Make sure you've read the SS2 Technical FAQ before you go on. Post problems in Helpdesk.
LGVID.AXFor videos
of whatever format to play in SS2, the file LGVID.AX must be registered with Windows. LGVID.AX is not the codec but it handles the videos for SS2 and it can be found in your SS2 folder.
If it is not registered correctly the game usually just skips the cutscenes, but in some cases it may not even get to the main menu, because the Irrational-logo video can't play at the start.
To make sure that it is really a video problem, rename the file LGVID.AX to LGVID.AX.BAK. If the game runs now, rename the file back and follow this guide to get the cutscenes working.
Note: The following refers to the
original videos encoded with Indeo. Here's a quick size-check to see which videos you have.
| cutscenes/CREDITS.AVI | ~17MB | original videos |
| cutscenes/CREDITS.AVI | ~4MB | HOTU videos (re-encoded) |
Instructions for SS2 original videos- Only on Windows XP: Download the Indeo Video Codec and run the setup (Skip this step on Vista/Win7)
- Got to: Start -> Accessories -> Right click: DOS prompt
- Select: Run As Administrator
- Type: regsvr32 "c:\your\path\to\SS2\LGVID.AX" Return
- On 32bit systems type: regsvr32 ir50_32.dll Return
- On 64bit systems type: regsvr32 "%windir%\sysWOW64\ir50_32.dll" Return
- On Vista/Windows7 run SS2 as admin
Information about the Indeo CodecThe original SS2 videos are encoded with Intel's Indeo Codec which includes video and audio codecs. It used to be part of any Windows98 and WindowsXP installation. But starting with Service Pack 1 Microsoft dropped the Indeo codec from Windows XP.
But since Indeo is still needed for quite a few older games and applications, Microsoft revived the codec for Vista and Windows 7. So Vista and Win7 have the codec pre-installed again, albeit limited to local content for security reasons. Microsoft also released an automatic Windows update for XP with the same effect.
Somewhere in between the original manufacturer Intel sold the codec to Ligos Corp who made and tried to sell a few updated versions. (Ligos' last version included Indeo video 5.22, the legacy codec Indeo video 4.5 and the Indeo audio decoder 2.5.)
These updates were quite pointless because Indeo is by all accounts a legacy codec now. The content that it is required for (like System Shock 2's videos) runs fine with the last freely distributable Indeo version 5.11. And much better codecs exist for new content. Additionally these updated versions are incompatible with Vista and Win7. Microsoft simply locked Ligos out. Using an old deal they had with Intel that allowed them to distribute the codec, they put it back into Vista/Win7 and made the codec system files which cannot be overwritten.
Long story short: The Indeo codec is part of any Windows system except Windows XP SP1-SP3 for which a compatible free version exists. See the link above or the attachment to this post.
Play order of the videosIf you can't get the videos to run inside the game, you might still be able to watch them with a video player outside of the game. This is the order in which the videos are played:
- cs1.avi plays when you start the game
- starport.avi plays after you have chosen your career
- shuttle1.avi plays after you have chosen your 1st training year
- shuttle2.avi plays after you have chosen your 2nd training year
- shuttle3.avi plays after you have chosen your 3rd training year
- cs2.avi plays right after it
- cs3.avi plays after finishing the game
Note: I'm not sure about landing.avi, it should play sometime during your training years as well. Anyone else knows this?
Further HelpDownload Indeo Video Codec
