Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor
Windows - 2001
Description of Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor
It's Been A Long Time
We've waited a long time for Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor. Old-timers like myself, who fondly remember the original Pool of Radiance and the rest of the classic SSI Gold Box Dungeons & Dragons games, have been sitting on their hands for 13 years in anticipation of a sequel. The younger set that knows of nothing prior to Baldur's Gate has been doing the same thing since the development of this alternative to Bioware's award-winning franchise was first announced in 1999.
The game released and the wait was finally over for those impatient fans. One short day later, those same formerly impatient fans were openly wishing that Ubi Soft had taken more time with Ruins of Myth Drannor. For despite taking well over two years on the development of the game, the designers at Stormfront Studios signed off on a product that was clearly rushed to stores by Ubi Soft before its completion. Newsgroups filled up with protests, dozens of people complaining about everything from an install program bug that could supposedly delete their Windows directory to the linear plot that was nothing like the expansive adventure that had originally been promised. Patches soon arrived, but the disappointment lingered.
Beginning the review process after the commotion had already started, I had acquired some very strong impressions of Ruins of Myth Drannor long before the game was installed. If anything, however, these negative notions reinforced the idea that I really needed to get into this one before submitting the review. It's probably just arrogance in action, but I approached this piece with something of a "Those other guys don't know what they're talking about!" attitude.
The Rules
Well, they did. Two bug-fixing patches--the first to correct the install program problems and the second to repair a number of serious gameplay issues--have done nothing to change the unalterable fact that Ruins of Myth Drannor is a dull dungeon crawl with numerous core design flaws that no patch could clear up. While the game may be much more stable with the version 2.1 and 2.2 patches installed (we didn't experience any of the more serious reported bugs), it still isn't worth playing, for a number of reasons.
For starters, there's the lack of inspiration. Where the original Pool of Radiance was filled with groundbreaking innovations, this latter-day sequel is more of a slave to convention. Initial press releases openly promised that the game would begin a new era in RPGs, much like that started by the Gold Box line in the late 1980s, through all sorts of new ideas. The adventure would be vast, incorporating authentic material from the innumerable Forgotten Realms pen-and-paper supplements and the official Third Edition Dungeons & Dragons rules. Combat would be turn-based and highly strategic, set in a living world where you could use tables for cover and barricade doors.
Aside from the turn-based combat system, none of these promises has been fully realized. Instead of the epic adventure supposed to span one of the most well-known locations on Faerun, Ruins of Myth Drannor is a linear trek through corridors and chambers with little or no distinctive elements. The plot involves the dreaded pool of radiance coming back to life and threatening New Phlan in pretty much exactly the same way as it did over a decade ago. Other than that, you are given no direction in the outset of the campaign; you're simply dumped at the gates of Myth Drannor and told to go to it. Perhaps some aspects of the pen-and-paper Forgotten Realms gazetteers were put to use in the maps of this fabled fallen city, but if so, they certainly didn't add any character to your explorations. Until you get well into the plot, every "new" room looks a lot like the last.
Although Stormfront based Ruins of Myth Drannoron the Third Edition D&D rules, the company was developing the game at the same time as TSR veterans were pondering those very same rules. As a result, Stormfront must have spent a good chunk of the design process unclear about what changes the Third Edition would bring to the table. The result is a muddled mess that follows the new rules in spirit alone. The movement rate, the new point pool system used to "roll up" characters, all of the new skills and feats, and much more can also be found in the new Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide.
A Stunning Feat
However, there are significant differences to the way that such things have been implemented. Character development is extremely limited, in direct opposition to the way that this aspect of D&D is enhanced in the Third Edition rules. Feats, introduced to allow the player to individualize his character with special attributes, are automatically selected for the player. Some of the more interesting feats from the pen-and-paper rules have been omitted, perhaps because they hadn't been written when Stormfront needed to establish the feature set for its game.
