Earth 2140 Startup Issues...

[Hadiel]

Okay this is my problem,

Earth 2140, a not-so-very-red alert-clone refuses to start up using either dosbox, vcm, xp or anything equivalent.

First problems occured when i bought this shiny new pc (custom parts, funky video card, i.e. everything the exp. gamer needs) Now the damn thing wouldn't install "because there is no free room" (Fat 32 -> ntfs curse)
I fixed it by making it boot from my hd. (eg editing the config so it seeks on hd for data files) The following happened:

- Under xp. Game gets kicked in the face by xp's "uncompatibility mode" - instant crash to desktop
- Under xp with vcm. Same as above
- Under dosbox. You need a vesa compatible video card (which i have) - instant IF... GO EXIT: DO REPEAT

Any actions to prevent these errors from occuring have proven fruitless so far and i'm getting desperate. Please help this "old 2d game loving person" and help me find a sollution (no not sulphur acid... i tried... it failed)

EDIT: I just tried the new and flashy DOSBox 0.70 and it actually starts up until the point where you can choose a side... There is a large sound issue (can't find ANY soundcard at all, autoconfig is busted, recognises strange SB values) After you pick a side and select a mission after 6 seconds the game locks up and you can only move your mouse... still, it's a large step forward... (the largest step in 6 years to be precise)

Anything you can do to help? Pwitty pwease with fwosties and sugar on top, post it here... i'm close... i can feel it.

Oh and i just noticed that this might be the wrong location on the forum to post this so excuses up front mr. admin ppl.

[The Fifth Horseman]

- Under xp. Game gets kicked in the face by xp's "uncompatibility mode" - instant crash to desktop[/b]
I presume you have already tried [PROPERTIES]-->[COMPATIBILITY] ?

can't find ANY soundcard at all, autoconfig is busted, recognises strange SB values[/b]
Try forcing it to Sound Blaster 16, IRQ 7, DMA 1, Adress 220.

Failing that, try using Virtual PC 2004 running Windows 95 or 98.


If the game crashes as bad in DosBox as you say, try contacting the DosBox dev team. They just might try fixing that for the next release (like they did after I reported issues with Norton Commander).


There is also the "other option" for the source of your problem: are you sure your copy of the game hasn't been corrupted? Had that happen to me a couple times (most notably with Fatty Bear, which is why I didn't review it earlier).

[Reup]

Moved to Troubleshooting :)

[Japo]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(the_fifth_horseman @ Mar 5 2007, 01:46 PM) 281951</div>If the game crashes as bad in DosBox as you say, try contacting the DosBox dev team. They just might try fixing that for the next release (like they did after I reported issues with Norton Commander).[/b]
It should work and it does work for people out there:

http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/comp_list.ph...arch=earth+2140 (http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/comp_list.php?search=earth+2140)

Doesn't matter which video card you have, DOSBox emulates its own, and it is VESA compatible as far as I know... Dunno... Try downloading UNIVBE.EXE and running it before the game, but AFAIK DOSBox doesn't need it --not with other games needing VESA like Crusader:

http://vogons.zetafleet.com/download.php?id=899

The sound card emulated by DOSBox is regardless of the one you actually have hardware-wise, by default it's a Sound Blaster 16 at port 220 with IRQ 7 and DMA 1 like 'Horseman said. I really can't understand your problem, have you tried re-downloading?

EDIT There are bug reports indeed:

http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/comp_list.php?showID=2215

[Data]

the reports seem to be for olders version
it should be runnable in 0.65 and 0.70 according to the list.

[Hadiel]

Peace and joy to decades! It runs! It still refuses to play sound... (even after forcing the config, thanks for the tip 5th horseman)

It runs just like any other in dosbox, doesn't crash anymore. I think it was a one time error (at least i hope) but the sound error thingey just developed a new (and strange) way of bugging me. If i try to autoconfig it FINDS a SB-16 w/ IRQ 7 DMA 1 HDMA 5 PORT 220 (e.g. exactly the way i want it) but when i smack the test button it says "Kan geluidskaart niet initialiseren" (in english: Can't initialize soundcard), now the interesting thing is that when i autodetect again, it goes to Gravis ultrasound with blank IRQ, DMA, HDMA & PORT. After this, when i select SB-16 Again i get REALLY strange settings, Namely IRQ -1 DMA -1 HDMA -1 PORT -ffff <- teh is weird

After MANUALLY correcting the values (IRQ 7 DMA 1 HDMA 5 PORT 220) and pressing the test button, IT WORKS! It plays sound like it should and everything. I exit the setup, Save the config, Start the game and *K-POW*, Can't initialize the soundcard AGAIN!

Frustration is taking the better of me so hereby i'm posting my cpu specs. (to help me help you and vice versa)

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ (currently @ 3,4 GHZ)
Nvidea G-Force 7800 (with SLI & GPU) 512MB Edition Silver
Creative Sound Blaster X-FI LIVE (teh uber soundcard)
2048 MB RAM (DDR DUAL 400+ MHZ)

Furthermore i have a phunky keyboard w/ hotkeys, Logitech optical mouse (2b) 2 Joysticks / Gamepads (logitech dual action, Thrustmaster firestorm w/ rumble function.) and also a lot of onboard crap like sound and video but they are all disabled. firewall is down and windows' DEP is down as well (I hate getting my virtual memory fingered by XP)

If anyone can find a way or method to get the sound running in the game using the above information please tell me...

EDIT: Almost forgot, i verified that my copy is not corrupted in any way. i re-installed it twice and everything is normal.

[The Fifth Horseman]

It runs just like any other in dosbox, doesn't crash anymore. I think it was a one time error (at least i hope) but the sound error thingey just developed a new (and strange) way of bugging me. If i try to autoconfig it FINDS a SB-16 w/ IRQ 7 DMA 1 HDMA 5 PORT 220 (e.g. exactly the way i want it) but when i smack the test button it says "Kan geluidskaart niet initialiseren" (in english: Can't initialize soundcard), now the interesting thing is that when i autodetect again, it goes to Gravis ultrasound with blank IRQ, DMA, HDMA & PORT. After this, when i select SB-16 Again i get REALLY strange settings, Namely IRQ -1 DMA -1 HDMA -1 PORT -ffff <- teh is weird[/b]
Change soundcard emulation to Sound Blaster Pro 2. Change the setup accordingly and try running the game again.

[Pulsar_t]

I registered to say that this game is causing me audio problems as well. It doesn't have the option of SBPro2 like the poster above me suggested.. I also tried it under Virtual PC 2007 and the GUI setup utility is garbled with or without Scitech UniVBE drivers. So I guess there's no way to play this with audio until someone notifies the DOSBox team.

[The Fifth Horseman]

It doesn't have the option of SBPro2 like the poster above me suggested.[/b]
Which ones does it have, then? Sound Blaster Pro 2 is sometimes supported under the heading of "regular" Sound Blaster Pro.