Gamer Of 35 Years Remembering The Headaches (Full Version)

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wagtunes -> Gamer Of 35 Years Remembering The Headaches (5/30/2015 12:18:38 PM)

I played my first PC game back in 1980 or so off of a 3.5 inch floppy drive. In the 35 years to follow, I've bought and played a lot of video games. Maybe too many.

I recently discovered Distant Worlds Universe and thought it was quite different from my usual and decided to give it a go. Unfortunately, as it seem with a lot of people, it doesn't work.

My PC tech and I have already gone through the 14 step "let's make it work" plan and nothing has worked. There is nothing left to do.

This was just another reminder to me of how video games are a real crap shoot. Some work, some don't. But the worst part is the no return policy on games for obvious reasons, mostly people just installing them, making a copy of the CD and then returning it. So I get it.

Distant Worlds is a little different as it has a license code. So maybe I can get that code deactivated so I can either get my money back or at least store credit towards a different game.

Was really looking forward to playing this but it wasn't meant to be. This is why, over the past 5 or so years, I've been hesitant to buy games at all. Incompatibilities seem to be the rule rather than the exception.

Anyway, these last few days were just another reminder to me of what a headache video games can be, going all the way back to my Dungeons And Dragons Eye Of The Beholder III whose sound I could never get to work.

At least the game played.



zakblood -> RE: Gamer Of 35 Years Remembering The Headaches (5/30/2015 12:32:23 PM)

these are your best options first


[image]local://upfiles/43185/29A2E0DB00C8404BBA2EC26B3BA6523F.jpg[/image]






zakblood -> RE: Gamer Of 35 Years Remembering The Headaches (5/30/2015 12:35:10 PM)

as long as your pc meets the min spec, it should be able to run it, but first what error message to you get when you try?


[image]local://upfiles/43185/CBF8968240474964AC0268EC165C75B4.jpg[/image]

as you can see it supports all modern pc's operating systems

quote:

My PC tech and I have already gone through the 14 step "let's make it work" plan and nothing has worked. There is nothing left to do.


that's your's, now try our's as we are gamers, while i'm not staff, anyone can help you, if you wish for staff only help, please wait and someone from staff will reply and they can answer it instead for you if you like...

but to get help, first you need to answer some simple questions first from the post above, like what error was given, and reports all described in the 4 links above with arrows pointing to them in this forum at the top of the page in tech support.

again good luck and sorry you can't get it to work, someone here will be able to help...



wagtunes -> RE: Gamer Of 35 Years Remembering The Headaches (5/30/2015 12:50:09 PM)

Thanks for the response. The PC is brand new. Just got it yesterday. It more than meets the minimum specs.

Windows 7 64 Bit
I7 processor
8 GB RAM
2 TB Hard Drive

Everything else (Net Framework, Windows Media, IE, etc.) all installed as per instructions.

When I start the game (have Task Manager open to see what's going on) the autorun.exe 32 starts up showing the main menu for starting the game, support, check for update, etc. And yes, we did download and install the latest updates.

When I click on "Play Distant Worlds" Task Manager shows DistantWorlds32.exe starting up. After about 5 seconds, it just closes. No error messages. Nothing. Just closes down.

I've done a lot of research on this game since getting it (something I should have done before getting it) and I see this is a common problem.

Some "fixes" I've found suggested (run as admin) I've tried.

I honestly don't know what's left to do and I don't have days and days to work on this as I have a business to run. I prefer to just get a refund or at least store credit towards another game.

What would be great is if there is a demo version of a game I could download just to see if it works before purchasing. As I am a music producer, Almost all VSTs (soft synths) come with demo versions so that I can install them to see if they work before buying. I don't know why games can't have the same option.

It would certainly avoid a lot of the problems with people asking for refunds for games that don't work on their OS.

Just a thought.



zakblood -> RE: Gamer Of 35 Years Remembering The Headaches (5/30/2015 12:59:42 PM)

post the DxDiag report and someone from support will give you a better reply then ask some more questions regarding a fix or solutions.

as game works fine on win 7, with correct software running and all the drivers that it needs, o/s and game etc

quote:

How to get a DirectX Diagnostic file:

1. click on "START" 2. click "run" 3. type in "dxdiag" and click "OK" 4. check through the tabs and perform all tests 5. click "Save all Information..." and save the text file to a location of your choice

We prefer that DxDiag files be posted as message attachments rather than pasted into the body of the post.


you need to have posted 10 posts to be able to do above, so for now just copy paste in main thread as your post count atm is too low... to attach files here i think, but not 100% sure if same rule applies.

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2414049

for more help ^^

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2648985

crash or error logs ^^



DeadlyShoe -> RE: Gamer Of 35 Years Remembering The Headaches (5/30/2015 2:11:20 PM)

If you've bought it off Steam, make sure you use Steam's Verify Integrity of File Cache. accessible from the Local Files tab of the game Properties.

If this is a new computer, it's possible there is a problem with your DirectX or with some other driver. Try to make sure you have an up to date version of DirectX and particularly your video and audio drivers. If you are using Steam, an appropriate DirectX version will be located in (Steam\steamapps\common\Distant Worlds Universe\_CommonRedist\DirectX\Jun2010).

