X-COM BUG FAQ 12 August 2003 www.xcomufo.com micahdg@xcomufo.com ---------------------------------------------------------------- X-COM: UFO Defense (DOS versions 1.2, 1.4, and Windows Collector's Edition) Bug FAQ Garbled video error while running under Win98se/XP/ME/NT/2000 When attempting to run the Collector's Edition (CE) of UFO Defense under Windows 98se/XP/2000/ME/NT with a modern video card, you will probably get a garbled screen with about four game screen's worth of data squashed together near the top of the screen. This is cause by DirectDraw drivers the Collector's Edition uses to create compatibility with Windows. Unfortunately, the programmers did not take the pitch into consideration. You can bypass this problem manually through dxdiag.exe, but this is tedious, must be reversed to play newer games, and doesn't fix all of the problems. There is a file that actually fixes the conflict caused by DirectDraw by automatically disabling (then re-enabling) the acceleration. It was written by F0dder (http://f0dder.has.it/). The file for UFO Defense is called xcom1fix.exe (http://www.xcomufo.com/xcom1fix.exe) (or ldr_xcom1.exe) Place the file in the main UFO Defense folder and run the fix file instead of "UFO Defense.exe" to start the game. If you are still unable to run the game after using f0dder's fix, manually disable DirectDraw acceleration by following these instructions: From the Start Menu, click Run. Type in "dxdiag.exe" and click OK. After the data has finished loading, click the Display tab at the top of DxDiag. Look for the line that reads "DirectDraw Acceleration Enabled" and click Disable. Click EXIT at the bottom and go play. Remember to re-enable it before running application or games that require directx acceleration. "Couldn't CreateProcess" error with xcom1fix.exe or ldr_xcom1.exe This error originates with f0dder's fix (ldr_xcom1.exe or xcom1fix.exe) in which the fix can not find the UFO Defense.exe executable. The most common solution for this is to make sure that the UFO Defense executable file is named "UFO Defense" with an .exe extension (making it an application). Also, make sure that the fix (xcom2fix.exe or ldr_xcom2.exe) is in the same directory as the game. If that does not work, consider re-installing the game again. "Couldn't ReadProcessMemory" error with xcom1fix.exe or ldr_xcom1.exe This error will present itself if you try to use f0dder's fix with an old DOS version of the game. F0dder's fix only works with the Collector's Edition. Click-pause sound error I don't know what causes this problem, but I do know how to fix it. Download this file: musfix.dll (http://www.xcomufo.com/musfix.dll) and place it in the main UFO Defense folder. Now run the game, and the click-pauses should be eliminated. Blank screen or "VGA Mode Not Supported" Using an LCD monitor? Can you hear sound and music? You probably can, but no video? You might get an error message saying "VGA Mode not supported." More than likely, your problem originates in the LCD monitor's current refresh rate. Open dxdiag.exe from the Start Menu, Run box. Click on the "More Help" tab, click on Override, click the dot next to Override Value, and then enter 60. Click okay and do whatever the program tells you to do, then try the game. If 60 doesn't work, try raising or lowering it by increments of 1. Game picture runs off of the screen Adjust the controls for horizontal and vertical display/stretching on the front of your monitor. Consult your monitor manual for further information. Game crash, program quits to desktop - random This is caused by a corrupt saved game. Some time within the past two months (of game time) when you saved your game, the files became corrupted. This is a bug that has been in the game since the beginning and never fixed because it is somewhat unusual. The only way around this bug is to delete the files in the corrupted save's folder, load an older saved game (that hopefully is not corrupted) and save over the now-blank spot. To check to see if an older saved game is corrupted, use the 1 Day button to speed up the game to the time when the crash occurred in the first saved game. If the saved game gets past that designated crash time, the files are good. Two tips to avoid this bug in the future: Save often and in alternating save spots, and DO NOT save while an interception window is minimized. Game crash while creating first base or when stepping off the skyranger on the first mission This is most often cause by trying to play an old DOS version in WinXP/ME/2k. Get a hold on the Collector's Edition. Game crash on transfers If you are playing the game in a language other that English (ie German) start the game in English and proceed with the transfer. Remember to re-enable it before running application or games that require directx acceleration. Game crash with scrolled large font text (typically green), unknown battle results shown or old battlescape game loaded This is a common bug that cannot be worked around. You need to save your game often and in alternating save spots. Quit the game and reload your last save game. Game runs too fast The first thing to do to try to slow down your computer is to use a program like Turbo (http://www.xcomufo.com/turbo.zip) or mo'slo (http://www.xcomufo.com/moslo.com). If they do now help enough, and if you're feeling adventurous, boot your computer into CMOS and turn off both "Internal Cache" and "External Cache" in the BIOS settings, then adjust mo'slo or turbo to slow the game down to acceptable levels. Please do not ask me how to