Virtually all of the advances to the mage and cleric classes have been tossed because of this rigidity. Where the Third Edition allows those playing such characters to spend points on developing skills with previously forbidden weapon types, Ruins of Myth Drannor keeps to the old standard. So don't expect to train your cleric to use a longsword here. Furthermore, the only mage subclass in the game is the sorcerer, which has been given the unique trait of being able to cast spells without prior memorization. If you favor other types of magic user, you're out of luck. Bards, druids, and gnomes aren't in the game at all. Not a huge loss from my human paladin-favoring perspective, but still.
Combat is almost as strategic as promised. As the game engine is turn-based, battles are more of a thinking-man's challenge, especially in regards to how you move. Movement rules are strictly applied and seem to be identical to that in the tabletop game. Meaning that you have to go through initiative checks and then maneuver your party toward the enemy carefully once you enter the combat phase. You have to be extremely cautious with how you move, because one false step can get you backstabbed.
The end result is something that plays a lot like the old Gold Box games. Unfortunately, those Gold Box games, along with turn-based gaming in general, have largely been supplanted over the past decade by quicker-moving, more modern alternatives. It's hard to imagine veterans of Baldur's Gate and the like having much patience with this deathly slow system, which forces you to directly manage even inconsequential battles with orcs as if they were struggles with demigods. Perhaps the biggest movement annoyance is being unable to scroll the screen past the supposed sight limitations of your party. First of all, I'll bet that my paladin can see more than forty feet in front of his nose on a clear day outdoors. Second, it's maddening to be prevented from glancing back at something that the party just passed. Such unquestioning devotion to pen-and-paper rules in a completely different format is nonsensical.
Sleeping Through the Swordfight
Battles are incredibly tedious in the beginning. They slowly improve as the might of your opposition grows, though they never achieve the drama of even the lowliest kobold free-for-all in the first Baldur's Gate. Much of this is because the game seems completely off-balance. From the very start, you can wander into battles with creatures that are too powerful for your puny party. This out-of-place difficulty continues throughout the game, with you often feeling that you shouldn't be in your present location because the enemies are simply overwhelming. The dark elves, for example, are insanely strong. Fleeing seems to be impossible. Yes, you can run away, but you remain in combat mode as long as the foe that triggered such a state is still alive. So you either inch forward by turns or try to find and slay the creature you're supposed to be fighting.
Also, the living battlefield concept was jettisoned somewhere between the first PR information and the day that the game went gold, though. You can't use items found in the game world for real strategic purposes--though you can smash (some) doors, furniture, and crates. This actually turns into a real negative, because you'll soon feel a compulsion to demolish every table, chair, and barrel encountered in search of items vital to your progression, such as keys. As if the designers needed to slow you down even more...
One good thing about the, um, relaxed pace is that you'll have plenty of time to appreciate the artwork and animation. The graphics engine on display here is far more advanced than what D&D; fans have become used to in the Bioware titles. Party members are highly detailed, with accurate armor and weaponry, and move in a realistic fashion. Spell effects are often beautiful, though some of the standards that you'll be using much of the time--such as Magic Missile--are rather pedestrian. Monsters are also very well drawn and animated, although there seems to be a limited number of monster types in the game. Even the more boring tunnels come to some life thanks to good artwork. Certain objects seem to almost protrude from the screen due a winning use of color, texture, and shadows.
Other successful elements include a musical score packed with nuances. Where games of this type tend to favor bombast over subtlety in their music, this one goes in the other direction and blends sweeping tones with minor notes that hint at a sense of humor and wonderment. Perhaps the most enjoyable frill, however, is the personalized Dungeon Master who describes your travels. His scene-setting gives Ruins of Myth Drannor a pen-and-paper feel that makes one a little misty-eyed for the real thing.
