Schrullenhaft

Are you getting crash logs/reports for each of these crashes (a dialog box comes up saying so - a Windows function) ? Do you know what video card/chip and drivers you have installed ? If you play in 'real time' do you have the same issue (of crashing) ? You can modify your game shortcut so that you don't have to right-click each time you launch the game. To do so, right-click and select "Properties" from the popup menu. In here go to the 'Compatibility' tab and at the bottom of this tab is a section labeled 'Privilege Level'. Check mark the box next to the text that says "Run this program as an administrator". Click 'Apply' and then 'OK'.

It's not a registry issue that we have the information to manually correct. It will require running utilities that we have now sent you to delete the current license activation and reactivate. I'm not sure why only AoD is having this problem and not AoC.

Please read a little closer in my previous post and you will see that after the 1.20 patch the SAVED GAMES ARE NOT COMPATIBLE. You will need another install of the game, located in a different directory and limited to the 1.10/1.11 patch, in order to play those OLDER saved games. I'm not sure of all of the reasons why the downloads are not the latest version. One reason was to allow players to finish off previous PBEMs, etc. and allow for a reinstall to support an older saved game. Updating each of the games/modules is a bit labor intensive (an installer has to be reconfigured and recompiled for an update). With CMSF and later games, each of the modules came out and supported an update to the base game. In the case of CMSF Marines was 1.10, British Forces 1.20 and NATO 1.30. Regarding your crashes with CMSF + Marines at 1.32. Are you saying that a new saved game created with 1.32 crashed the game when you attempted to load it in 1.32 ? If you are clicking on the 'Saved Games' and it crashes, then one of the game saves is corrupt. Removing this file (outside of CMSF with CMSF shut down) will allow the Saved Games listing to come up (but the file will obviously not be there). I'm not sure what caused the corruption in the game save. Usually CM games will have issues with security software when it comes to just running the games. The saved game files themselves usually will not be a problem. If you game is installed to the 'Program Files' / 'Program Files (x86)' directory, then you may want to try launching the game by right-clicking and selecting "Run as administrator" from the popup menu.

The Market Garden + CMBN 2.0 Upgrade bundle DOES INCLUDE THE 'CMBN 2.0 Upgrade'. However the release of the bundle is delayed until the Market Garden module is released. With the bundle you will be installing the CMBN 2.0 Upgrade (bringing you to version 2.0) and then the Market Garden module (bringing you to version 2.10). Market Garden requires CMBN to be at version 2.0 in order to be installed. If you purchased the Market Garden + CMBN 2.0 Upgrade bundle, then NO SEPARATE PURCHASE of the CMBN 2.0 Upgrade is necessary, as long as you can wait until the Market Garden module is released. Installing the 2.01 patch DOES require the CMBN 2.0 Upgrade. It CANNOT be used with CMBN 1.x without the upgrade. A number of customers have made the mistake of installing the 2.01 patch while not having the CMBN 2.0 Upgrade. They then get a request for a license that they don't have. If you have purchased the Market Garden + CMBN 2.0 Upgrade bundle and now no longer need the 'CMBN 2.0 Upgrade' portion, then I believe Martin can possibly cancel your pre-order and then allow you to pre-order just the Market Garden module. If you want to do that, then you will need to open a ticket in the Helpdesk and provide your Order Number (found in your Battlefront Store account) for your Market Garden + CMBN 2.0 Upgrade bundle.

If you have made certain changes to your computer, this could invalidate your activation and produce this error. Is this specifically for AoD ? Please open a ticket in the Helpdesk and we can send you some utilities to delete your current AoD activation and allow you to reactivate with your current hardware configuration. If you have recently connected a new USB or Bluetooth device, then simply disconnecting that would allow the game to run without the error. However if this USB device should be plugged in normally while playing AoD, then you will probably want to go through the process of deleting your current activation and then reactivating.

