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No One Lives Forever


No One Lives Forever
Genre: First Person Shooter
Release Year: 2000
Developer: Monolith Productions
Publisher: Fox Interactive
Age Rating: 18+
Playability Status: Perfect
Tested On: Windows 10 x64, Windows 7 x64, Windows 8 x64
Availability: Officially released for free (including source code)

Cool cat Cate Archer is completely compatible with your contemporary computer!

Stylish 60’s chic themed “The Operative: No One Lives Forever” (to give it its full title) is a highly polished and superbly playable FPS title. Playing as super agent Cate Archer, you can move through 60 different levels of espionage action. Agent Archer will need to skydive, swim, drive and sneak around the games varied environments. Critically acclaimed when released and now something of a cult classic, No One Lives Forever can be run perfectly on the latest Windows 7 PC’s and is still extremely playable today.

Installation

The biggest problem preventing potential agents from diving into this game is the installer itself. On 32 bit versions of Windows the original edition of the game will install, patch and run without any significant problems. However, the installer file is incompatible with 64 bit versions of Windows, even though the game itself runs just fine. To solve this problem, you can download the fixed 64 bit installer by using this link (link broken? Let me know here). The installer is written using NSIS scripting language and has only been tested with the original release of the game. Currently the installer only supports English, but the full source code is available should anyone want to improve upon it. To use the installer, download it, then insert your No One Lives Forever disc 1 into your DVD drive. Now, run the installer and follow all the on screen prompts. If you encounter any difficulties, please let us know in the comments.

Note that if you have the Game of the Year Edition of No One Lives Forever, you do not need this installer file. The Game of the Year edition includes a different installer that is fully 64 bit compatible.

Patching

For best results we strongly recommend patching the game to the latest version. There were four patches originally released for the game. The first three patches were re-released as a bundle, allowing you to update the game from version 1.0 to 1.3. Unfortunately, the patch has the same problem as the games installer file in that it is incompatible with 64 bit versions of Windows. 64 bit Windows users can download a compatible version of the patch by using this link (link broken? Let me know here).

Patch 4 is compatible with all versions of Windows, and can be downloaded here (link broken? Let me know here).

The Game of the Year edition is already pre-patched to version 1.4 so no additional patching is required if you own this version of the game.

Windows 8 only – DirectDraw FPS fix

A big thank you to user “SuperGod” in the comments section for figuring this one out. Microsoft made some changes to the way legacy DirectDraw and DirectX games run in Windows 8. This has had various effects from actually making a few games run better to completely breaking many more. In the case of No One Lives Forever, the changes caused the games FPS (frames per second) to be capped at around 30. We PC gamers are used to butter smooth 60fps as a minimum of course, so this was rather disappointing. Thankfully though, you can now use this direct draw fix that will make the game run at full pelt on Windows 8. Simply download the zip file here (link broken? Let me know here). Once the zip file has downloaded, open it up. Inside the zip file there are two folders, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. Open whichever folder matches the version of Windows you are running (presumably 8.1 for the majority of people as there’s not much reason to still be on Windows 8). Inside the folder is a file called “DDRAW.dll”. Copy this file to your No One Lives Forever game folder. By default it is in C:\Program Files\Monolith Productions\No One Lives Forever. That’s it, you can now run the game just fine on Windows 8.

Since this is a specific fix for these kinds of games, do NOT be tempted to overwrite any other copies of DDRAW.dll you may find elsewhere on your computer. To read more about what this fix does and why, see this link.

As an alternative to the above fix, you can try the DXPrimaryEmulation fix that user “SuperGod” discovered. This fix uses Microsoft’s own compatibility toolkit. We’ve written a simple installer for this fix that you can download here (link broken? Let me know here). You should use one or the other of these fixes, you do not need both. Simply use the one you find works best on your system. Uninstall one fix before switching to the other.

Tweaking Visual Quality

No One Lives Forever Options MenuWhen you first start the game, the launcher will give you the choice of three quality presets. You can choose any of these and tweak the settings later. Because this is an old game, you can usually choose the highest quality settings even on a less powerful computer. Once in the game, there are several options you can tweak under the “Options” menu.

Display options – Use this menu to set the games resolution. Choose a resolution close to your monitors native resolution and set Texture Depth to 32. Note – If you are using the Widescreen patch as detailed below, do not open this menu as it will reset the changes you make when applying the widescreen patch.

Sound – Use this menu to change sound volume. Be sure to set sound effects quality to High.

Controls – You can configure the games controls here. The game includes joypad support, but you may need a third party utility like XPadder to get it working correctly.

Game – The options in this menu can be set to taste and do not generally affect performance.

Performance – This menu contains the performance settings that affect how good the game looks. Enter this menu and then click on “Display” to get to the advanced display settings. From here, choose “Texture Resolution”. You will now find yourself on a screen with six green slider controls. Ramp these controls all up to the maximum for full visual quality.

Make sure all special effects are turned to “On”. On our copy of the game, Mirrors were disabled no matter what we tried, if we figure out how to enable this setting in future the article will be updated.

Finally, enable “Sound filtering effects” if desired. The game will warn you that this will have a negative impact on performance, but since the game is ten years old it is unlikely to tax a modern PC too much. If you find that the game does run too slowly after making these changes, you can always revert back to the pre-set quality settings by opening the Performance menu and choosing the appropriate performance preset.

If you have an Nvidia or ATI graphics card, it may be possible to further enhance the games visuals by forcing antialiasing on in the game. This smooths out the jagged edges of the objects in the game. On our Nvidia equipped test machine, we opened the Nvidia control panel, went to “Manage 3D Settings”, selected “Program Settings” and then added the “lithtech.exe” executable from the games installation directory as a custom program. We then selected “Override any application setting” and “32x CSAA” as our antialiasing options. This slightly improved the graphical quality in game, smoothing out those noticeable jaggy edges on the image. See the documentation that came with your particular graphics card for more details on how to do this.

Widescreen support

Widescreen support is available for No One Lives Forever. The caveat is that some of the weapons appear stretched as agent Archer wields them. If you choose not to play in widescreen and you have a widescreen monitor or TV, make sure your TV does not stretch the image, there should be black bars at either side of the screen. The full discussion of the widescreen patch can be found on the Widescreen Gaming forum here. To apply the unofficial widescreen patch, download the file here, then follow these steps.

1) Unzip the nolfdll.zip file to a temporary folder on your PC. On modern versions of Windows, you can do this simply by double clicking on the zip file, which will open it like  a regular folder. Now copy the contents to any folder on your PC.

2) Locate the No One Lives Forever program folder on your PC. By default it is in C:\Program Files\Monolith Productions\No One Lives Forever. Open this folder in Windows Explorer.

3) Find the file NOLFDLL.REZ – If you can’t find this file, you may have the file extension hidden. See this page for more information on this. Rename this file to NOLFDLL.OLD. On the Game of the Year edition this file might not be present at all, so simply skip this step and move directly onto step 4 below.

4) Copy the NOLFDLL.REZ from the zip file you downloaded and extracted earlier into the “custom” sub-folder in your No One Lives Forever directory. If you can’t find a “custom” sub folder, then create one.

5) Start the game from it’s shortcut but don’t click on “Launch” just yet. Instead, click on “Advanced”. This will open the NOLF – Advanced Options window. In the bottom of this window there is a section called “Command-Line”. enter the following line of text into this box:-

-rez nolfdll.rez ++screenwidth "1920" ++screenheight "1080" ++screendepth "32"

 

You can type this in manually or copy and paste. If you want another resolution other than 1080p, edit the command accordingly. For instance, if you want to play at 720p, edit the line above and substitute the number “1920” for “1280” and “1080” for “720”. Once it is done, the window should appear as shown below:-

 

nolf widescreen settings

 

6) Click on the “Customize” button. You should see a window with “NOLFDLL.REZ” listed on the left. Click on this and then click on “Add >”. Finally, tick/check the box labelled “Always load these rez files”. The window should then look like the one shown below.

 

widescreen-extra

 

7) Now click on “OK”, then “OK” again and then “Launch”. The game should now launch in your chosen widescreen resolution, enjoy!

Troubleshooting

Problems saving games or settings – Like many older games, No One Lives Forever places its save game files and various configuration files in the same directory that it is installed to. This can cause problems on more modern versions of Windows as programs are not normally permitted to write to the program files directory. To avoid this problem, either install the game to an alternate location (e.g c:\Games\NOLF) or manually edit the permissions on the “No One Lives Forever” folder. If you used the default installation directory from the original installer, the games folder can be found at “C:\Program Files\Monolith Productions\No One Lives Forever”. A tutorial on how to edit folder permissions can be found here.

Known issues

  • Game may crash on exit (Windows 7/8 x64).
  • Widescreen patch makes currently used weapon appear out of proportions.
  • Levels containing underwater sections may cause issues on some graphics cards (see the comments below for more details).


Multiplayer, communities and other notes

Being something of a cult classic, the game still has a small but dedicated following. This community run multiplayer games and can advise new players on the best way to join in the fun. New agents should visit Unity HQ immediately!

