DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW

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All Forums >> [Current Games From Matrix.] >> [World War II] >> Steel Panthers World At War & Mega Campaigns >> DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW

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DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 4/8/2016 6:14:48 PM

Riitaoja2

Posts: 208
Joined: 2/10/2016
Status: offline

UPDATE:
The SP:WaW Depot now has an unofficial patch (8.403d) available that corrects the artillery screen unresponsive mouse.
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/spwawdepot/index.php
It should supersede all these old fixes.

P.S.
Dxwnd is still very useful for running SPWAW. It can be used to fix the colors on Win7 (and Vista) and the �Handle exceptions� option reduces random crashing.

P.P.S.
For redundancy the unofficial patch is now also uploaded here:
http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/forceddownload.asp?file=1;4373023

A replacement spwaw.exe to fix problemes with the intro movie not playing can be downloaded from here:
http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/forceddownload.asp?file=2;4373023
.
.
.

original post:

Disclaimer:
All the fixes provided here on the forums are user made non official ones. Officially the game only supports Windows 95/98/2000/XP. In addition something that is missing from the Product Requirements page is that the game does not work properly on multi core processors.

Ideally everyone should first download the free version of the game and make sure it works before committing to buying the full game. The only difference with the full game and the free game are the Mega Campaigns.

UPDATE:
CPU affinity is now set using PowerShell instead of the "start /affinity" command. This is hopefully more reliable.

UPDATE:
Starting with version v2_03_69_build of DXWnd there is now an in-built option to adjust the CPU speed that is similar to what the "BES" program does. If you are still having issues with the artillery screen you can start dxwnd.exe and navigate to the "Timing" tab to adjust your "System speed". (From Dxwnd main window select SPWAW then click on Edit->Modify->Timing.)

By using different values here you should be able to affect the artillery screen mouse responsiveness. There is no one correct value since computers can have a huge variety of processors running at different speeds.

If you set a too high value then the game sounds start to get distorted and the game becomes slow. If the ratio is too low then the artillery screen will remain unresponsive.

I suggest you try setting a ratio of 1:10 and working up in increments of 5 until you find the limits of your computer. Then work down at increments of 1 until you find the sweet spot.

This is a new all-in-one fix that includes both Dxwnd and the artillery screen fix in a single .zip package.
- The artillery screen fix is a batch file that tries to start SPWAW with the last cpu core on multi core systems.
- Dxwnd is a program that is designed to run old games on modern systems with better compatibility and should fix the random crashing. It also has the option to run the program in a windowed mode if needed. For Windows 7 and Vista it also fixes the color bug.

To use:
Extract all the files to your \Steel Panthers World at War\ main -directory. (where mech.exe resides)
Then start the game from the file: _Start_SPWAW_Dxwnd+ArtyFix.cmd
Or alternatively you can start Dxwnd.exe and double click the SPWAW entry from there.

DOWNLOAD LINK: (Based on Dxwnd version 2.03.97)
http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/forceddownload.asp?file=0;4025035

NOTE:
You must make sure that mech.exe has no compatibility flags set otherwise Dxwnd won't work properly.
To make sure follow these steps:
- Right click on mech.exe
- Left click on Properties
- Go to Compatibility Tab and make sure no options are checked there.

Here is the old Dxwnd legacy version 2.03.52 (with added CPU slowdown option) just in case it works better for some users. Dxwnd gets updated quite often and sometimes there might be some regression issues with the latest releases.

Dxwnd is available from this web site and it is created by the user ghotik (or gho) all credit for Dxwnd goes to him:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/dxwnd/

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by Riitaoja2 -- 4/24/2018 4:20:06 PM >

Post #: 1

RE: DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 4/9/2016 11:55:28 AM

sami heimola

Posts: 425
Joined: 5/8/2000
From: kouvola finland
Status: offline

I made test. First I checked that mech.exe had no any compability things "on". Then I chose 1 105mm battery (Germany) and attack battle (against Russia). I went into artillery menu and amazed then I noticed that choosing target hexes lasted only about 10-15 sec. each

! At least first 2 targets needed 10 seconds without any shift pressing but third needed "longer" process (at least from my viewpoint) and I pressed shift. Then it marked as it should

...

