Windows 7 *GUARANTEED* fix

[NCrawler]

Do you hate having to maintain an older XP machine just to play your favorite SP game?

Tired of not being able to enjoy the game full-screen in hi-resolution on Windows 7?

If you answered 'Yes' to either of these questions then this fix is for you! After further research, the culprit which screws up the 256-color palette in Windows 7 is explorer.exe. Grab the attached file, win7fix.zip, and unzip it to your WinSPMBT folder, typically "C:\Program Files\Shrapnel Games\The Camo Workshop\WinSPMBT", and you're all set! You can now use the file win7fix.cmd to start the game rather than the shortcut which comes with the game.

Note: you will still need to use the shortcut installed with the game to set your resolution and windowed/full screen. Just remember to exit this utility after setting it up the way you want.



NC

[NCrawler]

As a side note, I've also modified my GameOptions.exe to automatically spawn this .cmd file instead of WinSPMBT.exe and can show anyone how to do it themselves so that they can retain the single shortcut for starting the game. That is, if the developers give their blessings since it is their intellectual property I have modified... :)



NC

[Imp]

I was running Vista but remember tracking down to the same file before getting fed up with the whole thing & junking it.

I would strongly suggest if running Vista or Win 7 try this & report back if it solves the issue.
I just tried it on a mates machine & it works fine so NCrawler may well have cracked it.

Going to post a link at the Blitz for feed back to as dont think you will object.

[NCrawler]

Yeah, you can go ahead and re-post it anywhere you like. I'm using Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit here, on my work desktop, and this fix works perfectly. I think that the main issue with explorer.exe is all of the new, fancy bull*hit that MS added (like dragging a window to the top of the screen maximizes it, etc).

It's nice not having to maintain an XP machine just to play one or two games and this one looks great at hi-res full screen...



NC

[Imp]

Have now tested on 2 Vista machines which now work as they should.
Looking good:up: which is great as looks like CD owners will get widescreen to.
Ohhhhh I have come over all warm & fuzzy.

[DRG]

OK, I've stuck this thread. I would ask anyone running windows 7 who tries this to report back to the forum whether it's successfull for them or not. The more feedback we get the better but so far this is very encouraging

Don

[EJ]

NCrawler,
Where exactly are you installing this? I installed it directly into spmbt AND STILL can't get full screen. I get this same funky error msg: SetDisplayMode0failed,code 80004001.I followed your instructions with no success....:(

[NCrawler]

That error occurs if you try to play the game in a resolution higher than what your system can handle. Example: my laptop max resolution is 1440x900 so I can only use the game setting of 1152x864, anything higher and I get that error also.



NC

[Tanker]

I've applied the win7fix and now I can run Winsmbt in full screen under Win 7 (although I did not get a win7fix.cmd file). Thank you for that fix.

My problem now is corrupt graphics. The map is ok and playable with the exception of weird smoke coloring. The problem comes with the text screens such as the encyclopedia, or menus. The are almost completely unreadable. The color is mottled and the graphics are corrupt. I've tried changing the compatability mode to run in 256 colors and under winxp, with no luck.

Edit:I have Win 7 64 bit btw and I'm using the downloaded version of the game.

[NCrawler]

What do you mean by "you didn't get a win7fix.cmd file"? That is the only file included in the attachment. If you unzipped it to your winspmbt install folder, double-click it to spawn the game. I have Win7 Ultimate x86 and it runs perfectly. Unless there is something specific that Win7 is doing differently in the x64 version, I would think that you would get the same results...



NC

[Tanker]

I unzipped to my mbt folder and all I got was a winfx.dll, unless I had that already. After reading your reply I unzipped your file to a desktop folder, then copyed and pasted the win7fix.cmd into my spmbt folder. Now all works as it should. Thanks.

[EJ]

NCrawler,
My 17 in Toshiba has a 1600x900 max resolution. I've tried ALL the lower resolution settings and still the graphics/colors are distorted OR the game simply WON'T play. Obviously this "guaranteed" fix isn't guaranteed for everybody.

[NCrawler]

What video card/onboard graphics do you have in your laptop? Try this, go to start menu and from the search box type dxdiag.exe. When the diagnostic comes up, go to the Display tab and run both tests. This should let you know whether your system will support full screen direct draw...



NC

[EJ]

NCrawler,
Here's a screen shot of my graphics card on my laptop. Let me know what else I can do to get the fix to work.

[Imp]

Can report 2 more fixed machines, one may have been coincidental or just a bad launch but the game locked solid first time used.
Since then he has knocked out a scenerio with no problems.

[NCrawler]

NCrawler,
Here's a screen shot of my graphics card on my laptop. Let me know what else I can do to get the fix to work.

Your dxdiag screen doesn't have half of the tabs/options that I normally see when messing around with computers. If I were you I would download the latest redistributable from here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=0cef8180-e94a-4f56-b157-5ab8109cb4f5 and try again...



NC

[EJ]

NCrawler,
I'm NOT computer savy as you. Can you tell me where to install these files from that link?

[NCrawler]

EJ: if you're talking about the redistributable link that I posted, just download the file to your desktop (about 104MB) and when it's finished downloading, just double-click it and it will install the latest DirectX files + all older releases needed to play older games. The error message you are getting makes me think that either:

1. You don't have the required DX files on your system

2. You need to update your Radeon drivers (I would try the reference drivers from AMD rather than the OEM ones from Toshiba)

or

3. Your graphics adapter does not support older versions of DX (not very likely)

I would guess that it is either #1 or #2 but without actually seeing your laptop or one like it I'm just guessing. We have some Toshiba Satellite laptops at work so I'll have a look at one on Monday if you don't get it resolved by then...



NC

[EJ]

NCrawler,
I downloaded the file to my desktop. I double clicked it and IT ASKS WHERE TO INSTALL(small box pops up). I proceeded to say desktop and all these damn icons were all over my desktop. Once this was done it did not enable the game to run full screen. I then deleted all those nuisance icons. My Toshiba is a Satelite L555D-S7930,graphics card is an ati 4100. I've given all the info I can. Obviously ALL win 7 programs are NOT the same since mine won't play the game full screen no matter what I try.

[NCrawler]

Oh, ok, I see what you were asking now. Sorry about that. The file is a self-extracting archive then. Just choose a temporary place to extract it, when the small box pops up, just type in: C:\temp

When it is finished you can click on My Computer, browse to the C: drive and open the Temp folder. Double-click on dxsetup.exe and let it install.



NC

[EJ]

NC,
SAME results after following your latest instructions; now what?

[RazGator]

Will this work with WW2 as well?

[DRG]

It should absolutly although actually gettihg feedback from everyone with Win7 whos tried it appears to be impossible

Don

[RazGator]

Seems to work on Vista 64. Got to find time to give it an extended test.:D

[NCrawler]

NC,
SAME results after following your latest instructions; now what?

Well, unfortunately, it's looking more and more like your shared-memory radeon is the culprit. One last thing I would try, if it were me, would be to change to the ATI reference drivers for your card. AMD will tell you that is not a good idea, especially for Toshiba's, since they modify the OEM drivers for their laptops. You can give it a shot but you might want to consult a friend that is more computer savvy to give you a hand in case you have to revert back to the OEM drivers. If that does not allow the game to run, you will have to blame ATI and not Windows...



