Second copy of Crimson Skies wants Dx7, not Dx9. Why?

[imported_Kiwi]

My youngest grandson is supposedly showing some "ADD" type symptoms (I don't believe it), but he doesn't do as well in reading as he could (he does well in school overall, however). To encourage a real interest in reading, I hoped to get him using a PC that has a wealth of educational/problem-solving game software, plus a few straight play-only type games. I assembled a PC with an Epox 8RDA+, an XP 2400+, 512 MB's of PC 3200 RAM, an FX 5500 video card, and plugged the speakers into the onboard AC-97.

I really thought I'd tried out every piece of software installed on it, here at my place before taking it over there, where he will be during the day this summer (some friends of mine do daycare). When I can afford to add a smaller LCD Display to the hardware I will use, I have been planning to carry over a second PC, spare hub, Cat5 cable, etc. and join him playing this one and/or the NWN AD&D game. He did know about C.S. (It seems that a Mr. Gatti's Pizza Parlor near where he and my daughter in law live has PC's for kids to use, and those have C.S. on them.)

Any attempt to start the Crimson Skies game from the menu (this is not the recent Xbox reprise of the game) results in the same thing. It says it needs to install DirectX 7 from the CD (which it did not say it wanted to do during the actual install procedure). No matter whether you agree with the demand to install Dx7 or not, the next thing that happens is a crash back to the desktop.

The game is over four years old, and isn't supported any longer. I'm more of a software whiz than hardware guy, but haven't been able to solve this one. Anyone out there have a suggestion, or maybe a URL for a web site you know of, at which some Crimson Skies fans hang out?

P.S. I tested the game first on a PC with a T-Bird 1.33 in it, where it ran (still runs) fine. I have two copies, that appear to be exactly the same.

 

[StormRider]

Hmmm, I bought that game awhile ago but never installed it.

I'll try installing it tonight on my system (MSI K7NS Delta-L, Athlon XP 2700+, WinXP SP2, 1.5 GB) and see if I encounter the same problem.

 

[Smilin]

Read the fine print on that. It may not detect DX 7 as installed and wishes to "install it before you can play". This doesn't really mean it needs installed if you already have DX 9. I'm not sure about DX 9, but the last time I played that game I was definately running DX 8 so it should *require* 7.

You should be able to install the game then simply cancel the DX installation. If it's not immediately obvious how, just skip the whole autoplay and find the Setup.exe on the CD (not at the root, look down in the crimson skies or other subfolder)

by the way, what is ADS?

 

[imported_Kiwi]

(Newly added in Edit -- I was already replying when the next message in the thread was appended. "ADS" was my mis-naming of Attention Deficit Disorder, the latest catchword when an educator wants an excuse for not getting his/her job done -- I spent a lot of years as an instructor, teaching computer subjects, and I don't believe "ADD" is nearly as prevalent as are lousy teachers. Both instances of Crimson Skies installed on the two PC's without a single error message.

(It's when you have the "Play" menu on screen that this error message pops up on top of the menu. It's on a narrow banner floating atop the menu.)

I haven't played my copy much, but it seems to be a fun cross between Adventure and Action Shooter (not a real simulator of flying). A little corny in the dialogue, but it's based on the Movie Serials of the late 1930's, and there was a board game for it before there was a computer game. I've uninstalled the game and the sound/video drivers, reinstalled, etc. no help.

I've posted the question on the MS "Community" newsgroups (some part of UseNet), and no luck. I got one suggestion from SimHQ, a forum for the real Aviation/Combat Simulators, I haven't been back to try it (reset the video to a lower resolution and lesser color saturation), I don't get over there, across town, more than a couple of times a week.


:frown:

 

[xgsound]

Games for kids that involve reading. Here is an interesting thought.

Try http://www.scummvm.org for an engine that will run all the Lucas Arts games on win98se or XP. That includes Monkey Island 1 and 2, Loom, Sam and Max, Fate of Atlantis, Day of the tenticle, and several others. These are enjoyable for all kids ... 8 to 80, and require reading and solving puzzles.


Jim

edit: Since I have interested parties here, does anyone have a way to play "The Cartoon History of the Universe" (a win3.1 Director created game) on an emulator? "dosbox" is showing promise but isn't there yet.

 

[imported_Kiwi]

Originally posted by: xgsound
Games for kids that involve reading. Here is an interesting thought.

