A couple of small (but annoying!) problems

[S-D]

Hi everyone!

 

I have wanted to play GF ever since I failed to play the demo (my Pentium 166 wouldn't handle it :-P). I finally have a copy of the game, and it's almost working, but I need help with a couple of small issues (don't think I've seen these exact issues in the forum).

 

Background: I'm running Windows 7 64-bit on an AMD 7850 Dual-Core, Radeon 4670, 4GB PC6400 RAM. I believe I have the re-issued (already patched) version of GF on 2 CDs.

 

What I've done so far: I have installed GF using the installer found here: http://quick.mixnmojo.com/software#grimsetup

This installation seemed to go okay. Without running anything else, my grimfandango.exe file is already version 1.0.0.1, so I believe the game was already patched (or the launcher took care of it).

 

The problems: #1 - I get prompted for the disc 4 times each time I run the game. The good_times registry key is set to true (I guess as part of the installer). If I hit cancel or continue each time, the game proceeds to run as per normal (regardless of which I hit). Any ideas what could be going on?

 

#2 - Every 5-10 minutes, the sound will start to skip rapidly (repeating over and over), and I cannot hear any other sounds in the game until I quit and reload GF.

 

So far I have not encountered any graphical or gameplay issues other than these (but I haven't played very far!)

 

All help appreciated, and let me know if you need more info from me.

 

Thanks

 

Stuart

[Thrik]

I tried Grim Fandango on Windows 7 x64 recently and found that the game ran pretty well if I set its compatibility mode to Windows XP, although I didn't really play it for an extended period of time. Before that I was getting almost instantaneous loss of sound and/or graphical issues.

 

Try that as a first step.

[S-D]

Hi Thrik,

 

I thought about trying this, but I wasn't sure whether I should set the launcher or the original executable to XP compatability mode. Which did you do?

 

I'll try both and report back.

[S-D]

Ok, setting the grimfandango.exe file to XP SP3 compatability stopped the game from asking for the CDs. However, I'm still experiencing the following:

 

* sound starts to skip, most often when a new sound starts (e.g. inspecting the noticeboard in the lobby) OR after a game save (happens every couple of minutes, requires a restart);

 

* some sound skips are also accompanied by the game freezing. If this occurs after a save game, the launcher does not recognize the saved game as the most recent save, and instead starts a new game from the beginning.

 

Suggestions welcome!

 

Edit: I now have a saved game that, when loaded, still has no sound in! I have also noted that if I turn on text subtitles, the subtitle gets stuck at the same time as the sound (I've been looking at 'What's goin' down, clown?' for a few minutes now)

[MeddlingMonk]

Did you do a full install? That is, are all the .lab files copied to your hard drive? You say that the game is no longer asking for CDs so I'm assuming you have, but I could be wrong to assume that. And if all the needed files are on the hard drive, I'm wondering how fragmented it is.

[S-D]

MeddlingMonk,

 

Using the installer I linked to in the original post, I did select to do a full install (run game from hard disk).

 

In terms of fragmentation of the hard disk, the computer (and disk) are only about 2 weeks old, and I've only installed about 5 games (no other programs except firefox) so far. I don't think that fragmentation is an issue, but I'll defrag next time I boot up and see if that helps.

 

Thanks,

 

S-D

[MeddlingMonk]

It probably isn't all that fragmented, then. But you're right: might as well defrag and be sure about it.

 

You said you set compatibility to XP SP3. Have you tried other modes? Not that I have a lot of faith in anything Vista does, but GF was made back in the 95/98 days so trying 98 mode (if available) might be worth a try if you haven't already. Might want want to try enabling admin privilege as well since every Windows program back then expected to have its way with the system.

[S-D]

I defragged (was at 4% fragmentation), and that wasn't the problem.

 

I will try the other compatibility settings and let you know how that goes (n.b. this is windows 7 64-bit rather than vista, but I'm assuming they work in pretty much the same way as far as GF is concerned!)

 

How does one enable admin privileges?

[MeddlingMonk]

OK. I forgot what you're running, but the compatibility tab is identical in Vista and Windows 7:

 

 

Look toward the bottom where it says "Privilege Level" and there it is. I'd advise paranoia and try it only if any of the 9x modes doesn't do the trick (why MS can't just suck it up and go with a Unix-style approach to file system security, I don't know).

 

If that doesn't do it, I'm out of ideas (other than using VirtualBox to set up a genuine Win9x environment or inventing a time machine to download up a ready-for-prime time version of Residual).

[S-D]

First of all, I'm still confused about what exactly I want to specify the compatibility mode for:

1) The game executable grimfandango.exe;

2) The launcher "Grim Fandango Launcher.exe"

3) Both.

 

(I've been setting it for both so far, but I guess it will only make a difference to the grimfandango.exe executable)

 

With both files set to 98/Me compatibility, and the admin privileges box ticked, I haven't come across the sound issue in about 15 minutes of playing. I tried changing areas and saving the game to try and cause sound skipping, but none occurred, which is good!

 

However, some cutscenes became really slow and jerky (as did the associated sound effect, though the background music played fine). Example: when you take the elevator to the parking garage, and the black car drives in.

 

I'll try the intermediate compatibility setting (2000) and see if that works - or, if this cutscene slowdown is a known issue, perhaps you guys have some suggestions for that?

 

Thanks!

 

S-D

[S-D]

Ok, I tried all other compatability modes and got the following results:

 

Win NT or later - sound effect (not background music) skipping within 2-3 minutes of loading the game.

 

Win 95/98 - awful cutscene playing, and sound problems within 10 minutes.

 

It seems like the sound is the only issue here, and that once that has been sorted the XP compatibility mode (for example) should work just fine.

 

Any other thoughts? I'll try reinstalling tomorrow, just to see. Are there any reg keys I need to be sure to remove for a full uninstall?

[MeddlingMonk]

Don't know about reg keys but you can just launch the regedit tool and search for LucasArts.

 

BTW, do you have the DirectX diagnostics tool? Maybe you need to tweak audio settings: either DirectX audio settings or any audio settings.

 

On the other hand, I came across a torrent that claims to contain files with tweaks to deal with certain problems with XP and Vista (and likely Windows 7) including audio issues. I'm skeptical, natch, but check out http://www.mininova.org/tor/2565595 and download if you're feeling brave.

[S-D]

Do you mean dxdiag, or something else? Either way, exactly how do I use it to diagnose a problem?

 

I am using the mobo's on-board audio, and from experience I know this is something that can be sub-par. I was playing some SP COD4 last night, and noticed small audio tearing occurring fairly frequently, so this problem may not lie with GF in particular.

 

I downloaded the latest ralink drivers directly when I first built the PC, so I don't think old drivers are the problem. (I seem to remember never truly fixing a similar problem with the onboard audio on the last PC I built - though I don't think that it's my fault necessarily!) I'll wait to hear from you about the diagnostics before I investigate the torrent...

[MeddlingMonk]

I'm not really suggesting you use it to diagnose anything, but instead to lower the audio acceleration down a notch or two and see what happens. That's just basic, Microsoft-approved advice for skipping audio.

 

There are a lot of resources out there for help with these kinds of issues. You're right: it's not a GF issue. And it's not even a Windows issue. It's an issue of running an 11-year-old piece of software on a brand-new OS (and maybe a crap sound card as you suggest). About half of the things I suggest are just results of me doing different searches on Google and support.microsoft.com. There's no obvious, clear-cut solution to what you're up against (apart from waiting for Residual to be done) and you're really just as likely to hit on the solution as anyone else. I'm just drawing on my old tech-support experience: if uncertain about what the solution is, do research and suggest likely-seeming things to try and see if anything blows up.

[S-D]

It seems that Vista (==> Win 7) does not have the slider that allows you to lower the hardware acceleration

 

(sorry for the delay, I've been away a week)

 

I guess I'll wait for Residual!

 

Thanks.