NC

[Imp]

All I can say is it certainly seems to fix Vista for both games, cant speak for Win7

[Imp]

Just an update it appears though not enough people to confirm if you are willing to pay Microsoft will fix the problem, they need the money after all.
Win 7 is backwards compatible if you get the Pro Version, for all of you with Home tough you got shafted give us some money & upgrade.

[RAlfons]

Tried it under WinPro7 64-bit for both WinSPWW2 & WinSPMBT and it works as fix for Full Screen (if machine specs are interesting for you let me know).
Thanks to NCrawler for the idea & file :up:

RAlfons

[Render]

Win7Pro 64-bit quad core 2.66 CPU 4gig RAM 8800Ultra GPU

The fix cured the funky paletes. But the game itself runs very slow and choppy (full screen). Moving around the map is slow and tedious. AI movement and Artillery animations are also slow and choppy. If it was an FPS I might be tempted to say laaaaaag.

Getting there, keep at it. I'd love to pull my old XPpro machine off of the desk, I need the space.

FROM
DAY
ONE,
R

[Render]

Whoops forgot to mention. Runs like a champ in windowed mode just megasmall.

Looks like I'm finally forking over the dough. Well worth it for all the years of stress relief.

Don, Andy, thank you.

JUST,
R

[Rich]

Just found this file and thought I'd try it out. It works fine in full screen except scrolling and unit movement are messed up. Movement is in spurts, maybe 5 or so hexes, then a pause etc.

win7 x64 ultimate
P4 duo 2.8 gig
4 gig ram
geforce 9800gt

[Rich]

After reading the previous two posts I also tried it in a window and it worked fine. But it does anyway and very small. So it looks like this fix really doesn't do anything unless I want to play with very choppy graphics. I'd get the real version but just can't afford it.

[Nitro Cruiser]

Guys I tested Ncrawlers fix extensively on Windows 7, both WinSPWW2 and WinMBT place the Win7fix.cmd file in the game folder(for WinSPWW2 you'll need edit the file Win7fix.cmd and change the .exe from WinMBT.exe to WinSPWW2.exe, make a shortcut to the modified Win7fix.cmd, change the name and icon if you like and that's it) works like a charm. Play in full screen mode, no color palette distortions. I would recommend this be implemented in a future patch.

One small side effect. I have a program that changes the Windows 7 Start button function to mimic Windows XP. Using this file converts it back to the Windows 7 appearance until the PC is re-started (as one would expect when switching the explorer.exe characteristics). It's a small price to pay and unmodified Windows 7 users will never experience it to begin with. Just thought I'd mention it.

[Nitro Cruiser]

Oh note: I was using Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit. AMD single core (laptop) 3.5 GB memory shared video ATI 3400. Longest test run stretch was approx. 8 hours about 40 hours total testing time done (both games). Hope this helps.

[Render]

NC - Did you get the lag effects from full screen?

JUST
CHECKIN,
R

[Imp]

NC - Did you get the lag effects from full screen?

JUST
CHECKIN,
R

Guessing here but the solution might be to buy the game, if I remember the free version is 640x480 which is ancient my graphic card does not support anything that low so running at full screen in it would cause problems.
As I said this solution has worked every time so far though all have been bought copies not freebies.

[DRG]

The free version is 640x480 AND 800x600 and has anyone who has had lag issue tried adjusting the delay rates to see if that helps ??

Don

[Render]

I've always run the free DL version at 800x600 full screen. I'm an old Squad Leader player (with really bad eyes) and I like maximum size DYO maps with the maximum number of units on both sides.

I've tried and tried to play in windowed mode and cannot handle it for very long, it's physically painful for me.

===

So, does the paid for version not have the lag effects at full screen in Win 7? Do the higher resolutions fix that lag? And would they be easier for me to see without leaving nose prints on the monitor?

I'm still holding off on buying because I have very little money and I don't want to buy if it's still going to lag as badly as it does on full screen in the free DL version with the palette fix in place.

===

Don - Changing the message delay rate doesn't change the lag that I can see.

BRB,
R

[Render]

ok I'm back...

Don - I'm guessing you meant the message delay and/or animation rates? Neither fixed or changed the lag, in either direction. With or without the palette fix in place.

Also the palette fix seems to be crashing sections of Win 7's Explorer (or the whole thing). No toolbars, no icons, no desktop, only the backround remains, no way out after game exit except to hard reboot. And it doesn't shut down the DOS window on start up.

===

I'm using a Samsung 906BW 20-inch, its primary resolution is listed as 1440x900. But for some odd reason BF2BC multiplayer runs better on this rig in 1024x768. I'm not even going to try and troubleshoot that buggy game...

This is the same monitor that was on my old XP rig, which is another reason why I'm wondering if the higher resolutions are going to be a fix.

I'm more then willing to keep testing...

Especially since my old XP rig just died (multiple hard drive self-immolation). Over 500 saved games lost forever...

DESPERATION
IMPENDS,
R

[Imp]

Hard to tell whats going on but as you mention bad eyes why not buy it & play in windowed mode.
Nice crisp screen & you can set to fill the screen or leave a strip down one side about one icon wide so you can still launch other stuff.
Solves your lag problems & I think full screen would be stretched as thats a widescreen monitor.

[Nitro Cruiser]

NC - Did you get the lag effects from full screen?

JUST
CHECKIN,
R

Render, I have had some lag, during the AI's turn prior to them finishing. I must confess I've been playing a campaign with lots of units and build (this was in WinSPWW2 not MBT). I attribute this to the AI moving a ton of infantry (1939). I have not had this issue during my phase. What is your computer spec's?

you can try:

dialing down the animation (preferences)
close any un-needed processes running in the back ground
manually give the game application more of your CPU resources (properties)

See if any of that helps. Also does it seem to worsen as you play?

[Nitro Cruiser]

Guess I should of read down a bit more....

ok I'm back...

Don - I'm guessing you meant the message delay and/or animation rates? Neither fixed or changed the lag, in either direction. With or without the palette fix in place.

Also the palette fix seems to be crashing sections of Win 7's Explorer (or the whole thing). No toolbars, no icons, no desktop, only the background remains, no way out after game exit except to hard reboot. And it doesn't shut down the DOS window on start up...


I'm more then willing to keep testing...

Especially since my old XP rig just died (multiple hard drive self-immolation). Over 500 saved games lost forever...

DESPERATION
IMPENDS,
R

I have noted the issue with the icon-less screen once that you mention above. I bumped my "Windows key" (on the keyboard), the game was minimized to the task bar (still running). To fix, you can double click on the game tab in the task manager or open task manager and double click on the game there. If you quit the game and your Desktop Icons don't appear do this:

Open Task Manager (Ctrl+ALT+Del)
Click on the "Processes" Tab
Under "File" select and click (New Task (Run)
Type in "explorer.exe" hit return or click OK
This should bring up your Icons again for you.

If the problem is occurring often it could be other issues with your PC.
Make sure you defrag occasionally and clean up your system. I recommend the Free version of "Glary Utilities". This is also a good utility to easily "turn off" those nuisance start up programs!

