AAARGH!!! Aliens Vs. Predator Gold XP Compatibility Problem!

[Zilla Man]

Does anyone out there know how to get AvP Gold to run on Windows XP? I had trouble installing it but finally got it in. Then it kept crashing after the Fox logo. I went to several of the AvP sites and apparently there's a problem with XP and the opening movies. The several snippets of advice I read said to try several things:

Press ENTER to skip intro movie.
Download latest bnkw32.dll patches
Launch program in Wndows95, 98, or 2000 modes.
Disable intro movies at OPTION menu.

I've done all of these but to no avail. The only difference is that I get to the opening game screen before it crashes again.... :mad: Some people get it running, others don't.

My rig's only 7 months old (HP AMD 2000 and a Ge ForceTi4200 128 Meg, 512 RAM) - so that's not the problem. And other more powerful/recent games run fine.

Anybody have any suggestions?

Thanx

[Suicides-by-Steve]

Here's what I do when I encounter movies/ads I can't stand or can't turn off (which drive me nuts) at start up. Try looking in the games' directory for a file with the extention of .cfg or .ini at the end of the file. Generally it'll say settings.cfg. This is the configuration/Intialization file settings. Open this with Notepad or some text editor. Look for Startup Movies=1 or IntroMovie=1 or something like that. Change the 1 to 0. Close and save and see what that does for you.

If nothing happens, or you recieve errors, or there are no movie settings in the config files, change it back to what it was, and try this. Find the intro movie in the Directory. Change the extension to .bak. So for instance, you'll find the movie, (let's call it FoxIntro.avi), and change it to FoxIntro.bak. If this doesn't work, again change it back. And then contact MS's website for movie plug-ins or to simply complain.

[Hieremias]

Check out <a href="http://www.ntcompatible.com">NT Compatible</a> for listings of hundreds of games and apps to see if they'll run under Windows 2000/XP, and whether or not you need to tweak them to get them to run (sometimes you do).

I haven't played AvP under Windows XP but I did play it under Windows 2000, and it worked fine. I highly doubt there's a game that will play under 2000 but not under XP. So I'm sure there's just a tweak or two needed to get it running smoothly.

[Aku]

Do you have the Indeo codecs installed? Mafia would crash before the opening cutscene, and I learned it was because XP with Service Pack 1 did not come with the codecs. I downloaded them in a Windows Update, and that fixed it.

[Zilla Man]

<div class=\"smallfont\">Check out <a href="http://www.ntcompatible.com">NT Compatible</a> for listings of hundreds of games and apps to see if they'll run under Windows 2000/XP, and whether or not you need to tweak them to get them to run (sometimes you do).

I haven't played AvP under Windows XP but I did play it under Windows 2000, and it worked fine. I highly doubt there's a game that will play under 2000 but not under XP. So I'm sure there's just a tweak or two needed to get it running smoothly.</div>


Thanks guys, I'll try all of your suggestions now and see what happens.

Hieramas, thank you very much for the link. I checked out the site and booked marked it for future reference. It seems you're right, it should run under 2000/XP. Unfortunately, the only suggestion someone there had was downloading the patch I already tried. So until I find out just what exactly those "tweaks" are, I'm back to square one. :confused: I'll let you guys know how it goes.

Anybody else with suggestions, please don't hesitate to post.

[Zilla Man]

Well, I thank everyone for their suggestions but nothing's worked. :confused: Suicides Steve, I couldn't even find any codes that you described in the folders I opened, but thanks anyway. I even took my game back to EB and traded it in at a $9 loss for another copy to make sure it wasn't my game copy.

I'm having a friend come over later this week to take a look at it. If he can't get it to work, then it's back to EB for a refund... :(

[Suicides-by-Steve]

<div class=\"smallfont\">Well, I thank everyone for their suggestions but nothing's worked. :confused: Suicides Steve, I couldn't even find any codes that you described in the folders I opened, but thanks anyway. I even took my game back to EB and traded it in at a $9 loss for another copy to make sure it wasn't my game copy.

I'm having a friend come over later this week to take a look at it. If he can't get it to work, then it's back to EB for a refund... :(</div>

Well, they're not really codes, just troubleshooting steps... Keep in mind that the movies may not be listed as AVI's... There are many different movie formats out there... The most current being .bik for the Bink Video codecs. The movie files aren't always obvious either, but they're there for sure. They may even be under their own folder such as Movies(obvious), Media, or Data. Another telltale sign as to what file you're looking at, is by their extensions, and to help you out, you can set your computer (uncheck Hide extensions of known file types- under Tools->Folder Options->View) to show all extensions. However, if you've hit the fan sites, and nobody hasn't come up with this solution either, chances are it won't work. Most of the time if you remove the start-up logo's, and Publisher Ads, the game crashes, but for games like Battlefield 1942... it works wonderfully, and cuts down the loadup times by half. No more pressing spacebar for me to skip those lame ass vids! God, after you've seen them a hundred times, they begin to get really old.

