Another CAotD on XP thread.

kgsuarez · 10-17-09, 05:01 PM

Hello everyone.

I've recently taken an interest in CAotD again and am curious about fellow members' experiences with running this game on XP.

In the past few years I have had marginal success running this game on XP, perhaps due in part to the fact that I was using a pirated copy of the game that I downloaded from a site I will not mention. For this I apologize to the entire SubSim community. The existence of software piracy is extremely detrimental to the niche market of sub games and my participation in such activity is certainly something to be frowned upon.

If it is of any consolation I will mention that as of this morning I have purchased a legitimate copy of the game from Amazon.com and am eagerly awaiting its arrival.

Anyway... For those of you with a legitimate copy of the game, what have your experiences been with running this game on XP? Have you had any trouble installing it?

I am somewhat concerned with how it will install because the pirated version I had would never install properly, but I was able to run it out of one of the sub-directories located in the archive file it came in, some of you might know what I'm talking about. Basically, inside the zip file it came in were some setup files and a directory called "AODCMD," and in that directory were all the game files necessary to run the game. So without successfully running the setup you could still run the game out of that directory. I am assuming that the only thing the setup files would do is transfer the files in the "AODCMD" folder onto your hardrive. But who knows?

As far as actually getting the game to run, all I ever had to do was set all the .EXE files associated with the game to run in Windows 95 compatibility mode with 256 colors. There are about 7 or so of these .EXE files. At times I even got the game to run with only setting one of them up to run in compatibility mode, but I figure it's good measure to set them all up the same way.

The only other problems ever I encountered were sound related, mainly the sound of the diesel engines cutting out unexpectedly or at times continuing after I had submerged the boat and was running on the electrics. I understand that these sound issues are fairly common. Other than that the game ran perfectly. (Okay, I've had a CTD a time or two. I recall it happening while I was trying change some game settings with running the game at some obscenely high TC.)

The other thing I am wondering about is the voice command aspect of the game. Have any of you gotten it to work? Did it even work in Windows 95?

At any rate, I will give you all an update once I receive my copy in the the mail and load it up.

Shearwater · 10-17-09, 08:04 PM

The only problems I've had so far were graphics related, i.e. at some screen resolution I can't remember there were oddly colored stripes all over the screen every 40th or 50th pixel. The reason why I don't like the windows version is that you can't run it in full screen, and I credit those problems to that fact. To avoid that, you might want to run the game at its native resolution, though of course that means that the window will probably cover only a part of your screen.
Sound has been fine so far (maybe a little break every now and then, though that's supposed to be somewhat normal). My DOS version runs much smoother btw, and without any issues at all

Hope you'll receive your copy soon

kgsuarez · 10-17-09, 10:59 PM

Thanks for the reply, sir.

I think I have had the same issue regarding the full screen mode. Luckily I don't mind running the game in a small window, it gives me some space on the desktop for other things, a nice luxury only available when rinning these old games on a newer system.

Blacklight · 10-18-09, 12:01 AM

I can't get Command Aces of the Deep running on my XP at all. I've tried Dosbox, and changing compatability modes on the executable. About the only thing I havn't tried is using a Windows Virtual Machine setup but I just don't have the space or the time to put forth the effort of setting that up.

kgsuarez · 10-18-09, 02:24 AM

I'm sorry to hear that. What exactly is the problem? Does the game install properly? Maybe it has something to do with your video card? What kind of CPU does your machine use?

IanC · 10-18-09, 03:10 AM

I know that CAOD is very picky when it comes to sound cards. You might have to disable yours and try an old one (bought used for 5$ or something). If that's any help.
I simply play AOD using D-Fend Reloaded DOSBox.

Shearwater · 10-18-09, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blacklight

I can't get Command Aces of the Deep running on my XP at all. I've tried Dosbox, and changing compatability modes on the executable. About the only thing I havn't tried is using a Windows Virtual Machine setup but I just don't have the space or the time to put forth the effort of setting that up.

Rumor has it that Windows 3.11 is freely available for download, but I'm really not sure about that. I was thinking about a workaround that I didn't try myself: Install Windows 3.11 (which supports CAotD AFAIK), start it in DOSBox and then run CAotD within your emulated Windows. It's probably less of a hassle than setting up a whole virtual machine

kgsuarez · 10-21-09, 10:54 PM

It came. It works.

The installation went flawlessly and it runs perfectly.

Next I am going to try running the game on a Linux system with the WINE emulation program. I will have the results of that experiment very soon.

Blacklight · 10-21-09, 11:32 PM

Quote:

I'm sorry to hear that. What exactly is the problem? Does the game install properly? Maybe it has something to do with your video card? What kind of CPU does your machine use?