disable the caches, as there are many different CMOS' and motherboards that I can't tell you how exactly to do it on your system. Ask your local tech friend or consult the motherboard manual (exciting stuff). Saved Game Dissappears Make sure that in the xcom directory, there is a folder called "game_1". If it does not, you will need to create a folder with this name. Then create "game_2" .... "game_10" for the rest of the save game folders. -------------------------------------------------------------------- X-COM: Terror From the Deep (DOS versions 1.0, 1.2, and Windows Collector's Edition) Bug FAQ Garbled video error while running under Win98se/XP/ME/NT/2000 When attempting to run the Collector's Edition (CE) of Terror From the Deep under Windows 98se/ XP/2000/ME/NT with a modern video card, you will probably get a garbled screen with about four game screen's worth of data squashed together near the top of the screen. This is cause by DirectDraw drivers the Collector's Edition uses to create compatibility with Windows. Unfortunately, the programmers did not take the pitch into consideration. You can bypass this problem manually through dxdiag.exe, but this is tedious, must be reversed to play newer games, and doesn't fix all of the problems. There is a file that actually fixes the conflict caused by DirectDraw by automatically disabling (then re-enabling) the acceleration. It was written by F0dder (http://f0dder.has.it/). The file for UFO Defense is called xcom2fix.exe (http://www.xcomufo.com/xcom2fix.exe) (or ldr_xcom2.exe) Place the file in the main Terror From the Deep folder and run the fix file instead of "Terror From the Deep.exe" to start the game. If you are still unable to run the game after using f0dder's fix, manually disable DirectDraw acceleration by following these instructions: From the Start Menu, click Run. Type in "dxdiag.exe" and click OK. After the data has finished loading, click the Display tab at the top of DxDiag. Look for the line that reads "DirectDraw Acceleration Enabled" and click disable. Click EXIT at the bottom and go play. Remember to re-enable it before running application or games that require directx acceleration. "Couldn't CreateProcess" error with xcom2fix.exe or ldr_xcom2.exe This error originates with f0dder's fix (ldr_xcom2.exe or xcom2fix.exe) in which the fix can not find the Terror From the Deep.exe executable. The most common solution for this is to make sure that the Terror From the Deep executable file is named "Terror From the Deep" with an .exe extension (making it an application). Also, make sure that the fix (xcom2fix.exe or ldr_xcom2.exe) is in the same directory as the game. If that does not work, consider re-installing the game again. "Couldn't ReadProcessMemory" error with xcom2fix.exe or ldr_xcom2.exe This error will present itself if you try to use f0dder's fix with an old DOS version of the game. F0dder's fix only works with the Collector's Edition. Click-pause sound error I don't know what causes this problem, but I do know how to fix it. Download this file: musfix.dll (http://www.xcomufo.com/musfix.dll) and place it in the main Terror From the Deep folder. Now run the game, and the click-pauses should be eliminated. Blank screen or "VGA Mode Not Supported" Using an LCD monitor? Can you hear sound and music? You probably can, but no video? You might get an error message saying "VGA Mode not supported." More than likely, your problem originates in the LCD monitor's current refresh rate. Open dxdiag.exe from the Start Menu, Run box. Click on the "More Help" tab, click on Override, click the dot next to Override Value, and then enter 60. Click okay and do whatever the program tells you to do, then try the game. If 60 doesn't work, try raising or lowering it by increments of 1. Game picture runs off of the screen Adjust the controls for horizontal and vertical display/stretching on the front of your monitor. Consult your monitor manual for further information. Game crash, program quits to desktop - random This is caused by a corrupt saved game. Some time within the past two months (of game time) when you saved your game, the files became corrupted. This is a bug that has been in the game since the beginning and never fixed because it is somewhat unusual. The only way around this bug is to delete the files in the corrupted save's folder, load an older saved game (that hopefully is not corrupted) and save over the now-blank spot. To check to see if an older saved game is corrupted, use the 1 Day button to speed up the game to the time when the crash occured in the first saved game. If the saved game gets past that designated crash time, the files are good. Two tips to avoid this bug in the future: Save often and in alternating save spots, and DO NOT save while an interception window is minimized. Game crash while creating first base or when stepping off the skyranger on the first mission This is most often cause by trying to play an old DOS version in WinXP/ME/2k. Get a hold on the Collector's Edition. Game crash with scrolled large font text (typically green), unknown battle results shown or old battlescape game loaded This is a common bug that cannot be worked around. You need to save your game often and in alternating save spots. Quit the game and reload your last save game. Game crash on transfers If you are playing the game in a language other that English (ie German) start the game in English and proceed with the transfer. Game runs too fast The first thing to do to try to slow down your computer is to use a program like