Associate
- Joined
- 29 Oct 2024
- Posts
- 78
- Location
- Glasgow
Hi folks.
I thought I’d post a nuts-and-bolts tutorial on how to setup a very old game with fantastic update applied to it by a set of very dedicated and innovative fans of the game.
It is the stone-cold classic (in my opinion of course) Syndicate Wars, but under the Syndicate Wars Fan Expansion version.
The Syndicate Wars Fan Expansion offers a few critical benefits over the old standard game, including, first and foremost, an ability to zoom the game-view out considerably, thereby allowing you to see much more on the screen, and to setup the game for a higher resolution of 1920x1080. There are many other benefits and possibilities also.
The process, for me, was not straighforwards, and I had to mull over the online instructions quite a bit. So, I thought I would post this “install walkthrough” for any fans of this very old game on OCUK.
Before deciding if the following process is for you, two introductory example videos of how you can get the game looking with the Syndicate Wars Fan Expansion version are here and here. Those familiar with the old game will notice that it is now possible to see considerably more on the screen than was originally possible “back in the day”. (Back when I originally played this game as a young man, the only way to achieve a bigger field of view was to equip and use a Long Range Rifle all the time, which was not ideal, and even then, the maximum range was still limited.)
Here are the steps I recommend to get the game up and running, with that coveted big field of view.
==========================================================
==========================================================
(STEP 1) READING AND FAMILIARISATION STAGE
I recommend reading the following pages:
(1) As an introductory step:
(a) The Syndicate Wars “Patches and Mods” overview page, over at Syndicate.Lubiki.pl, here.
(b) A post about the Syndicate Wars Fan Expansion over on Vogons.org, here.
(2) Then, review the “proper” Syndicate Wars Fan Expansion pages over on their brilliant Github.com site, as follows:
(a) The main readme section, here (scroll down from the files collection). Don’t be too alarmed at the level of detail here. Much of the instructions on that Readme are for people interested in undertaking an install via a “compilation from source”. This particular “Install Walkthrough” is not going to do that.
(b) The main Wiki page, here. From there, you can read through the sub-headings. Two of the most important parts of the wiki are:
(i) The page called “Configuration Files Values”, here.
(ii) The page called “Game Modifications ‐ Rules.ini”, here.
It is within those two pages that you can learn how to re-size the screen resolution and zoom level.
(3) Finally, a quick perusal of the official Google Groups discussion board, here.
Now, let’s get the actual install process started.
==========================================================
==========================================================
(STEP 2) OBTAIN THE ORIGINAL GAME FILES
The Syndicate Wars Fan Expansion instructions indicate that their files actually only work in conjunction with the original game files, which they do not provide. So, you cannot just go over to the Syndicate Wars Fan Expansion Github and download the entire modified game in a single go.
Rather, you need to collect the original game files first, then apply Syndicate Wars Fan Expansion modifications to those files during a modified install.
Here is how to get the original files.
The Syndicate Wars Fan Expansion pages recommend getting the original files from an original CD (which only a very small number of people will have), or from an established commercial download source, such GOG.com (“Good Old Games”).
Personally, I don’t recommend the GOG.com download. Here is why. I originally did collect (make a purchase) of Syndicate Wars over on GOG.com (store page here), but the download was for a single .exe file, which at time of writing (03/01/2026) was not actually compatible with the Syndicate Wars Fan Expansion game modifier/installer. (More on that later.)
So, I recommend obtaining a set of files over on Archive.org, here, instead. The files are an old set of files, containing both the unpacked original game, and the CD image files (as a .bin and a .cue). The files were uploaded to Archive.org on Apr 2016, and look to have been up there for about 9.5 years now. I acknowledge there is a risk with that, and you will need to gauge your own risk appetite on whether you feel that is a safe strategy. Personally, I was comfortable with it.
If you go ahead, unzip the download, discard (delete) the already unpacked files, but keep the BIN and CUE files. Mount the .BIN to a virtual drive using your favoured virtual drive program. I use an old version of Power ISO (6.6 is the one I use), but you may prefer another option.
Now that you have mounted the CD files to your virtual drive, move on to the next step.