Yes, the games are NOT up-to-date. Downloading and installing a new copy of CMSF + Marines will mean that you are at version 1.10/1.11 if you don't install any patches. The version number can be seen at the bottom middle of the main menu. Icons on the bottom left represent the modules that are installed - the CMSF Stryker, the Marines LAV, the British Forces Challenger and the NATO Leopard. So you currently have CMSF + Marines and the British Forces module, is that correct or do you also have the NATO module ? If you start a game in one version and then upgrade, it is quite possible (and normal) that the old game will not work or be seen by the newer version. Saving at a particular spot ('orders/command phase') BEFORE upgrading the patch can allow 'saved games' to work with newer versions, with some exceptions (which are probably applicable to your situation). If you are upgrading from an earlier version than 1.20, e.g. 1.10 or 1.11 (which is the likely version of your CMSF + Marines install), then save games from these versions are NOT compatible with 1.21. In this case, we recommend you backup your existing "CM Shock Force.exe" file before continuing with this install by renaming the file to something like "CM Shock Force old.exe". You can still launch the game with that renamed exe and finish your previous in-progress battles. You can actually have MULTIPLE copies of the game running on your computer with different versions (which may be needed to finish your campaign - if you can find the files). So you could have an install (in a separate directory) of CMSF + Marines patched to 1.11 and then another install (again, in a different directory) of CMSF + Marines + British Forces patched to 1.32. I'm not sure what got corrupted to have WWII labels show up, but that seems to happen for some customers sometimes (and the reverse is true, CMBN having CMSF labels). Other than removing anything in your 'mods folder' ('Z folder'), I can only guess that a reinstall would correct this. A reinstall of CMSF + Marines and British Forces to a new, empty directory should go like this: 1) Install CMSF + Marines bundle. 2) Launch CMSF and you should be prompted to activate the license key (for a reinstall, this probably won't happen since you are already activated). 3) You should now be at version 1.10/1.11 (as seen in the bottom middle of the main menu screen) and you should see the CMSF Stryker and Marines LAV. 4) Exit out of CMSF and install the British Forces module. 5) Launch CMSF and you may be prompted to activate the British Forces module. Check that you are now at version 1.20 and that you also see the British Forces Challenger icon in the lower left of the main menu. 6) Install the 1.21 patch. Make sure to make the correct selections for 'CMSF' and the 'Marines' and 'British Forces'. 7) Launch CMSF and confirm that you are now at version 1.21 and that you see all three icons in the lower left, Styker, LAV and Challenger. 8) Install the 1.31 patch. Again make sure to make the correct selections for 'CMSF' and 'Marines' and 'British Forces'. 9) Launch CMSF and confirm that you are at version 1.31 and that you see all three icons in the lower left. 10) Install the 1.32 patch. Again making sure that you select to update only CMSF and Marines and British Forces. 11) Launch CMSF and confirm that you are at version 1.32 and that all three icons are still present. If you can find your campaign saves that you were playing earlier (they may not show up in CMSF, but the files may still be present in the '\Program Files\Battlefront\Combat Mission Shock Force\Game Files\Saved Games' directory). If you want to finish this particular campaign, then you can install a copy of CMSF + Marines to a SEPARATE directory (such as 'c:\games\cmsf'). I assume that you had just the patch level that that install came with, which should be 1.10/1.11. You can then copy the campaign save games to the new game directory and they should hopefully show up.

I'm not specifically aware of a common crash in the 2nd mission of the Marines campaign. Are you at patch version 1.32 ? Do you have ONLY CMSF + Marines or do you have other modules ? When you installed the game, what was your install process ? If you have just the CMSF + Marines module bundle, then you may want to reinstall the game or double-check what you may have installed according to this procedure: 1) Install CMSF + Marines bundle. 2) Launch CMSF and you should be prompted to activate the license key (for a reinstall, this probably won't happen since you are already activated). 3) Install the 1.21 patch. Make sure to make the correct selections for 'CMSF' and the 'Marines' (British Forces will be mentioned in this patch which you will NOT want if you don't have that module). 4) Launch CMSF and confirm that you are now at version 1.21 and that the Marines module is still present (Stryker and LAV icons in the lower left corner of the main menu). 5) Install the 1.31 patch. Again make sure to make the correct selections for 'CMSF' and 'Marines'. 6) Launch CMSF and confirm that you are at version 1.31 and that the Marines module is still present. 7) Install the 1.32 patch. Again making sure that you select to update only CMSF and Marines. 8) Launch CMSF and confirm that you are at version 1.32 and that Marines module is still there. If at any point you get prompted for a license key for British Forces or NATO (and you don't have them), then reinstall the last patch and make sure to make the correct selections for the modules that you have. What video card and drivers do you have installed ? Are you doing anything in particular when the campaign crashes ?

