DXGL

Current release:  DXGL 0.5.23

Introduction

DXGL is a free replacement for the Windows ddraw.dll library, running on OpenGL. It is designed to overcome driver bugs, particularly in Windows Vista and newer operating systems. It also adds various enhancements to the graphics output such as display scaling and filtering options. DXGL supports the DirectX 7.0 graphics APIs, however it is currently under development and does not work with many programs.

DXGL is currently in an alpha stage, but several applications and games already work.

System Requirements

  • Windows 7 (with SP1), 8, 8.1, 10, or 11 (standard build)
  • Windows XP (with SP3), Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10, or 11 (legacy build)
    • Also compatible with most versions of Wine, by setting the ddraw DLL override to “native, builtin” which is done automatically at installation.
    • Not compatible with Windows 10 S or Windows 10/11 in S mode.  If you have such a system please disable S mode to allow third party software installation.
  • OpenGL 2.0 or higher compatible video card
    • Requires support for Framebuffer objects
    • Requires support for hardware accelerated non-power-of-two textures
    • OpenGL 3.2 or higher recommended.
  • The standard build requires a SSE2-capable processor; older processors require the legacy build.
  • For the standard build, Visual C++ 2022 x86 runtime, available at https://aka.ms/vs/17/release/vc_redist.x86.exe (note this link may track visitors) (will be installed if not present).
  • For the legacy build, Visual C++ 2010 x86 runtime, available at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8328 (will be installed if not present)

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Build instructions

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