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DxWrapper

Introduction

DxWrapper is a .dll file designed to wrap DirectX files to fix compatibility issues in older games. This project is primarily targeted at fixing issues with running games on Windows 10/11, by simply dropping .dll and .ini files into the game folder. Its secondary purpose is to offer a single tool combining several projects into one.

Features

DxWrapper includes a wide range of features:

🎮 Major Graphics Conversion and Enhancement

DirectDraw/Direct3D 1–7 to Direct3D 9 conversion via Dd7to9
Direct3D 8 to Direct3D 9 conversion via d3d8to9
Direct3D 9 hooking to intercept and enhance graphics calls
DirectInput 1–7 to DirectInput 8 conversion via dinputto8
DirectSound hooking (dsound.dll), similar to DSoundCtrl, to enhance or fix audio
DDrawCompat integration (v2.0, 2.1, 3.2) for improved compatibility with configurable options

🖥️ Resolution and Renderer Enhancements

Resolution unlock for Direct3D 1–7 using LegacyD3DResolutionHack — enables 4K and beyond
Direct3D 9 to Direct3D9Ex conversion for enhanced rendering performance
Direct3D 9 to Direct3D 12 conversion via D3D9On12

🛠️ Rendering and Compatibility Fixes

Clip plane caching to fix issues in D3D9 games (Far Cry example)
Environment cube map fixes for broken textures (issue example)
Vertex processing mode override to fix performance issues
Scanline removal from games that display them
Interlacing removal to improve visual quality

🧩 Rendering Enhancements (Forced Features)

Force anti-aliasing support in games that don't support it natively
Force anisotropic filtering in unsupported games
Force vertical sync (VSync) on or off
Force windowed mode in fullscreen-only games
Force use of discrete GPU (dGPU) via GraphicsHybridAdapter call
Force single Begin/EndScene pair per Present call (per Microsoft documentation)

🎛️ Frame and Timing Control

FPS limiter to prevent games from running too fast
Performance counter patching to fake uptime < 1 day (fixes long-uptime issues)
Single CPU affinity setting for multi-core compatibility issues
Application Compatibility Toolkit settings override for DXPrimaryEmulation:
- Includes: LockEmulation, BltEmulation, ForceLockNoWindow, ForceBltNoWindow, LockColorkey, FullscreenWithDWM, DisableLockEmulation, EnableOverlays, DisableSurfaceLocks, RedirectPrimarySurfBlts, StripBorderStyle, DisableMaxWindowedMode

📐 Compatibility and GDI Fixes

GDI and DirectDraw mixing support to improve 2D compatibility
Pitch lock fix for games with misaligned surfaces
Disable Fullscreen Optimizations (MaximizedWindowedMode) to resolve performance/stability issues
Disable High DPI scaling to fix UI scaling issues
Disable Microsoft Game Explorer (GameUX) to stop rundll32.exe CPU spikes
Disable audio clipping to eliminate pops and clicks during playback

🔧 Advanced Customization and Modding

Hot-patch memory in real time (e.g., remove CD checks or fix bugs)
Set Windows version seen by game (helps with OS compatibility)
Handle in-game crashes by patching problematic instructions (nop'ing offending code)
Launch custom processes when the game starts
Load custom .dll files into game processes
ASI loader to inject .asi plug-ins (Ultimate ASI Loader compatible)
DxWrapper as an ASI plug-in (can be loaded by other ASI loaders)

🧩 Miscellaneous Fixes and Tweaks

Set game window to fullscreen (if native fullscreen fails)
Show FPS counter in-game
Filter input when the game window loses focus (prevents input when other windows are active)
Various compatibility flags and tweaks, including:
- DdrawEmulateSurface, DdrawEmulateLock, DdrawKeepAllInterfaceCache, DdrawLimitTextureFormats, DdrawLimitDisplayModeCount, LimitStateBlocks, SetPOW2Caps

Compatibility List for Games on Windows 10/11

So far I have tested this with hundreds of games (many of which don't otherwise work correctly) to get them running on Windows 10/11. Most games will work, but some still have issues. Check out the Compatible Games wiki and the Dd7to9 Supported Games wiki for a list.

Installation

Download the latest binary release from the repository's Release page and unzip it to a folder.
Determine which stub .dll file is needed for the game. This depends on many factors which will be explained on page created later. Common stub dll's to use are ddraw.dll, d3d8.dll, d3d9.dll, dsound.dll or winmm.dll. You only need to choose one stub file to load dxwrapper into the game.
Copy this .dll file from the 'Stub' folder plus the dxwrapper.dll and dxwrapper.ini files into the game's installation directory, next to the main executable file. For some games the main executable is in a subdirectory (like 'Bin', 'Exe' or 'App') so the files will need to be copied it into that directory. Overwriting of any existing game files is not recommended.
Open up the dxwrapper.ini file in a text editor and enable the settings needed for the game.

Do not attempt to overwrite any .dll in a Windows system directory as it is currently not supported and will not work.

Uninstallation

Delete the DxWrapper .dll and .ini files from the game's directory. You can also delete the log file, if there is one.

Configuration

To configure DxWrapper, edit the .ini file and enable the settings wanted. See the Configuration wiki for more details.

Sample configuration file: dxwrapper.ini.

List of all configuration options: allsettings.ini

Logging

The log file will be created in the same folder where the game executable is located. It will be named 'dxwrapper' with the name of the game executable appended to it. So if you are running the file game.exe then the log file will be called dxwrapper-game.log.

Supported DLLs

DxWrapper can wrap the following dlls:

bcrypt.dll
cryptbase.dll
cryptsp.dll
d2d1.dll
d3d8.dll
d3d9.dll
dciman32.dll
ddraw.dll
dinput.dll
dinput8.dll
dplayx.dll
dsound.dll
dwmapi.dll
msacm32.dll
msvfw32.dll
version.dll
wininet.dll
winmm.dll
winmmbase.dll
winspool.drv
wsock32.dll

License

This software is provided 'as-is', without any express or implied warranty. In no event will the author(s) be held liable for any damages arising from the use of this software. Permission is granted to anyone to use this software for any purpose, including commercial applications, and to alter it and redistribute it freely, subject to the following restrictions:

The origin of this software must not be misrepresented; you must not claim that you wrote the original software. If you use this software in a product, an acknowledgment in the product documentation would be appreciated but is not required.
Altered source versions must be plainly marked as such, and must not be misrepresented as being the original software.
This notice may not be removed or altered from any source distribution.

Third-Party Licenses

d3d8to9 by Patrick Mours

Portions of this project make use of code from the d3d8to9 project by Patrick Mours, which is licensed as follows:

Copyright (C) 2015 Patrick Mours.
All rights reserved.

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.

Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF

Dxwrapper

Install / Use

README