Gamecollector wrote:

If I remember correctly - the trouble isn't MSS related.

Actually it was.
I've Heroes of Might & Magic 2 Gold.

The game also use mixed audio CD just like Metal Fatique AND it also using MSS.
The difference is, its using different version of MSS library, and the CD-Audio musics actualy works on both win9x & winXP.
In case of doubt, click setting option in game, choose 'CD-Stereo with Opera',
on warlock town for example, you'll hear the opera singer as you would when using windows media player to play the CD on XP.

Gamecollector wrote:

It's winmm.dll related, Xp version of this dll isn't supporting MCI fully. Win7 isn't supporting MCI at all

Yeah, thats main reason why certain version of MSS were OK on win9x but failed on NT5/6.
The patch indeed patches the MSS32.dll, and redirect API call to winmm.dll, to the patch own routine.

Gamecollector wrote:

S.C.A.R.S. - there is the Xp patch from Zeus at the nGlide homepage. For the glide version only. But technically - yes, this game is Win9x only.
Pro Rally 2001 - the trouble isn't WinXp related, this game is freezing on my P4 3.00E/Radeon 8500/WinME in the same place (loading screen). Looks like the standard Ubisoft's "we don't know about the new hardware" trouble.

The S.C.A.R.S. patch doesn't do much for me, it still hard locks XP. Works on Win7 though, so when I get a new PC I can play it! Pro Rally 2001 sometimes works on newer hardware (e.g. Vista and did work on Win7 until it was windowsupdated, I think it works on Win8).

Sega Rally 2 also suffers from no music, there is a workaround program but I don't think that works on Win7 or newer.

Gamecollector wrote:

And the original version of Half-Life - can't pass the cd protection.

I have the large box with the book cover and the Platinum Collection. Both worked when I tested them.

After looking over my notes I have down that the 1.1.0.6 patch removed the CD requirement. I guess it depends on what you meant by original version.

Making a list like this is hopeless, who's going to submit entries? To check if it runs on XP you need to actually try it on XP across different hardware. Maybe it just doesn't like your graphic card (very likely) or some other hardware (less likely).

Joey_sw: _inmm.dll doesn't require Winamp and I don't think it has a noticeable delay either. It's a long time since I played Metal Fatigue with it and I don't remember CD audio timing being important in that game?

ZellSF wrote:

Joey_sw: _inmm.dll doesn't require Winamp and I don't think it has a noticeable delay either. It's a long time since I played Metal Fatigue with it and I don't remember CD audio timing being important in that game?

if you have other supported alternative, it may use that instead.
however in my system only winamp options works, as there no cdplayer.exe on my XP, and I doesn't even know about the others.

The CD audio usages in metal fatigue quite improvement from say original C&C, instead playing the music sequentialy (or randomly), the game choose specific music in according to your state/condition in the game.
For example, If you being heavyly assulted by enemies, or if you successfuly defends against attack, or if your army completely destroyed by enemies, the game will play specific music that suit the mood.

Perhaps CD audio timings are not being important,
but being annoyance because of the delay it IS.

Spirit of speed 1937 wouldnt work on xp unless you used the german (not english) nocd

if only _inmm.dll was a bit more like DXGL without external program dependency, .ini in games folders defining a playlist that could be relative, and not having to modify the exe based on built-in patches for specific versions.

Joey_sw wrote:

if you have other supported alternative, it may use that instead. however in my system only winamp options works, as there no cd […]
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ZellSF wrote:

Joey_sw: _inmm.dll doesn't require Winamp and I don't think it has a noticeable delay either. It's a long time since I played Metal Fatigue with it and I don't remember CD audio timing being important in that game?

if you have other supported alternative, it may use that instead.
however in my system only winamp options works, as there no cdplayer.exe on my XP, and I doesn't even know about the others.

The CD audio usages in metal fatigue quite improvement from say original C&C, instead playing the music sequentialy (or randomly), the game choose specific music in according to your state/condition in the game.
For example, If you being heavyly assulted by enemies, or if you successfuly defends against attack, or if your army completely destroyed by enemies, the game will play specific music that suit the mood.

