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If you want to have it easier, get the GOG version, this already has its own patches enabled done by CD Project Red’s preservation team of classic games included and has no tinkering requirement.

I will base what I have done to make the game work again on the Steam release tho, I will point the moment out, where you can find hints what additonal requirements are needed for the original CD retail release.

After installing the game and setting the highest resolution possible within the game, it is worth taking a look at the PCGamingWiki entry, which under “post-processing” mentions the “Peixoto patch”, which however is linked incorrectly and even if you google it, you find a PCGamingWiki download from 2018 which doesn’t work in Windows 11 at all. The corect link is https://www.patreon.com/c/u44312848/about, it requires you to join the Patrion but this is free, it leads you to the creator’s WineHoooks’ GitHub, which is the new name of this patch collection.

As the time of writing this, the latest version is 0.12.22 from 2025.

Unfortunately it doesn’t work out of the box, but once you extracted it’s archive, I suggest to run WineHooks.bat at least once, because it will ask to grand permission to your firewall a couple of times and then loads its web frontend automatically.
However, downloading profiles for the games will make the tool unresponsive on clicks, as it fails to create the necessary folders as follows:

C:\Users\username\Documents\WineHooks\CheatTables
C:\Users\username\Documents\WineHooks\Games
C:\Users\username\Documents\WineHooks\Help
C:\Users\username\Documents\WineHooks\Profiles
C:\Users\username\Documents\WineHooks\Scripts

as mentioned in the open bug report #2

After that, you will ask to point to the path and exe of the game.

You can use the properties of the game in your Steam library and open the game’s installation folder this way.

The GUI odf the WineSockets also mentions which additonal steps are necessary for the retail CD version to make it work!

Once you have done that the patcher will start and patch the game files.

It will end in a Steam error that the game cannot be run, but you can run it from within Steam again and it will simply work flawlessly now.

I had to enable “Dynamic Super Resolution” so the Bink intro videos wouldn’t be stuck in full screen!

If you don’t want to use Super Resolution, you can get away with the black borders, i.e. being stuck at 4:3 aspect ratio by applying the nemesis2000 widescreen fix, applying both patches will give you the same experience the GOG release offers! 🙂

The main issue with the game is, that none of the cut scenes, which are bink videos run smoothly by default on Windowes 11 26H2.

The solution is to simply enable compatibility mode for Windows XP Service Pack 3 for the game’s exe file!

Additionally, you can get AI Upscaled versions of the bink videos in full HD 1080p from this Nexus mod

The solution to the stutter can be found in this Steam guide and is basically, that ReBar is disabled by default in the Nvidia profile of the game but it’s not effective, so if you are using an Nvidia card, you have to use the NvidiaProfileInspector to enable it, and then disable it again, as the guide points out:

 Simply scroll down to ReBar Enable, which is in section 5. This is set to “Disabled” by default. Put it to “Enabled”, save the changes and then put it to “Disabled” again and save again. This fixed it for me. It makes really no sense tho.

This has been tested and verified working on Windows 11 26H2 with an Nvidia 5070Ti, Game Ready Drivers 617.42 of October 6th, 2026 and a 2K 165 Hz monitor.

Fixing Sonic CD running too fast so it’s rendered unplayable:

This Mega Drive port of a game is too old and does not support VSync while being locked in performance to the screen’s refresh rate. Back in the CRT days, higher outlandishly high refresh rates weren’t commonplace.

The solution here is to simply force it to run at 60 Hz only. E.g. in my case, I had it in the Nvidia App via Graphics –> Program Settings > 3 dotted menu -> add a program -> Sonic CD’s EXE -> Max Frame Rate –> On, 60 Hz.

Fixing Flashback (2013 remake) starting with a black screen and how to run the game on modern resolutions:

The workaround here is to put the game in window mode everytime, right at the start, this way the intro animations do play and do not turn the screen to black (using the hotkey combo ALT & Enter of course), however this is tedious, instead use the “Skip Intros” hint from PCGaming Wiki – Essential Improvements section. (Same with adding your screen’s native highest resolution).
This way the intros causing the black screen are not played and you sent to the tile screen and main menu right away!

“Flashback 2013” selection in the main menu does nothing:

The answer to the problem can be found here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/245730/discussions/0/1327844097109901742/#c2333276539595182917

So in essence, later UPlay versions and now Ubisoft Connect removed the “Uplay points” versions that was originally used to unlock the “Flashback 1993” menu entry. However since this feature has been removed, one could either consult Ubisoft Tech Support asking them to unlock it for your account, Or buy it separately: https://store.steampowered.com/app/961620/Flashback/

 it appears the DOSBOX config put in the Steam release is not compatible with newer WIndows versions / GPU drivers / higher res displays.

Hence it only worked for me in Window Mode, while any DOSBOX option was in full screen I only got a black screen.

The easiest fix without fiddling a lot but being proper and supported, is using the community patch “LCGC Systemshock Portable”, also known as “SSP”, it also offers a few enhancemens and installs using the DATA files from your original game installation (in this case Steam’s).

https://www.systemshock.org/index.php?topic=211.0&utm_source=chatgpt.com#post_downloadssp

The only thing not working is the option “Use Gulikoza’s custom DOSBox build”.

Tested and confirmed working on a 2K Display (2560 x 1140) with Windows 11 26H2 with Nvidia Game Ready Drivers 617.14)

I am starting with No One Lives Forever 2, as this was the hardest to come by and I only got its French CD original.

This is a DirectX8 game, so it did run on Windows 11 25H2 but had no picture output while running.
1) For fixing this, I have downloaded dgVoodoo2 and Copy D3D8.DLL from the MS\x86\ folder to <path-to-game>.

