Just because this game now works on my machine (TM) doesn't mean that it will work perfectly for you. If you can't get this guide to work then post a copy of your launch.log file and I will try to figure out what the issue is, otherwise I will ignore you.

The log is located in: C:\Users\urname\Documents\My Games\UnrealEngine3\BoulderGame\Logs

You will have to change "urname" to whatever your actual account is called, otherwise just click through the folders starting from "Documents".

There are a couple of stages you need to complete, but it shouldn't take you very long. Please note that the exact folder structure is slightly different between Windows 7/8/10/11, but these fixes should work for all of the above operating systems.

• Make sure that your graphics card actually has drivers. I know this sounds dumb but you never know. The easiest way is to click on the windows icon, search for "dxdiag", then run it. Then click on "display" and it will tell you what graphics card you have. If you see "display 1" and "display 2" then you probably have a laptop, and should go with whichever one is showing Nvidia or ATI.
  
• Search for Nvidia drivers if you have a Nvidia card, you can search using the correct graphics card (as shown under "display" - don't get laptop and desktop graphics card mixed up though) or download the automatic driver updates installer[www.nvidia.com].
  
• Search for ATI drivers if you have an ATI card, they have an automated solution like Nvidia that you can find here[www.amd.com].
  
• Search for Intel graphics card drivers if you have an Intel card. They also have an automated solution you can find here[www.intel.com] (if you only have an integrated/virtual GPU then search for CPU drivers).
  
• Verify the integrity of the game files (right click in Steam, click on properties, click on "installed files", select the "verify integrity of the game files" option and wait for it to finish).
  
• Run the game at least once, even if it just instantly crashes.

• Find the .exe for the game itself (this should be either C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Rock of Ages\Binaries\Win32 OR D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Rock of Ages\Binaries\Win32).
  
• You can also just right click on the game in Steam, click on properties, click on "installed files" and then click the "browse" button.
  
• Right click on "RoA.exe", then click on the compatibility tab. Now tick the "run this program in compatibility mode" button and change compatibility to "Windows Vista (Service Pack 1)". Also tick the "Run this program as an administrator" box.

Did this fix the problem? Probably not, so move on to step 2.

• Go back to the Rock of Ages folder, and open the Prerequisites folder.
  
• Run "vcredist_x64.exe" as an administrator (right click) if you have a 64-bit operating system (you probably do if you have Windows 11 - double check if you are still on Windows 7/8/10), otherwise run "vcredist_x86.exe" as an administrator. Either way let the installer do it's installations by clicking next every time it asks.
  
• Open the DirectX folder and run "DXSETUP.exe" (it is the only application in the folder) as an administrator. Again keep clicking next until it's finished.
  
• Go back to the "prerequisites" folder, run "PhysX_9.10.0513_SystemSoftware" as an administrator. Keep clicking next until it's finished.
  
• If PhysX installed normally, then that's good. If it didn't install anything because it detected a more modern version of PhysX on your PC, then you might need to make further adjustments later (in the hopefully optional Step 4).
  
• Finally you need to download the Microsoft .Net 3.5 framework, which I don't think comes with the game - you can get it directly from Microsoft here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=21 (if the link isn't working just google it).

Now move on to Step 3.

• Now search for the game's BoulderEngine.ini file (C:\Users\urname\Documents\My Games\UnrealEngine3\BoulderGame\Config). Again you have to change "urname" to the name of the Windows account, or you can click to the folder by starting in Documents.
  
• Open the file, if you haven't done this before then set the default to Notepad.
  
• Use the search function (CTRL+F at the same time) to make the following changes;
• "Distortion=False" instead of true
  
• "FilteredDistortion=False" instead of true
  
• "AllowD3D10=True" instead of false
  
• "bInitializeShadersOnDemand=True" instead of false.
  
• Also search for "ResX" and "ResY" and change them to your actual resolution. For me this was "ResX=1920" and "ResY=1080" because I am a big boy who can afford a 1080p monitor.
  
• Save the changes (click file, then save).
  
• Restart your PC so that all of the software and drivers you were messing around with in Step 2 are actually working correctly.

Once the restart is finished, the game should now actually work! WOW

Thanks to the handful of people who suggested the issue was with the Distortion and InitalizeShaders settings on the internet. They didn't fix the issue for me but helped point me in the right direction.

Because this game is a Japanese PC port (i.e. a piece of ♥♥♥♥) it will sometimes ONLY work with the specific version of PhysX that comes with the game installed. What does that mean? Well if you have a computer from the past 10 years then you probably already have a more recent version of PhysX installed. So you have to go and find your current version of PhysX, uninstall it and then install the old version that comes with the game. Here's how to do it;

• Open settings, then click on Apps, then click on installed Apps.
  
• If you are on an older version of Windows then it should be something like control panel -> add or remove programs.
  
• Search for "PhysX", you should see something like "NVIDIA PhysX System Software 9.23.1019".
  
• Click the three dots to the right of the program, then click "Uninstall".
  
• Run the uninstaller, keep clicking next until the program is gone.
  
• Go back to the prerequisites folder and run "PhysX_9.10.0513_SystemSoftware" as an administrator. Keep clicking next until it's finished.