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Author Topic:   SMAC won't run under NT

maphew posted 03-09-99 01:33 PM ET
Hi,
I recently downloaded the demo of SMAC after hearing many very positive reviews. However I have been unable to get it to work on my machine at all. I have tried different screen resolutions and renaming the sound.dll. Any help would be appreciated.
Windows NT 4.0sp4
PII 450mhz
256mb ram
5gb free on HD (ntfs)
Elsa Gloria XL, 16mb ram
-thank you.
Jeffrey Morris FIRAXIS posted 03-09-99 02:25 PM ET
What's the problem?
jkm
firaxis games
maphew posted 03-09-99 02:53 PM ET
>What's the problem?
Oops! The problem: Nothing happens. After running terran.exe there is a brief screen flash, then everything is exactly as before. TaskMgr does not show any new applications or processes running. The logfile.txt in the SMAC dir is empty.
I downloaded the full demo (w/ videos).
The were no errors reported on extraction.
I did not install to the default path (c:\games\AlphaCentauri).
Jeffrey Morris FIRAXIS posted 03-09-99 03:01 PM ET
Try manually setting your desktop resolution to one that the game uses. Either 800x600x8bit (256 colors) or 1024x768x8bit. If it's a directdraw issue try adding directdraw=0 to the alpha centauri.ini.
jkm
firaxis games
InThane posted 03-09-99 03:03 PM ET
I'm running into the same problem - system specs follow:
Dell Optiplex GXa
WinNT 4.0 SP3
IE4 or 5 (Doesn't matter - reproed on multiple machines)
ATI 3D Rage Pro video card - integrated into motherboard. PoS.
Pentium 2+LX chipset
Crystal Audio sound card
Running without the CD in the drive, and without the movies installed locally, the game runs fine. On a whim, I tried runnning the videos locally, and they blanked the screen and left a weird green square in one corner of the screen. It appears that somewhere between NT4, my video drivers, and the video display program, there is a problem.
Yeah, I test software for a living, how could you tell?
InThane posted 03-09-99 03:10 PM ET
Ooops - forgot one thing. This repros both with + without the patch.
Jeffrey Morris FIRAXIS posted 03-09-99 03:20 PM ET
ATI cards and green lines can be solved by updating your drivers. That's solved it a bunch of times on the 95/98 side, so hopefully it's the same solve on NT.
jkm
firaxs games
maphew posted 03-09-99 03:26 PM ET
>Try manually setting your desktop resolution
>to one that the game uses. Either
>800x600x8bit (256 colors) or 1024x768x8bit.
Oh. That would probably be why then. The only 256 colour mode I have is 640x480 at a very ugly 60Hz. I never thought I'd see the day when I'd curse my video card for not being able to go *low* enough. I'm afraid that means no SMAC for me (unless there's a linux port?)
>If it's a directdraw issue try adding >directdraw=0 to the alpha centauri.ini.
Nope.
InThane posted 03-09-99 03:41 PM ET
I tried both directdraw=0 AND 1024x768x8bit AND 800x600x8bit = !succeed.
Bleah.
Oh, and these are ATI's most recent drivers...
weregamer posted 03-09-99 08:01 PM ET
I think your problem is much simpler. Remove the movies (empty out that folder).
The demo without movies worked fine when I tested it on my NT4.0SP4 box at work, but including the movie caused the exact behavior you noted - when it tried to display the opening movie the task just quit.
InThane posted 03-09-99 08:21 PM ET
That's exactly what I did. Problem is, I'd like to be able to PLAY the movies... Oh, and now I can play the movies seperately by dragging the movie onto the movie player in the movie folder (with ATI's most recent drivers; Dell hasn't updated theirs yet to ATI's latest natch.) and it works fine; but try and launch the game with the CD in the drive, and it dies.
CentCent posted 03-10-99 10:57 AM ET
Hmmm...stuck SMAC on my compaq Armada 7350MT laptop, running NT server 4 with sp4...the only problem I encountered was when the battery died. ;-)
maphew posted 03-10-99 12:53 PM ET
>I think your problem is much simpler. Remove >the movies (empty out that folder).