Thanks about fix

< Message edited by sami heimola -- 4/9/2016 12:18:18 PM >

(in reply to Riitaoja2)

Post #: 2

RE: DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 4/9/2016 12:49:55 PM

Riitaoja2

Posts: 208
Joined: 2/10/2016
Status: offline

The artillery fix is the automated one that selects the AFFINITY value based on cpu type.
http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/fb.asp?m=4043994
So it is nothing new although I did make some slight optimizatins and cleanup of the script.

This all-in-one version just bundles the DxWnd program and artillery fix together with all the settings pre-configured. So the end user only needs to unzip the files to SPWAW game folder and run _Start_SPWAW_Dxwnd+ArtyFix.cmd to play the game.

Ofcourse you can still start DXWnd and edit the settings if you want to.

quote:

ORIGINAL: sami heimola
...And does this work surely with Intel i5 processor too?

Short answer:
No. There is no guarantee that the arty fix will work on all computers.

Long answer:

Can not make the generalization since I know for a fact that the artillery fix works on at least two computers that I have tested it on that had an Intel i5 processor. So it is not so simple and I am puzzled as to why it does not work on all i5 processors out there.

I have no idea if some i5 models are just incompatible with the fix due to some technical differences or if there is some other underlying issues with those computers that is affecting the use of the CPU cores.

The only computer so far that I have personaly tested the artillery fix and have it fail was an AMD 6-core machine. And I would have loved to really dissect that computer and study it thoroughly. Unfortunately it wasn't my computer so I could not do that.

< Message edited by Riitaoja2 -- 4/9/2016 12:55:18 PM >

(in reply to sami heimola)

Post #: 3

RE: DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 4/9/2016 12:59:45 PM

Riitaoja2

Posts: 208
Joined: 2/10/2016
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: sami heimola
...I went into artillery menu and amazed then I noticed that choosing target hexes lasted only about 10-15 sec. each! At least first 2 targets needed 10 seconds without any shift pressing but third needed "longer" process (at least from my viewpoint) and I pressed shift. Then it marked as it should...

Thanks about fix

Are you saying that you keep pressing the mouse button again and again for 10-15 seconds. Or do you mean that you click on the hex once and then after waiting 10-15 seconds the hex gets selected?

EDIT:

Reason I ask is that if you need to click several times for the selection to register then that is the normal artillery screen bug that the arty fix is made to solve.

However if you need to click just once and then after a delay the click registers then that is a different issue. I had that type of problem once and solved it by installing an older version of the Nvidia display driver. Then again that issue affected other screens in SPWAW too...

Generaly speaking if the artillery fix works the way it is supposed to you should have no delay or lag at all in the artillery screen. It should work perfectly.

< Message edited by Riitaoja2 -- 4/9/2016 1:42:00 PM >

(in reply to sami heimola)

Post #: 4

RE: DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 4/9/2016 2:03:03 PM

sami heimola

Posts: 425
Joined: 5/8/2000
From: kouvola finland
Status: offline

Hmm if I remember right, I pressed once and waited about 10-15 (maybe even longer?) sec. Sorry, this needs more testing anyway

... Next time lasted (same kind of test) many minutes as earlier

. Seems to be random when menu works "faster" than originally

. Even leaving menu seem to be as slow as earlier

. It's baddest thing IMHO. Sometimes it makes me angry

...

(in reply to Riitaoja2)

Post #: 5

RE: DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 4/9/2016 3:08:58 PM

Riitaoja2

Posts: 208
Joined: 2/10/2016
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: sami heimola

Hmm if I remember right, I pressed once and waited about 10-15 (maybe even longer?) sec. Sorry, this needs more testing anyway... Next time lasted (same kind of test) many minutes as earlier. Seems to be random when menu works "faster" than originally. Even leaving menu seem to be as slow as earlier. It's baddest thing IMHO. Sometimes it makes me angry ...

Well from that description I would say you have more issues on your computer than what the artillery fix is designed to solve.

-Could be a cpu throttling issue.
-Could be a bad video or sound driver or even some other system driver conflict.
-Could be a bad audio codec.
-Could be something else.

Have you noticed any issues with other games or software on your computer?

As a test you could rename your \Steel Panthers World at War\SND\ -folder to
\Steel Panthers World at War\SND-off\.

The game then can not find the sound files and should start with sounds disabled.

If the game then plays fine with no delays it is a sound card driver or an audio codec issue.