The popular gaming utility Evolve supports No One Lives Forever, allowing you to take screenshots and videos as well as chat to your friends and browse the web all without having to leave the game.

Screenshots

Click on any screenshot for a larger view:-

nolf-1080p


Above: Running the game at 1080p with all settings set on max. Below: The game in its original aspect ratio.
No One Lives Forever screenshot 1 No one lives forever screenshot 2

 

317 comments

  1. slyfox676 says:

    I’ve manage to get the game running smoothly except when I dive into water. Whenever I dive into water, the screen is black except I can see my health/armor, the oxygen level I have, ammunition amount, crosshair, the different functions/ammunitions a weapon could have when I cycle through it, and the side panel that has what weapons I have available. Could it be a problem with the actual disc making this happen?

  2. BuckoA51 says:

    Doesn’t sound like a problem with the disc. That could be a fault that I didn’t spot because I only did the first level (the briefing). What’s the first level with water on it so I can look into it further?

    • slyfox676 says:

      Misfortune in Morrocco End of Scene 3 right before you start Scene 4, and middle of Scene 4: Everything works correctly until I go underwater and the screen turns black. The screen turns back to normal when I get out of the water, but if I dive back in, the screen becomes black again. I’ve looked online a couple places and I’m thinking it may have something to do with my Operating System. I have Windows 7. I’ve tried taking my working version from Windows XP to my Windows 7 and transferring it, I’ve tried getting it off of the NOLF 1 and NOLF 2 disc to make it work and no success :( I managed to get away with playing up through Tenuous Lead Scene 5, but I’m worried I won’t be able to play The Dive Scene 3 if it is always black when I go underwater.

      • BuckoA51 says:

        I’ve just played the Misfortune in Morrocco level this evening on my Windows 7 machine, I didn’t experience any problems diving underwater. I’m using an Nvidia GTX580 graphics card…

        Also, the second level of this game is super hard, especially if you try to be stealthy!

  3. BuckoA51 says:

    Have you made sure you have the very latest drivers for your graphics card and installed the latest DirectX end-user runtimes? You can get the DirectX update here:- http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=35 Yes they are still needed on Windows 7 and even Windows 8.

  4. Ahmed says:

    i get a black screen when i dive in water too. this sucks i can’t beat the game!

    • slyfox676 says:

      Yeah :( I’m still trying to figure out if there is anything I can fix. Right now I’m just working with it. I used a cheat to get pass the Dive Scene 3 that I couldn’t complete, but I managed to do all the other missions prior to it just fine. It may affect the Intelligent Items in Misfortune in Morroco Scene 4 and Tenuous Lead Scene 5, but I can still complete the mission without using a cheat. The only missions left that I think this may affect game play is Trouble in the Tropics, Alpine Intrigue, and the Indomitable Cate Archer mission. I’m thinking I might have to use the cheat again the Alpine Intrigue scene 3, and I think I get by with the rest. What’s interesting is that if you play the Briefing Scene before the dive, I managed to get the icon to shoot the belt buckle while I was in the water and the screen was black. It’s as if game play is completely the same but you’re playing blind folded lol

    • BuckoA51 says:

      Do you have the same or similar graphics card as Slyfox?

  5. Mike says:

    doesnt seem to be working with the game of the year edition. is that correct or am i wrong? when i insert disc 2 i get a message to insert the correct cd2…

    • BuckoA51 says:

      It’s not needed for the GOTYE, just install that normally. The other mods and fixes still work.

      • Mike says:

        i got the goty edition but i cant install anyway because of 32/64 bit. at least thats what the game tells me.

        • BuckoA51 says:

          Just tried it here on Windows 8 64 bit and the Game of the Year edition installs perfectly from the original CD, so I’m not sure what’s going on there, sorry.

          • Mike says:

            does it make any difference what country my copy is from or if i use win 8 or 7? my copy of the game is from the uk, im from germany and i got win7 :) never played NOLF so obvously i NEED to play it!

            • BuckoA51 says:

              Windows 7 and 8 are both compatible. If you have the GOTYE it should install direct from the CD regardless of language. My installer for the standard version has only been checked on an English language (UK) version of the game.

  6. CraigGunn says:

    This doesn’t work properly for windows 7 x64 bit, when I play this game it freezes and then I get a black screen with the game running in the background. I end up having to press CTRL+ALT+DEL to bring up task manager and click cancel just to get rid of the black screen. Sometimes it crashes completly and says that msvcrt.dll is the fault module name. Can anyone let me know why this happens on windows 7 x64 bit.

    • BuckoA51 says:

      The game works just fine on our Windows 7 64 bit PC, I’ve personally played the first few missions and had no issues whatsoever on Win 7 64. Have you tried updating DirectX and/or your videocard drivers?

    • Dave says:

      Some older games for me appear as black with audio running in the background. The fix was to disable my second monitor, and then the game ran just fine.

  7. CraigGunn says:

    I’ve heard that the black screen flicker issue is common for many users with newer computers. Lithtech is a very poorly made game engine and works best on older computers. Have you had the black screen flicker with your PC cause most people do. Anything that I can adjust to make these Lithtech games run properly on my PC cause Contract JACK and NOLF 2 also does that black screen flicker where I have to CTRL+ ALT+DEL just to bring it back to normal screen again. I’ve got many other older games and they all work fine without issues it’s just anything monolith lithtech.

    • BuckoA51 says:

      I’ve never seen this issue or heard of it before, it sounds like something is interfering with the gameplay and popping up while you play. Try to disable any other software you have running. If you are running antivirus or firewall software, put them into Game mode if possible.

  8. duh says:

    “Game is capped to 30fps when using Windows 8” –
    anyone can solve this issue please? I love this game but cant play it on win 8 too much lags.

  9. Grant says:

    I don’t have the disc, but I do have the disc files, how would it work in my case?

  10. G says:

    I’m currently having trouble, the graphics in No One Lives Forever are all glitched out, like the textures are all messed up in weird ways (for example every door is just a featureless grey texture)

    I have not a single clue why this is happening, I’ve managed to get NOLF working just fine on my old Windows 7 computer, but now on my new laptop this happens and I’m just at a loss, does it have something to do with my drivers? as far as I know directx is up to date

    • RV says:

      To others looking at this years later – the problem is caused by lightmaps. Disable lightmaps in the options and you’ll see no such glitching. The problem stems from hardware T&L support on modern GPUs. One way to get around that is to download a bit of software called 3D Analyzer and force software T&L, apparently, however I never managed to get this to work my end :(

  11. BuckoA51 says:

    Could be, what GPU is in your laptop? Have you got the latest drivers for it? As far as you know DirectX is up to date? Did you actually run the DirectX updater tool yourself then?

    • Griff says:

      it’s an Intel Graphics Unit and from the research I’ve done, NOLF doesn’t like Intel cards, is there any way to fix this?

      I’m sorry this is such a late reply, please respond as soon as possible

  12. Andrew says:

    I can’t get the widescreen mod to download, is there anyway you can fix the link? I am excited to play!

  13. Chey says:

    Hey, could someone help me out? I have NOLF 2 and a windows 7 computer. everything is totally find expect that the movie scenes have no sound and the scenes with moving mouths are all cut out. no vocalizations at all. other than that, everything works perfectly

  14. Sar says:

    Hi, any suggestions as to what I can do next? I’ve installed the above suggested in the article (64 – 32 bit installation) and the disc now starts and I can choose settings/gameplay/difficulty etc but when I go to start the actual gameplay, it just stays on the loading screen and will not load.
    Thanks

  15. wired2051 says:

    Do someone know where the savegames are stored under W7? C:\Program Files\Fox\No One Lives Forever\SAVE is empty.

  16. wired2051 says:

    C:\Users\\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files\Fox\No One Lives Forever\SAVE

  17. Alex says:

    I’ve heard of other games which have the low fps problem under Windows 8. It seems to be a problem with the way Windows 8 manages DirectDraw in older games. Here is a workaround for the game “Worms Armageddon”, which has a bad performance under Windows 8 – just like No One Lives Forever.

    Here is the link to the possible solution (two methods):
    http://worms2d.info/Getting_W:A_to_work_on_Windows_8

    Unfortunately I cannot try this advice because I am using Windows 7.
    Maybe someone could try this and tell if it really works.

    • BuckoA51 says:

      Hi Alex,

      Sadly that won’t work for NOLF as it is a Direct3D game, that’s only applicable to very old games that use Direct Draw and screen modes with a lower colour depth.

  18. Alex says:

    I’m sorry for the wrong advice. Getting No One Lives Forever to work properly under Windows 8 seems to be like a guessing game.

    Microsoft has a DirectX software development kit, which can modify the DirectX settings, including Direct3D. Here is the download link:
    http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=6812

    Just another try, but maybe this can help with the bad performance problem.

    • BuckoA51 says:

      No problem, I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Indeed, the DirectX SDK could be useful, the No One Lives Forever source code is publicly available, so hopefully one day someone with programming experience and some free time will be able to fix the 30fps limit on Windows 8.

