Colin McRae: DiRT Launcher

Colin McRae: DiRT Launcher

Play your own copy of Colin McRae: DiRT (2007) on Windows 10/11, the Steam Deck and Linux (Proton, Wine or the AppImage). Point the launcher at your installed game and press Play. It fixes the crash on modern CPUs, sets up your screen's resolution, and on Linux brings Wine and DXVK with it. The launcher plays from its own private copy and only reads your game folder.

This project contains no game files: you need your own copy of the game.

A full race at 4K, 16:9, Ultra graphics and native XInput. Click to watch.

Problems this launcher solves

Problem	What the launcher does
On CPUs with many threads the game crashes while a race loads.	Writes corrected worker maps that cap the engine at 4, 8 or 12 threads, based on the community's CMCR-DiRT-MTFix, and skips the game's broken 6-core map.
The 32-bit game can run out of memory.	Sets Large Address Aware in its private copy of DiRT.exe (up to 4 GB).
The game starts at a low resolution and medium detail.	Uses your screen's size and shape, Ultra detail and 60 Hz vsync; Steam Deck and Original 2007 looks are one click away.
Fullscreen can land on the wrong monitor or fail.	On Linux it runs inside gamescope or in its own Wine desktop at the chosen size; on Windows it falls back to a window when the screen has no such mode.
On Linux it needs Wine, DXVK and setup by hand.	The AppImage brings Wine and DXVK; dirt-play sets up a private Wine prefix, the GPU and gamescope.
Fixes usually mean deleting the game's settings or editing XML.	Writes only the settings it owns into DiRT's hardware XML; your other settings stay.
Patching the game folder risks the copy you own.	Your folder is only read; the launcher works on its own private copy.

Screenshots

Play	Picture

Display	Controls

What you need

Your installed PC copy of Colin McRae: DiRT, updated to the official v1.22: the folder with DiRT.exe and the game's other folders (system, tracks, cars and so on). v1.22 is the version without the disc check. An older copy needs the official updates (1.1, 1.2, 1.21, 1.22, in that order) first; other DiRT games are not supported.

The launcher knows each supported DiRT.exe by its fingerprint (SHA-256): v1.22 as installed, and the same v1.22 with only the Large Address Aware flag set. Another version is refused with its code and a link to the unknown version form, so it can be added. Report the code, never the game's files.

Download and install

Download from the latest release:

• Windows, Steam Deck and Proton: DiRTLauncher-<version>.zip
• Linux: DiRTLauncher-<version>-x86_64.AppImage

Windows

1. Unzip DiRTLauncher-<version>.zip anywhere outside the game folder. Keep the linux folder next to DiRTLauncher.exe.
2. Run DiRTLauncher.exe and follow First run. The launcher is unsigned, so the first start from a downloaded zip may show "Windows protected your PC": click More info, then Run anyway.

Steam Deck

1. In Desktop Mode, unzip the release, then in Steam choose Games → Add a Non-Steam Game to My Library… and pick DiRTLauncher.exe.
2. In its Properties → Compatibility, force a Proton version.
3. Back in Game Mode, start it: the window works with the controls and recommends the Steam Deck look.

The Steam Deck itself has not been tested yet.

Linux: AppImage

chmod +x DiRTLauncher-*-x86_64.AppImage
./DiRTLauncher-*-x86_64.AppImage

It brings its own Wine and DXVK, so nothing else needs to be installed. It keeps its Wine prefix in ~/.local/share/dirt-launcher/prefix and uses gamescope when it is installed.

Linux: Steam (Proton)

Unzip the release, add DiRTLauncher.exe as a non-Steam game and force a Proton version in its compatibility settings, as on the Steam Deck.

Linux: your own Wine

Run linux/dirt-play from the unzipped release:

linux/dirt-play            # the settings window, then the game
linux/dirt-play --play     # the game with the saved settings, no window
linux/dirt-play stop       # end the game
linux/dirt-play status     # running or idle

It needs Wine; gamescope is optional. Options, a distrobox and more: linux/README.md.

