Info: Windows Vista and Windows Seven Installation

[kgambit]

Don't need the registry locations for winSPWW2 after all. Got that sorted out.

Sorry for not just editing the previous post - for some reason I can't edit it now, even though I could previously.

[Rosollia]

Program Files (x86) is also "managed" by Windows vista/seven. No legacy code therefore should be installed there, ie any code that was written before the compulsory split into code (which remains in that tree, and cannot include even the programme's own .ini files etc) and data sections (the changeable user data now has to reside under each user's profile (each user is supposed to have his own individual ini file for the programme, save games etc). And the installers written before Windows Vista sometimes will install files that are meant to go into the programme's root directory under whatever user profile is current instead.

Yes both "Program Files (x86)" and "Program Files" folders will stop beign managed by windows if you disable UAC. But I can understad your reasoning behind the recomendation not to use the program files folders. Most users probably dont know how to disable UAC and are too inexperienced to tweak their windows settings.

I do not own the CD version of the game so I cant use the features it has. But could you fix the fullscreen issue in a later release of the game? I could imagine that even some CD owners would like to use the lower resolutions full screen. Having a HD resolution monitor can make the graphics tiny.

So could the game be updated to use a newer version of DirectDraw? What about Direct2d?

Also have you looked at the ddraw.dll wrappers / hacks out there for other games?
http://sol.gfxile.net/ddhack/
http://hifi.iki.fi/cnc-ddraw/
They provide source codes.
I know there is a guy working on a ddraw.dll fix for SPWAW maybe that fix will work with this game too.

[Imp]

I do not own the CD version of the game so I cant use the features it has. But could you fix the fullscreen issue in a later release of the game? I could imagine that even some CD owners would like to use the lower resolutions full screen. Having a HD resolution monitor can make the graphics tiny.

There is no real need if using "desktop" mode & its to small its a couple of clicks to change your desktop resolution or switch graphic card settings. Most graphic cards allow saving of multiple profles so you just save one with a diffrent resolution for playing these games if you desire.
You can even assign this to a hotkey easy enough or if you wanted I suppose could setup a script that changes the res automatically when the game starts.
Possibly & I say possibly running a poll on what people would prefer as a resolution from the ones currently available & supplying a wide screen version of it could be an option though fullscreen mode is certanly not needed. The thing is hardly anyone answers when the developers ask questions look at the views compared to answers when they have done so.

[Rosollia]

Doh! I never thought of changing the desktop resolution before. I made a simple compatibility mode (using Application Compatibility Toolkit) so that everytime I launch WinSPMBT or WinSPWW2 the desktop resolution automaticaly changes to 800x600 and when I close the game it reverts back to my native desktop res. Works like a charm now running in windowed mode.

Only thing is that I use the old fashioned windows 9x style for my windows 7 menu themes and the game window is always off center when I run it. Using the default win7 theme the game windows is spot on though. No big deal since I can just move the game window to be in the center manualy.

[Rosollia]

Here's the compatibility mode "fix" that I use now.

What this does is it installs aplication compatibility options for WinSPMBT and WinSPWW2 so that every time you
start the game your desktop resolution changes to 800x600 automaticaly. And when you quit the game your desktop
resolution should change back to what it was.

This "fix" is especialy useful if you do not have the CD version of the game that allows higher resolutions.
Running the game in a window of 800x600 is not wery useful if your desktop resolution is way higher.
So you need to set the desktop resolution to 800x600 to fill the whole screen with the game window.
This fix automates that process for you.

Ofcourse this can be useful to people with the CD version too. If you want to run the game at a lower resolution
so that things look bigger and are easier to see for example.

To install, first unzip the 5 files into a temporary directory somewhere:
- Install.cmd
- Readme.txt (This file you are reading)
- Uninstall.cmd
- WinSPMBT_Force_800x600_Resolution.sdb
- WinSPWW2_Force_800x600_Resolution.sdb

Then go to that directory and run the Install file. After installation you can start up your game normaly,
but do make sure you have set the screen/window size in the game options to 800x600 and Game mode to windowed.

CD owners need to know that after installing these compatibility modes no higher resolutions should be used
than 800x600 in the game options.

To Uninstall the compatibility modes run the Uninstall file.
Alternatively you can go to Control panel and look for "Programs and Features" or "Programs (Uninstall a program)".
From there look for "WinSPMBT Force 800x600 Resolution" and "WinSPWW2 Force 800x600 Resolution".

[DRG]

FWIW winSPWW2 v3.5 and winSPMBT v4.5 were produced after I lost all the earlier installers ( and the installer software ) in a HD crash and upgraded the installation program to a newer version that supported Vista. All the installers after that point were set up to "Vista/7 :run as administrator". The previous ones were "pre-vista"

It maybe a co-incidence or not but it's not been an issue for 99.99% of the people who have DL the game. However, it's worth mentioning because the change does seem to coincide with the patches you are saying are reporting as being "patch failures".




Don

[kgambit]

Originally Posted by DRG

FWIW winSPWW2 v3.5 and winSPMBT v4.5 were produced after I lost all the earlier installers ( and the installer software ) in a HD crash and upgraded the installation program to a newer version that supported Vista. All the installers after that point were set up to "Vista/7 :run as administrator". The previous ones were "pre-vista"

It maybe a co-incidence or not but it's not been an issue for 99.99% of the people who have DL the game. However, it's worth mentioning because the change does seem to coincide with the patches you are saying are reporting as being "patch failures".

And I've never have any problems installing or running winSPMBT on any of my previous systems. This is the first time I've ever had any issues whatsoever actually running the game. It's probably an issue with installing or running in windows 7 64 bit. I've been reinstalling games over the last week and several of those have either required "run as administrator for patch updating (and in some cases for the game installation itself).

I just installed the v 4.0 patch -have not gotten a "program may not have installed properly message" so far. I checked the winSPMBT.exe file properties after patching and its showing v1.0.3.5 with a date modified 4/19/2008. I'm assuming that's good since the modification date is just 10 days before the v4.0 patch update was finalized.

I appreciate all the help here, truly.

see Imp's post above about setting up a desktop resolution change if playing the free game in 800x600 with a hotkey. (You could try manually setting the monitor to 800x600 as a quick experiment. If the desktop gets restored OK in 800x600 monitor mode then it may be for example, your graphics card or drivers having a hiccup with that resolution change from a batch file or whatever

I'll try this again just to make sure.

Again, thanks Don and Andy.

Cheers,
Dwight

[kgambit]

Originally Posted by DRG

FWIW winSPWW2 v3.5 and winSPMBT v4.5 were produced after I lost all the earlier installers ( and the installer software ) in a HD crash and upgraded the installation program to a newer version that supported Vista. All the installers after that point were set up to "Vista/7 :run as administrator". The previous ones were "pre-vista"

It maybe a co-incidence or not but it's not been an issue for 99.99% of the people who have DL the game. However, it's worth mentioning because the change does seem to coincide with the patches you are saying are reporting as being "patch failures".

Don

Just did a full reinstall. Installing the winSPMBT patches v4.5 to v6.0 (inclusive) using the "run as administrator" option does not give me any failed installation messages.

After re-installation, windowed mode runs perfectly. Scenario selection screen show v6.0-DL.

Full screen mode is still a problem as outlined before.

At least I know that it is not related to the patches. Haven't tried the other suggestions yet.

[Rosollia]

Here is an alternate fix for the windows 7 color problem. This method does not reguire explorer.exe to be closed.
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=47156

[Rosollia]

I posted another alternate fix here:
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=49236
This one reguires no registry changes to windows and is easy to use.