If you are the customer I think that you are, then we have actually emailed you TWICE since your last email on Sept. 18th. In your last email you had stated you had already purchased the CMBN 2.0 Upgrade, but ran into issues with: QtGui.dll is missing, then Ironwrapper: failed to load library "QtWebKit4.dll" Your purchase of the CMBN 2.0 Upgrade should ONLY be version 2.0. There is a 2.01 patch currently, but that can only be installed AFTER the 2.0 Upgrade has been installed. I'm not aware of the 2.01 patch addressing the above error that you are getting. Our recommendation in our reply was to make a clean reinstall of CMBN (with the required sequence). As Bindlewolf has stated, Market Garden is 2.10, but it requires the CMBN 2.0 Upgrade in order to work. A purchase of the Market Garden + CMBN 2.0 Upgrade bundle (on 'pre-order' currently) will require you to WAIT until Market Garden is released in order to get access to the CMBN 2.0 Upgrade (though you have purchased this separately already). The bundle will consist of a single download file and it will use one license key between them (which will be 'keyed' on the Market Garden module - i.e. Market Garden will need to be installed before you can activate). If you are having problems with the CMBN 2.0 Upgrade, you may want to respond to your Helpdesk ticket and we can give you information on the download file (to confirm you have a good copy). A reinstallation of the game may be necessary at this point.

We'll need more hardware details about your computer. Is it a desktop or a laptop ? Do you know what your current video card/chip is ? Simply installing a driver will not do anything if you don't have hardware that utilizes it. Intel integrated video (common in many laptops) often will not run CMSF. Occasionally certain drivers may work for SOME video chips, but often many desktops and laptops have to use the drivers provided by the system manufacturer rather than Intel (which will have the latest). If you don't know what video card you have, then you will need to look in the 'Device Manager' within the Control Panel (for Windows). Windows Vista and newer will have a separate Device Manager control panel, while Windows XP and earlier you will have to find the Device Manager within the 'System' control panel.

We've had a problem with text in the CMx1 series with Radeons since 2006 or earlier. The way we were performing an 'alpha channel'/transparency seems to have been deprecated/botched by ATI/AMD a long time ago and it never changed. Interestingly we never seemed to have had a problem with Nvidia in this particular regard. Someone ingeniously came up with a bit of a workaround that puts the text on a black background (rather than a transparent one), which lets the text stand out (still in yellow color rather than white). It doesn't work in every situation, but it is the closest thing to a workaround that we have.

The response to John Kettler was via a Helpdesk ticket. I have been on vacation with extremely little internet access, so I did not get to see this thread and respond to it. I did respond to John's Helpdesk ticket, which by his problem description suggested that his friend may have been running an ATI/AMD Radeon in his laptop and the 'Radeon Text Fix' was the suggested workaround for that. Both AMD/ATI Radeons and Nvidia GeForces/Quadros can run into issues with the screen refresh in CMx1 games. The Alt+Tab is the closest thing to a solution/workaround, though it may not work consistently for a number of users.

Please submit a ticket to the Helpdesk with your license key and Martin will reset it. Hopefully that will allow you to perform a manual activation (online often is not possible - 'error -12'). Usually if you get an 'error -12' when attempting to activate a license key, unlicensing also becomes impossible. So a reset should hopefully clear that up.

It's possible that if you purchased CMSF when it was initially released that it will NOT be listed in your account. The current store system went online in October 2007. CMSF was released in July/August 2007. Any order that pre-dates October 2007 will not be listed. In cases such as that we will have to look up the license key in an off-line sales database that lists license keys for 'download only' and 'download + mail delivery' purchases. Customers who purchased a 'mail delivery only' option will have their license key printed on a sticker attached to the disc case or manual. We have NO record of those license keys (that are associated with a particular customer). So if you purchased CMSF as a pre-order or about the time that it was released, then it will not be listed in your Battlefront Store account. If you have changed emails since placing that order and it was AFTER October 2007, then your order may be in a forgotten account associated with an old email account. If you do not have access to this old email account, then we will need to change it to another email address that you have access to. Unfortunately accounts CANNOT be merged. In either of these cases you will need to contact the Helpdesk as mentioned above.

I'm not sure if this is particular to any Catalyst drivers or if Nvidia users will see it too. What Catalyst driver do you have installed ?