A Tremendous Mistake
Overall, though, Ruins of Myth Drannor looks like a tremendous mistake. Choosing to be the first computer game to present the Third Edition rules seems to have been the most serious error made by Stormfront Studios. Much of the basic design is confused and unwieldy, likely because the designers were trying to create a game at the very same time as those new rules were being drawn up. In this regard, the game was truly ahead of its time... though that certainly wouldn't be considered a good thing in this instance. One has to wonder who thought this to be an astute idea in the first place. Even at the time that this decision was first announced, I thought that it was more than a little foolish to be basing a game upon rules that had yet to be finalized. The potential for trouble was obvious right from the start.
That initial poor judgment seems to have prevented the game design from ever developing a real identity. Yes, Ruins of Myth Drannor is the first and only Third Edition D&D computer game. But even after playing the game, I'm still not sure what that means. Neither are the designers, as far as I can tell.
Review By GamesDomain
External links
How to play Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor Windows
Famouswolfe commented:
Definitive Guide for Getting PoR II: RoMD running on Windows 11 in 2022
Alright everyone, after a lot, and I mean a LOT, of trial and error, I've finally got the game working as intended. Needless to say, it's caused me a ton of frustration, so I'm writing up this mini guide in the hopes of saving someone else a little needless frustration etc. Without further ado, let's dive in.
Before you start, please have the following programs downloaded (a quick internet search will turn up links to all of these):
- Pool of Radiance 2: Ruins of Myth Drannor from the link at the top of this page
- WinCDEmu
- PoR2: RoMD patch 1.4 (available on this page - Sorcerer's Place is the easiest place to acquire this, don't bother with the 1.1-1.3 patches as they're unnecessary)
- DGVoodoo2
- 7Zip or suitable alternative
Once you have all of these, go ahead and install WinCDEmu. After that's done, extract the PoR2 file and go into the CD1 folder. Look for the file that has the Disc Image extension, then right click on it and choose "Show more options" - "select drive letter & mount". It doesn't matter what drive letter you use, by default you shouldn't see options that are already "taken" (i.e. if you happen to have a primary C: and a secondary D: drive then your first option will be "E:"). What DOES matter is that you use the SAME LETTER DRIVE when you go to mount the second disc, but more on that later. Also be sure to set the disc type to CD-ROM.
At this point the game's installer should autorun, or you should see a popup message from Windows. Click on it and then choose "autorun". Select "Install Game" from the menu, and when asked what type of installation you want, choose maximum. As for the game's installation path, don't leave it at the default location inside Program Files because Windows can get very possessive as it views anything installed to that folder as a "system file", ergo it's better to install the game elsewhere (such as C:\Games\SSI\Pool of Radiance for example). The program should begin copying the game's files to your PC, and after a couple of minutes you'll see a popup that says "Please insert disc 2".
Next, open up Windows Explorer and click "This PC". Under "devices and drives" you should see the mounted disc along w/ the PoR2 logo. Right click it and choose "Eject", which will unmount the disc. Navigate back to where you downloaded & extracted the game's discs and go into the folder labeled CD2. From there right click the file that has the Disc Image extension and choose "show more options" - "select drive letter & mount" just like last time. Windows should chime to let you know the disc image has been mounted, then go back to the game installer and click "Ok". The installation should complete shortly, then it will ask you if you want to install GameSpy (which, incidentally, is NOT malware and was the program used to create game lobbies for online multiplayer back in the day). Choose "No", because GameSpy has been shut down for eons now and it's pointless to install it. Next, it will ask you if you want to install DirectX 8.0. CHOOSE YES for this one, mainly because even though you've got more recent versions installed on your system by default, it'll install some files which will actually help the game to run (yes I tried both with and without, and for whatever reason installing DirectX 8 does make the game work). The installer should ask you to reinsert Disc 1, go ahead and eject Disc 2 and mount Disc 1 just like last time and click OK (note that it might keep prompting you to insert Disc 1 even after you've mounted it, if that happens just click OK a few times and then click Cancel and it will install DirectX 8). Installation should now be complete and you should see a PoR2 shortcut on your desktop. Cut/paste the shortcut inside the CD2 folder because you'll have to mount the disc image in order to play the game going forward.