[Archmage1]

Zilla Man, is there a message that appears when the game crashes? If so, please post the message. I think SBS is correct that you need to make an adjustment to your .ini file. This will be in your system folder. It often looks like a notepad file but with a little orange nut on it. From a nut and bolt. The title of the file will be the name of the game. Under XP, it may not show an .ini or .cfg extension.

Don't give up on this game. It's fantastic... at least the Marine missions are. It's also a great multiplayer game.

[Zilla Man]

Archmage:

Thanks for the advice. I've been dying to play this game for years, so you can only imagine my frustration! :mad: I know it's just a siomple matter of something I'm not doing. Especially since the demo to the 2nd one works just fine on my rig! I was going to take it back to EB for a refund tomorrow but I'll try your advice first.

There's no message on the screen -- the game simply kicks me back to the desktop.

There are only two files that fit your "nuts and gears" description. Coincidentally, these are the two other people have told me to update with more recent downloads. I've done so to no effect. But I'll try following your instructions and keep you posted. Let me know if you think of anything else in the meantime.

Your help is very much appreciated, Archmage! ;) Thanks again.

[Zilla Man]

<div class=\"smallfont\">Zilla Man, is there a message that appears when the game crashes? If so, please post the message. I think SBS is correct that you need to make an adjustment to your .ini file. This will be in your system folder. It often looks like a notepad file but with a little orange nut on it. From a nut and bolt. The title of the file will be the name of the game. Under XP, it may not show an .ini or .cfg extension.

Don't give up on this game. It's fantastic... at least the Marine missions are. It's also a great multiplayer game.</div>

Okay the two folders are "binkW32.dll" and "SMACKW32.DLL" I've tried opening them with notepad, but all I get is gibberish! How the hell am I supposed to change the code if I can't even read it?

Anyone got any suggestions?

[Archmage1]

Those are the wrong folders. You don't want to mess with dll files at all, at least I don't. Look for a file name very similar to the game title. When you open it, as Steve said, it should have a whole bunch of properties like this...

HighDetailActors=True
DetailBias=-1.500000
RefreshRate=100Hz
DetailTextures=True
FastUglyRefresh=False
ScreenSmoothing=True
Resolution=Default

If you can find this folder, I think we can solve your problem...

[Suicides-by-Steve]

<div class=\"smallfont\"><div class=\"smallfont\"></div>

Okay the two folders are "binkW32.dll" and "SMACKW32.DLL" I've tried opening them with notepad, but all I get is gibberish! How the hell am I supposed to change the code if I can't even read it?

Anyone got any suggestions?</div>

Don't touch those .dll files... you could screw up alot more than just the game... If there's nothing else in the folders, and you're sure that the movies aren't hidden (you can again enable this through view hidden files and folders), your best option though is to find that .ini file. At least though, you bought it from EB and you can take it back. Is there a way that you can take a screenshot of the AvP directory? If you let us see how it's set up, it may be easier for us to track down the movie/ini file.

[Zilla Man]

<div class=\"smallfont\"><div class=\"smallfont\"></div>

Don't touch those .dll files... you could screw up alot more than just the game... If there's nothing else in the folders, and you're sure that the movies aren't hidden (you can again enable this through view hidden files and folders), your best option though is to find that .ini file. At least though, you bought it from EB and you can take it back. Is there a way that you can take a screenshot of the AvP directory? If you let us see how it's set up, it may be easier for us to track down the movie/ini file.</div>

SBS:

That's a great idea but, ummm, how do I take a screen shot? :confused: I'd love to do that - anything to make it easier for you guys!

