Moo2 Xp

[noelmace]

I am not real bright.
Here is the deal. I was cleaning and came across my copy of MOO2. Since I am eagerly awaiting MOO3, I thought I would install it and get to some MOO2 lovin.

My system is fairly new (3 months or so)Pentium® 4 processor 2.80GHz w/ 533MHz system bus & 512K L2 Cache.

I put ye ole disk into the hard drive and was unable to get any further than that. I have done some searching about these forums for a straight-forward answer or flow chart as to how to install it and was unable to turn anything concrete up with a few searches.

Do I need a DOS simulator program?
What are the steps to take?

Thank you for any help and sorry if I am revisiting an old question. Please excuse my ignorance.

Best Regards,

Noel

[Anshar]

You shouldn't have any trouble running it on XP.

If nothing comes up on your screen when you put the CD in, just browse to your CD-ROM drive in My Computer or Windows Explorer.

Locate and double-click on "SETUP.EXE", which is located in the root directory on the CD.

This will launch the installer program.

Say "NO" if it asks if you want to install DirectX.

Download the patch from infrogrames website and run it.



j

[noelmace]

Thanks for the answer, I do appreciate it. However, I did not adequately describe my problem.

When I put in the disk, it autoboots and I get the choice to install or directx 10. The unistall and play choices are blank.
When I hit the install button, the hourglass appears and after about 30 seconds, the install screen goes away and I get my desktop.

When I browse the CD and go to setup.exe, I get the hourglass which turns back into the cursor after 10 seconds or so.

Anyone have similar problems and can they offer suggestions.

[Iasius]

Just copy the content of the CD to your HDD with Explorer and start from there (orion2.exe or orion95.exe , I use orion2.exe and it works fine on my WinXP). I assume having a new machine allows for the additional space required over a normal install.
Anyway having a orioncd.ini pointing to the folder you copied the file to let's you play without CD. Hope that helps.

[noelmace]

Thanks,

I will try that when I get home from work.

Work is always getting in the way of my game playing.
Then again, it is what allows me to have a computer, games, electricity, food, etc

Noel

[Hydro]

I upgraded to XP and, like you, Moo2 refused to install and the version on my HD crashed at random intervals.

A few kind people in this forum suggested a clean XP install, which I completed on a new HD with my old HD as slave. Again, Moo2 refused to install from the install EXE on the CD. Then I went to Add/Remove program and installed there and that did the trick (My, but XP seems buggy. A foretaste of things to come? Thanks Bill.). Now Moo2 works fine with no crashes so far.

One word of warning about copying but not installing – XP will not ‘see’ this manually copied program (check in Add/Remove Programs and I’d bet it won’t be there) and, therefore, it can never be properly uninstalled in XP. I tried this in the XP upgrade and got a crash-prone Moo2. This was but one of the major headaches I had with my miserable XP upgrade experience.

BTW - the OS emulator in XP did not work for me in either Dos, Win95, or Win98 mode before the clean install.

[Iasius]

Of course it can then be properly uninstalled. Just delete the folder to which you copied the CD contents.
By just copying the CD contents you don't make any registry or start menu entries, so that you can be sure no traces of moo2 are left on your HDD (well, not really physically speaking, but that's another matter) after you delete it.

[patrickjb53]

I have Window XP Pro, and MOO2 runs fine. I have not had to make any adjustments or anything. MOO1 has had some problems with XP, but I even got that to work.

[patrickjb53]

Originally posted by Hydro
I upgraded to XP and, like you, Moo2 refused to install and the version on my HD crashed at random intervals.

A few kind people in this forum suggested a clean XP install, which I completed on a new HD with my old HD as slave. Again, Moo2 refused to install from the install EXE on the CD. Then I went to Add/Remove program and installed there and that did the trick (My, but XP seems buggy. A foretaste of things to come? Thanks Bill.). Now Moo2 works fine with no crashes so far.

One word of warning about copying but not installing – XP will not ‘see’ this manually copied program (check in Add/Remove Programs and I’d bet it won’t be there) and, therefore, it can never be properly uninstalled in XP. I tried this in the XP upgrade and got a crash-prone Moo2. This was but one of the major headaches I had with my miserable XP upgrade experience.

BTW - the OS emulator in XP did not work for me in either Dos, Win95, or Win98 mode before the clean install.

