Run multiple SoM Installs

[dmpdesign]

Well Mr. JDO...unlike the version of virtualpc that is available on the MS website, this one actually said nothing to me while installing it that it couldnt work on my vista OS. ‎  Anyways it is installed and working well.

Yay, and thanks.

[HwitVlf]

Weissvulf sees Hguols chewing on the forum's corner and thinking about small animals.
Weissvulf yells "There goes a mouse- around the corner!!!"
Hguols spits out forum and runs after mouse yelling 'FLUFFY! FLUFFY COME BACK TO HGUOLS!!!'
Weissvulf pulls a fluffy mouse out of his pocket and laughs maniacally as he twists the end of his mustache.
Fluffy mouse wets in weissvulf's hand . . .

[HwitVlf]

Well Mr. JDO...unlike the version of virtualpc that is available on the MS website, this one actually said nothing to me while installing it that it couldnt work on my vista OS. ‎  Anyways it is installed and working well.

Yay, and thanks.

Cool! Microsoft must have changed something in the newer installers. Make sure you install the Virtual Machine Addons; they let you drag-and-drop etc..

[Holy_Diver]

Where are the "add-ons" and any VM tips working with SoM? My biggest question is how we should set things up to be able to access a SoM project via the VM or normally. Via the Shared Folders dialog? I think maybe a lot of shared folders would be required to use the same SoM install/repository etc.

Translation: we need tips or better yet a tutorial to get us started (ie. I really don't have time to figure this out for myself right now)


PS: I requested a Windows98 PC, but there doesn't seem to be anything installed on the harddisk. Do I have to find a Win98 cd somewhere and install it?? I used to have one of those.... I wonder if it's still around?? I think if anyone can get this together, there should be a file hosted for the VM like Todd did with VMware, which I guess I will try next... because hey, VMware is Linux compatible.

[dmpdesign]

When you create the hard disk the VPC doesnt install the operating system, I think it simply preps the virtual drive for the installation.

I installed XP SP2 on mine.

As for SOM, I designated my entire C drive as a network drive for the virtual machine. ‎  I then just mapped the SOM.exe to the install of it on my C drive rather than reinstall it. ‎  This way I have no confusion as which set of SOM programs/tools I am using, and I am always up to date if I add any customizations (rather than having to duplicate them across installs).

It runs smoothly for map editing, and I just run another SOM instance on my regular desktop to actually test map the game (rather than test it in the VPC session because its a bit laggy running across a virtual networked drive)

Anyways, I dont have a windows 98 disk, but I could probably hook you up with XP.

I doubt very much that the vmware file i uploaded for xp SP2 will be usable for the VPC session. ‎  The VMWare XP setup appears to be a specialized format for VMWare specifically, but if you can find a way to use it, have at it.

[Holy_Diver]

^Well naturally the VMware disk image would not be compatible, but you could make another to the VPC software's liking. Of course if mapping the application via a network drive is a better way to go, I guess that works. I noticed SoM was actually released in 2000... I can't remember when win2k was released, but it might be a better fit (I'm sure Wikipedia has the date)

Kind of a pain in the ass to have to install an entire os. I think like XP needs Gigabytes. Anyway, a step-by-step tutorial would still be nice for those of us ignorant to the whole process

PS: I did see an option to install an existing virtual machine. This implies you can export your virtual machine (with presumably including the licensed software stored on it as well) ...though knowing Microsoft there might be some hidden info in the file format to prevent it from being used with other installations/physical machines.

[HwitVlf]

Yes, like Todd says, VirtualPC makes an emulated blank hard drive and you have to install the operating system yourself.
Personally, I wouldn't bother making a Win98 install; VirtualPC can run any Window version all the way back to Windows 3 but I've tried SoM on Win98 and there isn't any notable difference from an XP system.

Each emulated PC hard drive is stored as a file in 'My Documents/My Virtual Machines' so they are extremely portable and it's easy to make backups. Virtual PC also supports save-states that let you resume where you left off (good for keeping your place in a project).

To set up an emulated hardware configuration with VirtualPC:

Run the 'New Virtual Machine Wizard' and 'Create a virtual machine' and give it a name.
Select an operating system and change the amount of RAM your virtualPC will have access to; it can't be more than your available physical RAM.
Select 'A new virtual hard disk' and choose its size and where it will be saved.


To install an operating system on your new VirtualPC:

Run VirtualPC to open its 'console' window. Select the VirtualPC you want to start and push the 'start' button. You'll see the emulated BIOS come up.
Under 'CD' you can mount the operating system's install CD ISO or mount a real physical drive with the install CD in it.
If you're installing Win98, you'll have to mount a boot floppy since 98 didn't support booting from the CD.

From there, VirtualPC acts just like a normal PC that runs in a window.
To install the Addons, go to 'action> install or update virtual machine addons' after the operating system is up and running.

You don't need to actually 're-install' SoM on the virtualPC; you can just drag the 'Sword of Moonlight' folder from your real PC into 'Program Files' folder on the virtualPC, rename it 'Sword of Moonlight1' and use my .BAT file to run it on the VirtualPC. That way you'll have all the extra parts you've added to SoM without having to 'reinstall' them.

[dmpdesign]

Now that I have had both, I think I actually prefer vmware to virtualpc. ‎  its a bit bulky in size on the disk, but I really like the networking functions it has...not to mention my copy of vista didnt work 100% with the VMAdditions for the Virtual PC program. ‎ 

Either is a good improvement though!

[Holy_Diver]

I've definitely seen/have Win98 CDs!! You're maybe thinking of Windows 3.1??

Can you guys let me know if/when you have a virtual PC image setup that I can just copy over to my system (yeah I'm lazy, but also I have bigger fish to fry for The Cause)

PS: I was installing Win98 because it takes up a lot less space than 2000/XP and would probably emulate much faster as it's designed to run on very low cycling CPUs. Perfect SoM compatibility would be nice as well though...

[HwitVlf]

I've definitely seen/have Win98 CDs!! You're maybe thinking of Windows 3.1??

98 does come on a CD but it's not a bootable CD so you have to boot to a floppy and load the CD drivers from there.