I've been thinking about Test Drive Unlimited 1 recently. I have an old original DVD copy around here somewhere, and a backup of the MegaPack installation file that I bought on a site called Metaboli, which I have no idea if it still exists, probably doesn't.

I know there's no online anymore, and even when I bought it, I didn't really play online anyway, so I don't care.

But I wanted to revisit it and play a little bit. I did look around online and found a few "download and install an illegal copy this way", but I was thinking about trying directly with my DVD. I've also checked the tips over on PC gaming wiki.

So, out of cheer curiosity: has anyone around here tried it on a Win 11 PC recently enough to tell me if it's worth trying? I understand that I'll need a community patch one way or another, but if installing and playing it is too much of a hassle, I probably won't try.

For comparison, when I wanted to revisit NFS Underground a few years ago, instead of going with my CD copy, I emulated the Game Cube version, played a couple of races, and that was that.

So, it's very much the same situation, where I want to spend an hour or less revisiting it and, then, move on.

That's a firm maybe.

It works great in Wine, but that SecuRom DRM might be a halting point unless you go back in time and prevent it from being invented.

The only Linux based machine I have is the Steam Deck and I'm not trying it there (I have a dock and an external DVD drive, so it would be possible).

But, yeah, I'm under the impression that both things (TDU and the Megapack) would install neatly, but that I would have to go hunting for a securom crack for it to run. I tried to find out if the Community Pack included it, but I didn't see any indication of such thing.

Thanks for the answer. Highly appreciated. ^_^

So, I've installed it and, despite taking forever to install, it worked properly. Patched with the last official patch, but didn't install the Megapack yet.

It runs, but there's audio only during the intro videos, the game itself is completely mute. I'm still trying to figure out what''s the cause.

I also had a sudden crash to desktop just now, no idea what caused it.

I'll try to figure it out later.

What's your game version, Platinum or Gold? I'm asking because my original Platinum v1.66A DVD version works and has no such problems. The only problem it does have is this strange behavior of AI cars, but other than that, everything works on W11 Pro.

It's neither, it's the original release. I've applied the 1.66A Patch, but other than that, didn't add anything else. I still have to find my Megapack installation file, though I may choose to look for a cracked version online (just because I doubt the thing will manage to contact its old activation servers).

TDU 1 doesn't need to be activated but TDU 2 does. Enter your serial number, confirm, and the game starts. As for your problem, maybe you need to activate Legacy Components, or you need to download and install DX9 Redist It could also help to install the K-Lite Codec Pack and RAD Video Tools

I was talking about the Megapack installer, actually. Since I bought it online back in the day, it needs to call home and has a limited number of activations. Though I have found its CD key, I haven't really searched for it among my old backup CDs and external HDs. I want to see if I can get the game to work properly first.

I tried the legacy componets and the DX9 you suggested, but neither helped the sound work. I don't think I need RAD, since the video intro already work fine, maybe I'll try the codec pack and see if it changes something.

The game is still crashing after a couple of minutes running around the map.

Still, thanks for the suggestions. :)

Apparently the sound issue was just a need to alt+tab out of the application and back again for it to autofix. Found it online, tried it and was dumbfounded when it worked. *shrugs*

The crashes to desktop stopped after I set the compatibility to Win XP SP3. I don't know if it is a permanent fix or just delaying it, but let's hope for the best.

Later I'll try to find my installation file for the Megapack and see if it works.

Update: Megapack installed without any issues.

Though I got pretty bummed that I can't immediately buy a bike. XD

I'm glad you managed to make it work! Have fun playing. And I apologize for misunderstanding the nature of your problem. I've never used the Mega Pack before, so I wasn't aware that it also needed to be activated.

You mentioned setting compatibility mode to XP SP3. How did you do that? I'm asking because in my Windows version, Vista is the oldest selectable OS.

I don't know. I'm running Windows 11 and there are a lot of options there on the compatibility menu, from Win 95 up to Win 8.

I don't think I installed anything in particular to have those options available. At least not that I'm aware.

About the Megapack, maybe the store was lying about it having to activate online? I don't really know, but I'm glad it worked. :)

A few musings after spending a few hours in the game:

- This game is an early iteration of the Forza Horizon design, obviously, but comparing it to the 2 latest games in that series, it shows how much of its design ideas aged poorly.

- Still, I love the houses having interiors you can visit, instead of just being a bunch of menus (even though that's their primary function).

- I also love the car show rooms, though it is bizarre that you can see some cars and they are listed as "out of stock"

- I had absolutely no memory of the cops in this game. They feel more like an annoyance than a well thought out system.

- Nor did I remember the AI players hanging around the map when you're offline.

- Car handling isn't great, feels janky, but it's way better than my memory of TDU2. So does the speed sensation while driving.

- For a realistic, for the time, recreation of a Hawaiian island, it feels very barren. Being a game from 2008, I know it can't have as much details as modern games, and there's the issue of turning into Carmageddon if you have pedestrians walking around, but I feel they could have found ways of making the world feel less abandoned and empty. It also fews a bit void of interesting landmarks and places to hang around.

- Funny that I couldn't remember any radio vignettes from this game, because there are none. Radios are just song lists separated by genre (I pretty much only listen to Radio Bot, the one with Rock'n'Roll). Still, the "Death Metal Radio that mostly played indie rock" is my favorite memory from TDU2.

- Though I like most of the songs from Radio Bot, the only band I discovered through this game I actually listened over the years is Seether. Still, a lot of good nostalgia listening to the soundtrack once again.

- I tried the community patch 2.0, but it removed the traffic completely and, when I tried to enter a race, the game froze. So I reverted back to the last official patch.

- I still haven't cracked the game, but I probably will, since the DVD drive is a bit loud and, frankly, annoying. Though I still haven't found a crack yet.