First run

1. In the window's Play tab, press Browse… and choose the folder with DiRT.exe. Under Wine your Linux files are on drive Z:, for example Z:\home\you\Games\DiRT.
2. Pick a look: Recommended suits most screens.
3. Press Play (or Enter, or Start on a gamepad).

The first start copies the game into the launcher's private folder (about 11 GB, so it takes a while); later starts copy only what changed. Your choices are remembered.

The settings window

• Play: the game folder and the look. The modern-CPU fix needs no setting.
• Picture: resolution, aspect (with the size the game will run at) and DiRT's detail preset.
• Display: fullscreen, vsync, and gamescope's scaler on Linux.
• Controls: whether an Xbox-style pad is connected, and a rumble test.

Look	What it sets	When to pick it
Modern	Your screen's size and shape, Ultra, fullscreen, vsync	Most screens (picked on the first run)
Steam Deck	1280×800, 16:10, High, fullscreen, vsync	The Steam Deck (picked on a Deck)
Original 2007	1280×720, 16:9, Medium, fullscreen, vsync	To play it closer to how it looked in 2007
Custom	Any change in the other tabs

The window works with a gamepad (d-pad moves, A changes the focused setting, LB/RB switch tabs, Start plays) and with the keyboard alone (Tab moves, arrows pick, Ctrl+Tab switches tabs, Enter plays). A control that can't be used right now is greyed out and says why.

Gamepad

DiRT reads Xbox-style pads (XInput) itself: sticks, triggers, buttons and rumble work with no translation layer. In the game, pick the XInput preset in its Controls menu and change bindings and force feedback there.

Options

Every option has the same name in the window, in launcher.cfg (with underscores) and on the command line (with hyphens); DiRTLauncher.exe --help lists them. The first run writes a commented launcher.cfg (Where things live).

launcher.cfg / flag	In the window	Values	Unset	What it changes
game / --game	Play: Game folder	a folder	asked on the first run	The folder with DiRT.exe; only read. Remembered.
look / --look	Play: Look	modern, steam-deck, original, custom	worked out from the values	Sets the picture options at once; options given after it win.
workers / --workers	none (advanced)	auto, 4, 8, 12	auto	How many CPU threads the engine uses. Auto picks up to 12 from your CPU; set it only if a race still crashes while loading.
resolution / --resolution	Picture: Resolution	WIDTHxHEIGHT, auto	your screen (1920×1080 if unknown)	The game's screen size.
aspect / --aspect	Picture: Aspect	auto, 4:3, 5:4, 16:9, 16:10	from the resolution	The picture's shape. A shape that doesn't match the resolution stretches the picture (seen in the game).
quality / --quality	Picture: Quality	medium, high, ultra	ultra	DiRT's own detail preset.
fullscreen / --fullscreen	Display: Fullscreen	on, off	on	Fills the screen; off plays in a window.
vsync / --vsync	Display: Vsync (60 Hz)	on, off	on	Waits for the screen's refresh at 60 Hz: no tearing.
scaler / --scaler	Display: Scaler	nearest, pixel, fsr, linear	linear	How gamescope scales the picture (Linux helper only).
runtime / --runtime	none (file and flag only)	a folder	%LOCALAPPDATA%\DiRTLauncher\DiRT	Where the launcher keeps its private copy of the game.

Unset means the launcher's default above. The launcher writes these values into DiRT's hardware settings on every start, so change them in the launcher, not in the game's menu. Sound, controls, gamma and the rest of your in-game settings stay yours.

Any option on the command line skips the window and plays; options override launcher.cfg for that run only, and only --game is remembered. The launcher's own switches:

• --no-window: play with the saved settings, no window.
• --check: check the game folder without playing (exit 0 ready, 1 not).
• --setup: prepare the private copy and the game's settings without playing.
• --settings: only the settings window (exit 0 Play pressed, 3 closed without Play, 4 no window possible).
• --linux: started by dirt-play or the AppImage (puts DXVK in the copy).
• --help: every option and its values.