Please, I do not mean this as an insult, but most people that have had problems with XP Pro/Home are having problems because of their lack of experience. I have worked with almost every operating system that Microsoft has developed, and a few they have not (ex. Linux, FreeBSD). I started with windows 3.0 and have upgraded to all the 9X family as they have been released. I've also worked with the NT family starting with NT 4.0 upgrading to Win2k Ser/Pro Win2003 Server (RC1/2) and finally XP Pro. Off all the Microsoft operating systems, XP appears to be the most stable. Win2k Pro is also very stable but does not support older dos 16-bit program/games very well (really not at all), but if you really work hard you might get some older program/games to work. Why bother, XP was designed to support older games (some old 16-bit programs still may not work) and I believe does so quite well. I have found from reading the posts of quite a few people that are having problems with XP, that many problems are related to mistakes made by the user. Believe me, XP is the most stable operating system that Microsoft has developed so far. Don’t give up on XP, keep asking questions.

[Lostnwoods]

I have a diffrent problem with xp that i can't find any help with out there so i am hoping some one hear can help me i get a a error message thats says
"C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\AUTOEXECT.NT the system file is not suitable for running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows applications." but thats my only error so i can even install the games can some one please help ?

[vmxa1]

What application is running at the time? I run Moo2 using Orion95.exe. It is not a true dos application, but is a shoe horned Win95.

It uses either ARUN or Setup, which are windows installation tools.

So is the error occurring when you run setup or when you try to run the game?

Autoexec.nt is the method of introducing the old dos autoexec functions for dos apps. The only game I had to define one is MoM.

I would install and not use any compat modes.

[Croesus]

MoM? Masters of Magic? I love that game, although I am not too good at it. It sure is a stinker for compatibility.

[Berserker]

Originally posted by vmxa1
What application is running at the time? I run Moo2 using Orion95.exe.

I've got a slightly different problem.

MOO2 installs under my WinXP Home SP1 (I removed SP2 by doing a clean install) and runs just fine. However, if I select Tactical Battles on the initial setup of a new game, when it comes time to actually fight the battle, everything goes as planned right up until the final shot that destroys the final enemy. At that time the game locks up and the only way out is by hitting the Windows key (or ALT TAB) and closing the game on the Taskbar. And then, fgor safety's sake, rebooting the machine.

My desktop is DirectX9B and running an nVidia FX5700 card with the latest drivers that are officially certified DirectX9B compatible. I've got it set to 1024x768 and 32bit color and this does not seem to affect the normal running of the game nor does it cause problems during combat.....everything displays properly. It's only that last shot when things suddenly take a sharp turn into the gutter.

I've tried it on 2 other machines I have with lower end graphics cards, set resolution on desktop down to 640x480 at 256 colors under Windows98SE and STILL have the lockup. I'm wondering if it's something to do with the DirectX9B. I might try to install Win98SE on a new partition and let the MOO2 Install program go ahead and 'update' my installation to DirectX2.0 when it offers to do that and see what happens, but other than that, do you have any ideas?????

Bill

[siron]

I never heard of these bugs. Sounds u talk about the win version (orion95.exe).

I hope these instructions (written by Lord Brazen) for the dos version (orion2.exe) will help u (screenshots in the pdf):

1.40 Patch (latest version here): http://www.moo2.de.vu/moo2%20patches.htm
FAQ: http://www.moo2.de.vu/moo2v140faq.htm


Installation of
Master of Orion II
DOS version v1.40
Under Windows XP (SP1)
by Lord Brazen
Last updated: May 23rd, 2004
System Requirements under DOS:
.. 486DX/66 Mhz or better
.. 2x speed CD-ROM drive
.. 8M RAM min
.. MS-DOS 6 or later
.. 75M Hard disk space minimum
.. VESA 1.2 compliant video card (mode 101h - 640x480x256)
.. Mouse
System Requirements under Windows XP:
.. Pentium II 300Mhz or better
.. CD-ROM drive (only for install)
.. 128M RAM min
.. Windows XP SP1
.. 360M Hard disk space (contents of entire CD)
.. VESA 1.2 compliant video adapter (mode 101h - 640x480x256)
.. Mouse

Step 1: Run the DOS installer
Insert the CD. When (or if) the Master of Orion II install window pops up, close it. That is for installing the Windows 95 version of the game. We want to install the dos version instead.
Find the Install.exe on your CD and double click it to start the DOS installer. You should see the screen as below. If your video does not appear to be functioning at this point, you will not be able to play the DOS version of the game (unless you can find compatable video drivers). Also, many people do not have a CD with the dos version of the game on it.

Technical Details
Installation under Windows XP (SP1)
Select a drive and click install ( I suggest you use the default directory C:\MPS\ORION2 ). The game will install. When the installation is complete, the Sound Configuration Utility will start. Do not configure the sound right now. Leave both MIDI music and Digital audio as None. We will configure it later. Select Done and exit.

