Long time lurker here, first post. The bulk of this post is about tech issues and compatibility, so I believe this is the correct forum.
I'd like to talk about my experiences playing WC1 and 2 on a modern machine, and make some recommendations. Then I'd like to open to questions/comments and hopefully this entire post will go towards helping anyone who'd like to play these amazing games.
Quick Intro:
I am running a Dell Laptop with 64bit windows 7. I have all the original games in their Dos versions, as well as the Kilrathi saga. WC was the first video game I ever bought and I've been hooked since day 1
. In playing through on a modern computer I've dealt with just about every technical problem reported on these forums (at least it feels that way).
Kilrathi Saga vs DosBox:
I originally assumed that kilrathi saga was the best choice for a modern play of these games, as it is newer and meant for windows. I played through all of WC1 on a kilrathi saga install. There were significant problems, though, and what I've found is that a proper setup of the Dos version (using dosbox) runs much smoother. I wish I'd set up dosbox properly before torturing myself through 3 games of choppy flying There are a few reasons for this:
Kilrathi Saga:
-Installs and runs quickly on windows 7 (it's a trap!)
-Requires downloads for secret missions (can be found at the WC CIC)
-Installation of secret missions can, on some setups, cause the games to stop running.
-Requires certain fan patches or save game editors for stability (for example, the bug in WC1 where spirit and angel sometimes go KIA for no reason. Patches found on WC CIC)
-Backgrounds lack planets, nebula, stars
-Gameplay in WC1 is hyperfast
-Using ctrl+n to slow down max framerate solves the gamespeed problem but makes flight choppy. You end up trying to find a balance between super-fast speed and choppy gameplay
-Gameplay is WC2 is hyperfast
-Using ctrl+n in WC2 makes the game too choppy to play before you get to an acceptable speed
-Cutscrenes in WC1 and WC2 are watchable, but go too fast in some cases leading to some missed dialog or funny visual bugs (example: ships not meant to fly off-screen fly off-screen and are only half rendered )
Dosbox running dos versions:
-Lot of work up-front to get games installed.
-Installation can be different for every machine
-Few known stability problems while running
-Dosbox can be throttled to prevent game from being too-fast WITHOUT adding choppy gameplay
-Dosbox throttling slows down cutscenes, keeping them from running too fast
As i said before, I highly recommend putting in the work to get Dosbox and wing1 and 2 up and running. The gameplay, for me at least, is much much better.
Dosbox installation:
I downloaded the latest version of dosbox and did a standard installation. From there I had some problems, specifically with WC2. The installer would freeze and say "copying" forever, or it would constantly ask me to insert a disk. In the end I used the following steps to get WC2 up and running without using the installer (much thanks to this forum).
1: Copied all of WC2 disk contents to folder C:\DosGames\WC2
2: Created a new text file in folder C:\DosGames\WC2\Wing2
3: Entered a single line of text into that text file: v a904 c27
4: Renamed textfile to wc2.cfg (change file extension). This will activate sound
5: Open dosbox
6: mount c c:\Dosgames
7: cd wc2\wing2
8: wc2.exe
Obviously your directories will vary. Also, some people have reported the installer works just fine for them. If it does, by all means use it.
I'd like to talk about my experiences playing WC1 and 2 on a modern machine, and make some recommendations. Then I'd like to open to questions/comments and hopefully this entire post will go towards helping anyone who'd like to play these amazing games.
Quick Intro:
I am running a Dell Laptop with 64bit windows 7. I have all the original games in their Dos versions, as well as the Kilrathi saga. WC was the first video game I ever bought and I've been hooked since day 1
. In playing through on a modern computer I've dealt with just about every technical problem reported on these forums (at least it feels that way).Kilrathi Saga vs DosBox:
I originally assumed that kilrathi saga was the best choice for a modern play of these games, as it is newer and meant for windows. I played through all of WC1 on a kilrathi saga install. There were significant problems, though, and what I've found is that a proper setup of the Dos version (using dosbox) runs much smoother. I wish I'd set up dosbox properly before torturing myself through 3 games of choppy flying
There are a few reasons for this:Kilrathi Saga:
-Installs and runs quickly on windows 7 (it's a trap!)
-Requires downloads for secret missions (can be found at the WC CIC)
-Installation of secret missions can, on some setups, cause the games to stop running.
-Requires certain fan patches or save game editors for stability (for example, the bug in WC1 where spirit and angel sometimes go KIA for no reason. Patches found on WC CIC)
-Backgrounds lack planets, nebula, stars
-Gameplay in WC1 is hyperfast
-Using ctrl+n to slow down max framerate solves the gamespeed problem but makes flight choppy. You end up trying to find a balance between super-fast speed and choppy gameplay
-Gameplay is WC2 is hyperfast
-Using ctrl+n in WC2 makes the game too choppy to play before you get to an acceptable speed
-Cutscrenes in WC1 and WC2 are watchable, but go too fast in some cases leading to some missed dialog or funny visual bugs (example: ships not meant to fly off-screen fly off-screen and are only half rendered
)Dosbox running dos versions:
-Lot of work up-front to get games installed.
-Installation can be different for every machine
-Few known stability problems while running
-Dosbox can be throttled to prevent game from being too-fast WITHOUT adding choppy gameplay
-Dosbox throttling slows down cutscenes, keeping them from running too fast
As i said before, I highly recommend putting in the work to get Dosbox and wing1 and 2 up and running. The gameplay, for me at least, is much much better.
Dosbox installation:
I downloaded the latest version of dosbox and did a standard installation. From there I had some problems, specifically with WC2. The installer would freeze and say "copying" forever, or it would constantly ask me to insert a disk. In the end I used the following steps to get WC2 up and running without using the installer (much thanks to this forum).
1: Copied all of WC2 disk contents to folder C:\DosGames\WC2
2: Created a new text file in folder C:\DosGames\WC2\Wing2
3: Entered a single line of text into that text file: v a904 c27
4: Renamed textfile to wc2.cfg (change file extension). This will activate sound
5: Open dosbox
6: mount c c:\Dosgames
7: cd wc2\wing2
8: wc2.exe
Obviously your directories will vary. Also, some people have reported the installer works just fine for them. If it does, by all means use it.
