Omikron - The Nomad Soul Windows 7/HD4XXX Compatibility Issue?

[AndroidVageta]

Im hopeing someone either has a straight answer or a fix here...

Well, wanting to re-live some past game experiences I busted out the old Omikron...never finished it back in the day due to limited attention span but remember the game being quite awesome! Loaded her up, everything went smoothly...no issues what so ever with Windows 7...except one thing...graphic corruption.

Make it short and sweet, the graphics display what I can best describe as "trailing black and blue pixels with movement". Nothing I can do has fixed the issue (changing compatibility, even using 3D Analyzer) and nothing can fix this glitch.

I read on a forum somewhere else that it is due to the Radeon HD4XXX series LACK of 16/24-bit zbuffer and this is causing the issue...is this true? My hardware and software work fine, nothing physically wrong, but it may be an actual hardware limitation on a 11 year old game on new age hardware...weird...

Heres the forum that I was able to find out about the zbuffer limitation (if one exists):
http://forums.amd.com/game/messageview.cfm?catid=279&threadid=116569

The very first picture explains it all...this is exactly whats happening on my rig...

Anyone else have this issue and fixed it or know what may? I have the game on my Dreamcast, so I could play it, but lets face it...even with 11 year old games the Dreamcast is quite a few steps behind graphically, even on Omikron compared to PC. Thanks to anyone that has a fix or know whats wrong...like I said, fix or not, I just want a straight answer here!

Anyone who can fix my issue gets a special present ;-)

 

[jlee]

Have you tried it on your HTPC yet, just to rule out any possible crossfire issues?

 

[AndroidVageta]

Yep...tired it on my HTPC and my main PC...actually installed it on my HTPC originally, didnt think of installing it on my main PC, which I just did...same problem...

 

[AndroidVageta]

No one knows of a fix or has an answer for me? Thanks!

 

[AdamK47]

I have it working with my system. See rig link for specs. Don't remember doing anything special.

 

[AndroidVageta]

Yeah, I think its due to the lack of 16/24-bit zbuffers...Nvidia still has them, even in their newer cards I believe...why would ATI remove these if this is the cause? What benefits are there to not supporting old game...

 

[Fox5]

Im hopeing someone either has a straight answer or a fix here...

Well, wanting to re-live some past game experiences I busted out the old Omikron...never finished it back in the day due to limited attention span but remember the game being quite awesome! Loaded her up, everything went smoothly...no issues what so ever with Windows 7...except one thing...graphic corruption.

Make it short and sweet, the graphics display what I can best describe as "trailing black and blue pixels with movement". Nothing I can do has fixed the issue (changing compatibility, even using 3D Analyzer) and nothing can fix this glitch.

I read on a forum somewhere else that it is due to the Radeon HD4XXX series LACK of 16/24-bit zbuffer and this is causing the issue...is this true? My hardware and software work fine, nothing physically wrong, but it may be an actual hardware limitation on a 11 year old game on new age hardware...weird...

Heres the forum that I was able to find out about the zbuffer limitation (if one exists):
http://forums.amd.com/game/messageview.cfm?catid=279&threadid=116569

The very first picture explains it all...this is exactly whats happening on my rig...

Anyone else have this issue and fixed it or know what may? I have the game on my Dreamcast, so I could play it, but lets face it...even with 11 year old games the Dreamcast is quite a few steps behind graphically, even on Omikron compared to PC. Thanks to anyone that has a fix or know whats wrong...like I said, fix or not, I just want a straight answer here!

Anyone who can fix my issue gets a special present ;-)

Grab a dreamcast emulator and play the dreamcast version!
Or perhaps a virtual machine?

 

[AndroidVageta]

Just out of curiousity what exactly is a virtual machine? As in everything is virtual? Wouldnt that be what 3D Analyzer is if Im not mistaken? And like I said, I have the Dreamcast version, just wanted to play it on PC because of controls and better graphics and all...

 

[Anarchist420]

The HD4000 series supports 24 bit z-buffer.

 

[Fox5]

Just out of curiousity what exactly is a virtual machine? As in everything is virtual? Wouldnt that be what 3D Analyzer is if Im not mistaken? And like I said, I have the Dreamcast version, just wanted to play it on PC because of controls and better graphics and all...

A virtual machine basically emulates an older operating system and a generic set of hardware. Might only get you software rendering, or a limited subset of 3d (but that might work out for an older game like omikron).

And you can play the dreamcast version in a dreamcast emulator, which is a program that pretends to be a dreamcast, but you can up the resolution on an emulator to make it look better on a pc. Of course, dreamcast didn't use cds, so you'd need some way to get the image onto the pc in the first place. (you can do it yourself with the broadband adapter or a dreamcast developer's cable, otherwise you're stuck with torrents)

 

[AndroidVageta]

Thread is kinda dead...but I gave up on trying it on my HTPC and main PC because of the zbuffer issue with ATI cards.]

Now Im on my laptop and it has a Nvidia 9800m GTS and when I play the game it doesnt even show anything...like audio is there, but no video what so ever...any one have any ideas?

 

[Jomdomblee]

It's awesome that somebody is having the exact same problems as me! I downloaded the game and now I'm in blue/black pixel hell. I have tried all those previous fixes and nothing has worked so far. I'm using a Mobility Radeon HD 3000 Series graphics card with doesn't have the zbuffers as well.

I was able to find a program called Powerstrip which gives you total control over your graphics card, and there is an option to remove the 32 bit zbuffer which I belive reverts the card back to 24-bit. But im still having trouble.

Powerstrip can be downloaded here.
http://download.cnet.com/1770-20_4-0.html?query=PowerStrip&searchtype=downloads

I have also created a facebook fan page to generate awareness on this problem.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Omikron-The-Nomad-Soul/370425941143?ref=ts#!

I have even spoken with a representative from GOG.com (Good 'ol Games) to see if they would remake the game. If we get enough votes on their community page they said they would do it!
http://www.gog.com/en/wanted/ - just search for Omikron: The Nomad Soul.

Your not alone!