Step 2: Copy the entire CD onto the hard drive (optional step)
In order to speed up the game, I recommend you now copy the entire contents of the CD into the C:\MPS\ORION2 folder. When you are copying you can feel free to say 'Yes to All' when it asks to overwrite the files. Once all the files are copied you will need to edit the 'ORIONCD.INI' file within the C:\MPS\ORION2 folder. Change the top line in the file to C:\MPS\ORION2\

Step 3: Apply the v1.31 patch [ ftp://ftp.infogrames.net/patches/moo2/moo2v131.zip ]
Now you need to apply the 1.31 patch to the game. Download the 1.31 english DOS patch from the microprose web site. Unzip it into your C:\MPS\ORION2 folder overwiting files as needed.

Step 4: Apply the v1.40 patch
Now you need to apply the 1.40 patch. Download the 1.40 patch. Unzip it into your C:\MPS\ORION2 folder. Run it. Be sure to say yes to 'Create Desktop Icon' and 'Patch rkernel.com'.

Step 5: Configure the sound (optional)
These settings apply to all XP installations irregardless of what type of soundcard you have. Windows XP includes Sound Blaster emulations for DOS mode games. Do not use the setsound utility to configure the sound. Manually edit the files as indicated below.
NOTE: Some soundcards and sound drivers do not support DOS mode sound in XP. For some you may need to run a TSR or enable Sound Blaster compatability in the BIOS. Most AC97 cards will work well. Also, the game music may have clicking or static with some
cards. I do not know any fix for this (try turning down the music volume in the game).
Edit the 'DIG.INI' within the C:\MPS\ORION2 folder. Change it as follow:
;
;Miles Design Audio Interface Library V3.02 of 18-Jan-95
;
DEVICE Creative Labs Sound Blaster or 100% compatible
DRIVER SBLASTER.DIG
IO_ADDR 220h
IRQ 5
DMA_8_BIT 1
DMA_16_BIT -1
Also, edit the 'MDI.INI' within the C:\MPS\ORION2 folder. Change it as follow:
;
;Miles Design Audio Interface Library V3.02 of 18-Jan-95
;
DEVICE General MIDI (Roland MPU-401 interface or 100% compatible)
DRIVER MPU401.MDI
IO_ADDR 330h
IRQ -1
DMA_8_BIT -1
DMA_16_BIT -1

Step 6: Configure an icon on the kali games launch bar (Edit: Just a "Scan for Games" is enuff now for b16.) Once the patch is applied, copy the desktop shortcut into you C:\MPS\ORION2 folder overwrite as needed. This will configure the DOS exe properties for the best compatability. Next, open up kali. Right click the game launch bar (in the blank area beside the game icons
in kali). Pick 'Add New Game' from the menu. Then select 'Master of Orion 2' from the selection window. Now in the Game Settings window, click the browse button. Browse to and Open 'ORION2v140.EXE'. Leave everything else as default. Click OK to finish.

[siron]

here is the pdf

[shmily_dana]

My problem is when I run the orion95 executable, it locks up during the "refit ship" menu. Sometimes the mouse is slow or sticks in other screens, but I can hit "return".

If I run the orion2 executable, everything is normal, but I get no sound.

[Berserker]

Thanks for the info on the DOS install. I went ahead and installed MOO2 on a pure MSDOS 6.22 machine I have and the combat lockup at the last fatal shot still happened.

This was running the 1.31 DOS version of the executable program and starting a brand new game.

What puzzles me is that up until about 4-6 months ago it worked under Windows98SE as advertised and also under WinXP SP1. I Tried installing it in a new Win98SE partition using only the version of DX that comes with MOO 2, but still had problems.

I'm totally stumped and will probably just settle for non-tactical combat.

Thanks for the help and suggestions

Bill

[vmxa1]

Originally posted by shmily_dana
My problem is when I run the orion95 executable, it locks up during the "refit ship" menu. Sometimes the mouse is slow or sticks in other screens, but I can hit "return".

If I run the orion2 executable, everything is normal, but I get no sound.

I have had the problem with a sticky mouse. I can often get the coursor to move by holding the control key, but it is very hard to get it to line up properly.

I could not get it to work for the taxes.

I finally used Moslo and now have no problems, running at about 47%.

[vmxa1]

Berserker, the combat lock up has been around forever. I have not sen it in a long time, but I have run into it.

The last time was on a game I downloaded and it had been modified via Corion.

If you have saved before the combat, you can replay the round. In the next atempt, alter the fighting pattern a bit and you can often avoid the abend.

Sometimes, I will figure the ship that seems to trigger the aborting and attack it first or use a different weapon on it.

Good luck.

