uk_john on 1/1/2007 at 12:07
Have just got Terra Nova on ebay, have got it running no problem in DOSBox, use a front end for DOSBox called D.O.G., makes DOSBox super easy!
Have only just started playing it, and it is a 'read the manual first' type of game, but I am really looking forward to playing this! Looking through the thread it's quite amazing how there are a few entries per year since 2002 - quite impressive that a game so old can keep a thread buzzing along!
Anyway, this is the first post of 2007 - so long may it continue!
If you are a Terra Nova fan, your my kind of people! :)
Happy New Year everyone!
Shadowcat on 2/1/2007 at 22:35
Welcome, John. Happy new year to you too. Happy Pirate-hunting, also :)
okayman on 4/1/2007 at 15:23
Another successful story, the highest hardware system config that I have tested working so far:
PASSED!!! I just bought an old IBM Thinkpad 600X tonight, and Terra Nova just worked.
Hardware configuration of the Thinkpad 600X model 2645-4EH:
1. Processor - Intel Pentium III 500MHz
2. Memory - 448MB (PC100)
3. Chipset - Intel 443BX
4. Graphics - NeoMagic 4Mb VRAM AGP2x
5. Hard drive - Seagate 40Gb 5400rpm 2.5" notebook drive
6. Sound card - Built-in SoundBlaster 16 compatible
7. O/S - Windows XP Professional with SP2, DirectX9.0c
8. Hard drive file system - NTFS
Terra Nova just runs after installation. With Video, Sound and Music. No glitch. No special configuration (not even the need of using "Compatibility mode"). Just double click on TN.BAT will run.
Partial conclusion by "Process of Elimination", there is no doubt about that these worked:
1. Windows XP Pro with SP2 - OK
2. NTFS File system - OK
3. Large hard drives - OK
4. early Pentium III processors - OK
5. Intel 443BX chipset (highest chipset tested that worked) - OK
6. Lots of Memory by Terra Nova's standard (Year of Publish) - OK
The only items remaining in question that may affect TN not working, I suspect:
1. The Chipset and Processor - in Thinkpad 600E, it worked also, same Intel 443BX but Intel Pentium II - 366MHz. Thinkpad 600X and T20 are both Pentium III 500MHz and 650MHz respectively, the 600X worked where T20 doesn't. The Chipset difference is Intel 443BX and Intel 810. Something of note. (different instruction and addressing?? not yet proved)
2. Graphics card - in Thinkpad 600X with 4Mb AGP, it worked. in Thinkpad T20 with 8Mb AGP, it doesn't. (may cause overflow?? not yet proved, but from Gregor's posts in this forum, he mentioned of using a Pentium II, 64Mb RAM, Windows 98SE, etc, but with 16Mb Video card that Terra Nova didn't worked!! Also caught a "Page Fault" error. So this is very very like the cause.)
3. Sound card - mainly the drivers could be in question. SoundBlaster compatibility of modern sound cards may affect the result, but I assume this is the least problem that make TN not work in modern systems.
So basically, the first 2 are my most suspected causes that Terra Nova don't work on "Modern Machines". If you have those hardware, you can experiment.
MY NEXT TEST:
I have bought an Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 machine. With 1 Gb of RAM, 320Gb Hard drive, SoundBlaster Audigy 2 sound card, ASUS P5B-V motherboard with Intel G965 chipset.
My test will be to fill in a PCI video card with 4Mb Video RAM. Crazy, but if it proves to work, we can prove that it is the Graphics Card that is affecting TN (and very likely if you read the posts). But if it doesn't, there will still be 3 unknowns... Processor, Chipset AND the Graphics Card. I'm trying to eliminate one of them.
I don't have an old machine (like Pentium II) that can fit a 8Mb Video card. At least I have proved that Pentium II worked, so if 8Mb Video card won't work, that means it's the Graphics card causing it. Also a process of elimination. But still, I ran out of hardware config to test.
I may come back in some time to let you know of my findings. I will definite keep my Thinkpad 600X till my last breath, because of Terra Nova.
Happy New Year!
Felix
My previous post:
Summary of tests (all with English version OS and Video and Sound drivers are correctly installed, all with DirectX 9.0c installed):
1. FAILED - On my desktop Pentium 4 2.8GHz, 1Gb RAM, Windows XP SP2. I got nothing. No errors, just blank like nothing has started and back to DOS prompt. Tried Mo'Slo to slow down to 10% speed (appox 280MHz) still get the same result.
2. FAILED - On my desktop Pentium 4 2.8GHz, 1Gb RAM, Windows 98 SE. I got a "Page Fault" and a crash code "429........" a long number. Tried Mo'Slo to slow down to 10% speed (appox 280MHz) still get the same result.
3. FAILED - On my wife's notebook Panasonic Pentium M 1.2GHz, 512Mb RAM, Windows XP SP2. I got a "Divide Overflow" but no crash code.
