What a pain in ths @ss. I was lucky that it installed on my PC with no problems. It sounds like you are not alone, so hopefully Codemasters will come up with a fix soon, or at least someone should be releasing a NO CD cracked exe at www.gamecopyworld.com
One has already been released for Colin McRae 4 PC, although I believe that was CD's not DVD's. You gotta love it when a company penalizes you for actually purchasing the game with some crappy copy protection.
The people playing the game with no problems are the ones that downloaded the warez versions illegally.
Keep checking the thread I posted, as it appears that John has had some luck getting his to work, although it seems to be pretty random.
TOCA 2 PC Installation Problems
Moderators: Bill_Abner, ScoopBrady
FWIW, apparently some other companies have encountered problems with StarForce protection. This is from the Dreamcatcher Games Enigma Rising Tide site (http://www.dreamcatchergames.com/dci/su ... rt.html#Q6):
The REALLY good news is that over on the Codemasters forums, KJH (from Codies) indicated that they are fixing a known problem with Starforce (which only happens on a minority of PCs) for the patch, so it seems like they are aware and attempting to rectify the problem on their end:
http://community.codemasters.com/forum/ ... post416730
Keep your fingers crossed, and let me know if you make any progress on your end.
Since I had to do an uninstall/re-install for RD2 because I initially had Daemon Tools running, I'm going to try to uninstall RD2 again tonight, then run the "StarforceClean" file, and THEN re-install. Maybe THAT will fix things.Problem:
I have uninstalled the game but not all of the copy protection software was removed.
Fix:
This patch removes the Starforce Copy Protection Drivers.
Instructions:
Click HERE to begin downloading the file.
1. The file will automatically begin downloading. Select to save the file to your desktop.
2. When the download is completed, double click on the 'StarforceClean' icon on your desktop to install the patch.
The REALLY good news is that over on the Codemasters forums, KJH (from Codies) indicated that they are fixing a known problem with Starforce (which only happens on a minority of PCs) for the patch, so it seems like they are aware and attempting to rectify the problem on their end:
http://community.codemasters.com/forum/ ... post416730
Keep your fingers crossed, and let me know if you make any progress on your end.
Dittos to that John! The Active Cockpit Camera really enhanced my enjoyment of the demo. I can't thank you enough for your enhancement workDChaps wrote:Welcome JB! Stick around, lots of good TOCA and IRL talk around these parts. Good luck and thanks for getting the Active Cockpit Camera utility up so fast for the full version of TRD2.
I'll be picking the game up Thursday night or Friday (with the hope that my DVD drive will be here at least by Friday). I can't wait to try the ACC with it.
I'd like to expand the installation issues topic just a bit to include setup questions:
To those of you who now have the full game; have you found steering (saturation and deadzone) and force feedback settings that you're happy with? If so, do you find that this setup is desirable for all car types?
One thing I've already found in playing both demos is that I have a set of settings that I like for the Formula Fords, but they don't quite cut it with the DTM and V8's I'd hate to think I'm going to have to tweak the wheel calibration for each type of vehicle, but if that's what it takes - I'm nerdy enough to do it.
How much control do you have over race length in the full version, outside of the career mode?
To those of you who now have the full game; have you found steering (saturation and deadzone) and force feedback settings that you're happy with? If so, do you find that this setup is desirable for all car types?
One thing I've already found in playing both demos is that I have a set of settings that I like for the Formula Fords, but they don't quite cut it with the DTM and V8's I'd hate to think I'm going to have to tweak the wheel calibration for each type of vehicle, but if that's what it takes - I'm nerdy enough to do it.
How much control do you have over race length in the full version, outside of the career mode?
I have some VERY good news on my copy protection problem -- I tried the uninstall/"StarForceClean"/reinstall approach to see if I was having an uninstall problem with the StarForce copy protection, and that didn't do a thing.
After that, I decided to look at my hardware, and while double-checking for drivers and firmware updates for my DVD drive, I discovered (to my surprise!) that my Matshita SR-8581 DVD-ROM drive is only a 1x device, and the minimum specs for RD2 state that you need a 2x DVD-ROM. What are the odds -- I didn't even know they made 1x DVD drives!?
But, that got me to thinking . . .
I happened to have a spare CPU lying around for my wife's computer, and I decided to check to see what type of DVD-ROM drive she had installed in her system. I had to laugh when I found out she had a Matshita SR-8582 DVD-ROM drive, which is a newer 2x version of my SR-8581.
Soooo . . .
