Run multiple SoM Installs

[HwitVlf]

https://agetec.yuku.com/topic/2568

[Holy_Diver]

Now we just need to find a way to make SoM games/tests not go into fullscreen mode, or maybe better yet/also not go into the tiny resolution before changing to the configured resolution

Though it's a little over my head why it is Vista (21st century Windows) still resizes your entire desktop whenever an app goes fullscreen (and dosn't even put your shit back when it's done) ...I'm sure there must be a good answer.


PS: SoM games/tests also have the annoyin side effect of leaving my resolution in tiny mode after exit, after which I often can't put my display into full resolution for quite a while (presumably Vista switches over to failsafe drivers)

^The changing my resolution side effect is not always, but it's bound to eventually happen when running the game runtimes over and over. It's not necessarily caused by crashing either. Happens often just when exiting normally. ‎ 

[Holy_Diver]

^No luck with DXwnd 1.20 on Vista (with windowing)

[HwitVlf]

I have read in multiple places that Virtual PC will run on any version of Vista. Supposedly it just gives you a 'is unsupported by your version of Windows' message if you try to install it on a non-premium version of Vista. The message just means that Micro$oft won't provide support unless you're running a premium Vista. If you ignore the message and keep going, it should work. Even a moderator on VirtualPCs site says it works on all versions of Vista. Are you sure it won't work for you?

Virtual PC eliminates the Map Editor crash, and lets multiple copies of SoM run 'windowed' without messing with your desktops resolution.

Here's a picture of my desktop as I'm running 3 copies of SoM simultaneously- one on my real PC, and two windowed through VirtualPC

[Holy_Diver]

Is the VirtualPC hardware accelerated (for graphics) unlike VMware?

That reminds, me... I picked up Todd's VMware files yesterday...


Anyway, how do I get a hold of an installer for VirtualPC? I'm pretty sure the official download is one of those must use IE so it can check the "integrity" of your install environment sort of deals.


PS: The changing my resolution side effect is not always, but it's bound to eventually happen when running the game runtimes over and over. It's not necessarily caused by crashing either. Happens often just when exiting normally.

[dmpdesign]

I tried to load virtualPC and I will be darned if I could find a way to get it to run on basic vista.

Anyways, I will give it another shot, but I am also curious about the hardware/software acceleration. ‎  VMWare uses generic drivers and doesnt support graphics card acceleration, so testing SOM in that instance of windows is a no no. ‎  Its not a huge deal, I can run the map editor in the vmware and test in the regular pc desktop, I am just curious if virtual pc can offer something better.

[Holy_Diver]

This will be nice I think as well for having the original Japanese SoM installed alongside your translated "edition".

Do you have any experience btw with switching projects between your patched SoM install and the original? I want to try to get all of these foreigner made games into Japanese and preferably using the original runtimes asap.

[HwitVlf]

If you are talking about translating an 'output' English game into Japanese, it should be extremely easy. The English game exe (which has all the menu text) only has different text (no code change) so you can just drop any Japanese exe in an English game and it will play with Japanese menus.

As far as in-game text like NPC dialogue, the translated version still supports Japanese just like the original (ie. it still uses the MSGothic font which includes the Japanese 'Alphabet') so you just have to type in the Japanese over the English in Display Message events.

Converting an English game project into Japanese would be harder of course; the main difficulty being that 3Dmodels with translated names would have to be re-associated with their Japanese-named equivalents. All the event and part names would also have to be translated.


Here's a link to the VirtualPCs I use. SoM under XP should run on either 2004 or 2007-but maybe one will work with Vista better than the other.
https://www.megaupload.com/?d=GDQJOIU6

VirtualPC uses software emulated hardware which means it doesn't support hardware video acceleration. That's why it doesn't suffer from the Map Editor crash. But, SoM is designed to work with software or hardware rendering (select 'RGB emulation' under 'Device') and I haven't noticed any serious lagging while running a game on VirtualPC. Of course, since all the emulated hardware is loaded on the real PC's CPU, performance will vary considerably depending on your processor's speed.

[dmpdesign]

VMWare definitely fails on that checkpoint...when you go into video device under the system menu it just has a bunch of random messed up characters and you cant change it from that. ‎  so SOM map testing just isnt viable on VMWare.

[Hguols]

*starts chewing on the corner of the forum*

*looks around*

*thinks about very small animals*