Visioneering the Past

Hello. I found your page about I’76 recently. I was a minor-to-prominent member of its online community back in the day, and an Activision “Visioneer” at the time. I helped beta test the Nitro Pack. I’m getting old these days and longing for memories of the past. If you would like to discuss the old game sometime, or know of the whereabouts of any of the members of the old “gangs” that I could renew ties with, that’d be great. Regardless, was a pleasure to find your page, so few people remember this old game, and the few that do are tasteless suckers that prefer the likes of Twisted Metal and the abysmal Vigilante 8. I tested that game too… I told Activision exactly what I thought about it as well, they didn’t send me games any more after that B-) Anyway, I’ve rambled enough. Thanks.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the kind words! As far as finding people online, Interstate76.com is still kicking around. Oddly enough, a post on I’76 hacks here at Local Ditch Gaming seems to have become an impromptu talk about the old days, with some of the old community names dropping by and sharing their stories.

Interstate ’82 Vigilante Association

You clould remake again a Interstate’82 Page since its no more dead. !
😉 My name is DJ_edyo and i am the founder of the Interstate’82
Vigilante’s association ! www.i82va.com

we have a game patch that works and we still play online ! 😀 haha
have a good day !

Nice! I’ll spread the word.

FPS Jumping

just want to begin my question with saying thanks to you for having this site set up, its great for the small i76-community, its a special place for small numbe of people out there who like the groove.

Q: im playing on GOG-version of interstate 76 and everythings nice except that the framerate is too high so i wont be able to make the jump in the end of mission 5, even with nitro. any clues on fixing this? can tell you im really not the only one with this problem… basically everyone who buys the gog-version has it.

thank you,
speed is your limit!

Thanks for compliments. This has been a problem plaguing all versions of I ’76 on modern systems. Good news: I do have a fix, at least for NVIDIA cards. Within the NVIDIA drivers, it’s possible to set up a custom game profile and define a max FPS limit. To do so, you’ll need to track down and use a piece of software called the NVIDIA Inspector, which will allow you to set some options that the drivers allow, but do not display.

You can find more info in the Interstate ’76 FAQ.

Lack of Interest

There is a way to play Interstate ’76 online again …

anyone interested?

I think time has me passed me by on I ’76 online, but I’ll throw your message on the site in case anyone else is interested.

To see how, check out this video:

[How To] Play Interstate 76 LAN Online (Tunngle Method)

‘Rhana Paint

Hello, I was wondering if you could kinda give me some input or opinion on this idea I’ve been planning. I’m planning on building a 1/24 1970 barracuda with slight adjustments to make the body more like the “Picard Piranha,” which should go over well, but I haven’t yet been
able to plan out the paint, Because in the game it has 2 black lines and the 1 on each side that leads up to the engine size (432) But from some research I have found that the black stripes (Across the hood and trunk) were not on the barracudas (that everyone says the car is designed after) and that the 1970 only had the dotted line like the green version of the car.

But here is my main question, do you know of the cars they used as inspiration for the proper line on the side of the car, because it stretches up and over the back a little bit, I was planning to take the dotted one and paint it in a solid line and then add my own line on the way up but I fear my hand painting wont be good enough, so I was wondering if you knew more about this paint job, Thank you. 🙂

I don’t believe that the orange and black Piranha paintjob is an exact replica, but instead just inspired by a ‘Cuda. So, just grab some screenshots from the game and base it on that.

Now, painting the line by hand is probably not the best way to approach it. Instead, you’ll want to mask the area with some tape. That should provide much better and straighter lines.

Be sure to send some pictures when the model is done.

Ma… Something Like This

I’m releasing a huge torrent of all the music ripped from the game (including first edition/gold edition/nitro pack/OST). However, I am really stuck with the demo.

I have all the demo songs except 1 (Ma… Something Like This), and I’ve emailed everybody trying to find it. I’ve emailed 3eb’s agent who has not gotten back to me since Jan. I’ve spammed random people who have recently listened to the missing track on last.fm (https://www.last.fm/music/Bullmark/_/MaSomethingLike), and I have emailed some old email accounts that were owned by Arion himself (all dead).

