The House of the Dead III

Windows Game
Download:	Abandonware. Buy a used CD or source a disc image
License:	Commercial
Game info
Developer:	Wow Entertainment
Released:	2002
Players:	2 Players
Type:	Rail shooter
Note: Requires patch

Default Controls
Shoot (trigger):	Left mouse
Reload:	Right mouse
P1 Start:	1 Key
P2 Start:	2 Key
Coin:	5 Key
Path Selection:	Arrow Keys

The House of the Dead III is a 2002 light gun arcade game with a horror zombie-survival theme, and the third instalment to the House of the Dead series of video games, developed by Wow Entertainment and Sega.

Setup Guide

The best way to play this game is using the Argonlefou Arcade Mod below.

You must use the EU version of the game.

Downloads

Download Daemon tools from Daemon Tools website

Download DemulShooter from GitHub

• Follow the DemulShooter wiki and configure your lightguns.

Download Argonlefou ArcadeMod from GitHub. (Latest Version: Hotd3pc_ArcadeMod_v7.0.zip)

Download Argonlefou no crosshair patch from Mega.nz

• Overwrite the original SPR.AFS file located inside of the "fs" folder. (eg. D:\THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD3_EU\fs\SPR.AFS)

Download Genjuro's texture fix patch from PC Gaming Wiki

Argonlefou Arcade Mod

Argonlefou has released a launcher that will start the windows game and modify the memory on the fly to make it look alike the original arcade version. Amongst other things:

• Credits handling
• Configuration tool (game options and SERVICE MENU options)
• Removed game menus
• Few graphics enhancements (Title Screen, Arcade Logo)
• Portable game (no more Registry access or AppData saved files)
• etc.

Note: The game must be correctly installed and able to launch on it's own for the Arcade Mod Launcher to work. (hod3launch.exe -> Play Game)

Download and installation instructions are available in Argonlefou's github page.

• Extract the downloaded zip file into a folder inside of the HOTD3 game folder. (e.g. D:\THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD3_EU\Hotd3pc_ArcadeMod_v2.0\)
• Run Hotd3Arcade_Config.exe
  • Set the path to your hod3pc.exe file.
  • Set P1 and P2 Controls to KEYBOARD*
    • * Note: you can set P1 to MOUSE if you only want to play solo.
  • Configure the rest of the settings to your preferences.

• Press Save and the Hod3Arcade.ini file will be generated.

Hotd3Arcade_Config.exe

Example AHK Script using Argonlefou's ArcadeMod:

• Run Hotd3Arcade_Launcher.exe to start the game (Set this to run as Administrator if you have issues when trying to launch HOTD3)
• DemulShooter v10.8.2 and above no longer requires -noautoreload and -noguns
• Run DemulShooter.exe as Administrator if you have issues with it hooking. The DemulShooter icon in the system tray should be green.

  RUN, "D:\THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD3_EU\Hotd3pc_ArcadeMod_v2.0\Hotd3Arcade_Launcher.exe" 
  Sleep, 5000
  
  RUN, "D:\DemulShooter\DemulShooter.exe" -target=windows -rom=hod3pc -noautoreload -noguns, D:\DemulShooter
  
  ; For a KEYBOARD mapping, default keys are 'left control' and 'left shift' for P1
  ; 'right control' and 'right shift' for P2 and may need to be rebinded to mouse as usual:
  LControl::LButton         ;P1 click
  LShift::RButton           ;P1 reload
  RControl::LButton         ;P2 click
  RShift::RButton           ;P2 reload
  
  $Esc::	; Quit Game
  	Process,Close,hod3pc.exe
  	Run,taskkill /im "hod3pc.exe" /F
  	Process, Close, DemulShooter.exe
  	Run,taskkill /im "DemulShooter.exe" /F
  	ExitApp
  return
  

AutoHotkey Scripts (No Longer needed with Argonlefou Launcher)

Example AHK script:

RUN, C:\DemulShooter_v10.1.3\DemulShooter.exe -target=windows -rom=hod3pc -noautoreload -noguns
RegWrite, REG_DWORD, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, SOFTWARE\SEGA\hod3\Settings, Played, 1
RegWrite, REG_SZ, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, SOFTWARE\SEGA\hod3\Settings, SavePath, C:\\THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD3_EU\\saves\\HOD3.DAT
RegWrite, REG_SZ, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, SOFTWARE\SEGA\hod3\Settings, SavePath1, C:\\THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD3_EU\\saves\\save.DAT
RUN, C:\THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD3_EU\exe\hod3pc.exe

down::
Process,Close,hod3pc.exe
Run,taskkill /im "hod3pc.exe" /F
ExitApp

return

Alternative AHK script:

RegWrite, REG_DWORD, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\SEGA\hod3\Settings, Played, 1

RUN, C:\THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD3_EU\exe\hod3pc.exe
sleep, 10000
RUN, C:\DemulShooter\DemulShooter.exe -target=windows -rom=hod3pc -noautoreload -noguns

down::
Process,Close,hod3pc.exe
Run,taskkill /im "hod3pc.exe" /F
ExitApp
return

Download autoloader (ONLY IF AHK METHOD DOES NOT WORK!) from Grandis.nu website

If your gun works fine in the menus but not in-game, you may need to edit your AHK script to launch DemulShooter after launching the game. This example script launches DemulShooter ten seconds after launching HOTD3.