As far as your crashed hard drive, there is a software cure. It's called Selkie Rescue. It's pricey ($100) but it works. You'll need the dead PC (the crashed hard drive must be in a PC that has a CD ROM drive), a crossover (network cable), and another working laptop or PC with the software installed. I've used it, it's magic! Recovered a HD that quit (grinded to a crash) in its entirety. Of course the information on the crashed drive needs to be worth the cost (I went halves with the person that crashed their drive, provided I could keep the software). Always backup!! :)

I use the Free versions of SPWW2 and MBT too, retired military pay just don't allow for luxuries such as the upgrade lol. Probably should have purchased it when it was cheaper a few years ago. Anyway, I do try to support Don and Andy's work by word of mouth.

[DRG]

ok I'm back...

Don - I'm guessing you meant the message delay and/or animation rates? Neither fixed or changed the lag, in either direction. With or without the palette fix in place.

I am not refering to message delay or any of the in game Preferences . I am refering to the adjustments that can be made under the MISC tab of game options

Don

[Render]

Processor : Intel Core 2 Quad QX6700 @ 2.66GHz
Mobo: Nvidia Nforce 680i SLI
RAM: 4 GB
GPU: Single Nvidia GeForce 8800 Ultra (786GB)(DirectX 10)
Total Disk Space: 1.5 GB (5x250GB RAID config)
OpSys: Win 7 x64 (new install a couple of weeks ago)
PSU: Enermax Galaxy 1000watt (yeah the office lights dim when I turn it on)
Monitor: Samsung 906BW 20-inch

Rig bought used to replace the dead XP rig. No overclocking. Handles COD 4, COD/WAW, and Steam/BF2BC quite well, (or as well as the terminally buggy BF2BC will run on anything).

===

NC: That icon-less crashing on this rig, it won't even ctr-alt-del, just nothing.

oh man I so wish there was some way to save what was on those drives from the old rig, but they've gone to hard drive heaven along with the mobo, cpu, ram, and DVD. Burned silicone smell, scorch marks on the mobo and ram, DVD door jammed by melted plastic (except via the paper clip trick) and non-spinning (never seen that happen before). I saved as much as I could of the important stuff to thumb drives (MyMoney, docs, photos, vids) while it was still cooking itself. And then it was gone with a couple of last beeps...RIP old friend.

I think you misunderstood what I meant by lag. I'm used to the AI taking a bit of time with the extreme size scenarios I like to play (in both SPWW2 and SPMBT). The AI turns in SPWW2 are (were) sometimes a good time to go out for a smoke break...

What I'm talking about is happening when moving my own units, or just watching the air/artillery and AI phases. Units will move several hexes and then freeze, before moving a few more hexes and freezing again etcetc.

I tend to run defrag and clean-up once a week whether or not it needs it (486 days habit) and I generally turn off all processes not needed prior to gaming (P4/Day of Defeat habit).

===

Don: I set up the Misc tab settings the same way as they were on the old rig. I'll try fiddling with them again tomorrow AM and let you know what happens.

===

NEVER
SAY
DIE,
R

[Nitro Cruiser]

NC: That icon-less crashing on this rig, it won't even ctr-alt-del, just nothing.

I think you misunderstood what I meant by lag. I'm used to the AI taking a bit of time with the extreme size scenarios I like to play (in both SPWW2 and SPMBT). The AI turns in SPWW2 are (were) sometimes a good time to go out for a smoke break...

What I'm talking about is happening when moving my own units, or just watching the air/artillery and AI phases. Units will move several hexes and then freeze, before moving a few more hexes and freezing again etcetc.

R

Render my bad in Windows 7 the command to bring up the task manager is CTRL + SHIFT + ESC , give that a try.

Your right, I didn't realize the extent of your lag problem!!! I have to say I haven't experienced your issue at all. I'll go out on a limb and suggest that it might be a process, something new to Win 7, that is running on your PC. Does it happen every turn you take? Your computer seems quite capable.

Another issue to look at (this is where our PC are different)and probably more to the problem, are the duel cores. The SP games AFAIK are not designed to have their functions shared between the cores (which is basically two computers). The software just doesn't know how to handle it. The only thing I can recommend is check with your PC's manufacturer and see if you can manually assign the game .exe to use only one of the cores excursively. It sounds like this may be the problem. My laptop is one of the last of the single cores, I picked it up because it was cheap.

Also make sure your Intel Core 2 Quad QX6700 drivers are current. These often ship with outdated drivers, even in relatively new rigs. An update can improve capability. I would check Intel's website directly as Windows update probably won't have it.

I don't know what else to recommend you try. Good luck

[DRG]

Win 7 allows you to set up applications to "emulate" one of the earlier versions of windows. In this case you need to ensure the GAME exe is the one running emulation NOT game options.

Has this been tried ??

Don

[Render]

Ayup NC, all drivers were updated when this rig was re-built for me three weeks ago. I bought it used, cuz it was cheap and the payment plan was easy.

The dead rig was a single hyper-threaded 3.2GHz CPU with 1.75GHz of RAM and a 7600GT video card running XPPro SP3. Built to play Day of Defeat.

===

First settings (taken from previous XP rig):
Scroll speed: 200
Graphics Delay: 10
Unit Move Delay: 50

Final Settings (long weekend):
Scroll Speed: 125
Graphics Delay: 1000
Unit Move Delay: 25

Ground and air units still hesitate every three hexes on long moves. Direct fire and indirect fire animations are very slow (read the serial numbers on the shells as they go by slow). Reducing the unit move delay below 25 made moving units a little nuts and didn't seem to effect the three hex hesitation. There is also a brief hesitation when clicking on each unit and when hitting spacebar on each unit, sometimes I have to hit the spacebar twice to bring up the unit window.

What's the maximum available graphics delay? That does seem to have helped a bit, but I'm not sure how far to push it...is 99999 a viable number?

I'll try it with the animations turned off tomorrow.

===

The fix file skips the settings screen and goes right to the pre-game splash screen (wasn't that kind of a no-no?). This means loading the game without the fix, changing settings, and then exiting, before loading the game with the fix file for each test run.

===

Don: I had previously tried emulating XP and Win98 without the fix file. I'll add that to tomorrows list. I normally run without any game sounds. Could that hesitation be related to the sound files? (something else for tomorrows list - I'll try it with the sounds on.)

===

Small miracles department: I found a back-up of almost all of my saved game files on a thumb drive, 400 or so out of 500+. I'll take it, it's more then I expected...

CARRYING
ON,
R

[Rich]

For the record, as I posted earlier, I get the same lag. Somewhat different system but same os. I tried emulating other os in the shortcut with no luck.

[DRG]

The shortcut to what ???.... the game EXE or the gameoptions EXE?

Don

[Render]

Don - I think Rich is referring to the fix file when he says shortcut. It skips the gameoptions exe and goes into the pre-game splash every time.

The lag effect is only on full screen, in windowed mode the game runs very smooth. But in 800x600 it's painfully small, even on a wide screen.

Does the full blown version allow one to change the size of the window in windowed mode?

UNBEATEN
PATHES,
R

[Rich]

I had set up a shortcut to the exe file and I tried emulating in that. Win95, win98, winxp sp 2&3. Nothing worked.

Heh, now I don't remember how I used the fix file. There are no instructions. It worked fine except for the odd movement in the game.

[DRG]

Does the full blown version allow one to change the size of the window in windowed mode?

