Guide to getting moo2 working in win2k/xp

[karlmarx9001]

1) Install the latest service pack.
2) Download the windows application compatibility toolkit from here.
3) In the compatibility administration tool, create a new database for moo2. Set it to use the windows 95 compatability layer. In the list of fixes, enable "LazyReleaseDC".

1-3 fix the screen corruption problem with selling buildings.

If mouse movement is jerky, run "dxdiag" without quotes at the start->run prompt. Click on the display tab and disable directdraw acceleration. Just remember to re-enable it when you're done playing.

[Scotsh]

Ok, i tested it!
1. My Orion2.exe started (yay!)
2. There is no sound
3. My cursor moves just in the upper left corner, cant reach the rest of the screen (tried the DDraw thing but it didnt work)
4. If i hit a keyboard button (and i mean every button) it crashes)

So my first question is: Is this really intended to be used with the orion2.exe? Or is it supposed to be a fix for a glitch with the orion95.exe ("1-3 fix the screen corruption problem with selling buildings") ??

And if its for the orion2.exe, am i doing something wrong? THX for any help

[Dragon Templar]

@Scotsh:
Ich bin ziemlich verdammt sicher, dass karlmarx NICHT Orion2.exe meint, sondern Orion95.exe.
Wundert mich, dass ersteres bei dir überhaubt lädt.

[Scotsh]

I´m answering you in english, so others may respond as well.

So where is the point for using this for the Orion95.exe? It works like a charm with win2k (besides the ultra fast scrolling in combat) with out any compatibility fix stuff.

And something is definatly working with the orion2.exe, cos without this tool it wont even start.
But i realised recently anyway its pointless cos i´ll never get a DOS-IPX working with win2k

Damn, all i want is playing some MoO2-MP cos MoO3 suck wang.

[jeffds]

thanks

Thanks karlmarx,
I had problems with corrupted graphics under 2K Pro and your fix worked for me. (with Orion95.exe).

[jogurt]

You must run VESA.COM

I still get "You must run VESA.COM"

[ABX]

I have a different problem with Master of orion 2.
I use orion95.exe to play on winNt 4.0 and i have only one fatal error.

After 1 hour of play the game suddenly exit. I can save the game one turn befor and it always exit when I press next turn. This happens in every game. I sus

[fucik]

redraw problems

I'm running win2k sp3 with the win95 compatability fix and ddraw disabled and every once in a while the game decides it should stop drawing most of the screen. Anything with text on it except for pop up boxes still get drawn but everything else is black. The only way I've found to fix the problem is to exit and reload. The game still functions (so i can save) but it is a hassle. I have tried running without the compatability fix and changing a few options with that, but if i enable ddraw I can't use my mouse. Any thoughts?

[Rubbrduck]

Two things I noticed;

For me, I found that the game exited whenever a SMALL video was supposed to be played (i.e. invaded Orion, got Antaran visitors, used Stellar Converter). The solution was to turn off both Antarans and random events. It might work to keep random events though. And don't invade Orion first, don't use SC.

I also got the "black screen" bug - but only when I had compatibility mode turned ON. When I tried turning it off, the game worked like a charm! You also have to press "space" to skip the initial videos or it exits.

[ABX]

I have the same problem as Rubbrduck and I'm playing on NT 4.0 sp6.

Random event doesn't lock the game but I found out that the AI at Level Impossible is cheating.

At the very start of the game I got space flux (no ship movemant) but that didn't prevent the AI from colonizing new planets.

[vmxa1]

Lets not use the term cheating, when it fact it is not. Races that have TransD trait are immune from Hyperspace Flux as are Antarans.

[ABX]

Aha!

[Shadowlord]

(I'm aware this is an old thread)

You probably can get DOS IPX to work in Win2k, if your problem was a "comm failure" - What I had to do to get it working on XP (I'm guessing the comm error problem on XP was inherited from win2k and is the same there) was to install the latest version (at this time) of the Novell Client for windows (http://download.novell.com/Download?...d=7D-9JsOeO6w~), which included a vipx.exe which (when run before a DOS program, for instance from said program's autoexec.nt) makes IPX work in DOS. The Novell Client installer seems to automatically add vipx.exe to the standard autoexec.nt, but if you've got separate ones already for MOO2 you'd need to modify them yourself.