A bad flag or value is refused with a message naming what it takes and the usage, exit 2: printed in a terminal, a dialog only from a shortcut. Only one launcher runs at a time: a second start brings the open window forward, or says the game is already running (exit 5). --check and --setup while another launcher is open say so and exit 5 too.

Where things live

What	Windows	Linux (AppImage, dirt-play)
Settings (launcher.cfg) and log (launcher.log)	%LOCALAPPDATA%\DiRTLauncher\	in the Wine prefix, drive_c/users/<you>/AppData/Local/DiRTLauncher/
The launcher's copy of the game	%LOCALAPPDATA%\DiRTLauncher\DiRT (the runtime option moves it); on the game's drive its 9 GB of static data are hard links, not copies	the same folder inside the prefix
DiRT's saves (profile, career)	savegame\ inside the private copy (%LOCALAPPDATA%\DiRTLauncher\DiRT\savegame)	the same, inside the prefix
DiRT's graphics settings	hardwaresettings\ inside the private copy, and %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Codemasters\DiRT\	the same, inside the prefix
Wine prefix	—	~/.local/share/dirt-launcher/prefix
dirt-play's logs and lock	—	~/.config/dirt-launcher
Registry: the fast GPU for the copy's DiRT.exe	HKCU\Software\Microsoft\DirectX\UserGpuPreferences, value <private copy>\DiRT.exe = GpuPreference=2; (a per-user Windows setting; launcher.log says when it is set)	—
Registry: DXVK's d3d9 for DiRT.exe	—	in the prefix, HKCU\Software\Wine\AppDefaults\DiRT.exe\DllOverrides, value d3d9 = native,builtin, and the launcher's record of it, HKCU\Software\rea-launcher\DllOverrides\DiRT.exe
Registry: the settings window draws through GLX	—	in the prefix, HKCU\Software\Wine\X11 Driver, value UseEGL = N (only when it was unset)

A launcher.cfg next to DiRTLauncher.exe is used instead (a portable install). Under Proton everything is inside Steam's prefix for the non-Steam game (steamapps/compatdata/<id>/pfx), the Wine registry values too.

Troubleshooting

• "This DiRT.exe is not the official v1.22": install the official updates up to v1.22. If your copy is v1.22 already, open the unknown version form with the code the message shows.
• A race still crashes while loading: add workers = 4 to launcher.cfg (or start with --workers 4), and report your CPU with launcher.log.
• You changed resolution or detail in the game and it went back: the launcher sets those on every start. Change them in the launcher.
• Graphics problems on Linux: use the AppImage or dirt-play, which put DXVK in the private copy. Don't add your own d3d9.dll override.
• Anything else: run DiRTLauncher.exe --check, then open a bug report with launcher.log attached (remove personal paths). Never attach game files.

Known limitations

• Only the official v1.22 is supported; the launcher doesn't install the official updates for you.
• Played end to end on Linux (Wine and gamescope, 4K, an Xbox-style pad). Not yet tested on native Windows, the Steam Deck, or Proton without dirt-play; see docs/RUNTIME_NOTES.md.

Uninstall

1. Back up your saves first: the private copy's savegame folder, %LOCALAPPDATA%\DiRTLauncher\DiRT\savegame (inside the Wine prefix on Linux). Saves in your game folder's own savegame folder are brought into the copy on the first start and never overwritten.
2. Delete the folder you unzipped the launcher into (or the AppImage).
3. Windows: delete %LOCALAPPDATA%\DiRTLauncher (settings, log, the private copy of the game and its saves), and in regedit the value named after the private copy's DiRT.exe under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\DirectX\UserGpuPreferences.
4. Linux: copy your saves out of the prefix, then delete ~/.local/share/dirt-launcher and ~/.config/dirt-launcher. With Proton, removing the shortcut in Steam offers to delete its prefix, saves included. The Wine registry values above go with the prefix; in a prefix of your own, delete them with wine regedit.

