Tron 2.0

Genre: First Person Shooter

Release Year: 2003

Developer: Monolith Productions

Publisher: Buena Vista Interactive

Age Rating: 12+

Playability Status: Perfect

Tested On: Windows 8 x64

Availability: Copyright retained - Still sold

Disney’s ever popular science fiction movie series has a special place in the heart of many gamers. Set at the height of the popularity of the video arcade, Tron captured the imagination of many a small boy (and not so small boy) and has been the subject of lots of video-games ever since. In 2003, Monolith games brought us Tron 2.0, a first person shooter set in the neon-lit wonderland of the Tron universe. The clean lines and bright visuals of the ENCOM mainframe translate perfectly into a first-person shooter game and look fantastic even by modern standards. With the 2010 movie Tron Legacy reinvigorating interest in the franchise, now is a great time to re-visit this colourful first person shooter. Luckily for us, this is yet another PC classic that has been given an extended lease of life thanks to the hard work and dedication of the fan community.

Installation

No special steps need to be taken to install Tron 2.0. Simply install from the two CD-ROMs. You will need a serial number to install the game, so make sure if you buy the game second hand that this is included. Once the game is installed, read on before trying to run it.

Patching

The last official patch for Tron 2.0 was patch 1.042c. However, we strongly recommend that you use the community built unofficial patch instead. This patch is required in order to use the Killer App Mod which adds some fantastic new features such as full wide-screen support and updated multiplayer. You can download the unofficial patch by using this link. Once the patch is downloaded, simply run it and follow the on-screen prompts. When patching is complete, you should proceed to install the Killer App Mod.

Widescreen support and other enhancements with the Killer App mod

The Killer App mod, produced by the Tron 2.0 fan community, extends and enhances the Tron 2.0 game with all kinds of improvements, including widescreen support. We recommend that all users install this excellent update. The only possible reason to avoid it is if you are running a very old computer, as the mod will push up the minimum system requirements for the game. You can download the mod and read more about it by visiting this page.

Before you try to install the Killer App mod, you should first run Tron 2.0. You only need to run it as far as the title screen, you can then quit and start installing the mod. In order for the Killer App mod to install, the game must be run with administrator rights. Either right click on the programs icon and choose “Run as administrator”, or use the compatibility settings to change the program to run as administrator each time.

If you’re installing the game for another user who doesn’t have administrator access (such as a child’s account, for instance) it may be possible to run the game just by setting file permissions on the installation directory. However it is absolutely necessary to run the game as administrator the first time, so that certain data files can be created.

Once you have run the game, exit straight back out and install the Killer App mod. Installing the mod is straightforward. During the installation you will be asked to choose your aspect ratio and pick a screenmode. If you want to run the game at 1080p, for instance, you would choose “16:9 Widescreen” under aspect ratio, then “1920×1080” under resolution.

After setting your resolution, complete the rest of the mod installation, carefully following the on-screen prompts. When installation is complete, you’re ready to play. You can change various settings to do with the Killer App mod, (including enabling cheats) by running the “Tron 2.0 Killer App Mod Manager” program that will now be available on your Start Menu or Start Screen. A word of warning, once you have set your custom resolution, do not enter the display options in the game or on the game launcher. If you do, you will lose your custom resolution settings and will not be able to select them again! According to the Killer App mod documentation, if this happens you simply need to load the “Tron 2.0 Killer App Mod Manager” program to restore your custom resolution. However, on our test machine this didn’t work, we had to manually edit the ‘display.cfg’ file in the Tron 2.0 program folder instead. With the Killer App Mod installed, all visual settings are automatically set to their maximum settings, there is no need to change any of these options in game, so don’t be tempted to play with them.

If you need additional help installing the Killer app mod, visit this link.

Configuring Sound

Tron 2.0 uses the old EAX sound standard for surround sound effects. EAX isn’t compatible with Windows Vista or later versions of Windows. If you have a Creative sound card, you can use the ALchemy program to restore full surround sound. Tron 2.0 is fully supported in ALchemy, so all you need to do is start the Creative ALchemy program and click on “Tron 2.0” in the list to enable it. Other types of sound card have their own solutions for EAX games, so check the documentation that came with your hardware for more information.

Once this is done, start the game and open the ‘Options’ menu. Choose ‘Sound’ and make sure ‘Enable EAX’ is selected. Full surround sound effects should now be restored to the game.

Multiplayer

Multiplayer functionality in Tron 2.0 was provided by Gamespy, who unfortunately dropped support for the game in December 2012. However, the Tron 2.0 community isn’t taking this lying down and has already started work on a multiplayer fix tool. The tool was not available for download at the time of publishing this article, but keep an eye on the Wiki page here for updates to the project. If you are keen to play multiplayer, you might want to install the Complete Map Pack which is available here.

You should now be fully ready to jack in and take on the world of Tron 2.0. A big thank you to the Tron 2.0 communities for helping to keep this classic game alive. You can find all the files we mention in this artcle and loads more by visiting this page.