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CMSF2 getting a splash screen with just the tank firing in the dark? Here's why.


BFCElvis

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I've gotten some tickets on the Help Desk where people are getting what they describe as either a back screen or just the Battlefront tanks firing with the black background. This happens when an element (or more) of the Upgrade is not activated. To cure it (or avoid it) follow these activation instructions:

 

Installation and activation instructions for the Combat Mission: Shock Force 1 Upgrade:
 
1) Download the game, extract the download and run the game installer.
 
2) Use the desktop shortcut labeled Activate New Products and enter the key that came with your CMSF Upgrade purchase.
 
3) Use the Activate New Products shortcut and enter your original Combat Mission Shock Force 1 base game key
 
4) If have purchased any of the module Upgrades use the Activate New Products shortcut and enter your original Combat Mission Shock Force module key. Repeat will all module keys. 
 
You can actually activate these bits in any order that you want as long as each piece is activated. It's just the OCD in me that lists them in the order above.
 
Here's what it looks like:
 
 

cmsf2 not activated.jpg

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On 12/16/2018 at 4:31 PM, CharlieMike24 said:

And a big thank you to the guys at the help desk. Went through this to discover that I couldn’t find my license key for base CMSF purchased pre 2008 and so no longer stored on the updated website. Had a very stressful time searching old hard drives. The help desk solved this in a couple of hours. Hoorah. 

How did you solve it?
Did you get a new key ?
When i reinstalled basegame 1 they told me that the marines module will unlock both basegame and Marines 1, and it did.

With CMSF2 that dont seem to work, and i have the new code i got sent. But i think my Same here, i have the Marines key but not the basegame key = activate success, klick play, stuck with the "tank fire in the dark" screen *keeping my tears back* *sob ;)


Can it be that i bought the update bundle pack?
Cause i dont have the Brits and the Nato.
Only base and Marine.
I think base code will solve it, i hope, i cant afford to expand right now, just update the Base and Marines 25$ Awesome price! (35$ FANTASTIC bargain i must say for that bundle, i wish i had all of them before.)

Edited by NeoOhm
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7 hours ago, NeoOhm said:

How did you solve it?
Did you get a new key ?
When i reinstalled basegame 1 they told me that the marines module will unlock both basegame and Marines 1, and it did.

With CMSF2 that dont seem to work, and i have the new code i got sent. But i think my Same here, i have the Marines key but not the basegame key = activate success, klick play, stuck with the "tank fire in the dark" screen *keeping my tears back* *sob ;)


Can it be that i bought the update bundle pack?
Cause i dont have the Brits and the Nato.
Only base and Marine.

I think base code will solve it, i hope, i cant afford to expand right now, just update the Base and Marines 25$ Awesome price! (35$ FANTASTIC bargain i must say for that bundle, i wish i had all of them before.)

Hi NeoOhm,

Yes, Being provided with a new CMSF 1 key solved my problem.

I’d check with the help desk. But I suspect that if you have bought the $35 Big bundle pack, you will need CMSF1 NATO and Brits keys for things to work properly. They may be able to help 🤓. Good luck. 

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Hi!

Contacted them yesterday and they responded quick, i guess it is as you say, that i got the big bundle code and therefore it wants me to enter all the bundle codes, but i have only the marines.
So i hope for a cmsf2+marines update code and voila :D
And the extra 10$ is theirs to keep, they make a awesome game and has the best support i ever encountered - always quick, helpful and solves the problems WE often cause, :D ME in this case.
The thing is that i  didn't find  anywhere just there that it say you need the other bundles in the upgrade big bundle, but i should have got it that something was wrong, 35$ is a bit under-priced.
That confused me, maybe i need glasses or less beer when buying :D

When i compared with the other bundles it said that you needed the others, this just mentioned the original game - *feel stupid now
 

bigbundle1.PNG

Bigbundle2.PNG

Bigbundle3.PNG

Edited by NeoOhm
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  • 6 months later...

..and if this "fix" still does not work? I register my games and they show up with green squares in the splash screen, but when i press the play button to start the game the splashscreen disappears, only to reappear a few seconds later as shown above with only the picture. 

Also the registering is not remembered by the app, when i retry i have to register again. 

Edited by pzrshrek
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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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  • 1 month later...

This should fix it:

A few Windows users are not getting "Activate New Products" shortcuts created during installation.  Apparently anti-virus software is preventing the installer from doing its job.  This might not be a problem right now, but it will prove to be an issue at some point in the future.  The solution is to create your own shortcut using the following steps:

Disable your anti-virus software before you do anything. Go to your Desktop, right click on the Desktop itself, select NEW->SHORTCUT, use BROWSE to locate the CM EXE that you are trying to fix. The location is then written out. After it type in a single space and then paste this:

-showui

Click NEXT and give your new Shortcut a name (doesn't matter what). Confirm that and you're done. Double click on the new Shortcut and you should be prompted to license whatever it is you need to license.

 

Edited by Sgt.Squarehead
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  • 11 months later...

I am having this problem with CMFI Big Bundle.  I tried entering an earlier key from when I ordered CMFI in 2012, but that did not work either -- still getting the splash screen for a few seconds, then kicked back to desktop.  Tried to enter a ticket with all the details, but I seem to get logged out when entering the mojohelpdesk screen and it doesn't like my username/password combo when I try to sign back in (even tried changing it, but no luck).  Desperate for help, or at least to figure out how to submit a ticket!

