A quick note regarding Win2k and Standoff

Floater

Spaceman
Hi Everyone,

As someone who is still running Win2k I have to admit that I've faced some frustration trying to get standoff to run. It seems to be better than it was but I'm still getting lots of crashing in the missions. For anyone who is undergoing frustration regarding Win2k and Standoff all I can say is that I'm glad I made the effort because the game really is worth it. Hats off to everyone who contributed to Standoff.

I just got to Episode 2 and I have noticed that I don't get any crashing in the simulator... Also, the sound is quite a bit better too.

Thanks again to everyone who helped make Standoff happen!

Floater
 
As another someone who's still stuck with W2k, I'd be glad if you could just write some lines about the trouble I'm heading for if I try to set up Standoff.
What's your configuration? What tricks did you pull? What seems to be the main problem, and what did you do about it?

Thanks in advance, Jon
 
We've tried to offer as much advice as we can for Windows 2000 users - you just have to read the FAQ :p.
 
Hehe, well, nobody ever reads the documentation... but sometimes it's actually worth it ;).
 
Hi criticalmass,

generally I did follow Quarto's advice in the FAQ linked above. One exception is that I was unable to find a "windows 95 compatability mode" in the shortcut I created for Standoff. (Perhaps I'm blind!) I had lots of crashing in the early part of the first episode but less so now.

I have to admit that I only got through the first episode by being persistent, really persistent. The game is pretty tough so even if when you aren't crashing to desktop you may not be progressing all that quickly anyway.

The simulator missions 1 and 2 are very stable. The only problem I've encountered with them is that if you configure the game to send your scores to the online scoreboard it will expect an Internet connection to be present. Not surprisingly, staying connected solves that.

Despite the crashing in Win2k Standoff is truly worth the effort and frustration... There are many little things in the game that really show off how much effort has gone into it. For example, one of the things that I really like about the game is that while many of the ships are similar they all play quite differently. The Ferret and Stilletto look the same on "paper" but the Stilletto gets the extras and it makes quite a difference.

Floater
 
Floater said:
One exception is that I was unable to find a "windows 95 compatability mode" in the shortcut I created for Standoff. (Perhaps I'm blind!) I had lots of crashing in the early part of the first episode but less so now.
The compatibility setting is in a separate "Compatibility" tab of a shortcut pointing directly onto the EXE.

From what I recall from my own Win2k playtesting (a while ago), for this "Compatibility" tab to be there you must either have the Windows 2000 Application Compatibility Update installed or Windows 2000 SP4, wich includes it IIRC. That's why we wrote the FAQ with Win2000 service pack 4 in mind. Re-read it.
 
Hi Popsicle Pete,

Thanks for your message. My OS is as follows:
Windows 2000
Version 5.0 Build 2195 Service Pack 4

I checked my shortcut again and now there is a compatability tab! I honestly don't understand this. There were only three tabs when I installed and now I see four. So, I guess I really am blind or the computer is trying to get the better of me...

Anyway, I did read the FAQ.

Floater
 
Floater said:
I checked my shortcut again and now there is a compatability tab! I honestly don't understand this. There were only three tabs when I installed and now I see four.
It's probable that Windows Updates installed SP4 without you knowing. Also keep in mind that unlike Windows XP, Windows 2000 will not show you that tab when clicking on the EXE properties, only on the shortcut.

Now, in that "Compatibility" tab, set comptability for "Windows 95" or "Windows 98"; then tell us if Standoff is more stable for you.
 
Stability...

Hi PopsiclePete,

I've tried setting the Win95 compatibility tab and not setting it. I get some crashing either way... My impression is that the simulator is more stable than the missions but both crash now and then.

The game itself is fantastic. (Hard, but fantastic!)

cheers,
Floater
 
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