VOGONS


First post, by Snocksman

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Hi !

I have build up a nice 486 Vesa Local Bus System (486 DX4-100/64MB RAM/Spea V7 Mirage/SB-AWE32) and want to play Terra Nova (after many years) again... I found my old original CD, put it into the Drive and installed it. The installer autoconfigured the AWE32 SoundCard (I can hear all Sounds, Voices, Music in the installer). When I start the game the Intro plays normally, but after the Intro it crashes...

Does anyone know what I can do to get the game running ? No, I don´t want to play it in a DOSbox or something like that... I want to run it on real old Hardware.

Reply 1 of 11, by TheMLGladiator

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I was having this error and managed to get this game to run a few weeks ago, but under Win98 instead of pure DOS. Unfortunately, I'm not entirely sure what exactly fixed the game for me, so here are the things I did. First, I would highly recommend patching the game to the latest version 1.09. What I think fixed it for me is running TN.BAT with the +badlinmodes and +badpaldac launch options. I would also try doing a manual config for the AWE32. This step probably doesn't make a difference, but is worth trying if the previous step doesn't work. As a last resort I would also try disabling video bios shadowing in your bios.
Extra:
This game will probably be a bit choppy if you plan on running it in hi res mode with maximum graphics details. Don't go faster than Klamath Pentium II speeds however, this game is speed bugged.
Terra Nova loads a custom soundbank when configured with and AWE32/64. I think it sounds cool, but some of the instruments seem to be detuned compared to other sound options.

Reply 2 of 11, by Snocksman

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My system ist not running Win95 or 98... It's only DOS6.22 with Win3.11.

I tried the +badlinmodes and +badpaldac launch options with no luck... I disabled video bios shadowing, but this does not help. I configured the AWE32 manually, nothing changed.

Next things i will try is using an mounted ISO Image instead of my old CD and update the game to V1.09.

Reply 3 of 11, by Snocksman

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OK, I tried what I mentioned above, but still the same Problem...
Could it be a problem with the memory configuration of the System ?
Or something related to UniVBE/Graphics Card ?
I have UniVBE 5.3a installed...

Reply 4 of 11, by TheMLGladiator

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I am not an expert on DOS memory management, but since this is a protected mode game as long as himem.sys is loaded you should be fine. Another thing I would check is your mouse driver. I've had some trouble with CuteMouse (mouse too fast, even with the command line switch to slow it down) on my system in plain DOS, and simply copying over the MOUSE.EXE from an old Logitech Mouseware (7.0) floppy seems to work better for me.
Also, maybe try running the game without UniVBE, and if that doesn't work try running the VIDEO.BAT in the install directory.

Reply 5 of 11, by Snocksman

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I´m using the Logitech Mouse Driver V7.0 allready. Without UniVBE the game does not show the Intro... Only some artifacts on screen and the system stops working.

I wonder if it´s a problem with the Graphics card... It´s not a "normal" Spea Mirage VLB... It´s a card which is called Spea Jaton, which is something like an OEM Build Mirage... The card has 1MB. It is this one here... => http://www.amoretro.de/2013/01/jaton-vl41cv2- … al-bus-vlb.html

How good is the Spea Mercury compared to the Mirage... I know the Vega is the low-cost model from Spea, but is the Mercury "better" as the mirage ? I could get this Version of the Mercury for little money... => https://st3250b.de/product/spea-v7-mercury-vl … 2mb-retro-1992/

Reply 6 of 11, by matze79

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Maybe faulty Memory ?

https://www.retrokits.de - blog, retro projects, hdd clicker, diy soundcards etc
https://www.retroianer.de - german retro computer board

Reply 7 of 11, by Snocksman

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OK, I can't believe it, but i got the game to work !

What was the Problem ?

The hint with faulty Memory was fine... I remembered, that I added 1MB to the Graphics Card to raise the Memory to 2MB... I had a little problem in Win3.11, when I set the resolution to 1024x768 (the picture was blinking to black from time to time. Not very offen but it happened...). So I changed the additional Memory Chips to a second pair that i had here. Now the blinking in Win3.11 was gone and Terra Nova does not exit with the Crash Code anymore... But now the complete System hangs with some artifacts in the Screen. OK, the behavior had changed... So I edited the Autoexec.bat to not load UniVBE anymore and started the video.bat in the Terra Nova Install Directory... It said that TerraNova wont use UniVBE anymore. I tried starting Terra Nova, but now ist said that it could not set a Graphics Mode and i should Install the Graphics Driver that came with my card... So I edited the autoexec.bat again to load V7MIRVBE at Startup. Tried to load Terra Nova again and now it works !!!

Reply 8 of 11, by TheMLGladiator

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Awesome! Since the game is working now, its worth checking if you can run it without the +badlinmodes and +badpaldac if you have been using either of those, as they do come with a performance penalty. Also, I'm a bit curious how fast the game runs. Is it playable at the higher resolution/detail settings?

Reply 9 of 11, by Snocksman

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I have started the game without the +badxxx options.

Where can i set the resolution Options ? As you can see in the photo from the title screen above, there is no button for options or something...

Reply 10 of 11, by Thandor

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If I remember correctly you can access extra options using the ‘o’ key when in-game.

Perhaps the +hires parameter when executing tn.exe would work as well.

thandor.net - hardware
And the rest of us would be carousing the aisles, stuffing baloney.

Reply 11 of 11, by Snocksman

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Yes, "o" opens the Options Screen, cool ! I set it to the higher resolution and the game still runs fine. All the detail levels where set to high/excellent allready.