Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor invisible fix

On the original 2001 version, the fix for invisible objects and transparent characters is dgVoodoo 2: install the wrapper into the game folder, set Full Screen with "Stretched, 4:3 Aspect Ratio" scaling, and uncheck everything under the DirectX tab's Miscellaneous options. Apply the settings, launch the game, and barrels, chests and characters should render visibly. If you own the new digital re-release, you don't need any of this: the Steam re-release runs smoothly on modern hardware and fixes numerous original game bugs out of the box.

When this fix applies

The symptom is well known on the old disc or DRM-free copies running on modern Windows: characters appear as bare skeletons at the start of the tutorial, and interactable objects such as barrels and chests are completely invisible.

It comes from the game's old DirectDraw/Direct3D 6 renderer clashing with modern systems, which is why a wrapper like dgVoodoo solves it. A player in the Steam discussions described running the original discs with "the patches and the graphic fix" to get the game working on Windows 11 without much trouble.

Applying the dgVoodoo fix

1. Get dgVoodoo 2

   Download the dgVoodoo 2 package from its official distribution site.

2. Copy the files into the game folder

   Extract dgVoodooCpl.exe and dgVoodoo.conf into the game's install directory, plus D3D8.dll, D3Dlmm.dll and DDraw.dll from the \MS\x86 subfolder of the package.

3. Point the control panel at the game

   Run dgVoodooCpl.exe and click the .\ symbol in the top right so the settings apply to this game folder's running instance.

4. Set the recommended options

   On the General tab, set Appearance to "Full Screen" and Scaling Mode to "Stretched, 4:3 Aspect Ratio". On the DirectX tab, under Miscellaneous, uncheck every box.

5. Apply and launch

   Click Apply or Ok, then start the game. All objects and characters should now be visible.

If characters still render wrong after this, re-check that all three DLL files were copied from \MS\x86 and that the Miscellaneous options are truly all unchecked - those are the two settings the community fix hinges on.

The simpler alternative: the 2026 re-release

SNEG's re-release launched on Steam on November 6, 2026, and per the official Steam page it runs smoothly on modern hardware and fixes numerous original game bugs. It also adds widescreen support up to 4K, with an optional "Legacy" mode preserving the original look.

SNEG staff confirmed in the Steam forums during development that the notorious uninstall bug would be fixed, and the store listing's "fixed numerous original game bugs" line covers the class of rendering problems modern systems cause. If you're buying the game today, the re-release is the cleanest way to avoid the invisible-assets problem entirely.

Check note

Fix steps were checked on 2026-11-07 against the community-maintained PCGamingWiki page for the game, first-hand posts in the game's Steam discussions, and the official Steam page for the re-release. The dgVoodoo settings are a community fix, not something the developer has officially documented; whether the re-release's "Legacy" mode reproduces the original rendering bugs is unconfirmed.