UNBEATEN
PATHES,
R


If you mean resize the window to whatever you like as you can with internet explorer...no....... but the higher resolutions should allow you to fill the screen when playing the game

Don

[NCrawler]

The fix file skips the settings screen and goes right to the pre-game splash screen (wasn't that kind of a no-no?). This means loading the game without the fix, changing settings, and then exiting, before loading the game with the fix file for each test run.


If you are comfortable using a hex editor to modify your main .exe to start the game (so that you can modify settings), I can post instructions. That's how I start the game...



NC

[Imp]

Now know of some Windows 7 systems this was used on, again all fixed.
Might be worth adding a second download for SPWW2 or saying need to edit what it points to in notepad for it to work as some people dont seem to realise.

[Render]

I'm back.

My previous Win7 rig died a horrible and unexpectedly untimely death (motherboard fried and took the RAM, CPU, and GPU with it).
There is no RMA on used rigs...

:(
===

New weapon:

Win7Pro64.
EVGA P55 mobo/Intel I7 875K 4GHz unlocked CPU (first ever liquid cooled for me)
4GB Corsair RAM (expanding to 8GB when I find the money)
Single EVGA 470GTX 1.3GB overclock
Thermaltake TR2RX 850watt PSU
All wrapped in a brand new jet black Coolermaster Haf+ 922 mid-tower.
Still using the same Samsung 906bw monitor and the same five internal hard drives (:doh: moment they're 320GB each, not 250GB).
Lightscribe and LabelTag 24x DVD's.

$1100 (or 850 78rpm records out of my album collection)

===

Pending work schedules I'll be back to testing the DL version sometime next week. Hoping to find the Paypal cash to order the real version before Christmas.

HAPPY
HOLIDAYS
Y'ALL,
R

[DRG]

I'm back.

My previous Win7 rig died a horrible and unexpectedly untimely death (motherboard fried and took the RAM, CPU, and GPU with it).
There is no RMA on used rigs...

:(
===



OUCH... Doubleplusungood

[Render]

You ain't kidding. With two dead rigs in seven months...

I also installed a new breaker panel for my office. Each outlet now has its own 60amp breaker and all of the outlets are now GFCI. (Ok...I paid somebody else to do that part)

I'm self-employed and these rigs aren't just gaming rigs, they're my lifeline and primary money maker (hence the large drive space). The last thing I need is yet another unpaid three week vacation.

===

Ran a quick test from a thumbdrive DL copy. Samesame, guess its back to square one on the testing. But if I can fill the screen with the full version that should help my eyes.

===

The proper resolution to most problems is maximum available firepower.

RELOADING,
R

[Imp]

That does smart nice replacement though, chuck a few more inputs at it mainly USB & top machine.
Easy solution is buy the game the Desktop patch works a treat.
At start up I decide whether to run fullscreen or if working set it to fill about 80% of it so I can keep an eye on whats going on.
Your machine will hardly notice its running & if what you do uses a lot of memory recomend upgrading fast. Surprises me how much faster machines run if you are using less than about 70% memory most of the time its a cheap speed up. Or at least worked that way for me.

[DRG]

If you've had two dead rigs in seven months I've got to think you have a serious problem with voltage regulation where you live.

Don

[Render]

Don - That thought had crossed my mind. Hence the new separate breaker panel and outlets.

But both of those rigs had seen hard usage and were well beyond their service life expectancy. The older XP rig spent most of its time in a hot dusty environment and hung on like a bitter old clydesdale horse (or an old DOS game we all love). The second rig had been a dedicated COD4/WAW server for a fairly large gaming community and was running 24/7 non-stop for a couple of years before I got it (my bad for taking the cheap route).

All of the rigs (and late 1970's stereo equipment) that are in my office are run through a late 1990's 2,500watt rackmount UPS.

===

To give an idea of what I do for work, I wrote the below article.

http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2010/11/taliban_weapons_recovered_from.php

I'm the in-house weapons guy for the Long War Journal. Most of what I write is for private consumption, although sometimes I post articles on my own little bloglet. It's only just recently that I've been asked to step up to the LWJ front line. Making it a particularly bad time to have to build a new system and format my drives...

ENJOYING
THE DAY
OFF,
R

[DRG]

I need a few people who are running the game using Win7 in fullscreen mode to act as beta testers for us

The attachment contains a new GameOptions.exe and a .cmd file that will emulate what NCrawler did with his fix but will allow players to start the game from GameOptions.

I would ask that anyone who takes the time to DL this please take the time to report back on how it worked for you.

You will need to do the following

1/ Ensure you have SHOW INTRODUCTION already set to NO with your existing GameOptions. That's the first line on the first page when it loads.


2/ Go to wherever you have your game installed and rename your existing GameOptions.EXE to XXGameOptions.EXE to ensure if this does not work you still have a copy of GameOptions that works.


3/ Extract the attached ZIP file to where ever you have the game installed. It needs to be extracted to the main winSPMBT folder that your existing GameOptions.exe is already in.


4/ Start up GameOptions then press PLAY WINSPMBT. If you are running the game fullscreen and the NCrawler fix solved your palette issues with fullscreen mode this should work as well. If not, let us know



Thanks

Don

[2ndLt_Fjun]

Downloaded the zip..

1. Changed my exisiting file to not show introduction.
2. Renamed the exisiting to something else, extracted the new one into the folder
3. Started the game intro
4. Changed parameters to 'full screen mode'
5. Clicked "play WinSPMBT"

Got the following error:
SAL error: IpDD-->SetDisplayMode() failed, code 80004001
DirectDraw could not be initialized! Error code 80004001
Then the game crashed.

[DRG]

Are you running win7 ? If not , what OS are you using ?

If you are running win7 had you previously run the NCrawler fix sucessfully ?

If you had to change to not show the introduction this tells me you HAD been running the introduction sucessfully. Is that correct ?

Try running that again but in windowed mode and let me know what happens

Don

[DRG]

As I write this there have been three DL of that beta fix and one report back on how it worked. I REALLY need EVERYBODY who tries this to post a report on how it worked on their machine and I need to know what OS you are using and what version of it you are using

Thank You

Don

[2ndLt_Fjun]

Are you running win7 ? If not , what OS are you using ?

If you are running win7 had you previously run the NCrawler fix sucessfully ?

If you had to change to not show the introduction this tells me you HAD been running the introduction sucessfully. Is that correct ?

Try running that again but in windowed mode and let me know what happens

Don

1. Win7 Enterprise. Version 6.1. Build 7600.

2. Nope - never tried the NCrawler fix. Have the CD version so I have ran the game in "full screen" windowed mode as a workaround.

3. Yes, in windowed mode everything works nicely.

4. With the fix installed, everything works in windowed mode.

/Fred

[DRG]

I don't want to assume anything so I need to ask this..... are you saying when you run the game in windowed mode the intro works OK for you using Win7 Enterprise. Version 6.1. Build 7600 ?

As you are running the CD version are you currently running the widecreen support beta on your computer ?


Don

[2ndLt_Fjun]

I don't want to assume anything so I need to ask this..... are you saying when you run the game in windowed mode the intro works OK for you using Win7 Enterprise. Version 6.1. Build 7600 ?

Yes!

As you are running the CD version are you currently running the widecreen support beta on your computer ?


