Created thread, moved post.

The attached archive contains the necessary registry and updated files needed to run various games in the Blaster series on modern Windows. This is because the original installers are 16-bit and won't run on modern Windows. This way lets you bypass the installers entirely.
The readme files will tell you which files are needed from the game CDs. The CDs will only be needed for the game files; you'll be able to play the games without them afterwards.

Unless otherwise stated, these games all use Davidson's Atlas Game Engine.

UPDATE: Added registry files for Math Blaster Episode 2 and Reading Blaster Vocabulary.

Not sure if right spot, but applies to multiple games for me on Windows XP 32bit; if 3GB ini is set, then AMD CCC drivers will not work with DX9 games, at least with HD 3870; you will get an error in Ungine heaven about DX9 missing, STALKER SoC will freeze on launch, UT3 will give error etc. Resetting the Windows ini to default fixes the issue.

I've just made a compatibility fix for Carmen Sandiego Junior Detective. It fixes MIDI detection and garbled text. I've played through the first case and found no problems save for graphical issues (which strangely didn't happen when using DxWnd, which is odd as the game doesn't even use DirectX).

CDrayan wrote on 2022-10-12, 00:43:

I've just made a compatibility fix for Carmen Sandiego Junior Detective. It fixes MIDI detection and garbled text. I've played through the first case and found no problems save for graphical issues (which strangely didn't happen when using DxWnd, which is odd as the game doesn't even use DirectX).

DxWnd has hook setting for DirectX, OpenGL, GDI, logging for WinG. So maybe it was fixed somewhere. The EmulateDrawText description says "The solution is to toggle the high order bit for out of range coordinates.", which looks like one of the thing DxWnd fixes.

The MIDI detection, if it exists with DxWnd can probably fixed with "Sound/Fix default MCI ID". Can you check?

I disabled hooking, and the graphical issues returned. The game does use GDI, and "Fix default MCI ID" does fix MIDI detection. However, DxWnd doesn't fix the garbled text, hence the need for the .sdb file.
The game requires 256 color mode. Windows' compatibility database automatically sets this color mode, but imperfectly.

CDrayan wrote on 2022-10-12, 16:03:

I disabled hooking, and the graphical issues returned. The game does use GDI, and "Fix default MCI ID" does fix MIDI detection. However, DxWnd doesn't fix the garbled text, hence the need for the .sdb file.
The game requires 256 color mode. Windows' compatibility database automatically sets this color mode, but imperfectly.

What did you mean by "which strangely didn't happen when using DxWnd, which is odd as the game doesn't even use DirectX)."?

BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2022-10-12, 16:05:

CDrayan wrote on 2022-10-12, 16:03:

I disabled hooking, and the graphical issues returned. The game does use GDI, and "Fix default MCI ID" does fix MIDI detection. However, DxWnd doesn't fix the garbled text, hence the need for the .sdb file.
The game requires 256 color mode. Windows' compatibility database automatically sets this color mode, but imperfectly.

What did you mean by "which strangely didn't happen when using DxWnd, which is odd as the game doesn't even use DirectX)."?

My guess is that DxWnd hooked and fixed something I couldn't figure out. I think it's related to the fact that Windows 11 can't actually change color depths; it's permanently locked in 32-bit colors. Math Detective (which uses Macromedia Director 6.0) also specifically requires 256 colors, leading to similar issues.

Carmen Sandiego Word Detective does use DirectX, and has an issue where fading in and out doesn't work, resulting in graphical glitches. When using DDrawCompat, this fading works right, but the intro video doesn't.

CDrayan wrote on 2022-10-13, 05:30:

BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2022-10-12, 16:05:

CDrayan wrote on 2022-10-12, 16:03:

I disabled hooking, and the graphical issues returned. The game does use GDI, and "Fix default MCI ID" does fix MIDI detection. However, DxWnd doesn't fix the garbled text, hence the need for the .sdb file.
The game requires 256 color mode. Windows' compatibility database automatically sets this color mode, but imperfectly.

What did you mean by "which strangely didn't happen when using DxWnd, which is odd as the game doesn't even use DirectX)."?

Math Detective (which uses Macromedia Director 6.0) also specifically requires 256 colors, leading to similar issues.

Carmen Sandiego Word Detective does use DirectX, and has an issue where fading in and out doesn't work, resulting in graphical glitches. When using DDrawCompat, this fading works right, but the intro video doesn't.

There is colour setting in Video tab that can be set to 8bpp. It should fake/make the game enable 256 colors

For the second problem, probably you should write in their SourceForge Discussion forum tomorrow.