About the 1997 PC game by Westwood

(Also check The Game section.)

General & Technical Information

When was the game released?

It was released in November, 1997.

What are the hardware requirements? Can I run it on my system?

The game, as stated on the original box, supports Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0. It also works fine on Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and on Windows XP.

It *should* also work under Windows ME, and Windows 2000. I cannot confirm this, however, so if anyone knows for sure, please send e-mail to Lukas.

Minimum Windows requirements:

- Windows 95, 98, 98SE, Win ME (?), Win XP;
- Pentium 90 MHz (or equivalent);
- 16 Mb of RAM;
- 2 Mb DirectX 5.0 compatible graphics card;
- DirectX 5.0 compatible sound card;
- 4x CD-ROM drive;
- DirectX compatible mouse and driver;
- 150 Mb of free hard drive space.

Does the game work on systems with AMD processors?

Yes, it does. However… [See "Troubleshooting"]

How many versions of the game are there?

The retail version of the game consists of 4 CD-ROMs.

There is also a DVD-ROM version, which to my knowledge was only sold bundled with certain DVD-ROM drives. The DVD-ROM game is identical to the one available on CD-ROM.

Swapping CD-ROMs sucks. Can I play the entire game from my hard disk?

Yes, you can! The installation program will give you 3 degrees of installation. The maximum installation option will copy the entire contents of all four CD-ROMs to your HD, so you do not need to insert any of the CD-ROMs any more.

The DVD-ROM version has the same installation options.

Where can I find out more about the game's cast?

A comprehensive list can be found at IMDb.

Who wrote the music for the game?

Parts from Vangelis' original soundtrack were re-recorded by Frank Klepacki, Westwood's resident composer; Klepacki also provided additional music that emulated the feel of Vangelis' original work.

Will there ever be another Westwood "Blade Runner" game?

For the time being, there don't seem to be any plans for a sequel, though who knows what the future will bring? In the meantime, however, don't hold your breath.

Playing the Game (WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS)

Is Ray McCoy a replicant?

Whether McCoy is a replicant or not is entirely up to you, the player. Hints are given that suggest he is, while there are also hints that contradict this notion. Is he human, or is he a replicant - or is he a human who happens to be on the reps' side (a sympathizer)? You decide.

Reportedly, there is a way to be sure: at the end, in the stolen moon bus, you see the original copy of a picture that had both McCoy and the other replicants on it. If you're on the picture, you ARE a replicant. If you're not, well, then you were tricked.

Who else is a replicant in the game?

The replicant leader, Clovis, is always a replicant.
Spencer Gregorian is always human.
Bullet Bob usually turns out to be human, but can actually be identified as a replicant as well. This can partially be a result of not calibrating your V-K properly but mainly indicates what a flaky character he is. If the V-K test shows him to be a replicant, then you are only doing your job if you retire him…

The others, like Lucy, Gordo, Izo, Sadik and Dektora, may or may not be replicants, depending on your game. This is randomly determined when you start a new game.

Troubleshooting

Are there any updates available for the game?

Yes, there are. 2 small patches were released, one for the CD-ROM version, and one for the DVD-ROM. They can be downloaded from our downloads section.

What are the patches supposed to fix?

Louis Castle from Westwood Studios had this to say: "Very minor database anomalies as I recall. There is another issue with some video cards that we overlooked that came up when we got our beta copy of Windows 98. No major changes."

Bottom line: if your game works fine, then you probably don't need the patch, but it probably won't cause any harm if you do install it.

Trouble getting away from the bomb at Moraji's lab?

[See "4.3.5. Workaround solution"]

There's something wrong with the shooting range! Why does it take so long for anything to happen? Where are the targets?

[See "4.3.5 Workaround solution"]

Workaround solution

There seems to be a problem running the game on more recent PCs; overall, the game works fine, except for the 2 problems described above. What's more, the problem seems speed-related. Slowing down the microprocessor with a utility like Turbo before running the game has been known to help.

As for the optimal setting, experimenting might yield the best results. Someone once reported having success after setting the CPU to "53%", but your mileage may vary. Try starting at about 60 or 70% and work your way down from there at 5-10% increments.

Note: it might also turn out to be an "issue" with AMD processors, but I cannot confirm this either way. Any feedback on this is greatly appreciated.

Turbo can be downloaded from: http://www.wiw.org/~jess/turbo.html (Turbo was developed for W95, but *seems* to work just fine under other versions of Windows).