Don

Nope - didn't know it existed. Running the game on my laptop so not much of a widescreen there.

[DRG]

First off , until you said you could we were under the impression that NOBODY running Vista or Win7 could get the intro to run under any circumstances so this is "big news" to us

Second, go to the sticky section at the top of the forum and click on the thread: Wide screen BETA test - for CD owners only (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=46003)thread and DL the Beta EXE, follow the instructions and you will have widescreen support for your laptop. This will be included in the next patch for both games but we posted this here back in July for players to try

[2ndLt_Fjun]

First off , until you said you could we were under the impression that NOBODY running Vista or Win7 could get the intro to run under any circumstances so this is "big news" to us

Second, go to the sticky section at the top of the forum and click on the thread: Wide screen BETA test - for CD owners only (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=46003)thread and DL the Beta EXE, follow the instructions and you will have widescreen support for your laptop. This will be included in the next patch for both games but we posted this here back in July for players to try

Thanks for the link - I'll try it.

Tried to install on my stationary computer at home running Vista, and had all sorts of problems, and no intro. After a couple of fixes from this forum I got it to run (no intro). But on my laptop using Win7 it works fine as installed (as long I stick to windowed mode). In fact, running the in full screen mode leads to exactly the same error message as I got with the patch which probably is good for you to know. Maybe the graphic card isn't as advanced on the laptop (ATI Mobility Radeon 3400 series).

[Imp]

Are you running win7 ? If not , what OS are you using ?

If you are running win7 had you previously run the NCrawler fix sucessfully ?

If you had to change to not show the introduction this tells me you HAD been running the introduction sucessfully. Is that correct ?

Try running that again but in windowed mode and let me know what happens

Don

1. Win7 Enterprise. Version 6.1. Build 7600.

2. Nope - never tried the NCrawler fix. Have the CD version so I have ran the game in "full screen" windowed mode as a workaround.

3. Yes, in windowed mode everything works nicely.

4. With the fix installed, everything works in windowed mode.

/Fred

Sorry to jump in

Fred you did have the NCrawler Fix dont know if still do.

If you remember first time you tried said it locked up then it was fine.

Just mention as might effect things

[2ndLt_Fjun]

[Sorry to jump in

Fred you did have the NCrawler Fix dont know if still do.

If you remember first time you tried said it locked up then it was fine.

Just mention as might effect things

Don't have any fix installed here. I got around all the early problems by buying the CD versions of both games and playing big screen windowed mode :)

Edit: I know which post you are referring to. I used that for a while on my _stationary_ computer until I bought the CD version, but not on this laptop.

[DRG]

Yes but did it not work then work as John suggested ?

Don

[iCaMpWiThAWP]

First off , until you said you could we were under the impression that NOBODY running Vista or Win7 could get the intro to run under any circumstances so this is "big news" to us

Second, go to the sticky section at the top of the forum and click on the thread: Wide screen BETA test - for CD owners only (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=46003)thread and DL the Beta EXE, follow the instructions and you will have widescreen support for your laptop. This will be included in the next patch for both games but we posted this here back in July for players to try

Don, i just tried, the 5.00DL version of the MBT, and intro WORKS, i never had it on because i read in the forums that it wouldn't work in 7/vista, now i just tried and it worked, running:
Win 7 Home basic 32bit (6.1 build 7600)
DirectX 11(using directX in windowed mode)
3GB ram
Graphics: mobile intel(r) 45 express chipset family
Screen resolution 1280x800 at 60hz
Game :800x600(free dl version)

NCrawler's fix works
will try your fix and report results tomorrow morning.

[Imp]

Wow Dons going to love this

Just tried on a mates Vista system
There has been an update intro now works does not hang the game.
99.9% it did not work on this system before.
Just shows the picture for a couple of seconds then loads the game

[2ndLt_Fjun]

Yes but did it not work then work as John suggested ?

Don

On my stationary computer (Vista system) it was like that for the Ncrawler thing - first a crash and then it worked..

On my laptop system (Win7) it worked from the beginning "as is", without any problems with the CD version in windowed mode (including the introduction - start-up screen showing for a while, then loading the game).

[iCaMpWiThAWP]

Don's new fix also works for fullscreen, it's a little blurred though, so that's better for cd owners who can use the widescreen fix and the bigger resolutions.

edit: intro screen also works with this fix.

[DRG]

Guys, we seem to have two sets of reports here and it's getting very very confusing. On one hand it appears without this BETA fix the intro works fine on Win 7 machines and on the other hand it looks like the fix works for fullscreen but maybe or maybe not it crashes the first time it's used but not after the first time ( which is weird in itself ). I REALLY need reports that don't ASSUME things

SO...

IMP: >> this "mates Vista system".... The intro works now.... did you just try the intro without the BETA fix or did that work with the fix and if it works with the fix does the intro work as well without the fix.

2ndLt_Fjun: >> "On my stationary computer (Vista system)" did that crash then run using the BETA fix or when you ran the intro and on your "laptop system (Win7) it worked from the beginning "as is'" are you referring to the game in general, the intro or the BETA fix. Did this BETA fix cause the intro to work or does the intro work without the fix ??


iCaMpWiThAWP : >> Your first post you report the intro works without the fix running win7. This is good news

The "new fix" was issued specifically to correct the issues people have with fullscreen using Vista / Win7. We know there is no problem running windowed mode. You then say the intro works with this fix but you had already said the intro works without the fix. The "fix" was never aimed at the intro. If it had been a side benefit that's great but it seems that the intro works fine on Win7 machines without any intervention.


If anyone else reads this and is running Win7 with the intro off please try running it on a few times and report back what happens on your machine and PLEASE specify if you are trying the beta fix or not. Right now I really want to hear about the intro from people who did not try this fix

Don

[2ndLt_Fjun]

2ndLt_Fjun: >> "On my stationary computer (Vista system)" did that crash then run using the BETA fix or when you ran the intro and on your "laptop system (Win7) it worked from the beginning "as is'" are you referring to the game in general, the intro or the BETA fix. Did this BETA fix cause the intro to work or does the intro work without the fix ??


Knew it was going to be confused - ignore and forget all about the stationary computer case - I mentioned that just because Imp jumped in and said I had the crawler fix installed already, and I didn't want you to get the wrong impression.

This is the tested case:

My laptop with a win7 system:

Works perfectly installed and upgraded from the cd game even with intro on, as long I play in windowed mode. No previous fixes installed, just a normal game installation. The intro shows (at least a startup screen, not sure what it should look like) and after that it goes to the start screen. However, the game crashes as soon I try fullscreen mode. I downloaded your new BETA fix, installed it according to instructions, and it didn't help. The game still crashes in fullscreen mode with the error message I typed out in a previous post. However, it still works in windowed mode.

Clear now?

[Imp]

The machine running Vista Home Premium (service pack 2)

Runs the intro screen fine
(cant remember what its supposed to be but it displays a picture breifly, no video)

Does this on vanilla copy & if using desktop patch.

Windows mode runs fine in both cases fullscreen was only tested with desktop patch & just produced a blank screen

The BETA fix has not been tried though they can if wish
If so should it be tried in conjunction with the desktop patch or on a vanilla copy?

