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New laptop; Marines + Brit Won't Install


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So I got a new laptop and am trying to install CMSF on it; I have the original + Marines and Brit bundle. I can get it installed and patched up to 1.10, but when I go to install the modules, it goes through the install process, I put the license keys in, I start it up, but it does not show that Marines or Brit modules installed. I can see the Marines missions, but can't open them, the British missions don't show up in the list. I am running Windows 7 and have set the properties on CMSF to run in admin mode.

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As Moon has stated, the install order should be: CMSF > 1.10 patch for CMSF (make sure it is correct for whatever distribution you have) > Marines + British Bundle > 1.21 Patch (make sure to select "CMSF + Marines + British modules" in the drop-down selector box during the install).

When you put in the license keys, did the dialog box mention any particular module it was for ? Sometimes we have problems when the Marines module doesn't get licensed (or unlicensed, during unlicensing) when all modules are installed.

When you launch CMSF do you see all three icons in the lower left-hand corner (CMSF Stryker, Marines LAV, British Challenger) ?

When you installed the modules and/or patches, did you right-click on the installer and select "Run as administrator" from the popup menu ? Do you have an anti-virus/firewall/internet-security application running ? If so, you may want to disable it temporarily while installing and licensing the game (though it doesn't seem like you had an issue with licensing).

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As Moon has stated, the install order should be: CMSF > 1.10 patch for CMSF (make sure it is correct for whatever distribution you have) > Marines + British Bundle > 1.21 Patch (make sure to select "CMSF + Marines + British modules" in the drop-down selector box during the install).

When you put in the license keys, did the dialog box mention any particular module it was for ? Sometimes we have problems when the Marines module doesn't get licensed (or unlicensed, during unlicensing) when all modules are installed.

When you launch CMSF do you see all three icons in the lower left-hand corner (CMSF Stryker, Marines LAV, British Challenger) ?

When you installed the modules and/or patches, did you right-click on the installer and select "Run as administrator" from the popup menu ? Do you have an anti-virus/firewall/internet-security application running ? If so, you may want to disable it temporarily while installing and licensing the game (though it doesn't seem like you had an issue with licensing).

So here's more specifically what I did. I'm trying to install CMSF British + Marine modules on my new laptop, which is running Windows 7 (I assume the modules will work in XP compatability mode for XP Svc Pck 3.)

(1) Installed the base game from disc. Ran as admin and input the original key. Game came up fine, loads scenarios and seems to run fine (version 1.01.)

(2) Installed the 1.10 patch. Then ran it as admin and again it seemed to work fine, main screen says version is 1.10.

(3) Installed the 1.21 Marines + British module. This seemed to install fine, I selected "Marines + British update" in the dropdown. Then, I ran it in admin mode and it asks for the key for Marines and the key for British (or perhaps the reverse order), it appeared to install the keys successfully (it told me they installed successfully), and the game comes up. The main screen shows version 1.21, but does not show either Marines or British module icons, just the base game icon. The scenario selection shows the Marine scenarios as selectable, British scenarios do not show up. But when I try to load a Marine scenario, although it comes up fine, the textures are missing for the Marine units (Army units are drawn properly.)

No virus protection or firewall, AFAIK.

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I had this (or a similar) problem when I tried to install on to a laptop. Just make sure everything points to the same path, I am win 7 x64 too and it plays fine now. I had to unlicence and uninstall the game. When I reinstalled I made sure each module played correctly, before patching and updating. This eventually worked but it was a very frustrating procedure. If there is one technical aspect of the game I would like to see improved it is the installation/uninstallation routine. It's mind-boggling when it goes wrong!

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Ruthless, from what you write, I would suspect that you have selected an incorrect path for the patch installation. Make sure that when you install, the path that is entered for the installation matches where your base game and modules are. If you patch into a wrong folder/path, then what you describe is one of the symptoms you may see.

As tedious as this may be, your best bet probably is a reinstall. But first, make sure you uninstall completely.

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Does it matter what the install path is? I accepted the default path on install and it appears it put the game under c:\Program Files (x86) rather than c:\Program Files.

Oops, just saw your second post now. Yes, it does matter what path is chosen :) If you install into the wrong location, it won't work.

The installer is trying to find the correct path for you. But it's impossible to do this with 100% certainty, especially if you have a version of the base game that is not bought from us. So yes, you should definitely doublecheck if the installation path matches where the games and previous patches have been installed.