Low-tier solution that occasionally works for problems like this: If the game is installed to a location in Program Files, you can try installing it to another location instead. The way Windows 7 handles the Program Files folder can occasionally produce problems. (If you bought it off Steam and it's installed to Program Files, you will have to create a "Steam Library" folder in Steam to do this.)



wagtunes -> RE: Gamer Of 35 Years Remembering The Headaches (5/30/2015 2:19:55 PM)

I bought the game directly from Matrix Games. They sent me a physical CD and a license code. That is what I installed off of. I did not buy through Steam.

I did find a crash dump file. Maybe this will help.

I am also uploading the DXDIAG in another post as it only lets me upload one file per post.




wagtunes -> RE: Gamer Of 35 Years Remembering The Headaches (5/30/2015 2:36:08 PM)

Here is the DXDIAG file.



zakblood -> RE: Gamer Of 35 Years Remembering The Headaches (5/30/2015 2:43:13 PM)

have you installed DirectX 9.0c?

quote:

Everything else (Net Framework, Windows Media, IE, etc.) all installed as per instructions.


as it doesn't matter if you have DirectX 11 installed, you still need DirectX 9.0c as well, same as all the other programs the games need, even if you have later version's, they won't duplicate and is a common problem for games not loading correctly.

your amd card driver version is 13.101.8.0 Driver Date/Size: 8/30/2013

and latest is 14.501.1003 btw also



Spidey -> RE: Gamer Of 35 Years Remembering The Headaches (5/30/2015 2:51:06 PM)

Just a guess, but it could be that the redistributables aren't installed properly. Try looking inside your DWU-folder. There should be a folder called "redist". Inside that folder, there's a file called "DXSETUP.exe". If you have user accounts control then try running that as admin.

quote:

System.IO.FileNotFoundException: Could not load file or assembly 'Microsoft.DirectX.DirectSound, Version=1.0.2902.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified.



wagtunes -> RE: Gamer Of 35 Years Remembering The Headaches (5/30/2015 2:57:40 PM)

I know I need 9c installed. My PC tech said he installed it but it's not showing up. He said he even chose to install even though Windows detected the newer version. How do I get 9c to install so that I can see it's actually there?



wagtunes -> RE: Gamer Of 35 Years Remembering The Headaches (5/30/2015 3:02:40 PM)

Okay, I went to the Microsoft site and downloaded and installed DX 9C even though my tech said he did it. I then restarted my PC and tried running the game again. Same problem.

Either it's not seeing that DX 9c is installed or it's another problem.



wagtunes -> RE: Gamer Of 35 Years Remembering The Headaches (5/30/2015 3:12:04 PM)

THANK YOU!!!!!

That was it. Ran DXSETUP as Admin and all is working.

Problem solved.



Fishers of Men -> RE: Gamer Of 35 Years Remembering The Headaches (5/30/2015 3:51:40 PM)

Excellent work, guys! It's very satisfying when the community can help a new member of the Distant Worlds forum. Welcome to the forum, wagtunes. I started playing P.C. games about the same time you did using 5 1/2 inch floppy disks. Enjoy many hours of fun and tell us how you are getting on with this game.



wagtunes -> RE: Gamer Of 35 Years Remembering The Headaches (5/30/2015 3:58:56 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Fishers of Men

Excellent work, guys! It's very satisfying when the community can help a new member of the Distant Worlds forum. Welcome to the forum, wagtunes. I started playing P.C. games about the same time you did using 5 1/2 inch floppy disks. Enjoy many hours of fun and tell us how you are getting on with this game.


I do have one question before I begin.

I've read that it is not too uncommon for Steam to go down from time to time. Even more common is for your ISP to go on the frizt and you end up with no Internet for a while.

So, in the event I can't connect to Steam, is there a way to play this game locally offline?



zakblood -> RE: Gamer Of 35 Years Remembering The Headaches (5/30/2015 4:05:05 PM)

yes, set steam to load in offline mode

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=3160-agcb-2555

and make sure you know fully update the game to the latest version before you start to play so you enjoy it more...

and glad your sorted and happy, now enjoy the game and happy gaming



wagtunes -> RE: Gamer Of 35 Years Remembering The Headaches (5/30/2015 4:12:37 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: zakblood

yes, set steam to load in offline mode

removed.

and make sure you know fully update the game to the latest version before you start to play so you enjoy it more...

and glad your sorted and happy, now enjoy the game and happy gaming


Thank you. Thank all of you. Looking forward to many guilt ridden hours of gameplay thanks to this wonderful community.



zakblood -> RE: Gamer Of 35 Years Remembering The Headaches (5/30/2015 4:21:56 PM)

well you bought it, so your part of the community now[:D][;)]



wagtunes -> RE: Gamer Of 35 Years Remembering The Headaches (5/30/2015 4:26:15 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: zakblood

well you bought it, so your part of the community now[:D][;)]


Well, hopefully I can bring my 35 years of head banging experience to this community and be of some kind of help to it myself.



wagtunes -> RE: Gamer Of 35 Years Remembering The Headaches (6/1/2015 5:37:33 PM)

Well, I'm back. Very odd problem. Been playing this game with no problems for 2 days. Today I started it up and the zoom function doesn't work. I tested the mouse wheel to see if it still works for scrolling and it does.

Any ideas?

** EDIT ** I do see there is a page up and down workaround so I can use that in the meantime, but darn if this isn't the oddest thing.



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