[DRG]

The machine running Vista Home Premium (service pack 2)

Runs the intro screen fine
(cant remember what its supposed to be but it displays a picture breifly, no video)

Does this on vanilla copy & if using desktop patch.

Windows mode runs fine in both cases fullscreen was only tested with desktop patch & just produced a blank screen

The BETA fix has not been tried though they can if wish
If so should it be tried in conjunction with the desktop patch or on a vanilla copy?

If by desktop patch you mean the NCrawler fix it won't matter. The BETA fix runs the same type of command line as the NCrawler fix it just runs it after you start the game from GameOPtions. The two do not conflict as the NCrawler fix runs the game directly from it's own command line

Don

[Imp]

If by desktop patch you mean the NCrawler fix it won't matter.
Meant the fix that adds desktop mode to resolutions
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=46003

[DRG]

The BETA fix includes the GameOptions program that includes the desktop change for CD owners. Installing the Beta fix over the Desktop resolutions beta should work OK

Don

[Imp]

So do you want it tested on Vista?

[DRG]

Sure why not.

Don

[DRG]

Just so everyone is clear here this beta "fix" is aimed only at players who would prefer to run fullscreen or who run the game fullscreen because they are playing the DL version and 800x600 is a pretty small window in most modern monitors. We know the game runs well in Windowed mode

Furthermore , it's an experiment only. We wanted to get some solid feedback from players and the best way to do that with something like this is to get it into the most number of hands to get the feedback but in that regard the experiment has been a bust with only 9 people DLing it and less than half responding

Perhaps it's just "that time of year.........."

The one piece of useful info this has generated is that Win7 allows the intro to run whereas it wouldn't with Vista which is one aggravation MS has fixed with one of it's service packs at some point.

Don

[secretgeek]

I've got the widescreen beta installed (which works very nicely for when I'm 'working' from home). Tried the win7fix but I keep getting two error message boxes come up and it stops working. Oh and the explorer window that I had open to run the command closes as well.

The boxes are:

SAL Error

IpDD->SetDisplayMode() failed, code 80004001

SAL Error DirectDraw could not be initialized! Error code 80004001


Hope that helps!

[secretgeek]

Actually ignore my post. I've gone back through this thread and came across the solution. I've got the resolution set too high.

Set it to 1024 x 768 and it runs fine.

Only issues now as far as I can see is:

The text is a little blurry.
The two black bars down each side of the screen.
And the fact that my system actually runs at 1280x800 which means I'm only 224 pixels short of being able to play the game at 2 higher levels of resolution! Most frustrating indeed.

Actually, ignore pretty much all of this post too.

Changed the resolution to 'Desktop' and it works fine bar one issue.

I can Alt-tab in and out great with no pallette funkiness but after closing it down i appear to have lost my taskbar. Right-clicking doesn't bring up any options at all on the bit of desktop I can see. I can Alt-tab through windows (which is how i got back here to write this) but even then you can't alt-tab to the dektop.

[secretgeek]

Just final thing (it really is one of those days) logging off and on brought my taskbar back. No need for shutdown restart.

[Imp]

Did you try right clicking & refreshing to bring the taskbar back?

[JamesG]

Just tried the fix and it worked. EXCEPT, when I exited the program I lost all of my desktop and icons and everything I tried failed. The only thing that worked was to restart my system. So, for me this didn't work, is there a way to fix lossing my desktop, what I see is happening is that it's closing explorer and not restarting it. Hope this helps.
my specs.

i7-950
amd 6870
win 7 ult.

[Render]

Don - Just finished downloading and installing everything, including the palette fix.

Works great...No palette issues, no weird lag effect, real full screen.

But I too ran into the exiting or alt-tabbing loses desktop bug.

I screwed up and randomly picked a scenario for the first test run with all installed. Forgot to set fast arty, you just know that randomly selected scenario had a lot of pre-game arty. It was still firing when I got back from the store an hour later...

I'll poke around a bit more tonight

ITS
ALIVE,
R

[Render]

Multiple exits, no issues. Might have been a one time thing.

Haven't tried ALT-tab again, yet. That's next.

Full screen looks great (still can't see some stuff in snow maps).

Some wierd lag like effects in moving the cursor between certain sections of the main screen, also in moving units around (but not as badly as last time I tested). It's really noticible when full map scrolling. The units themselves, including strike and recon units aren't rubberbanding or freezing while moving any longer either.

It's very much playable now (if a bit frustrating with large numbers of units to move around). (edit: THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!)

===

Set up first big test scenario (Nork invasion of RoK). Ran fine (with the above exceptions) for three turns. Then the Nork AI suddenly just quit, without ever moving or losing a unit...

No idea if that was a design flaw on my part or something else.

HERE
WE
GO,
R

[DRG]

Don - Just finished downloading and installing everything, including the palette fix.

I'm confused, what exactly do you mean by "everything, including the palette fix"

There was only the one beta fix that contained an experimental GameOptions.exe that ran our version of NCrawlers command line file.

Are you refering to the widecreen beta as well as the original NCrawler fix ?

Don

[Mobhack]

Just tried the fix and it worked. EXCEPT, when I exited the program I lost all of my desktop and icons and everything I tried failed. The only thing that worked was to restart my system. So, for me this didn't work, is there a way to fix lossing my desktop, what I see is happening is that it's closing explorer and not restarting it. Hope this helps.
my specs.

i7-950
amd 6870
win 7 ult.

All the experimental gameotions fix does is launch ncrawler's .cmd (ie Microsoft's new name for .BAT files)file.

1) It is for FULL SCREEN PALETTE problem fixing/testing. Therefore - running the test gameoptions is worthless in windowed mode.

2) It kills Explorer - deliberately - since Explorer messes with the 256 colour palette in windows 7. (In Windowed mode, the game's graphics library does not use a palletised graphics mode).

3) It relaunches windows exploder after the game is exited. This should restore the desktop icons etc.

4) Therefore - it is a shell to execute the game in full screen, avoiding the Windows 7/Vista problems with hijacking the 256 colour palette. So while running the batch file - do not try to alt-tab out of the game, since explorer is killed while running it, so you will not have any icons etc. to click.
Exit the game, and thus the batch file session if you require to use windows.

All of this can be seen by simply right-clicking on the batch file (Win7SPMBT.cmd) in explorer and selecting the edit option:

taskkill /f /IM explorer.exe <-- Nuke Exploder
winSPMBT.exe <-- Run the game
Start explorer.exe <-- restart exploder

Cheers
Andy

[Render]

Don - This is/was a fresh download, with all the patches, plus the wide screen beta fix.

I may have also DL'ed NCrawlers fix prior to the beta (I'm guessing the beta would overwrite that?). It's not in my notes, so its possible I may have thought about it and then skipped right to the beta.

===

15 years ago I might have been upset at losing the ALT-Tab/boss key. Now I'm just glad its still here to lose. I'm the boss now, don't need the boss key anymore.

HOME
IS
GOOD,
R

[DRG]

Don - This is/was a fresh download, with all the patches, plus the wide screen beta fix.

I may have also DL'ed NCrawlers fix prior to the beta (I'm guessing the beta would overwrite that?). It's not in my notes, so its possible I may have thought about it and then skipped right to the beta.


