VOGONS


Patching Dungeon Keeper

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First post, by mombarak

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I have tried to reinstall Dungeon Keeper on my P2-350 system with Windows 98 SE recently and it works but "I feel not really convinced" that it is patched. Here is why:

Windows 95(R) users, - First you need to drag the Patch1.exe file to the directory you installed the game to. - Double-left-clic […]
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Windows 95(R) users,
- First you need to drag the Patch1.exe file to the directory you installed
the game to.
- Double-left-click on the Patch1.exe file. Answer yes (Y) to any questions regarding
files already existing and over-writing them. This will create the following files,
- DOS4GW.EXE
- DPATCH.1
- KEEPER.PTI
- PATCH.EXE
- README.TXT
- WPATCH.1

- Then from the directory you installed the game to, double-click on the
PATCH.EXE file. This will patch the game.

Wile the Patch1.exe part produces visible output on the DOS console, the Patch.exe output is questionable. It starts and then you land back on the prompt. There is no OK, no DONE, ... nothing.

Is this the expected behavior and is there a way to check if Dungeon Keeper was actually upgraded?

Reply 1 of 9, by mombarak

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Like this. 😀
I tried it on Win98SE and WinXP, same results, and I doubt its a permission level issue.

Reply 2 of 9, by akula65

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This looks to be a known issue with Win98 and later since EA provided specific instructions for updating the game on Windows 98.

So it appears you need to download and overwrite the appropriate .EXE file for your installation.

Reply 3 of 9, by mombarak

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Thanks akula65 but I think you are referring to the IPX issue. This is a separate patch and works with overwriting. You are right.

What I mean is the DKpatch a bit lower on the page you shared. It links to the exact file so I guess you still run into the above situation.

PATCH
Size: 1.5mb

Enhanced computer player A.I.
Improved computer-assistant logic
Creature re-balancing
Streamlined creature-activity algorithms
Additional game-save security

Reply 4 of 9, by akula65

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As you noted, there is no error message when applying the older patch, so EA is trying to reference a situation where you get an error message or something does not work. Most people won't notice that the older patch does not actually work.

So the procedure for you is to decide whether you want 3D acceleration, apply the Dungeon Keeper™ 3D Acceleration Upgrade if so, and then follow the procedure given to upgrade on Windows 98 or later.

Reply 5 of 9, by mombarak

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I am not very sure I follow but my thinking was - chronologically because DK came out 1997:

install the dkpatch for AI because it is the oldest available patch, then install the direct3d patch because this was released as the second.

the ipx patch must be the last release patch because it offers you to also overwrite the direct3d version so it cannot have been released before.

I might be wrong but I doubt the dkpatch for AI improvements came out after the direct3d patch.

Also, it mentions you have to patch it the same way of you run DK in DOS which is also an indication that it is unrelated to direct3d or ipx because it does not mention that at all in the release notes.

Hope my perspective makes sense.

Reply 6 of 9, by mombarak

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I mean the bad part is that it does not introduce any feature which is new and visible. If the patch would report done after I ran it, I would just assume it worked.

But this way you always have to wonder what improved, how to test it and if it is better than before now because all you want is the final gaming experience.

My current attempt is to play all the games I like using the lastest version to see if memories match. Because when the games came out, mostly single player games, you always played them in early versions because the bugs were not identified back then.

Examples are the insanely difficult monk in vampire masquerade redemption, the cigar car racing in mafia or gamestoppers like in simon the sorcerer 3d. You probably had to wait until some of it was addresses, or you managed to win somehow bye using strange luck and tactics...

Reply 7 of 9, by eddman

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Make a backup of the game files before patching, apply the patch, then compare them with the backed up files. If there are differences, the patch worked.

Reply 8 of 9, by mombarak

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Eddman, I think I will do this via Total Command compare function. Great idea.

Reply 9 of 9, by mombarak

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So if anyone is interested, I did the following:
I installed Dungeon Keeper and Deeper Dungeons and applied the dkpatch. This changed the Keeper95.exe file to a new size and newer date. Also it created a backup of the exe file. But here is where it gets interesting. The D3D patch for DK and Deeper Dungeons installs a separate exe. So unless the D3D exe is not using the original exe, one has to believe that the patch is also in the D3D exe files for DK and Deeper Dungeons.

I will try to compare with the Gold version if I get some more time.