Download Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends (Windows)

The game has been tested on Windows 7 64-bit and Windows 10, works fine. The game supports widescreen and ultra-high resolutions up to 4k. You may experience some small troubles when you play the game on modern systems, check our Guide and Notes for details

We recommend to install DVD re-release that was published in US & North America in 2010. That version includes all patches and doesn't require the disc for launch (DRM-Free)

Install & play guide (for 2010 DVD re-release):

• Mount the disc image. You will need the utility for mounting disc image files, like WinCDEmu, UltraISO, Alcohol 52%/Alcohol 120% or Daemon Tools Lite
• Install the game (if autorun doesn't work - simply launch the installation from Setup.exe inside the disc)
• Also it is recommended to install DirectX 9 from the disc (if you're using Windows 10 - enable DirectPlay, read this or this guide how to do it)
• Open the directory with the game and find Legends.exe. Right click on Legends.exe - Properties - Compatibility - Set "Run this app in compatibility mode with Windows XP" and "Run as administrator"
• Launch the game, enter serial key and play. If the game doesn't work in compatibility mode with Windows XP - try to launch it in compatibility mode with other version of Windows (98,2000 or Vista)

Install & play guide (for European CD version):

• Mount the disc image. You will need the utility for mounting disc image files, like WinCDEmu, UltraISO, Alcohol 52%/Alcohol 120% or Daemon Tools Lite
• Launch the installation (if autorun doesn't work - simply launch the installation from Setup.exe inside the disc)
• When the installation process will ask for CD2 - mount the disc image of CD2. CD2 must be mounted in same virtual drive as CD1, so first un-mount disc image of CD1 and then mount the disc image of CD2. In example, if CD1 was in virtual drive G:, CD2 must be mounted in virtual drive G: as well. Do the same when the installer will ask for next discs
• Also it is recommended to install DirectX 9 from the disc (if you're using Windows 10 - enable DirectPlay, read this or this guide how to do it)
• Once you installed the game - install the patch v2.5
• The installer for patch v2.5 comes as an archive. You must extract all files from the archive, copy it into game directory, and then run patch_manual.bat as administrator
• After that install NoCD (simply copy Legends.exe from the archive and put it into directory with installed game, agree to replace original file)
• Open the directory with the game and find Legends.exe. Right click on Legends.exe - Properties - Compatibility - Set "Run this app in compatibility mode with Windows XP" and "Run as administrator"
• Launch the game and play. If the game doesn't work in compatibility mode with Windows XP - try to launch it in compatibility mode with other version of Windows (98,2000 or Vista)

Here's also similar guide by PlayOldPCGames website

Notes:

• If the installation doesn't start - try to launch Setup.exe in compatibility mode with old version of Windows (98, 2000 or XP)
• The game got multiple updates after its release, but unfortunately that updates were distributed only through the GameSpy service which was shut down in 2014. Luckily, fans found the way to make an installer for the latest patch v2.5
• Patch v2.5 for English version comes as an archive. You must extract all files from the archive, copy it into game directory, and then run patch_manual.bat as administrator. Patch v2.5 for German version comes as installer; probably, it should be compatible with other versions too
• Patch v2.5 supposed to remove DRM protection, but if it didn't happen - use NoCD
• If you have troubles with installation of patch - check this thread. Here's also video tutorial how to install that patch
• The game works on DirectX 9, so if you're using Windows 8, 8.1, 10 or 11 - you need to enable DirectPlay: Go to Control Panel, and select 'Programs'. Select 'Turn Windows features on and off', click on 'Legacy Components' and check the box 'DirectPlay'. Select OK, once the installation is done, restart your computer
• It is recommended to install all versions of Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for the correct work of the game
• Also it is recommended to install RAD Video Tools and K-Lite Codec Pack for the correct work of the game
• The game is using PhysX, so it is recommended to install PhysX Legacy Drivers for the correct work of the game
• If you get the error "MSXML4.0 is not installed correctly" - go to the game directory and run msxmlenu.msi as administrator, to install MSXML 4.0. If you already have installed MSXML - delete it and install again, from that msxmlenu.msi
• If you get an error about graphics card unable to be initialized, go to Documents/My Games/Rise of Legends and delete everything inside
• If you have any graphical glitches or bugs - run the game with dgVoodoo. Just copy dll-files from the MS/x86 folder, dgVoodooCpl.exe and dgVoodoo.conf to the game folder, then run the game from Legends.exe. If you want to change dgVoodoo settings - open dgVoodooCpl.exe
• If you have troubles with Russian version of the game - check this thread
• For users of Windows 64-bit systems: if the game doesn't work after you launched it - open Task Manager (Ctrl+Alt+Del by default) and check for processes Legends.exe and rundll32.exe. Close Legends.exe but don't touch rundll32.exe (it's a Windows app for running old apps from 32-bit operational systems, most old games running through rundll32.exe). Now try to launch the game again, it must work. Don't forget to close rundll32.exe process in Task Manager after finishing playing
• Check PCGamingWiki and Rise of Legends Heaven if you have troubles with the game