Compatible OpenAL Games
Games
This page includes a list of a few existing OpenAL PC games that have been made to work with Rapture3D's "User" or "Advanced" editions, although most of them require modification to your system. New OpenAL games should be able to support Rapture3D easily enough, so if you're writing a game and would like to know more, please get in touch!
Note that modifying games or system files may break them or your system and may void your warranties - and might just not work! Please follow the instructions here only if you're very clear what you're doing (some of this is very technical!) and have a back up of all relevant files etc. We can't take responsibility for what might happen here...
Also note that you can only use Rapture3D with other OpenAL games with the "User" and "Advanced" editions from this site. The "Game" edition that is included with specific games works for those games only and will not work with other games on this list.
If you've found another game that Rapture3D works with, please let us know!
Several of the notes below ask you to remove DLLs from your system. Move them somewhere safe, do not delete them - you may need to put them back to make the game (or other games) work again! It's probably worth explaining what's going on here:
The OpenAL Router
On Windows, the OpenAL Router allows games to find all the OpenAL drivers available on your system and list them in their "audio setup" page. However, a lot of games don't do this. Instead, they let the router choose a default. The default the router picks will depend on what drivers are present on your system and there's currently no way to tell it to choose Rapture3D over other drivers.
However, it will pick Rapture3D if there are no other drivers present, which is why there is a lot of mention of removing DLLs in the instructions below. Just don't delete them - keep them somewhere so you can put them back.
Note that installing new games will sometimes put new OpenAL drivers in your system directories, so you may need to remove them again to keep the changes active.
This isn't a great solution if you have audio hardware with built in audio acceleration (e.g. Creative Lab's excellent X-Fi cards, typically accessed via a driver file called ct_oal.dll) so you may wish to put drivers back for use with other OpenAL games. Acceleration can be helpful, particularly on machines with old CPUs, and the Creative cards do sound good. (We prefer Rapture3D, but then we're biased!)
Masquerading
Further, some OpenAL games won't use a driver unless it has a familiar name. Older games have never heard of "Rapture3D" and therefore won't use it, but will work fine if the driver calls itself "Generic Software". If you've removed the normal "Generic Software" driver (typically in wrap_oal.dll) then you can use the layout program (in the "Start" menu under "Blue Ripple Sound") to enable masquerading. Rapture3D will then claim to be the "Generic Software" driver, even though it isn't, and that's enough for many games.
OpenAL, EAX and EFX
Finally, some OpenAL games won't use Rapture3D because it doesn't support EAX. This is because it supports EFX instead, which is a newer (and open!) standard that covers all the EAX functionality.
The Games
Okay, we've got there at last.
| Games | Notes |
|---|---|
| Alien Breed 2: Assault | Run the game and quit so config files are created (you may wish to configure graphics while you're at it). Under "My Documents", find "My Games\UnrealEngine3\AlienBreed2AssaultGame\Config\AlienBreed2AssaultEngine.ini" and edit it with Notepad. In the "[ALAudio.ALAudioDevice]" section, change the DeviceName line to read "DeviceName=Rapture3D" and save the file. (Alternatively, you can remove all *_oal.dll files from your Windows system32 or sysWOW64 directory except for rapture3d_oal.dll, and the wrap_oal.dll that sits in the game Binaries/ directory. Rapture3D also needs to be set to masquerade as "Generic Software".) |
| America's Army 3 | Run the game and quit so config files are created (you may wish to configure graphics while you're at it). Under the game's installation directory, find "AA3Game\Config\AA3Engine.ini" and edit it with Notepad. In the "[ALAudio.ALAudioDevice]" section, change the DeviceName line to read "DeviceName=Rapture3D" and save the file. (Alternatively, you can remove all *_oal.dll files from your Windows system32 or sysWOW64 directory except for rapture3d_oal.dll, and the wrap_oal.dll that sits in the game Binaries/ directory. Rapture3D also needs to be set to masquerade as "Generic Software".) |
| Amnesia: The Dark Descent | Remove all *_oal.dll files from your Windows system32 or sysWOW64 directory except for rapture3d_oal.dll. Remove the OpenAL32.dll and wrap_oal.dll files from the game directory. |
| Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs | Remove all *_oal.dll files from your Windows system32 or sysWOW64 directory except for rapture3d_oal.dll. Remove the OpenAL32.dll and wrap_oal.dll files from the game directory. |
