Wing Commander IV DVD Dual-Sided: Patch Compatibility Questions

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ElTipejoLoco

Spaceman
Hi all. I'm new here, and literally new to even trying to play Wing Commander on a PC. I unearthed a copy of one of the dual-sided DVD versions of Wing Commander IV, and I had some questions (after a mildly botched initial attempt to play it on Win 7 SP1 64-bit w/ Win 95 compatibility on):
  • Does the DDraw Hack by Jari Komppa work with this version of WCIV? Are any other patches recommended for this particular version?
  • Would an Xbox 360 Wireless Controller paired with a Wireless Receiver register as a compatible joystick for this version of WCIV, or would I need to go through an additional step?
  • Are any of the peeps who bought this version in 2004 still around? Because they'd probably be the best candidates in answering these questions...
  • What other steps should I take to make sure WCIV DVD Dual-Sided runs smoothly on Windows 7? Are the issues and attempted/successful solutions in this topic and this topic applicable to the Dual-Sided version?
So far, my botched attempt, patchless attempt results in the game being unable to locate SC_0010A.VOB on the DVD. Here's the steps I took:
  1. Inserted the DVD's Side A (WC4DVD_1) and allowed RUNSETUP.EXE to run.
  2. Performed what the program considered a complete install into drive D.
  3. Attempted to run WC4DVD.EXE from its location on drive D, received a "VirtualProtect() failed" error, which persists on Win XP SP3 compatibility, but lets up on Win 98 compatibility.
  4. Successfully ran WC4DVD.EXE, and received the SC_0010A.VOB not found error. A subtitle ("Straighten him out.") appears cropped at the top of the screen. Pressing Enter once will play the line. Pressing it again results in an SC_00010C.VOB not found error, at which point I pull up the Task Manager to end the process since I figure I won't be able to enjoy the game like this.
Thanks in advance. Apologies for all the inquiries right off the bat.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You need a few fixes you can find here:

https://www.wcnews.com/wcpedia/Category:Downloads#Patches_4

Relevant ones you need and should use:

DirectDraw Hack
The filter decoder or better yet download the K-Lite Codec pack http://www.codecguide.com/download_kl.htm
And most Important the DxR board hack.

I run mine smoothly.

As for the game controllers whatever windows recognizes WC:IV DVD will too, as far as axis, but you may want to remap some button functions in your customization software. I use MotionInJoy for 360 and dualshock pc use.
http://www.motioninjoy.com/

Just for safety I set compatibility mode to 98 but it may or not be necessary based on your rig. I use an Nvidia 560 Ti with no complications with current drivers.

Try the fixes and repost your results.

Good luck and enjoy the DVD, it is a treasure to behold.
 
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'lo Whistler. Thanks for the reply.

I'm having a new sort of problem now, and I'm not sure what it is. I successfully installed the DDraw Hack (at least, I assume so: I see DDraw in the top left corner and messing with the ddraw.cfg file to remove halfnhalf and add altwinpos in an attempt to fix things shows some change) and the K-Lite Codec Packs and the like seem to have undone the inability to locate the VOB files somehow, but now I'm running into a Visual Studio C++ Runtime error... that I can't even read (possibly due to the ddraw hack itself giving a bit of priority to the game). On the plus side, I can hear that another video is running in the background, presumably a Dolby Surround logo video. Alt+Tabbing to it and pressing enter or trying to close it closes the game itself, so... hm.

I'm not sure what I did wrong or what I have yet to do in this instance. I'm pretty sure, at least, that the decoder filter I've yet to use correctly as I get an error:
RegSvr32 said:
The module "Mpeg2DecFilter.ax" failed to load.

Make sure the binary is stored at the specified path or debug it to check for problems with the binary or dependent .DLL files.

The specified module could not be found.
Click to expand...
I was hoping that the the Mega and 64-Bit varieties of the K-Lite Codec Packs would function as a substitute from the way your message was worded.

Anyway, I was thinking that maybe the reason the GPL MPEG-2 decoder filter wasn't working was because I utilized this sans-DxR patch without applying this Windows 2000 one afterwards, maybe? I wasn't sure if I should use the Windows 2000 patch, since I wasn't planning on using anything other than Win 98 compatibility.

Even then, I'm not completely sure what to do with the register.bat and Mpeg2DecFilter.ax files after that. Just put them in the same directory as the patched-for-Win 2000 mpeg2.dll and run the .bat as an administrator? Wish it came with a ReadMe, because this in particular has me rather stumped.
 
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In my experience you do not want to use the Win 2000 exe with Win 7. So, nix the dll.

I like k-lite because it fixes a lot of codec issues for many people due to the large variety of hardware and OS. Especially with digital audio. It fixed every A/V issue I had from the .vob format playback. I prefer the Full set but Standard is just fine.