The next step is to launch the game and make it to the main menu, just hit ESC on your keyboard to skip the opening cutscenes (unless you want to watch them for nostalgia's sake lol). At the main menu, go ahead and take note of the version of the game you're running which is found in the bottom right hand corner (should be version 1.2). We want to update that to the latest patch, so go ahead and extract the 1.4 patch folder (you'll likely need to use something like 7Zip for this). Take the entire extracted folder and copy/paste it into the game's directory (where you actually installed the game, e.g. C:\Games\SSI\Pool of Radiance). Run the installer inside that folder and it will begin the process of patching the game to v1.4. After that's complete, launch the game again and get to the main menu and confirm that it's running version 1.4.
We're almost through, however go ahead and start a new game because we need to test something really quick. Don't worry about creating a character or anything, just take a premade character like Corran or Skylar and add them to your party and start the game (yes with just a single character in your party). Hit ESC to skip the opening cutscenes, unless you want to watch them again for the nostalgia lol. Now, look closely at the opening battle. If you see a bunch of stick figures or semi-transparent characters, then you'll need to use DGVoodoo2 to fix that, so go ahead and completely exit out of the game and keep reading on. If everything looks "normal" (i.e. like in the screenshots above on this site) then you needn't worry and can just play the game.
How to install & configure DGVoodoo2:
This step is quite simple, really. First, extract the DGVoodoo2 file you downloaded and go into the extracted folder. Copy/paste dgVoodoocpl and dgVoodoo.conf into the game's main folder (i.e. C:\Games\SSI\Pool of Radiance). Next, go into MS - x86 and copy/paste all 4 files into the game's main folder as well (D3D8.dll, D3D9.dll, D3Dlmm.dll, and DDraw.dll).
Next, we need to actually configure DGVoodoo2 to display optimally. Click on the dgVoodooCpl app and in the Config Folder line, click the ".\" button so it sets the game's main folder as the default. Under Output API, choose "Direct3D 12 (feature level 12.0)". Note that this does require a Direct3D 12 compatible GPU or APU if you happen to be running one of AMD's new Ryzen APUs (like the 5000G series etc). Then configure the rest of the General tab as follows:
- Adapter(s) to Use - All of them
- Full Screen Output - Default
- Appearance - Full Screen
- Scaling mode: Stretched, 4:3 Aspect Ratio (CRT-like)
- Misc - Keep window aspect ratio & capture mouse enabled
Now, click on the DirectX tab and configure as follows:
- videocard - dgVoodoo Virtual 3D Accelerated card
- VRAM - set it to whatever matches your GPU's VRAM, most systems nowadays have at least 2GB, however many have even more so go w/ either 2048 or the maximum of 4096.
- Texture Filtering - App Driven
- Resolution - Unforced
- Behavior - Untick both boxes in this section
- Antialiasing(MSAA) - Off
- Misc - untick everything except for the dgVoodoo watermark
Finally, click "Apply" at the very bottom and then "OK". And that should take care of everything! You can go ahead and relaunch the game and it should look and play pretty decent on modern hardware. After you've confirmed that the game works properly, you can untick the "dgVoodoo watermark" box under DirectX so you don't get the popup at the bottom of the screen. Enjoy your adventures in Myth Drannor!
Notes: Do NOT enable Texture Filtering or Antialiasing, I found it caused this weird "grid" to overlay on the screen and looked downright horrible, just wasn't worth it. As for resolution, note that the game runs at a native 800x600 and it does NOT like going any higher than that. Unless (or until) Ubi-Soft or GOG decides to properly remaster the game you'll want to leave the resolution at "Unforced".
As for the Scaling Mode, I found that 4:3 aspect ratio with the CRT-like filter gave the best appearance as it naturally smooths out the jaggies, however the downside is that the in-game text is a little on the blurry side. It's very playable this way, however if you want (or need) sharper text and are willing to deal with jagged textures (don't bother trying to force any sort of antialiasing as it WILL produce glitches/artifacts in-game) then you can change the scaling mode to Stretched, 4:3 Aspect Ratio.