Thanks for the idea, but still no go, and no change in behaviour.
>The demo without movies worked fine when I >tested it on my NT4.0SP4 box at work
What kind of video card and is it capable of 8bit colour at 8x6 and 10x7?
InThane posted 03-10-99 05:43 PM ET
A solution to the lockup on start NT problem...

Delete the \movies directory, AND DO NOT PLAY WITH THE CD IN THE DRIVE.
It should work. You don't get the pretty movies but it should work.
maphew posted 03-11-99 12:25 PM ET
Jeffery Morris @ Fraxis:
You haven't responded lately; does this mean there is no solution for my particular situation?
Jeffrey Morris FIRAXIS posted 03-11-99 01:54 PM ET
I don't think so. I'll keep my eyes open, but unless your card's manufacturer puts out new NT DX drivers, I'm not sure what else to try.
jkm
firaxis games
LarsHanson posted 03-12-99 02:28 AM ET
My work machine is the exact configuration as you describe. Dell Gxa with ATI Rage Pro and Crystal Audio. NTW 4.0. Been playing with this since day one and here is what I have found:
1) Game does nothing without SP4 (I could get no video past the opening splash screen at any resolution. The SP4 version of DirectX plus the updated video driver for the Rage Pro make the game playable at most video resolutions. Movies play fine.
2)The sound has never worked - nor will it until the next patch. Everything stutters - I have the game installed on four NTW machines, one on NT server. Processor speed is not the issue here - I have several dual-processor 400 mHz NTW machines to test on - they all stutter. The DirectPlay modules from Microsoft for NT are way behind the DirectX 6.1 for Win95/98. There is an SP5 coming, and I'm hopeful the new DirectX will find its way into that Service Pack. Otherwise, its wait until Win2000 (don't hold your breath). I have one completely successful install on a Dell GMT 166 running Win95 with DirectX 6.1. It's slow, but it all works. It is the host machine for multiplayer games between my son and I on my home network. I turn the sound down on my NT server and join his game.
3) The game is VERY sensitive to viruses - especially CIH. I would recommend a quick scan every time before anyone starts playing - especially multiplayer.

I have been very pleased with Jeff's work trying to deal with all these hardware and OS-related problems. Since many repeat platform to platform, there is some reason to be optimistic that the next Firaxis patch will address the majority of them. The thing to keep in mind is that this game stretches the capacity of ALL Microsoft operating systems. Not many games do. And for the NT platform, the solutions lie largely in Redmond, and not in Hunt Valley. It is very unfair for users in the this forum to claim "all my other games run fine, but yours sucks". All their other games don't try to utilize all the features available in the DirectX package. Someone has to be first. I'm just glad it's Firaxis and not Microprose. We'd wait a year with them before they even acknowledged there was a problem.
I do computer support for a living - and this is one of the most challenging troubleshooting scenarios I have ever had to deal with. If someone gets SMAC 2.0 to run on a Dell Gxa under NTW4 before I do, I will buy them dinner. And the hour I am successful, I will have a post in the this forum with the solution.
maphew posted 03-12-99 12:03 PM ET
LarHanson said:
<cite>
And for the NT platform, the solutions lie largely in Redmond, and not in Hunt Valley.
</cite>
I'm beginning to think along those lines myself. Except for an additional trailer: I'll wait for the Linux port.
jkm@Firaxis:
Thanks for your assistance, sorry it didn't work this time.
Cheers,
-matt
LarsHanson posted 03-14-99 09:20 PM ET
I work NTW4 troubleshooting everyday, and feel I know the OS pretty well - especially where the skeletons are. I spend more time in the MS knowledge base and Premier Support area than I care to contemplate. But if the game ports to LINUX, I run format C: /U and I'm there. Without hesitation. Are you listening, Sid/Brian? You could OWN the non-Windows gaming world - and that's a big number world-wide. The LINUX movement is a building wave - I think it's time to catch it.
