The Lost Artifact without the disc?

Final Count · 08-10-19, 07:07

I vaguely remember reading in here, that it is somehow possible to play The Lost Artifact without the disc. Now, I have the disc, but my current PC has no disc drive

So I have to play the game on my ancient computer, with a super loud disc drive. Is it in any way possible for me, to somehow transfer the game to my current computer (or at least play it without the disc on this computer, so I don't have to listen to that noise)?

UroshUchiha · 08-10-19, 07:24

You own the game, just download it from somewhere where the nocd patch thingy is applied and play it like that.
You have your disc as proof that you own the game. Or get an external optical drive xD

laravision · 08-10-19, 11:26

Okay, on your old PC, create a new folder. Copy the contents of your Lost Artifact installation folder, and these folders from the CD - DATA, FMV, AUDIO and PIX, and paste into the new folder. Transfer this folder to your current PC. My advice though, is to place the folder in a custom location, such as the Documents folder, in order to bypass another folder being used (VirtualStore) to store the config file and savegames.

Now this next step may be redundant, but I'll include it anyway. Download the TR series multipatch utility, and run this program targeting the lost artifact game location you just made. Make sure that the data folder also contains the file "trla.dat".

Now you'll need a No-CD executable to eliminate the need for a CD. It can be downloaded here (it's virus free, but still may give a warning). Alternatively you could try Arsunt's patch which allows for widescreen visuals and FMV fixes.

See if the game now launches correctly. If not, we'll look into troubleshooting. You may have to run the game setup. Create a shortcut of the No-CD executable file, then open the properties of this newly created shortcut. At the end of the target/address field, add a space, then type -setup after the quote, so that it reads something like: "C:\Games\TR#\Tomb#.exe" -setup
Now run the shortcut & the setup menu should appear.

Ellioft · 08-10-19, 14:17

Much easier use an iso

Final Count · 09-10-19, 07:11

Thank you so much Laravision! That's very helpful!

fallenangle · 09-10-19, 16:12

Yep, Laravision's advice on that is exactly what I did to get both TR3 and TLA working sans discs.

I'd actually forgotten how to do it with TR3 which I had working on laptop for years without my original disc. Never bothered with TLA discless but that advice was used when I had to install everything on a new PC almost 4 years ago.

Such a pleasure just being able to click on any old TR game installed on the HDD and it launches without having to faff around finding the original discs.

Final Count · 15-10-19, 16:27

It worked, thank you so much Laravision.

The game runs smoothly and everything looks great IN-GAME. Unfortunately, the title screen has extremely jagged text, as well as a weird vertical line. Anyone knows why this is present, and perhaps know a way to fix it?

laravision · 15-10-19, 20:37

I've heard that it's an issue with some nVidia cards. Arsunt knows how to fix it, but his time is currently devoted to TR2. Peixoto's patch can fix the vertical line, as can dgVoodoo or software rendering.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dustie

As does software rendering from what I've noticed. That line began with modern systems/hardware, the issue didn't occur on older platforms with hardware acceleration. In my case all backgrounds are also pixelated despite everything else being filtered.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arsunt

The problem is that the Core divided the BMP image of 640x480 into 6 fragments of 256x256 to put each of them into a separate texture tile. But the developers noticed that the two right fragments occupy only half of the tile, and they put both right fragments in single texture tile, thus saving a bit of memory. This mechanism existed since TR1, and perhaps in TR3 there would be no problem. But programmers for some reason decided that the texels adjustment is no longer needed for background images, and removed it. Different video cards work differently with the UV-coordinates, and we observe a typical texture bleeding.

Final Count · 16-10-19, 08:54

Thanks again for your reply.

I can only find a peixoto patch for Tomb Raider II, seemingly.

My virus protection freaks out and constantly quarantines files from dgVoodoo, so I'm a bit hesitant about using that.

I'm a bit of PC noob, so if it's not too much trouble, I would love if you could recommend me a solution, or provide a link to the patch that will fix it.

Locke217 · 05-11-19, 09:35

I've had TR3 working without a CD for a while, and I've owned the CD of TLA for years, but the tr3gold.exe laravision kindly provided doesn't seem to work for me. I've run the setup, and I tried running it with dgvoodoo just to see if that would make any difference. It crashes immediately when opened.

