Is it patched up to v1.3?
http://www.ina-support.com/faq/imperiumgalact … ownloads_pc.asp

WOW, to the first poster, I thank you for posting, as I get the EXACT same problems you mentioned, and I was about to post when I seen this.

To Nicht Sehr Gut: Yes I definately think he has 1.3 due to the fact that it fixes "Runtime error 200" which makes the game unable to be installed or played.

At least I know I have version 1.3. I get the same problems as him.

Turbo Pascal...*sigh*
The first thing to figure out is what Runtime Error 216 is.

>> 216 General Protection fault

Sweet.

My errors are desktop and black screen errors, here are examples:

Desktop Crash:

16 bit MS-DOS Subsystem
VDMS Launchpad - IMPERIUM
The NTVDM CPU has encountered an illegal operation.
CS:0000 IP:bca5 OP:f0 37 05 10 02 Choose 'Close' to terminate the application.

The black screen crash is:

External or Internal Error!
Error Code: 216
Error Address: 0004:1419

It occurs after a random time appoximately after a minute, and doesn't seem to be activated by anything in particular - like he said.

I just registered, I'm the poster who made the third and fifth post.

Originally posted by Unregistered The crash is either in the shape of the game crashing and me getting an error message in DOS saying there was a runtime error 216 at [address] (the address varies), or I get thrown into windows with that nice NTVDM CPU has encountered an illegal instruction message.

Urgh...Doesn't make much sense, the primary info I get for "Runtime Error 216" is:
http://www.experts-exchange.com/Operating_Sys … Q_10581881.html
http://support.earthlink.net/mu/1/psc/img/wal … e/2164.psc.html

Also, are you trying to run it on a compressed FAT or a NTFS partition?

On another note, Ive tried dosbox,...

DosBox has no protected mode support yet, so it's not going run any games that need a 486 or greater.

Can you configure it to run with no sound at all? If so, does it run without crashing?

Hi, I registered too, Im the original poster.
Now... I tried looking up error 216 as well, and a lot of the info is that it is a trojan, but if you look, the error is at specific and what seems to be constant addresses, whereas the addresses I get vary and do not match the trojan ones.
I realised later that Dosbox wasnt yet compatible with 486 games, so maybe that option will open up sometime later.
Also, I AM currently trying to run off NTFS, cause all but one of my partitions are NTFS, I dont have the space needed on the FAT partition, but if you feel that this may be the problem, Ill try.
Seems like me and Rob get the same problem, which is in a way comforting... I was reading somewhere that Turbo Pascal code couldnt hack P2s when they came out, and they had to patch the exe files for whatever programs, but that patch you mentioned does just that. On a final note, I had and used igupd12e.exe, which is the European version whereas Im not sure whether my version is a European or US one... I guess when I once again run out of ideas, Ill try the US.
Thanks for the input people...
😀

Oh yeah, you asked about running w/o sound. In my original post:

"VirtualPC was somewhat interesting though, if I selected "no sound" in the install the program seemed to have no problems running. But VPC emulates DOS so perhaps this DOS/WinXP command prompt is where the problem lies."

Using Virtual PC, Ive installed Win98SE, and ran the game. The sound detection and test worked, but the sound there and in-game was still crack-ly. This is already a major effort to get one game to work! (Why does it have to be so hard? sob)
Dont know if this crackling will also lead to the same eventual loss of sound as described on my W98SE on my laptop, will report once I get the time to try. Any further help with all this would be great, thanks.

I havent tested if it works with its bad sound yet, but I tried using the VDMSound for W9x, and I get an error while running dosdrv:
Unable to instantiate emulation module 'SB Controller'.

0x800401f3 - Invalid Class String
(C:\Windows\Desktop\Newest~1\VDMS.INI:161

Do you want to continue?

I can say yes but games cant detect it, and well considering the error it seems pretty fatal. Help?

Snover wrote:

Turbo Pascal...*sigh* The first thing to figure out is what Runtime Error 216 is. […]
Show full quote

Turbo Pascal...*sigh*
The first thing to figure out is what Runtime Error 216 is.

