ts.thrustmaster.com/download/accessories/pc/unified_drivers/Package_2017_FFD_1_Release-Notes.txt
Maybe Logitech ones, it says Windows XP (or older):
https://support.logitech.com/en_us/product/driving-force-gt/downloads

-Windows XP: probably the worst choice, as I remember you needed the XP patch and also the LOD patch.
Or I could just use the Complete Patch (nGlide), but I don't know if it is made for XP.

-Windows 7: according to PCGW, USB3 fix is only necessary for Windows 8 onwards:
https://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Need_for_Speed:_Porsche_Unleashed#Analog_inputs_do_not_function_on_newer_versions_of_Windows
So this should be the best version, probably 32-bit.

Just in case someone doesn't know, you have to copy/paste the whole link and not just double click it.

Code Select Expand

https://web.archive.org/web/*/ftp://ftp.ea.com/pub/*

On NFSCars, A Future Pilot already made a Combined Patch, I also helped him with minor details.
http://www.nfscars.net/forums/topics/nfs5-essentials-formerly-game-fixes-and-extras/43771/2/#post-643148

@MADMAN_nfs:
I also saw that topic. Too bad I can't do much about it as download link expired.
But I can at least:
1. Login to iplounge.net. I already registered, but admin needs to activate my account. I emailed [RS]JMac, but his last post is more than 1 year old, so he rarely visits the forum. So I also emailed [RS]Razr and [RS]Bart and asked if they can contact one of the admins, but no response from them either.
2. Try how the hand behaves in Win98 with a slower processor.


In the meanwhile I also got a lot of answers by reading the iplounge.net forum. For example, here is the answer to why the Porsche 928 files have 2011 date:
http://www.iplounge.net/ipl2/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2507
Tuurngait just took the files from their download page, he even noticed they are from 2011, but he didn't find it that strange, so he left it like that.

And in the NFSCars topic I found out the exe from NFS5 Essentials doesn't have any more enhancements than the one in Complete Patch:

Didn't do any hex editing other than the 32-bit menu fix. However the exe had modifications for loading the highest quality textures on processors above 2.1 GHz

EDIT 13.8.2018:
I tried the game in PCem and Win95, the hand movement is just slightly slower, but that's because it emulates Pentium 233.
What I couldn't figure out is why the textures are low quality. Emulated processor is certainly not too fast and I have everything set to High.

Then I read this topic again:
https://www.iplounge.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2364

On the other hand, maybe the Hand fix Exe is exactly what Im describing - Enhanced exe that just took a step further and completely solved the hand problem.

So I had to try the Enhanced Edition exe (12.9.2012) to see if the hand movement is really worse than in Complete Patch. And it is worse, hand moves just from wheel to gearstick, but it stutters.

With older exe's, 16.3.2000 from MYTH rip v3.0 and 26.6.2000 from official EA v3.5 (interestingly, made from MYTH exe, you can still see the signature) the hand goes all over the place, from horn to gearstick to above the dashboard.
And that's all the exe's that even work today, as SafeDisc protection doesn't work in Windows 7 and newer.

So this is 100% fixed in Complete Patch, end of story here.

EDIT 15.8.2018:
Actually not 100%, the hand still stutters sometimes if you have transmission set to automatic, it goes from gearstick to over the dashboard, but not on the horn. Once it even did a big stutter, almost like with no patch.

[install NFS5 Essentials first, then Complete Patch]

First thing, I'm glad that I didn't have to resurrect this thread as it's not even 1 year old. That means that I will hopefully not just make an archive post for myself, but also provide information for others and possibly even get more info from you.

I was also confused while trying to get Porsche Unleashed to run on Windows 10 and also to make it the best version available.
What I quickly figured out by comparing files is that it is best to install NFS5 Essentials first, then Complete Patch.
NFS5 Essentials doesn't even make the game playable in Win10 as it doesn't have the needed dll's in Drivers folder for use with nGlide. So this fact alone suggests it is better to install it first.
It is most useful for the 40 fixes, most of them are for Evolution mode. I have no idea how necessary they really are, but looking at the list, they mostly corrected historic discrepancies.

As for Enhanced Patch and everything else from iplounge.net Downloads page, I don't think any download is needed if you have the above 2 patches.


I also wanted to know what each file does, so that I could decide which ones to keep.

NFS5 Essentials
FEData\Data\nfs5.car - unlocks all cars, I guess it is not needed for the 40 fixes that are listed in the Game Fixes and Extras.txt

Not needed files:
gimme.dll - size 4.599.863 B, in Complete Patch it is 5.120 B, but I don't know what I can conclude from this, I only know from past that it is a memory manager as it wasn't advisable to delete it in Win XP. And that low size in Complete Patch suggest they removed a lot of things from it, so I'm not completely sure here.
Porsche.exe - only because the file is newer in Complete Patch, 29.12.2015 instead of 11.10.2011, I don't know which is actually better
SaveData\8Player.sav - before you get to the main menu it crashes to desktop, but Googling today I found this is a known issue

Complete Patch
Porsche.exe - fixed exe so that you don't get low quality textures, of course V3.5, I haven't compared anything else, let alone in HEX viewer
Drivers\dx7z.dll and voodoo2z.dll - needed for the game to work with nGlide
GameData\CarModel\carcmn.fsh - Chrome Patch, and a very good one, I haven't yet tried all of them from nfscars.net, but it's way better than the 14.2.2004 one, Reflection Mod by SPYRacer
GameData\Simulation\CarData\993coupeS36.sim - I think this file is for "Fixed possible speed boost for the 993 Carrera S" which is listed in readme_mod.txt
It is also a file in which it is easiest to find differences in HEX viewer, as it is only 328 B. Before that, I didn't even knew I also have to watch for file dates, as almost all fixed files in these patches have the same size as original files from 2000.

Not needed files:
FeData\Locale\festrings.loc - the file is original from V3.5 with date 3.4.2000, in NFS5 Essentials it has date 25.3.2015
GameData\DashHud\speedKN.fsh - same one is already in NFS5 Essentials
I don't exactly know what it does, but my first guess would be that it has to do something with a speedometer.
I think this describes it, from NFS5 Essentials readme:

34. Porsche Boxster, 911 (996), GT1 and GT3 now uses the correct HUD KPH speedometer types at night.

From Complete Patch readme:

- Fixed dashboard meters/headlight bug after driving on night tracks.
- Fixed wrong speedometer for some cars when driving on night tracks.

And then I also have a Porsche 928 dilemma.
NFS5 Essentials
928d.fsh and 928l.fsh - date 10.12.2002
From readme:

30. Accessing the showcase of the Porsche 928 GTS no longer crashes the game.

Complete Patch
928.crp, 928.tpg, 928D.fsh and 928L.fsh - date 27.1.2011
No info in readme.
I haven't used these, as I don't know what they do and I haven't found any differences with HEX viewer (I'm not saying there aren't any).

EDIT 2020_07_26 (actually already found it 2018_08_09, just didn't write here):
Here is the answer about these 2011 files, they're already included in addon cars files:
http://www.iplounge.net/ipl2/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2507