Patch fails and corrupts the game ...

[MarkShot]

I am posting this on behalf of Qbec as he says he has trouble with English:

tm.asp?m=545337

The "petite probleme" meaning small problem.

Now, my French is not that good. As I understand it, the patch did not apply completely (Windows 98). After the failed patch, nothing worked. (He was not more specific.) He did this via True Update and tried uninstalling and repeating the patch. The original version of HTTR was running fine.

Maybe he can provide some more information here.

Personally, I would suggest trying to download the patch and apply it directly.

(I'll direct him to this thread.)

Thanks.

[Qbec]

Thank MarkShot for your replie

I try to explaine in English , sorry if its hard to read[&o]

I have window 98 and the game was fine before I load the patch . Now during the game , not when I open the game , but when the game is in marche , the game crash and return to the game menu. with no message of error , only a return to the game menu. I make a DXDIAG and all look like OK. The first time I load the patch , I take the patch wich the exe. commande and the second time ( after unninstal all the game ) I take the Patch wich True Update.
I dont no if I 'm alone wich this probleme but I would like to play wich the new patch [&:]

Sorry for my English ,

Qbec

[MarkShot]

Game menu?

Do you mean the menu for HTTR (see attached)?

Or do you mean the menu that Matrix has provided?

If you mean the Matrix menu, then perhaps you should try to launch HTTR.EXE directly from the game folder and see what happens.

[MarkShot]

Can you actually start a scenario with the game?

[Qbec]

Yes I can start a scenario and the game menu is Martix menu

Qbec

[MarkShot]

I am not sure if the patch was tested under Windows 98.

I don't think any of the beta testers are running Windows 98 (I think someone has ME) and I am not sure what Panther tests with in-house.

I do have a Win98 SE environment, but play and test HTTR under Windows XP Pro. I suppose if nothing else works, I could try to reproduce your problem under Win98 SE.

[Qbec]

Matrix menu .....[&o]

Me and the english , its not easy

Qbec

[MarkShot]

Okay, this is progress. At least, we can define your situation.

You are experiencing a DTD (drop to desktop).

With that, it is probably time for Panther to step into this conversation.

---

Regarding Win98. You should probably make sure that you maximize your system resources prior to playing. This is general advice for playing games. The general steps would be to:

(1) Reboot.

(2) Shut down any unessential applications, background processes, and system tray applications.

(3) I think you can check free resources by doing "MY COMPUTER -> PROPERTIES -> SYSTEM".

[Qbec]

Ok , thank you MarkShot

I will stay in standbye and wait for futur informations about this.

One thing is good , I can play with the old version during this time . No bug on it [;)]

Qbec

[MarkShot]

Also, I would recommend trying different scenarios.

Does it always fail at the same point in the game or random?

Try doing save games frequently. See if reloading the last successfull save if you can reproduce it.

If you get a save game which causes the crash, then you can send it to Panther for them to inspect it.

[Qbec]

OK I will try to save game and I will see what hapend whit that.

The game crash with all the scénario , I try some and its always the same thing.

Qbec

[MarkShot]

I realize English is hard (check your email as I sent the addresses of two French speakers who might help you with explanations).

For any problem resolution, the more detail you can gather as to when the DTD occurs and how to reproduce it is very useful.

[Qbec]

Merci beaucoup MarkShot

You are a gentlemen [:)][;)]

Qbec

[Arjuna]

Qbec,

I'm sorry you are having problems. However, the min specs for HTTR are Win98SE. We do not support Win98 standard edition, which if I understand correctly, is what you are running. If this is the case, then there is little we can do, I'm afraid other than to suggest it may be time move on to a more modern operating system. If you are running Win98SE, then please send us a full DXDIAG report - see the sticky thread for details on how to do this.

[Qbec]

OK . I think Its time to change my opérating system . With the kind of game I play ,Its the first time that I have a problem with my old Win 98 . I love my old things and I am a old conservater but the time catch me now.

Any way , Httr is a nice game and the peoples who make this game and who work on this forum for help us when we have a problèm are very professionel.

Sorry for the poor English [&o]

Thank you

Qbec

[Arjuna]

Qbec,

Your welcome. I would recommend you upgrade to WinXP. You will appreciate the difference. Good gaming. [:)]

[Qbec]

Hi Gang

Juste to say that my game run fine now with my old win 98 . I start the game now with the command on the start menu ( Quick Start) end I have no more crash . All run good with this command .
Markshot said to me to try that and I think that it's a good solution for my problem.

Then the game run with win 98 . I'm happy and I enjoy it
I will change not only my opereting system but my Pc soonly( I'm not sure of the word)

Qbec

[MarkShot]

Glad to hear that you are able to enjoy the patch!

[Jane Doe]

Qbec,

n'écoute pas Arjuna, il travaille secrètement pour microsoft...[;)]
Il y a des bons PC qui sont rendus vraiment pas cher, mon frère vient d'acheter un P4 1800 pour 500 balles, CAN à part de ça! (300 US?) au lieu de gaspiller ton argent sur un nouveau système d'exploitation comme xp qui coûte 150, achètes-toi un nouveau pc pour 500 qui va déjà avoir XP d'intégré. Pis garde ton ancien pc, formatte le disque dur et installe Linux deçu...[8D]

BTW, je joue httr sur win98se et j'ai aucun problème

[MarkShot]

Well, I run WinXP Pro and Win98 SE in a dual boot environment. My main system is WinXP Pro and I mainly use Win98 SE for various legacy games and/or superior performance for some games.

The Pro and Cons I see between the two from an actual user perspective are below. Personally, I love having both available. If you want to get XP and a new PC, then the most cost effective route maybe to get a mid-range system+software bundle. The money you might save on building your own PC could be eaten up in buying XP Pro (I recommend this over the Home version) and if you are going for an Office Suite too.

Win98 SE
=======

+ Free if you have it already; not limited to being considered part of an OEM bundle and limited to that configuration
+ Less resource intensive (memory and disk)
+ Faster process creation and program launching
+ Compatible with direct booting to DOS; if you really want to run legacy games
+ Easier and simpler management
+ More secure; the only two services offered are file and printer sharing
- Support was scheduled to end already, but a two year extension has been granted
- No system restore or driver rollback capability
- No desktop console (server) support free from Microsoft; other products available
- Difficulties networking (file sharing) with WinXP Pro
- Requires FAT16/FAT32 format and not compatible with NTFS
+ Easier disaster recovery with tape backups
+ Registry can be backed up and restored by booting a command prompt
- Not very stable; especially when playing games
- One errant process requires rebooting the whole system
- Stability degrades over time and rebooting becomes a norm
- System resource limitations since Windows 3.0 independent of actual memory

WinXP Pro
========

+ Support hyperthreading if you have the hardware for it
+ Better support of multi-user system usage
+ Better support of complex multi-user/logon security policies
- Due to being server oriented greater potential for security holes
- Licensing model/authentication limits your freedom of use
+ System restore/driver rollback
+ Remote desktop support without buying another product
+ Much greater stability from lockups/crashes
+ Much better at multi-tasking; many programs at once
+ System resource problems associated with legacy Windows 3.0 architecture resolved
+ Will probably be supported beyond Win98 SE
+ Some improve taskbar UI facilities not in Win98 SE
+ Support NTFS, a more robust file system; besides more stable it has compressed folders and encryption