>> 216 General Protection fault

Sweet.

I would like to just point everyone's attention to what a 216 error is, and that I posted what it was, um, a long time ago.

Yup I think we got that, thanks... Any ideas on whats causing it, and how to get it to not happen? And its strange that it crashes with either that error or the NTVDM error...

Not strange. It's probably doing something dumb like trying to access memory at 0000:0000... that's my hypothesis, anyway.

So is the conclusion that theres nothing to be done?
Are there any good DOS emulators, other than Dosbox, that you think I should try? I installed W98SE on Virtual PC as I mentioned to you, the sound cracks, and VDMSound for W98 doesnt work for some reason, but the game doesnt crash. So I guess at least thats better than nothing!

I can post this on the W98 thread, but when I run the W9x version, I get the same DMA related error as someone else on the thread said... here's a shot:

Originally posted by Fedor Also, I AM currently trying to run off NTFS, cause all but one of my partitions are NTFS, I dont have the space needed on the FAT partition, but if you feel that this may be the problem, Ill try.

As I understand it, the documentation for the game specifies not to try installing it on a compressed drive, so I imagine that NTFS would be as much a problem.

Oh yeah, you asked about running w/o sound. In my original post: "VirtualPC was somewhat interesting though, if I selected "no sound"

I'm talking about native installation, not on VPC. But apparently, you've were able to run it without audio:
http://www.ina-community.com/forums/showthrea … threadid=297263

Can Fedor also confirm it working in XP without audio? If so, try XP's native SB emulation (SoundBlaster 2.0, Address 220, IRQ 5 DMA 1, MIDI port 330, Type 3) SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 P330 T3

Also, at the risk of being overly-obvious, make sure the game's executable properties (on the Memory tab) are set to "Protected".

Originally posted by Fedor (Why does it have to be so hard? sob)

Simply put, because it was made for DOS and there is no DOS in any N.T. O.S., just a command prompt that has DOS compatibility.

I havent tested if it works with its bad sound yet, but I tried using the VDMSound for W9x, and I get an error while running dosdrv:

I'd say that the Alpha Win9x version of VDMSound is lot like those "bonuses" in games marked with a "?" Could help, could crash horribly.

Originally posted by Snover I would like to just point everyone's attention to what a 216 error is,

So if someone comes across the error, they should just presume it's program related and ignore the possibility of infected files? Safety first.

Originally posted by Fedor So is the conclusion that theres nothing to be done?

Yet another reason for every system to at least Dual-Boot. It's absent from their Compatibility list (and yet, "My Little Pony" is in there *pauses*).

Actually, the two of you appear to be the only ones out in the cold...so far.

Are there any good DOS emulators, other than Dosbox, that you think I should try?

Not really. Bochs is an absolute dog to set up.

Bah. Bochs isn't hard to set up...

Getting it to run at GOOD SPEED is another discussion entirely ;->

Originally posted by psz Bah. Bochs isn't hard to set up...

Well psz, we've been looking for someone to be the "Bochs Support Guy" and are well pleased to hear that you've volunteered. We'll need a comprehensive FAQ straight away...Remember to cover all the details like making sure to change the timer setting, making sure that the IDE hardware is "balanced" to avoid crashes, changing the video BIOS to access VESA modes (including the specific modes that it supports), the 320x400 display anomalies, and all the rest...

Welcome to the team, I'm sure there are hundreds, if not thousands of people ready to post endless questions about Bochs, and it's good to know we finally have someone to answer all those questions.

*heh*

Ok, in all seriousness...
Golden Axe
In all honesty, I think this hacked version is broken. Most of the home conversions "lost something" from the arcade original. In the case of the PC version, it appears to be sound quality (and some bits of animation). Audio samples seem to be sub-8Bit quality. Amiga/ST versions were floppy-only and restricted to 16-32 colors. You might consider emulation of a console version or the arcade original.