      • Instandhaltungsnachweis says:

        Unfortunately, old DirectX games seem to be emulated on Windows 8.1, and the performance im fullscreen mode is really bad. I solved the problem by forcing the game to run windowed by adding “+windowed 1” in the command line of the setup menu. This helped for other old DirectX games as well, so give it a try ;-)Oh, and i also turned off the scaling on high DPI stuff in the compatibility options of nolf.exe, so that the window has the right size.

        • BuckoA51 says:

          Direct DRAW games are emulated on Windows 8, but why this would affect a DirectX title I do not know.

          • Instandhaltungsnachweis says:

            Sorry, the windowed thing works for me. I wonder why ;-)

            I have to correct myself, i meant the lithtech.exe …

        • Sonomabob says:

          Thank you for that windowed mode tip. Works for me too on windows 8.1! (game patched to 1.004)

          • Sean says:

            Ive set NOLF to windowed mode for Windows 8.1 as suggested and it has solved the 30fps issue but i’m that the cut scenes dont play out in full. They seem to get cut short and some of the characters and objects move really fast. Has anyone been able to solve this issue.

  19. Cristian says:

    The problem with the black screen when underwater is present on all Intel Ivy Bridge HD 2500 and HD4000 . Doesn’t matter youre running Win XP 32bit or Win 7 32 or 64 , I tried them all. The graphics are ok once youre out of the water. There seems to be an issue with Intel graphic driver or hardware.
    My solution was to install an older ATI card : x550 128bit PciEx .
    The solution is ok for desktop computers , but what can one do if he/she has a laptop?

  20. Cristian says:

    Just turned on my trusty Lenovo Thinkpad T420 with I5 SandyBridge HD3000 .
    The game runs fine underwater. So it,s clearly a problem on latest Ivt Bridge HD Graphic silicon or drivers .

  21. Cliche says:

    “Patch 4 is compatible with all versions of Windows, and can be downloaded here.”

    Seems like this file is missing!

    is there anywhere I can go and get that?

    Thx for your help
    Cliché

  22. mzso says:

    Has anyone figured out what causes to low fps. It’s ridiculous. I played steady 60 fps on windows 7 and now I have 30 max sometimes it drops to 10-15…
    Damn… Windows 8|8.1 really f*cked up old games support… (I couldn’t play with Vice City Either)

  23. Rabite30 says:

    The installer wont copy the NOLF.rez file properly. It always hangs at that part. Any suggestions?

  24. SuperGod says:

    Windows 8.x 30fps fix.
    Just run NOLF in a window. +windowed 1
    Then download a small program BorderlessWindowed, launch nolf, run BorderlessWindowed and add LithTheh to program, tick auto.
    Now you’ll have a houndred fps ;)
    Cap your FPS to 60 using any 3rd party frame limiter or via driver, profit.

    • BuckoA51 says:

      Good workaround. We always recommend playing full screen where possible as there’s less input/control lag then, but, we’d take 60fps windowed over 30fps true fullscreen any day :)

  25. SuperGod says:

    Ok, here it is another fix for Win8.x

    Unzip and unpack into your NOLF directory.
    Enjoy!

  26. SuperGod says:

    Is that important?
    It’s clean, don’t worry, in fact it is universal fix.
    Propably some variant dx to ogl wrapper.

  27. SuperGod says:

    Forgot to mention…
    Before you decided to edit my value post you could at least check what is that, simple virus scan.
    I understand why you did that, but still it’s not a great way to say thank you for someone’s help.
    Hopefully you’ll revert your decission.
    There is no other way to fix nolf, we both know that.

    • BuckoA51 says:

      Yes it’s quite important, I can’t put up links to copyrighted things, software that’s distributed without it’s proper license/attributions or to anything that might be malicious. Plus I’m also quite curious too, especially as this kind of software might help other games. Thanks for understanding.

  28. SuperGod says:

    Ok, I understand, I didn’t mean to be rude.
    The idea I think come from here: http://www.blitzbasic.com/Community/post.php?topic=99477&post=1202630
    It’s not a copyrighted material.
    It’s just compilled ddraw.dll from a source ( DirectX SDK ) with workarounds.
    Up to you, I don’t think there is any copyrighted violations.

    • BuckoA51 says:

      Thanks, that looks fine. Give me a day or two to check it over then I’ll pop it up as part of the article giving you full credit. Thanks again!

    • BuckoA51 says:

      The article has been updated and you are given full credit for finding the fix, thanks again!

      • mzso says:

        I was hoping it would work with the directdraw game “Desperados: Wanted Dead or Alive”. But it’s as unplayably slow as ever.

        BTW I tried the ” Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit” thingwith nolf like 4 five months ago. But it didn’t work. Maybe I did something wrong…

    • mzso says:

      Do other workarounds like this exist for other games?

      What does it do actually? That link is pointing to a comment that has been removed, it seems.

  29. Sam says:

    Has anyone had the issue of dialog getting cut off during speaking scenes in the game? I have it running on a windows 7 VM. But this is an issue I am seeing while running the game. Is there a possible fix for this? Thanks

    • BuckoA51 says:

      I can safely say that’s never happened to me and I’ve played this one quite extensively.

    • mzso says:

      Suprising that you even managed to play it. I couldn’t start it in an XP VM at all. VM-s suck for video games.
      What software are you using?

      • BuckoA51 says:

        One of my friends is a Mac fan (I know, poor him, naa just kidding :) ) and he plays a lot of games in Windows VMs and finds the performance to be quite acceptable especially on older games. VMWare seems to perform better than Virtualbox in this regard.

    • Andy says:

      I am using Win 10. I installed the game and ran it in Windowed mode. When it is in Windowed mode, I saw the exact same thing happening where the dialog wouldn’t finish before the scene would cut. I believe this is a frame rate issue. I wasn’t able to limit the frame rate to 30fps in windowed mode, but the game seems to work correctly in full screen mode. Perhaps give that a try.

  30. SuperGod says:

    Hey, I made another UBER simple fix for NOLF, no need to patch anything. ;)

    Just download: https://www.sendspace.com/file/vqr8ej

    Copy SuperGod’s_NOLF_30FPS_FIX.sdb file anywhere you want.
    Run command line with admin privileges, switch to your SuperGod’s_NOLF_30FPS_FIX.sdb file location.

    For installation my fix type: sdbinst “SuperGod’s_NOLF_30FPS_FIX.sdb”
    You should see something like: Installation of SuperGod’s No One Lives Forever 30 FPS FIX complete.
    That’s it.

    For uninstallation my fix type: sdbinst -u “SuperGod’s_NOLF_30FPS_FIX.sdb”

    BuckoA51 feel free to update your blog with this peace of info.
    Enjoy the game!

    Ps. None of your game files will be modified and there is no any copyright violation.

  31. SuperGod says:

    Because there is a difference how game/system works after it.
    For example, “cracked .dll” breaks overlay, someone may want to record for simple “let’s play” with this patch, some things become broken.
    I’m giving for users a choice.
    IMHO .sdb fix is MORE bullet proof and more transaparrent.

  32. SuperGod says:

    I had a problem during recording dxtory, RTSS is broken, etc, but we both know what is working for me/you, may not works for the others.
    Like I said before, I’m giving for users a choice, nothing more.
    Regards.

  33. SuperGod says:

    In fact I should say, I’m giving for users a choice/alternative to workaound possible problems.
    If at least one person find it usable, I’m happy with it. :)

  34. Ragingwolf says:

    The patch works fantastically, thank you SuperGod!

  35. Alice175 says:

    Hello everyone ! So I managed to install the game and started playing. Everything as working just fine when I reached the level “Misfortune in Morocco Scene 3” and the level is not loading. I’ve waited ages in front of my screen and nothing. Even tried to skip the level starting on Scene . I feel so frustrated! If anyone knows what to do…

    • BuckoA51 says:

      That’s really odd, sorry I’ve not come across that problem. It’s true I don’t have time to test every game I cover on here from start to finish but I’ve played NOLF quite a bit and not had any issues like that.

      • Alice175 says:

        I know it’s weird. I tried to uninstall/install the game again but it’s still the same. I was hoping someone around had encountered the same issue or heard of it. I use windows 8.1, i have the NOLF GOTY version…

        • Julian says:

          Fix that by deactivating the animated loading screens in the start-up menu of the NOLF.exe. (advanced options)

  36. mzso says:

    What’s “CPU cache”?

  37. NOLF-Fan says:

    Tausend Dank! Endlich läuft es!

    Thank you!

  38. EscalatorBoy says:

    ddraw.dll doesn’t appear to be working for me on Windows 8.1 — game just kicks me out on startup with Client MFC error. Any ideas?

    • BuckoA51 says:

      Use the games launcher to disable all advanced options and then try again. Then enable them one by one until you find the problematic one.

      • EscalatorBoy says:

        Managed to get it working by disabling my second monitor, but now I’m getting random texture glitches popping in and out. :(

  39. HUY says:

    I have mouse lag on windows 8 please help me!