< Message edited by Riitaoja2 -- 4/9/2016 3:18:50 PM >

(in reply to sami heimola)

Post #: 6

RE: DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 4/9/2016 4:57:47 PM

sami heimola

Posts: 425
Joined: 5/8/2000
From: kouvola finland
Status: offline

Yeah it's very mystic thing

... I have not noticed any problems in other games (BF2, other SP games+mods) or softwares. It could be some audio/video driver (Nvidia GeForce GTX570) or something else

... But as I said long time ago, I can deal with slow artillery because I seldom use it

.

Thanks anyway about good try Riitaoja

. Nice to know that even somebody try to solve this problem...

(in reply to Riitaoja2)

Post #: 7

RE: DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 4/11/2016 6:06:36 PM

Major_Mess

Posts: 451
Joined: 2/8/2004
From: The True North. Strong and Free
Status: offline

TESTERS!!!!!!

Could we get a few intrepid souls with Multi-Core machines to give this a try.
Report back here with your findings.

Please and thank you.

Major Mess

_____________________________

Click below. You know you want to!!

(in reply to sami heimola)

Post #: 8

RE: DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 4/12/2016 1:14:49 AM

Grotum

Posts: 1
Joined: 2/12/2016
Status: offline

Well, I got excited and tried this latest fix and the arty bug remains for me.

my computer:
I7-5960X 8core processor
Windows 10 64 bit
32Gb RAM
Dual 12GB Nvidia Geforce GTX Titan X graphics cards
mech.exe is compatibility clear

On a side note, in your instructions you refer to the \Steel Panthers World at War\ directory. When I installed the game it named the directory \SPWaW 2016\. I unzipped the files there and it kept giving me an error when I tried to run your .cmd until I renamed the directory to \Steel Panthers World at War\

Anyway, thanx for continuing to work on this issue. I'm more than willing to do any further testing if you come up with new ideas to try.

-Grotum

(in reply to Major_Mess)

Post #: 9

RE: DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 4/12/2016 3:08:04 AM

mllange

Posts: 527
Joined: 2/5/2005
Status: offline

Almost identical specs as Grotum with similar results. The artillery issues remain. I did notice the affinity displayed 4 cores found when then are 8, so I tried again modifying the settings but it didn't make any difference. Thanks for continuing to work on this issue!

_____________________________

There's a simple answer to every complex question - and it's wrong.
-Umberto Eco

(in reply to Grotum)

Post #: 10

RE: DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 4/12/2016 8:27:16 AM

sami heimola

Posts: 425
Joined: 5/8/2000
From: kouvola finland
Status: offline

Hmm seems to me that different affinity settings is not "root of all evil" in this case

... My guess is that Windows 10 and some software (memory too?) thing (at least in my case) could be main guilty? Just speculation but still

...

(in reply to mllange)

Post #: 11

RE: DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 4/12/2016 5:38:45 PM

Riitaoja2

Posts: 208
Joined: 2/10/2016
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Grotum
On a side note, in your instructions you refer to the \Steel Panthers World at War\ directory. When I installed the game it named the directory \SPWaW 2016\. I unzipped the files there and it kept giving me an error when I tried to run your .cmd until I renamed the directory to \Steel Panthers World at War\

That is weird. The fix should not care what name the folder has. I just used \Steel Panthers Wolrld at War\ as an example since that used to be the default install directory.

What Windows version are you running?

(in reply to sami heimola)

Post #: 12

RE: DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 4/12/2016 5:41:32 PM

Riitaoja2

Posts: 208
Joined: 2/10/2016
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: nim8or

Almost identical specs as Grotum with similar results. The artillery issues remain. I did notice the affinity displayed 4 cores found when then are 8, so I tried again modifying the settings but it didn't make any difference. Thanks for continuing to work on this issue!

Are you sure you have 8 cores instead of 4 cores with Hyper-Threading? A 4 core intel cpu with HT will display as an 8 core machine on windows task manager even though it is really just 4 cores + 4 virtual cores.

So the script should display:
4 CPU cores found.
Hyper-Threading detected.

Not that this helps but just trying to make sure that the script is recognizing the cpu type as it should.

(in reply to mllange)

Post #: 13

RE: DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 4/14/2016 7:44:23 PM

Riitaoja2

Posts: 208
Joined: 2/10/2016
Status: offline

I finaly got around installing Windows 10 on my laptop (I hate Win8, 8.1 & 10 with a passion...