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There is a specific 'Activate New Products' shortcut that MIGHT be on your desktop or it will definitely be in the main game folder. Use this to activate your license keys. You'll need to have the 4.0 Upgrade (possibly the 'primary key' in the big bundle) for the game to launch at all. I don't know how many license keys come with the big bundle and if they're different or what. I assume your first attempt at licensing was 'successful' and you got a green box that listed what was activated. Do you remember what the text was in that green box ? You'll need to use the Activate New Products shortcut several times (with however many keys you have) to activate all of the modules in the Big Bundle.

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Thanks.  I opened the Activate New Product shortcut, entered the activation code from the CMFI Big Bundle, and got the message "Unlock Success! The following are unlocked", followed by a list of the five components in green boxes (Base Game 3.0, Base Game 2.0, Gustav Line, Rome to Victory and Game Engine 4).  Hit play, and got the splash screen for a few seconds, kicked to desktop.  I then entered the activation key for CMFI base game that I got in 2012, got the same message with the same green boxes, and the same result after pressing play. After that  I tried the Big Bundle code again, still no luck.Success! The following are unlocked: Unlock Success! The following are Runlocked: Unlock Success! The following are unlocked:Unlock Success! The following are unlocked:

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The success screen indicates that you're fully activated and do NOT need to activate any further. The game appears to be either crashing or getting shutdown. What security/anti-virus software do you have ? You may need to make an exception/white-list entry for CMFI (the main game folder and/or the game executable) in it. Do you know what video card/chip you have in your computer ? Most video drivers shouldn't be causing a crash of the game immediately upon launch, but some Intel integrated video drivers do have problems with the CM games.

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Ok, good to know it likely isn't activation.  I have Avast Free Anitvirus, and have added CM Fortress Italy.exe to the allowed apps and exception list.  I have also tried starting the game after turning off Avast,  and get the same result.  I have an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 video card, with an up to date driver.  Intel Core i7-4790K CPU with 16 GB RAM.  Really going nuts here.   Unless someone has some other ideas I guess the next step is to try to install this on another computer and see if that works (not that I have extra computers lying around, but still).

Erwin, CM is coming to Steam?

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Update: I was able to install on a laptop, so activation is not the problem.  Still having the problem with my desktop though.  As noted above, I have Avast Free Anitvirus, and have added CM Fortress Italy.exe to the allowed apps and exception list.  I have also tried starting the game after turning off Avast,  and making sure that Windows Defender is not on, but still no luck.  I have also tried looking at the DPI and running the game in compatibility mode, with no change.  I have an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 video card, with an up to date driver.  Intel Core i7-4790K CPU with 16 GB RAM.  Any other suggestions? 

Also I still can't seem to log into the mojohelpdesk screen and it doesn't like my username/password combo when I try to sign in, even though I use it for posting this on the forum.

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Do you know what else may be running in the background on your desktop ? There have been problems with the Nahimic sound control software (that may come with some motherboards/laptops). Avast should work fine with the CM games (I've used the free version for years with very few problems). With Avast installed Windows Defender should be inactive (at least its 'active protection' features should be). I'm not specifically aware of other programs causing problems, but it appears that something is interfering.

This is something that was sometimes necessary for eLicense, the copy-protection system used with CMSF 1, but we may want to check it here and see if it has any effect. Type in the Search Box (depending on if it is enabled in your task bar you may need to open it with the 'magnifying glass' icon) 'control panel'. Launch this from the search results. In here go to the 'System' control panel > 'Advanced system settings' in the left-hand menu > 'Advanced' tab (default) > 'Performance' section > 'Settings' button > 'Data Execution Prevention' tab. In here the default setting should usually be 'Turn on DEP for essential Windows programs and services only' and this is usually what you would want. However if you're seeing the problem with CM with this default setting, then you may want to try the other one, 'Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select'. With this set, click the 'Add..' button and browse for the CM executable file and add it. Click 'Apply' and then 'OK' once this is done. I believe a reboot will be necessary for this change to take full effect. This setting became necessary for eLicense because of the specific manner that it functioned. The current copy-protection system shouldn't be effected by this setting at all, but it is something to try.

Regarding the mojohelpdesk, what is your STORE (NOT Forum) user account ? Usually this will be your email address that you used at the time of purchase and whatever password you may have associated with it at the time. I believe this should be the account that should be associated with the Helpdesk. You can simply put in your email address and click the 'Forgot?' link in the password box to get a password reset sent.

Edited by Schrullenhaft
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Thanks.  I shut down all apps and used the task manager to close out every background process that I could.  Yes, Avast does set Windows Defender to inactive on my machine, and I've added the CMFI exe to the exception list.  I also tried changing the setting to "Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select" and selecting the CMFI exe.  All for naught.  Additional info about my set up if it helps:

  • Windows 10 Pro
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 video card
  • Intel Core i7-4790K CPU, 4 GHx, 4 cores, 8 logical processors, with 16 GB RAM

I have updated all of the drivers, and Windows too.  Will try changing my store password -- tried once before, but will try again. 

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15 hours ago, Hat Trick said:

Avast does set Windows Defender to inactive

Yes, I also tried that with AVG (Avast is owned by same company) with similar non-results.  I hope you find a solution quickly.  But, FYI an experienced IT guy was hired to fix this, but he gave up with the opinion that the CM2 system is old and perhaps increasingly incompatible re the latest Win 10 releases. 

My final solution has been to wait while more and more folks experience the same issues and hope that eventually the problem is diagnosed and resolved.  Hopefully, the new flood of STEAM users may precipitate this - assuming they are more tech savvy than the average CM player on these forums.  

 

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