Hello all.
I've been away from both Wing Commander and WCNews for quite a while, but lately, I've been figuring out how to get Wing Commander games working on my system. I've only been away from WC because I don't have a computer desk that allows me to set up a flight stick, and I canNOT play Wing Commander games without a flight stick. Call me spoiled, but-...
Anyway, I've been testing the GOG WC games that I own on my rig, and my journey over the last day or so has led to some interesting discoveries for me, which will hopefully be useful for other people who use the GOG versions of the games. For reference, this is my current set up:
Windows 7 Home Premium x64
AMD Phenom II x6 1090T
Radeon HD 6870 x 2 (CrossfireX)
8 GB DDR3 SDRAM
Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer
K-Lite Codec Pack Basic 11.1.0
Just in case it matters, these versions were downloaded via GOG Galaxy. Also, though I have a game controller connected to my computer and experience no problems with calibration, I must note that I have not tested the games with an actual flight stick on my set up because, as mentioned earlier, my current computer desk doesn't afford me the space to use one.
The first two games and their expansions run fine without any issues. Wing Commander III runs fine as well, but I noticed that the default selected digital sound card (Soundblaster Compatibles) only allowed monaural sound. By accessing the "Launch Settings" shortcut in the game's GOG directory, simply changing to another Sound Blaster option enabled stereo sound. I also configure the game for General MIDI, but that's just a personal preference.
Wing Commander IV, being based on the DVD version, was of course a more difficult affair. Even though it comes packaged with MPEG2DECFilter, AC3Filter and DXMCI, the game kept kicking me out to a Visual C++ error that I couldn't read because it was buried underneath the black game window. I tried using a command line with administrator privileges to get regsvr32 to register both of the .ax files, but the game still wouldn't work until I had used the wc4gog_1.0.2_test1.zip file. In particular, I extracted the two .cfg files and the .exe file to the game's install directory, and ran the new .exe, which got the game working. The movies were pretty quiet, so I adjusted the volume of AC3Filter via K-Lite's Win7DSTweaker tool. Just click on "DirectShow Filters", then "AC3Filter", then move the Master gain up to the desired volume. For my setup, once I had increased the gain to max volume, the sound of the movies were quite balanced with those of the gameplay sequences.
Wing Commander Prophecy works differently depending on whether or not you want to use the DVD quality movies. When using the default movies, the game works fine after installation. I should note however, that I have not tried playing the game using the OpenGL renderer with the default movie files, but I have no reason to think the game will not work properly in that case.
When using the DVD quality movies though, things change slightly. I followed the instructions in the first post and ran across a rather unique problem: I could hear the sound of the movies, but the video wouldn't appear. I enabled subtitles on the advice of the dvdcob_readme.txt file, which got many of the movies into a 'half working' state: in general, I'd end up staring at a black screen until the game began to render subtitles for the current movie. What ended up solving the problem for me was disabling subtitles, then configuring the OpenGL renderer to enable FSAA at either 2 or 4. As a note, the Glide and Direct3D renderers don't encounter any problems showing the movies.
Secret Ops works fine when the game and the OpenGL renderer are installed.
Wing Commander Privateer works fine out of the box, I just personally take the time with this game to configure the music for General MIDI. As a quick reference for those who prefer this, go into the game's DOSBOX directory, then run DOSBOX. Use the following commands:
* mount c ".."
* c:
* install
From there, configure the game to your preference.
TL;DR version from my own "GettingTrickyGamesToWork.txt" file:
WING COMMANDER IV
- Run the following commands from a command line with administrative privileges:
* cd "\<GAME PATH>" (eg. Program Files (x86)\Games\GOG\Wing Commander IV)
* regsvr32 Mpeg2DecFilter.ax
* cd AC3Filter
* regsvr32 ac3filter.ax
- The movies may be very quiet. Using K-Lite's Win7DSFilterTweaker tool, access AC3Filter's volume control and push the gain up to increase the volume of the movies.
- From wc4gog_1.0.2_test1.zip, extract the two .cfg files and the .exe file to the game's base directory. Run the extracted .exe and the game should run. Lastly, create a shortcut to the patched .exe.
- When installed via GOG Galaxy, the game must be launched from a custom desktop shortcut that points to the Win2k patched .exe, as the game requires admin privileges.
WING COMMANDER PROPHECY (Using the DVD patch/ movies)
- When installed via GOG Galaxy, the game must be launched from a shortcut, as it requires admin privileges.
- In addition to the instructions in the original post, run the OpenGL renderer config tool, and make sure FSAA is enabled so the movies will render correctly.
WING COMMANDER SECRET OPS
- When installed via GOG Galaxy, the game must be launched from a shortcut, as it requires admin privileges.
- Installing the OpenGL renderer for Prophecy will also install it for Secret Ops.
Hope those help. I will endeavor to be around the community more often and get (re-)acquainted with everyone. Also, I will be upgrading my computer in late summer/ early fall, so I will see what happens with the new hardware and Windows 10, and hopefully have something helpful to come back with for others who experience problems. Be well, all.
Forget the 1st post