The NCrawler uses a different cmd file that starts the games EXE directly but that bypasses the Game Options screen. The BETA fix is a GameOptions.EXE that runs the NCrawler but from slightly altered command file so no, the beta doesn't overwrite the NCrawler CMD file and if you click on it ( or ours ) the game will start without going to game Options first.

Don

[JamesG]

Just an update, I finally figured out what I was doing wrong. It seems that I didn't read the posts right, I was trying to run the game with the options screen, instead of the 'new' Batch file. Now everything is excellent! Thanks again.

[DRG]

This is starting to become hopelessly confused. I posted the BETA fix to this thread becasue it was related to the topic but that was obviously a mistake

The BETA fix that we posted contains a GameOptions.exe that runs a CMD file so running from that, the game starts the way we intended it to start, from the game options screen.

Please tell me which post on this thread you thought confused you into thinking it was the other way around. With this BETA fix what should happen is you click on "Play winSPMBT" the CMD file will run in a small black box and the game will start.

Right now it is not clear if you are using our fix or the original NCrawler fix which only uses a CMD file to start the game directly or if you are trying to start the NCrawler fix from game options which will not work. What it sounds like is you have put in the NCrawler cmd file and tried to run the game from Game Options

What is the name of the CMD file you are using to start the game ??

Is it Win7SPMBT.cmd or win7fix.cmd ???

Don

[JamesG]

Sorry for the confusion, when I would run WinSPMBT from the 'new' options file, the game would load and run and when I quit, for some reason the 'run explorer' wouldn't start. I run the progam directly from the
win7fix.cmd. I did see the small box in the background, so I was assuming that when I launched the program from the options screen the program would close correctly. That was not the case, so what I had to do was select my options, then quit options and then run from the 'new' batch file. I hope this helps.

[JamesG]

Oops, I meant that I am using Win7SPMBT.cmd, NOT "win7fix.cmd". Thanks again.

[oracbob]

Hi,

I have tried the fixes recommended here, including the ones from IMP, Nitro and NCrawler - all to no avail. I seem to have a slightly different problem. I can get the game to load and run ok but am unable to save a PBEM game.

I went back and completely deleted everything and reinstalled the game from the CD reloading all the patches (in order). This generated the same issue - game loads Ok.

The game plays Ok as well and I can run the PBEM turns sent to me perfectly well. It all looks good until the end of the turn and then once the game has completed its routines, only the .cmt file is updated. the .dat file vanishes.

I am running Windows 7 Ultimate on a Dell Inspiron Laptop XPS L701X - Quad 4 Core 8 threads, 16GB Ram and its 64 bit. I am suspecting the 64 bit thing might be an issue as that has caused us a few issues with the software we use at work as well.

Note also that the widescreen update for this game hasn't worked for me - I ended up with the fuzzy odd coloured graphic issue. I then uninstalled everything and reinstalled it and ended up back where I started.

I don't have any XP machines left either unfortunately.

Any way - has anyone else come across this particular issue?

Cheers

[DRG]

When you re-installed the game did you re-install it in the default Program Files folder ?

If yes, re-install in your C: drive. As is mentioned in the read me's in the patches and on these forums Vista and Win7 changed the way files that are installed into the Program files folder and has an annoying tendency to save files elsewhere and this problem goes away when the game is installed outside program files.

There may be a setting that will get Win7 to behave itself and save files where they should be but for now the solution is to install the game outside program files and your .DAT files will no longer "disappear"

Try a file search for SpEml*.* and you'll probably find them stored in some temp folder someplace

You do not tell us if you are trying to run the game windowed or fullscreen in regard to the fullscreen patch.

For the record ALL of the patches for the last couple of years all have this information



<b>HERE ARE SOME QUICK TIPS FOR VISTA AND WIN7 USERS</b>

-Install winSPWW2 in a separate Games folder, NOT in the Program Files if you're on 64 bit Vista . However you WILL need to remember this when installing patches such as this. If you are using Vista 32 it is OK to use the default, Program Files folder.

-Disable the intro. It the first line on the GameOptions screen.

- After installing the game right click on your winSPWW2 Icon and go to the Compatability tab & select Disable desktop composition.



Don

[oracbob]

Thanks DRG - I am away from home for a few days (and the CD) so will have a crack at reinstalling in a separate folder when I get back. I will report back any results. A search for SpEml*.* and also for all .dat files returned a nil result.

The game was installed/reinstalled in the c:/programfiles directory. I will check back on the windowed/full screen question - I think it was both (i.e I experimented with both options) but I will confirm when I have time for testing.

Thanks again for the feedback.

[DRG]

The attachment is a revised **experimental** CMD file to be used **ONLY** by players who have tried the gameoptions BETA we issued a few weeks back but

A/ Still had trouble running the game

or

B/ The first one worked but want to provide feedback for us to make the game better for everyone


If you have installed the BETA game Options for MBT to correct problems encountered running FULL SCREEN mode in windows 7 you will also have a file named Win7SPMBT.cmd

save your original Win7SPMBT.cmd either by renaming it ( such as XXWin7SPMBT.cmd ) or copying to another folder then run the attached Win7SPMBT.cmd and let me know if you see any difference.

ALSO, I would ask anyone who may have had occasional problems running windowed mode to try running the game in GDI MODE and let us know if running GDI makes any positive difference. Andy found in preliminary tests with his new Win7 laptop that using the GDI setting eliminated the occasional occurrence of "Psychedelic screen palette" while in windowed mode.


Just a reminder this needs to be extracted to your main winSPMBT folder

Thanks

Don

[Mobhack]

The attachment is a revised **experimental** CMD file to be used **ONLY** by players who have tried the gameoptions BETA we issued a few weeks back but

A/ Still had trouble running the game

or

B/ The first one worked but want to provide feedback for us to make the game better for everyone


If you have installed the BETA game Options for MBT you will also have a file named Win7SPMBT.cmd

save your original Win7SPMBT.cmd either by renaming it ( such as XXWin7SPMBT.cmd ) or copying to another folder then run the attached Win7SPMBT.cmd and let me know if you see any difference.

ALSO, I would ask anyone trying this to run one test with GameOptions set to GAME MODE - DirectX and one test with it set to GDI and let me know if running GDI made any positive difference. Andy found in preliminary tests with his new Win7 laptop that using the GDI setting eliminated the occasional occurrence of "Psychedelic screen palette"


Just a reminder this needs to be extracted to your main winSPMBT folder

Thanks

Don

Remember though

1) The command file is for FULL SCREEN mode in windows 7.

2) Using GDI as an option is for WINDOWED mode psychedelic palette problems in Windows 7.
On my new W7 laptop GDI mode is rock stable - and as a bonus no compatibility mode switches need be set (thus no irritating UAC advisor dialogue box).

Andy

[Stratos]

I tried on WinSPWW2 with no luck. I'm on Win7 64 bits. Any idea?

[Mobhack]

I tried on WinSPWW2 with no luck. I'm on Win7 64 bits. Any idea?

What exactly did you try?

- The modified WinSPMBT GameOptions programme?. Sorry wont work (the hint is in the MBT part of the name. MBT and WW2 programs and utilities are slightly different and so incompatible).

- Just the CMD file, manually?. If so, did you actually edit the CMD file to change the EXE name to WinSPWW2 rather than WinSPMBT?.

And you tried this under full-screen mode, right?. The CMD file fix (and the test GameOptions as well) is for that mode only.