| Battlefield 2142 | Remove BF2OpenAL.dll from the game directory, copy rapture3d_oal.dll into the game directory and rename it to BF2OpenAL.dll. Rapture3D needs to masquerade as "Generic Hardware". Within the game, change the audio settings. The "Audio Renderer" should be "Hardware", "Enable EAX" should be set to "Yes" and "Audio Quality" should be set as wanted. e.g. "Ultra High". |
| Brian Lara Cricket 2007 | Remove all *_oal.dll files from your Windows system32 or sysWOW64 directory except for rapture3d_oal.dll. |
| Cold War | Select in game audio settings. |
| DiRT | Remove all *_oal.dll files from your Windows system32 or sysWOW64 directory except for rapture3d_oal.dll. Remove the OpenAL32.dll and wrap_oal.dll files from the game directory. |
| DiRT-2 | Select in game audio settings. This game uses a number of Rapture3D extensions and selects it by default. The Rapture3D "Game" edition ships with this game. |
| DiRT-3 | Select in game audio settings. This game uses a number of Rapture3D extensions and selects it by default. The Rapture3D "Game" edition ships with this game. |
| DiRT Showdown | Select in game audio settings. This game uses a number of Rapture3D extensions and selects it by default. The Rapture3D "Game" edition ships with this game. |
| Doom 3 | Find the Doom 3 installation directory and then the base\ directory beneath it. Edit the DoomConfig.cfg file with Notepad, change the line s_useOpenAL line to seta s_useOpenAL "1" and the s_libOpenAL line to seta s_libOpenAL "rapture3d_oal.dll". |
| F1 2010 | Select in game audio settings. This game uses a number of Rapture3D extensions and selects it by default. The Rapture3D "Game" edition ships with this game. |
| F1 2011 | Select in game audio settings. This game uses a number of Rapture3D extensions and selects it by default. The Rapture3D "Game" edition ships with this game. |
| F1 Race Stars | Select in game audio settings. This game uses a number of Rapture3D extensions and selects it by default. The Rapture3D "Game" edition ships with this game. |
| Gears of War | Run the game and quit so config files are created (you may wish to configure graphics while you're at it). Under "My Documents", find "My Games\Gears of War for Windows\WarGame\Config\WarEngineUserSettings.ini" and edit it with Notepad. In the "[ALAudio.ALAudioDevice]" section, change the DeviceName line to read "DeviceName=Rapture3D" and save the file. (Alternatively, you can remove all *_oal.dll files from your Windows system32 or sysWOW64 directory except for rapture3d_oal.dll, and the wrap_oal.dll that sits in the game Binaries/ directory. Rapture3D also needs to be set to masquerade as "Generic Software".) |
| Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days | Remove all *_oal.dll files from your Windows system32 or sysWOW64 directory except for rapture3d_oal.dll. Rapture3D also needs to be set to masquerade as "Generic Software" or the game will not start. |
| Killing Floor | In the game "system" directory, back up DefOpenAL32.dll and replace it with the rapture3d_oal.dll from your Windows system32 or sysWOW64 directory. You need to be running version v12.4.9 or later. |
| The Lord Of The Rings Online | Select in game audio settings. |
| Mass Effect | Run the game and quit so config files are created (you may wish to configure graphics while you're at it). Under "My Documents", find "BioWare\Mass Effect\Config\BioEngine.ini" and edit it with Notepad. In the "[ISACTAudio.ISACTAudioDevice]" section, change the DeviceName line to read "DeviceName=Rapture3D" and save the file. (Alternatively, you can remove all *_oal.dll files from your Windows system32 or sysWOW64 directory except for rapture3d_oal.dll, and the wrap_oal.dll that sits in the game Binaries/ directory. Rapture3D also needs to be set to masquerade as "Generic Software.") |
| Mirror's Edge | Run the game and quit so config files are created (you may wish to configure graphics while you're at it). Under "My Documents", find "EA Games\Mirror's Edge\TdGame\Config\TdEngine.ini" and edit it with Notepad. In the "[ALAudio.ALAudioDevice]" section, change the DeviceName line to read "DeviceName=Rapture3D" and save the file. (Alternatively, you can remove all *_oal.dll files from your Windows system32 or sysWOW64 directory except for rapture3d_oal.dll, and the wrap_oal.dll that sits in the game Binaries/ directory. Rapture3D also needs to be set to masquerade as "Generic Software".) |
| Penumbra: Overture | In the game's sound options menu, set "Use Hardware" to "On" and click on the device to cycle through the list until Rapture3D is selected. Then restart the game. |
| Penumbra: Black Plague | Copy rapture3d_oal.dll into the game's "redist" directory and rename it to OpenAL32.dll. |
| Penumbra: Requiem | Copy rapture3d_oal.dll into the game's "redist" directory and rename it to OpenAL32.dll. |