I did get in contact with David Shul (awesome guitarist) a loooong time ago, however, I tried emailing him recently but all of his email accounts are now dead :c

Every link I have chased have been a dead end and it has become very frustrating just to find the missing song.

My question is, would you happen to have the missing track? Or even better, would you know someone who has the real CD? I’d love to rip it to FLACs.

3EBMedia.co.uk, a third Eye Blind fan site, has all of the Bullmark demos available for download.

Scratch that, rewind. I’ve just uploaded a torrent with all the music including the missing demo song everybody has been raving about in your guestbook. I have spent more then 2 years collecting everything for this torrent. All songs are in MP3, FLAC and OGG. All are tagged!

You can download it here: https://btjunkie.org/torrent/Interstate-76-Soundtracks-FLAC-V8-MP3-V0-OGG-Q8/3676539a3e8eec15b5143cce0a7b16d210ff735328b8

Thanks.

Jumps Ahoy

In response addition to Stick Ramp Situation:

I recently bought Interstate 76 through GOG.

I have the same problem, but I slowed the CPU down 75% using CPUKiller and STILL cannot make the jump. I hate to use the cheat code and am concerned that similar problems will occur later in the game.Any further advice to what you gave before ??BTW, amazing to find this information at all – what a service you provide !!

I’m a bit saddened to hear that this problem is still in the GOG release of the game. They usually do a very good job of getting the older games up to speed on newer systems, but it seems I ’76 fell through the cracks.

Unfortunately, I don’t really have any other advice. You may encounter similar issues throughout the game. But on a positive note, the last time I played through I ’76, this was the only level where I had to use a cheat code. All of the others may have been a bit buggy, but they’d eventually work correctly.

Max Damage

How in Hell did you get all of the statistics for the weapons, especially the damage values? The Brady Games Interstate ’76 Game Guide does not have all of the data in your tables. Great job!

Thanks to your site I was able to get my complete copy of the Bullmark Demo CD.

I have a small Web site dedicated to automotive combat games. There are a few files on it that should interest Interstate ’76 fans.

Are you interested in hosting the original Interstate ’76 wallpapers that were available on the Activision Web site in 1997? I uploaded them to my Web site last month. You are welcome to host them on The Local Ditch Gaming Emporium, permitting me to use the space for other files.

Seattle Washington Autoduel Team Headquarters (SWAT HQ)

SWAT HQ – Burning Rubber Interstate ’76 RPG

SWAT HQ – Automotive Combat Desktop Themes and Wallpapers

Drive Offensively!

Thanks for the message. In short, I took the values from the long-gone SuiCyco’s Speed Shop – a site that knew what they were doing. But in all seriousness, parts of the values were originally taken from the Interstate ’76 manual and the damage values were discovered with a little bit of hex editing.

Also, thanks for the I ’76 wallpapers. They’re up on the site now for anyone who wants to put some funky cheer on their desktop.

Good Old News

Interstate 76 was just released on Good Old Games (gog.com), so there might be some renewed interest in the game. Just wanted to drop you a line and say I’m pleased to find an archive with some bits of the best community stuff from the golden age of the game. Articles from Sui’s Speed Shop, utilities from the AVA, it all brings back fond memories.

Zaphod

(Original author of the weapon comparison chart on SSS, former head of the AVA.)

It’s great to hear that I ’76 has made its way over to GOG. It also explains the recent spike in traffic to this site. I’m always glad to recognize an old name from the I ’76 community, even if I wasn’t too active in it myself.

And for those that are fans of the Speed Shop (which was by far my favorite I ’76 site), someone has reposted it in its near-entirety over here: Sui’s Speed Shop.

Polygonal Pin-Up

I tried to download the I’76 desktop theme from this site, but the link was broken. Are you able to send it to me by mail?

Would look awesome on my newly set-up retro-rig 🙂

Thanks for informing me about the broken link. It’s up on the site now and the download should work fine.