The game doesn't even want to install. The install menu pops up, but when I click the button that says "Install" or something like that, it just closes the menu and the program. I'll get my copy out later and try again so I can be more specific.
Running Windows 3.11, which I have had a copy of on a cd for a long time, in dosbox is an idea that I actually came up with but I just havn't tried it yet. I've been really busy lately and havn't been able to really noodle with computer stuff.

kgsuarez · 10-22-09, 01:51 AM

If you do try to install it again and post a more detailed explanation I or someone else may be able to help you.

I don't know anything about DOSBox or Win 3.11, but I may look into it as a solution for my faliure to get the game running under Linux with WINE.

I'll say a little more about that for anyone who may be interested. WINE is a Windows emulation program for UNIX type operating systems. I managed to install the game somewhat properly. The installation process yeilded several error messages, despite this the installer assured me that installation was successful. Go figure. Now, running WINE in Win 95 "mode" seems to be the only way to get setup working and the game running.

There are some problems with how the game runs though. First off, it is slow as all hell. The music files do not play. Some sounds work, however I have not messed with it enough to give anymore details on that. The periscope and binocular views are broken too. I'm not quite sure how to describe the broken-ness though. You can see the 3D environment from periscope or binoculars, but everything else is black. No buttons, no TDC, no nothing.

So far these are the only problems I notice. I plan to look into it a bit more though. If not through WINE, perhaps through DOSBox I will get the game running *properly* on Linux. I'll let you all know how it goes.

kgsuarez · 11-07-09, 01:08 PM

Okay, I figured I'd post a status update for anyone who's interested.

I have completely given up on getting CAotD to run on Linux. The DOSBox/Win 3.11 combination seems like a troublesome and clumsy solution to a seemingly simple problem and I have decided to bypass it for a much simpler option; I will just run the DOS version of the game.

I have placed an order for the original version of AotD (DOS CD-ROM. Manual included!

) on amazon.com and am waiting for its arrival. In the meantime, for testing purposes only, I have acquired an illegitimate copy of the game and I am happy to report that it runs almost flawlessly with DOSBox under Linux. It is slightly choppy, and this is most apparent in the sound. But perhaps I will be able to tweak DOSBox to get the the game running a bit more smoothly. Nevertheless, it works and I now have a subsim that I can play on my Linux machine. I am happy with this.

Shearwater · 11-07-09, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kgsuarez

I will just run the DOS version of the game.

A wise choice

I find the DOS version superior anyway because it has got a more coherent feel to it.

Quote:

But perhaps I will be able to tweak DOSBox to get the the game running a bit more smoothly. Nevertheless, it works and I now have a subsim that I can play on my Linux machine. I am happy with this.

Try setting your cycles to "max", switch off any rendering filters and maybe reduce the sound sample quality to 11050 (although that's as low as I would go). I think with these settings AOD should run just fine

kgsuarez · 11-07-09, 02:08 PM

Yes, the DOS version does seem slightly more coherent, as you say. I figure that the publishers pushed out the Command version in an attempt to wring out the last few dollars they could from the project by giving early Windows users the option to run the game on their new systems, or something to that effect. It's unfortunate that some of the game got lost in translation, so to speak. Besides, I have to say that the DOS version has a greater level of charm to it than it's successor. Although the graphics are even more dated than in the Command version the gameplay seems more stable. For example, the Command version produces a CTD when I click on the "Program FAT" button on the torpedo loadout screen. And at other times I would get a CTD for no apparent reason. So, I guess the DOS version just plain works better.

Thanks for the tips, I will refer to them once I get my copy and learn a little bit more about DOSBox. For the time being I am slightly lost as far as how to pass such parameters to BOSBox. I'll be referring to the documentation shortly.

Now, I only wonder what exact version of the DOS CD-ROM I will be receiving from amazon.com. From what I understand, there is an expansion pack. Where some versions of the game shipped out with the said pack already incorporated? At any rate I see that the updates are available on the subsim.com downloads page, so I will (hopefully) be able to apply them at that time if needed.

Shearwater · 11-07-09, 02:25 PM

AFAIK, the cd DOS version (which I also have) already contains the expansion.

You can find the settings in the dosbox.conf file (simply open it with the editor, but remember to save it as a .conf file).

The settings I've mentioned above are:

in the [render] section:
scaler=none

[cpu]
cycles=max

[mixer]
rate=11025 (the rate above was a typo; I leave it at 22050)

You have to mount a cd drive as well (just type in "intro cdrom" in your dosbox window for instructions). Once you know your parameters, you can write them in your .conf tile in the [autoexec] section.
I managed to make some special installation without the cd, though it crashes when I click the on line manual button (it's not installed).
Anyway I hope you'll get your copy soon

kgsuarez · 11-09-09, 04:44 PM

Okay, I actually received my disk today.

It appears that I have a copy of the original unpatched version. I can identify it as such being that there is no option to view buoyancy guages in the watch officer voicetube menu.

