Schrullenhaft
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Posts posted by Schrullenhaft
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You may want to add an 'exception' within your security software to make sure it isn't interfering with your CM game. It's possible some security software may interfere to the point that things don't work. This MIGHT include interference during the activation process.
What videocard do you have in your computer (assuming this is a PC) ? If this is a laptop, does it only have Intel integrated video or does it have a 'discrete'/dedicated video chip such as some sort of GeForce or Radeon ? With laptops you may need to add the CM game executable to a list of applications to create a 'profile' for it. This typically forces the game to run on the dedicated video, which may alleviate some performance and display problems using the integrated (typically Intel) video.
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When you activate, what 'green boxes' are shown in your activation window ? This should list the modules/upgrades that are currently activated. If you have a '3+4 bundle' did you get one or two license keys with it ? I assume one. Typically you will need the Upgrade 3.0 and Upgrade 4.0 license keys to activate the base game fully. With the '3+4 bundle' I'm not sure how that works if you only get one license key. I would assume that one license key MIGHT activate both the 3.0 and 4.0 Upgrades (the 1.0 base and 2.0 Upgrade license keys are NOT needed, typically).
Using the 'all-in-one' 4.0 installer (from 'scratch', i.e. - no other install present) you would not need anything other than possibly the latest patch.
Snaked by Elvis
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I assume this question is probably in the wrong location, this sub-form is tech support for the CM1 games (CMBO, CMBB and CMAK). The CM1 series of games do NOT run on MacOS 10.x. The Mac versions were only compatible with MacOS versions 9.x and 8.x. In order to run the CM1 games you would need a Boot Camp partition on your Mac to run Windows (with a Windows version of the game(s)). They MIGHT work with Parallels, but I'm not sure of that (again with a PC version of the games).
I assume the subject is actually about the later CM2 games such as CMBN and later (which have 'bundles' that include modules such as Market Garden, etc.). Those should generally run OK with your MacBook Pro. Larger scenarios might be a bit slow (graphics performance-wise) depending on the resolution you're running at.
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As far as I'm aware you DO need to go through your orders in order to find the correct download. The '4.0 Upgrade' should get you the latest all-in-one installer. If you have purchased the base game or a bundle that includes the base game recently (after 4.0 was released), then the base game or bundle purchase should point you to an all-in-one installer.
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Open a Helpdesk ticket (click the blue '+new ticket' button in the upper right). Hopefully they can point you to some sort of download for CMAK. The current store no longer lists the game and thus it looks like the download links haven't been connected to a valid source.
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I assume swapping hard drives may have caused problems with your Windows activations too. You may want to check those. OEM (most copies) typically don't take kindly to being moved to a different computer and will often come up with activation issues that could end up requiring you to purchase another copy/license of Windows.
As far as your Battlefront game activations, you'll need to contact the Helpdesk. Moving the game to a different computer is something that the copy-protection system would 'protect' against. Depending on which games/modules you have, you may need to get some utilities (gsClean) from the Helpdesk that 'delete' the current activation and allow you to reactivate the game. In the past this has typically been an unique utility for each game/module. For some license keys you may need to have an activation added to the license key (by the Helpdesk) to allow for another activation. Typically you may find out you need additional activations when you get an error about 'no more activations remaining' when attempting to reactivate. The Helpdesk will need the license keys for those licenses that need additional activations.
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The newer games are actually MUCH more flexible in terms of resolution than the old ones. The Demos should NOT be restricted in that capability as far as I'm aware.
If your laptop screen is actually running 1980 x 1080, then the games should be capable of running that resolution. In the main menu go to 'Options' and in here select the drop-down for 'Display Size' and select 'Desktop'. This should adjust the resolution to what the Windows Desktop is running at (usually your native resolution). There are limited resolutions below that (that you've seemed to have selected).
