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Author Topic:   NT and SMAC...

Beeraxis posted 07-30-99 11:27 AM ET
I played SMAC on w95 before, but just bought a new monster which runs on NT.
Although I get the game running, it has a choppy sound and has some kernel errors from time to time.
Any idea how i can improve this?
Beeraxis posted 07-30-99 11:36 AM ET
and also i am unable to get good graphics, although i usually run 1600x1200.
could i get some technical advice how to possibly improve things on NT?
jYM posted 07-30-99 08:29 PM ET
What NT SP are you running?
The readme.txt for the original game mentions these problems I think - NT currently only supports DX3. Maybe Win2K will be better?
Beeraxis posted 07-31-99 07:25 AM ET
I am currently running SP4 with the SMP HAL (multiprocessor).
I found directX ver5 dlls for NT (kinda tweak with files that came with a beta of NT5). But regardless of wether I run DX5 or DX3, it changes nothing to the sound problem.
Must I wait on win2000 to play the full FX?
Empath posted 07-31-99 10:17 AM ET
You can always use a boot manager.
Beeraxis posted 07-31-99 03:27 PM ET
(slap on the forehead) uh sure. but i was not sure to want to install a win98 system on the other drive. Mebbe i will do.
LarsHanson posted 08-02-99 01:20 AM ET
Since the game's release, I have been troubleshooting the sound problem under NT. I support NT professionally, and finally came to the conclusion that the DirectX versions under NT just cannot handle what SMAC wants to do. This seemed to be confirmed when Windows 2000 beta build 2072 hit - all the reported SMAC problems, sound and video, disappeared.
But BrandonQ's thread about sound problems raised a response from FinnishGuy, who says he found the stuttering problem could be corrected, or at least greatly reduced, by closing everything running in the systray. As an antivirus guru at work, I could have kicked myself for not thinking of that. AV programs used to cause all sorts of conflicts with games, because they ran TSR. (remember the older DOS games where you had to have a 'clean' boot disk for them to run right?)
I didn't think of that because NT runs systray programs as NT services, in separate memory spaces where they don't conflict with anything. But it is not beyond reasonable that DirectX, virus protection (or RealPlayer, or anything else in systray) and the game itself just don't get along. It is even more likely to cause problems under Win9x, which is still DOS-based.
Bottom line - LISTEN TO FINNISHGUY!! All of us, whether we use Win9x or WinNT, should close out everything we run in systray or as optional services. If the sound problems start clearing up, we have found the problem. If not - we are back to waiting for DirectX 7 support under Windows 2000.
Jeff Morris - you may want to do some lab work with McAfee and Norton to see of the Virus scan feature of these programs may be interfering with DirectX. RealPlayer is another potential conflict - maybe even more so, since it accesses sound and video without DirectX in the mix. But I'm starting to believe that apps running in the background are the source of all evil when it comes to sound stuttering during the game.
Beeraxis posted 08-02-99 02:44 AM ET
Thanks Lars!
I am indeed running some cd-manager & sound card manager crap in the background. I have always hated those programs coming with peripherals that want to take over the power over your computer <g>
I will shut it down and see what happens. A memory conflict is likely, because of the kernel errors that show up with the sound sometimes and which do not occur when I disable the sound.
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Author	Topic: NT and SMAC...
Beeraxis	posted 07-30-99 11:27 AM ET I played SMAC on w95 before, but just bought a new monster which runs on NT. Although I get the game running, it has a choppy sound and has some kernel errors from time to time. Any idea how i can improve this?
Beeraxis	posted 07-30-99 11:36 AM ET and also i am unable to get good graphics, although i usually run 1600x1200. could i get some technical advice how to possibly improve things on NT?
jYM	posted 07-30-99 08:29 PM ET What NT SP are you running? The readme.txt for the original game mentions these problems I think - NT currently only supports DX3. Maybe Win2K will be better?
Beeraxis	posted 07-31-99 07:25 AM ET I am currently running SP4 with the SMP HAL (multiprocessor). I found directX ver5 dlls for NT (kinda tweak with files that came with a beta of NT5). But regardless of wether I run DX5 or DX3, it changes nothing to the sound problem. Must I wait on win2000 to play the full FX?
Empath	posted 07-31-99 10:17 AM ET You can always use a boot manager.
Beeraxis	posted 07-31-99 03:27 PM ET (slap on the forehead) uh sure. but i was not sure to want to install a win98 system on the other drive. Mebbe i will do.
LarsHanson	posted 08-02-99 01:20 AM ET Since the game's release, I have been troubleshooting the sound problem under NT. I support NT professionally, and finally came to the conclusion that the DirectX versions under NT just cannot handle what SMAC wants to do. This seemed to be confirmed when Windows 2000 beta build 2072 hit - all the reported SMAC problems, sound and video, disappeared. But BrandonQ's thread about sound problems raised a response from FinnishGuy, who says he found the stuttering problem could be corrected, or at least greatly reduced, by closing everything running in the systray. As an antivirus guru at work, I could have kicked myself for not thinking of that. AV programs used to cause all sorts of conflicts with games, because they ran TSR. (remember the older DOS games where you had to have a 'clean' boot disk for them to run right?) I didn't think of that because NT runs systray programs as NT services, in separate memory spaces where they don't conflict with anything. But it is not beyond reasonable that DirectX, virus protection (or RealPlayer, or anything else in systray) and the game itself just don't get along. It is even more likely to cause problems under Win9x, which is still DOS-based. Bottom line - LISTEN TO FINNISHGUY!! All of us, whether we use Win9x or WinNT, should close out everything we run in systray or as optional services. If the sound problems start clearing up, we have found the problem. If not - we are back to waiting for DirectX 7 support under Windows 2000. Jeff Morris - you may want to do some lab work with McAfee and Norton to see of the Virus scan feature of these programs may be interfering with DirectX. RealPlayer is another potential conflict - maybe even more so, since it accesses sound and video without DirectX in the mix. But I'm starting to believe that apps running in the background are the source of all evil when it comes to sound stuttering during the game.
Beeraxis	posted 08-02-99 02:44 AM ET Thanks Lars! I am indeed running some cd-manager & sound card manager crap in the background. I have always hated those programs coming with peripherals that want to take over the power over your computer <g> I will shut it down and see what happens. A memory conflict is likely, because of the kernel errors that show up with the sound sometimes and which do not occur when I disable the sound.