Now, under the downloads section on subsim.com I seem to have to options of what to download and install to my game. The first is the 1.2 upgrade, and the second is the Expansion Pack. Which one of these do I want? Should I install the 1.2 upgrade and then apply the Expansion Pack? I have to say, I am a bit confused right now.

10-17-09, 05:01 PM	#1
kgsuarez Planesman Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: USA Posts: 181 Downloads: 28 Uploads: 0	Another CAotD on XP thread. Hello everyone. I've recently taken an interest in CAotD again and am curious about fellow members' experiences with running this game on XP. In the past few years I have had marginal success running this game on XP, perhaps due in part to the fact that I was using a pirated copy of the game that I downloaded from a site I will not mention. For this I apologize to the entire SubSim community. The existence of software piracy is extremely detrimental to the niche market of sub games and my participation in such activity is certainly something to be frowned upon. If it is of any consolation I will mention that as of this morning I have purchased a legitimate copy of the game from Amazon.com and am eagerly awaiting its arrival. Anyway... For those of you with a legitimate copy of the game, what have your experiences been with running this game on XP? Have you had any trouble installing it? I am somewhat concerned with how it will install because the pirated version I had would never install properly, but I was able to run it out of one of the sub-directories located in the archive file it came in, some of you might know what I'm talking about. Basically, inside the zip file it came in were some setup files and a directory called "AODCMD," and in that directory were all the game files necessary to run the game. So without successfully running the setup you could still run the game out of that directory. I am assuming that the only thing the setup files would do is transfer the files in the "AODCMD" folder onto your hardrive. But who knows? As far as actually getting the game to run, all I ever had to do was set all the .EXE files associated with the game to run in Windows 95 compatibility mode with 256 colors. There are about 7 or so of these .EXE files. At times I even got the game to run with only setting one of them up to run in compatibility mode, but I figure it's good measure to set them all up the same way. The only other problems ever I encountered were sound related, mainly the sound of the diesel engines cutting out unexpectedly or at times continuing after I had submerged the boat and was running on the electrics. I understand that these sound issues are fairly common. Other than that the game ran perfectly. (Okay, I've had a CTD a time or two. I recall it happening while I was trying change some game settings with running the game at some obscenely high TC.) The other thing I am wondering about is the voice command aspect of the game. Have any of you gotten it to work? Did it even work in Windows 95? At any rate, I will give you all an update once I receive my copy in the the mail and load it up.

10-18-09, 12:01 AM	#4
Blacklight Ocean Warrior Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Connecticut Posts: 2,507 Downloads: 145 Uploads: 0	I can't get Command Aces of the Deep running on my XP at all. I've tried Dosbox, and changing compatability modes on the executable. About the only thing I havn't tried is using a Windows Virtual Machine setup but I just don't have the space or the time to put forth the effort of setting that up. __________________ Be my friend or be a mushroom cloud. "I am coming at you. You will explode in a couple of minutes !"

11-07-09, 01:08 PM	#11
kgsuarez Planesman Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: USA Posts: 181 Downloads: 28 Uploads: 0	Okay, I figured I'd post a status update for anyone who's interested. I have completely given up on getting CAotD to run on Linux. The DOSBox/Win 3.11 combination seems like a troublesome and clumsy solution to a seemingly simple problem and I have decided to bypass it for a much simpler option; I will just run the DOS version of the game. I have placed an order for the original version of AotD (DOS CD-ROM. Manual included!) on amazon.com and am waiting for its arrival. In the meantime, for testing purposes only, I have acquired an illegitimate copy of the game and I am happy to report that it runs almost flawlessly with DOSBox under Linux. It is slightly choppy, and this is most apparent in the sound. But perhaps I will be able to tweak DOSBox to get the the game running a bit more smoothly. Nevertheless, it works and I now have a subsim that I can play on my Linux machine. I am happy with this.

10-17-09, 08:04 PM	#2
Shearwater Captain Join Date: May 2009 Location: SUBSIM Radio Room (kinda obvious, isn't it) Posts: 542 Downloads: 45 Uploads: 0	The only problems I've had so far were graphics related, i.e. at some screen resolution I can't remember there were oddly colored stripes all over the screen every 40th or 50th pixel. The reason why I don't like the windows version is that you can't run it in full screen, and I credit those problems to that fact. To avoid that, you might want to run the game at its native resolution, though of course that means that the window will probably cover only a part of your screen. Sound has been fine so far (maybe a little break every now and then, though that's supposed to be somewhat normal). My DOS version runs much smoother btw, and without any issues at all Hope you'll receive your copy soon

10-17-09, 10:59 PM	#3
kgsuarez Planesman Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: USA Posts: 181 Downloads: 28 Uploads: 0	Thanks for the reply, sir. I think I have had the same issue regarding the full screen mode. Luckily I don't mind running the game in a small window, it gives me some space on the desktop for other things, a nice luxury only available when rinning these old games on a newer system.