run, C:\Games\THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD3_EU\HotD_3_AutoStart.exe
sleep 10000
run, C:\DemulShooter\DemulShooter.exe -target=windows -rom=hod3pc -noautoreload -noguns

Another AHK example script made by Matthieu, which also does a check for how many guns are connected and starts either 1 or 2 instances of the Sinden software:

#SingleInstance force
#NoEnv  ; Recommended for performance and compatibility with future AutoHotkey releases.
SendMode Input  ; Recommended for new scripts due to its superior speed and reliability.
SetWorkingDir %A_ScriptDir%  ; Ensures a consistent starting directory.

RIDI_DEVICENAME := 0x20000007
SINDEN_TYPE := 0

SizeofRawInputDeviceList := A_PtrSize * 2
SizeofRawInputDevice := 8 + A_PtrSize
DetectedSindenCount := 0

Res := DllCall("GetRawInputDeviceList", "Ptr", 0, "UInt*", Count, UInt, SizeofRawInputDeviceList)

VarSetCapacity(RawInputList, SizeofRawInputDeviceList * Count)

Res := DllCall("GetRawInputDeviceList", "Ptr", &RawInputList, "UInt*", Count, "UInt", SizeofRawInputDeviceList)

Loop %Count% {

   Handle := NumGet(RawInputList, (A_Index - 1) * SizeofRawInputDeviceList, "UInt")
   Type := NumGet(RawInputList, ((A_Index - 1) * SizeofRawInputDeviceList) + A_PtrSize, "UInt")
   if (Type != SINDEN_TYPE) {
     Continue
   }

   Res := DllCall("GetRawInputDeviceInfo", "Ptr", Handle, "UInt", RIDI_DEVICENAME, "Ptr", 0, "UInt *", nLength)
   If (Res = -1) {
     Continue
   }
   VarSetCapacity(Name, (nLength + 1) * 2)
   Res := DllCall("GetRawInputDeviceInfo", "Ptr", Handle, "UInt", RIDI_DEVICENAME, "Str", Name, "UInt*", nLength)
   If (Res = -1) {
      Continue
   }
   if (InStr(Name, "HID#VID_16C0&")) {
     DetectedSindenCount++
   }
}

if (DetectedSindenCount > 0) {
   RUN, D:\SindenLightgun_P1\Lightgun.exe ; Set your sinden software path for P1
}

if (DetectedSindenCount > 1) {
   RUN, D:\SindenLightgun_P2\Lightgun.exe ; Set your sinden software path for P2
}

if (DetectedSindenCount > 0) {
   RUN, D:\DemulShooter_v10.1.5\DemulShooter.exe -target=windows -rom=hod3pc -noautoreload -noguns ; Set your demulshooter path here
   RUN, D:\Games\THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD3_EU\HotD_3_AutoStart.exe ; Set your game's autostart exe path here

   down::
   Process,Close,hod3pc.exe
   Run,taskkill /im "hod3pc.exe" /F
   Run,taskkill /im "Lightgun.exe" /F
   ExitApp

   return

} else {

   MsgBox, No Sinden guns detected.
   return

}

DemulShooter HOTD 3 instructions.

Run the game in HD resolutions

• Go to the exe folder inside the game folder
• Make a backup copy of hod3pc.exe
• Use your Hex editor of choice to open the file (for example HxD)
• Find one of the following hex values (640x480 is used in this example)

Original Resolution	Hex Values
640x480	80 02 00 00 C7 86 04 01 00 00 E0 01
800x600	20 03 00 00 C7 86 04 01 00 00 58 02
1024x768	00 04 00 00 C7 86 04 01 00 00 00 03

HxD1

• Substitute 80 02 (which is 640) and E0 01 (which is 480) for your desired resolution:

Resolution	1st value	2nd value
640x480 (original values)	80 02	E0 01
800x600 (original values)	20 03	58 02
1024x768 (original values)	00 04	00 03
New Resolutions:	Replace with:	Replace with:
1440 x 1080	A0 05	38 04
1920 x 1440	80 07	A0 05
(720p) 1280 x 720**	00 05	D0 02
(1080p) 1920 x 1080**	80 07	38 04
(2K) 2560 x 1440**	00 0A	A0 05
(4K) 3840 x 2160**	00 0F	70 08

**for 16:9 widescreen resolutions replace all instances of AB AA AA 3F with 39 8E E3 3F

[NOTE: using widescreen will make your aim slightly off]

For example replace this:

HxD found value

To make it look like this (for 1440x1080)

• Save the file.
• Make sure that in the launcher you choose 640x480 (or whichever resolution you changed) as the game resolution to get the desired resolution in game.

HotD3 Launcher

ReShade Border

You can use ReShade to display the border if you have issues using the regular Sinden border.

• Download the d3d8to9.dll injector file and place it into the same folder where hod3pc.exe is located.
• Install Reshade API Direct3D 9 to hod3pc.exe