The specific steps I did when installing it were:

Note: To log in after you install it and reboot: It'll come up and ask you where to log on to. Check 'workstation only' and log on with your normal username and password (On XP, that defaults to Owner, with no password).

What I did exactly while installing the Novell Client (written in the form of instructions, of course :P):

• Download the zip from http://download.novell.com/Download?...d=7D-9JsOeO6w~
• Extract the stuff in the zip, it'll be in a folder English\WINNT\i386 inside whatever folder you extracted it to. Go into that folder and run setupnw.exe.
• Click "Custom Installation" (so its radio-button is active) and then hit Next.
• Make sure only "Novell Client for Windows (Required)" is checked, then hit Next again.
• Uncheck the first checkbox on this screen ("Novell Modular Authentication Services (NMAS)"), and then the second one too ("NICI"). Then hit Next.
• Select the "IPX" radio button, at the very bottom, then press Next.
• Press Next again.
• Press Finish.
• Wait for it to install.
• After it's done, reboot, and then you can delete the files you extracted.

The idea for this came originally from LordBrazen's site, which suggested loading nw16 (an EXE) and vwipxspx (a DLL); However these programs did not exist here (I have a preinstalled version of XP Home), and were not in the i386 folder on the HD (apparently the equivalent of the nonexistant windows CD), and were not installed by the Novell Client. So I looked for other things that it installed to see if Novell had renamed the stuff or something, and I found vipx, and tried it, and it did indeed get rid of the "comm failure".

P.S. I also found a zip on Novell's site which included just vipx and some DLL, but it wouldn't work on its own. Apparently it requires other things that come with the Novell Client.

I have a friend who uses win2k, but he hasn't even gotten to the comm error yet - For a long time MOO2 wouldn't even start (we tried a bunch of other DOS games, and it seemed that no protected mode ones would work). We tried a bunch of things but nothing fixed it. Eventually I suggested a windows reinstall, and he tried the 'restore' feature from the CD or something, which didn't work (:P), and then he did an actual windows reinstall, which DID work.

Then he had the 'VESA.com must be loaded' issue, and we got around that, but the display was all screwy. (I haven't seen a screenshot though, so I can't say how it was :P)

P.S. We're using LordBrazen's 1.40 patch.

One last note: So far I haven't actually gotten multiplayer to work. Uh... Yeah. I've been trying between two XP computers on a LAN, and while they can SEE each others games, and can connect, it doesn't get past the race-selection (in fact only the host gets race selection, the client sits at "Waiting to join" forever. When the host finishes race selection and picks his flag color, he gets a nice black screen, and the client continues to sit on "waiting to join"). I've tried fiddling with a boatload of different things, none of which fixed the problem. Right now I'm wondering if I can somehow use GIT (Gamer's Internet Tunnel) to fix it... We'll see. Other than that, I've been wondering how virtual modem software works, since that could be useful (emulate a modem over the internet, voila MOO2 multiplayer via 'modem' should work without needing IPX).

I even tried doing multiplayer on a network with the Windows version of MOO2. Neither computer could see a game hosted by the other. Huh!

[siron]

Interesting.

"Then he had the 'VESA.com must be loaded' issue, and we got around that, but the display was all screwy. (I haven't seen a screenshot though, so I can't say how it was :P)"

Do you have a screenshot now?

[Shadowlord]

No, he hasn't been able to take a screenshot of it, it being a DOS program and all that. I suggested taking the screenshot from DOSBox, but apparently MOO2 actually works properly in DOSBox, but very very slowly. :P

His computer's rather slow (by modern standards) to begin with (500 MHz). I've suggested trying DOSBox's dynamic mode, but it might not be enough to make the speed decent.

Edit: He took a picture of the screen, at the beginning when it's showing the logo.

The thing on the left is a reflection, the stuff on the top is all that's on the screen.