If you want a resolution that isn't listed and is not your desktop resolution, then you can actually configure a file (which I believe is present for the demo versions) to list a custom resolution (that both your display and video card can support). In the main game directory you can find a file named 'display size.txt'. Open this up with a simple text editor (like Notepad) and replace the three zeroes you find with the resolution and vertical refresh rate. So replace the '0 0 0' with '1920 1080 60' for a 1920 x 1080 at 60Hz vertical refresh. I think you need to select this resolution in the Options menu before it takes affect.
rocketman makes a good point, you very likely have Intel integrated video which is the default display controller. The GeForce GTX 2060 may only get used for certain games and it is is possible that the CM games might not trigger its use (and instead run on the Intel integrated video). To force the game to run on the GeForce you will need to create a 'profile' for the game in the 3D Settings within the Nvidia Control Panel (possibly accessible within the 'GeForce Experience' software - can't remember exactly for Windows 10), which will list the game's executable and cause it to be used for the game.
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I can't recall exactly, but I believe the issue is usually having some sort of 'automatic' or 'suggested' pick for any of the forces. This has been corrected in 4.x, but recently resurfaced for some PBEMs with the current 4.01 patch.
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Regarding the 1.04 patch changes. Philip Culliton changed some of the DirectX calls to something that was better supported within video drivers that came out at the time of Windows Vista. The primary issue at the time was that as soon as you moved the camera (keyboard or mouse) the whole 3D window started to spin around endlessly (leaving 'window edge' artifacts that filled up the screen). Less than 6 months after the patch was released ATI/AMD and Nvidia both released updated drivers that made the patch unnecessary. However later driver releases (not just on Vista, but Windows 7 and later) caused some weird artifacting with AMD. If you had the 1.04 patch you didn't see these graphical artifacts. I can't remember off hand if some Nvidia drivers had issues that the 1.04 patch resolved (beyond the initial Vista issue).
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The file that you download is named what ? Typically these will be .zip compression files (which most Windows versions should be capable of opening). If you have a compression program such as WinZip, 7-zip, WinRar, etc., then try opening the file with that program and see if the file is recognized (and decompresses to show the contents). You will need to extract the .zip file to a directory and then run the setup program that gets extracted in order to install the game. Once the game is install and when you try to run it for the first time is the time that you should get dialog boxes to activate the game.
If you have security software (anti-virus, etc.), then you may need to temporarily disable it or possibly add an exception since some of the Battlefront games/modules are identified as being infected (this is a 'false positive', none of the files should be infected with anything). Usually most security software will tell you when it has run into something (quarantining or potentially deleting the file).
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I would assume that there will be at least 4 modules, CMFI ('Rome to Victory'), CMRT, CMBS and CMFB before the CM2 family is finished. There's a possibility that Battlefront could release 'Battle Packs' (scenarios and campaigns), 'Vehicle Packs' (just vehicles and no scenarios/campaigns) and possibly even modules with a new force/country (and maybe minimal scenarios/campaigns) for CM2. These could be done while CM3 is initially available, but it may be dependent on demand and how well a particular game family has already sold.
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I'm not really an user of CM Helper, but I downloaded and installed a copy. I got version 1.75 from here (a 'tiny url' that points to a DropBox location for download):
I extracted this to its own folder as you have done. Double-click on the 'cmh.exe' file (which doesn't have an unique icon) and NOT the 'CMH.ico' file (which is an icon file that has an image that you may want to select as the icon for CM Helper) and that should launch CM Helper which will display two small windows the first time it is launched (image attached is the main CM Helper window). One is the actual application itself and the other is a small diagnostic window that shows what CM Helper has done to configure itself with the CM games that it finds on your computer.
I'm not sure where the "Windows asks me if I want to allow the program to be added to the computer and I click "Yes"." originates from since I had nothing like that occur on my computer (Windows 7 Pro 64-bit). Is this a different version of Windows (Win 10?) or possibly some sort of security program checking to see if you were intentionally installing a program ? If this is a security program doing the checking, then you may want to look through that program's controls to see how to fully enable CM Helper (in case it is being 'blocked' in some manner).