I'm not sure what the issue is with the sound. Are you in the same location and facing the same direction when you hear the first Flak 88 round fired as when the second round is fired ? Are you playing real-time or turn-based ? Do you have any sound mods installed ? What sound card/chip and drivers do you have installed ? Do you know if you have the latest drivers ? Which Windows version are you running ?

altipueri - which specific HP laptop do you have ? Do you know what graphics chip it has ? Have you updated the drivers or does the laptop only have the drivers that came installed on it (which may be the only ones that work at this point, a common issue with laptops). I don't know if the DirectX 9.0c installation instructions/links I provided earlier may help or not. CMBO, CMBB and CMAK are all DirectX 5/6 type games, with the 1.04 patch updating a few of the DirectX commands to slightly newer versions (to originally fix a DirectX 10 issue with video cards in Windows Vista at the time). CMBO had no such updates and I assume it was just left to be to work in 'Software Render' mode (one of the 640 x 480 resolution selections) as a last ditch resort if the other resolutions did not work. The 'software renderer' was NOT an option with CMBB and CMAK.

The coupon codes are handed out when customers have had issues purchasing the games or they need to repurchase them to gain access to downloads or when possibly transferring to another platform (Mac to PC or reverse) after purchasing for a previous platform. We don't typically conduct sales utilizing a coupon code. If an item goes on sale, the price is reduced for everyone that wants to purchase at that time (no code necessary). Mail delivery can also significantly increase costs. It is US$10.00 for US destinations (+US$1.00 for each additional item) or it is US$20.00 for non-US destinations (+US$1.00 for each additional item). Mail delivery items do NOT give you another license key/activation. There is only one per item/bundle. In fact, if you purchase more than one copy (download or 'download + mail delivery'), you often receive only one license key (with more activations, the same number as if you had a license key for each).

If you have already patched to 2.01 (which means you also have the CMBN 2.0 Upgrade), then you will need to do a bit of reinstalling when you install the Commonwealth module: 1) Install Commonwealth module. 2) Launch CMBN, it should prompt you for the Commonwealth license key. When CMBN launches, make sure you are at version 1.10 (bottom center of main menu) and that you can see the Cromwell icon in the lower left corner of the main menu. Attempt to launch a Commonwealth battle to make sure you have access to Commonwealth content. 3) Install the 1.11 patch. Make sure to select BOTH 'Update CMBN' and 'Update Commonwealth Forces module'. 4) Launch CMBN. You should NOT be prompted for a license key, if you are, then quit and relaunch the program by right-clicking and selecting "Run as administrator" (assuming you're running it on a PC running Windows Vista or later). Double-check that you are at version 1.11 and that you still have access to Commonwealth content by attempting to run a Commonwealth battle. 5) Reinstall the CMBN 2.0 Upgrade. Make sure to select ONLY 'Upgrade CMBN + Commonwealth module'. You can potentially select both, especially if you get an error selecting only one (which doesn't make full sense to me, but should usually work). 6) Launch CMBN. Since you have activated the CMBN 2.0 Upgrade before (and nothing has been changed on your computer), then the game should NOT request to be activated. Double check that you are at version 2.0 and that you still have access to Commonwealth content. 7) Install the 2.01 patch. Make the correct selections (since you now have the Commonwealth module). 8) Launch CMBN. You should NOT be prompted for a license key. Double-check that you are at version 2.01 and that you still have access to Commonwealth content.

What Mord has posted is correct. The 1.21 patch for Gamersgate/Paradox has to be purchased, so you typically will not be accidentally downloading it (the Battlefront version is free). If you don't pay close attention you can accidentally install the patch (1.21 and greater) for modules that you don't have. That would lead to license dialog boxes requesting to activate the game for those module license keys. If that happens, then just reinstall that patch and make sure to make the correct selections.