==========================================================
==========================================================
(STEP 3) OBTAIN THE LATEST SYNDICATE WARS FAN EXPANSION RELEASE, AND RUN THE INSTALL (IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE ORIGINAL GAME FILES)
Go to the main Syndicate Wars Fan Expansion Github.com page, here. Immediately under the word “Releases” (in bold, over on the right), click on the most recent release.
At time of writing (03/01/2025), the most recent release is:
“0.3.8.3283 Halloween Release Latest”, released on Oct 13, 2025.
Click on that.
Scroll down the page. If you are a Windows user, you want the 3rd entry from the bottom, called:
“swars-0_3_8_3283-win32-setup.zip”, at 6.89MB.
Download and unpack it.
Run the .exe.
This is what will install the modified game.
When going through the options, tell the installer that:
(1) You are using original CD files, and point the installer to your virtual drive location when prompted (for me it was D:)
(2) Uncheck/disable the option to install the music files. This is very important! Attempting to install the music “from the CD” does not work, and leads to major problems, including filling-up your entire install location drive. So, please do uncheck this option. (We will get the music later, manually.)
The installer should run and install the modified (“Syndicate Wars Fan Expansion”) version of the game.
If you left the default install path alone the game should install to:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Syndicate Wars
==========================================================
==========================================================
(STEP 4) SETUP THE HIGHER RESOLUTION AND ZOOMED-OUT VIEW
Two quick steps are all that are required to set the higher resolution, and to take advantage of a much more “zoomed out” view (or in other words, a much larger field of view).
Here are the steps.
(1) Assuming you installed your Syndicate Wars Fan Expansion game to the standard location, go to that location. As noted above, the location should be C:\Program Files (x86)\Syndicate Wars
Open up config.ini using Notepad or Notepad++.
Paste the following line in after those that are already there:
ResGameHi="1920x1080x8"
Apparently, attempts to use resolution settings higher than 1080p (1920 × 1080) will not work, due to limitations of how the game engine works. This is confirmed here.
(2) Now go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Syndicate Wars\conf
Open rules.ini using Notepad or Notepad++ as an Administrator. The way to do that is to simply stick Notepad (or Notepad++) in your Windows search box, right click on the result, and select “Run As Administrator”. From the program, navigate to the rules.ini file and open it.
I like quite an aggressively “zoomed out” view, with lots visible on the screen as standard.
Therefore, I recommend making the following changes:
ZoomMin = 75
ZoomMax = 75
I recommend leaving everything else alone.
Hypothetically, you could put an even lower number in for an extremely aggressively zoomed-out view. Objects might become harder to isolate and pick-up however.
==========================================================
==========================================================
(STEP 5) EXTRACT THE MUSIC FILES FROM THE VIRTUALLY MOUNTED FILES
Right now, you could play the game. It will be complete in every way, except for the music.
But, you want the music, as it is a big part of the game.
Collect a copy of ISOBuster. A free version is available here. (Meanwhile, having tested both AudioGrabber and EAC for this step, I can confirm that they were both unsuccessful for this purpose.)
Run ISOBuster. It should automatically detect the virtually mounted CD files, and offer you the option to “Rip”/Extract 3 audio files.
Extract the 3 audio files as .wav files, preferably to your desktop.
Rename them as:
track_1.wav
track_2.wav
track_3.wav
After you have the files, convert them to Ogg Vorbis files (.ogg) files using dbPowerAmp Reference Music Convertor. A time of writing, dbPowerAmp Reference Music Convertor, Personal Edition, is available for £36, here.
The conversion to .ogg files is compulsory. The files need to be in .ogg format to work.
When you convert all three tracks to .ogg format, I recommend using a constant bit rate (“CBR”) of 500. (That was the highest CBR rating that was available to me when I did this.)
You should now have the following files:
track_1.ogg
track_2.ogg
track_3.ogg
Go back to C:\Program Files (x86)\Syndicate Wars
Make a folder called “music”.
Copy the three .ogg files in there.
==========================================================
==========================================================
(STEP 6) ENJOY THE GAME IN ITS MODIFIED (AND BETTER) FORM
That’s everything to get the game up and running.
I’ve been playing this game for the past day or so, and have been enjoying it a lot. I have found it to be a lot more enjoyable with the ability to simply see much more on the screen.
I hope this guide has been helpful, and please do take the time to consult the official materials over on the Syndicate Wars Fan Expansion team’s official Github pages (here) for future updates.