I decided to go ahead and upgrade my wife's CPU, and to go ahead and swap DVD-ROM drives while I was at it, just to see if that would help (my wife has a standing moritorium against me installing race sims on her PC, even for testing, so I figured a DVD swap would be easier than trying to get away with a "test install").
The CPU upgrade and drive swap went off without a hitch, and, to my delight, RD2 loaded IMMEDIATELY using the newer drive!!!!
I played around a bit, then exited the game and tried re-starting, and it worked again, just like it's supposed to!
I've started and exited the game several times now, just to make sure everything is okay, and I'm now 99% sure that the drive swap fixed the problem.
So, all's well in John's world now -- hopefully this info will help others who have similar problems, because we now know for sure that people with 1x DVD drives will definitely have problems (I didn't even know they made 1x DVD drives!). And, if you have at least a 2x drive, you should be okay.
BTW, there ARE some ways to tweak the AI strength and the race lengths in Career mode -- I'll either release a patch or a tutorial on that shortly.
After that, I decided to look at my hardware, and while double-checking for drivers and firmware updates for my DVD drive, I discovered (to my surprise!) that my Matshita SR-8581 DVD-ROM drive is only a 1x device, and the minimum specs for RD2 state that you need a 2x DVD-ROM. What are the odds -- I didn't even know they made 1x DVD drives!?
But, that got me to thinking . . .
I happened to have a spare CPU lying around for my wife's computer, and I decided to check to see what type of DVD-ROM drive she had installed in her system. I had to laugh when I found out she had a Matshita SR-8582 DVD-ROM drive, which is a newer 2x version of my SR-8581.
Soooo . . .
I decided to go ahead and upgrade my wife's CPU, and to go ahead and swap DVD-ROM drives while I was at it, just to see if that would help (my wife has a standing moritorium against me installing race sims on her PC, even for testing, so I figured a DVD swap would be easier than trying to get away with a "test install").
The CPU upgrade and drive swap went off without a hitch, and, to my delight, RD2 loaded IMMEDIATELY using the newer drive!!!!
I played around a bit, then exited the game and tried re-starting, and it worked again, just like it's supposed to!
I've started and exited the game several times now, just to make sure everything is okay, and I'm now 99% sure that the drive swap fixed the problem.
So, all's well in John's world now -- hopefully this info will help others who have similar problems, because we now know for sure that people with 1x DVD drives will definitely have problems (I didn't even know they made 1x DVD drives!). And, if you have at least a 2x drive, you should be okay.
BTW, there ARE some ways to tweak the AI strength and the race lengths in Career mode -- I'll either release a patch or a tutorial on that shortly.
I just picked up TOCA2 PC yesterday, and it installed without at hitch on my system. I bought a Toshiba DVD/CD read only drive for $28.95 at Newegg.com.
This game is absolutely jaw-dropping on the PC! I'm running at 1280 x 1024 x 32, with 8X tri-linear (quality) anisotropic filtering. The frame rate never drops below 40 fps, and averages 60. I thought it looked pretty good on the XBox, but this might be the most realistic racing environment I've seen yet.
I'm still struggling with the steering wheel and force feedback settings. I've got the Formula Ford's and the V8's nailed down (unfortunately they require different saturation zones
), but I'm still on the drawing board with the others I've tried.
This game is absolutely jaw-dropping on the PC! I'm running at 1280 x 1024 x 32, with 8X tri-linear (quality) anisotropic filtering. The frame rate never drops below 40 fps, and averages 60. I thought it looked pretty good on the XBox, but this might be the most realistic racing environment I've seen yet.
I'm still struggling with the steering wheel and force feedback settings. I've got the Formula Ford's and the V8's nailed down (unfortunately they require different saturation zones
), but I'm still on the drawing board with the others I've tried.I forget what your wheel setup is JC. Do you have a Logitech MOMO red? If so, maybe we can help each other out. I am still experimenting with the Formula Fords myself. Do you mind posting what you've got so far. If you have not already done so, install the John Bodin's active cockpit, Formula Ford new cockpit view, and don't forget to make the edit that allows you to run Pro-Sim mode in the career. I think the PC version is going to have some legs on it. Not that the Xbox version won't have a decent lifespan as well, but all the things it appears that can be done with the PC version should make for some great fun.
We need to plan a DSP TOCA 2 PC night soon. I think JamesE, sf_z, John Bodin, me, yourself, and maybe Terry all have the PC version. That makes 6 right there.
We need to plan a DSP TOCA 2 PC night soon. I think JamesE, sf_z, John Bodin, me, yourself, and maybe Terry all have the PC version. That makes 6 right there.