One other thing, DO NOT ENABLE COMPATIBILITY W/ WINDOWS XP AS THIS WILL BREAK DGVOODOO2 AND MAKE THE GAME HAVE THIS PALE WHITE WASHED-OUT COLOR THAT LOOKS UGLY AS SIN.
Cheers everyone!
Captures and Snapshots
Comments and reviews
Ross 2024-03-15 1 point
Hey everyone.
I have this game installed on Windows 10, and it was working fine with DGVodoo and Daemon Tools before.
Now when I run the game it launches fine, and plays correctly but no matter what I do my characters cannot attack. I can highlight and target enemies but clicking does nothing!!
I saw that some other people were having this issue in the comments, Has anyone figured out how to fix this issue?
I had this game running correctly about a year ago, and I did not change any settings and when I booted it up recently the unable to attack bug was happening.
Carelynn 2024-02-26 0 point
I downloaded both version, followed all the steps with either. Patched the whole thing... and I still can't run the game. It is put on windows xp PS3 and all. When I trie to run it, I have a black screen for a second, then the game crashes and I return to my desktop.
FATBLEBR 2023-12-06 1 point
I also recommend to download the trainer that let's you accelerate the game speed. Otherwise it is going to take an eternity to finish a battle or going from one point of the map to the other.
Kyuudai 2023-04-13 1 point
I ran this on a previous PC, but I no longer have that machine. I've gone through the steps outlined here, but I've run into a rather annoying problem: Whenever I try to start the game, it just crashes straight to the desktop. No error messages, either. Just comes up full-screen black (as if it's loading the game), then right back to desktop and nothing else. Advice?
jpatin241 2023-03-29 0 point
I've tried everything. Three times. When I go to open game the window tries to open but then it doesn't. I jacked with compatibility settings to no avail. Any suggestions?
Sj 2023-02-08 -1 point
Downloaded the game and all the instructions to run it, installed the latest patch. Everything was running great until I reached the section of where youre near the statue by the House of Wizards battling the Orcs. Wasnt able to attack; but they could, tried to restart, tried to reload the game and even use the "autosave" game. And still couldnt attack at all. Please advise, drop me an email sarajane0615@outlook.com
Peace out!
Famouswolfe 2022-09-06 -2 points
So I followed Roswell's instructions and got the game installed, I also made sure to set the game in compatibility mode w/ Win XP SP3. I'm getting the ghosts/stick figures problem. I tried installing DGVoodoo2, however that makes the main menu & entire game look all washed out in white. Tried fiddling around w/ various settings in DGVoodoo2 but no luck so ended up uninstalling. I wanted to try MS Application Compatibility Tool, unfortunately it's been completely phased out as of Win11 so that's not an option. Gonna try running the game in a VM, if that don't work then I'm officially giving up.
Hawkryder 2022-08-12 1 point
So, I followed all instructions given by Roswell. I keep getting an error "could not find disk 2. please insert into original drive installed from". I am running Windows 11. Did not install 1.4 patch as of yet. Can anyone help? Please?
BobTheBewildered 2022-02-22 2 points
Have got this running on Windows 11, wincdemu and dgvoodoo got it working just fine.
Roswell 2022-02-16 3 points
COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO INSTALLING ON WIN10 FOR THE COMPUTER ILLITERATE (like me)
1) download POR (above)
2) right-click the download and hit extract all, and move the result to wherever you keep your game files (you'll be going here in the future to open POR)
2) go to this here WinCDEMU site and hit download (I done did a good google, this software is safe) https://wincdemu.sysprogs.org/
3) install wincdemu with whatever permissions it asks for. default settings are fine.