Your game folder was never changed, so there is nothing to undo there.

For developers

Rust (edition 2024), MinGW-w64 with lld for the Windows target, Wine for the Windows-target tests and cargo-deny. The gaming distrobox has them all.

cargo fmt --all --check
cargo test --workspace --locked                 # host tests, the settings window headless
cargo clippy --target i686-pc-windows-gnu --workspace --all-targets -- -D warnings
cargo deny check
for t in linux/tests/*.sh packaging/tests/*.sh; do sh "$t"; done
cargo build --release --locked --target i686-pc-windows-gnu
sdk/scripts/wine-test --locked --workspace      # Windows-target tests under Wine, headless
sh ../rea-launcher-sdk/scripts/sdk-sync --check .   # sdk/ matches the pinned SDK

• New SDK release: sdk/scripts/sdk-bump vX.Y.Z moves the Cargo tags, sdk/ and the workflow pins together and prints the migration notes.
• Golden snapshots of everything the launcher writes are in crates/dirt-launcher/tests/snapshots/; review a change like code.
• Free the disk space builds take: sdk/scripts/clean (a dry run), then sdk/scripts/clean --yes.
• Real-game tests read your installed copy and never change it: DIRT_GAME_DIR=<game folder> cargo test -- --ignored.
• Third-party components are fetched at package time from pinned URLs with SHA-256 (packaging/third-party.txt); GitHub Actions (the SDK's reusable workflows) runs the checks, builds the zip and the AppImage, and publishes a release for each v* tag.

Rules for contributors and coding agents: AGENTS.md. Community fixes and decisions: docs/RESEARCH.md; what was verified in the real game: docs/RUNTIME_NOTES.md.

Built on rea-launcher-sdk

The private copy of the game, launcher.cfg and the option table, the settings window's widgets, the Linux helper's library (rea-play.sh), packaging and CI come from rea-launcher-sdk, shared by every rea launcher. It is pinned by tag in Cargo.toml and vendored in sdk/ (the tag is in sdk/VERSION). This repository keeps what is specific to Colin McRae: DiRT.

Contributing

• About Colin McRae: DiRT (its versions, the worker maps, its settings, dirt-play's game settings, this README): issues and pull requests here.
• Shared code (the private copy, the settings window's widgets, the option table, rea-play.sh, packaging, CI workflows, anything under sdk/): issues and pull requests at rea-launcher-sdk.
• How to tell: code under sdk/ or from a rea_launcher* crate is the SDK's; if the same problem would happen with another rea launcher, it's the SDK's. Not sure? Open it here and it will be moved.
• Never patch sdk/ or copy SDK code here: fix the SDK and bump the tag.
• Never attach game files (executables, saves, data) to an issue.

Credits

• CMCR-DiRT-MTFix by xatornet found the multi-core crash and its corrected 8- and 12-core maps; the launcher writes its own equivalent files.
• PCGamingWiki for the game's fixes and settings files.
• DXVK by Philip Rebohle and contributors (Direct3D 9 on Vulkan, Linux).
• Wine and Kron4ek's Wine builds in the AppImage, with the AppImage tools.
• The photo of Colin McRae by Carolyn Williams (CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons).
• The Barlow fonts by Jeremy Tribby (SIL Open Font License).
• rea-launcher-sdk.

Full list with licences: THIRD_PARTY.md.

Legal

Colin McRae: DiRT is © Codemasters. This project is not affiliated with or endorsed by Codemasters or Electronic Arts, contains no game files, and only runs a copy you own. Our code is MIT OR Apache-2.0 (LICENSE-MIT, LICENSE-APACHE); bundled components keep their own licences (THIRD_PARTY.md).