64-bit 76

Is there a version or a patch that will let me play the original version on vista 64? I have had this game since it came out and thought I would love to play it again.

The biggest hurdle is getting the game to install. Be sure to check out the Interstate ’76 FAQ – Installation Issues to find the solution.

Corrections

Hey there, nice page. I for one am a huge fan of the game (see this site and I really enjoyed reading through your stuff.

One thing I stumbled upon is the fact, that the interview with Zach Norman is actually with Sean Vesce. 🙂

Oh, and maybe you can answer me, what the aliens in the UFO are saying during the cutscene? In exchange I can tell you, that it’s “Oktoberfest”, not Oktober-Fett. It’s an annual Beerfest in Germany and I would never attend it, but hey, it’s famous. 🙂

Glad to hear you’ve enjoyed the site. Good call on the I ’76 interview. The page has been corrected.

I’ve got no clue what the aliens are saying.

As for Oktoberfest/Oktober Fett, it’s quite possible that I’ve been hearing the name incorrectly for the past decade. Of course, it does make sense that a German-accented character would choose a name after the world-renown festival.

Sticky Ramp Situation

Hey I actually just found this website and also I just signed up for the forums, but just incase it takes a bit for my registration to go through on the forums, I thought I’d try here too. This is actually regarding the game. I am on mission 5 where you have to jump the bridge to meet skeeter. I follow all directions and even followed the youtube videos I found. BUT everytime I hit the stinking ramp my car slows down to a crawl and i miss the jump every time. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I hit the nitros and floor it perfectly straight for the ramp. HELP ME!! haha I’m glad I found this website. I used to play this game many many years ago and I just recently obtained the game.

Wait, you signed up for the forums? There aren’t any forums on this site…

But on to your question: The physics in I ’76 are out-of-whack on most modern computers. It appears that some of the weapons and handling are based on the computer’s processor speed, so things like the e-brake, flame throwers, and unfortunately, ramps, just don’t work right.

To get around this, use a program to slow down or throttle down your system. Or, even better, if you’ve got an older computer collecting dust, just play it on that. If that still doesn’t work, just use the “Getdown” code to skip to the next level.

Awesome Charger

I’m sure you know about the car that Activision was giving away back when I ’76 first came out, but no one really heard of what happened to it…

Well I found the exact same one! The full history can be found at the 1970 Charger Registry.

Awesome information. Thanks very much for spreading the word on this piece of I ’76 history.

Special Request

I was wondering if you would consider making a fool-proof instruction on how to connect the bz server? After reading quite much about the topic, I honestly still have no idea what to do to play I 76 on-line.

There are really two issues at play here: The first is that very few people are actually playing I ’76 online anymore. The second is that you can’t connect to a server unless you have a direct internet connection. From what I’ve heard, playing behind a router will not work, although I haven’t verified this personally.

To answer your question directly: I don’t plan on creating a guide on how to run I ’76 online.

Funky Tunes

Hey there, do you know where I can snag the Bullmark Demo at? I remember coming across it years ago on ArionSalazar.com (Cached page with inactive download links here https://web.archive.org/web/20020814051207/www.arionsalazar.com/audio_bullmark.html) but I foolishly didn’t download it.

I’m in the exact same boat as you. I remember Arion Salazar’s home page from a while back with all of the tunes on there, but I didn’t download them either. Luckily enough for the both of us, some Third Eye Blind fans have them posted. Follow the link to get the Bullmark demos.

No April Fool

just installed my old original Interstate 76 on Winxp…after installing the gold patch the game language changes completely from german to english…i remember that there is a way to rechange that, but i forgot how…i found nothing relevant on the internet…

Any hints?

I hate to say it, but I have no idea. If anyone out there has the solution, let me know and I’ll get it on the site.

It’s No Accident

You seemed to have overlooked https://interstate76.com.

Fear not, it hasn’t been overlooked. To the contrary, I’ve been linking to your site for a few years now, albeit through the Interstate ’76 FAQ instead of on the links page.