  40. SuperGod says:

    I re-uploaded my patch: https://www.sendspace.com/file/pqw5qc

    BuckoA51, please could you put my file on your server with my instructions I made back in my post.
    Link will expire again.

    Unfortunately Ddraw fix is not a perfect solution for any1.

    Thanks.

    • BuckoA51 says:

      Direct Draw fix worked perfectly for me, no problems with overlays etc.

      The DXPrimaryEmulation fix is a little too clunky for most folks like that. I’ve written a proper installer/uninstaller for it, you can find it linked in the article above now.

  41. RobertM says:

    I installed the game just fine, including the latest patch, and the widescreen mod. When I went to play again, my saves were missing. I also couldn’t configure the controls; everything was “unassigned.” I even tried to set everything back to default, and uninstalled the game twice, but no luck.

    It makes no sense. The game was running great at first, but then it suddenly started to go bonkers. I don’t know what the deal is.

  42. Jacob88 says:

    Ugh, I am so bummed!

    This is like my favorite game from my youth and I just can’t seem to get it working!

    I have NOLF: game of the year edition, so it installs smoothly and without problems, but when I start the game and walk around, there are these graphic glitches that just make the game unplayable.

    Also, I am experiencing the underwater blackout problem.

    I am trying to run the game on a fairly new ASUS Zenbook (Win 8.1) hooked up to another (pretty old) monitor. I have tried playing the game with and without the second monitor – same problems.

    I have tried to download the “direct draw fix” and copying it to my NOLF folder, but that just made the game unable to start. Then when I deleted the file from the folder, I was able to start it.

    I did try to disable all my advanced options and then start the game (when I had the DD fix in my folder), but it still wouldn’t start.

    I just don’t know how to get this game working on my laptop! I really hope that someone out there has some tips for me.

    Thanks :))

  43. Jacob88 says:

    Update / edit:

    These are the problems I am having with my “NOLF:GOTYE”:

    *Slight lagging when I zoom in with a weapon to aim (the camera starts lagging and doesn’t get better until i zoom back out).

    *Graphic problems in general. When I play a map and start looking around, and especially if I move the camera quickly, there are these “glitches” that kind of ruin the game experience.

    *When I go underwater in any map, everything goes glack.

    The really weird thing is that I am almost 99 % certain that I played this game earlier on this exact computer without any problems what so ever. I was using a downloaded version of NOLF:GOTYE at that time, instead of the CD version that I am trying to get working now.

    I should note that after I tried the CD version and couldn’t get it to work properly, I uninstalled it and tried to get the downloadable version working – no luck. Same aforementioned problems.

    I think I have pretty much tried every solution in this article to get the game working, but nothing seems to do the trick. I really don’t know what to do.

    Being able to play this game would be the perfect christmas gift.

    PS: I have tried signing up for the Unity website so that I could make a post about this there, but there seems to be a problem with my validation process. For some reason I never receive that validation email that supposedly gets sent.

    Anyway, I really hope that someone out there can take a look at the problems I am currently having with the game and maybe (fingers crossed) come up with a solution to fix them all so that I can finally play this amazing game.

    Thank you and merry christmas! :)

  44. SuperGod says:

    Try to run as admin with DPI compatibility for look around problem.

    The other bugs…

    Realy weird one, as a creator of this patch I beated this game so many times without ANY problems, tested on win7/8.x on many computers.

    However I believe you because there are milions computer hardware configurations.

    • BuckoA51 says:

      “Creator” of the patch, you work for Microsoft? :P

      I don’t think the underwater problem can be solved, it seems to exclusively affect Intel GPU users and is only likely to be fixed if Intel themselves write a fix in their drivers, that seems unlikely.

  45. SuperGod says:

    Patch based on M$’s API, does it soound better for you? :P

  46. SuperGod says:

    Forgot to add…
    Happy New Year for you Bucko and play-old-pc-games.com ;-)

  47. John says:

    Hey guys, I just installed NOLF GOTY back after years of missing out of the multiplayer. I just checked and there’s no multiplayer servers at all :S…what happened?? :(

  48. segun says:

    I am using a dell Inspiron 15 3542 windows 8.1

  49. Plumo Paranto says:

    Perfect hack for win7-64 bits (french version) Just copied the patch in the install folder, tweaked it and bingo!
    merci 1,000++++

  50. Bob says:

    I bought my copy on eBay, but it only came with one disc. It’s not the GoTY edition. Have I been shafted?

  51. DrearierSpider says:

    I’m using Windows 7 x64, GOTY version and I get a really weird texture issue at the main menu, as seen here

    http://i.imgur.com/zt0x4K4.png?1

    Also, I found this other widescreen patch that claims to fix a lot of issues that others haven’t been able to (resolutions with more than 2048 pixels in one direction, 21:9 support), in case you’d like to check it out. Your link to WSGF is dead, so I assume it hasn’t been updated in a while.

    http://www.wsgf.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=156028#p156028

    • BuckoA51 says:

      Thanks for that link, as for your texture problem, have you installed the latest DirectX runtimes and/or updated your graphics card driver?

      • DrearierSpider says:

        Yes, I’ve done both of those, to no avail. I did fine a (sonewhat finicky) workaround though. I’m trying to run the game at 2560x1440x32, which seems to be causing the problems. What seems to work is when I select 1920x1440x16 from the launcher, then change to 1440p@16 bit in game, and lastly going to 32 bit. It’s very strange that it won’t just let me properly select that from the launcher, and it does crash the game ~1/4 times, but it does work somewhat reliably. I’ve got to wonder why no one has bothered to make a sourceport (like GZDoom or NewDark for Thief/SS2) given that the source code has been available for so long.

        • BuckoA51 says:

          You’re trying to run at 2560x1440x32? That’s quite the detail to omit :) Still, I have to say I’d love to try that too if I had the hardware. When researching NOLF2 I see some folks have managed to run that in > 1080p resolutions too.

          • DrearierSpider says:

            So I recently discovered that GeForce Experience was the culprit behind these issues. It was also crashing Silent Hill 2 when I tried to install SweetFX. Unfortunately, as of this month Nvidia is now locking driver updates behind this software so they can data mine their users (this is why we need you competing, AMD). Still, you do have the option of waiting for them to become available as direct downloads (which they said they’d post once every quarter on their site) or updating the drivers and uninstalling elsewhere.

            I had several other issues I ran into with NOLF, so I’m gonna create a new post covering these so that it shows up in the most recent comments.

        • mzso says:

          ” I’ve got to wonder why no one has bothered to make a sourceport (like GZDoom or NewDark for Thief/SS2) given that the source code has been available for so long.”
          Where do you get that? I highly doubt that the games sources are released.
          Also it’s unknown who has what rights to the game. Even those who wanted to license it couldn’t:
          http://kotaku.com/the-sad-story-behind-a-dead-pc-game-that-cant-come-back-1688358811

  52. MGN001 says:

    Hey, I’d just like to say that I was having both the Underwater Black Screen bug and the Dialog Cut Short bug that Sam mentioned in July.

    While it’s been mentioned that Intel Graphics Units don’t really like the game too much, if you can change to an ATI or NVIDIA card in their respective control panels, make sure it’s not NOLF.exe your setting to use the high-performance GPU (that’s just the launcher). Instead, change “lithtech.exe”, which is the process running the game itself.

    As a side note, when I finally fixed the bug, I ended up with another one. My NVIDIA card caused the menus to flash rapidly. I fixed that by playing in windowed mode. (“+windowed 1” as an additional argument in the launcher’s “Advanced…” menu)

    The Dialog Cut Short bug is caused by the game running over 60 FPS, causing timing issues in cutscenes. You need to cap the game at 60 FPS to fix it.

  53. Marc says:

    This is a really great guide, but the only way I could get the game running on either Win 7 x64 or XP x86 was to copy the contents of my cd’s to the hard drive and run it from there.
    I also tweaked the res through the autoexec file.
    Really appreciate all the efforts here though :)

    • BuckoA51 says:

      That doesn’t make much sense, in XP especially it should install without issues. Plus, copying from the CD you won’t have created the games registry keys.

  54. Marc says:

    No, it doesn’t make a lot of sense Buck, but it does work and the game plays fine.

  55. Marc says:

    I ran it today off a pen drive and earlier on Win 8 by copying the contents again from my cd. It creates its own reg file, that has little bearing on the game path, but still works.
    Both unpatched by the way and no no cd patch.
    I know it doesn’t make a lot of sense, but if it works it works.

  56. Josh says:

    So I’m managing to get into the game just fine after installing, but I cannot get the mouse to work properly to save my life. It just looks down and spins clockwise, no matter which direction I move the mouse. Any suggestions?

  57. SuperGod says:

    Hello :)

    I have a good news.

    I just installed Windows 10 and I can confirm the compatibility with this system.
    Moreover, M$ has fixed that pesky ddraw issue and that means my patch and and the other workarounds are not needed anymore. :)

    All best.

    -SG.

