Wing Commander Games and Windows XP - A Summary

[Unregistered]

Im runnin XP with a creative labs SB Audigy. Ive got WC4 to run perfectly minus this sound issue. Like i said ive already implemented the patches for xp provided but am getting EXTREMLY choppy sound. Tried running in 95 compatible mode with no luck there. I also downloaded VDMS sound but ive never used it before and am having some difficulty getting it to work with the game. Any help for my noob as would be greatly appreciated

 

[ChrisReid]

I don't use VDMS, but if you have a decent enough computer, it should work fine in DOSBox without the Windows patch. If you previously turned down your sound card hardware acceleration in the control panel to fix Prophecy's movie skipping, make sure you turn it back up or else your movies and sound will skip in other games. Definitely try selecting different sound cards in the installer and seeing if this produces any different result.

 

[Unregistered]

k so got Dosbox to see if that would work. Unfortunatly dos was just a little before my time so i never got the hang of it and am now completly lost on how to get the game to run under it is there anywhere i can find a newb tutorial on how to use it or could you give me a step by step on how to get wc4 to run under it, and thanx for the help thus far CR

 

[ChrisReid]

There's a whole bunch of step by step walkthroughs in the tech support forum right here. Look at the first posts of the other stickied threads or https://www.wcnews.com/news/update/6042

 

[Unregistered]

Thanx for the link helped out alot

Went to run the game after mounting and am now getting an error

EMS driver is not VCPI compliant (wtf does that mean)

also tried running install program to fiddle with the sound card selection but getting the error

Install recquires Windows 95 please load windows 95 and try again (does that mean i should run dosbox under 95 compatible mode???)

 

[ChrisReid]

Change ems=true to ems=false in dosbox.conf

If something is telling you it requires Windows, then run it in Windows. It has nothing to do with DOSBox at that point.

You should register to continue. It's gets hard to keep track of who is trying to get what game working when everyone is "Unregstered."

 

[DeadFish]

Okay, let's keep this thread going I guess :

I'm currently playing WC3 KS, without the W2K patch (makes the game freeze instantly ), and only had one problem when trying to enter the berths to talk to Cobra after the first mission (complete computer lock-up).

I was quite happy until I entered the Tamayo (sp?) system, where it seems FMV are a little touchier.

I then assumed it was time to use some of the tricks I had learned here and Alt-TABed out of the game to set priority to normal, then Alt-TABed back to the game, only to notice that all the FMV are now black screens : runs fine, good sound, but no image

Anybody encountered this problem/solved it ?

EDIT : I found the problem : I used to launch the EXE file with a command line parameter "-no_interlace" that a friend suggested to me to have better-looking FMV, and now that I removed that parameter, the Alt-TAB functions quite well.

 

[DeadFish]

Well, can't seem to edit my post, I'll have to make a new one :

(Still talking about WC3 KS) In Locanda System, I reached the mission where I'm supposed to destroy the biological weapons torp'ed toward a planet, managed to destroy the missiles and the destroyer, head back home, and when I ask for clearance, the game just crashes with a weird error message at the exact moment I should receive the new mission objectives asking me to go rescue Flint (see attachment).

This time, I've tried everything I could think of as far as compatibility options are concerned (with and without the Win 2000 patch), without any success.

Anybody heard about that ? Doesn't seem to me like the usual WC3 crash.

BTW, if someone encounters the same problem, I found a way to keep on playing the game, but with Cobra rescuing Flint : I simply manually pilot inside the Victory and put my ship to a stop BEFORE asking for clearance, the game then assumes I don't go after Flint I guess.

 

[ChrisReid]

You only have a limited amount of time to edit your posts.

I'm not sure why the mission loading screen is what's showing in dosbox if you're crashing while coming back from the mission. To begin to isolate the problem, figure out what the game is trying to do when it crashes. Is it trying to call up an fmv scene or a comm video? Have you tried ratcheting all the game graphic options down prior to the crash point? Are you running Windows 2000? That could be part of the issue. It could also be some dust or junk on the disc at the point that it's trying to access in this mission. You might want to clean everything.

 

[DeadFish]

I'm not sure why the mission loading screen is what's showing in dosbox if you're crashing while coming back from the mission. Are you running Windows 2000?

Well it isn't DosBOX, since I use the KS version, with the Win 2000 patch, in Win 2000 compatibility mode. But my operating system is Win XP Pro SP2. The screenshot I attached is what shows up when it crashes, nothing more.

To begin to isolate the problem, figure out what the game is trying to do when it crashes. Is it trying to call up an fmv scene or a comm video?

From what I've read, at this point of the game, when I require clearance to land, the game should offer me an optionnal mission which is rescuing Flint (hence the mission loading screen ?).
Having last played WC3 about 10 years ago, I have absolutely no clue how it's supposed to happen, if there's a FMV or not

Have you tried ratcheting all the game graphic options down prior to the crash point? That could be part of the issue. It could also be some dust or junk on the disc at the point that it's trying to access in this mission. You might want to clean everything.