4. FAILED - On my old notebook IBM T20 Pentium III 650MHz, 384Mb RAM, Windows XP SP1. I got a "Page Fault" and a crash code "429......."
5. FAILED - On my old notebook IBM T20 Pentium III 650MHz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE. I got a "Page Fault" and a crash code "429......"
6. SUCCESS - On my very old notebook IBM TP600E Pentium II 366MHz, 128Mb RAM, Windows XP SP2. No flaws, no slow down, with proper Sound and Video. No problem.
7. SUCCESS - On IBM TP600E Pentium II 366MHz, 128Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE. No flaws, no slow down, with proper Sound and Video. No problem.
What I suspect is really the CPU architecture and speed. Terra Nova was built during the Pentium 66 period and as far as I know, Pentium II is built on the base of the original Pentium PRO. There is no problem with MMX being added. But then Pentium III added MMX and SSE. Pentium 4 is almost a different architecture with has MMX, SSE and SSE2, which handles differently the floating point instructions.
So I suspect it's the architecture that made TN work or not.
Of course, if you use emulators, they emulate mainly the "processors" and environments.... then TN will work.
These are all my input, I think I have an idea of what will work and what will not now. I'll keep on trying but I really have run out of computer configs. And it takes a lot of time to set up.
Felix
Shadowcat on 4/1/2007 at 20:51
Great stuff, okayman! Much appreciated.
Chimpy Chompy on 11/1/2007 at 12:13
Any of you got TN running at full speed in Dosbox? It works for me, but is pretty slow in 320x400, even with cpu cycles cranked up significantly (and I'm running a fairly fast PC).
Shadowcat on 12/1/2007 at 01:24
Quote Posted by Chimpy Chompy
Any of you got TN running at full speed in Dosbox? It works for me, but is pretty slow in 320x400, even with cpu cycles cranked up significantly (and I'm running a fairly fast PC).
Bumping the frame-skip up a notch or two should help more than it hinders.
okayman on 22/1/2007 at 18:43
Quote Posted by okayman
Another successful story, the highest hardware system config that I have tested working so far:
PASSED!!! I just bought an old IBM Thinkpad 600X tonight, and Terra Nova just worked.
Hardware configuration of the Thinkpad 600X model 2645-4EH:
1. Processor - Intel Pentium III 500MHz
2. Memory - 448MB (PC100)
3. Chipset - Intel 440BX
4. Graphics - NeoMagic 4Mb VRAM AGP2x
5. Hard drive - Seagate 40Gb 5400rpm 2.5" notebook drive
6. Sound card - Built-in SoundBlaster 16 compatible
7. O/S - Windows XP Professional with SP2, DirectX9.0c
8. Hard drive file system - NTFS
Terra Nova just runs after installation. With Video, Sound and Music. No glitch. No special configuration (not even the need of using "Compatibility mode"). Just double click on TN.BAT will run.
Partial conclusion by "Process of Elimination", there is no doubt about that these worked:
1. Windows XP Pro with SP2 - OK
2. NTFS File system - OK
3. Large hard drives - OK
4. early Pentium III processors - OK
5. Intel 440BX chipset (highest chipset tested that worked) - OK
6. Lots of Memory by Terra Nova's standard (Year of Publish) - OK
The only items remaining in question that may affect TN not working, I suspect:
1. The Chipset and Processor - in Thinkpad 600E, it worked also, same Intel 440BX but Intel Pentium II - 366MHz. Thinkpad 600X and T20 are both Pentium III 500MHz and 650MHz respectively, the 600X worked where T20 doesn't. There is no difference in the Chipset, both are of Intel 440BX. Something of note. (different instruction and addressing?? not yet proved)
2. Graphics card - in Thinkpad 600X with 4Mb AGP, it worked. in Thinkpad T20 with 8Mb AGP, it doesn't. (may cause overflow?? not yet proved, but from Gregor's posts in this forum, he mentioned of using a Pentium II, 64Mb RAM, Windows 98SE, etc, but with 16Mb Video card that Terra Nova didn't worked!! Also caught a "Page Fault" error. So this is very very likely the cause.)3. Sound card - mainly the drivers could be in question. SoundBlaster compatibility of modern sound cards may affect the result, but I assume this is the least problem that make TN not work in modern systems.
So basically, the first 2 are my most suspected causes that Terra Nova don't work on "Modern Machines". If you have those hardware, you can experiment.
MY NEXT TEST:
I have bought an Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 machine. With 1 Gb of RAM, 320Gb Hard drive, SoundBlaster Audigy 2 sound card, ASUS P5B-V motherboard with Intel G965 chipset.
My test will be to fill in a PCI video card with 4Mb Video RAM. Crazy, but if it proves to work, we can prove that it is the Graphics Card that is affecting TN (and very likely if you read the posts). But if it doesn't, there will still be 3 unknowns... Processor, Chipset AND the Graphics Card. I'm trying to eliminate one of them.
