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.

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 !"

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.