Well, it might be trying to ask me for CD2, but I tried to put it in, and also to mount an ISO of it with Daemon Tools, it didn't do any good.
I'll try playing with the options and see if it works.

Anyway, thanks for your support, I'll keep you updated

 

[ChrisReid]

Well it isn't DosBOX, since I use the KS version, with the Win 2000 patch, in Win 2000 compatibility mode. But my operating system is Win XP Pro SP2. The screenshot I attached is what shows up when it crashes, nothing more.

That sounds really shaky. Why aren't you just running Kilrathi Saga with Windows 95/98 compatibility turned on? Is that when it freezes? Have you tried the resolution lock and things like that?

From what I've read, at this point of the game, when I require clearance to land, the game should offer me an optionnal mission which is rescuing Flint (hence the mission loading screen ?).
Having last played WC3 about 10 years ago, I have absolutely no clue how it's supposed to happen, if there's a FMV or not

Well, it might be trying to ask me for CD2, but I tried to put it in, and also to mount an ISO of it with Daemon Tools, it didn't do any good.
I'll try playing with the options and see if it works.

That was the problem I raised earlier. I don't remember the loading screen coming back up like that. It definitely isn't having you switch discs at this point.

There are a few times later in the game where a video clip will play during a mission like this. I'd just land manually and see if you can get through those points later on.

 

[DeadFish]

That sounds really shaky. Why aren't you just running Kilrathi Saga with Windows 95/98 compatibility turned on? Is that when it freezes? Have you tried the resolution lock and things like that?

Well, without the patch, after a couple of missions the game just keeps crashing, basically everytime it tries to launch an FMV, and since some of those are required to access the mission briefings (plus the fact that I'd really like to watch them ), the whole thing became unplayable.

I was wondering, since it doesn't crash too much with the patch, could I try to temporarily make 2 installs of the game, one with the patch and one without, and simply swap the savegame files when one version crashes at a certain point to use it with the other ? (I'm not certain I made myself clear here, but I don't know how to put it another way )

That was the problem I raised earlier. I don't remember the loading screen coming back up like that. It definitely isn't having you switch discs at this point.

There are a few times later in the game where a video clip will play during a mission like this. I'd just land manually and see if you can get through those points later on.

Well, I tried to switch some graphical options in flight, prior to getting back to the Victory, and indeed the screen displaying on the "crash screen" becomes the option screen. Which could only mean (as you stated) that the screen displaying when the game crashes is simply the last non-3D screen it displayed.

I'll try with a non-patched version and see what happens.

Thanks again for putting up with me

 

[DeadFish]

Well, I'm glad to announce a happy end !

But I feel stupid for not thinking about this earlier : I only had to turn off the speech before requesting clearance, it appears it was the little speech from Rollins and Eisen that caused the crash...

Now don't ask me why, the rest of the speech just runs fine.
I'll try to make the cleanest ISO I can from my CD1 to see if that's where it comes from.

(BTW, I tried this only on the patched version)

P.S. : Almost forgot : once again, many thanks for putting up with me

 

[ChrisReid]

Glad to hear you got it going. It could be something related to a dirty/damaged disc or just something about how that fragment of data is called by the game. For future reference, I would think swapping savegames like that would work as a viable alternative.

 

[Coop421]

I just installed WCKS onto my laptop. WC1 and 2 work fine but i cant get WC3 wokring besides the intro. I tried the alt-tab stuff in the first post but it's already set to normal. Any help would be appreciated. thank you

 

[PattyMan2001]

I installed my KS WC1 and 2, it all worked fine, till I downloaded and installed the Addons, now WC2 loads and playes fine, but nither WC1 or the Secret Missions addon will load, playes the opening sequence, flashes at the first menu then back to desktop, but it worked fine before the SM addon...Kinda wierd. I'm gonna try Un-Installing it and Re-Installing it later and see if that fixes it

 

[Lt.Death100]

I installed my KS WC1 and 2, it all worked fine, till I downloaded and installed the Addons, now WC2 loads and playes fine, but nither WC1 or the Secret Missions addon will load, playes the opening sequence, flashes at the first menu then back to desktop, but it worked fine before the SM addon...Kinda wierd. I'm gonna try Un-Installing it and Re-Installing it later and see if that fixes it

I actually have the same problem any solutions?

 

[ChrisReid]

I just installed WCKS onto my laptop. WC1 and 2 work fine but i cant get WC3 wokring besides the intro. I tried the alt-tab stuff in the first post but it's already set to normal. Any help would be appreciated. thank you

What else did you try? Have you set KS to run in Windows 95 compatibility mode? Have you tried adjusting any directx settings or turning up the soundcard hardware acceleration?

 

[PattyMan2001]

I actually have the same problem any solutions?

Set the EXEs in the WC1 Dir to Win95 Combatiability mode...DOnt know why I didnt do that before....

Is there anyway to get KS WC1/2 to run in Windowd mode instead of Full screen??? I have a 17" Widescreen and everything is streched, throwing off my aim...

 

[Coop421]

What else did you try? Have you set KS to run in Windows 95 compatibility mode? Have you tried adjusting any directx settings or turning up the soundcard hardware acceleration?

Yes. No No