4) Open up the POR ISO folder, then CD1 folder, click the file that ends in ".img" then right click and click "select drive letter and mount"
5) pick a drive letter that you are not already using, I picked P because that's what the game starts with.
6) Let it autorun, if your computer asks you what to do, choose the option that has the POR logo and says "run"
7) the POR window should finally open. Choose if you want the small med or big download, click it and let it do it's thing. I did not install GameSpy, but you do you. I bet your directX is well up to date if you're a gamer on Windows 10, so don't bother if it asks you if you want to install it too.
8) once prompted for disk 2, leave that install window open and go back to your POR folder in file explorer. If you scroll down on your list of drives on the left side of the window you should see "CD DRIVE (P:) POOL CD1", right click it and select eject.
9) go to the POR Disk 2 folder, right click the disk 2 .img file, select drive letter and mount, and make sure you select the same drive letter as you chose for disk 1.
10) continue your install, and when it's done you're good! keep the shortcut to the game (now on your desktop) and put it in the same folder as your disk 2 ISO.
To open the game from now on:
1) Run and mount the disk 2 .img file on whatever drive you chose to install the game from. It might already be on your list of available drives in file explorer, so if you try to mount it again it will eject the drive, so you just have to re-mount it again.
2) double click the shortcut that you saved in that folder if it doesn't autorun.
Tigru68 2022-01-29 0 point
I've played this game about 15 years ago and I loved it. The only problem was that I couldn't get out of the final bossfight - and my characters absolutely weren't ready to tackle him/it. So I re-initiated the fight again and again and due to a lack of an older savegame, I couldn't go back to buff my champions.
That was a terrible finale of an amazing game.
MorguloN 2021-08-01 0 point
well there are various ways to deal with ISO files, i just use ImgBurn to burn cd's, program is free.
Kosa_Sigwalo 2021-05-10 0 point
I love this game!
also works on ubuntu linux + wine but only with minimum install since I can't swap the ISO's while I'm in the middle of the installation. oh, and you'll gonna need cdemu to mount CD2.
GEK 2021-04-29 -6 points
I admit I'm not a tech person, but this is frustrating. I unzip the zip file. I see CD1 and CD 2 but no exe or setup extensions. All files I click on ask what program I want to use on my computer to open the file. ISO files show a image files. What am I missing?
Blvebird 2021-04-11 1 point
SOLUTION FOR CORRUPTED IMAGE ERROR MESSAGE
For people getting the corrupted image message on Win10, it happened to me as well and using Daemon Tools solved it (there is a lite free version) : )
Rayosi 2021-03-20 0 point
if you're having issues with invisible/skeleton/ghost looking heroes, this will be of help. http://www.sorcerers.net/community/index.php?threads/for-those-with-invisible-characters-models-skeleton-problems.54664/
NOThavingallthefun 2020-11-16 0 point
Im having a problem with the characters showing up as just stick figures. any ideas?
ecoecoazarashi 2020-09-27 -1 point
I also tried the Speed Mod for increasing game speed.
It work well.
ecoecoazarashi 2020-09-17 -1 point
It works with WinCDEmu perfectly on Win10!
I tried few years ago but it had the invisible characters issue. It maybe because of WinCDEmu or my PC is different from that time.
RetroGamerDude 2020-08-02 0 point
Good news! I installed https://wincdemu.sysprogs.org/download/ WinCDEmu which is a 3rd party ISO mount utility and it worked.
Thulcedoom 2020-06-29 0 point
Does anyone know how to bring up the inventory menu so you can equip items? I read a few guides but they were no help.
Thulcedoom 2020-06-17 0 point
I had problems with invisible characters when running the game on Windows 10. I installed the 1.4 patch which helped but the characters were barely visible. I found this fix:
https://sorcerers.net/community/threads/for-those-with-invisible-characters-models-skeleton-problems.54664/
which helped.
SciFiMan 2020-04-21 -1 point
Having trouble with characters in the game. I have them as see through and the spinning rock at the beginning is invisible. Tried running it under compatibility Windows XP but still no good. Don't know what to do. Any help??