So here's how it goes:
1. Uninstall all game files from the drive and run a fresh reinstall.
2. Apply DxR hack. DVD edition will not run without this patch routine or that old legacy decoder card.
3. Apply preferred DDHack cfg.
4. Set compatibility to Windows 98 and Run as Administrator.
5. Grab a drink and run the exe. ^_^

It should be that simple. However C++ runtime errors may mean wrong driver (for that dll) or you have to reinstall Visual C++. When in doubt, wipe and reinstall (THE GAME...phew).
 
No dice. Here's the steps I took, just in case I messed up somewhere:
  1. Uninstalled Wing Commander IV DVD via Control Panel. Deleted the remaining WC4DVD folder and its patch specific contents. Restarted the computer, just in case.
  2. Ran Setup.EXE under Win XP SP3 compatibility as administrator. Chose Complete Install.
  3. Extracted this DxR patch into the WC4DVD folder. Renamed the previous mpeg2.dll to mpeg2.dll.bak beforehand, and renamed the patch's readme to readme_mpeg2.
  4. Extracted the DDHack patch into the same folder.
  5. Tried running the game under Win 98 compatibility as administrator. C++ runtime error still pops, but it can't be seen or read. The audio for what I presume is the Dolby Surround eyecatch (helicopter with some music) plays, and the DDHack logo is visible on the top left. The audio stops abruptly after a couple of minutes- nothing happens until I either close or press Enter while the C++ runtime error window is highlighted, both of which will close the game entirely.
So... yeah, I'm stumped. Reinstalling Visual C++ 2010 Express certainly did, and the x86/x64 redistributables detect the files as newer and refuse to run.
The only thing I haven't tried from the list of patches are the Win 2000 patches, either this one or the one with an alternate .dll file, or, alternatively, trying to figure out hot to get the GPL MPEG-2 decoder to run. Though I'm guessing that's not the issue, since I can definitely hear audio from what I presume is a video file...

Again, I'm stumped. Sorry to be a bother.
 
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You can also try referencing a few threads here on the CIC. This one might also provide some solutions.

https://www.wcnews.com/chatzone/threads/wing-commander-4-on-win-7-64bit.24918/

Might I also suggest uninstalling and reinstalling your Visual Runtime Libraries. If those are corrupted, almost nothing written in C++ is going to work well for you.

Also check your K-Lite settings for AC3 decoding. You can download a modern AC3filter without K-Lite but KL is sort of an all-in-one with options. If you have a fairly modern video card then make sure your hardware is decoding your video as well. I do not pretend to be any kind of expert with codec controls but I do know what works. I've had positive experiences using the Xvid and LAV decoders. LAV is what I'm using right now.

If you would like to try the GPL decoder be sure to run the register.bat file from within the game directory at a command prompt with admin enabled for it. Different systems different needs, but the C++ Runtime libraries may hold you up indefinitely until corrected.
 
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Whistler said:
If you would like to try the GPL decoder be sure to run the register.bat file from within the game directory at a command prompt with admin enabled for it.
Click to expand...
This was my problem, right there! No more C++ runtime errors. And I can actually see the Load Game/New Game menu, now (after adding altwinpos to DDHack's cfg file)! I'm so stoked at this little bit of progress! It'd be nice if I could confirm IF that menu is the first thing a player is supposed to see or not (for all I know maybe something's still borked,).

'course, now I ran into a new problem where the game crashed (apparently due to the Mpeg2DecFilter.ax that I just managed to get), but it's not a runtime error anymore! That's... still progress, so I'm still relatively happy even if I'm stumped again!
WC4DVD said:
Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: wc4dvd.exe
Application Version: 3.0.1.0
Application Timestamp: 341eb4be
Fault Module Name: Mpeg2DecFilter.ax
Fault Module Version: 1.0.0.0
Fault Module Timestamp: 3fa28e63
Exception Code: c0000005
Exception Offset: 000136cf
OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.256.48
Locale ID: 1033
Additional Information 1: 0a9e
Additional Information 2: 0a9e372d3b4ad19135b953a78882e789
Additional Information 3: 0a9e
Additional Information 4: 0a9e372d3b4ad19135b953a78882e789
Click to expand...
I do try to search the forums before I ask questions, but I never seem to quite find the exact same errors I'm experiencing elsewhere. I might be too specific with my searches, however, so maybe that's my fault. Sorry for the inconvenience.

EDIT: Just ahead of time: I downloaded the K-Lite Codec Mega Pack and x64 bit pack, as I said previously: I was just wondering how you go about configuring it in order to try to optimize stuff for WC4DVD. Do you utilize the Codec Tweak Tool executable, or some of the other tools? It's a bit overwhelming, to be honest.
 
Whoa, that was quick.