I'm on windows 10, and again TR3 works fine for me, but this one's being stubborn.

08-10-19, 07:07	#1
Final Count Student Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Denmark Posts: 133	The Lost Artifact without the disc? I vaguely remember reading in here, that it is somehow possible to play The Lost Artifact without the disc. Now, I have the disc, but my current PC has no disc drive So I have to play the game on my ancient computer, with a super loud disc drive. Is it in any way possible for me, to somehow transfer the game to my current computer (or at least play it without the disc on this computer, so I don't have to listen to that noise)?

08-10-19, 11:26	#3
laravision Archaeologist Join Date: May 2011 Location: Kent, England Posts: 2,306	Okay, on your old PC, create a new folder. Copy the contents of your Lost Artifact installation folder, and these folders from the CD - DATA, FMV, AUDIO and PIX, and paste into the new folder. Transfer this folder to your current PC. My advice though, is to place the folder in a custom location, such as the Documents folder, in order to bypass another folder being used (VirtualStore) to store the config file and savegames. Now this next step may be redundant, but I'll include it anyway. Download the TR series multipatch utility, and run this program targeting the lost artifact game location you just made. Make sure that the data folder also contains the file "trla.dat". Now you'll need a No-CD executable to eliminate the need for a CD. It can be downloaded here (it's virus free, but still may give a warning). Alternatively you could try Arsunt's patch which allows for widescreen visuals and FMV fixes. See if the game now launches correctly. If not, we'll look into troubleshooting. You may have to run the game setup. Create a shortcut of the No-CD executable file, then open the properties of this newly created shortcut. At the end of the target/address field, add a space, then type -setup after the quote, so that it reads something like: "C:\Games\TR#\Tomb#.exe" -setup Now run the shortcut & the setup menu should appear. __________________ IronFistLaw75 Last edited by laravision; 13-08-20 at 16:43.

08-10-19, 14:17	#4
Ellioft Professor Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: France Posts: 3,915	Much easier use an iso __________________ Be positive DAMMIT !

15-10-19, 16:27	#7
Final Count Student Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Denmark Posts: 133	It worked, thank you so much Laravision. The game runs smoothly and everything looks great IN-GAME. Unfortunately, the title screen has extremely jagged text, as well as a weird vertical line. Anyone knows why this is present, and perhaps know a way to fix it? Last edited by tlr online; 15-10-19 at 17:10. Reason: Image removed. See FAQ on posting images.

05-11-19, 09:35	#10
Locke217 Archaeologist Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 1,041	I've had TR3 working without a CD for a while, and I've owned the CD of TLA for years, but the tr3gold.exe laravision kindly provided doesn't seem to work for me. I've run the setup, and I tried running it with dgvoodoo just to see if that would make any difference. It crashes immediately when opened. I'm on windows 10, and again TR3 works fine for me, but this one's being stubborn. __________________ I have finally reached enlightenment. Sort of.

08-10-19, 07:24	#2
UroshUchiha Historian Join Date: Jul 2018 Location: Serbia Posts: 382	You own the game, just download it from somewhere where the nocd patch thingy is applied and play it like that. You have your disc as proof that you own the game. Or get an external optical drive xD

09-10-19, 07:11	#5
Final Count Student Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Denmark Posts: 133	Thank you so much Laravision! That's very helpful!

09-10-19, 16:12	#6
fallenangle Archaeologist Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: NW London Posts: 1,915	Yep, Laravision's advice on that is exactly what I did to get both TR3 and TLA working sans discs. I'd actually forgotten how to do it with TR3 which I had working on laptop for years without my original disc. Never bothered with TLA discless but that advice was used when I had to install everything on a new PC almost 4 years ago. Such a pleasure just being able to click on any old TR game installed on the HDD and it launches without having to faff around finding the original discs.

16-10-19, 08:54	#9
Final Count Student Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Denmark Posts: 133	Thanks again for your reply. I can only find a peixoto patch for Tomb Raider II, seemingly. My virus protection freaks out and constantly quarantines files from dgVoodoo, so I'm a bit hesitant about using that. I'm a bit of PC noob, so if it's not too much trouble, I would love if you could recommend me a solution, or provide a link to the patch that will fix it.