| Psychonauts | Remove all *_oal.dll files from your Windows system32 or sysWOW64 directory except for rapture3d_oal.dll. Remove OpenAL32.dll from the game directory. |
| Quake 4 | Select in game advanced audio settings. |
| Race Driver: GRID | Remove all *_oal.dll files from your Windows system32 or sysWOW64 directory except for rapture3d_oal.dll. |
| Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45 | In the game "system" directory, back up DefOpenAL32.dll and replace it with the rapture3d_oal.dll from your Windows system32 or sysWOW64 directory. You need to be running version v12.4.9 or later. |
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Shadow of Chernobyl | Remove all *_oal.dll files from your Windows system32 or sysWOW64 directory except for rapture3d_oal.dll, and the wrap_oal.dll and OpenAL32.dll that sit in the game bin/ directory. Rapture3D also needs to be set to masquerade as "Generic Software". If you're using the "Advanced" edition, you'll need to be using a DirectSound audio device. |
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Clear Sky | Select in game audio settings. If you're using the "Advanced" edition, you'll need to be using a DirectSound audio device. |
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Call of Pripyat | Select in game audio settings. If you're using the "Advanced" edition, you'll need to be using a DirectSound audio device. |
| Star Wars Republic Commando | Remove DefOpenAL32.dll from the GameData/System directory, copy rapture3d_oal.dll into the directory and rename it to DefOpenAL32.dll. |
| System Shock 2 | Updated versions of the game using the NewDark engine can be used with Rapture3D. Run the game and quit to ensure config files are created. You can find out if your version is compatible by searching for a cam_ext.cfg file in the game directory containing a line mentioning “snd_oal_device”. Change the snd_oal_device line to read "snd_oal_device Rapture3D". Make sure that this line is not commented out by removing any semi-colon at the beginning of it. Then, in cam.cfg, ensure the "sfx_device" line reads "sfx_device 4". Older versions of the game may need to be updated before they will work with Rapture3D. |
| Thief Gold | Updated versions of the game using the NewDark engine can be used with Rapture3D. Run the game and quit to ensure config files are created. You can find out if your version is compatible by searching for a cam_ext.cfg file in the game directory containing a line mentioning “snd_oal_device”. Change the snd_oal_device line to read "snd_oal_device Rapture3D". Make sure that this line is not commented out by removing any semi-colon at the beginning of it. Then, in cam.cfg, ensure the "sfx_device" line reads "sfx_device 4". Older versions of the game may need to be updated before they will work with Rapture3D. |
| Thief 2: The Metal Age | Updated versions of the game using the NewDark engine can be used with Rapture3D. Run the game and quit to ensure config files are created. You can find out if your version is compatible by searching for a cam_ext.cfg file in the game directory containing a line mentioning “snd_oal_device”. Change the snd_oal_device line to read "snd_oal_device Rapture3D". Make sure that this line is not commented out by removing any semi-colon at the beginning of it. Then, in cam.cfg, ensure the "sfx_device" line reads "sfx_device 4". Older versions of the game may need to be updated before they will work with Rapture3D. |
| Unreal Tournament III | Run the game and quit so config files are created (you may wish to configure graphics while you're at it). Under "My Documents", find "My Games\Unreal Tournament 3\UTGame\Config\UTEngine.ini" and edit it with Notepad. In the "[ALAudio.ALAudioDevice]" section, change the DeviceName line to read "DeviceName=Rapture3D" and save the file. You may need to repeat this after changing your configuration in the game. Alternatively, you can remove all *_oal.dll files from your Windows system32 or sysWOW64 directory except for rapture3d_oal.dll, and the wrap_oal.dll that sits in the game Binaries/ directory. Rapture3D also needs to be set to masquerade as "Generic Software". |
| Unreal Tournament 2004 | In the game "system" directory, back up DefOpenAL32.dll and replace it with the rapture3d_oal.dll from your Windows system32 or sysWOW64 directory. You need to be running version v12.4.9 or later. |
| Warsow | Start the game and change "Sound Module" to "OpenAL" in the Sound Options menu and click "OK". Open the console by pressing the grave accent key (`) and type s_restart. Then type s_openAL_device "Rapture3D". Finally, type s_restart again. This should work for both 32bit and 64bit versions of Warsow, though 64bit support is present only in v12.5 of Rapture and later, so you may need to upgrade. |
| Zombie Driver | Select in game audio settings. |