mc3port 0.3.7 - Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition Remix on Windows
=================================================================

An unofficial, non-commercial fan project: a native Windows port of the
European or USA Xbox release, run from your own disc image. It is not affiliated
with, endorsed by or sponsored by Rockstar Games, Take-Two Interactive or
Microsoft. No game data is included or distributed: no disc images, no
executables, no textures, sounds, music or films. Please do not ask for
game files and do not share them.

The full guide, with pictures, is docs/README.md in this folder and online at
https://github.com/SickSartori/mc3port


WHAT YOU NEED
-------------

- Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. Nothing else to install: the Visual C++
  runtime is built in, and Direct3D 11, XAudio2 and the shader compiler
  are part of Windows 10 and 11.
  Windows "N" editions only: install the Media Feature Pack (Settings >
  Apps > Optional features), or mc3runtime.dll will not load.
- A graphics card and driver with Direct3D 11 (feature level 11_0).
- A disc image (.iso or .cci) of Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition Remix, Xbox,
  Europe (En, Fr, De, Es, It) or USA. XISO and full Redump dumps both work,
  in one file or split in parts (name.1.iso, name.2.iso: choose any part),
  and so does the compressed CCI format. Other releases are not supported:
  the launcher checks the game's executable and tells you if the disc is a
  different version.
- Optional: a controller (Xbox, PlayStation, Switch or most other USB
  and Bluetooth pads), up to four. Without one, the keyboard is
  controller 1.
- Optional: an internet connection, only for the update check (it can be
  switched off in Settings).
- An audio output device is not required: without one the game runs
  silent.


FIRST START
-----------

1. Portable zip: extract it where you like; it contains this "mc3port"
   folder. Installer: run it; it installs for your user only, without
   administrator rights.
2. Start mc3.exe. The files are not code signed, so Windows SmartScreen
   may ask once: "More info", then "Run anyway". To check a download,
   compare its SHA-256 with the SHA256SUMS file of the release.
3. The launcher asks for your disc image: choose the .iso (or .cci) file. mc3port
   checks it and remembers where it is; if you move the file later,
   choose it again.
4. Pick a style, Original or Enhanced, then PLAY.
   Next time the launcher opens on its main page: PLAY, Enter or A starts
   the game.

The first time each graphics shader is needed it is compiled in the
background, so the first minutes can hitch; the results are kept in the
shader_cache folder and later runs are smooth from the start.


WHERE YOUR FILES ARE
--------------------

Settings (mc3port.ini), saves (the xbox_hdd folder), the logs (the logs
folder) and the shader cache live in your Documents folder:
C:\Users\<you>\Documents\mc3port. Versions up to 0.3.0 kept them in
%LOCALAPPDATA%\mc3port: they keep working there, and at each start the
launcher asks whether to move them, until you do. Updates and uninstalling never touch them; to remove everything, delete that folder
too.

To back up your progress, copy the xbox_hdd folder.

Portable mode: to keep everything next to mc3.exe instead (a USB stick,
say), create an empty file named portable.txt in the same folder as
mc3.exe before the first start.


UPDATING
--------

Installer: when a new version is out, the launcher says so on its first
page and offers to update. It downloads the new installer, checks its
SHA-256 and shows it in Explorer: start it to install the update.

Portable zip: extract the new version in the same place, replacing the
files of this folder. Settings and saves are kept.

What changed in each version: docs/CHANGELOG.md in this folder.


KEYS
----

Default keyboard layout (all keys can be changed in the launcher's
Controls page):

  W / S                  accelerate / brake, reverse
  A / D                  steer
  Space / Esc / Z / C    handbrake / weight transfer / nitrous / look back
  F                      special ability (Zone, Agro, Roar)
  Left Shift / Left Ctrl change camera / flash headlights
  Enter / Backspace      Start (pause) / Back (navigation system)
  Arrow keys             D-pad (map, hydraulics, music)
  I / J / K / L          right stick (camera)

  F1 (controller: Back+Start)  in-game menu: settings, controls, resume,
                               exit; the game pauses meanwhile
  F11 or Alt+Enter             full screen on and off
  F10                          modern effects on and off


IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG
-----------------------

- "Cannot load mc3runtime.dll": the file must be next to mc3.exe. If it
  is there, a Windows component is missing: on Windows N editions
  install the Media Feature Pack. An antivirus may also have quarantined
  the file; the SHA-256 in SHA256SUMS lets you check it is the original.
- The program closes at once, or the game crashes: open the launcher's
  About page and press "Log folder"; mc3port.log says what happened last,
  mc3port.1.log and mc3port.2.log the two runs before.
- The game is not smooth: choose 30 fps, a lower internal resolution, or
  the Original style, in Settings. The processor counts more than the graphics card.
  mc3port has been tested on few machines so far.
- Very low frame rate with MSI Afterburner or RivaTuner (RTSS) running:
  add mc3.exe to RTSS with "Application detection level: None", or close
  them while playing.
- No sound: the output device that is the Windows default when the game
  starts is the one used.
- The sound is quiet: check Volume in Settings (100 is the loudest), then
  the Windows volume. The level leaves room for many sounds at once.
- The disc is refused: only the European and USA releases are supported; the
  launcher's message says what it found.

To report a problem, press "Report a problem" in the launcher's bottom
bar: it opens the form on GitHub with your version and PC filled in, and
the folder with mc3port.log to attach. Or open an issue at
https://github.com/SickSartori/mc3port/issues with your Windows version,
your graphics card, what you were doing and mc3port.log attached. After
a crash, the next start makes mc3port-crash-report.zip in the same folder
and offers "Report the crash": attach that file. On Linux, also give the distribution, the Wine or Proton version, the
graphics driver and how you started the game.


LINUX (EXPERIMENTAL)
--------------------

mc3port also runs on Linux through a recent Wine (tested: 11.0) with
32-bit support
(on Debian and Ubuntu: the i386 architecture and the 32-bit OpenGL and
Vulkan libraries libgl1:i386, libegl1:i386, libvulkan1:i386).

Linux package (mc3port-0.3.7-linux.tar.gz): run "sh install.sh" in
this folder. It copies mc3port to ~/.local/share/mc3port, makes a Wine
prefix of its own there, and adds the "mc3port" command (~/.local/bin)
and an entry in the applications menu. Run it again to update. Your
settings and saves are in that folder too; the script says how to remove
everything.

Zip, by hand: put your .iso in this folder, then run "wine mc3.exe"
here. Your files are then in the Wine prefix, under
drive_c/users/<you>/Documents/mc3port.

It has been tested on one machine only, with Wine 11 under WSL2: the
launcher, the opening films and the career's menus work, sound included.
Not tested yet: the speed with a real Linux graphics driver, Proton and
DXVK, controllers, the Steam Deck. Expect problems, and please report
them as above.


KNOWN ISSUES
------------

- Only the European and USA releases of the Remix are supported.
- Online play (Xbox Live) is not available. Split screen works.
- On monitors wider than 16:9 there are thin black bars at the sides.
- The Xbox sound chip's own effects, such as reverb, are not reproduced.
- Linux (Wine, Proton) is experimental and only partly tested.
- On some PCs the game stays on "Checking for saved files" after Start.
  The cause is not known: please report it, with mc3port.log.


LICENCE
-------

mc3port's code is released under the MIT licence (LICENSE). Third-party
parts keep their own licences: docs/THIRD_PARTY.md and docs/licenses.
The game itself, and everything read from your disc, belongs to its
owners.