But... the executable states there's a filesize mismatch. I don't think I've done anything that should've modified the size of wc4dvd.exe from the last time I installed it... unless register.bat does somethin' like that. Should I try it on a clean installtion?
 
Size matters not.

Seriously, it's the code. Just overwrite the existing file. Goes without saying you should back up your semi-working one in case this puts you on a wrong path.
 
Er, I meant that the Win 2000 w/ alt. dll patch executable (WC4DVDFix - Alt.exe) is not letting me run it BECAUSE it detects a filesize mismatch. Running it as an administrator and on any combination of compatibilities doesn't really make that error go away. I wouldn't really report it if it wasn't something that's apparently preventing me from proceeding. Are there people who can notice a size discrepancy on an executable they've been tinkering with for barely two days- one that they didn't make themselves...?

I'm just going to work under the assumption that running register.bat did indeed slightly modify the wc4dvd.exe file, and try to tinker with that. Either running unregister.bat first or trying a clean install, I suppose.

EDIT: Nevermind. I... don't know WHAT it's detecting a filesize mismatch on, but the end result is that I can't run WC4DVDFix - Alt.exe as-is, apparently. Tried a clean install and all.

2nd EDIT: WC4DVDFix.exe claims it successfully patches the game, but the game still stops at the same spot and for apparently the same reason under Win 2000 compatibility. No VirtualProtect() error at that compatibility, but I haven't really tried raising it above 98 a lot during this whole patchin' process until you recommended the Win 2000 alt dll patch, so who knows if that really did just get fixed or not...

3rd EDIT: ... but upon closer inspection of gulikoza's site, I can see that the alternate dll isn't really included in any of the files linked to from the wiki's individual patch pages in the first place, which is probably the whole actual "mismatch" issue in the first place. I should've probably spotted that instead of assuming the executable included the .dll as some sort of integrated file it would extract mid-patching... tried downloading that, but using THAT .dll not only doesn't stop WC4DVDFix - Alt.exe's size mismatch error, but also results in the very ?openMovie@MPEG@@SAHPAXPAD@Z error that said file is intended to avoid. Buh? I'm... so lost as to what to do now.
 
Running out of ideas on my end. Going into troubleshooting steps that I haven't experience for. I've seriously not as much trouble as you getting the DVD working and common fixes with known steps aren't working.

Usually this is the point where I tell a customer to let me look at the system directly but since that isn't possible...

Anyone else have experience dealing with x64 installs in Win 7?
 
ElTipejoLoco said:
This was my problem, right there! No more C++ runtime errors. And I can actually see the Load Game/New Game menu, now (after adding altwinpos to DDHack's cfg file)! I'm so stoked at this little bit of progress! It'd be nice if I could confirm IF that menu is the first thing a player is supposed to see or not (for all I know maybe something's still borked,).

'course, now I ran into a new problem where the game crashed (apparently due to the Mpeg2DecFilter.ax that I just managed to get), but it's not a runtime error anymore! That's... still progress, so I'm still relatively happy even if I'm stumped again!

I do try to search the forums before I ask questions, but I never seem to quite find the exact same errors I'm experiencing elsewhere. I might be too specific with my searches, however, so maybe that's my fault. Sorry for the inconvenience.

EDIT: Just ahead of time: I downloaded the K-Lite Codec Mega Pack and x64 bit pack, as I said previously: I was just wondering how you go about configuring it in order to try to optimize stuff for WC4DVD. Do you utilize the Codec Tweak Tool executable, or some of the other tools? It's a bit overwhelming, to be honest.
Click to expand...

Going back to this post, WC4 DVD isn't compatible with DDHack. It will work with the dos/wing95 patch version but will hit a wall with the mpeg videos. adding the alternate dll isn't going to fix that since the alternate dll is dependant on what DVD version you are using and not something related specifically to mpeg playback.

Now a fix does exist, but I don't think it's available yet. A modified DDhack and DVD patch are used in the GOG version for example.

To get the DVD running without DDhack in win7 you basically follow Whistler's instructions, but you will likely get a messed up palette in spaceflight. Closing explorer exe while playing should fix that.
 
AD said:
Now a fix does exist, but I don't think it's available yet. A modified DDhack and DVD patch are used in the GOG version for example.
Click to expand...

Oh... it looked like DDHack was relatively goin' to work well with the Dual-Sided DVD, but the original intent of this post was essentially to confirm if the patches were compatible with it in the first place...

I guess I'd have to either purchase the game on GOG (I sort of assumed theirs was the single-sided "6 CDs turned into 1 DVD" version, actually) or wait until said fix becomes publicly available to get DDHack to work. But I'll try what you suggested instead and try runnin' it without the hack and closin' explorer mid-spaceflight if it looks like it might not work out. Thanks for the reply!
 
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