Rhaazyk 2020-04-10 3 points
Why all the evil comments about a game that allows you to save and choose another route if you run into big baddies you can't handle yet? Learn to save often and early! That's what I did and I got to play it and enjoyed it very much! Apparently I can't play it anymore because I don't have a DVD drive built into my PC so I have to download everything directly. I found this game anything BUT boring. It was a challenge but any D&D game worth its salt shouldn't be a cakewalk! It's supposed to be a challenge. I played it on a Windows X PC and never had the problems others seem to be reporting. Maybe y'all didn't have the right party! Most people don't put a paladin in the group and that's a mistake for this one. You need to turn the hordes of undead in here and the cleric can't always handle them all. It also allows for healing that you wouldn't normally have, at least for some of the less injured people.
ERIKMALKAVIAN 2020-04-05 1 point
You have to install dg vodoo to get this work
Under General Tab
Output API to Best Available
Fullscreen to Default
Under Glide Tab
3DFX Card to Vodoo Banshee (8mb/16mb)
Onboard Ram 16mb
Memory (Depends on your Video Card VRAM, Mine is 4096 mb)
Under Directx Tab
Videocard to dgvodoo Virtual 3d
Vram 2048mb
Texturing Filtering to 16x
Behavior check both boxes
Apply and Click OK
You have to run Pool2 Application in the installed folder in Windows XP Service Pack 3 Compatibility mode. Right Click and select properties and under compatability tab select Windows XP. Apply and Ok
You also have to mount CD2 on the same virtual drive that you used to install it with.
In other words when you used either Daemon lite or Wincemu you mounted CD1 and then ran the setup and then you mounted CD2. So now you have to run that same program you used and mount CD2 from to that same virtual drive.
After doing that, then Click Pool2 in the Install folder and play
kvothe2 2020-04-03 1 point
@KVOTHE - I was able to get it to work by mounting the 2nd disc to the same drive. Instead of mounting the 2nd disc the same way as the first and choosing another drive, there is another selection that says use drive is use or something and select the same drive used to download disc 1. hope this helps.
KVOTHE 2020-01-31 1 point
I have a problem with the installation of the second disc.
I use DEAMON Tools and for the first disc there is no problem. When i try to run the second disc nothing happens and the message to insert the second disc still remain on the screen. So the installation of the game is blocked. What can i do ?
Alyfox 2019-12-15 -5 points
This is one of just two games I ever literally took the disks and threw them into the garbage. Utter trash, time and money I will never get back.
HiZZZZ 2019-11-12 0 point
I have the same problem as Classico, game is running fine but cant engage enemies while in combat.
Zwix 2019-11-12 0 point
Installed on a different laptop, and I am able to target enemies and play the game. However, I now get the crazy triangle video that others have talked about. It is only in certain areas and goes away, but is quite distracting when I can't see walls, doors, etc. Can't make heads or tails of DxWnd, and Chrome won't let me download DGVoodoo2 because it says the site is known to have malware. Downloading it to a third computer now, if it doesn't work I'll just use my physical copy on my Win98 machine.
Zwix 2019-11-09 0 point
@Classico: I am having the same issue right now. Did you ever resolve it?
Classico 2019-11-06 1 point
I was able to install the game no problem and it seems to run fine, but in combat I can't select an enemy. I can move around, access menus and switch gear, but I can't attack or move to an enemy. I've tried adjusting the compatibility settings to Windows XP Service Pack 3, but still no joy. Any thoughts?
Blue 2019-09-26 0 point
HELP! I've got these colored flashing triangles all over the place, and sometimes my people become stick figures or disappear all together! What do I do?
