Windows 10 ?

Mobhack · #2 May 1st, 2016, 02:09 PM

lets start with the basics?
(it is nice to know these things, when trying to debug problems)

Are you trying to run the free demo game or the full CD game?
Are you trying to run in full-screen mode, or in windowed mode?

I'll assume you are trying to run the free demo version, in 800x600 in full-screen mode. Since the problem you are describing seems to be what happens when attempting to run 800 mode in full-screen on post vista machines.

1) Set the game to windowed mode, and run it. It should work perfectly fine in a window. Does it?.

2) If so - Your windows 10 machine may not support resolutions as low as 800. Try changing the windows desktop resolution. If it does not list any resolution lower than 1024x768 then it cannot be made to run the game full-screen in the 800 resolution maximum for the demo.

Or, it may not handle any of the old set 4:3 "square" monitor resolutions - or at least not very well (it may squash and/or stretch the displayed graphics).

You are thus restricted to an 800x600 windowed mode (see 1) while you try the demo out. (It may help if you set the windows desktop to a smaller resolution - just find one that does not squash or stretch the display horizontally or vertically. Then your 800 wide screen is not to dwarfed by the desktop.)

2.1) Full-screen mode is antiquated, and only there because it was part of the original game. Windows versions post Vista mess with the 256 colour palette mode that older DOS games use.

NB - the windows 7 CMD file does not work for 8 or later, as it is there to deal with the aero interface, that Microsoft deleted after Windows 7.

The way to play the game full-screen with modern machines is windowed mode in "desktop" resolution. That uses your windows desktop resolution setting. And it plays in 1920x1080 just fine, utilizing the full desktop, with the windows task-bar shown at the bottom of the screen, so you can see the time and email notifications. And because in windowed mode it is using the full windows colour palette you dont suffer from the dead DOS 256 colour mode palette being mangled by Windows resulting in "psychedelic" screens. So no need for full-screen mode.

Desktop resolution is of course, a perk of the full game.