Crash Team Racing setup guide

Crash Team Racing, the Archipelago way

CTR Archipelago turns the 1999 PlayStation classic into a native PC randomizer that connects to Archipelago multiworlds on its own, so you do not need an emulator, ROM patching, or a separate client. Warp pads ask for new requirements every seed, and trophies, keys, gems, and relics become items that can come from any world in your multiworld.

New to Archipelago itself? Read Getting started with Archipelago first. It explains rooms, YAML files, and slots. This page gets the game itself running. And if you only want plain Crash Team Racing on PC without the randomizer, see Play Crash Team Racing on PC instead.

What you need

The game client, from the releases page. Download the latest release and unzip it into a folder of its own. There is nothing else to install, and you do not need Python.

Bring your own disc. No game data is included. You need a disc image of your own North American (NTSC-U) Crash Team Racing disc, usually a .bin file. The European and Japanese releases are detected and refused, so it really has to be the North American disc.

Step 1: first launch

Run ctr_native_ap.exe once. On a fresh start it creates an assets folder next to the executable and tells you what it is waiting for.

Step 2: drop in your disc image

Copy your disc image into that assets folder. The filename does not matter: the game scans the folder and recognizes a valid North American disc automatically. Launch again and the game boots to the main menu.

If your image is a .chd, or something goes wrong here, the full setup guide covers every variant.

Step 3: connect to your room

In the game, go to Options and then Connection. Fill in three fields:

• Server: your room address, for example archipelago.gg:38281. You can paste it straight from your room page.
• Slot: your player name, spelled exactly as it appears in the room.
• Password: only if your room has one.

Hit Connect and watch the status line on the same screen. Once it says connected, you are done: settings are saved and the game reconnects by itself on later launches.

Playing on Steam Deck

The Deck build works without a keyboard. Add the game to Steam, launch it from Gaming Mode, and focusing any connection field brings up the on-screen keyboard. The setup guide on GitHub has the details.

Your YAML

The release bundle includes a template YAML with every option documented, and you can also build one in the browser from the APWorld index with the Create YAML button on the CTR entry. Set your name, pick your goal, and submit it to your host. The setup guide on GitHub covers the details, and Setting up your YAML explains the format in depth if it is new to you.

When something goes wrong

The game tells you what is missing and why, and the setup guide's troubleshooting section covers the common cases. For crashes or a seed that looks impossible, run support-bundle.bat next to the executable and bring the archive it makes to Discord or a GitHub issue. It contains your logs with the password stripped out, and no game data.

Come say hi

For questions, feedback, or showing off a seed, join the Archipelago Discord and find the Crash Team Racing channel.