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If there is one technical aspect of the game I would like to see improved it is the installation/uninstallation routine.

Improvements have been made, starting with the v1.21 patch. We had to learn a few things on the go as to how to make things work correctly for the innovative Modules concept that CMSF comes with.

But what really makes things more complicated also is that the patches and/or Modules are meant to work with any version of the base game out there, and thare are MANY. This makes it impossible to say for sure where to install the patch, because we have not made all of the installers out there, so we cannot rely on things like registry entries etc. Therefore, a certain amount of doublechecking is required from the user himself to make sure things are installing in the right place, unfortunately.

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Alright, gents, I kindof suspected this wouldn't work, but I tried changing the install paths to be under Program Files instead of the default (Program Files (x86)) for the base game, the 1.10 patch, and the 1.21 British + Marine installation and it did the same thing. Sorry, we have to try again.

I've been thinking about this and, given the evidence, the only remaining conclusion I can draw is that the 1.21 update doesn't fully update properly. I draw this conclusion because (1) the game still runs (2) the key installers both came back successful (3) the main screen shows version 1.21 (4) the Marines scenarios are selectable and load, but the textures don't load properly, so the vehicles and men are either not drawn or they look like black blobs.

So I'm going to re-download the 1.21 update and re-install and see what happens.

One question, though: For Windows 7, does it need to be run in Windows XP compatability mode or not? I've tried both (though not necessarily in a consistent fashion), so, although I don't think that's a realistic cause (if it mattered, I would think the game just wouldn't work, rather than just having the 1.21 modules not quite working), I'd like to eliminate that as a variable.

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None of the 'compatibility modes' are necessary for CMSF as far as I'm aware. We don't use any code that would benefit from anything offered with the compatibility modes.

Before reinstalling, please UNLICENSE the modules and possibly the base CMSF game too. There should be shortcuts in the Start Menu for CMSF in the 'Licensing' folder. Unlicense British Forces first, Marines second and then finally the CMSF base game. If you have only one license for the bundle, nothing may happen when you attempt to unlicense the Marines module.

Just to make sure you're installing everything in the correct order. I suggest turning off (temporarily) any anti-virus/firewalls and right-clicking on the executables and selecting "Run as administrator", you may also want to do this when running the game for the first time:

1) Install CMSF base game (may be a 1.01 or slightly later version).

2) License CMSF (assuming you're using the Battlefront version).

3) Check to see if CMSF runs and check its version (on the main menu, on the bottom-center).

4) Install the 1.10 patch (for the appropriate distribution - i.e. - Paradox or Battlefront, etc.).

5) Check CMSF again to make sure it is running properly.

6) Install the Marines + British Forces bundle.

7) Launch CMSF and it should ask you to license the bundle, make sure you get a "success" message.

8) Launch CMSF and see if the Marines LAV and British Challenger icons show up in the main menu in the lower left corner. Check to see if you can see and open the appropriate Marines and British battles.

9) Install the 1.21 patch and make sure that the drop-down selection has "Update CMSF + Marines + British modules".

10) Check to see if the icons are still loading and that you can see and open the appropriate battles.

With the Battlefront version the default path should be '\Program Files (x86)\Battlefront\Combat Mission Shock Force\".

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Alright, guys, this time I really did figure out the issue.

It turns out there's a fatal flaw in the installer: It was not able to adequately anticipate my level of stupidity.

Despite the fact that I had already successfully installed the game on my PC, patched it, installed the modules, and patched up to 1.21 and had been playing it for awhile, this did not stop me from trying to do the following when installing it on our new laptop:

(1) I installed the base game

(2) I patched up to 1.10

(3) I patched up to 1.21 and selected "Update Marines + British".

Obviously, there should have been a step between (2) and (3), which for some reason I missed. (Well, the reason was that I missed copying the module installer to the new laptop, so the absence of the file led me to believe the 1.21 patch was it and I forgot in my frazzled state that there was a patch on top of the modules. I blame work + ornery 3 year-old...)

So the installer happily patched it up to 1.21 and it tried its best to upgrade the non-existent modules. This did not work so well, as it turns out. I think this explains why I could load at least some of the USMC games, but the units didn't draw properly.

Anyhow, it's working perfectly now. And clearly I owe the community a round of drinks.