10-18-09, 02:24 AM	#5
kgsuarez Planesman Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: USA Posts: 181 Downloads: 28 Uploads: 0	I'm sorry to hear that. What exactly is the problem? Does the game install properly? Maybe it has something to do with your video card? What kind of CPU does your machine use?

10-18-09, 03:10 AM	#6
IanC Grey Wolf Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Running silent and deep Posts: 902 Downloads: 3 Uploads: 0	I know that CAOD is very picky when it comes to sound cards. You might have to disable yours and try an old one (bought used for 5$ or something). If that's any help. I simply play AOD using D-Fend Reloaded DOSBox.

10-21-09, 10:54 PM	#8
kgsuarez Planesman Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: USA Posts: 181 Downloads: 28 Uploads: 0	It came. It works. The installation went flawlessly and it runs perfectly. Next I am going to try running the game on a Linux system with the WINE emulation program. I will have the results of that experiment very soon.

10-22-09, 01:51 AM	#10
kgsuarez Planesman Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: USA Posts: 181 Downloads: 28 Uploads: 0	If you do try to install it again and post a more detailed explanation I or someone else may be able to help you. I don't know anything about DOSBox or Win 3.11, but I may look into it as a solution for my faliure to get the game running under Linux with WINE. I'll say a little more about that for anyone who may be interested. WINE is a Windows emulation program for UNIX type operating systems. I managed to install the game somewhat properly. The installation process yeilded several error messages, despite this the installer assured me that installation was successful. Go figure. Now, running WINE in Win 95 "mode" seems to be the only way to get setup working and the game running. There are some problems with how the game runs though. First off, it is slow as all hell. The music files do not play. Some sounds work, however I have not messed with it enough to give anymore details on that. The periscope and binocular views are broken too. I'm not quite sure how to describe the broken-ness though. You can see the 3D environment from periscope or binoculars, but everything else is black. No buttons, no TDC, no nothing. So far these are the only problems I notice. I plan to look into it a bit more though. If not through WINE, perhaps through DOSBox I will get the game running properly on Linux. I'll let you all know how it goes.

11-07-09, 02:08 PM	#13
kgsuarez Planesman Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: USA Posts: 181 Downloads: 28 Uploads: 0	Yes, the DOS version does seem slightly more coherent, as you say. I figure that the publishers pushed out the Command version in an attempt to wring out the last few dollars they could from the project by giving early Windows users the option to run the game on their new systems, or something to that effect. It's unfortunate that some of the game got lost in translation, so to speak. Besides, I have to say that the DOS version has a greater level of charm to it than it's successor. Although the graphics are even more dated than in the Command version the gameplay seems more stable. For example, the Command version produces a CTD when I click on the "Program FAT" button on the torpedo loadout screen. And at other times I would get a CTD for no apparent reason. So, I guess the DOS version just plain works better. Thanks for the tips, I will refer to them once I get my copy and learn a little bit more about DOSBox. For the time being I am slightly lost as far as how to pass such parameters to BOSBox. I'll be referring to the documentation shortly. Now, I only wonder what exact version of the DOS CD-ROM I will be receiving from amazon.com. From what I understand, there is an expansion pack. Where some versions of the game shipped out with the said pack already incorporated? At any rate I see that the updates are available on the subsim.com downloads page, so I will (hopefully) be able to apply them at that time if needed.

11-07-09, 02:25 PM	#14
Shearwater Captain Join Date: May 2009 Location: SUBSIM Radio Room (kinda obvious, isn't it) Posts: 542 Downloads: 45 Uploads: 0	AFAIK, the cd DOS version (which I also have) already contains the expansion. You can find the settings in the dosbox.conf file (simply open it with the editor, but remember to save it as a .conf file). The settings I've mentioned above are: in the [render] section: scaler=none [cpu] cycles=max [mixer] rate=11025 (the rate above was a typo; I leave it at 22050) You have to mount a cd drive as well (just type in "intro cdrom" in your dosbox window for instructions). Once you know your parameters, you can write them in your .conf tile in the [autoexec] section. I managed to make some special installation without the cd, though it crashes when I click the on line manual button (it's not installed). Anyway I hope you'll get your copy soon

11-09-09, 04:44 PM	#15
kgsuarez Planesman Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: USA Posts: 181 Downloads: 28 Uploads: 0	Okay, I actually received my disk today. It appears that I have a copy of the original unpatched version. I can identify it as such being that there is no option to view buoyancy guages in the watch officer voicetube menu. Now, under the downloads section on subsim.com I seem to have to options of what to download and install to my game. The first is the 1.2 upgrade, and the second is the Expansion Pack. Which one of these do I want? Should I install the 1.2 upgrade and then apply the Expansion Pack? I have to say, I am a bit confused right now.