I know there’s not many active I ’76 sites left, so if anyone out there has one and they’d like to trade links, just contact The Local Ditch and I’ll get it up on the site somewhere. The only thing that I ask is that you link back here in return.

I ’76 on Vista

Hey there. I just happened to come across a demo of Vigilante 8 on my friend’s Xbox 360 the other day. It reminded me of all the fun I had playing I’76 so I found a copy on the internet and I’m trying to install it on my Vista operating system. Have you heard of anyone succeeding it doing this? Should I just try the same fix as XP installation (trying over and over again) or is this just a futile attempt to get back to my gaming routes?

I ’76 can indeed run on Vista. The game can be installed by manually copying its data to the hard disk. For more information, please check the Interstate ’76 FAQ.

I ’82 Pre-release Pictures

Hi I was scrolling through the internet when i came across a load of I’82 PRE-RELEASE picture’s on ING.com I will send the 2 most interesting one’s if you want them thanks i just need to know your email address.:) Interstate 76/82 rocks!!!!

Yeah, send them my way. I tried to e-mail you back, but the address was invalid. I’m guessing you mean IGN, so they shouldn’t be too hard to find.

(2010 Update: I never did hear back from this person.)

I ’76 Flamethrowers and Variants

Two questions: I have played I 76 substituting melee variants in trip mode, but have forgotten how. Do you know? My last few computers have not been able to use flame throwers in I76. They don’t useable range, and they flicker. Is there any solution to this problem. Thank you.

It’s been years, but if I remember correctly, you’ll want to copy one of your variants and overwrite the file used for the trip missions. It might’ve been necessary to do this inside of a hex editor.

If anyone out there remembers, please let me know.

The flamethrower weapons were shaky enough in the first place, but they don’t work correctly on modern computers due to their faster speeds. You can try using a program that throttles down the processor speed.

I ’76 Resolutions

Is there any way to raise the resolution above 640×480 under direct3D?

Not in D3D. Either use the software mode where it can be raised to 1024×768 or find a glide wrapper. More info can be found in the I ’76 FAQ.

I ’76 Hacks

I’m glad to see someone actually STILL has a fan site out there for I76! I reently reinstalled it on my WinXP PC, and have been blowing crap up in instant-bot-melee battles.

Its been about 10 years, but I used to spend hours at night (and day) hacking and playing this game online. I would love to try my hand at some hacks and paint jobs again, just for old times. I remeber there used to be all kinds of crazy modifications you could do through a Hex Editor, I think my editor of choice at the time was Hex32 or something like that.

Anyway, I have lost all my printed copies of tutorials to hack the car stats. Oddly enough, you can’t even find references to them online. All the sites were long gone before Google was around caching them into memory.

Do you have any of the old txt or word documents on how to do that stuff anymore? There used to be a car that went (to scale) like 0-300MPH in a second… but you had to have the tuning just so to get it to work. There were also monster tires and ways to place several turrets on any one car.

I am able to play the Gold Edition of I76 in D3D (I think at 800×600 only), but can’t get Nitro to play in anything other than software at 1024×768. Is it possible to play Nitro in D3D too?
Hope you get this!

Thanks for the comments. I remember Hack ’76 used to be a pretty popular program for a while, but unfortunately, I don’t have any of the files for it. A quick Google search brought up a few pages with some I ’76 hacks, but not too much info. I hope these links help:

https://www.geocities.com/Area51/Zone/7722/cheat.htm
https://www.fortunecity.com/underworld/caterpillar/314/Hacks.htm

As far as playing Nitro in D3D, I thought it used the same engine and patches as the I ’76 Gold Edition, so if one works, the other should. The resolution is locked at 640×480, if I recall correctly. You might have to turn off certain options on your graphics card driver to get it to work. I’m sorry that I can’t really say anything definite. If I come across an answer, I’ll try to get it up on the site.