One tip: Make sure you try both the "Wheel" and "Pad" settings, even if you're using a wheel . . . "Pad" works better for me with my TSW2, and others have reported similar findings. Basically, "Wheel" is FULL-LINEAR, and "Pad" is a non-linear, somewhat speed-sensitive setting. I tend to prefer non-linear, speed-sensitive settings, it seems.
VERY weird AND annoying. I think they use a different amount of steering lock for each of the various cars, and THAT makes it tough to dial things in with different wheels -- if you're using your thumbs, I think it all must feel pretty much the same, with varying degrees of sensitivity, but with a steering wheel that has 270 degrees of motion, "little" things like varying steering ratios between makes can make a HUGE difference.
This is one area where Codies tried to make each marque "distinctive," and I think they missed the mark (so to speak).
-- JB
This is bugging the heck out of me, too -- I've been experimenting with using the "Wheel" controller selection combined with a bit of non-linearity dialed-in with the CTFJ! utility, and that works GREAT with the Formula Fords, but when I got to the Global GT Lights I had to switch off the CTFJ! settings and revert to "Pad" for my controller settings.J_Cauthen wrote:I'm still struggling with the steering wheel and force feedback settings. I've got the Formula Ford's and the V8's nailed down (unfortunately they require different saturation zones
VERY weird AND annoying. I think they use a different amount of steering lock for each of the various cars, and THAT makes it tough to dial things in with different wheels -- if you're using your thumbs, I think it all must feel pretty much the same, with varying degrees of sensitivity, but with a steering wheel that has 270 degrees of motion, "little" things like varying steering ratios between makes can make a HUGE difference.
This is one area where Codies tried to make each marque "distinctive," and I think they missed the mark (so to speak).
-- JB
Don,
I have an ancient LWFF Red. It's still chugging along. I'll post the settings when I get home from work. I'll definitely grab the active cockpit mod, and the new Formula Ford cockpit (great work John!). And yes, the Pro-sim edit is also on my "things-to-do" list.
Help me out here... wasn't the final version supposed to have rear-view mirrors? I see no mention of it in the readme file, or in the manual. Maybe I'm way off-base with that idea.
I'd love to do some online racing with you guys. I'm far more proficient with the PC version than the XBox, mostly because of the better wheel support. I've got a Griffin Advanced (yeah... AS IF!?) Racing Wheel for the XBox, and I haven't found a racing game yet that it's close to useable with. And I just have to admit it... I flat suck with the gamepad with driving games. I still do better with it than with the wheel in TOCA 2 on the XBox, but I'm a less than average driver. I think my rating points are something like 1448 presently. I make the mistake of joining a lot of random races. It seems the guys who try to race reasonably in many random races frequently become the victims.
Let's see if we can agree on a night for TOCA 2 PC next week. I'll be free to race anytime from Wednesday evening on.
I have an ancient LWFF Red. It's still chugging along. I'll post the settings when I get home from work. I'll definitely grab the active cockpit mod, and the new Formula Ford cockpit (great work John!). And yes, the Pro-sim edit is also on my "things-to-do" list.
Help me out here... wasn't the final version supposed to have rear-view mirrors? I see no mention of it in the readme file, or in the manual. Maybe I'm way off-base with that idea.
I'd love to do some online racing with you guys. I'm far more proficient with the PC version than the XBox, mostly because of the better wheel support. I've got a Griffin Advanced (yeah... AS IF!?) Racing Wheel for the XBox, and I haven't found a racing game yet that it's close to useable with. And I just have to admit it... I flat suck with the gamepad with driving games. I still do better with it than with the wheel in TOCA 2 on the XBox, but I'm a less than average driver. I think my rating points are something like 1448 presently. I make the mistake of joining a lot of random races. It seems the guys who try to race reasonably in many random races frequently become the victims.
Let's see if we can agree on a night for TOCA 2 PC next week. I'll be free to race anytime from Wednesday evening on.
The first patch (due in a few weeks, I think?) will add in mirrors, PLUS the ability to save replays (both confirmed for the PC-only; not for the X-Box, I'm afraid).
There is a utility that will let you set the Career Mode to Pro-Sim, vary the race lengths in Career Mode, and alter the AI difficulty level -- check out this post on the RaceSim Central board (the download link is within the message thread):
http://forum.rscnet.org/showthread.php?t=149150
Wednesday would be good for me, race-wise, FWIW.