  58. SuperGod says:

    Don’t know what happen to my previous post… ;/

    Regarding Vicity… If your games were working with 60fps and now they are limited for some reason under win 8.x, yes, you need to use patched ddraw.dll or use compatibility tweaks.
    Even very old games that are capped to 30FPS sometimes drops framerate to 23FPS.
    —–
    You can run Desperados through DXWnd/DirectX Windower, etc.
    I had 22FPS which is OK and the engine runs at 22FPS AFAIR.

  59. Volker says:

    Hello,

    I installed NOLF GOTY on Win8.1-x86_64 with GForce GTX 970/i7-2600k.
    Following errors occur (sorry, it is german), while pressing the start button in the first screen
    (executed with admin rights, graphics card has newest drivers):
    ———————————————————————————————————————————-
    Name der fehlerhaften Anwendung: lithtech.exe, Version: 1.0.0.1, Zeitstempel: 0x3ae746d9
    Name des fehlerhaften Moduls: ntdll.dll, Version: 6.3.9600.17936, Zeitstempel: 0x55a68dd1
    Ausnahmecode: 0xc0000005
    Fehleroffset: 0x0001df63
    ID des fehlerhaften Prozesses: 0xc88
    Startzeit der fehlerhaften Anwendung: 0x01d0e25ac937c194
    Pfad der fehlerhaften Anwendung: E:\Spiele\NOLF_1\lithtech.exe
    Pfad des fehlerhaften Moduls: C:\Windows\SYSTEM32\ntdll.dll
    Berichtskennung: 079ff8e4-4e4e-11e5-bef9-f46d044577c2
    Vollständiger Name des fehlerhaften Pakets:
    Anwendungs-ID, die relativ zum fehlerhaften Paket ist:
    ———————————————————————————————————————————-

    Is this a known bug? Any tricks to get it running? Thanks for your comments or hints.

  60. Tom says:

    I still can’t get the game to work. It installs without an issue, but then I get a “client mfc application has stopped working” error as soon as the game gets going. Does anyone know how to fix this? The game is fully patched, windows 7 64bit

  61. Tom says:

    Hey, I found a solution to the mfc application has stopped working issue. I was using g-sync technology at the time and this was making the game crash for some reason. as soon as i disabled it for the .exe in the control panel i was able to run the game without huge issues. though now the audio has a tendency to end mid sentence, though this is due to running the game at 144fps, so i think i just need to cap it at 60

  62. QB says:

    Just bought NOLF off of Ebay. Discs in great shape. Installed to my Win 7 machine using the online converter…then updated to 3, then updated to 4. Go to run the game, and nothing happens. A splash screen doesn’t even pop up, just nothing. Am I missing something? I scanned the forum but didn’t find anyone with the same problem.

    • Archon Silver says:

      I’m having the same issue :( Installed fine, but wouldn’t load, installed the patches, still won’t load. Disk spins, Computer thinks but then nothing!

    • Scottland89 says:

      I’ve got the same issue as QB (installed all fine using the above method, didn’t bother with Widescreen stuff). I was able to play it after installing and patching, but since then, when I try to play it again, it won’t do anything. Checking task manager, nolf.exe will appear then disappear in a blink and miss it sort of timing. I’ve tried different compatibility modes just to incase but it doesn’t work :(

      I can’t see anything online mentioning this issue bar QB’s question. Hope the above info I supplied helps somebody help us.

      Shamelessly I never played this before and the little I did, was enjoyable but would love to go through the whole thing.

      Thanks

    • Wicked1One11 says:

      Same exact thing is happening to me. I’ve tried running all sorts of compatibilites, different options (Aspect ratio, 256 colors, etc), but nothing seems to work. In the task manager processes, it does show NOLF show up for a split second, then disappear again.

    • mzso says:

      You guys sure you installed everything nolf needs? Such as whatever old directx it uses.

  63. Loz says:

    In order to check that the right disk is inserted, the installer script looks for a file called NOLF2.REZ in the DATA directory of DISK 2. On my DISK 2, the file is called NOLF.REZ, not NOLF2.REZ so the script does not think I have DISK 2 inserted. I tried to recompile the NoOneLivesForever.nsi (having edited that one line), but the compiler halts compilation with errors in several places in the .nsi script, so I’m also wondering if the .nsi script really is the source code for the installer executable linked to in the article?

    Any suggestions? If not, I am going to copy all of DISK 2, rename NOLF2.REZ to NOLF.REZ and re-burn to CD to try to see if I can get round this problem.

  64. ElizT says:

    I downloaded and used the installer, but when I go to actually run the application, nothing happens! I don’t get an incompatibility notice or anything. :( Any suggestions?

  65. Thorsten says:

    I had the same problem after installing the non-GOTY edition with the above links. The No-CD-patch did the job. Runs without a flaw.

  66. DrearierSpider says:

    While this guide helped me tremendously, I did run into several issues of my own that I thought I’d post about in case others run into them. Before I list them, here are a few links that proved invaluable for me.

    -PCGamingWiki’s fix page is a great supplement to your guide:
    http://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/No_One_Lives_Forever

    -Currently, Jackfuste’s widescreen fix is the best available, supporting resolutions above 1080p and even 21:9 Ultrawide aspect ratios (the link to the WSGF forum you provided is currently dead, so I’d suggest updating it with this one).
    http://www.wsgf.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=156028#p156028

    -A mod called “Fix for Mouse Stutter & Framerate 1.0” improves the mouse controls.
    http://unityhq.net/forums/index.php?app=downloads&showfile=

    Now for the fixes
    -The game runs into major issues when the frame rate goes above 60 fps (time-step equations and mouse control are both tied to this; if cutscenes are skipping or ending early, this is most likely the cause), so a hard-cap should be applied with 3rd party software. I used Nvidia Inspector, but something like RivaTuner Statistics Server will also work. Just note, the application name is Lithtech (or Lithtech.exe), as NOLF.exe is just the launcher and not the game executable.
    -GeForce Experience did not play nice with this game, and caused major graphical issues for me. Unfortunately, the only workaround I know of is uninstalling it.
    -GSync also causes the game to crash (you should get an error message of: “mfc application has stopped working”), so disable that for the game’s profile via the Nvidia Control Panel (I’m unsure about FreeSync and don’t have a compatible monitor/GPU to test with). DSR has also been known to cause issues with certain older games; I don’t know if it affects NOLF specifically, but it’s worth mentioning as an FYI.
    -Certain UI elements caused my frame rate to tank from 60 fps to ~30 fps. Specifically, zooming in with the sniper and scrolling through weapons/items. The solution was to run the game in windowed mode by adding “+windowed 1” (no quotes) in the command line of the advanced menu in the launcher. I used Borderless Gaming to force the game into fake fullscreen, but other applications may work for those who prefer something different.

    • BuckoA51 says:

      Interesting, I have Gforce experience installed here and never had any issues with the game. Never experienced any issues sniping either. Have you got an SLI rig? Turning on Vsync and setting your monitor to 60hz refresh should also cap the framerate.

  67. orion98 says:

    In July 2014 disabled master server GameSpy.
    For play online, download and install the Universal patch for all games in the series NOLF (Nolf, Nolf2, Contract JACK). Patch forwards requests from the master-server GameSpy to master-server Qtracker.
    Download HERE:
    Package_Online_1_1.zip
    http://www.playground.ru/files/no_one_lives_forever_2_a_spy_in_h_a_r_m_s_way_modes_online_after_2014_mody_multipleera_posle_2014_g-113986/
    http://www.mediafire.com/download/5vi00gru4ac5xin/Package_Online_1_1.zip
    http://www38.zippyshare.com/v/cUMO5jnF/file.html
    https://yadi.sk/d/EtW_GxpdmWjSf

  68. Patricia Goncalves says:

    Hi, I have windows 8 with 64 bit and I downloaded the installer but it still doesn’t seem to work. When I put disc 1 in and try to run it itself, it still says that it cannot run due to me having a 64 bit. When I try to run the shortcut that the installer made through the desktop with disc 1 inside, a message pops up asking me if I want to allow this application (NOLF.exe) to make changes and when I say yes, nothing shows up. Why is nothing showing up?

    • BuckoA51 says:

      Download our replacement installer, put your NOLF disc in the drive, ignore autrun if it pops up when you put the disc in, run the replacement installer, install. Then patch and you’re good to go.

      • Patricia Goncalves says:

        I download the replacement installer, put the NOLF disc in, and run the replacement installer but absolutely nothing shows up. When the replacement installer is downloading. after it finishes with disc one, it asks for disc 2 which I then put in and I noticed that after it starts “insert disc 2” it says copy failed. Could this be why the installer isnt working?

  69. Patricia Goncalves says:

    I download the replacement installer, put the NOLF disc in, and run the replacement installer but absolutely nothing shows up. When the replacement installer is downloading. after it finishes with disc one, it asks for disc 2 which I then put in and I noticed that after it starts “insert disc 2” it says copy failed. Could this be why the installer isnt working?