I thought I’d post a nuts-and-bolts tutorial on how to setup a very old game with fantastic update applied to it by a set of very dedicated and innovative fans of the game.
It is the stone-cold classic (in my opinion of course) Syndicate Wars, but under the Syndicate Wars Fan Expansion version.
The Syndicate Wars Fan Expansion offers a few critical benefits over the old standard game, including, first and foremost, an ability to zoom the game-view out considerably, thereby allowing you to see much more on the screen, and to setup the game for a higher resolution of 1920x1080. There are many other benefits and possibilities also.
The process, for me, was not straighforwards, and I had to mull over the online instructions quite a bit. So, I thought I would post this “install walkthrough” for any fans of this very old game on OCUK.
Before deciding if the following process is for you, two introductory example videos of how you can get the game looking with the Syndicate Wars Fan Expansion version are here and here. Those familiar with the old game will notice that it is now possible to see considerably more on the screen than was originally possible “back in the day”. (Back when I originally played this game as a young man, the only way to achieve a bigger field of view was to equip and use a Long Range Rifle all the time, which was not ideal, and even then, the maximum range was still limited.)
Here are the steps I recommend to get the game up and running, with that coveted big field of view.
==========================================================
==========================================================
(STEP 1) READING AND FAMILIARISATION STAGE
I recommend reading the following pages:
(1) As an introductory step:
(a) The Syndicate Wars “Patches and Mods” overview page, over at Syndicate.Lubiki.pl, here.
(b) A post about the Syndicate Wars Fan Expansion over on Vogons.org, here.
(2) Then, review the “proper” Syndicate Wars Fan Expansion pages over on their brilliant Github.com site, as follows:
(a) The main readme section, here (scroll down from the files collection). Don’t be too alarmed at the level of detail here. Much of the instructions on that Readme are for people interested in undertaking an install via a “compilation from source”. This particular “Install Walkthrough” is not going to do that.
(b) The main Wiki page, here. From there, you can read through the sub-headings. Two of the most important parts of the wiki are:
(i) The page called “Configuration Files Values”, here.
(ii) The page called “Game Modifications ‐ Rules.ini”, here.
It is within those two pages that you can learn how to re-size the screen resolution and zoom level.
(3) Finally, a quick perusal of the official Google Groups discussion board, here.
Now, let’s get the actual install process started.
==========================================================
==========================================================
(STEP 2) OBTAIN THE ORIGINAL GAME FILES
The Syndicate Wars Fan Expansion instructions indicate that their files actually only work in conjunction with the original game files, which they do not provide. So, you cannot just go over to the Syndicate Wars Fan Expansion Github and download the entire modified game in a single go.
Rather, you need to collect the original game files first, then apply Syndicate Wars Fan Expansion modifications to those files during a modified install.
Here is how to get the original files.
The Syndicate Wars Fan Expansion pages recommend getting the original files from an original CD (which only a very small number of people will have), or from an established commercial download source, such GOG.com (“Good Old Games”).
Personally, I don’t recommend the GOG.com download. Here is why. I originally did collect (make a purchase) of Syndicate Wars over on GOG.com (store page here), but the download was for a single .exe file, which at time of writing (03/01/2026) was not actually compatible with the Syndicate Wars Fan Expansion game modifier/installer. (More on that later.)
So, I recommend obtaining a set of files over on Archive.org, here, instead. The files are an old set of files, containing both the unpacked original game, and the CD image files (as a .bin and a .cue). The files were uploaded to Archive.org on Apr 2016, and look to have been up there for about 9.5 years now. I acknowledge there is a risk with that, and you will need to gauge your own risk appetite on whether you feel that is a safe strategy. Personally, I was comfortable with it.
If you go ahead, unzip the download, discard (delete) the already unpacked files, but keep the BIN and CUE files. Mount the .BIN to a virtual drive using your favoured virtual drive program. I use an old version of Power ISO (6.6 is the one I use), but you may prefer another option.
Now that you have mounted the CD files to your virtual drive, move on to the next step.
==========================================================
==========================================================
(STEP 3) OBTAIN THE LATEST SYNDICATE WARS FAN EXPANSION RELEASE, AND RUN THE INSTALL (IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE ORIGINAL GAME FILES)
Go to the main Syndicate Wars Fan Expansion Github.com page, here. Immediately under the word “Releases” (in bold, over on the right), click on the most recent release.