I don't have an old machine (like Pentium II) that can fit a 8Mb Video card. At least I have proved that Pentium II worked, so if 8Mb Video card won't work, that means it's the Graphics card causing it. Also a process of elimination. But still, I ran out of hardware config to test.
I may come back in some time to let you know of my findings. I will definite keep my Thinkpad 600X till my last breath, because of Terra Nova.
Happy New Year!
Felix
My previous post:
Summary of tests (all with English version OS and Video and Sound drivers are correctly installed, all with DirectX 9.0c installed):
1. FAILED - On my desktop Pentium 4 2.8GHz, 1Gb RAM, Windows XP SP2. I got nothing. No errors, just blank like nothing has started and back to DOS prompt. Tried Mo'Slo to slow down to 10% speed (appox 280MHz) still get the same result.
2. FAILED - On my desktop Pentium 4 2.8GHz, 1Gb RAM, Windows 98 SE. I got a "Page Fault" and a crash code "429........" a long number. Tried Mo'Slo to slow down to 10% speed (appox 280MHz) still get the same result.
3. FAILED - On my wife's notebook Panasonic Pentium M 1.2GHz, 512Mb RAM, Windows XP SP2. I got a "Divide Overflow" but no crash code.
4. FAILED - On my old notebook IBM T20 Pentium III 650MHz, 384Mb RAM, Windows XP SP1. I got a "Page Fault" and a crash code "429......."
5. FAILED - On my old notebook IBM T20 Pentium III 650MHz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE. I got a "Page Fault" and a crash code "429......"
6. SUCCESS - On my very old notebook IBM TP600E Pentium II 366MHz, 128Mb RAM, Windows XP SP2. No flaws, no slow down, with proper Sound and Video. No problem.
7. SUCCESS - On IBM TP600E Pentium II 366MHz, 128Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE. No flaws, no slow down, with proper Sound and Video. No problem.
What I suspect is really the CPU architecture and speed. Terra Nova was built during the Pentium 66 period and as far as I know, Pentium II is built on the base of the original Pentium PRO. There is no problem with MMX being added. But then Pentium III added MMX and SSE. Pentium 4 is almost a different architecture with has MMX, SSE and SSE2, which handles differently the floating point instructions.
So I suspect it's the architecture that made TN work or not.
Of course, if you use emulators, they emulate mainly the "processors" and environments.... then TN will work.
These are all my input, I think I have an idea of what will work and what will not now. I'll keep on trying but I really have run out of computer configs. And it takes a lot of time to set up.
FelixI have just acquired a Matrox Millennium II 2164W 4MB PCI Graphics Card and tested on my Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 system. I get into the intro movie only but cannot go further. I've researched the web and this graphics card is VBE 2.0 compatible.
I am now pretty sure that, no deny about it:
- Windows XP SP2 or OS below will work.
- Large hard disk will work. (I got 320GB)
- SoundBlaster compatible sound card will certainly work.
- File system of NTFS/FAT32/FAT will work.
- Processor at least up to Core 2 Duo E6400 will work.
- Chipset at least up to 82P965/G965 will work.
- Gigabytes of RAM will work.
The only, ONLY thing that affect whether Terra Nova will work or not is the graphics card. If it is fully compatible with VBE 1.2 then it will work. But since most modern graphics card have only implemented VBE 3.0 (which is not downward compatible) and previous cards, like Matrox Millennium II only got VBE 2.0, also won't work. ONLY very old cards with VBE 1.2 or below will work.
If you got a modern machine AND a VBE 1.2 compatible card, then Terra Nova will run just fine. But this is hard and the graphics card will slow your modern PC to a crawl. You can try out solVBE. It implemented VBE 1.2 and Terra Nova will run on it ok, but a bit slow. And this proved to be the real and only thing that affects Terra Nova.
I will come back again, but I will not be posting anymore about test configs. I am so sure what works, what doesn't.
Happy hunting.
Felix (January 23, 2007)
Marlow on 17/4/2007 at 20:57
Just in case somebody missed it (checking here and not in General Gaming) - (
http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=112694&highlight=DOSBox) TN runs great on DOSBox 0.70. With the previous versions it used to be unplayable on my Athlon XP2000+, and now it runs like a dream (well, it does crash from time to time, but it's not a big deal). (wow, two crimes at once - thread necromancy&old hat)
HetNet on 4/9/2007 at 01:51
For the record, after putting NOLFB in the TN folder...I just added NOLFB.COM as the first line after ECHO OFF in the TN.BAT file...and the thing runs pretty much flawlessly under VDMS...Not slow and jerky like it does under DosBox....
I'm tickled silly...Been trying to get TN to run for literally years under XP...I can run most games, but this one was a booger...
It's running on a Radeon X1650 Pro, also...NOT an old card...Soundblaster Audigy, XP SP2, the X1650, 2 gig of ram, Athlon 3800....Fully modern machine, and VDMsound does the trick beautifully using the NOLFB in the .Bat file....
