Info: 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 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