Zoo Tycoon 2: Ultimate Collection

How to Play

Zoo Tycoon 2: Ultimate Collection contains all of the released expansions packs and does not require any additional patches.

The game with NoCD and Widescreen Fix has been tested on Windows 7 64-bit and Windows 10, it works fine. You may experience some small troubles when you play the game on modern systems, check our Guide and Notes for details

Install & play guide:

• Mount the disc image with virtual drive utility, like WinCDEmu, UltraISO, Alcohol 52%/Alcohol 120% or Daemon Tools Lite, etc.
• Launch the installation. It is recommended to install the game not in default path, but in some other, non-system folder, like C:/Games/Zoo Tycoon 2, click on "More options" and set the new installation path
• 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
• At the end of installation the installer will ask if you want to install MOTD (Message of the Day), click on "No, I don't want MOTD"
• Finish the installation. After you installed the game - install NoCD, simply copy ZT.exe from the archive and put it into game folder, agree to replace original files
• Open the directory with the game and find ZT.exe. Right click on ZT.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 (Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows 7, etc.)

Notes:

• If the installation doesn't start - try to launch Autorun.exe in compatibility mode with old version of Windows (98, 2000 or XP)
• If you get the "error 1311 source file not found zoo tycoon 2 ultimate collection disk 2" message during installation - that happens when the installer doesn't recognize the disc in virtual drive. Create a folder on your hard drive and copy files from all discs to that folder, after that run Autorun.exe from that folder. Or you can use repack by Magipack, it has a simple installer and includes NoCD and Widescreen Fix
• It is recommended to install all versions of Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable and NET Framework for the correct work of the game. Also it is recommended to install K-Lite Codec Pack for the correct work of in-game videos
• 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
• NoCD is required for the launch because the game is using SafeDisc DRM protection, which doesn't work correctly on modern systems. NoCD "cracks" DRM protection and allows to run the game without the disc. If you see error that there's not enough space on the hard drive when you copy NoCD files - re-install the game in non-system folder, like D:/Games/Zoo Tycoon 2, Windows Protection may block copying of files to system folders (like C:/Program Files or C:/Windows)
• If the game starts and closes right after - add ZT.exe to the exceptions of DEP (Data Execution Prevention): Go to Control Panel -> System Properties -> Advanced System Settings. From the System Properties dialog, select Settings. Select the Data Execution Prevention tab. Select "Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select". Click Add and use the browse feature to show the path to the program executable you want to exclude, in that case ZT.exe inside the game folder. Here's the guide with pictures
• The game doesn't have the support for widescreen resolutions, if you run the game on widescreen display the image will be stretched. To fix it use Widescreen Fix by Hendrix, it adds the support for correct widesreen proportions. To use it copy ZT.exe and zWidescreen.z2f to game folder (check Readme inside the archive for instructions), then run the game, go to "Game Options" and click on "Advanced Settings", select "Video Resolution" you need
• The game may have low performance on modern systems, because 32-bit apps can use only 2 GB of virtual memory. Use 4GB patch to let the game to use 4 GB of virtual memory instead of 2, to use 4GB patch simply run the patcher and show the path to ZT.exe inside game folder
• If you have problem with broken sound effects or disappearing sound - first try to change the sound settings. If it didn't work - set sound quality to 24 bit, 48000 Hz or 24 bit, 44100 Hz. Read this guide how to do that
• Don't forget to check PCGamingWiki if you have troubles!