  70. JGF says:

    NOLF2 runs fine on my old Vista system …once I actually get in the game. About half the time it will hang at the loading screen, I must ALT+TAB out and kill the process in Task Manager and try again. It will also, about half the time, hang at the transition screen between levels. I have tried different resolutions, different refresh rates, different compatibility modes, running windowed, to no avail; the system has had two different sound cards (plus onboard Realtek sound), two different vid cards (GeForce and ATi), and three different monitors (CRT and LCD) …the problem persists through all this. My DX is “patched” (discovered this for several other older games) and, fwiw, NOLF1, Half Life, Half Life 2, Thief 1, 2, and 3, Deus Ex, System Shock 2, etc., all run fine on this system.

    My Lithtech.exe is shown as V1.0.0.1, I have the patches (03 and 03-04) but haven’t yet tried them as I’m not sure of the status of No-CD for these.

    • BuckoA51 says:

      Maybe you want to try the patches then…

      • JGF says:

        As it turns out I apparently did install the 03 patch, there is a “Update_v1x3.rez” in the root folder. The game ran fine on my XP system (perhaps i should dig it out, get a PS and monitor for it, and put it back in service,lol), but has always had this issue on the Vista system; so consistently that I no longer wait but ALT+TAB out as soon as the animated “Loading” halts. It apparently is not an uncommon problem, I recall a lengthy thread at the long defunct nolfgirl site with numerous solutions offered but no consensus for one that worked across the board (it’s a vid driver issue, it’s a BIOS issue, it’s memory management problem, it’s a swap file problem …..). I would actually be less irritated if the game hung up every time, then i would just assume it won’t work in Vista and stop trying.

        I suspect the core problem is the same that plagues Oblivion in Vista and Win7, but with Oblivion it is less annoying – the game hangs when you exit. The workaround is simply to not exit the game but exit to the menu then ALT+TAB out and kill the process.

    • Julian says:

      You only have to deactive the animated loading screens in the advanced options in the startupmenu of the NOLF.exe, this will cause the loading screen to work and finish.

  71. joshua morris says:

    I installed both the zip file and the installer thing, but my game is now flickering

  72. Chewy1015 says:

    I have a Windows 10 PC and I follow the instructions here to install the game and although the game does install, it doesn’t play. When I right-click the game icon and select “Run as Administrator” (because an error message pops up saying that’s what I need to do), nothing happens. No error message, no attempt to start up then crash. Absolutely nothing. I even have it set to run in compatibility mode (Windows XP SP3, and I’ve tried lower) and that didn’t do the trick. Anyone else familiar with this problem?

    • BuckoA51 says:

      Sounds like it could be a copy protection issue, maybe try a no-CD patch? There should be plenty lurking around the net.

    • JGF says:

      Temporarily disable DEP and see if the game runs. Also you may need to download and install the MS DX Redistributable; this basically installs DX9 alongside your DX10, 11, or 12 (while DX is allegedly backwards compatible, from Vista on MS altered some of the function calls, the functions are still there but older software cannot find them).

    • Julian says:

      Try to copy the “Game” files from the first Disc into an empty folder and the “NOLF.rez” from the Data folder, then copy all the files from the “Data” folder of the second disc. Afterwards, copy the movie-folder and create a registry file with the following content:
      Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

      [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Monolith Productions]

      [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Monolith Productions\No One Lives Forever]

      [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Monolith Productions\No One Lives Forever\1.0]
      „WorkingDirectory“=“D:\\Monolith Productions\\No One Lives Forever“
      „Version“=“1.004“
      „Update Command Line“=“-rez Nolfu003.rez -rez Nolfcres003.rez -rez nolfu004.rez“
      „Content Version“=“1.002“
      „Content Command Line“=“-rez Nolfc001.rez -rez Nolfc002.rez“

      Stop copying here. The WorkingDirectory should the folder where you copied the cd-data.
      To create the reg, open the texteditor, copy the text above and then save it as “Nolf.reg” INCLUDING THE “”
      Afterwards just click it and add it to your registry.

    • Julian says:

      Oh and install the updates BEFORE using the .reg! Sorry for not mentioning that. I’m not sure, if it works when you already used the .reg and then use it again, but perhaps it could

      • BuckoA51 says:

        Are you sure you couldn’t have just used the no-cd patch? It’s not hard to find….

        • Julian says:

          Perhaps, but for me it didn’t work at all. The first I found was denied by my antimalware and the 2nd and 3rd changed nothing at all.

        • Martin says:

          I have the same problem. All the no-cd patches I found were mentioned to be unsafe by my antivirus. The thing with the registry didn’t work for me. Could you put a proper patch on the megasync drive?
          Thanks for your help!

          • BuckoA51 says:

            Try a different antivirus e.g one of the online ones.

          • jgf says:

            Upload the patch to virustotal.com; they will scan it with a couple of dozen different programs and tabulate the results for you. If it’s clean, just tell your local AV to ignore it. (I have a utility for a racing sim which has been available for years, probably thousands of people using it, yet every AV lists it as “suspicious”, if not “dangerous”.)

            Also, if you have run the game with the original .exe then tried replacing that with the NoCD version, your AV could be detecting the change in an executable as malware action.

            • MysticalShadow says:

              For NOLF 1 you dont need to copy files or run it with a no cd patch. As the only DRM the game has is in the launcher. So we just need to create a batch file to bypass the launcher.

              Launch the game first with the cd in (to the main menu will do then exit it.) Exit the game then take the CD out.

              Then go to the games directory and create a new text file in it, call it nolf then in this file add the following:

              LITHTECH.EXE -windowtitle “No One Lives Forever” -rez NOLF.rez -rez NOLF2.rez -rez NOLFdll.rez -rez NOLFl.rez -rez custom +multiplayer 0 +DisableMusic 0 +DisableSound 0 +DisableMovies 1 +DisableTripBuf 0 +DisableHardwareCursor 0 -rez nolf.rez -rez nolf2.rez -rez nolf3.rez -rez nolf4.rez -rez nolf5.rez -rez nolf6.rez -rez Nolfu002.rez -rez Nolfu003.rez

              Save this file as a .bat file. Then rather than using the default shortcut, launch the game via this batch file and it will bypass the launcher, meaning the game will run without the cd in.

              (You can create a desktop shortcut to the batch file if you wish.)

              • MysticalShadow says:

                Another way which is prob easier is to edit the “nomfcmds.txt” file that the game adds when you run it with the disc in. Just add LITHTECH.exe at the very front then save that as nolf.bat.

                ie – “LITHTECH.EXE -windowtitle “No One Lives Forever”

                (Sorry for the double)

  73. specter says:

    What if you get an error message” “Please login with administrator privleages and try again” and when you do the game does not launch at all

    • JGF says:

      First, do not install in any “Program Files” folder. Next, right click on the NOLF2.exe and set it to “run as administrator”, do the same for Lithtech.exe, set both for XP compatibility mode. You may also want to right click on the install folder and select “take ownership” (this seems to help on some systems, has no effect on others). I’ve also found the game is more stable when its affinity is set for a single core (a little utility called “FlipTib” makes this very easy).

    • BuckoA51 says:

      Probably a copy protection issue, you will need to find a version of the game with the copy protection removed.

  74. TheChosenOne says:

    I have the games in .IOS format.
    after installing it using Daemon, it doesn’t start.
    the play, display, settings opens. but after clicking play, it doesn’t open…
    help.

  75. Cathrine says:

    Hi,
    thank you for the link for the 64installer.
    I was soooo much looking forward to, to play the first part of NOLF.
    The second part I played already.
    Unfortunately I still cannot open it. It seemed that the installation ran, but by clicking the desktop icon of NOLF nothing happens. Same if I use “compatibility mode” for 95,98 or 2000. I have win7.
    But still, thank you for your tips and tricks on this website.
    Have a good weeken.

  76. Cathrine says:

    Thank you!! I will try

  77. sadnostalgic says:

    So am I just shit out of luck regarding the black screen in water if I have a laptop with an Intel GPU?

    • JGF says:

      In all probability, yes; if you have installed the Microsoft Redistributable (which adds DX9c to your system) and tried different vid drivers, and it still doesn’t work.

      There isn’t anything “wrong” with your system or the game (not even the age of the game), you’ve just hit one of those instances of hardware/drivers/software not wanting to play well together. Some years ago I had a similar issue with two games – the original Thief game and Tomb Raider – in each I had to swim underwater and go through an opening in a wall; and in each I could swim up to the opening, even see through it, but could not swim through it. A few months later I changed vid cards, reinstalled both games and they played normally.

      FWIW, I just changed vid cards on my main system and now have three simple arcade games which will not even start (apparently the drivers handle shader information differently and these games do not like that).

  78. Julian says:

    Doesn’t work for me … I’m using Win10 and whenever I start the game after installing & patching it … nothing happens. Process starts and closes immediately. None of the other tips in the commentbox helps. :c

    • BuckoA51 says:

      You may need a no-cd patch.

    • JGF says:

      W10 is not a great gaming platform, especially for older games. And various updates may actually reduce functionality for some software; for example, Micro$oft’s own FlightSim ran fine in W10 until an update caused the same issue with it as you are experiencing with NOLF (removing that one update file gets FlightSim working again). I know this is of little help getting your game running, but perhaps it is another avenue of research.

