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Syndicate/Syndicate Wars

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First post, by chanza

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Has anyone had any luck with the ClassicTrash versions of these games? Syndicate Wars doesn't worry me too much, as I'm getting the HOTU version right now (which is 10meg bigger. I wonder what CT left out?), but Syndicate not working is a pain.

Running main.exe w/o VDMS makes it do absolutely nothing. It starts, then quits instantly.

Running main.exe with VDMS makes it start up, but it stays at a blank screen forever, doing nothing.

Running synd.bat with or without VDMS causes it to quit instantly.

Update: I was playing around with the VDMS settings while writing this, and basically I turned everything on, and now it sortof works. There's no sound, and moving the mouse kills the game instantly:)

Any idea's?

Reply 1 of 64, by Pres. Zaphod

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I download that file , works fine BUT, no sound...
main.exe /? will show the setting you need, i try that but still
no sound... i think you need to get the setup.exe..to get thte sound to work??? synd.bat has the settings. for mine right
but can't get the sound either..@main nul:iirq5 /ii1 /$220
something like that...
good luck its a great game WITH sound is a must!

Reply 2 of 64, by vladr

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OK, I DL'ed Syndicate from CT. Running Win2k SP2 with VDMSound 2.0.4. Game would quit right away, though intor.exe worked just swell. Downloaded NOLFB (see http://www.advsys.net/ken/build.htm ) and the game started. No sound, and the log showed that the game never attempted to touch the hardware. Crashes randomly (DPMI/DOS4GW I suspect). May want to try under WinXP or with different versions of DOS4GW (or a drop-in replacement for DOS4GW) see if at least stability is better, then we can worry about sound.

Cheers,
V.

Reply 4 of 64, by aka_mikey_m

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I'm having problems getting syndicate working under windows 2000 as well. I am using the Abandonware Loader along with VDMSound installed and no matter what settings I use the screen goes pblank and the VDMSound prompt freezes. Ive tryed the VESA drivers as mentioned above but they wont load into my memory for some reason.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

PS Im using the syndicate download of classic trash.

"Trying is the first step on the road to failure." - Homer Jay Simpson.

Reply 5 of 64, by vladr

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Syndicate crashes even without sound/VDMSound, so it's a DOS4GW problem.
It works OK (no more crashes) for me under Win2k if I replace the original DOS4GW (226kB) with another version (260kB, or 265'396 bytes to be more precise). Jyst search your HDD or games CD for DOS4GW and pick the one that is 260kB long (I found this version in several games, i.e. ASTERIX & OBELIX, SPACE CRUSADERS, WORLD OF SOCCER, etc.) But I still can't figure out why the game doesn't even attempt to touch the sound hardware (yes, there is no sound with either VDMSound or SoundFX 2000).

V.

Reply 7 of 64, by aka_mikey_m

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Thanks vogons forum for your advice.

Under windows 2000 the game would freeze immeadiately with or without VDMSound this is because the version of DOS4GW.EXE that comes with the game is incompatible with windows 2000 you nead the version that is arround 260KB which you can get here

here

When that is working the games should load (at least when you have VDMSound installed it does.) This is where I (and by the sound of it most others) got stuck because nomatter how you set it up the sound would not work. But I found out after I downloaded another version that this is because the CLASIC TRASH download (and many others I have got of KAZAA) has had its sound ripped. GoD knows why (But he's not telling).

So if you want sound I recomend trying to download the full version I will try and get the CLASIC TRASH download changed to the full version.

Hope this helps.

"Trying is the first step on the road to failure." - Homer Jay Simpson.

Reply 8 of 64, by Grzech

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chanza wrote:

Has anyone had any luck with the ClassicTrash versions of these games? Syndicate Wars doesn't worry me too much, as I'm getting the HOTU version right now (which is 10meg bigger. I wonder what CT left out?), but Syndicate not working is a pain.

what is this HOTU version anyway? you tell me that it is possible to run SW on W2k? i've got original full cd version and tried to run it under w2k with no luck
redagrds
gregory

Reply 9 of 64, by Stiletto

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Grzech wrote:

what is this HOTU version anyway? you tell me that it is possible to run SW on W2k? i've got original full cd version and tried to run it under w2k with no luck

Which means it won't work for him. HOTU == Home of the Underdogs, a popular "abandonware" site which usually does a better job of archiving games than ClassicTrash. So yes, he's talking about an illegal, pirated version. But anyhow.

Try out Martin Kiewitz's Syndicate Wars fix. Note that it was designed to work under OS/2, but it should still work in DOS/Windows.

=========================== Martin Kiewitz's SYNDWFIX =========================== Released on 09.11.2001 Written and (c) by M […]
Show full quote


===========================
Martin Kiewitz's SYNDWFIX
===========================

Released on 09.11.2001

Written and (c) by Martin Kiewitz
Dedicated to Maryse and Gerd Kiewitz
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This software is 'e-mail ware'. This means, if you use it, please send me an e-mail or a greeting card. I just want to see, how much people are using it.

============
| FOREWORD |
============

Syndicate Wars has exactly the same bug as the Doom sound engine. Why are so many developers too dumb to read DPMI specifications. If you want more info about that bug, please get IDPATCHR.ZIP.

The game is actually running way too fast under 320x200. I suppose, you switch to 640x480. And if this is too fast again, I can't help. If there are many e-mails, that beg for speed-fixing, I will look for it...but only perhaps.

==================
| SYNDWFIX USAGE |
==================

Simply run SYNDWFIX in your Syndicate Wars directory.
It will do the rest by itself.

===========
| CONTACT |
===========

There are several ways to contact me.
All-time favourite is my e-mail adresse 'kiewitz@fuckMicrosoft.com'.
Well, you can use 'martin@kiewitz.de' or 'kiewitz@netlabs.org' as well.

OS/2 World has some content of mine.
Look at: http://www.os2world.com/games

Or you may visit my own private homepage.
Surf to: http://www.kiewitz.de

==========================
| GREETZ AND DEDICATIONS |
==========================

I'm dedicating IDPATCHR to 2 different people.

First: My daddy Gerd Kiewitz. He died some time ago and I will never ever stop loving him
Second: Maryse...a really great (half-french) girl, that I'm currently really missing much.

No greetz. Just a simple patch 😀

- Martin Kiewitz

http://riverbbs.net/pub3/os2/games/SYNDWFIX.ZIP

So Vlad, it sounds like CLI2NOP for Syndicate Wars? It should work under Windows XP as is, but Syndicate Wars would require the CLI2NOP patch in Windows 2000. Unless I misread Martin's README.

So, in answer to your question, you could use Martin's patch here, or you could use our own version of CLI2NOP. And then it should work. You may still need to run SPEEDSET or some sort of slowdown utility

CLI2NOP - showthread.php?threadid=31

SPEEDSET - showthread.php?threadid=53

"I see a little silhouette-o of a man, Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you
do the Fandango!" - Queen

Stiletto

Reply 10 of 64, by vladr

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There's quite a bit of patches by Martin:
http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/cgi-bin/h-browse?dir=/ … /games/patches/

Can someone actually test them with VDMSound+Win2k/XP and add the games in question to the compatibility-DB if they work?

V.

Reply 11 of 64, by Grzech

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speed problem would be very importand for SW. i remember playing it on P225 with hires and it was just right machine speed for this game. SW run on 600 mhz cpu was practically unplayable.

regards

Reply 13 of 64, by chanza

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Originally posted by Stiletto

Originally posted by Grzech
what is this HOTU version anyway? you tell me that it is possible to run SW on W2k? i've got original full cd version and tried to run it under w2k with no luck

Which means it won't work for him.

Actually, i *did* get Syndicate Wars to work (the HOTU version), but not permanently. I could unzip it and run it the 1st time with no problems (other than speed. It ran way too fast to be playable and speedset doesnt seem to work on mine:/), but after I quit, it would never run again. I have no idea why not. Will give it a shot with some of Martin's patches.

Update:

Well, after an entire day of messing around with Syndicate Wars, I've basically given up on getting it to work properly. Random crashes, random horrible graphics glitches, random freezes that require a hard reboot, random disabling of my sound card, I've seen them all. Basically, when it doesnt freeze requiring a hard reboot at startup, I can play it for about an hour or so. before it crashes with no error message. This is unpatched, patched with Martins fix, and patched with CLI2NOP. It also runs too fast to be playable. Its somewhat playable in high-res mode, so long as you have quick reflexes.

*sigh*

Originally posted by aka_mikey_m
So if you want sound I recomend trying to download the full version I will try and get the CLASIC TRASH download changed to the full version.

Where did you get the full version? What's the filesize? I've looked, but the only version I've been able to find so far is the same as the CT ver.

Last edited by chanza on 2002-10-18, 13:39. Edited 1 time in total.

"How appropriate. You fight like a cow."

Reply 14 of 64, by Dan T

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chanza and others with in game speed issues,

I don't know if you realise this but the actual in game speed of Syndicate Wars can be adjusted using the + and - keys on your keyboard. You still need a slowdown util to get some sort of stability but the + and - will solve most other speed issues.

I take no credit for this but heres a list of all the keys I found for Syndicate Wars (some are very useful:)).

[pre]Action Keyboard Command & Mouse Equivalent
------ -----------------------------------
Walk to Point - RIGHT CTRL
(Left click on map)
Fire Weapon - LEFT CTRL
(Right click on target)
Select Agent - Press Agent number
(Left click on agent tab)
Zoom to Lead Agent - Press Agent number twice quickly
(Click twice)
Group Agents - \
(Right click on team selector bar)
Change Agent - Tab
Up - Up
Down - Down
Left - Left
Right - Right
Self Destruct - ALT+D
Zoom In* - End
Zoom Out* - Home
Tilt View Down - Insert
Tilt View Up - Page Up
Spin View Left (clockwise) - Delete
Spin View Right (c-clockwise) - Page Down
Drop Weapon - Z
(first left click, then right click release)
Key Control - K
Restart Level - R
Select Weapon - LEFT ALT
(left click on weapon tab)
Deselect Weapon - RIGHT ALT
(left click on weapon tab)
Change Mood of Agents - ALT up/down
Exit Multiplayer Mission - Shift+Esc
Pause - P
Remove buildings - B (press and hold)
Draw less/more screen area - Shift E for less, E for more
Toggle Scanner beep - S
Toggle deep radar on and off - CTRL F6
Stop the panel being drawn - CTRL F10
Save a screenshot - M (note: it saves in c:\tmp)
Stop the in-game action - CTRL F3
Do not display game - CTRL F2
(speeds up waiting time)
Change deep radar colors - CTRL G&H
Speed up/slow down game - +/-
Play other CD track - 5 on keypad
Toggle SVGA / VGA - F8
Change panel colors - F9
Change agents coats color - F10
Increase gamma correction - F11
Decrease gamma correction - SHIFT + F11
Remove Panel Information - LEFT CTRL + F10
Auto-Defend mode - Left click and right click together
(! ungroups your agents!)[/pre]

I still get crashes within a few minutes of play though, anyone have any new ideas on this??

Dan

Reply 15 of 64, by Stiletto

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I don't think so. I wish there were some debug thing we could do to figure out WHY it was crashing.

I wonder where chanza's gone to...

"I see a little silhouette-o of a man, Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you
do the Fandango!" - Queen

Stiletto

Reply 16 of 64, by Nicht Sehr Gut

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My limited testing came up with these results.

Installs fine.

With VDMS...no audio,
No CD-audio, SAPUCDEX doesn't help.
No SoundBlaster choices work.

With NativeXP, runs, but in silence with glitches & sometimes locks up hard.

Reply 19 of 64, by skid

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I have had some success with both Syndicate and Syndicate Wars.

Syndicate Wars
I have the version of Syndicate Wars that is at HOTU (Zeus CD-rip - zipsize 38,039,015 bytes).
I installed VDMSound 2.04 and then applied Update 1 using default settings. Gotta say that VDMSound has come a long way since I used it last (version 1.1).
After starting a VDMSound dosdrv session, I ran SETSOUND and selected General Midi. SETSOUND detected the GM fine. I then selected Sound Blaster Pro as my digital audio device. SETSOUND detected that as well. Then I started PLAY.BAT and the game ran with sound. It was fast but seemed to run okay.

What I found was that when I tried playing it again, Syndicate Wars wouldn't play with sound unless I ran SETSOUND and detected the SB Pro immediately before running the game. My guess is that SETSOUND somehow initialises the card in a way which the main.exe does not.

If I selected Sound Blaster 16 as my digital audio device, I would get this terrible stuttering as soon as I started the game. I have a feeling that the Miles Audio V3 library used in this game is causing the crashes.

The game is not patched using syndwfix nor cli2nop.

I modified the CONFIG.INI pointing the CD and InstallDrive parameters to where the game has been unzipped.

Here is what the dig.ini in the SOUND directory looks like:

;
;Miles Design Audio Interface Library V3.02 of 18-Jan-95
;

DEVICE Creative Labs Sound Blaster Pro or 100% compatible
DRIVER SBPRO.DIG
IO_ADDR 220h
IRQ 5
DMA_8_BIT 1
DMA_16_BIT -1

The play.bat file now looks like:

@echo off
dosdrv
setsound
main /w /g

Syndicate
I have got the stand-alone version (without American Revolt) from ClassicTrash, zipsize 6,515,608 bytes. This version started up fine with sound. It does not crash, does not pause when sampled sounds are played and works without VDMSound. The synd.bat has this line: "@main >nul: /iirq5 /idma1 /iio$220 /c0" which matches my card. I guess I was lucky here.

edit: After changing synd.bat to "@main >nul: /iirq7 /idma1 /iio$220 /c0", Syndicate worked with VDMSound. However, I did experience the same pauses mentioned in this thread.

My system (check my profile for further details):
Pentium III
Windows XP Pro SP1
Geforce GTS 2
Sound Blaster 32 ISA PnP - IRQ 5 DMA 1/5
VDMSound 2.04 update 1 - IRQ 7 DMA 1/5

Oh yeah, the difference between the Sound Blaster 32 and the Sound Blaster AWE32 is that the Sound Blaster AWE32 comes with a small amount of RAM (512K) whilst the Sound Blaster 32 does not come with any (although it has SIMM slots to fit some in). The SB32 was marketed as the "lite" version of the AWE32.

Last edited by skid on 2002-12-22, 05:12. Edited 1 time in total.