2) Enable v-sync in video options as suggested by PCGamingWiki

3) Download the Updater to French Patch 1.3 (else, use the English version)

This fixes the no sound in cut scenes and in-game issue.

As I do not know French, I now downloaded and installed the Patch ver.1.5 for No One Lives Forever 2 contains 6 European languages GUI

This includes the 1.4 patches and allows to set the GUI and subtitles to the language of your choice. I decided for English.

I did not have any of the other issues described by PCGamingWiki, hence I did not require further patches.

Next one is Contract J.A.C.K.

I initially thought, following this extensive guide is good enough for single player.
However turns out, no picture under Windows 11 25H2, without downloading dgVoodoo2 and Copy D3D8.DLL from the MS\x86\ folder to <path-to-game>.

After having followed and done both, the game runs beautifully! 🙂

This is a combination of several guides and fixes, included are fixes for:

-Widescreeen and higher resolutions
-FOV fix on widescreen
-Mouse fix on higher resolution (optional, not always necessary)
-No sound fix on cut-scenes

There is an All-In-One-Installer meant for Windows 10 which fixes widescreen and higher resolutions and related issues.

For fixing the lack of sound in the cut-scenes, download IndirectSound, then unzip it, and copy the files into the game folder’s System sub-folder, e.g. …SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\XIII – Classic\System

Optional: Mouse fix for higher resolutions:

Stage 1: XIII.ini setting
We going to …\XIII – Classic\system
Open the file : “XIII.ini”, search and copy the following lines :

• UseTripleBuffering=False
• UseVSync=False
• ReduceMouseLag=False

Stage 2: Mouse Polling Rate
Another thing that helps, set your Mouse Polling Rate to 250/125HZ(125 great works for me). But maybe it not help you and you can return your standart Polling Rate

There is also this other blog I am working on, a diary of the revival of the previously stalled Indie retro arcade racer game Drift Stage!

Now I decided to make my blog join the Fediverse, means all blog posts from now on (June, 2nd, 2026) will be posted to the Fediverse as well, if you add my feed @Nafcom@www.nafcom.eu to your ActivityPub protocol using server.

I did take my old wired XBOX 360 controller apart and cleaned it according to a manual as left and right triggger buttons would be seen as the same button being pressed on my freshly installed Windows 11 on my new PC and also joysticks with force feedback no longer worked.

It appears, to be still not working in certain games, while it does work perfectly in other games like Star Wars Outlaws and others like RDR I and II, etc.

It also worked when I still used the controller on my previous PC which was based of a Windows 8 installation upgraded to 8.1. then to 10, then finally to 11.

And here is the catch I found:

If it was a hardware fault, it would not explain why it did work on my old PC and then suddenly stopped when I used it for my new PC.

I dug into the topic a bit deeper and found the following facts and references:

-For Windows XP, 7.1. and 8.0, Microsoft released a separated “XBOX Controller Accessories” program with driver package.

This driver and package has been discontinued with the release of Windows 10 and a driver was provided using Windows Update.

The way how Left Trigger and Right Trigger changed depending on driver used and method used by the game.

Here you can read more: It has to do with DirectInput vs XInput, more about this can be read here:  XInput Plus v4.15.2.90 – Tools – PCGamingWiki PCGW Community

By Coincidence, this is also the download page by a tool that is supposed to bridge communication to the old method so the new Win10/11 drivers from Windows Update still work.

I was also able to pin down the issue vs games that work and games that don’t:

Games which do not work, detect the LT and RT as the exact same button

The method the Win10/11 drivers do it, LT and RT are on the same axis, but separated by certain values.

While with the method the Win XP / 7 and 8.0 drivers do it, LT and RT are separated sliders.

I also re-installed the 3rd tester app from the Windows store showing the problem via “classic testing method” vs “new testing method”.

I will make a OBS screencast of this so you can see it: 

What you can see: New Interface: LT = 87%, RT = 12%

Old Interface: Both Triggers misdetected as Left Triggers, Right Trigger input not detected.

Games I could verify the wrong behaviour:

-Split/Second: if I press LT fully down, car drives reverse. If I press RT half way down, car also drives reverse. (car is supposed to accelerate forward instead).

-ReMatch: In the Prologe: LT pressed down: player tackles, RT half way down also tackles (player is supposed to shoot instead)

The issue is also discussed as early as 2011 in the Unity Forums as of here:

Xbox Controller LT+RT at same time – Unity Engine – Unity Discussions

So the next steps to verify this is:

1) Either installing Xinput Plus on this new PC with a rather fresh Win 11 install 

or 

2) Fire up my old PC, use the free  too DriverMax and backing up the old Win8 driver from this system and try to inject it into the Windows 11 installation of my new PC as possible.

 The fact that RT works correctly in some games like Star Wars Outlaws rules out a hardware failure in my book. Especially since pressing 50% on games where RT do not work suddenly is detected as LT, backs this up.

Additionally, this appears also to be the reason, why force feedback joysticks no longer work, force feedback appears to be no longer part of XInput.

TL;DR:

in summary, Microsoft switched with Windows 10 and newer DirectX releases from the old method “DirectInput” to the never method XInput.

XInput is not supported by XBOX360 controller and older.

While DirectInput is not supported by Windows 10 and Windows 11 anymore.

So you will not want to go through that headache.

And tools that inject a transition layer into games like “XInput Plus ” are often seen as cheat software because of the injection method. Which would result in our players getting VAC banned on Steam. etc.

We never should go down this road, it is a sure desaster.