      You could also consider setting up a dual boot with Win7 or even XP for older games.

      • BuckoA51 says:

        Removal of secdrive aside, we’ve found Windows 10 to be very good for gaming and retro gaming, better than Windows 8 in many respects.

        • JGF says:

          Lol, notice I didn’t mention W8 (as big a kludge as Vista). But W10 continues Micro$oft’s path of continually removing more and more options from the user, apparently with the eventual goal of a “one-size-fits-all” OS where the user may still have the option of what wallpaper to use. Not to mention the privacy issues, nor MS’s stated intention of having all W7 and W8 systems automatically “update” to W10 …whether you want to or not.

          • BuckoA51 says:

            Never trust a commenter who spells Microsoft with a $ :)

            More squarely I’d place the blame for the whole Safedisc fiasco with the people who invented such DRM measures in the first place.

            • JGF says:

              Never trust Micro$oft, the Borg of the computer world.

              I’ve long stated DRM is a complete waste of time and money (there is an old saying, “locks only keep out honest people”). From those long ago days of DOS, when our games were installed from floppies, and we had to answer a question on the screen (said answer found in the manual …back when games had manuals), through the wretchedness of Starfarce, to todays’ intrusive “management software” and “phone home” requirements, there has yet to be a DRM scheme the hackers haven’t cracked in less time than the developers took to devise it. All DRM accomplishes is increasing the price of games, irritating the valid users of those games, and providing exercise for the hackers.

      • Julian says:

        I’ve finally found an answer for myself that I’ve found nowhere on the internet yet.
        I don’t know why but the problems were caused by the way, the installer from this page here installs the game. Instead of really installing the game, I copied all the “Game” and “Data” files from my CD and some more special files and it worked.

        • Julian says:

          This, however, made the game always start in English, even though my Original was in German. I fixed that by editing the “nolfcmds.txt” a little bit and afterwards transforming it into a .bat with the following content: “NOLF.exe -rez NOLF.REZ -rez NOLF2.REZ -rez nolfu003.rez -rez nolfu004.rez -rez NOLFCRES003.REZ -rez nolc003cres.rez -rez nolfu003cres.rez
          pause.” (no “”)
          That made the game start with my desired language and no problems at all (like blackscreens, stutter or whatever). It was also compatible with the widescreen-mod.

          • Julian says:

            The only bug I have experienced was that the game always froze in die loading screens. I fixed that by deactivating the animated loading screens in the startup menu of the NOLF.exe

        • JGF says:

          I recall reading that on the old, sadly defunct, “NOLFGirl” site as a recommendation for getting the game working in Vista – do a complete install then copy everything from the disc and paste over what you just installed.

          A similar issue is some games’ installers are supposed to create specific, empty, folders for the game to use later, but this doesn’t happen in Vista or later so the game crashes when it looks for those folders and doesn’t find them.

  79. Dobian says:

    The 1.03 patch I downloaded here looks like it’s the original 32-bit patch not the 64-bit, and I got the “This app doesn’t run on your pc” error.

  80. Martin says:

    Hi, I’m having these problems
    Lag when picking up armor and ammo and switching ammo and weapons and zooming in and out with a scope. I guess i have the black screen when underwater but havent made to there yet. And yes im using a Intel HD Graphics 4400 and using windows 10.

    Any workaround yet?

  81. dan says:

    I can’t get the game to launch in WIN10. Said need to run as Admin. Did and nothing happens. Compatibility mode tried for all the options and still nothing.

    Anyone have any ideas?

    Thanks

  82. Stephan says:

    Having a problem getting to get this game to work on Win10 for streaming/recording purposes.
    Right now fullscreen it works fine, even with the widescreen patch aside from some minor stretching glitches, however considering the software (OBS) cannot record the fullscreen (it only records a black screen and the sound effects) I had to try windowed mode.
    Now windowed mode works, and it records just fine, but then the game breaks. As if the game is set on turbo mode. cutscenes, characters etc just speed past and the game is unplayable.

    I’ve tried many of the above fixes and possible solutions but none have worked so far. Any ideas?

  83. mzso says:

    Hi BuckoA51!

    There’s an alternative widescreen patch: http://unityhq.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=4229

    I think you should add it to the guide. In my opinion it’s better. It actually extends the field of view instead of cropping the like nolfdll.rez

    There are some bugs. stretched weapons, and zoom doesn’t blank out the whole screen.

  84. mzso says:

    I copied the game from a winxp partition, but it doesn’t see the saves, even though they’re there. What might be the problem?

  85. mzso says:

    Does anyone know how to remap the f8 screenshot feature? It’s going on my nerves.

  86. Rocketkaelan says:

    I cant even start the game. I can get to the first menu before launching the game, but when i launch it, the game crashes. i have a downloaded version of the game (GOTYE) and it should work. i have a windows 10 pro x64, GTX 1070, and Intel gen 6. i have update 1.03. I’ve tried several different patches. it seams that no one else has this same problem. I’ve even tried all the compatibility modes for the heck of it. still doesn’t work.

    • jgf says:

      Try downloading and installing the old Dx9.0C update patch (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx%3Fid%3D35). While DX is technically backwards compatible, from DX10 on some functions are not addressed the same, so many older programs will not work in Vista or later since they cannot find their DX functions anymore. This will not interfere with later versions of DX as it installs in its own folder.

      An irritating aspect of this is that when you update your vid drivers (done automatically in W10 as part of windows update) you may have to reinstall the DX9 files.

      Also, just in case, do not install in any “Program Files” folder; and you may need to set both .exe files to “run as administrator”.

      • Rocketkaelan says:

        When I install it, it says I have equal to or a newer version of directx, so it doesn’t do anything. Also, I tried to run NOLF2 and it works fine.

        • BuckoA51 says:

          The comment above is technically inaccurate. DX9 and 10 are separate APIs, if you’re running the DX9 updater and it’s saying that ,your DX9 runtimes are up to date.

          There should never be a reason to reinstall your DX9 runtimes if you update your video card drivers.

          • jgf says:

            The issue stems from some XP era games which request a particular DX file, not just the function. Yes, all DX is backwards compatible as far as functions, but later DX versions consolidate those functions into common files; as long as the program calls the function windows will find it, but if it calls a file then a function windows reports no file found …unless the DX9 redistributable is installed.

            So DX10 includes all DX9 functions and DX8 functions, but they are not in separate DX10/9/8 files. So when a program calls “this function” windows will find it; but if a program calls “d3dx9_48.dll/’this function'” windows cannot find it.

            Vid drivers will install the most recent Visual C++ for which they are compatible, which means you will get the DX9 runtime modules but not as separate files.

  87. Tracy says:

    Hello! So I’m running on a Win7 x64 PC with a GeForce GTX 960 and DirectX 11. I’m using a disc version of No One Lives Forever (non-GOTY). I’ve completed the “Installation” and “Patching” steps, but I can’t actually get the game to launch. Double-clicking the shortcut (or the application in the Program Files folder), or right-clicking and running as administrator, all fail silently. Any ideas?

    • Marc says:

      Same here Tracy. I’m using my original CDs and the only way to get the game running (after all these helpful guides on this site) was to set the exe to Admin rights in compatibility and then download a No CD patch which fixed the problem.
      I won’t put a link here, simply Google it and you should find it in a reputable game site.

  88. Marc says:

    I’ve created ISOs of my cds and mounted them. Any idea how the 64 bit installer can point to cd2, because I end up in a loop with the installer unable to find the second cd.
    Windows 10 Creators Update has really messed with my NOLF installs and even the copy all contents method. Game simply won’t run.
    Cheers.

    • Leon says:

      I’ am having this exact issue, however I’m just not on the Creators Update of Win 10

      Somebody please help us! :(

  89. Leon says:

    The fixed 64-bit installer doesn’t seem to recognize image files that have been mounted :( I’m using Daemon Tools Lite and it won’t recognize Disc 2 when I mount it or already have it mounted.

    Is there a workaround for this? Or does the installer only work if you have a copy of the CD? Guess I could burn the 2 images on a CD, but if I have to resort to that I might as well buy the actual game in-store somewhere.

  90. Zsolt says:

    Hi!

    Not sure of the policy, but since there’s no way to purchase nolf anymore some people threw together a tweaked package of the games on http://nolfrevival.tk/

    I tried the first game. And it certainly had superior widescreen support than any patches I tried. The weapons and Cate’s hands are not stretched and you can set the resolution. (Only some message text is askew when you fail a mission or such)
    You need the patched ddraw.dll from here though for win 8/8.1 to run it smoothly. (Didn’t try other windows versions)

    I noticed on issue remaining though. You still need to edit config files if you want to configure the keyboard/mouse properly. For some reason some keys/buttons are mixed up, or not set and you can’t set the original key functions in-game. (shitf/control keys seem most problematic)

    • BuckoA51 says:

      NOLF’s a strange one since it was released for free including it’s source code, so I believe this is a legal download but the game is in a state of copyright limbo as to who actually has the rights for it. Of course, all downloads on external sites are used at your own risk.