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Author	Topic: SMAC won't run under NT
maphew	posted 03-09-99 01:33 PM ET Hi, I recently downloaded the demo of SMAC after hearing many very positive reviews. However I have been unable to get it to work on my machine at all. I have tried different screen resolutions and renaming the sound.dll. Any help would be appreciated. Windows NT 4.0sp4 PII 450mhz 256mb ram 5gb free on HD (ntfs) Elsa Gloria XL, 16mb ram -thank you.
Jeffrey Morris FIRAXIS	posted 03-09-99 02:25 PM ET What's the problem? jkm firaxis games
maphew	posted 03-09-99 02:53 PM ET >What's the problem? Oops! The problem: Nothing happens. After running terran.exe there is a brief screen flash, then everything is exactly as before. TaskMgr does not show any new applications or processes running. The logfile.txt in the SMAC dir is empty. I downloaded the full demo (w/ videos). The were no errors reported on extraction. I did not install to the default path (c:\games\AlphaCentauri).
Jeffrey Morris FIRAXIS	posted 03-09-99 03:01 PM ET Try manually setting your desktop resolution to one that the game uses. Either 800x600x8bit (256 colors) or 1024x768x8bit. If it's a directdraw issue try adding directdraw=0 to the alpha centauri.ini. jkm firaxis games
InThane	posted 03-09-99 03:03 PM ET I'm running into the same problem - system specs follow: Dell Optiplex GXa WinNT 4.0 SP3 IE4 or 5 (Doesn't matter - reproed on multiple machines) ATI 3D Rage Pro video card - integrated into motherboard. PoS. Pentium 2+LX chipset Crystal Audio sound card Running without the CD in the drive, and without the movies installed locally, the game runs fine. On a whim, I tried runnning the videos locally, and they blanked the screen and left a weird green square in one corner of the screen. It appears that somewhere between NT4, my video drivers, and the video display program, there is a problem. Yeah, I test software for a living, how could you tell?
InThane	posted 03-09-99 03:10 PM ET Ooops - forgot one thing. This repros both with + without the patch.
Jeffrey Morris FIRAXIS	posted 03-09-99 03:20 PM ET ATI cards and green lines can be solved by updating your drivers. That's solved it a bunch of times on the 95/98 side, so hopefully it's the same solve on NT. jkm firaxs games
maphew	posted 03-09-99 03:26 PM ET >Try manually setting your desktop resolution >to one that the game uses. Either >800x600x8bit (256 colors) or 1024x768x8bit. Oh. That would probably be why then. The only 256 colour mode I have is 640x480 at a very ugly 60Hz. I never thought I'd see the day when I'd curse my video card for not being able to go low enough. I'm afraid that means no SMAC for me (unless there's a linux port?) >If it's a directdraw issue try adding >directdraw=0 to the alpha centauri.ini. Nope.
InThane	posted 03-09-99 03:41 PM ET I tried both directdraw=0 AND 1024x768x8bit AND 800x600x8bit = !succeed. Bleah. Oh, and these are ATI's most recent drivers...
weregamer	posted 03-09-99 08:01 PM ET I think your problem is much simpler. Remove the movies (empty out that folder). The demo without movies worked fine when I tested it on my NT4.0SP4 box at work, but including the movie caused the exact behavior you noted - when it tried to display the opening movie the task just quit.
InThane	posted 03-09-99 08:21 PM ET That's exactly what I did. Problem is, I'd like to be able to PLAY the movies... Oh, and now I can play the movies seperately by dragging the movie onto the movie player in the movie folder (with ATI's most recent drivers; Dell hasn't updated theirs yet to ATI's latest natch.) and it works fine; but try and launch the game with the CD in the drive, and it dies.
