DeadRisingEx (DREX) v1.5.9.53 - Unofficial game update | DEAD RISING Forum (2024)

An unofficial update and SDK for Dead Rising 1 on PC. The purpose of DeadRisingEx is to add in new features to the game to further support and expand modding capabilities. Modding the vanilla version of the game has a lot of limitations and drawbacks which this update aims to remove.

One of the biggest features the update adds to the game is the mod manager, allowing you to keep all of your mods separate from the original game files, and choose what mods to load and in what order to load them when starting the game. If you have ever played Skyrim or Fallout with mods, this feature works very similarly to the way they manage and load mods.

DeadRisingEx also doubles as a SDK for anyone who wants to make code modifications to the game. Using LibMtFramework, the C++ library that DeadRisingEx is built on, you can interact with different game objects and hook into various game systems to alter behavior.

A example of this is how DeadRisingEx overrides the game's file manager to load mod files from a custom directory and override the original game files. With LibMtFramework you will eventually be able to hook into different game objects like weapons, vehicles, npcs, and more.

Download & Source Code

Current Features
- Mod management system that lets you load multiple mods at the same time without touching the original game files
- Customizable load order for mods

- Some basic object introspection is available through a console window, though it is highly experimental at this point in time

- Item/object spawning console commands

- Item randomizer

Future Features

- Better object introspection and scripting functionality in the console window
- Create new file types for weapons/vehicles/items/etc. that move hard coded parameters out of the game code and into moddable files
- Support for interacting with more game objects and systems

Installation
Download the latest update here. Installing the DeadRisingEx game update is as simple as copying the DeadRisingEx files into the root of your Dead Rising install folder. You will be asked if you want to merge files for the nativeWin64 folder, just click yes here. If you are updating from an older version of DeadRisingEx you will want to keep your DeadRisingEx.ini file! If you overwrite this file you will have to reset your mod settings from the launcher. And that's it! The game update is now installed.

Running DeadRisingEx
When you want to run the game with the DeadRisingEx update you will need to use the DeadRisingLauncher.exe application in order to start the game. Steam must be also be running in the background before you start the game. If steam is not running when you launch the game it will run without the update, so when in doubt make sure steam is running. For quick access to the DeadRisingLauncher application you can create a desktop shortcut or add it as an external game in steam.

All of your mod files can be placed into "Dead Rising\nativeWin64\Mods" and the settings dialog will scan this folder and all folders within it. By default new mods added are disabled and must be enabled manually.

Clicking on the settings button will display a window that lets you configure all of the settings for DeadRisingEx, including what mod files to load and in what order. The list will automatically scan the Mods directory for mod files to load. Checking the checkbox next to the mod file will enable it for loading, and using the up/down buttons will change the load order.

The mod files are loaded in descending order, so which ever is at the top of the list loads first, then the next one, etc. Configuring load order is only required if two mod files override the same game file. In this case it may be desirable to load one mod file before the other depending on the mods.

DeadRisingEx comes with a test mod that you can use to verify the update installation was successful by enabling the "deadrisingex_test.arc" mod in the settings window. With this test mod enabled if you start the game and look at the whiteboard in the security room you will see "DEAD RISING EX" text on it.

Version 1.1 released, here's the change log:
- Fixed an issue loading dependency files from mod archives
- Item/object spawning console commands added
- Recursive Grenade mod added (beta only)

If you are updating from the v1.0 release you will want to keep your DeadRisingEx.ini file! If you overwrite this file you will need to reset your mod settings from the launcher.

For instructions on how to enable and use the developer console as well as a list of console commands check the DeadRisingEx wiki here. Please note that the developer console and item spawning commands are intended to help me research the inner workings of the game. Some items/objects/npcs will not function correctly and can result in your game crashing!

The Recursive Grenade mod is a mod I made while researching how items work under the hood. To use first enable it under the Settings section in the DREx launcher, once you start the game you can either find or spawn a zucchini (item ID 145). If you throw the zucchini at a zombie a grenade will spawn with a random change of spawning more grenades when it explodes. The effect works recursively for up to 4 iterations. I've tried to make this as stable as possible but it can cause the game to crash at times if too many grenades are spawned. There is a bug in the game around spawning too many objects during a single frame that I am working on creating a fix for in the next version of DeadRisingEx. For now use this cursed fruit at your own risk...

The link in the post is outdated, here's the latest DREX
github.com/grimdoomer/DeadRisingEx/releases/tag/v1.5.8.48

Also make sure your game is updated.

Is it best to run this at administrator?

What does the "graphics memory" do?

Don't know why but for some reason DREX isn't seeing any mods. Didnt had that issue before

Nevermind, I deleted all the files and pasted them again to the game's folder and it works now!

Edit:

Item Randomizer doesn't work. Game is crashing after entering Security room

Edit 2:
I fixed it by disabling all mods, but I have another problem - after enabling Item Randomizer, game is loading areas very slow and I dont know why

I dunno what the best option is, but I made an account just to ask. I'm trying to get this to work so I can play with the randomizer, but it isn't cooperating with me. When I transfer the new modded Win64 folder, it doesn't "replace" it. It adds the "Mods" folder with the test mod in it and the launcher reads mods fine. Launching the game through the launcher doesn't seem to load the mods or crash or anything. I'm on Steam if that matters. I'd more than appreciate any help here.

Try launching the DREX launcher as Admin in windows, it seems to help some people.

I'm not too sure if i'll get a response that'll be great, but i cant get any of the cutscenes to load. i can load into a save file & go in and out of areas fine but any time a cutscene gets triggered, i get stuck in an endless load screen and i can't figure it out for the life of me :/

EDIT: I'm on the Steam Deck, probably should've put it in original post

EDIT 2: I fixed the problem. If anyone ever wants to run this on their Steam Deck its pretty simple:

1. Follow the install instructions as normal

2. Set DeadRisingLauncher.exe as a non-steam game and attempt to launch it with a Proton layer & close once opened

3. Utilize Protontricks to set DLL overrides in winecfg's libraries tab for the ini parser and the deadrisingEX dll for the normal game, and the new launcher (you CAN set launch options in game properties on steam for dlls but its easier this way)

4. Navigate to your steam compatdata folder (in Home there'll be a hidden .steam folder, check "Show Hidden Files" in the option tab next to the search magnifying glass, the path will look something like this - /home/deck/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/), pull back up Protontricks to get the id for the modded & and the original launcher (427190 is the original id from steam, but non-steam games will have a randomly generated one), open the original games id folder, copy the pfx folder then paste it over the non-steam launchers pfx folder. BOOM! You can now mod Dead Rising! test mod works, console commands work fine, i haven't downloaded anything to really test out but I'll make a safe bet that everything should work as intended... and CUTSCENES WORK!

I have the exact same issue as well as no music playing when a mod is active, but I’m stuck on setting the DLL overrides since this is pretty new to me so I’m pretty lost.

I was wondering if it’s possible to get some help with that?