KeBwOb on 29/6/2009 at 19:11

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Trying to get this classic working with a Samsung NC10 netbook, and I've almost got it with one exception...

I have Shock2.exe patched for XP and nocd (don't worry, I'm one of the few to buy the game 10 years ago, I have the original) and to use DDFix.
This setup works perfectly (very very stable) on my main XP rig (E8400/8800GT/SB Audigy), and it also works perfectly on the NC10 as well....so long as the sound is completely disabled in cam.cfg. Re-enable the sound, and the next session gives you anywhere between a few seconds and a few minutes of play, as ANY in-game-only sound event can potentially lock up the NC10, sometimes the sort of lockup that requires removal of the battery - no reset switch! For example, locked up once stepping out of the tram at the start of the game, when the 'welcome to the...' should play. Once locked up at the exact point I expected to hear a turret open. Locked up once at the exact point the crash from some falling conduit should play. Locked up once when the crash from the radar dish hitting the window in cryo recovery should play, locks up every time in any sound-enabled firefight, etc. etc. All random sound events. Disable the sound, and ALL the lockups vanish (as well as all sound, d'oh) and the game runs fine until the battery dies. Good frame rates, too. I'm guessing here that this is a sound issue.

Tried the A3D.DLL in the root folder trick, but it doesn't matter which version you use, all it does is enable hardware acceleration and EAX support, the frequency and timing of the lockups are all unaffected, irrespective of how the new sound options are used.

As far as I can tell, the NC10 has Realtek ALC6628 'hardware' inside, and remembering the sound problems I had on this game with my 'industry standard' SB Live! and Win98 ten years ago (instant CTD on the 'bik' sound you get when you highlighted a main menu item, unless hardware acceleration completely turned off via Windows Control Panel, amongst other things), I suspect that its the game itself thats making some dirty Directx shortcuts with its sound support, as no other game that works fine with the NC10 shows any sign of sound problems. Come to think of it, no other game ten years ago had bad sound issues either. Early buggy EAX support?

Its annoying to see System Shock 2 spring up on lists shown as working with the NC10, as I suspect that if it was played for more than a minute, they'd get this.

Any suggestions? This is the ONE game I would like to get working on this thing!

PJ

KeBwOb on 4/7/2009 at 17:43

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What sort of sound 'hardware' and driver version (if its same realtek as mine) have you got in your EEE? Looks like its the can-do-bugger-all-about-it sound support in this thing.