CentCent	posted 03-10-99 10:57 AM ET Hmmm...stuck SMAC on my compaq Armada 7350MT laptop, running NT server 4 with sp4...the only problem I encountered was when the battery died. ;-)
maphew	posted 03-10-99 12:53 PM ET >I think your problem is much simpler. Remove >the movies (empty out that folder). Thanks for the idea, but still no go, and no change in behaviour. >The demo without movies worked fine when I >tested it on my NT4.0SP4 box at work What kind of video card and is it capable of 8bit colour at 8x6 and 10x7?
InThane	posted 03-10-99 05:43 PM ET A solution to the lockup on start NT problem... Delete the \movies directory, AND DO NOT PLAY WITH THE CD IN THE DRIVE. It should work. You don't get the pretty movies but it should work.
maphew	posted 03-11-99 12:25 PM ET Jeffery Morris @ Fraxis: You haven't responded lately; does this mean there is no solution for my particular situation?
Jeffrey Morris FIRAXIS	posted 03-11-99 01:54 PM ET I don't think so. I'll keep my eyes open, but unless your card's manufacturer puts out new NT DX drivers, I'm not sure what else to try. jkm firaxis games
LarsHanson	posted 03-12-99 02:28 AM ET My work machine is the exact configuration as you describe. Dell Gxa with ATI Rage Pro and Crystal Audio. NTW 4.0. Been playing with this since day one and here is what I have found: 1) Game does nothing without SP4 (I could get no video past the opening splash screen at any resolution. The SP4 version of DirectX plus the updated video driver for the Rage Pro make the game playable at most video resolutions. Movies play fine. 2)The sound has never worked - nor will it until the next patch. Everything stutters - I have the game installed on four NTW machines, one on NT server. Processor speed is not the issue here - I have several dual-processor 400 mHz NTW machines to test on - they all stutter. The DirectPlay modules from Microsoft for NT are way behind the DirectX 6.1 for Win95/98. There is an SP5 coming, and I'm hopeful the new DirectX will find its way into that Service Pack. Otherwise, its wait until Win2000 (don't hold your breath). I have one completely successful install on a Dell GMT 166 running Win95 with DirectX 6.1. It's slow, but it all works. It is the host machine for multiplayer games between my son and I on my home network. I turn the sound down on my NT server and join his game. 3) The game is VERY sensitive to viruses - especially CIH. I would recommend a quick scan every time before anyone starts playing - especially multiplayer. I have been very pleased with Jeff's work trying to deal with all these hardware and OS-related problems. Since many repeat platform to platform, there is some reason to be optimistic that the next Firaxis patch will address the majority of them. The thing to keep in mind is that this game stretches the capacity of ALL Microsoft operating systems. Not many games do. And for the NT platform, the solutions lie largely in Redmond, and not in Hunt Valley. It is very unfair for users in the this forum to claim "all my other games run fine, but yours sucks". All their other games don't try to utilize all the features available in the DirectX package. Someone has to be first. I'm just glad it's Firaxis and not Microprose. We'd wait a year with them before they even acknowledged there was a problem. I do computer support for a living - and this is one of the most challenging troubleshooting scenarios I have ever had to deal with. If someone gets SMAC 2.0 to run on a Dell Gxa under NTW4 before I do, I will buy them dinner. And the hour I am successful, I will have a post in the this forum with the solution.
maphew	posted 03-12-99 12:03 PM ET LarHanson said: <cite> And for the NT platform, the solutions lie largely in Redmond, and not in Hunt Valley. </cite> I'm beginning to think along those lines myself. Except for an additional trailer: I'll wait for the Linux port. jkm@Firaxis: Thanks for your assistance, sorry it didn't work this time. Cheers, -matt
LarsHanson	posted 03-14-99 09:20 PM ET I work NTW4 troubleshooting everyday, and feel I know the OS pretty well - especially where the skeletons are. I spend more time in the MS knowledge base and Premier Support area than I care to contemplate. But if the game ports to LINUX, I run format C: /U and I'm there. Without hesitation. Are you listening, Sid/Brian? You could OWN the non-Windows gaming world - and that's a big number world-wide. The LINUX movement is a building wave - I think it's time to catch it.