Archmage:

Thanks for sticking with me. ;) LOGFILETXT. (not an application file) is the only folder that contains anything remotely similar to what you and SBS mention. Here'a a sample:

AwSetDDObject(009bfe70) called.
Compiled with DirectDraw Version 6.0
AwSetSurfaceFormat(0007fd7c) called
AwSetPixelFormat() OK
Pixel Format is 16-bit RGB
5-6-5
Red->[15..11]
Green->[10..5]
Blue->[4..0]
CL_LoadImageOnce(): Getting the full pathname for Menus\fractal.rim
(which is a path relative to Graphics or \\bob\textures\avp_graphics)
AwCreateSurface("pxfXY") called
Data Pointer = 022acb74
Max bytes to read = 17042
Flags = 0x00000009
Ptr to image width = 005cc084
Ptr to image height = 005cc088
Loading an IFF file
found a 187 colour uncompressed IFF body chunk
The image in the file is 128x128 with 187 colour palette
rectangle from image (0,0)-(128,128)
AwCreateGraphic() OK
CL_LoadImageOnce(): Getting the full pathname for Common\aa_font.rim
(which is a path relative to Graphics or \\bob\textures\avp_graphics)
AwCreateSurface("pxfXY") called
Data Pointer = 02380a60
Max bytes to read = 50466
Flags = 0x00000009
Ptr to image width = 005cc098
Ptr to image height = 005cc09c
Loading an IFF file
found a 182 colour compressed IFF body chunk
The image in the file is 256x256 with 182 colour palette
rectangle from image (0,0)-(256,256)

And here's a list of the folders with the simililar name to the game title and what I've found in them:

1) Folder - avp_huds - contains a bunch of files ending in "rif". When I open them with Notepad or Word I just get gibberish.

2) Folder - avp_rif - same as above, except that there's an empty folder labelled "Custom" in the corner.

3) avpgolded.mpi - a multiplayer file.

4) AvP.video.cfg - nothing in here!

5) Folder -FMV - I'm assuming this is where the Full Motion Videos are accessed. A bunch of "bik" and "smk" files with gibberish symbols.

6) avp.exe - okay, this is the file that I think might be causing all the trouble. It's the only one I can find listed as an app file. It's also the icon you click on to start the game. I tried opening it with an app but to no avail. Then I added the words "-debug" to the title and it let me in. Unfortunately all I got was lines of gibberish!

I don't know if this will help but here's a quote from the README.TXT:

Console Commands:

*NOTE: These commands can only be accessed by running the game with the command line option "-debug" (e.g. "AVP.exe -debug").

Normal Console Commands and Variables
The following CONSOLE VARIABLES are made available (replace the # sign with a number), in-game help is available by typing the "LISTVAR" command at the console:
"MOTIONTRACKERVOLUME" - this is set at its maximum of 1.0 by default, the volume of the tracker can be reduced by changing this number (e.g. to 0.75 or 0.5).
"CROUCHMODE" - this new console command allows players to change the Aliens crouch/crawl to a toggle on/off key by typing "CROUCHMODE 1" at the console. "CROUCHMODE 0" changes back to the default setting.

There is a Notepad File called ConsoleLog.Txt, but it's empty. Am I supposed to write in there?

Sorry for the long post but it's the best I can do until I learn how to get you a screenshot. :o

[Zilla Man]

You mentioned that to look at my .ini I would have to look in my Systems Folder. Just where would I find that on XP? Thanks!

[Archmage1]

<div class=\"smallfont\">You mentioned that to look at my .ini I would have to look in my Systems Folder. Just where would I find that on XP? Thanks!</div>

Insde the AVP game folder itself.

My Computer
C Drive
Program Files...
Then the actual AVP game folder...
What are all the folders in there?

[Zilla Man]

<div class=\"smallfont\"><div class=\"smallfont\"></div>

Insde the AVP game folder itself.

My Computer
C Drive
Program Files...
Then the actual AVP game folder...
What are all the folders in there?</div>


The Folders are: avp_huds, avp_rifs, fastfile, User_Profiles, MPConfig, and FMVs. The rest are file icons (including avp.exe but no ".ini" files to be seen. Was my previous post any help?

[Suicides-by-Steve]

"AvP.video.cfg - nothing in here!"

Hmm, I suspect you'd be able to enter commands here to enable or disable movies,or video (graphic card) resolutions etc...

"FMV"

Are you SURE this folder is empty? Right click on the file and go into properties... or if you're using XP just mouseover the file... how big is that file... that sounds like what I've been looking for. FMV= Full Motion Video...

"User_Profiles"

That is another file to check into for anything pertaining to movies...

[Zilla Man]

<div class=\"smallfont\">"AvP.video.cfg - nothing in here!"

Hmm, I suspect you'd be able to enter commands here to enable or disable movies,or video (graphic card) resolutions etc...

"FMV"

Are you SURE this folder is empty? Right click on the file and go into properties... or if you're using XP just mouseover the file... how big is that file... that sounds like what I've been looking for. FMV= Full Motion Video...

"User_Profiles"

That is another file to check into for anything pertaining to movies...</div>

FMV folder contents = A bunch of "bik" and "smk" files with gibberish symbols.

It's the "AvP.video.cfg " that's empty.