H3Launcher v2.5

[TimOusley]

I'd like to use the v2.5 launcher with one of the older versions of the game supplied in H3 Ultimate, or even with 3.70, which came with the 2.4 launcher. This will facilitate easier and better sizing of the main window in the older versions. I know I'll need to change annex and other settings since a mere replacement of the old version with the new (and accompanying files) doesn't do the trick. Does anyone know of any articles or posts anywhere that explain the process? I did it once long ago on my own but a guide would help. Can't find anything in the Wiki.
Thanks in advance.
Tim O.

[Bucks]

Tim,

Isn't this just a case of copying the 2.5 launcher executable to he root directory of the version of ANW you want to use it with? Or copying the Game execs to the one directory and selecting the ANW version you wish to use?

Eg.

C:\Matrix Games\Harpoon 3 Advanced Naval Warfare\H3Launcher.exe

Is where it "lives" now and as long as it has access to the ANW game execs they should load.

I've included a screen shot showing the launcher displaying three possible Harpoon3.exe options available in my 3.10 installation. The ANW execs need to be in the same directory as the launcher and once that's done you should be able to select the version you want to use.

This may require you to rename the ANW execs to something like Harpoon3.7.exe, Harpoon3.8.exe etc before you place them in your current installation.

Cheers

Darren

[TimOusley]

Darren--Your first option (moving the launcher) seems like it should work, but doesn't. Moving it to a folder containing a vanilla 3.7 installation straight out of the box, the raw .ini file has all the correct information for a large window, everything looks correct, but it will open only as large as 1280x1024. Could this be a hard-coded upper resolution limit in the older games? The run-in-window.opt is active, so it all looks good, but nada.
Thanks for the help,
Tim O.

[Bucks]

Tim,

Stopped for a bit and did some thinking. Have you tried using the "window scheme" option? This should allow you to open the game and have the windows display the same on each opening.

Open the game arrange and size your interface windows and then select Window -> Window Schemes -> Load/Save scheme.

It sounds like you want to use a custom resolution? I believe that can be set in the Harpoon3.ini file manually. I haven't used it but it should work if your monitor will display the resolution you wish to use.

Scroll to the end of the Harpoon3.ini file and you'll find the following:

; =================================================
; VideoMode
;
; Replacement for VESA mode definitions
; Selects a 4:3 aspect ratio display
;
; Size is 160x120 times the VideoMode setting
; Hence : VideoMode = 4 is 640x480
;
;
; Minimum legal value value is 4
;
; If the program is unable to operate at the selected
; resolution, it will automatically step down
; until it finds a valid resolution
;
; In windowed mode, the display size must be less than
; the current desktop resolution, to allow room for
; the title bar and window borders.
; =================================================

VideoMode=5
; =================================================
; VideoWidth
; VideoHeight (optional)
;
; Can be used to set custom aspect-ratio display mode
; Values are the dimension of the game display in pixels
;
; If VideoHeight is not specified, it will default to
; 3/4 of VideoWidth (standard 4:3 aspect ratio)
;
; If the program is unable to operate at the selected
; resolution, it will automatically step down until
; it finds a valid resolution
;
; In windowed mode, the display size must be less than
; the current desktop resolution, to allow room for
; the title bar and window borders
; =================================================
VideoWidth=1024
VideoHeight=768 - Edit these values to your desired settings keeping the information provided in the file, shown above in mind in attempting a suitable display size.
; end

Cheers

Darren

[Bucks]

ORIGINAL: TimOusley

Darren--Your first option (moving the launcher) seems like it should work, but doesn't. Moving it to a folder containing a vanilla 3.7 installation straight out of the box, the raw .ini file has all the correct information for a large window, everything looks correct, but it will open only as large as 1280x1024. Could this be a hard-coded upper resolution limit in the older games? The run-in-window.opt is active, so it all looks good, but nada.
Thanks for the help,
Tim O.

Tim,

Not "hard coded" as such but a legacy option from Harpoon2. The available selections from the original Harpoon.ini file consisted of the following options that, are reflected in the harpoon 3 ANW Launcher (under the video and sound options tab). If you then open the ini file the first entries reflect the available selections:

; ================================
; Super VGA Modes Supported
; ================================
; 101 640 x 480 x 256
; 103 800 x 600 x 256
; 105 1024 x 768 x 256
; 107 1280 x 1024 x 256
;
; Anything other than one of the
; listed modes results in the
; screen resolution set to 101
; ================================

SVGAMode=105

This is the limiting factor for resolutions available in the Launcher and my previous post shows how to setup a custom resolution.

Cheers

Darren