If you want to launch CM Helper from the desktop, then open up the Windows File Manager, right-click on the 'cmh.exe' file and select 'Create shortcut' from the popup menu. Copy this newly created 'cmh.exe - Shortcut' file to your desktop (it will be a 'generic' icon). Then right-click on this icon and select 'Properties' from the popup menu. In here click on the 'Change Icon' button at the bottom in the middle. In here click on the 'Browse' button and browse to the location for the 'CMH.ico' file and select that. Highlight the image that shows up below and click 'OK', the click 'Apply' and then 'OK' and your icon should now be the one if the icon file instead of something generic.
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So this appears to possibly be an issue with 'Human Player' unit selection. Does this happen if either or both are selected for Human Player selection or will just one side with this selection do it ? This sounds like a bug that had been quashed a couple of patches/updates back with CMBN or CMFI (can't remember which had it).
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Contact the Helpdesk and provide them with your license key(es) and request an additional activation.
The activations DO NOT expire, but you can invalidate them with certain hardware and software changes. If you foresee making one of these changes, then UNLICENSE those modules/games, make the changes and then reactivate the modules/games. ELicense games come with two activations and with the unlicensing process you can maintain those two activations nearly indefinitely. With the current copy-protection system in place since CMBN you simply lose an activation with certain changes (which may also require an utility to completely get rid of the activation in order to reactivate).
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Without having attempted to load the PBEM file in CMSF2, I would guess that it is corrupt. The file I downloaded from your link is only 530 bytes in size, which is incredibly small for a PBEM file and that alone suggests it is corrupt/truncated.
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What was the base version of your original install, 1.0, 2.0 or 3.0 ? The issue you describe suggests you have missed a patch somewhere and are missing some .BRZ data files. The patches are often 'incremental' (each one needs to be applied) rather than 'cumulative' (where ALL necessary files are in the latest/last patch).
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Disabling the Shaders in game (Alt + R) definitely addresses the problem for those that need to use the newer drivers. Since this is a significant graphical feature of the game Jock Tamson's advice is to replace/reproduce (in a slightly different manner) it by:
I switch off shaders in game, which has stopped the crashing. I use the War Movie advanced mod, which enhances the in game Movie mode. I use SweetFX injector to inject SMAA to add anti aliasing (as anti aliasing is disabled by movie mode).
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I think the 'top' resolution offered may have been 2048 x 1536, though this isn't supported by your monitor. The next lower resolution is 1600 x 1200, which would seem to be the most appropriate resolution for your monitor, since widescreen resolutions aren't supported. It's possible that the 2048 x 1536 resolution was what was selected and once you reached the 3D battlefield the game 'spilled out of the edges'. This is due to the video driver supporting such a resolution in a 'expanded desktop' mode (where you scroll around the screen that is larger that your monitor's actual physical resolution). However I wouldn't think that it would change by simply changing the 'Size of Text' in the display settings. Deleting the prefs file allows you to go through the resolution selection process again.
For the slow panning and scrolling, Alt-Tab to minimize the game and then remaximize it. This should help with performance and should be necessary only once during a game session (i.e. - until you exit the game and run it again). There are also threads within the CM1 section about 'setting affinity' within Windows for the game. While I believe this in and of itself does not fully affect the display speed (panning and scrolling), others believe that it does help with game performance.
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Do you know why the purchased failed (is it explained ?) ? If a 'hold' hasn't been placed on your credit/debit card, you may want to try again. If a 'hold' has been placed on your credit/debit card, then you may want to contact the Helpdesk and provide any info about the purchase failure and the 'hold' charge (which typically disappears within 3 weeks max.).
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Please open a ticket with the Helpdesk with the link in the post above (assuming that isn't blocked too) and provide details about where you live and your ISP (Internet Service Provider) in case there is some blocking based on country location or ISP.
Did you receive an email after your purchase with the download links and (I believe) license key(es) ?