) and tested SPWAW on it.

The results with this all-in-one fix (_Start_SPWAW_Dxwnd+ArtyFix.cmd) was that the first time I run the game I got a black screen and then the desktop. However the game was running minimized on the task bar. Then when I quit the game Dxwnd was left as an icon on the task bar that I had to manualy close.

Second time I started the game again from _Start_SPWAW_Dxwnd+ArtyFix.cmd it all seemed to work.
So it looks like on Windows 10 the first time you run the fix it acts weird but then runs fine.

On my Windows 10 laptop with a dual core Intel cpu the artillery screen worked fine with the fix. However the mouse cursor was flickering a bit. This happened even without using Dxwnd so probably a graphics driver issue.

Also it looks like Dxwnd is having some issues in that I needed to mouse over the icon on the task bar every time after closing SPWAW to make it disappear...

Overall the fix seems to work fine enough on Win10 based on my testing.

< Message edited by Riitaoja2 -- 4/14/2016 8:34:24 PM >

(in reply to Riitaoja2)

Post #: 14

RE: DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 4/14/2016 7:54:01 PM

Riitaoja2

Posts: 208
Joined: 2/10/2016
Status: offline

By the way if anyone has a 4-core intel cpu and the fix works for him please tell. So far I do not recall anyone reporting success on a quad core. The only successful test was done by myself on two diffrent computers that had intel i5 quad core cpu's.

Also I am assuming that the fix is still working for everyone who has a dual core cpu. Is this correct or are there people out there having issues with the artillery screen fix even on 2-core machines?

(in reply to Riitaoja2)

Post #: 15

RE: DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 4/15/2016 5:11:32 PM

Riitaoja2

Posts: 208
Joined: 2/10/2016
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Riitaoja2
Also it looks like Dxwnd is having some issues in that I needed to mouse over the icon on the task bar every time after closing SPWAW to make it disappear...

I fixed this issue. Dxwnd should now automaticaly close with the "taskkill /IM dxwnd.exe" -line in the updated SPWAW_Arty_FIX_v22_dxwnd.cmd batch file. The file attachement is now updated.

< Message edited by Riitaoja2 -- 4/15/2016 5:12:58 PM >

(in reply to Riitaoja2)

Post #: 16

RE: DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 4/25/2016 8:55:53 AM

sami heimola

Posts: 425
Joined: 5/8/2000
From: kouvola finland
Status: offline

Thanks about updated Dxwnd Riitaoja

(in reply to Riitaoja2)

Post #: 17

RE: DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 4/27/2016 12:28:27 PM

proberts

Posts: 14
Joined: 2/8/2004
From: liverpool uk
Status: offline

Riitaoja
many thanks for your continued support of this great game

(in reply to sami heimola)

Post #: 18

RE: DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 5/14/2016 3:05:45 PM

Riitaoja2

Posts: 208
Joined: 2/10/2016
Status: offline

This fix is now updated with the latest "v2_03_69_build" of Dxwnd that allows the user to adjust the CPU slow down values.

(in reply to proberts)

Post #: 19

RE: DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 5/14/2016 4:53:52 PM

sami heimola

Posts: 425
Joined: 5/8/2000
From: kouvola finland
Status: offline

Riitaoja, btw can you tell are you programmer/ICT professional/some other data wizard in real life

? I'm bit curious

...

(in reply to Riitaoja2)

Post #: 20

RE: DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 5/14/2016 6:26:57 PM

Riitaoja2

Posts: 208
Joined: 2/10/2016
Status: offline

Oh no I did not program the DXWnd program. I am sorry if I have caused confusion. The guy who programmed Dxwnd is in the Sourceforge forum and he goes by the name "gho" or "ghotik":
https://sourceforge.net/p/dxwnd/discussion/general/

All the credit for Dxwnd goes to him ofcourse.

As to me personaly I am not a programmer and I do not work with computers either.

(in reply to sami heimola)

Post #: 21

RE: DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 5/15/2016 1:03:18 AM

Major_Mess

Posts: 451
Joined: 2/8/2004
From: The True North. Strong and Free
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Riitaoja2

I am not a programmer and I do not work with computers either.

You coulda fooled me R2.
First Class job done by you mate.