Millennium
This was confusing as all get out to me until I realized it was a case of porting with a name change. Originally known as "Millennium 2.2", it was made for the Amiga and Atari ST, then ported to the PC. It gained a wider color palette, but lost some audio. The sequel, "Deutoros" was never ported to the PC (Amiga/Atari ST only). The "sort-of" sequel to Deutoros was "Millenia: Altered Destinies", and it was PC only. The Amiga versions are freely available at http://www.back2roots.org/ with permission. They require WinUAE or similar Amiga emulation.

Having said all that, try running it in DosBox (be sure and read the README that comes with it). I think you may be interpreting the sound effects as truncated audio, when it's really that the audio is short and simplistic. DosBox doesn't change that.

can someone give me the URL of a site which I've heard has it

You really need to fire up Google and find it on your own, unauthorized URL's/warez requests attract the "wrong kind of attention" to this board. The Admin of "Back to the Roots" gets hassled and he's legal...

Well, that comment about dual-booting I agree with, I just never got around to installing an inferior OS to XP on my comp cause I never had a reason for it... Using Virtual PC, Ive installed Win98SE and can run the game on my big comp even though the sound crackles and pops, but it doesnt crash and the crackles and pops Ive managed to get used to. The graphics start going screwy at points as well, but that can be easily fixed by changing the screen in the game, as in go from like "Starmap" to "Colony" view, and since the screen refreshes, it restores things. Oh yeah, and about dual-boot, one of the major reasons for me trying to get VDMSound to work was cause I wanted to be able to play in XP so I didnt have to reboot so that things like my downloads wouldnt get interrupted, which in case of edonkey for example, means getting sent to the back of the queue, losing lots of time, and for torrents it might mean losing that 1 power seeder or whatever. Anyhow, I guess this wraps up my quest to get IG to work, not how I wanted but not empty-handed either. BTW, Bochs is DAMN hard to set up for the average computer person, and if you have any comments on that error in Win98 VDMSound that would still be appreciated. Thanks all.

Originally posted by Fedor Well, that comment about dual-booting I agree with, I just never got around to installing an inferior OS to XP on my comp cause I never had a reason for it... Using Virtual PC, Ive installed Win98SE and can run the game on my big comp...

Well there are others, and plenty of them perform poorly on VPC.

I wanted to be able to play in XP so I didnt have to reboot so that things like my downloads wouldnt get interrupted,

In that case, you'll probably have to live with the poor performance.

BTW, Bochs is DAMN hard to set up for the average computer person,...

*heh* Not according to psz.

...and if you have any comments on that error in Win98 VDMSound...

Nope. It's a wonder it runs at all. That DMA error may as well say "something went wrong" for all I know...

Thanks to everyone here and the VDMSound staff and creators, I have finally gotten this game to work like a charm.

Fedor, because I'm sure you and maybe some others would like to know how I got it to work, I'll explain.

First of all, VirtualPC, VMWare, and all programs that emulate whole computers aren't the same thing as the REAL setup. VirtualPC which is free has the same problems Fedor had that I have had when I tested it. I then moved to VMWare which is the same type of program, except costly, I happened to have a copy of version 4 so I tested this there, and was unsuccessful.

Then I decided I would make a new partition and install Windows 98SE and do this the old fashioned way. My soundcard is not even a card at all, instead it exists on my chipset, it is the Realtek ALC650 (AC'97) just for some info. It shouldn't matter what kind of sound card you have if you use the VDMSound for Win9x which I did. (Alpha stage I hear). After updating Windows 98 to its highest potential, drivers and all, I downloaded this file (http://telia.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/v … nd/vcredist.exe) as explained in the thread labeled "Win9x + VDMSound **ALPHA**" made by VLAD. I ran dosdrv.bat and kept getting errors, but they didn't matter. because after patching the game and installing, it ran *WITH SOUND* with no problems except FMV problems (minor).

Congratulations Vlad and everyone else who helped me out!

I'm not saying for *sure* if this will solve your case Fedor, because VDMSound is in Alpha status and may not work in every case.