Turbo or mo'slo. If they do now help enough, and if you're feeling adventurous, boot your computer into CMOS and turn off both "Internal Cache" and "External Cache" in the BIOS settings, then adjust mo'slo or turbo to slow the game down to acceptable levels. Please do not ask me how to disable the caches, as there are many different CMOS' and motherboards that I can't tell you how exactly to do it on your system. Ask your local tech friend or consult the motherboard manual (exciting stuff). Saved Game Dissappears Make sure that in the xcom directory, there is a folder called "game_1". If it does not, you will need to create a folder with this name. Then create "game_2" .... "game_10" for the rest of the save game folders. ------------------------------------------------------------ X-COM: Apocalypse (DOS version 1.0 and Windows Collector's Edition) Bug FAQ Let me say that I do not like Apocalypse, for reasons I won't bore you with. Please do not email me with questions regarding this game. You can try posting in the forums, in the Apocalypse Tech Help forum. There are so many things that don't work with Apocalypse that it's hard to pinpoint all of them. Here is a list of specific things that 'should' be easy to fix. First, there is a link to a detailed list of steps written by a friend that you can try out on your computer if everything else fails to help you..... Mark's Detailed Apocalypse Fix Solution: Forum Topic - Mar 5 2003, 01:40 PM http://www.xcomufo.com/forums//index.php?act=ST&f=26&t=841&s=479b81f2198b6020f04287d3380c9c82 (Specifically for Win2k, but likely to work for other OSes) Running Compatibity Settings for X-COM: Apocalypse in Windows 2000/XP There are lots of things that go wrong when trying to play Apoc in Win2k/XP. The most common can be fixed by setting the game's compatibility settings to an older version of windows. Edit the properties of whatever file starts Apoc (whether it's xcom3.bat, or xcomapoc.exe, etc.) and set the program to Windows 95 compatibility with 256 colors. Now run that file. Saving Your Game in X-COM: Apocalypse (Hard Drive Version) The version of Apoc that is most commonly found online does not create an empty directory called "savegame" that is necessary to save a game in Apoc. You must create a new folder, "savegame", in the main Apoc directory. This will enable your saved games to be written to the hard drive. Fixing the Sound in X-COM: Apocalypse under WinXP (and possibly Win2000/ME) Note from me: This fix will give you sound, but it may be choppy and not as good as you hope. http://SVDMsound.Sourceforge.net/ Download the newest version of VDMSound. After installing it, set up Apocalypse to use a Sound Blaster, 220, IRQ 7, DMA 1 (the default for SB emulation under VDMSound). Exit and save from the setup program. Finally, edit the run xcom3.bat file that came with the zip from the first step. Add the command "dosdrv" on a new line between the "xcom3_cd.com" and "xcomapoc.exe SKIP" lines. This will invoke a VDMSound session inside the DOS box of the batch file, which will end when the game is exited. You will need to edit the properties of xcom3.bat and set the program to Windows 95 compatibility with 256 colors. Now, run the batch file and enjoy! Files/Buffers Error Remember, Apoc was made for old DOS and it requires a few things that most DOS machines already had running, including the right numbers of buffers and files that a program could manipulate at once. From the start menu, run sysedit.exe A lot of little windows will appear in the sysedit window. Find the one called config.sys Go to the bottom of the file (or the top if it is empty) and enter these commands, on seperate lines: buffers=20 files=20 Save the file, exit the program, and restart your machine. Theoretically, this should fix the problem. SVGA Graphic Error Apocalypse has trouble detecting the 2D hardware on modern 3D/2D combo cards. Download x3svga.zip from the Apocalypse download page to help correct the error. Missing Alien Dimension Maps The 54mb archive of Apoc is missing some map files that enable you to play into the Alien Dimension. Download this file: http://www.xcomufo.com/apocmaps.zip These are the missing maps. Unzip this file and place both of the folders, 59alien1 and 60alien2, in the \maps\ folder. This will allow you to play in the alien dimension. Running X-COM: Apocalypse (CD Version) on Windows 2000/XP Most of the following, with a little editing from myself, was posted by Jeff Evans on X-COM: Tactical Command Forums on 2 Sep 2002 and might not work for you. Using the following method, you can make the CD version of X-COM: Apocalypse work with Windows 2kXP. There are a variety of reasons why one must use this method - mainly because dual-booting is impossible with your current hardware configuration, or you do not wish to purchase another OS. This solution is for the "after viewing or skipping the intro movie, a blinking cursor briefly appears in the top left corner of the screen, and then returns the user to Windows with no explanation," from my observations, the most common Apoc problem. The problem arises from the fact that Windows doens't like programs to try to directly access drives without going through Windows. First, you must download the xcom3_cd.zip or xcom3fix.zip file http://www.xcomufo.com/x3cdfix.zip http://209.51.133.74/~compuexperts.net/Ufo/x3cdfix.zip (Mirror) Once downloaded, unzip the file to your Apocalypse directory. To run the game, use the "Run X-com.bat" file included with the zip. To get sound to work, read the following: