Warhammer 40k Chaos Gate on XP - help?

[Malaris 0]

Originally posted by jchitman:

Im not sure if this is ok to be posted hear but I got my copy of chaos gate working fine buy putting -WINCURSOR on at the end of the target line.quote]

 

Success! A 'fix' that actually works, many thanks to you.

 

This, aside from Englands Ashes victory, was one of the best things that happened for my birthday (17 yesterday 8) )

[rhickman 0]

i think i have a problem that nobodyelse has had yet. On campaign mission 3 Kimarra IV there is a CSM with a heavy bolter looking down on the Ultras starting location. Whenever I kill the CSM the game crashes. I looked at the map with the scenario editor and apparently killing this space marine activates some kind of trigger. I don't know if this is related. I played the game through once a year ago and it worked. This is a new copy of the game and i have a new video card. I loved the game and would appreciate any help. Contact me at rhickman@uga.edu

[Pacione 0]

Hi guys,

I've found the solution using MS Virtual PC 2004.

I virtualized a Win98SE enviroment and Chaos Gate now runs with no errors.

Don't install the Virtual Machine Additions!!! If you do it, the Virtual Video Card doesn't work fine anymore with CG.

 

I feel I can use Virtual PC for every old games I have.

 

 

[fireship4 0]

Another fix:-

 

Note: - Im using the 1.2 patch and running the game with windows xp but with Chaos Gate in Windows 95 compatibility mode.

 

If you have the problem where the game crashes when the laspistol is fired, simply take the "chaos gate" folder out of the "randomgames" folder, which you can delete. Rename the "chaos gate " folder to something with exactly 8 charachters in its name and put it in "C:\" - as simple as that.

 

i.e. "C:\ChsGate

 

 

[Edited by fireship4 on 2005-12-10 16:08:06]

 

[Wakaba 0]

Hey Everyone!, I'm taking chaos gate into 2006!

 

Now I've obviously got problems like everyones else. I have the cultist laspistol problem and none of the rest it seems.

 

At first it wouldn't run because of Xp compatability and then it did run with just 98/ME or 95 compatability turned on.

Then I ran into the laspistol problem. I personelly think it's actually an enemy overview problem as I had this problem with chaos marines where they're just about to shoot then, zip, I'm on the desktop.

 

I'm on the first level and can't get through it without bumping into one enemy in overview so wot do u guys think? am I hitting the nail on th head?

I've tried Brok's sugestion with c command\ and installing it to an eight letter directory but like others my desktop only goes to 800X640 so I can't follow the intructions completely.

 

I had this on my old comp with windows ME and a fat32 harddrive and it worked fine then. I might try getting past the early levels without getting hit (I'm playing on verteran difficulty ) if I take enough greandes and stuff u never know......

 

If someone figures something out which doesn't involve turning ur pc into a windows 98 machine to play it or would post if they had success with someones elses suggestion plz post it for everyone.

 

P.s. for anyone without the actually real game I'm pretty sure it was released in 1998 so I don't think it would be neccesary to put the compatability back to 95. But I'm going off the loads of 1998's on the back of the case and who know (definitly not me ) maybe setting it back to 95 actually helps somehow.

[Wakaba 0]

Tried Editing my last post but to no avail.

 

I'm now stuck on a target of opportunity before mission 3 (the first target of opportunity) my game keeps crashing now after the 2nd turn. someone else has said this also but I thought they were just encountering laspistols or something .

If everyones wondering wot I'm posting for it's just that i'm gonna try to get throught the game in its current laspistol, 2nd turn, crashyness and post tips here if I manage it.

1). run away from chaos forces on 1st target of opportunity tocheck 2nd turn crash.

2). try other targets of opportunity to see if its just one of them.

3).try mission

if all these fail then I'm stuck with a non working game and I'll have to find the effort to try all these fixes ppl have posted.

[Wakaba 0]

Got past the targets of opportunity, (I think its when a chaos cultist starts a turn that he's going to shoot u on that the game dies, so kill them all before they get close ppl)but the mission has a trigger that now ends my game.

So i'm stuck once again. I've tried installing it with the setup file in windows compatability mode and broks method but without my screen resolution at 640X400 as it doesn't go that low.

I might try another method when I get bored but I've lost hope.

Good for all u guys who got this game working and make sure u enjoy it for all those ppl who can't........

 

[Cezar 0]

Did someone try to repair the crash that occurs in the third misson (assault the chaos firebase)when u kill a chm located at the lower left corner of the base ?? I tried to use the editor and delete the trigger but it didn't work (the crash still occured), later i deleted the whole chm squad (u can't delete a single chm) but when i loaded my save and entered the combat map the chm was still there (I saved the map after making the adjustments and used the same filename).

 

PPL, please share your thoughts with me and help to solve this prob.

 

PS

I'll try to get a virtual machine with win98 up and running to play the game, wonder if it helps...

[Smiling Spectre 0]

Originally posted by Wakaba:

Quote:

without my screen resolution at 640X400 as it doesn't go that low.

 

Did you try already Display Properties/Parameters/More/Adaptor/Modes? I can't guaranteed exactly names (I have Russian version of WinXP), but 640x480 is there for WinXP Pro.

[Cezar 0]

I was able to emulate a win98 system with microsft virtual PC 2004. The game works now perfect, no problems with starting and no crashes.

 

Here is a link to get some files need to get win98 running.

http://vpc.essjae.com/default.htm

Also it is needed to download the microsoft VPC program and a win98 iso (the VPC reads only .iso format). The VPC can use also a virtual cd for eg. created with demon tools, so other formats can be used too.

 

 

 

PER MORTIS AD GLORIA

[Tyrius 0]

Originally posted by Cezar:

Quote:

I was able to emulate a win98 system with microsft virtual PC 2004. The game works now perfect, no problems with starting and no crashes.

 

Yup yup! Virtual PC is the way to go if you want to play Chaos Gate (or alot of other older Win 9X games)!!!!!

 

Over two years waiting for a solution and it has arrived!

 

Virtual PC is VERY easy to setup with the tools Cezar listed above (though I did mine the hard way ;-))

 

In hindsight, Microsoft should ship their Windows Products WITH this type of software pre-installed (esp. if you are buying an upgrade).

 

We get to a repreive until Win-Vista... oh boy, the fun never ends! (don't worry, that won't be for another year or so, I think).

 

[Salvatori 0]

It's great how this thread is still alive after all these years - I even saved it because it is virtually the ONLY website on the internet that talks about how to get this game to run under XP. Well back then I tried many of the solutions offered in the thread but to no avail. One worked to begin with but when a Cultist fired his laspistol on an industrial level it always seemed to crash.

 

Eventually I got fed up and sold it, but recently I wanted to play it again, so I came back to these forums to see if I could get it to work this time. So I have come on here to say this - people - if you really want to play this game on XP then Virtual PC is the way to go. I'm not saying don't try other methods - but Virtual PC will run this game without crashing, and without problems.

 

And that's basically it - go here if you want instructions to on how to install Virtual PC:

 

http://www.roudybob.net/?p=154

 

Then just install CG on the virtual system and BINGO! you can kick some Chaos butt!!

[*snowflake 0]

Hi everyone!

This thread has been here over two years now, and it's still alive... Nice to see people like this game, it means it's good. I haven't bought it yet, but I'm searching. I've never played Chaos Gate before, but they say it's awesome, so I decided to try it.

I just can't keep thinking if it's worth of it. I mean, if the game doesn't work.

Is there anyone who has tried Virtual PC but it didn't work? Or has it been working with everyone?

[annoyed 0]

i seem to have a problem nobody else has had, i cant even install the bloody thing in the first place.

 

im usin XP home service pack 2 and ive got the original cd which worked fine on my old win 98 but everytime i run the setup file i get the error:

 

'C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\AUTOEXEC.NT. The system file is not suitable for running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows applications. Choose 'Close' to terminate the application.'

 

this happens even when i right click on the icon an run it in win95 or 98 compatibility mode and check the 'run in 256 colours' and '640x480' boxes.

 

ive tried runnin it in DOSbox but when i do i get an error sayin 'this program cannot be run in DOS mode' or 'illegal command: win SETUP.EXE' - even tho i dont even type 'win' i type 'setup' only.

 

and ive downloaded that virtual pc console and setup virtual win 95, 98 and NT (or so it seems) using the wizard but ive probably done it wrong as ive no experience in using virtual OS programs and virtual machines.

 

when i start the virtual machine the initial startup screens of the OS come on like youd expect them to if it were the real thing, then each time i get a message saying: 'Reboot and select proper boot device or insert Boot Media in selected boot device'

 

can anybody tell me where im going wrong?

[annoyed 0]

ok ive downloaded the win98 files cezar posted but i didnt realise i needed a win98 iso. looks like this wont work for me after all.

[Wilhelmus 1]

Originally posted by annoyed:

Quote:

 

'C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\AUTOEXEC.NT. The system file is not suitable for running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows applications. Choose 'Close' to terminate the application.'

 

See sig.

 

[annoyed 0]

^thanx alot thats sorted it out!!

 

but i get a new error during installation.

 

the game files install normally but when i am given the option to install the animation files, its gets up2 about 90% and then a box pops up saying:

 

'Error 2 Move Date error -117'

 

then i click 'ok' and then another box pops up saying:

 

'An error occured during the move data process: -117

 

Component: animation files

File Group:

File E:\anim\WarHammer.ani'

 

[aerisama 0]

I'm up[censored] this thread after spending this evening fighting with the game and it's quirks, and reading the thread through. I have met no other bugs than some very brief palette blinking, the overlapping/prematurely cut off sound samples and the infamous "chaos cultists crash the game" -bug, and the fact the game needs a compatibility mode.

 

What strikes me as funny, is that I remember the game constantly crashing on me when I tried it a few years ago the last time (using Win2K). While originally installing the game this time around, it didn't have the cultist bug, however uninstalling the game and reinstalling it to another directory introduced the bug once again. A further uninstall/reinstall to the original "functional" directory upheld the bug, leading me to believe it is due to a fatal change the game creates in Windows registry.

 

There's potential in researching this, in case someone stumbling on this thread has a "virginous" OS under him and happens to know how to take and compare system snapshots of registry changes before and after a) installing the game, playing and exiting it and c) uninstalling it. I already spent 5 hours on making the game work and can't be bothered to do a complete OS reinstall myself

 

I'm inclined to believe other game failures on Windows 2000 are due to player using an unstable OS (sorry XP users), a normal Win2K with the latest service pack and normal MS updates doesn't seem to break the game any further. Thus, my quick, fast and dirty guide in making the game playable on at least win2K (also referencing anole328, who originally discovered the WeapDef solution):

 

a) Right click on your desktop -> Properties -> Settings -> Advanced -> Troubleshooting and set your Hardware Acceleration to None

- this might not completely eliminate graphics palette blinking, but at least reduces it to near-nonexistent.

Open up Start Menu -> Run... and enter "dxdiag.exe" without the quotes. From "DirectX Diagnostic Tool" -> Sound and set Hardware Sound Acceleration Level to None

- this eliminates overlapping, jittering or prematurely cut off speech in the game

c) Enable slayerui.dll, and set the game compatibility to Windows 95 or 98 (XP users already have the compatibility option without registering the dll).

d) Using WordPad, open up <your Chaos Gate directory>\Data\WeapDef.dat, use CTRL-F to find Laspistol entry, and change AP To Use from 15 to 50, finally saving the file.

- this prevents the cultists from shooting and eliminates the following game crash. The game is slightly easier in the beginning, you might want to add a few Chaos marines to affected maps to even up the odds.

- Why use WordPad instead of NotePad? NotePad might enter wrong line feeds in the file making it gibberish for the game. Similarly, ONLY SAVE AS PLAIN TEXT (this is the default option if you only change the value and then choose "Save" from File menu.

 

The game should now work, though you should still save often to be able to survive crashes the game does every now and then (memory leaks, not sure if it's the game programming or the OS incompatibility this time). The info i referenced is quoted under.

 

Originally posted by anole328:

Quote:

Ok, I found a quick fix for the cultist las-pistol bug in XP. however, you will lose some of the challenge in the game.

 

Go into the "Data" file in the chaos gate directory (you may want to back up this file first)

Open the "WeapDef" file using wordpad

Scroll down to the las-pistol values

Modify the amount of Ap it takes to use the pistol from 15 to 50

"Save as" and replace the old WeapDef file

 

The Chaos cultists should no longer be able to use their las-pistols, preventing the bug from occuring.

[aerisama 0]

Stop the press, the game crashes again. This time at mission five (this is 10+ hours into the game so sorry for not testing so far).

 

If a marine walks upstairs in this 2-stories high dungeon, the game simply quits. I believe this is a) due to pink horrors on the map, because there are rooms on top of eachother (though on mission 4 you can walk on bunker ceiling and go in it without trouble), c) because the upper level has all-black "building sight blocked" elements or d) because of the trigger which is released when a marine leaves the stairs.

 

Done testing for now, perhaps try later.

[Salvatori 0]

^^ You most probably forgot to use the v1.2 patch, because one of the bugs the patch fixes is the pink/blue horror bug, and without installing the patch the game will crash a lot when these enemies appear. I have also finished playing through the full campaign and can confirm that there are no additional problems if running under Windows 98 OS on Virtual PC. There is just a slight glitch whereby reinforcements sometimes come along which is not supposed to happen - and after mission 13 (almost the last anyway), I would advise

you not to lose any terminators, because even if you have the Crux Terminatus and replacement armour sometimes id wont let you replace 1 of them. That said I think this should ideally be run under Windows 95.

 

And to the above poster - animation files aren't necessary to play the game (I think they are mainly for cutscenes), so try installing without them. And for Virtual PC - your actual RAM on your comp needs to be fairly high - at least 256 IMO, otherwise you will have diffculty running CG.

 

Link to the patch (if fixes lots of other things too so I would definitely install it)

http://www.avault.com/pcrl/dlftp.asp?url=ftp.avault.com/patches/chaos_gate_v12.exe&file=patch

[Murphys 0]

So I finally get Chaos Gate working from Brok's post (thanks brok) but I got the the 7th mission and I encountered a new problem. Now when I go to enter any battle my screen goes black and it freezes my computer. I tried reinstalling the game, no dice. I tried to mess with the compatiblity options again but that didn't work either. Im running the game on win XP home and I was just wondering if anyone can help me? Thanks

[Tarquin2 0]

I've been wanting to play on this game for some time:

 

So here are my problems: I have win XP and the game wont even load up.

 

What do I need to download to get it to work and where can I find these things?

[Smiling Spectre 0]

Tarquin2

1. Did you already use instructions from previous posts? This is about compatibility modes?

2. Did you install patch 1.2?

[Smiling Spectre 0]

At last I try Chaos Gate on XP (before I has Win98). And I want "cultist bug". Where are you?!

Nothing. At all. I try to make yourself killed several moves, uses different map modes - nothing. I was suspect something more exciting. ;(

But it all was 640x480 mode! Ha! It must be resolution...

Nothing. Another "nothing" - program simply don't want to write into registry. Mmm? Ah! I forget Win98 compatibility mode!!

Yes!!! In the compatibility mode there is possible to write into registry... and I have my bug!!! Hurray!!! ))

Hmmm... Remove compatibility mode. Options stays from my previous settings (and I can simply change it from registry , and bug disappears again! ;(

Did anyone really need this compatibility mode? )))

[Akairenn 0]

Loved CG on 98, never got it running on 2k, been avoiding XP forever.

 

XP Home on laptop, can't get it working. Manage to get it to run, no matter what I try, the cultist bug happens. However, very odd news..

 

XP x64, Corporate Edition - working flawlessly.

 

- Windows Update (I believe I'm about a month out of date, but hey. )

- dxdiag, turn off sound acceleration

- Copied CD to HD (CD was being flaky in my drive for some reason)..

- Enabled Win98 compat on setup.exe, installed.

- Did not patch game.

- Enabled Win98 compat on WH40K.exe, played.

 

Strangely, runs beautifully so far - time for me to get some bloody sleep, so I've only run the first two missions, but no problems - sound fine, video fine, animation fine, Word Bearers exploding fine, cultists shooting laspistols fine...

 

Go figure, the system that gives me nothing but trouble with older games (mainly due to the 64 bit goodness) runs CG great. God, I've missed this game.