Perhaps CD audio timings are not being important,
but being annoyance because of the delay it IS.

You posted the player tab, that's only needed if you use an external player. The method tab has two more options, two Windows APIs: DirectShow and MCI. You don't need Winamp (unless you have a seriously messed up Windows setup). Try both of those options.

Also disable hardware sound acceleration in Windows, I recall it causing similar issues (delays).

I should reinstall Total Annihilation one day and try figuring this out myself (uses dynamic music like Metal Fatigue).

ZellSF wrote:

You posted the player tab, that's only needed if you use an external player. The method tab has two more options, two Windows APIs: DirectShow and MCI. You don't need Winamp (unless you have a seriously messed up Windows setup). Try both of those options.

Also disable hardware sound acceleration in Windows, I recall it causing similar issues (delays).

I should reinstall Total Annihilation one day and try figuring this out myself (uses dynamic music like Metal Fatigue).

Thanks for the information, i've tried it.
For CD-DA other than external players, only MCI was available, and DirectShow was unavailable,
fortunately the MCI metchod still works on XP,
on Win7 however the MCI method is failed as predicted.

MCI works, you just need XP compatibility mode.

Experimented a bit today, couldn't figure out how to get rid of the delay on Metal Fatigue, but I tried Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds, and it had no such problem.

So it probably has nothing to do with winmm.dll (or _inmm.dll) and is related to some other Windows audio compatibility problem. Would be interesting to see if anyone could manage to break it in the same way in Windows 98 (btw, can you verify there was no delay in Windows 98?)

just remembered Mechwarrior 3 doesnt work properly on xp

Davros wrote:

just remembered Mechwarrior 3 doesnt work properly on xp

Working like a charm. Windows 98 compatibility mode. To be precise - EmulateSlowCPU ACT fix.
The "Catalyst/Detonators programmers are *censored* and the game have graphical glitches" problem is another story.

Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat - ( install script not supported )
Warhammer: Dark Omen - ( very tricky to get working )
Starship: Titanic - ( Movie codec broken by Service Pack 2 )

The "Catalyst/Detonators programmers are *censored* and the game have graphical glitches" problem is another story.

maybe "DirectXTrimTextureFormats" ACT flag fix this. It's only found on ACT 5.6 and 6.0.

I know it's not fully related to this thread but if you run Linux quite a lot of these troublesome games run fine with Wine. Scars for example runs out of the box, warhammer, starship titanic...
I have tried nearly 600 PC games from between 1995 and 2002 and got a VERY high percentage to run perfectly. I hear things are only going to get worse trying to run older games in Windows 8 too

aqrit wrote:

Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat - ( install script not supported )
Warhammer: Dark Omen - ( very tricky to get working )

Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat
I can install but then it freezes on the intro. No error message.

Warhammer: Dark Omen
Intro-Crash-Fix
Rendering Device: CPU
Color cursors: Off
Alt+Tab to stop flickering

Starship Titanic - just copy the old version of iccvid.dll (1.10.0.11) to the gamedir.

F/A-18E Super Hornet
doesn't work on XP/7

The game crashes when loading a mission. But it works fine on 98.

Games that complain about quicktime because the actual installer on the game disc fails, just install modern quicktime and it will work. If there is quicktime dll's in the game's dir either delete them or replace them with the modern version. QT is fully backwards compatible from what I've experienced, it even plays the videos on Isle of the Dead.

Half Life 1.0.0.1 version does fail the CD check, it also fails on NT4, 2K, XP, this was a known issue and valve patched it out quickly.

I am trying to re-play Thief pc games, Gold and II Metal Age will not work. Installs, video intro plays, but when I go to "train" or complete mission on TII. Black screen, can go no further in the game. Is there a game similiar to Thief that will work for me? Tried all the Compatibility changes. WinXpdp3. Anyone information on what might work.