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I'm not sure why there would be a temporary block on your Battlefront Store account (to access your downloads and license keys). I don't know if there was any email confirmation about your account, but there is typically an email confirmation for the purchase, download and license key I believe. You may want to try any links that may appear in the purchase confirmation email. Otherwise you can contact the Helpdesk (click the blue, '+new ticket' button in the upper right) and hopefully they can sort you out if the block remains more than a day.
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So the game freezes up at the 5 minute mark ? So more than just the sound stopping, the game stops responding (mouse doesn't work, camera doesn't move, keyboard shortcuts aren't responded to) ?
You will need to provide more details about your hardware. Are you using a Mac or a PC ? What MacOS or Windows version are you running ? What video card and driver version do you have installed ? Is this a laptop or a desktop ? What audio card/chip do you have and what drivers are installed ? Do you have any audio utilities installed and possibly running in the background ? What programs and utilities are running in the background ? Closing and exiting programs and utilities that are running in the background may help. Some audio utilities are known to cause problems with the copy-protection system or other issues that interfere with the game.
As for the .brz data files I have the following with a Black Sea version 2.10 (Game Engine 4.0) installation on Windows:
black sea v100a.brz 1,950,490,315 bytes
black sea v100b.brz 1,869,933,913 bytes
black sea v100c.brz 1,371,883,671 bytes
black sea v101.brz 11,000,601 bytes
black sea v103.brz 197,367,878 bytes
black sea v104.brz 162,404,613 bytes
black sea v200.brz 33,024,158 bytes
black sea v210.brz 20,457,314 bytes
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Yes, start with the orders that are 'v4.0 Upgrades'. These should link to the 'full installer' for each game that had this upgrade.
Regarding discerning what is in an order before opening it up; other than guessing by date, there's no simple way of telling what is in an order other than to open it up.
Unless you purchased the 'V3/V4 combo upgrade', you will need a separate license key for 3.0. Depending on when you made the purchase of each base game, this could be the base game license key (this is always true for CMRT and CMFB, which were released as 3.0 version base games). Otherwise each game would need a 3.0 Upgrade license key in order to fully activate the game.
With this being a new installation on a new computer (games never installed and activated before on this computer) you will need to activate each of the modules and upgrades that you own. So pay attention to the successful activations listed in the green boxes during the activation process.
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You'll need to login to your 'Store' account (from the Battlefront main page, clicking the 'Login' button in the upper right). Once logged in click on 'My Orders' (simple text list of options that you're presented with). This will present you with a list of your orders. You'll have to click on the 'Click to view' text on the right of each order to see what it actually consists of. The 'Order content' section of the order should have links for each purchase (mentioning 'sharefile' in the URL). Clicking on these links should get you to the download location for the files. You'll want to get the orders that have the 'Version 4.0 Upgrade'. These installers should generally have just about everything for each game title.
Underneath the download links on your order details page there should be a listing for 'Activation codes'. Copy and paste these during the activation process. If you get errors about 'no remaining activations', then you'll need to contact the Helpdesk and request additional activations for each license key that needs them.
If this is a new install on a new computer or a freshly installed OS, then you'll need the license keys for each module and upgrade that you have. For 4.0 'upgrades' you'll also need a previous version license key (usually the 3.0 Upgrade). Pay attention during the license activation process and look at the titles in the green boxes that come up showing what has been activated.
Forgot how good these games are
in Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin
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The CMX1 games lack true widescreen resolutions. If you're running standard HD (1920 x 1080), then CM's closest resolution would be 1600 x 1200, which may result in some 'stretching' on your screen. I believe, but haven't used it myself, the dxcfg.exe program that GOG provides can adjust the display/video driver so that the image isn't stretched, but instead 'centered' (and thus there will be a black border around the game). I'm not certain what else it may do.
The clunkiness of the 3D models can't really be changed, though there are texture mods that can make some things look a little better. I think the GOG version may have a lot of those mods included (though not installed and running by default).
If you purchase the GOG distribution, you could use the dxcfg program with your standard 1.04 programs from Battlefront (as far as I know).