    • jgf says:

      FWIW, this is the status of NOLF:

      http://kotaku.com/the-sad-story-behind-a-dead-pc-game-that-cant-come-back-1688358811

      As Shakespeare wrote, “First, kill all the lawyers”.

    • Marc says:

      I just installed the Nolfrevival download on Win 10 x64 and it runs perfectly with no glitches whatsoever.
      I also have my original CDs and despite the wonderful tips on this site I’ve always found it hit and miss from one day to the next as to whether the game would run or not.
      Since the game is in such a weird legal limbo for WB or Activision to object would be seen as an admission of ownership by them.
      Very strange indeed.

      • Zsolt says:

        Good for you…
        Funnily enough. For me nolf fails to run completely after I upgraded to Windows 10…

        • jgf says:

          Check installed programs for a “Microsoft Visual C++ 2010”; if it isn’t there download (from MS or numerous other sources) the “DX9.0c Redistributable” and install it.

          Newer DX is backwards compatible …as long as programs call teh functions by name only; some older programs call the functions by path and name, so windows reports a “file not found” and the program crashes, or stops responding. Installing the DX9.0c (last version adhering to the path format) clears this. This doesn’t interfere with any newer DX, they are installed in different folders, and windows will search functions starting with the newest DX and working back til it finds the file.

          • Zsolt says:

            The installer wouldn’t run because it requires XP at most.

            Also it doesn’t make much sense that the game stopped working when it did on 8 before the upgrade. 8 also has newer DX. Can’t figure out why it stopped working. What changed?
            Also the Waveform seekbar for Foobar2000 (foo_wave_seekbar ) which uses DX9.0c still functions, and the topic for that links the plain dx webinstaller

          • Zsolt says:

            There are bunch of dx installers out there it seems the one linked in a Microsoft answer “How do I unistall/reinstall directx on Windows 10?” did actually run and install stuff.

            However the game still doesn’t run…

  91. Andrew says:

    So i just brought the original CD not long ago and that i have followed the instruction of installing 64 bit installer and download all the patch but i cant open the game to play am i doing something wrong here?

  92. Ellery says:

    I have an issue with NOLF on my pc that i cant seem to find anyone else mention. So im running it on windows 7 64 bit, with an intel integrated graphics card, and for whatever reason, the frame rate of the game drops to single digits whenever im looking at a flashing light, for example: the sparking electricity in the Inge Wagner boss battle. This lag will not be remedied by altering the performance or lowering the resolution, im on an i7 pc, so i know it can handle games from over ten years ago.
    Anyone know how i can fix this? I cannot progress pass the inge wagner battle until i fix this

  93. h says:

    hey, thank you for the installer. I managed to get NOLF installed on win 10 but running it does nothing. Game never starts up.

  94. Felly says:

    After following all of the instructions using the installer, and once I try to start the No One Lives Forever program, absolutely nothing happens. Tried this four times already.

    • BuckoA51 says:

      Could be a copy protection issue? Look for a version with the protection removed (sorry, can’t link to such files).

    • Marc says:

      I was having the same problem and in the end went to Radeon settings and made sure V sync was ON for this particular game. You can do the same in Nvidia Control Panel too.
      This has fixed the black screen and all other errors that have plagued me for ages and ages. I haven’t set any compatibility either on this GOTY edition.
      Hope it helps someone.

  95. Ben says:

    I want to start NOLF with Win10. Nothing happens? Any Idea?

  96. orion98 says:

    If the game does not start on Windows 7 then open the folder with the game and rename Nolf.exe to Nolf_1.exe
    Create a shortcut for nolf_1.ec and start from this shortcut.
    For more details, look in the search for “Game Explorer Windows 7 GOG”

  97. Ben Houghton says:

    Won’t run for me on up-to-date Win10. 1st attempt says ‘you’ll have to sign on with administrator privileges then a box with the program ran okay, the program didn’t run okay’
    changed the link to run as admin and in compatibility mode for WinXPSp3. Nuthin’. When I run it it doesn’t start but there’s no error messages or anything.

  98. orion98 says:

    Renaming the NOLF.exe file to NOLF_1.exe allows you to start the game on Windows 7, but there are registry restrictions, and some of the game’s functions will not be available.

    Other 2 ways: How to run the game on Windows 7 ?
    … If you installed the game on Windows 8 or 10, then it is optional to read this information.
    On Windows 7 in 2018, after disabling Microsoft support, problems began with the launch of old games due to the “Game Explorer” system program. More details here.
    https://www.gog.com/forum/general/old_games_not_launching_and_eating_100_of_the_cpu_on_windows_7/page1

    If the installed game does not start on Windows 7, then use one of these methods:
    1. The correct way:
    Launch the game through the “Game Explorer” menu:
    Start – Programs – Games – “Game Explorer” – Nolf icon in the “Game Explorer” – launch from the Administrator.
    Warning !! Previously, in the “Parameters” of “Game Explorer”, enable all options, allow auto-update of games and reboot.
    https://www.gog.com/upload/forum/2020/02/b767b443ee491ff3acb4096a28c813e6bf7175cd.jpg
    2. Extreme way:
    Disable Game Explorer using the “Stop_Game_Explorer” patch (you may have to disable your antivirus first, because Game Explorer is a system program)
    http://www.mediafire.com/file/2mrtxy4eo4pmi2g/Stop_Game_Explorer_1_1.zip/file

    On Windows 8/10, “Game Explorer” is deactivated, so there is no such problem.

    • BuckoA51 says:

      Editors note – All links in comments followed at visitors risk.

      • Marc says:

        With the GOTY edition I was having Client MFC issues on Windows 10 which I think I’ve solved.
        When you open the game, the launcher appears, so I hit Display which shows two displays in spite of me only having one GPU.
        I changed to the named one, in my case GTX970, but lowered the resolution to 640×480 and the game launches.
        I then set the resolution to 1920 in the game, so I’m not sure why this happens because I have the version with the widescreen fix already built in.

    • jgf says:

      I run both NOLF and NOLF2 on Win7 by merely selecting XP compatibility mode and run as administrator. (I may have game explorer disabled, I’d have to rummage around and see; I’m prone to disable anything on my system for which i see no practical use.)

  99. orion98 says:

    Multilingual GUI (7 languages) + WidescreenGOTY + No-CD + MODERNIZER(ver.1.005)
    Contains:
    1. English, German, French, Italian, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Swidish GUI and Subtitles
    2. WidescreenGOTY mod by jackfuste for widescreen monitor, , resolution up to 1920×1080 or more.
    3. MODERNIZER mod by HeyJake fixes jerky mouse movement and low frame rate in full screen for Windows 10.
    4. Fix of the “Configure Controls” game menu and mouse for non-Latin systems Windows (Russia, Belarus, Bulgaria, etc.)
    5. A new image and music of the main theme have been added to the Start menu (Launcher) of the game.
    Tested on Windows 7 / 10 for Nolf v.1.003, Nolf v.1.004(GOTY), Nolf(Revival)
    Automatic installation in the game folder.
    Download Nolf_PACK_01.zip (15Mb) here:
    https://www.moddb.com/games/no-one-lives-forever/downloads/no-one-lives-forever-nolf-pack-multilingual-gui-widescreen-modernizer
    Full English version of MODERNIZER mod by HeyJake here:
    https://haekb.itch.io/nolf-modernizer

  100. orion98 says:

    The text of the game menu is not readable at high resolutions over 1400×1050.
    To increase the font size in the menu, use this fix
    Nolf_FontSizeFix.zip (360 Kb)
    http://www.mediafire.com/file/gr4s4rl2dz4k54i/Nolf_FontSizeFix.zip/file

    Note – Visitors use external links at their own risk.

  101. orion98 says:

    If you use Windows 10 and you see jerks of the mouse pointer and the FPS decreases to 25-30 with the zoom of sniper rifle then install the Modernizer mod.
    https://haekb.itch.io/nolf-modernizer

    NOTE – Visitors use software found on external links at their own risk!

  102. Zsolt says:

    Hi!

    I had NOLF (via nolfrevival) up and running on Win8, I upgraded to 10, and now it refuses to run… Reinstalled it, but still nothing.
    What the hell? This tweaked package explicitly claims to be win 10 compatible.

    It either claims “No Renderers were found […]” and the DX7 is not installed when I click Display or says “Couldn’t find emulation mode” when I click Launch.

    DX7 should be functioning on Win 10 same as windows 8, isn’t it?

    I have no clue why it doesn’t work.

  103. Danielle says:

    I have installed and have a shortcut icon on my desktop. I don’t have the GOTY version. It has an admin shield on the icon and when I open, asked if I want to allow to make changes but then when I press yes or no, nothing happens?

  104. Vinicius says:

    There’s something wrong with this 64-bit installer. I have the original non-GOTY version of the game, so 1 disc for the game and 1 disc for the music. After a while, the installer says “Please insert disc 2”, even though there’s no disc 2. This is a one disc only game. Disc 2 is for music.

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