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Hi

I am having similar problems on my Win7 laptop.

I install the GamersGate version of CMSF + patch 1.1 and the game runs fine at this point.

I run the 'British Bundle' installer to install the Marines and British forces modules...this seems to work ok (installer set to Admin).

I run the game, am asked for the license for 'British Forces'...get confirmation that the module has been licensed, but when I try to launch the game, nothing happens.

I looked in the Start Menu 'Licenses' folder, and only have an option to License the British Forces version....at no point do I get any mention of the Marines module.

I've had a few goes at this....I seem to remember being asked for licenses for both the British and Marine modules on the first attempt, but not after that, so I might have screwed something up with the Marines module license.

Is there any way I can clear all this out and start from scratch? I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling from the start a couple of times, but never get asked to license the Marines module.

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To manually unlicense the Marines module browse to the folder where the 'CMSF Marines Module.exe' file is. This will typically be in the 'Modules' folder in the CMSF folder. I'm not sure where Paradox/Gamersgate installs CMSF within the 'Program Files' folder. Once you can find that folder, right-click on 'CMSF Marines Module.exe' and select 'Create Shortcut'. This will create a shortcut in the folder. Next right-click on the shortcut you just created and select 'Properties'. Click in the 'Target' box (make sure nothing is highlighted) and go to the end of the text string. With the cursor placed after the last quotation mark (") type (without additional quotes) " -unlicense" (there is a space after the last quote of the original text). Click the 'Apply' button and then the 'OK' button. You now have a shortcut that should bring up the unlicense dialog box for the Marines Module.

When you launch this shortcut it should bring up the licensing dialog box for the Marines module. If the module is already licensed, you should have a button for unlicensing it. If it is NOT licensed, then the button should be for licensing the install. The Marines + British Forces bundle uses only one license key to my knowledge.

The other problem you're having may be with eLicense in general since your Paradox version seems to work fine. If you Ctrl-Alt-Del and launch the Task Manager, go to the Processes tab. In here you need to look for the "Runservice.exe" file. If you can't find it, then it has been blocked from running and any eLicensed game will not run. This file is actually run from a service. If you go to the Start Menu > Control Panel > Administrative Tools control panel > Services control panel. In here look for the 'LicCtrl Service' and see if it is 'started'. If it isn't running, then click on the 'Play icon' button near the top of the window or right-click on the service name and select "Start".

If you're running an anti-virus program, it may have blocked all of the eLicense files from running. You may need to add exceptions for the following files '\Windows\Runservice.exe', '\Windows\mmfs.dll', '\Windows\lcmmfu.cpl'. These files all need to run (well, the control panel might not actually get used) and if they get blocked by your anti-virus, then the eLicense games will not run.

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  • 3 weeks later...

OK, my problem is similar enough to bring it here and not start a new thread.

About ten minutes ago I received a CMSF PBEM. I started up my Laptop and booted up the game.

I have all of the modules and was playing the game 3 days ago. Today I can only see the base game.

I can see the battles for Marines and Brits but it tells me I need to install these Modules before playing the scenarios.

Mt laptop version was 1.2 as the game Im playing is in that version.

So where on earth have my modules gone. I have done nothing to my Laptop except install a Garmin device yesterday and this was done on its own, no CMSF was running.

Any advice on this mystery is most welcome.

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Look in the 'Modules' sub-directory of CMSF and see if the "CMSF Marines Module.exe" and "CMSF British Module.exe" are in there. There may also be a 'receipt.txt' file in there too. Open that up and see if it lists the Marines and British Forces modules being licensed.

There may not be a 'receipt.txt' file in the 'Modules' subdirectory, but there should be one in the root of the CMSF directory. Open this file up and see what it believes has been licensed.

I have no idea why a module would disappear other than some sort of licensing issue. The only other reason I would see something disappearing is if the 1.21 patch was applied improperly (just 'Update CMSF only'), which would make the modules disappear too.

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That's what I thought.

Your earlier message said that "As Moon has stated, the install order should be: CMSF > 1.10 patch for CMSF (make sure it is correct for whatever distribution you have) > Marines + British Bundle > 1.21 Patch (make sure to select "CMSF + Marines + British modules" in the drop-down selector box during the install)."

It appeared to imply that one needed 1.10 before one installed Marines. Thanks for the clarification.

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