Try http://www.scummvm.org for an engine that will run all the Lucas Arts games on win98se or XP. That includes Monkey Island 1 and 2, Loom, Sam and Max, Fate of Atlantis, Day of the tenticle, and several others. These are enjoyable for all kids ... 8 to 80, and require reading and solving puzzles.
...

I don't happen to have the originals of any of those, but I do recall the Sam and Max you named. I'll look around at Half Price Books and on eBay for "LucasArts" games -- this isn't intended to be a high-dollar enterprise; my income is fixed, these days, and not fixed at a "generous" level!

As noted, in the week since I last spent some time trying to make the game work, I did get a possible fix, if the setting to 1152 by 9xx resolution and 32 Bit Color is part of the deal, try 800 by 600 and 16-Bit (I have the older test PC here at my place set to the 1152 and 32 Bit, and it didn't upset the copy installed here). I was out of town over the past weekend, when I might've done some more testing.

 

[apoppin]

how do other games run on your system?

As long as you have DX9 installed, the setup SHOULD detect a later version? IS dx9c installed ?

What O/S are you running? latest drivers (including video/audio and MB's)?

Did you go to the games' web site to see if there is a patch?
[does it even run on XP?]

 

[imported_Kiwi]

Since carrying the new one over to my friend's house and setting it up, I have run the other two regular games, which seemed to be doing fine (Freelancer and Neverwinter Nights). I've also started up everything else that was installed. Only Crimson Skies wants to ignore the Dx9 (or doesn't have a correct error message for whatever is actually wrong).

There had been a patch, but the copies of the game I purchased were both already patched. On my own systems, I usually have a dual-boot with Win98se and Win2K -- in my opinion, the kid had no need for W2K. My own copies of WinXP, both /Home and /Pro, are sitting up high on the wall on a shelf with the rest of the rejects, such as Norton's System Works.

{I haven't tested the Freelancer game on my own PC's, actually. I have, however, played NWN as a standalone to its completion, and the SoU expansion. I never quite finished the "Hordes" second expansion.}

If I can't get Crimson Skies running, I'll substitute Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, which I just won in an eBay auction (it's not here yet). But the kid had seemed so enthusiastic about the one that has proven to dislike his PC so much.


:disgust:

 

[Smilin]

Don't forget the patch available for Crimson Skies.

 

[StormRider]

Darn, I forgot to install Crimson Skies last night. Sorry. I'll try to remember tonight and report back on my results..

 

[imported_Kiwi]

Originally posted by: Smilin
Don't forget the patch available for Crimson Skies.

TTBOMK, I have two copies that were pre-patched before being released. I can look at the bottom line of the Play Menu, where the version numbers usually appear, and confirm, next time I am doing some file backups (the test machine I used for Crimson Skies here is a File Server, an old PC that has been faithful and generally trouble-free until reaching its Senior Years, and now it's getting creaky, like its owner is!)

 

[apoppin]

whatever you think . . . go to THEIR website and MAKE SURE you have the LATEST patch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
:roll:

try UNinstalling the game, REinstalling it and make sure it goes without a hitch . . . might also defrag your HD [just in case]

Check your current version of DX - it is Dx9c.

What videocard? Try DIFFERENT [older and newer] drivers

Audio drivers up to date? MB chipset drivers?

Are you running this on Win2K or 98se?

 

[datalink7]

As an aside, how old is your son?

Everyone learns at different speeds. When I was younger, they wanted to lable me with something like ADD because I wasn't learning how to read "fast enough." Now (I'm 22) I have bookcase after bookcase of books that I've read, and a degree (well, in a week) in Philosophy (which requires a lot of reading).

Don't let them lable your son to easily.

 

[imported_Kiwi]

Ken is eleven. My own youngest is 36 now. Ken's father is my oldest, but he was the last of my three to marry. He's 41, almost 42. And he was always too manually and physically oriented -- wanted to work with his hands from a young age -- books were for scholarly types, in his mind. Talk about anyone with a PC "phobia", and you're including that one!

We're way off topic already! In two days, I'll be inside that stuffy garage, tinkering with the PC (Ken isn't the only youngster that Carol looks after; it seemed easiest to put it where the other, younger ones, will be less likely to fool with it. But this is south Texas, and summer here lasts closer to six months than to three. I ended up leaving the left side panel off and directing a small desk fan's output into the side for overall better cooling out there in that garage).