Three TRON 2.0 FAQs Answered
Since I'm tired of seeing the same few search query terms in hits to this site, over and over: I'm going to answer the three most popular questions that people who want to play TRON 2.0, have.
LAST UPDATED October 21st, 2012
Q: Does TRON 2.0: KILLER APP for the original Xbox work on the Xbox 360?
A: No. And it probably never will. Microsoft has not added the game to its 360 backward compatibility list, and they are actually ending their backward compatibility updates. So, in other words, since it's not on the list already . . . it never will be.
If you're really anxious to play the game, and don't want to invest in a used Xbox: do yourself a favor, and pick up TRON 2.0 for the PC instead. The Single Player experience on the PC version is far superior. Trust me: I own both versions, and I'm speaking from experience. When BVG and Climax ported the game to the Xbox, many detrimental changes and sacrifices were made. The graphics on the PC are better, there are virtually no bugs once it's patched up (unlike the Xbox version, which has some irritating bugs), and things have not been cut or downsized in order to cram it into the Xbox's more limited 64MB of memory.
TRON 2.0 is an older title now, so it's not exactly considered a demanding game any more. Any PC bought in the last 2-3 years should be able to play it at maximum settings, without breaking a sweat.
Q: Does TRON 2.0 work on Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8?
A: Yes, to all three. I can personally verify this: since I have run TRON 2.0 on the original release of Vista, Vista SP1, Vista SP2, Windows 7, Windows 7 SP1, and Windows 8. The game even works with the 64-bit versions, which can sometimes be more problematic with compatibility than the 32-bit versions of Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 that some people might still be using.
If you are having a problem getting the game to install or run in Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8, it's not directly the fault of the operating system. You probably need to update one or more of your drivers, or download all the Windows Update hotfixes. Also make sure that you are running the game in Administrator mode. The game has been tested and confirmed to work on both the original release of Vista, and Vista updated with Service Pack 1 (SP1) or Service Pack 2 (SP2).
And on Windows 7, the game runs better than on Vista or even Windows XP. Yes, I am serious. Windows 7 is incredibly good and I recommend it. There is little reason to hesitate upgrading to Windows 7, like was the case with Vista. Games like TRON 2.0 run faster and smoother on Windows 7 than they ever did on Vista.
However, I personally do not recommend upgrading to Windows 8 at this time. When it comes to playing games, stick with Windows 7 for now. If I change my mind on this, I'll update this Mini-FAQ. Despite the recommendation, TRON 2.0 does run even smoother on Windows 8 than it does on Windows 7. Believe it or not.
One bit of advice I can give if you're having any difficulty, is to try using the Unofficial Patch instead of the Official one. And this goes for all versions of Windows. Sometimes, in rare cases, the Official Patch won't install properly.
Q: Does TRON 2.0 support widescreen?
A: Not properly, no. That is not to say that the game won't work at all at higher widescreen resolutions, of course. It's just that if you run the game on a widescreen monitor, the picture will become distorted. TRON 2.0 only properly supports resolutions with a 4:3 aspect ratio, while widescreen displays use a 16:9 or 16:10 aspect ratio.
However, the TRON 2.0: KILLER APP Mod v1.1 solves this problem. One of the features in this release of the mod, is proper widescreen support in the game. Here is a video trailer demonstrating widescreen support at 1280x720 resolution with a 16:9 aspect ratio.
LAST UPDATED October 21st, 2012
Q: Does TRON 2.0: KILLER APP for the original Xbox work on the Xbox 360?
A: No. And it probably never will. Microsoft has not added the game to its 360 backward compatibility list, and they are actually ending their backward compatibility updates. So, in other words, since it's not on the list already . . . it never will be.
If you're really anxious to play the game, and don't want to invest in a used Xbox: do yourself a favor, and pick up TRON 2.0 for the PC instead. The Single Player experience on the PC version is far superior. Trust me: I own both versions, and I'm speaking from experience. When BVG and Climax ported the game to the Xbox, many detrimental changes and sacrifices were made. The graphics on the PC are better, there are virtually no bugs once it's patched up (unlike the Xbox version, which has some irritating bugs), and things have not been cut or downsized in order to cram it into the Xbox's more limited 64MB of memory.
TRON 2.0 is an older title now, so it's not exactly considered a demanding game any more. Any PC bought in the last 2-3 years should be able to play it at maximum settings, without breaking a sweat.
Q: Does TRON 2.0 work on Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8?
A: Yes, to all three. I can personally verify this: since I have run TRON 2.0 on the original release of Vista, Vista SP1, Vista SP2, Windows 7, Windows 7 SP1, and Windows 8. The game even works with the 64-bit versions, which can sometimes be more problematic with compatibility than the 32-bit versions of Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 that some people might still be using.
If you are having a problem getting the game to install or run in Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8, it's not directly the fault of the operating system. You probably need to update one or more of your drivers, or download all the Windows Update hotfixes. Also make sure that you are running the game in Administrator mode. The game has been tested and confirmed to work on both the original release of Vista, and Vista updated with Service Pack 1 (SP1) or Service Pack 2 (SP2).
And on Windows 7, the game runs better than on Vista or even Windows XP. Yes, I am serious. Windows 7 is incredibly good and I recommend it. There is little reason to hesitate upgrading to Windows 7, like was the case with Vista. Games like TRON 2.0 run faster and smoother on Windows 7 than they ever did on Vista.
However, I personally do not recommend upgrading to Windows 8 at this time. When it comes to playing games, stick with Windows 7 for now. If I change my mind on this, I'll update this Mini-FAQ. Despite the recommendation, TRON 2.0 does run even smoother on Windows 8 than it does on Windows 7. Believe it or not.