Also: I'll assume that you have installed the game to a folder that is outside of the "managed" folders i.e. C:\Games\WinSPWW2 or similar?.


Andy

[Stratos]

Have my game here:

C:\Program Files\Shrapnel Games\The Camo Workshop\WinSPWW2

I tried in full screen mode, and NO I not edited the CMD file as I have no idea of how to do that.

[DRG]

Have my game here:

C:\Program Files\Shrapnel Games\The Camo Workshop\WinSPWW2

I tried in full screen mode, and NO I not edited the CMD file as I have no idea of how to do that.


This is the WinSPMBT forum so why are you telling us about winSPWW2 on this forum ? :banghead:

You installed the CMD file..... that's great. WHICH ONE ??? Our's or NCrawlers ? How are we to know if you don't tell us ?

*IF* you are running win7 ( which you don't say but I'll assume you are ) we have been telling people for months to install the game OUTSIDE Program Files becasue win7 has it's own ideas on where to save files when a game is installed in program files. The first thing you need to do is re-install the game in you main C; Drive folders try

C:\Shrapnel Games\The Camo Workshop\WinSPWW2

for a start

Since I don't know which CMD file you've tried to use I cannot tell you what to change but the first thing you should do is re-install as discribed above then when you have done that tell us exacty where the game is and we can go to the next step. We will be issueing a complete set of win7 instructions soon and cutting all these sticky threads loose so players do not get further confused.

However, to EDIT a CMD file simply RIGHT CLICK on it then right below START you'll see EDIT. Click on EDIT and make the changes

IF you are trying to use the NCrawler CMD it looks like this

@echo off
@echo ================================================
@echo NCrawler's winSPMBT Windows 7 color fix
@echo ================================================
@echo This fix closes explorer.exe, waits until it is closed and then launches winSPMBT
@echo off

taskkill /f /IM explorer.exe
winSPMBT.exe
Start explorer.exe


change that to this for winSPWW2

@echo off
@echo ================================================
@echo NCrawler's winSPMBT Windows 7 color fix
@echo ================================================
@echo This fix closes explorer.exe, waits until it is closed and then launches winSPMBT
@echo off

taskkill /f /IM explorer.exe
start/w winSPWW2.exe
Start explorer.exe


You'll note we have refined the start game line somewhat

If you were trying to run our GameOptions BETA for MBT it won't work with SPWW2


Don

[Stratos]

Thanks DRG, is working now, a bit laggy but working. Now two clarifications.

1- I posted this here cause I used the CMD of the first page of this post.

and

2- I said which OS I'm using in the post just over the Mobhack one

[DRG]

Thanks DRG, is working now, a bit laggy but working.


Can you give us a discription of what you mean by "laggy" and have you tried adjusting any of the game adjustments found under the MISC tab of GameOptions

I assume then you copied the change I posted to the Ncrawler CMD file ? That was looking for the winSPMBT.EXE and the main reason it didn't work for you running winSPWW2

Did you move the game out of Program files

Are you runing the game in fullscreen mode ?

Don

[Mobhack]

I need a few people who are running the game using Win7 in fullscreen mode to act as beta testers for us

The attachment contains a new GameOptions.exe and a .cmd file that will emulate what NCrawler did with his fix but will allow players to start the game from GameOptions.

I would ask that anyone who takes the time to DL this please take the time to report back on how it worked for you.

You will need to do the following

1/ Ensure you have SHOW INTRODUCTION already set to NO with your existing GameOptions. That's the first line on the first page when it loads.


2/ Go to wherever you have your game installed and rename your existing GameOptions.EXE to XXGameOptions.EXE to ensure if this does not work you still have a copy of GameOptions that works.


3/ Extract the attached ZIP file to where ever you have the game installed. It needs to be extracted to the main winSPMBT folder that your existing GameOptions.exe is already in.


4/ Start up GameOptions then press PLAY WINSPMBT. If you are running the game fullscreen and the NCrawler fix solved your palette issues with fullscreen mode this should work as well. If not, let us know



Thanks

Don

Unfortunately, now that I have a Windows 7 development machine, this fix does not work due to some quirks in Windows batch file handling.

To cut a long story short

the line:

start explorer.exe

Works completely differently if a CMD file is called from the desktop level (ie double clicking on it in Windows Explorer) and when it is called from a program via the Shellexecute command (as done with the modified GameOptions beta included in the quoted post).

-If called from the desktop level, it restores explorer.exe and your desktop.

-If called from inside a programme (via the shellexecute command), it merely opens a Windows Explorer window on your desktop. It does not restore the desktop!.



Cheers
Andy

NB - if you get left on a bare Windows 7 desktop:
CTRL+ALT+ESC launches Windows Task Mananger
On the Applications tab select "new Task" button
Type in explorer.exe to the dialogue and accept
Job done, close Windows Task Mananger

[Mobhack]

I need a few people who are running the game using Win7 in fullscreen mode to act as beta testers for us

The attachment contains a new GameOptions.exe and a .cmd file that will emulate what NCrawler did with his fix but will allow players to start the game from GameOptions.

I would ask that anyone who takes the time to DL this please take the time to report back on how it worked for you.

You will need to do the following

1/ Ensure you have SHOW INTRODUCTION already set to NO with your existing GameOptions. That's the first line on the first page when it loads.


2/ Go to wherever you have your game installed and rename your existing GameOptions.EXE to XXGameOptions.EXE to ensure if this does not work you still have a copy of GameOptions that works.


3/ Extract the attached ZIP file to where ever you have the game installed. It needs to be extracted to the main winSPMBT folder that your existing GameOptions.exe is already in.


4/ Start up GameOptions then press PLAY WINSPMBT. If you are running the game fullscreen and the NCrawler fix solved your palette issues with fullscreen mode this should work as well. If not, let us know



Thanks

Don

Unfortunately, now that I have a Windows 7 development machine, this fix does not work due to some quirks in Windows batch file handling.

To cut a long story short

<Snip>



OK - A final rewrite of the CMD batch file seems to solve the problem when run from an external programme. (GameOptions in our case)

- If your Windows 7 or Vista machine is not English then you may well have to edit the line
cd c:\windows to whatever your national language calls the Windows directory, if it differs.

I stumbled on this purely by accident just now - explorer.exe does have entirely differing behaviour if started in the windows directory - an entirely undocumented feature...

Cheers
Andy

[DRG]

We would appreciate feedback from anyone who tries this please


Don

[DRG]

We are asking EVERYONE who tries this new CMD file with the gameoptions BETA to report back on how the game now works running in FULLSCREEN mode.

We need this feedback to make the game better

Thank you



Don

[Wdll]

I would gladly help but I have Vista 64.

[DRG]

PLEASE try this with VISTA64

Don

[Wdll]

Vista 64 home premium edition.

ok, I am lost.
I am probably doing something wrong here/missed something.
I downloaded the Win7SPMBT09Feb2011.zip file
I extracted it in a third folder. Am I supposed to just copy the cmd file in it and paste it in the game's folder, then just start the game?

[DRG]

I'll get back to you

[DRG]

There is a new thread for the fullscreen BETA test using GameOptions. This thread is now locked and unstuck. We will be posting a new thread with Win7/Vist info soon

Don