Outpost 1 on XP?

[Ravant]

Lemme start off by saying nice site, I've signed up for the forums, but Yahoo mail bites, and I've yet to recieve a confirmation mail.

Here we go with the question:

I've gotten quite a few 16 bit applications to run on my Windows XP machine (An old DOS version of Civilization, etc.) My only problem is, when I attempt to instal Outpost 1.5 from the CD (I've had this for quite a long time...) it initializes the installation, plays the MIDI file, but displays nothing on the screen that it's running except a button in the taskbar. I'm far too lazy to hook my old Win95 peice of junk up again, so is there any successful emulator to use to get this installed, or am I just destined to not have this game work in XP?

See you all in the forums when I finally get my confirmation e-mail.

[Leviathan]

Im not sure but my advice is to download the OP1 from us, im sure it works on XP.

For more help come on the chat room www.outpostuniverse.net/irc.htm

[BlackBox]

You can't install it using the installer app, you have to copy all files manually (I think).

You could try right clicking the game / installer EXE, going to Properties, Compatibility tab and enabling it for Win95.

[Mez]

version 1.5 loads up perfectly on my winxp sp2 home computer and runs with no problems.

have you tried closing anivirus software etc when installing?


 

[PlayingOutpost0-24]

actually the installer did work for me...

WinXP Pro SP1

[Ravant]

Well, the confirmation e-mail was just blocked by yahoo's bulk mail system... kinda annoys me. Gotta wait for it again. Got XP service pack 1. The setup loads somewhat normally, then when it finishes initializing the setup, the best I get is a button in the taskbar, some music, and my background. No installation. To copy the files manually, where are the .exe files located?

[spirit1flyer]

I have the same problem you are not alone with this let me know if you find out

[Leviathan]

Ravant i can give u a new @gmail.com email
whats ur current email>? or  emial me with what u what the account as and password and ill just make it for u.
/me jacob.leviathan@gmail.com

[zigzagjoe]

what works for me is skiping the tests and then it'll install fine

[Leviathan]

outpostuniverse.net/op1.php

[tex2u]

If you`re having trouble installing Outpost 1 on Win XP,
try going to My Computer / properties / Advanced / Performance /
Hit the bullet titled " Adjust for Best performance " and apply.

This turns off the Active Desktop which Outpost doesn`t like.

I`d suggest running Outpost in this mode also.

Thankx

Tex2u.
 (thumbsup)  

[ArchÂngel]

I just downloaded Op1.5 yesterday, and after playing for hours on end, I realized that I had to go take an exam. When I went to save my game, the option was greyed out... anyone have any ideas on how to fix this?   Also, the game tends to crash when I try to build the monorail power structure.

(It's a laptop)
System:
WinXP HE v2002 sp2
Mobile AMD Athlon 64
Processor 3700+
2.41 Ghz, 1.00 GB of RAM

Grphics:
ATI Mobility Radeon 9600/9700 Series


[edit] I am using Daemon tools to run the game, instead of a cloned cd... don't know if that makes a difference...

[Leviathan]

System specs make no difference. Personaly I much perfer Deamon tools than anything else. It owns! I copy any CD's i have to a image and run em from comp. Cant help you with OP1 as ive never played it on XP, or in years.

[tex2u]

Run a turn then see if you can save a game then.
 (thumbsup)  

[ArchÂngel]

didnt work  :/    

[Mez]

The only way to save is. to run one turn, do nothing else to the game. Ie.e run 1 turn and imediatly save the game.

In some circumstances it wont let you save. e.g. if ur coloney is dead or an important event occured on that turn. in that case just run a few more turns. after that if it doesn't save properly/ let u at all then it might not be installed properly

[Foxhound]

I think the game only lets you save on easy mode and higher

[wizisi2k]

no it lets u save on beginner too

[pinkfluff]

Hi, I downloaded the outpost.iso from the website, ran it with daemon and it seemed like it was installing okay (according to what the site says should happen) but right after it asks if it can install files on the computer and I click yes it makes my computer crash. It says some stuff on a blue screen (that I didn't have time to even look at) and restarts. I tried running the setup for outpost in compatibility with windows 95 but that didn't help any. Any help on why it isn't working and how I can make it work? It's been years since I last played outpost (back when it was new heh) and I would really like to be able to again.

[Mez]

Thats a driver issue. With your computer hardware. or perhaps it doesn't like the daemon tools driver.  What does the BSOD tell you, i.e. which driver caused the crash?

You could try with a diiferent virtual drive program, too see if it is the virtual drive software that is causing the issue.

like one that comes with powerISO, or Alcohol.

I know that powerISO, even the evaluation version comes with an unrestricted virtual drive tool.

Apart from that you should make sure you have all the driver and software updates for your computer.

[BlackBox]

The machine reboots usually at a bsod -- you have to enable a special option to make it stay on screen (reboot manually).

To do that, follow the directions here: http://www.mvps.org/marksxp/WindowsXP/bsod.php

When it blue-screens it should keep the blue screen onscreen, allowing you to write down the driver name (.sys filename).

[Mez]

Hmm, I forgot about the instant reboot feature.  My BSOD are always something extreme going wrong causing a memory dump, takes bout 3 mins of sitting on the blue screen to write the 2GB's of data from RAM before it hangs for a bit then reboots.

Sorry for the duff information!  Ye follow what op2hacker said for getting the name of the problem driver

[BlackBox]

Hmm, I forgot about the instant reboot feature.  My BSOD are always something extreme going wrong causing a memory dump, takes bout 3 mins of sitting on the blue screen to write the 2GB's of data from RAM before it hangs for a bit then reboots.

Change the setting in that same dialog to not do a full memory dump, just a small / core dump (64 kb or so).

[BinaryMan]

My experience with OP1 in XP:

If you get the 16-bit insufficient memory error, restart in safe mode and play the game. Very few processes will be running, which allows the application to work properly. It also makes sure that no other 16-bit apps are running, which can sometimes interfere with it.

I went back to my old patched version from the original CD. There IS a difference between version 1.5 and 1.51. Version 1.51 appears to not be stable in XP, and encounters frequent "stack overflow" errors, or other errors for unknown reasons (like dozing certain buildings, or building sometimes, or even just going to the next turn after awhile). Version 1.5 doesn't seem to have this problem, but a couple of the dialogs appear blank (it is trivial to the gameplay). It also doesn't leave the screen black and green most of the time. I can upload this version if someone wants it; the only download from this site is version 1.51.

Something that might help in both version is to not run the program in Win95 compatibility mode or with any other compatibility options enabled. This appears to cause errors as well.

Also, don't keep the command center window open like I normally do. Having any building windows opened seems to cause a crash when they go to update on a new turn.

UPDATE: Doesn't matter which version you use, there are still problems on most machines. The solution I found was to get Virtual PC 2004 from Microsoft (it's free), and run it inside that emulated environment. It runs perfectly. It took hours to find and properly install all the stuff for Windows 3.11, but I can simply post the Virtual Hard Drive image from my emulator and save you the trouble!