SS2Tool questions

[665c19806feadMeocene]

Well i'm having problems with DDFix unfortunately.  I'm gonna go through the manual method as I'm a fiarly competent kinda user, but thought you might like to know.
When installing DDFix using your tool in Vista x64 this'll pop up:

Image: http://theliability.googlepages.com/DDFixerror.jpg

Bit of a bummer - happens with a fresh install as well.  I ran Patching Up then DDFix.  Nothing else.

I'm using Vista - .NET3.0 comes built in to the OS and I've upgraded to 3.5.

Don't know what i'm doing wrong with the manual method but when I open SS2's *.exe in a HEX editor I can't find an instance of DDRAW.DLL anywhere, just an awful lot of HEX values. Should I be doing some translating?

This didn't help either: "On windows vista, the GUI must be started with admin rights to avoid issues when trying to patch thief2.exe. (Use '-noadmincheck' as a command line argument to disable this check.)" - taken from the DDFix readme.

Other than that this is an excellent tool dude.
Cheers.

Update:  Just tried the prepatched shock2.exe + the manual DDFix files.
Set up everything like resolution et all.  Game will start up but as soon as I load a save all I get is a black screen.
If I alt tab i find an error msg saying my hardware is not supported.

[665c198070771Kolya]

Okay to fix this black screen see the bug fixes of SS2Tool:

Texture Memory Fix (Fixes black screen after level-loading or error: "Direct 3D Device does not accurately report texture memory usage" by adding the "safe_texture_manager" line to cam.cfg.)

Of course you can also do that manually.

About DDFix in general: It can only be applied to an unwrapped (of SecuROM) executable. The executable that gets copied by SS2Tool (eg when you only choose the NoCD patch) is unwrapped and should have the necessary HEX-fix for DDFix already applied.

[665c19807092fMeocene]

Well... i dunno - i dunno if i'm making a fuss over nothing or not?
All i know is that the texturing is looking distinctly 16 bit with color banding being a real problem and i was under the assumption that DDFix went part way to fixing that.  I know SS2 uses 16 bit textures but I thought part of DDFix was sorting out the dithering?
I've uploaded the shock2.exe I end up with after using you tool.  Don't know if you wanna take a look just to verify your tool works correctly in Vista x64 (assuming you haven't already of course).
I'm running a 8800GTX with latest 180.84 drivers.
The safe memory manager option was already in my cam.cfg - doesn't help with the pre-patched exe available from TTLG.

Regardless, great stuff.  I don't any other game that's lived as long.

[665c198070a7cKolya]

The 16bit textures aren't so much a problem as was the fact that the dark engine used in SS2 could only render in 16bit. And that's what DDFix fixed.
I don't know what to do with the uploaded executable to be honest. I'm sure it's the one that SS2Tool copies if you say so.
I cannot test SS2Tool on Vista, I don't have it available. It might be a Vista issue but then you're the first to come up with this and this version has been out some time.
If I had to guess I'd say it's a .NET 2.0 - .NET 3.5 incompatibility though.

EDIT: 7zip says the uploaded archive is broken.

[665c198070c5eMeocene]

Well blow me down I've only gone and got it working.
I don't know what's so special about my SS2 install and exe but I took another look at my shock2.exe in a HEX editor and finally found ddraw.dll in there.
So the exe that SSTool unpacks isn't pre-patched...?  At least for me it wasn't.
That or my install has a mind of its own and changed it back to its origonal state...? God knows.

While I've got you Kolya, what FOV percentage should I use for the widescreen mod?
Currently I'm using 115%, but do you know what the correct percentage is for 1920x1200, 16:10 aspect ratio?

UPDATE:  Well, that's interesting.  I re-applied the widescreen mod to make sure it was working and the FOV was being properly set up (still doesn't look quite right to me), loaded up SS2 and DDFix clearly wasn't working again.
Took another look at shock2.exe and ddraw.dll is back at 64 64 72 61 77 2E 64 6C 6C
What's going on?!

UPDATE:  Write protecting shock2.exe hasn't helped.
Does this look like the FOV's been set correctly? (Hope you've got a large monitor.)

[665c198070dc2Kolya]

Sorry, my mistake (I was remembering another hex-patch). The executable that comes with SS2Tool is unwrapped but not yet patched for DDFix (hex: ddraw.dll -> ddfix.dll). That's being done by the GUI version of DDFix when you hit the "Apply patch" button.

It's advisable to install the widescreen patch before DDFix.

The widescreen patch makes sure you don't get a stretched view at non-standard aspect ratios. It's FOV settings don't stretch the view either, instead you see more of the gameworld. This is achieved by placing the camera behind your character. Which can be disorienting with a high FOV setting, because when you're looking around, the camera rotates around your invisible character.

[665c198070f16Meocene]

Cheers for the info.
I'm assuming this is something to do with 64 bits vs 32 and the DDFIXGUI app.
If I manually HEX my sshock2.exe everything works like gravy.

There just aren't enough games as fleshed out and full of character as SS2 - which is saying something considering it must be almost a decade old by now.

[665c198071270ZylonBane]

This is achieved by placing the camera behind your character. Which can be disorienting with a high FOV setting, because when you're looking around, the camera rotates around your invisible character.

Ummm... what? Where did you read that? If that were true, the view would become glitchy everytime you had your back against something.

[665c19807136fKolya]

I took that from playing around with the FOV setting. I don't assume the real in-game camera gets set back but the view amounts to this. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[665c198071475Javelin]

 Hi there dude,
After a hiatus I reinstalled SS2 and applied your great ss2Tool v2.6.Looks great at 1600x1200 but I have one problem that I didn't have before,namely, my Mouse2 button will not use or move any items in the Inventory..whtasupwidthat?

[665c19807158fKolya]

Most likely the broken use/shoot mode problem.

[665c1980717d3Javelin]

Most likely the broken use/shoot mode problem.

 Thanks for your quick reply Kolya....I have read this whole thread butn not sure how to fix that problem??
Opps...gotta  go watch American Idol..see you later...:-)

EDIT: Got it, thanks again...I didn't realize I could click on your link in your previous answer and bring up the solution.

[665c19807192cKolya]

Updated to version 2.7. See the first post for download.

Changes 2.7
- fix for keybinds: user binds get overwritten with a fixed set, CM error fixed
- updated the Widescreen Mod
- added a tip that .NET 2.0 needs to be installed to run the DDFix GUI

[665c198071a36Javelin]

 Question...I am half way through playing SS2 with the 2.6Tool and was wondering if I can install the 2.7 version on top of this and continue playing with no loss of save/game?

[665c198071b0cKolya]

You don't need this. It's a bugfix release. Enjoy your game.

[665c198071dd5Kolya]

The next version 2.8 will probably be out tonightsoon and contain another fix for the keybinds. Why another?
Because so far all I could do was to fix what SS2 would break again, once you change keybinds:

In file: user2.bnd

Code: [Select]

bind mouse1 +drag_and_drop_mode

bind mouse2 frob_object_invwould become

Code: [Select]

bind mouse1 +fire_weapon

bind mouse2 frob_object
And that is the broken use/shoot mode problem + assorted other corrupted mouse behaviours, like broken research and vanishing CMs.

While playing around with the keybinds tonight I noticed that when there are no BND files at all, SS2 still manages to pull user.bnd and user2.bnd from somewhere. So I went to search where it gets the binds in these files from, suspecting this would be the source of all broken mouse-binds. I found the strings in question in intrface.crf/BINDCMDS.STR.
And that means that most likely we will be able to fix these problems once and forever, without a chance of them ever breaking again. Same for quicksave-overwrites.

Testing now.

EDIT:
Version 2.8 will take a bit longer, as not everything is working as I thought.
Positive results:
- Mouse-binds work and do not randomly break anymore when changing any binds.
- You can set binds for "Quicksave" & "Quickload" from within the game now, and it will still always make real persistent saves.

Negative:
- Mouse-binds show up as empty in the game options: "Attack: empty" & "Use Item: empty". That's not reflecting their actual status because LMB = Attack and RMB = Use Item.
Even worse: When one re-binds these to any keys or mousebuttons they temporarily break. Although in this case simply clearing the mouse-binds and restarting the game is enough to make it work again. Fiddling with bind files is not necessary.

Conclusion:
Before I release a version 2.8 I want to get this completely worked out.
As for now version 2.7 does what it says.

[665c198071f62Javelin]

 Wow..2.8 sounds like it will be terrific...best of luck and skill getting this out...udaman!!
It is great to know someone of your skill and passion for this game is still working on it to improve the gameplay.
Dispite all the great looking games out in the last couple of years,System Shock 2 was to be one of the best pc games ever made.

[665c198072069Kolya]

Meh, I've been trying to catch this bug for some time now. Terrific is different. But thanks for the cheers.

[665c198072246FrickenMoron]

Sigh, I've been trying to get this game to run now for days, I tried every possible method but it just doesn't work. First of all, I tried the german and english version of shock2 both to no avail. I can install the patches from the tool just fine, but the game still won't run after starting a new game.

I tried the following methods:

-changing compability, result ->game starts, black screen on new game
-Using win2k/xp fixed exe without compability settings -> pink error texture in main menu and game crashes, if compability is selected same as above
-using ddfix. This is very annoying because I have no idea why this happens. If i use the GUI to patch the exe it will render the exe useless, XP will complain that it is not a "legit win32 executable" anymore. If i patch manually the game will start but after I start a new game it locks up again, ddfix will sometime complain that the resolution doesn't work, I tried at least 10 different resolution settings.

From what I can tell people with similiar hardware configs can get it to run using ddfix, so why doesn't ddfix work for me?

My system config:

Win XP Professional SP3
XFX Geforce 8800 GTS 640mb, 176.xx driver version
3gb ram

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[665c198072393Kolya]

What are the exact symptoms after you did a clean full install and applied the SS2Tool?
Note that if you are using the German version you will need to apply the Deutsch Patch as explained in the SS2 Technical FAQ.

I don't think you found that "win2k/xp fixed exe" here, so don't ask about it. The SS2 Technical FAQ also specifically says you should NOT use compatibility settings. And lastly this is not the DDFix support thread or forum.
If you post here, keep your questions SS2Tool related please.

[665c198072492CapF]

Everytime i try to download this my AntiVir reports several times it has found a Dropper called DR/Agent.blqg ... ^^

Can anyone confirm this ?

Greets!

CapF

[665c1980725adCapF]

So much better with account

I just tried to compile it  from source with the latest NSIS version and the result did not show up as a trojan-dropper... very strange...
I just hope it was a false positive. ^^

But great work anyways! 
Its good to see people keeping this game up! You rock!

Greets

CapF

[665c19807273fKolya]

Um, ok. Of course the SS2Tool in the first post isn't any sort of malware either. But I understand your carefulness.

EDIT: I just uploaded the SS2Tool to http://www.virustotal.com/ and it seems that 4 out of 39 anti-virus scanners report it as a trojan. I could inform these companies of their mistake now but frankly I prefer to wait until they got it figured out. They get paid for this unlike me.

I will make a note in the first post though. Thanks for the heads-up.

[665c19807285bCapF]

Well compiling with latest NSIS seems to remove this problem, at least for AntiVir and SecureWeb-Gateway  ^^
But now Prevx1 reports it as cloaked Malware... 

If you like i'll upload it at a filehoster for people using these two av programms.