The 'flash drive' method that Erwin is using ONLY works with the pre-2006 copies of CMBO, CMBB and CMAK. Because the copy-protection for those games is very easy to circumvent and it is NOT tied to a particular computer like eLicense would be (mid-2006 and later purchases). I'm not sure of the reason for the 'slide show' with CMBB on Windows 8. I ran a Demo copy of CMBB on a Windows 8 install with a Radeon and the game worked. However loading up a saved game had all of the soldiers standing at attention. Also the animation of the soldiers moving/running was off (strange foot movements/speed). Windows 8 has some interesting quirks that may make running these older games problematic. Windows 8 has some strangeness with its 'Real Time Clock' that can affect benchmarks, as mentioned in this Tom's Hardware article. This article basically looks at the effect on benchmarks, but it can potentially result in some odd behavior for the CMx1 series. However I wouldn't think such RTC issues would cause a complete slide show of the frame rate. The other question for users experiencing this is what video card/chip and drivers do they have installed ? Windows 7 had a limited number of files installed for DirectX 9.0c and earlier, which necessitated installing the DirectX 9.0c updater to get most (but not all, I believe) files for DirectX 9.0c and earlier (not sure what sort of effect this may have had on the CMx1 series). Windows 8 doesn't have such an updater, but it may be possible to install it. Here are some user experiences with installing DirectX 9.0c on Windows 8. DirectX 9.0c web updater DirectX 9.0c June 201 'redistributable' - the entire installer Windows 8 isn't listed in the System Requirements for either one. It is quite possible for NEITHER installer to work, though you may be able to overcome this by attempting to install the game in 'Safe Mode'. You may also want to install .NET 3.5 Framework (redistributable - though Windows 8 is NOT listed in the System Requirements) and here are some instructions on installing the .NET 3.5 Framework in Windows 8. I don't know if any of the 'Compatibility' modes (right-click on launch shortcut > 'Properties' > 'Compatibility' tab > 'Compatibility mode' near the top of tab) may help with this or not. I suspect not, but it may be worth trying for some. I would suggest the 'Windows XP Service Pack 3' mode. You may also want to run the game by right-clicking and selecting "Run as administrator" (a check box option within the 'Compatibility' tab mentioned above), though I don't think this would resolve issues with frame rate.

With Windows 7, you may want to launch the game by right-clicking and selecting "Run as administrator" from the popup menu and see if that helps. If your video is an Intel integrated chip, then you will likely have problems running the game. Depending on what Intel integrated video you have, there may be newer video drivers to help run the game. However in our experience this has only worked with the March and May 2013 releases of the Intel HD 4000 Graphics drivers. Other Intel HD Graphics have NOT worked (even with similarly numbered drivers for those particular graphics). The 'Paradox' version of CMSF does NOT have a license key to my knowledge. I believe it utilizes a disc-based copy-protection system. So changes to your DEP settings are unnecessary to my knowledge since that is an issue with the way the eLicense functions, the copy-protection system for the Battlefront distributed version of CMSF. For the Paradox version you have to use Paradox patches, which stopped at version 1.20. So remaining with the Paradox version the latest patch will be 1.20. If you purchase any of the modules, then you can use the Battlefront patches. However if you purchased ONLY the NATO module, then the game needs to be at version 1.21 BEFORE you can install the NATO module. That would require the 'Paradox Retail 1.21 patch', which costs US$1.00 (download only): http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage_bfc&Itemid=26&category_id=9&product_id=228 With the 1.21 Paradox retail patch upgrade you convert to eLicense. This is where you may have issues with DEP and security programs. BEFORE applying the 1.21 Retail patch upgrade you will want to install the 1.10 and 1.20 patches. Once you apply the 1.21 patch (and activate the license key), then you can apply the 1.31 and 1.32 patches.

One thing to potentially watch out for is if you have the 'Nvidia Optimus' technology in the laptop. This is a combination of the Intel integrated video and the Nvidia GPU. The game MAY try to run on the Intel integrated video and crash. With Nvidia you may have to make a 'profile' within the Nvidia Control Panel's 3D Management area for the CMSF game executable, which should get the game to run on the Nvidia GPU.

Are you speaking of 'hotseat' or 'LAN' based games or are you just referring to using an utility to perform PBEM ?

They are as far as I know. I assume the first one may come for CMBN to 'close it out', but I have no idea when it may be released. I'm not sure if another full-fledged module will come out for CMBN, but I don't think so at this point. The packs would contain addition vehicles and possibly building textures, etc. I don't think off-hand there there will be any new formations, but I could be wrong. I'm under the impression that they will NOT include any scenarios or campaigns. They will require an executable file and of course data files. I don't know if third party mods would be included in such 'packs'. There is the possibility that some sort of compensation for the mod artists may come into the picture and I don't know how well that works with Steve's idea on 'packs' in the past.

You can just install the 1.11 patch (making sure to make the correct selections), then reinstall 2.0 (just in case) and then finally the 2.01 patch.