ErikMalkavian 2019-09-14 0 point
Turns out that since I was only in the Tutorial that the Quest Log is not available and only flashes for a second. Once I started playing, the Quest Log is available so "Problem Solved"
ErikMalkavian 2019-09-13 0 point
Quest log doesn't stay open. It just flashes and then is gone, does anyone know a solution (And No I am NOT playing on a Potato or Toaster PC :-D
Also, if you are getting non-viewable or pixelated text with dgvoodoo Uncheck "BiLinear bit stretch" under the DirectX tab...Solved that problem and I can play it with Anthrosopic Filter at 16x and Max Resolution...Looks GREAT (except for the quest log problem)
L0rdV1ct0r 2019-08-22 0 point
Thanks. But the mouse acceleration is hurting my hands hard. Any way to turn it off?
HealwSteel 2019-08-17 1 point
Thanks miserupix. Got it running with dgvoodoo2. I tried dxwin but either i got lost in all the options or it didnt work.
For those having disc issues, i use PowerIso and love it. When you install, dont mount both discs. Keep Poweriso open and mount cd 1. After it asks for the 2nd one, unmount 1st and mount 2nd. Some games mounting both works. Not for me on this one.
Jebus 2019-08-06 -3 points
So far whenever I've been downloading this it has been telling me that the ISO is corrupt. Any ideas here?
Miserupix 2019-08-02 -2 points
Right, so download dgVooDoo2 and you'll play PoR2 smoothly and with no glitches, hope this helps people.
Miserupix 2019-07-28 0 point
Someone has mentioned being able to run it smoothly using DxWnd, I've got it running but the mouse doesn't work... does anyone know how to fix this?
Thanks
Rob Koontz 2019-05-13 1 point
Telling me to insert disc 2. I've used WinCDEmu to mount the discs but I can't get past it not recognizing disc 2. Any ideas?
Max 2018-12-27 -5 points
I use WinCDemu to mount the disc, but i get an error saying the setup.exe is not a valid win32 application. What do i do?
psimon_key 2018-11-09 -2 points
i am having issues mounting the disks. im am getting a message the image is corrupt
Jay 2018-11-03 -3 points
Install works and game run, but even in xp mode game runs slowly. Anyone know a solution?
Rightie 2018-11-03 2 points
I followed DriftedBarley's advice and things went smooth. Make sure you load the second disc to the same drive you installed the first one on.
Azari 2018-09-10 1 point
I can get as far as the setup on disc one, but then it prompts me to enter disc 2, and none of files work. Any ideas?
atle 2018-08-19 -3 points
Tip: use DXWnd to run this game in window mode. Max FPS. Really enjoy this now.
https://sourceforge.net/projects/dxwnd/
Trcky Dcky 2018-08-05 1 point
I have been looking for this game for years. Thanks! Cant beat free!!!
DriftedBarley 2018-06-19 9 points
I got this to run by the following:
Unpack the ISO files.
Mount CD1 using for example WinCDemu.
Choose Autorun or Setup from the CD and follow the on-screen install instructions.
When setup is complete, navigate to the install directory. Right-click "Pool II" and choose Properties - Compatability - Windows XP and press OK.
The game should now run, no problem.
Ingame you might have to fiddle with a few settings (like Shadows) to keep wierd colors and black-spots from appearing.
Hope this helps you enjoy a good old game.
Mudgrubber1 2018-06-10 -1 point
Don't know if you are still checking, but if you got it to work on either Launchbox or D-Fend, please let me know.
Joshua 2018-06-09 0 point
Have you tried running a windows virtual machine? I'll try it tonight, but cant promise I'll remember to message back on here if it works.
Write a comment
Share your gamer memories, help others to run the game or comment anything you'd like. If you have trouble to run Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor (Windows), read the abandonware guide first!
Download Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor
We may have multiple downloads for few games when different versions are available. Also, we try to upload manuals and extra documentation when possible. If you have additional files to contribute or have the game in another language, please contact us!
Windows Version
1.1 GBGame Extras
Various files to help you run Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor, apply patches, fixes, maps or miscellaneous utilities.
Similar games
Fellow retro gamers also downloaded these games:
