Dungeon Keeper Editor (Original) \ VOGONS

Dungeon Keeper Editor (Original)

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First post, by jspyder

Posted on 2021-05-17, 15:17

jspyder Offline

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AAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHH!

After fighting for more than 4 days (!!!) I *finally* managed to get the editor for the original Dungeon Keeper (1 not 2) installed on my Windows 98 SE virtual machine to where it will actually run.

However, every time I try to load an existing level, it crashes (no error, just drops to the desktop).

I repeat: AAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHH!

I have
* modified the config file to point to the DK Levels folder
* made sure the VM is slow enough for the editor to not move too quickly
* copied all of the game files from the CD to the hard drive of the VM
* tried UnDeD and ADiKtEd - the first won't allow manipulation of anything but the physical map (no characters, no specials, etc.) and the second refuses to load the map (every time I try I get an error)
* installed KeeperFX, but can't figure out how to use the editor with it (and the only web site that may be helpful is one my browser refuses to go to - "server IP address cannot be found")

Have I mentioned AAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHH! ?

I'm pulling out my hair at this point (and to those who know me, that's a VERY time consuming proposition).

... help? ...

ADDENDUM: I found the instructions for installing the editor in KeeperFX, followed them, started it up, tried to load a level ... and EXACTLY THE SAME THING HAPPENED.

One more time, for good measure: AAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHH!

Reply 1 of 10, by Jorpho

Posted on 2021-05-17, 19:40

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In dire situations, sometimes it is useful to see if there's a file that the program is trying and failing to access.

If the editor is a DOS program, you can try the debug version of DOSBox. If it's a Windows program, you can try Filemon (or Procmon).

Reply 2 of 10, by jspyder

Posted on 2021-05-17, 21:03

jspyder Offline

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I'll try that - since the host machine is Windows 10 Pro, Filemon isn't available, but I've got Procmon.

More than that, however - I was interested to see if anyone has encountered this before, and found a solution.

Reply 3 of 10, by Jorpho

Posted on 2021-05-17, 21:36

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jspyder wrote on 2021-05-17, 21:03:
I'll try that - since the host machine is Windows 10 Pro, Filemon isn't available, but I've got Procmon.

I meant you could run it in your Windows 98 virtual machine. (I don't think Procmon will be very effective in determining file accesses by a program running in a guest VM.)

Reply 4 of 10, by jspyder

Posted on 2021-05-17, 21:55

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Right - I was planning on running Procmon on the Windows 10 machine, which is where the KeeperFX copy of the editor is installed.

Reply 5 of 10, by jspyder

Posted on 2021-05-18, 14:53

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ADDENDUM #2: To maybe shortcut things, I pulled out our old backup laptop (Windows XP Pro) and installed both DK and Editor, following all of the instructions I could find.

I'm encountering the SAME PROBLEM - no levels show up in the Editor!

WTF?????

(I considered that it might be NTFS, but the Win98SE VM is on FAT32 ... )

Reply 6 of 10, by jspyder

Posted on 2021-05-23, 17:22

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OK, I figured it out. I made two mistakes when trying to get it to work:
* I copied the data, ldata and levels files from a flat instead of the CD. That, apparently, makes a difference.
* I changed the config file install location to the wrong folder.

The editor is up and running fine.

Reply 7 of 10, by Jorpho

Posted on 2021-05-23, 22:38

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jspyder wrote on 2021-05-23, 17:22:

* I copied the data, ldata and levels files from a flat instead of the CD.

Is that a typo..?

Reply 8 of 10, by jspyder

Posted on 2021-05-24, 02:08

jspyder Offline

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In the instructions for installing the Editor, it says to copy the "Data", "LData" and "Levels" folders from the CD. (If you look at the CD, you can find those folders in the Keeper directory.)

Also, a "flat" is the contents of the CD copied to a folder on the hard drive.

Reply 9 of 10, by Jorpho

Posted on 2021-05-24, 18:41

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That terminology is new to me.

jspyder wrote on 2021-05-24, 02:08:
Also, a "flat" is the contents of the CD copied to a folder on the hard drive.

* I copied the data, ldata and levels files from a flat instead of the CD.

So... Instead of copying the data, ldata, and levels files from the CD, you copied them from a folder you copied to the hard drive from the CD?

Reply 10 of 10, by jspyder

Posted on 2021-05-24, 18:52

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Right - and apparently, there were either missing files or some wrong files in the flat.

The big thing was not getting the file location right in the config file.

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