This Might Just be the Answer

Testers, give this a try.

Thanks again to all of you.

MM

_____________________________

Click below. You know you want to!!

(in reply to Riitaoja2)

Post #: 22

RE: DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 5/17/2016 1:36:06 PM

Riitaoja2

Posts: 208
Joined: 2/10/2016
Status: offline

No changes to the actual fix but I updated the download so that the .zip package now includes a proper readme file.

(in reply to Major_Mess)

Post #: 23

RE: DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 12/8/2016 8:31:55 PM

Grrahl

Posts: 3
Joined: 12/8/2016
Status: offline

Awesome thread! Steel runs almost flawlessly.. one problem is that if I run it in a window, the bombard function goes back to being sluggish.. is there a fix for this? Id love to run Steel on my TV monitor :D

(in reply to Riitaoja2)

Post #: 24

RE: DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 12/9/2016 1:17:55 PM

Riitaoja2

Posts: 208
Joined: 2/10/2016
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Grrahl

Awesome thread! Steel runs almost flawlessly.. one problem is that if I run it in a window, the bombard function goes back to being sluggish.. is there a fix for this? Id love to run Steel on my TV monitor :D

Hmm that is strange.

Maybe the CPU slow down value needs some tweaking for windowed mode on your system. Try adjusting the value in 1 digit increments. For example if the artillery screen works in fullscreen mode with a CPU slowdown value of 20 it might need to be adjusted to 19 or 21 for windowed mode.

(in reply to Grrahl)

Post #: 25

RE: DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 12/10/2016 2:03:04 PM

sami heimola

Posts: 425
Joined: 5/8/2000
From: kouvola finland
Status: offline

Riitaoja thanks about new version link

. Now artillery works well in my SPWAW (and H2H too) via DXWnd

(in reply to Riitaoja2)

Post #: 26

RE: DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 12/12/2016 2:36:56 PM

sami heimola

Posts: 425
Joined: 5/8/2000
From: kouvola finland
Status: offline

Btw, sorry this message contains bit off-topic but after updating DXWnd into newest version I noticed that WinSPMBT/WW2 games' main menu flashes (lasts about 5 sec. randomly) somehow after launching menu. If I choose some scen or start battle generator flashes stop (no any marks about this during playing)... I had never seen them with previous DXWnd version. SPWAW itself works ok. Should I change some video option? Any help? Riitaoja?

(in reply to sami heimola)

Post #: 27

RE: DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 12/12/2016 3:54:41 PM

Riitaoja2

Posts: 208
Joined: 2/10/2016
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: sami heimola

Btw, sorry this message contains bit off-topic but after updating DXWnd into newest version I noticed that WinSPMBT/WW2 games' main menu flashes (lasts about 5 sec. randomly) somehow after launching menu. If I choose some scen or start battle generator flashes stop (no any marks about this during playing)... I had never seen them with previous DXWnd version. SPWAW itself works ok. Should I change some video option? Any help? Riitaoja?

That does not seem to happen on my PC.

Maybe old configuration is affecting it somehow? Try placing the new Dxwnd version in a clean folder instead of over writing the old version. Then try adding WinSPWW2.exe from the Dxwnd Edit->Add menu instead of using an old configuration file.

(in reply to sami heimola)

Post #: 28

RE: DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 12/12/2016 5:21:11 PM

sami heimola

Posts: 425
Joined: 5/8/2000
From: kouvola finland
Status: offline

Thanks about tip Riitaoja

. No flashes anymore

(in reply to Riitaoja2)

Post #: 29

RE: DXWnd + ArtyFix All-in-One for SPWAW - 12/13/2016 5:53:55 PM

sami heimola

Posts: 425
Joined: 5/8/2000
From: kouvola finland
Status: offline

Sorry problem seems to continue

... Flashing still continues

... If I stretch windowed screen more than default, screen starts to flash. Should I change some video screen size option?

edit: Hmm this problem seems to be purely random because I tried to launch WinSPMBT some minutes ago and it went
without any flashing in main menu

... Interesting isn't it?

edit2:Hey, I think I found solution

! I changed right click->modify->video->directx->hybrid mode
No flashing in main menu and after stretching screen with mouse

Hopefully this will be static correction...

< Message edited by sami heimola -- 12/15/2016 7:13:20 PM >

(in reply to sami heimola)

Post #: 30

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