[siron]

hmmm....i thought berserker meant that he ALWAYS had this combat lock up.

Editing with corion doesnt help much in this case.....

mebbe some of is lbx files is corrupted?

[vmxa1]

I was saying that corion was the cause of the bug in the last one I saw. But. I have never seen it occur for all combat, only with some large ones and in that case it always occurred for that battle, unless I altered how I did the combat.

[Berserker]

Well, I've done some experimenting (again) and I can't solve the combat lockup problem. Happens 100% of the time under all conditions.....

Conditions include early in the game with a couple of destroyers taking on an Eel to late in the game with Death Stars blowing away the Antarans, games modified with Corion and not, WinXP, Win98SE and pure MSDOS 6.22, and 4 different graphics cards (all nVidia), but ranging from an FX-5700 256MB down to an MX-200 32MB one and 4 different machines from a P4 3GhZ to a Pentium II 400MhZ one. And I've played with various versions of DX, from the 2.0 that MOO2 installs up through DX9C.

I've re-installed the game several times, just to make sure nothing was corrupted. I've also copied ALL the files from the CD to the game directory and then pointed the Orioncd.Ini file to the drive on which the game is installed......makes for fast loading, but doesn't prevent the lockup.

Anyway, thanks for the feedback, helpful hints, etc. It's too bad that instead of offering us the disaster that was/is MOO3, they didn't just do a complete rewrite of MOO2 and bring it up to today's standards of graphics and sound and coding while leaving the gameplay alone!!

Bill

[siron]

Hmmm.
Last try:
make sure sound is off too
Some crashes are caused by sound cards.
But problems with 4 different sound cards seems unusual.
-----------------------------
So i guess that your CD is broken.

Try that demo here:
http://download.softwrap.com/NCBuy/MOO2.exe

and the 1.31 patch:
ftp://ftp.infogrames.net/patches/moo2/

U should try if these files work.

[vmxa1]

Do you have a save just before the crash? If you do, post it and we can see if it crashes on our systems.

[Berserker]

Don't have a save game with Tactical Combat enabled right now. When I do, I'll get it to a point where I'm going into a fight and I will post it.

In looking back over the 1.31 Readme, I think I might try that Z key to speed the combat and see if it still locks up. I'll also see what effect turning off sound has. I've got a SB Audigy ZS which is pretty common so I don't think it's the problem, but worth a try for troubleshooting purposes.

Bill

[vmxa1]

Just in case you have not used the "Z" before, you have to use it at the start. IOW you cannot initiate it during the battle.

[Berserker]

Originally posted by vmxa1
Just in case you have not used the "Z" before, you have to use it at the start. IOW you cannot initiate it during the battle.

I found that one out the hard way!

Thanks for all the help........

Bill

[Aabraxan]

Originally posted by Lostnwoods
I have a diffrent problem with xp that i can't find any help with out there so i am hoping some one hear can help me i get a a error message thats says
"C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\AUTOEXECT.NT the system file is not suitable for running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows applications." but thats my only error so i can even install the games can some one please help ?

I have this same probem. When that box comes up, I have two choices: "Cancel," which does the obvious," and "Ignore," doesn't allow it to install, either.

I've tried installing using compatibility modes for Windows, to no avail. I've searched the web for sites to tell me something about compatibility, and they all seem to indicate that MOO2 should be compatibile with my system.

I've also seen the posts regarding editing the autoexec.nt file . . . Problem is, I can't even install the files necessary to make that work. (And, historically, it's proven to be a *really* bad idea for me to go tinkering in files like that.)

Any other suggestions?

[siron]

have u tried the latest 1.40 b18 patch?

(u find it here:

http://masteroforion2.blogspot.com/2...92119255475969

step3 there)

it is now easier to apply:

Oct 27, 2004 - version 1.40b18
******************************

- New patcher engine
- Improved autoexec2.nt in XP
- Patcher should now detect the path to Kali correctly when generating autoexec2.nt
- Improved dosx version checking. It will only patch SP2 dosx.
- Detects orion2 version. Now it will only patch the DOS v1.31 english version
- Modem Comm Info button is now greyed out.
- Fix for some video cards misreporting "missing vesa.com"
- Now patcher creates the orion2v140.pif file automatically in game directory.
- Patcher now creates a .lnk file on the desktop rather than a .pif file

[vmxa1]

You can copy the autoexec.nt into any directory that you wish and eidt it. It will have no effect on the system or any apps, until you point that app to that path.

You can only do this in a DOS program, so Orion95 will not allow it. Orion2.exe will and you need to use properties and then the program tab.

There you replace the default path to the one you wish it to us.