Developer and hacker Gemini has put years of his life to modify and improve upon the obscure PC releases handled by SourceNext of some of the most beloved Capcom games, like Resident Evil 2 as well as the rest of the original trilogy of Resident Evil titles (RE1 & RE3), Dino Crisis 1 and now his latest work has just been released today, with the latest title getting the Classic Rebirth treatment being Dino Crisis 2.
Almost all of his Classic Rebirth mods offer quality of life changes to the PC releases to be able to enjoy the games in newer hardware and software, like changing old file codecs to newer ones for better compatibility, implementing XInput & Direct3D 9 (or above), higher resolutions, vibration support, bugfixes from the original releases, and even support for mods, which go from translations, better quality videos/audio to even a unique story mods like in the case of some Resident Evil mods.
For Dino Crisis 2 specifically, the main changes that come with the Classic Rebirth mod from its original SourceNext release are:
- Replaces DirectDraw 7 with Direct3D 9, for improved compatibility with modern GPUs (and prevents rundll32.exe/GameUX from executing for no good reason).
- Replaces DirectInput 7.00 with new input methods such as XInput, RawInput, DirectInput 8.00, and native keyboard support.
- Replaces DirectSound with XAudio2.
- Replaces DirectShow video playback with a custom ffmpeg-based player that requires no codecs.
- Replaces buggy full screen mode with borderless window and fixes the aspect ratio to be locked to 4:3.
- Replaces broken context switching module to avoid crashes at boot or in other random spots.
- Fixes frame rate issue to provide smooth 20/30/60 fps support.
- Removes the need to install the game, making it portable to another PC just by coping the data.
- Restores missing, broken, or butchered graphical effects.
- Restores correct music loops, missing sound effects, and generally improves volume levels.
- Reworks the option screen in order to be able to fully remap controls, and change BGM/SFX volume levels. These options can also be changed in the config dialog that appears before the game boots and are applied globally, so they don't change when a saved game is loaded.
Gemini has other features planned for subsequent updates of the mod, like adding OGG file support to allow for better quality music into the game (which is already coded in, but not configured due no OST packs being available as of yet), and also vibration support through controllers.
Those interested in trying out the new Classic Rebirth mod for Dino Crisis 2 can do so by visiting the Classic Rebirth Website and downloading the pack for Dino Crisis 2, and some better quality mods if the player so desires.
Dino Crisis 2 Classic Rebirth mod page Classic Rebirth Main page
