Rick Dangerous requires Loadfix. It works here, using MS-DOS 6.22 using loadfix from 6.22 (1131 bytes english version, file date 31. May 1994) and also using loadfix from MS-DOS 6.00 (german version, 1273 bytes, file date 10. March 1993)
Memory config is 626080 bytes free, just himem, ansi, xmsdsk, dos is loaded to hma.
but works also with QEMM Stealthing and stuff...

I'm surprised that loadfix doesn't work - how much free conventional memory?
if DOS, device drivers etc. are loaded high, try disabling that - the idea is to have something occupying the lowest 64KB of conventional memory so the game will load elsewhere.

Turns out that if I have less conventional memory then loadfix works and the game loads.
But on my normal configuration(s) I have 635,968 (XMS) or 631,824 (EMS) bytes of free conventional memory... loadfix does not help for some reason with that much available memory...
Tested with no UMBs and with ~585kb of free mem and it works... is there a way to make loadfix work with my normal configs? I can't seem to think of something to load (and then unload) to consume so much memory...

Erm, you can always load mark / release. So you could load as much times mark until the memory is consumed and release afterwards.
(if you load release more times than mark it doesn't do anything)

Ermmm...have you tried loading the game from within a DOSSHELL or similar shell programs?

You could try this util or you could pack the exe with LZEXE or UPX.

I forgot to add that Ben Castricum's UNP can also optimize EXE headers.

Tried both expakfix and upx and both complain about rick.com not being an .exe ...

also running from dosshell does not help... seems hilarious to me that it has problems with too much ram available , usually it's the lack of ram that gives problems 🤣 🤣 🤣

elianda wrote:

Erm, you can always load mark / release. So you could load as much times mark until the memory is consumed and release afterwards.
(if you load release more times than mark it doesn't do anything)

is mark/release some programs that occupy/release memory? never used them or heard of them, where can I grab a copy?

Try Ben Castricum's UNP.EXE (included here).
The message suggests that the file is packed with ExePack, which UNP can unpack.

keropi wrote:

is mark/release some programs that occupy/release memory? never used them or heard of them, where can I grab a copy?

Mark/Release are two tools, that allow you to recover conventional memory if you have to load a TSR that can't be unloaded normally.

It works the way that you first load Mark that saves the memory status, then the TSR. If you want to unload it, you run Release and it recovers the status before the last loaded Mark. You can load mark several times.

ftp://78.46.141.148/dos/driver/mark_release.rar

@peterferrie

I converted rick.com to rick.exe with UNP and it runs ... tried to use EXPAKFIX on it and it complained the executable was not packed with exepack... tried to UPX it and it gives a NotCompressibleException error... I must be doing something wrong 🤣

@elianda
will give a shot at your tools thanks! if exe-fixing is not an option they are the best chance

Um, where did you get your copy of Rick Dangerous?
Is your original rick.com 3535 bytes long?
There is no packed file message in there, and it runs for me.
loadfix rick.com

As far as I know rick.com is compressed with scramble 1.00

I converted it to exe some time ago (probably dumping it with cup386).

There are also other two files rick.cga and rick.ega that are both EXE in disguise.

I have them all packed with an exe packer I don't recall its name right now. (yeah it was Jibz's aPACK).

My rick.com is indeed 3535 bytes... loadfix does work for me but I need to have ~585kb of free conventional for it to work. Else I get the pack error...
maybe the error comes from the rick.ega/rick.cga files that eL_PuSHeR mentions? if they are EXEs maybe they are the real culprits
Rick.com by itself work and you get to choose ega or cga, then the screen goes blank, there is some hdd activity and you get dumped back to dos with the error

keropi wrote on 2013-06-24, 08:48:

My rick.com is indeed 3535 bytes... loadfix does work for me but I need to have ~585kb of free conventional for it to work. Else I get the pack error...
maybe the error comes from the rick.ega/rick.cga files that eL_PuSHeR mentions? if they are EXEs maybe they are the real culprits
Rick.com by itself work and you get to choose ega or cga, then the screen goes blank, there is some hdd activity and you get dumped back to dos with the error

The original file RICK.COM is 3535 bytes, and has 3 encryption layers of the same encryption. It is a loader for the .EGA/.CGA/.TND files, which are encrypted executables, that are also exepacked. This causes the problem, and the reason you need loadfix.

PM sent

there is also exepack from https://www.bamsoftware.com/software/exepack/
relativly new tool written in rust - can unpack dos stuff directly under windows/linux, very well mass tested