-- JB
There is a utility that will let you set the Career Mode to Pro-Sim, vary the race lengths in Career Mode, and alter the AI difficulty level -- check out this post on the RaceSim Central board (the download link is within the message thread):
http://forum.rscnet.org/showthread.php?t=149150
Wednesday would be good for me, race-wise, FWIW.
-- JB
I'll definitely give this a go... thanks for the tip! It's funny, I run 95% linear in both NASCAR 2003 and GPL, and they both feel great. I realize it's a different challenge for Codies having to deal with all these different vehicle types, but I think they could come up with a solution that's more satisfying than this. I would love to have the program remember my wheel and force feedback settings for each car type, rather than forcing me to have to go back in and reset them for each one.jbodin wrote:One tip: Make sure you try both the "Wheel" and "Pad" settings, even if you're using a wheel . . . "Pad" works better for me with my TSW2, and others have reported similar findings. Basically, "Wheel" is FULL-LINEAR, and "Pad" is a non-linear, somewhat speed-sensitive setting. I tend to prefer non-linear, speed-sensitive settings, it seems.
I'm going to have to try this CTFJ utility. This might get me closer, but it sounds like we're still looking at making wholesale changes going from car to car.This is bugging the heck out of me, too -- I've been experimenting with using the "Wheel" controller selection combined with a bit of non-linearity dialed-in with the CTFJ! utility, and that works GREAT with the Formula Fords, but when I got to the Global GT Lights I had to switch off the CTFJ! settings and revert to "Pad" for my controller settings.
I believe you're on target with your observation about the steering lock... I hadn't thought of that, but it explains a lot of what I'm fighting with my fiddling. The DTM's are absolutely horrendous to try to deal with in steering wheel settings, but I'm thinking your tip about using pad setup might remedy some of what ailes it. I'll let you know how it works out... thanks!VERY weird AND annoying. I think they use a different amount of steering lock for each of the various cars, and THAT makes it tough to dial things in with different wheels -- if you're using your thumbs, I think it all must feel pretty much the same, with varying degrees of sensitivity, but with a steering wheel that has 270 degrees of motion, "little" things like varying steering ratios between makes can make a HUGE difference.
This is one area where Codies tried to make each marque "distinctive," and I think they missed the mark (so to speak).
Interesting -- I drive with my controller linearlity in GPL set to around 50% (middle of the scale), so it makes sense that the fully-linear "Wheel" setting in RD2 doesn't feel right to me.
BTW, I hope you don't mind, JC, but I used your post to query RFT (Rich Tysoe of Codemasters) on the RaceSim Central forums -- I want to get his input/comments about this steering ratio thing. Check out the post here:
http://forum.rscnet.org/showthread.php?t=149714
Again, I hope you don't mind me re-posting what you had posted.
TTYL!
- JB
BTW, I hope you don't mind, JC, but I used your post to query RFT (Rich Tysoe of Codemasters) on the RaceSim Central forums -- I want to get his input/comments about this steering ratio thing. Check out the post here:
http://forum.rscnet.org/showthread.php?t=149714
Again, I hope you don't mind me re-posting what you had posted.
TTYL!
- JB
I don't mind at all John... I hope it helps lead to some improvements.jbodin wrote:Interesting -- I drive with my controller linearlity in GPL set to around 50% (middle of the scale), so it makes sense that the fully-linear "Wheel" setting in RD2 doesn't feel right to me.
BTW, I hope you don't mind, JC, but I used your post to query RFT (Rich Tysoe of Codemasters) on the RaceSim Central forums -- I want to get his input/comments about this steering ratio thing. Check out the post here:
http://forum.rscnet.org/showthread.php?t=149714
Again, I hope you don't mind me re-posting what you had posted.
TTYL!
- JB
BTW, I tried using the pad settings with my wheel... it just didn't feel right to me. I have a LWFF (the old red model circa 2000) and it may be that wheel doesn't work right without more linear control. I just found the handling required a lot more movement, and as you say - speed of movement - for my tastes.
I'm back to having settings that work for some car types, but are worse than default for others.
The other problem I continue to have is spotty force feedback. One race the force feedback works fine, and then the next it's totally gone. This can happen to me in a career mode race where I'll go straight from one track to the next with no option tweaking at all. It's almost 50/50 with whether the force feedback is going to work or not. I personally find the PC version far less satisfying when the force feedback is off, particularly with my LWFF. It's still got those gritty bushings in it that make it feel "broken" when there's no force feedback. I need to go in and do the mod to replace the bushing in the wheel to a smoother material.