One bit of advice I can give if you're having any difficulty, is to try using the Unofficial Patch instead of the Official one. And this goes for all versions of Windows. Sometimes, in rare cases, the Official Patch won't install properly.
Q: Does TRON 2.0 support widescreen?
A: Not properly, no. That is not to say that the game won't work at all at higher widescreen resolutions, of course. It's just that if you run the game on a widescreen monitor, the picture will become distorted. TRON 2.0 only properly supports resolutions with a 4:3 aspect ratio, while widescreen displays use a 16:9 or 16:10 aspect ratio.
However, the TRON 2.0: KILLER APP Mod v1.1 solves this problem. One of the features in this release of the mod, is proper widescreen support in the game. Here is a video trailer demonstrating widescreen support at 1280x720 resolution with a 16:9 aspect ratio.
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"pvmodelaspect" "1.7786"
"pvmodelfov" "86.67"
I then changed the resolution in the display.cfg to 1920x1080 and it works. When I select the output indication for the tv it actually says 1920x1080 60hz.
Awesome baby. ;)
I've tried the "pvmodel" trick on two different computers, with different monitors and video cards, and at various resolutions. I took screenshots and did before and after comparisons. There was no change.
Are you absolutely sure that this is making a difference. Did you do a before and after test.
Because I believe the fact that the image isn't distorted has nothing to do with those commands, and everything to do with your choice of display.
You're using a television, not a monitor. TVs are much better at scaling the image properly because they have built-in circuitry to take care of that. To cut costs, the majority of computer monitors don't have sophisticated scaling. They leave it up to the video card to do that task.
I'm not saying for certain that it doesn't work in your case. If so, that's great. But I do want to know for certain that you did before and after tests to verify this.
Both 1920x1080 and 1360x768 seem to work fine. I tried both 16:9 and 16:10 commands but they look identical. The video card I am using is a Sapphire X1950 Pro.
I took a few screenshots for proof. Please check them out 9.44MB.
http://www.michael421.karoo.net/avanze.7z
When you did your own testing did you ever select such a high resolution?
I'll admit that when I said the "pvmodel" commands "do not work" in the FAQ, I was oversimplifying things. They do actually have an effect. Just not the intended one. Those commands affect the arms and weapon in your POV. But they do not affect the aspect ratio of the world geometry - the entire image.
Getting back to the screenshots:
First, it's evident that the menu interface and dialogue subtitles are cut off at the bottom of the screen. Also, when you want to chat in Multiplayer the prompt and text will be cut off too. Some people might find this acceptable, but it's still clearly a problem.
Second, even though you didn't provide any "before and after" shots that directly compared the same exact scene, I can tell the image is always distorted horizontally.
What you see on your TV screen may look "correct", but if so this again has to do with the scaling circuitry built into it. It's probably doing "1:1 pixel mapping" for you automatically. The image being rendered - before it reaches the screen - is still distorted.
Most PC monitors don't have that feature, and rely on the video card to do the job. So if the card doesn't support "1:1 pixel mapping" (scaling the image while maintaining the aspect ratio), you're out of luck.
Checking the specs for this TV, it does not support 1:1 Pixel.
http://uk.lge.com/products/model/detail/lcdtv_26lb75.jhtml#
Actually, that is the point.
That's what this debate has been about? Whether or not TRON 2.0 works at higher widescreen resolutions? Nowhere have I said the game did not support higher resolutions (by forcing it in the display.cfg file) at all. Rather, that it does not support them properly.
When I wrote in the FAQ that the "advice does not work", I was referring to the "pvmodel" commands eliminating the image distortion. That statement, however, has nothing to do with getting the game to work at a higher resolution.
I can see now, how what I wrote in this posting could have been a bit confusing. So I reworded it to be more clear. I'll also reword what I wrote in the FAQ at some point.
ATI fixed their broken aspect ratio support for desktop PCs a while back. (It's been working for a long time on laptops). There's an option in the Catalyst control center called "GPU Scaling - Maintain aspect ratio".
And a proper widescreen patch for the game is being worked on. It will likely show up in the next release of the Killer App mod. (Yes, it's still being updated. But the progress has been very slow. Most of us have been very busy or distracted in real life.)
I have played it through Win XP & 7x64.
Never had a problem.
But know the game slows down, jerkily (no sure of the word, i'm french) when there is fight with many oponents.
I don't know why.
The only thing that has change in my system recently is that I now own a 27" widescreen.
System : Windows 7x64, Geforce 560 ti, 8Go RAM.
Anyone experience that ?
So at the time the current version (v1.1) of the mod was released, that problem had to wait until a solution could be found in the next version.
A solution has since been found and it will be fixed in v1.2 of the Killer App Mod.
You can watch this preview video, to see the improvement:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orpFkYH50O4
The next version of the mod should be released (crossing fingers) in 2-3 months from now.
A list of most of the fixes and improvements in v1.2 can be seen here:
http://www.ldso.net/tronforum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1125
Have others had more luck?
http://www.youtube.com/user/redrain85
The "Remote Procedure Call Failed" error suggests one of your services is set incorrectly.
Try this:
From the Start screen, click the Search icon in the Charms bar. Click on Settings. Then type "services". Click on the first result "View local services".
Scroll down until you see "Remote Procedure Call". The "Startup Type" for it should be Automatic. If not, right-click on "Remote Procedure Call" and choose Properties.
Change the "Startup Type" in the drop down menu to Automatic. Below, you should also see "Service status", where you can click on Start if the service isn't currently running. Then click OK.
That should do it. If not, I've seen suggestions that the error may be caused by malware infecting your computer, and you might have to use the "sfc /scannow" command.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html
But that should be taken as a last resort, because it can tie up your computer for hours.