More Road to Cover

I started thinking of my good ol’ i76 gaming days, and it took a while for my to come out of my daydreams…honestly, I think it would be a good game to this date and I would love to see activision raising the game from the dead by making a true prequel, with the feel of i76 TRIP. The trip was in my opinion one of the best computer game experiences I have ever had. Anyways, so activision would be afraid of losing money, but what if they, were innovative and used more or less the same game engine, saving shitloads of money and only using money on development of missions and story etc. It would be a cheap affair for Activision, it would almost make sure that the original atmosphere of the game remained and if a fan community is involved in the planning stages for important input it could truly become a great game.

aaaaahh…I love to dream pleasant dreams. But, do you think there is any posibility that activision would let do something like this? (how much I would like to drive that beloved Picard Pirahna once more)

Unfortunately, it’s not going to happen. I’m sure at this point, Activision is done with the Interstate series. Even though it would be great to see another game, I just can’t imagine it happening.

I ’76 XP Installation Woes

Hi, I was wondering if you had any information about getting Interstate 76 to install under XP. At the moment SETUP.EXE manages to extract itself no problem, but when the installation process begins and it determines what system its being installed on it refuses. Ive tried every possible kind of compatibility mode and a few other things besides.Any help would be very much appreciated. Cheers.

It seems that I ’76 has installation problems with the original disc. Be sure to check out the FAQ.

I ’76 Downloads

I just stumbled onto the site today (12-11-06) and noticed that some of the I’76 files are still active! So I got the patch from probably the only available server on the internet. Thanks a lot 🙂 Everything else is dead, though, and I mean, it’s a little late to be looking for files for I’76 but I wondered if you could fix some of the links on this site? Activision decided to totally drop support of their older games, as I’m sure you know. Anyway, glad to see some remnant of my classic games still around, even if it’s only by the good graces of Lycos.

Enjoy the holidays.

I’m trying to get things back up. Maybe I can piece some things back together.

Fungi Power

I’m a die-hard (read dying hard) fan of Interstate ’76. I have the orginal discs of the game. The old ones for Windows 95, where the install disc has the Mech Warrior 2 Demo and some video previews of A-10 Cuba, etc (Thats all I remember). Now, both discs have a problem. There is some sort of ‘fungus’ or something that has eaten through the reflective surface on the top of the discs. There are these ‘plant root’ like formations that are transparent. And the discs are unreadable.

If I’m not asking much, let me know if there is someone who can help with this. Or give/sell a copy of the game ? I need the old one for Windows 95 as I found that it does not have any installation problems like the Win 98 version. Please help ! I’m dying to blow up some Creepers. Please help !

Ouch. I do have a lonesome copy of an I ’76 Disc 1 sitting around, but a much better thing to do would be to go to GameTap and download I ’76. Sure, it costs a couple of bucks, but it’s the easiest way to find the game.

(2010 Update: Even better than GameTap is GOG.

Hot Copy, Indeed

I guess the chances that anyone will recieve this are slim, and even if you are reading it now, I have a feeling that the chances for you to give me a url to a pirated copy of I76 are slim aswell. But I don’t really think I have anything to loose, so If you are reading this. And you happen to know of someone that has the entire game uploaded somewhere, or you have the game and could upload it somewhere, please let me know, because I have lost the original cd and finding a vendor that carries a ten year old game isn’t that easy…

2010 Update: You’re right, I won’t be pointing to illegal methods for obtaining the game. The good news, though, is that it’s available at GOG for a few bucks.

Name That Tune

I recently dug up my old I76 cd and ripped the badass funky music to mp3. I don’t know what the track names are! Can you help a brotha’ out?

Coming your way – I ’76 track names.

Hi-Res I ’76 XP-style

recently I found the way to play Interstate 76 on WinXP (turn sound acc down.) But now I discovered that I can only play it on 640/480 reslolution. I think I used to play it (with Win98) on 1024/768… Is there any tweak to play it in higher resolution? I’ve installed the gold edition patch, but still 640/480. I don’t feel like installing win98 just to play I76 (although it’s a great game…)

Gold edition is locked in at 640×480 unless you’re in software mode.

(2010 Update: Use a Glide wrapper for 3D-accelerated higher resolutions.)