At time of writing (03/01/2025), the most recent release is:
“0.3.8.3283 Halloween Release Latest”, released on Oct 13, 2025.
Click on that.
Scroll down the page. If you are a Windows user, you want the 3rd entry from the bottom, called:
“swars-0_3_8_3283-win32-setup.zip”, at 6.89MB.
Download and unpack it.
Run the .exe.
This is what will install the modified game.
When going through the options, tell the installer that:
(1) You are using original CD files, and point the installer to your virtual drive location when prompted (for me it was D:)
(2) Uncheck/disable the option to install the music files. This is very important! Attempting to install the music “from the CD” does not work, and leads to major problems, including filling-up your entire install location drive. So, please do uncheck this option. (We will get the music later, manually.)
The installer should run and install the modified (“Syndicate Wars Fan Expansion”) version of the game.
If you left the default install path alone the game should install to:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Syndicate Wars
==========================================================
==========================================================
(STEP 4) SETUP THE HIGHER RESOLUTION AND ZOOMED-OUT VIEW
Two quick steps are all that are required to set the higher resolution, and to take advantage of a much more “zoomed out” view (or in other words, a much larger field of view).
Here are the steps.
(1) Assuming you installed your Syndicate Wars Fan Expansion game to the standard location, go to that location. As noted above, the location should be C:\Program Files (x86)\Syndicate Wars
Open up config.ini using Notepad or Notepad++.
Paste the following line in after those that are already there:
ResGameHi="1920x1080x8"
Apparently, attempts to use resolution settings higher than 1080p (1920 × 1080) will not work, due to limitations of how the game engine works. This is confirmed here.
(2) Now go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Syndicate Wars\conf
Open rules.ini using Notepad or Notepad++ as an Administrator. The way to do that is to simply stick Notepad (or Notepad++) in your Windows search box, right click on the result, and select “Run As Administrator”. From the program, navigate to the rules.ini file and open it.
I like quite an aggressively “zoomed out” view, with lots visible on the screen as standard.
Therefore, I recommend making the following changes:
ZoomMin = 75
ZoomMax = 75
I recommend leaving everything else alone.
Hypothetically, you could put an even lower number in for an extremely aggressively zoomed-out view. Objects might become harder to isolate and pick-up however.
==========================================================
==========================================================
(STEP 5) EXTRACT THE MUSIC FILES FROM THE VIRTUALLY MOUNTED FILES
Right now, you could play the game. It will be complete in every way, except for the music.
But, you want the music, as it is a big part of the game.
Collect a copy of ISOBuster. A free version is available here. (Meanwhile, having tested both AudioGrabber and EAC for this step, I can confirm that they were both unsuccessful for this purpose.)
Run ISOBuster. It should automatically detect the virtually mounted CD files, and offer you the option to “Rip”/Extract 3 audio files.
Extract the 3 audio files as .wav files, preferably to your desktop.
Rename them as:
track_1.wav
track_2.wav
track_3.wav
After you have the files, convert them to Ogg Vorbis files (.ogg) files using dbPowerAmp Reference Music Convertor. A time of writing, dbPowerAmp Reference Music Convertor, Personal Edition, is available for £36, here.
The conversion to .ogg files is compulsory. The files need to be in .ogg format to work.
When you convert all three tracks to .ogg format, I recommend using a constant bit rate (“CBR”) of 500. (That was the highest CBR rating that was available to me when I did this.)
You should now have the following files:
track_1.ogg
track_2.ogg
track_3.ogg
Go back to C:\Program Files (x86)\Syndicate Wars
Make a folder called “music”.
Copy the three .ogg files in there.
==========================================================
==========================================================
(STEP 6) ENJOY THE GAME IN ITS MODIFIED (AND BETTER) FORM
That’s everything to get the game up and running.
I’ve been playing this game for the past day or so, and have been enjoying it a lot. I have found it to be a lot more enjoyable with the ability to simply see much more on the screen.
I hope this guide has been helpful, and please do take the time to consult the official materials over on the Syndicate Wars Fan Expansion team’s official Github pages (here) for future updates.
Last edited:
