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A

  1. Advanced Civilization
  2. The Adventures Of Willy Beamish
  3. Aiv Networks
  4. Aladdin
  5. Alien Breed
  6. Alien Carnage (AKA Halloween Harry)
  7. Alien Incident
  8. Alien Legacy
  9. Alone In The Dark III
  10. Alpha Centaury/AC: Alien Crossfire (The Laptop Collection)
  11. Alter Ego Female
  12. Alter Ego Male
  13. Autoduel

ADVANCED CIVILIZATION

  • Run In Pure DOS

    [OLD]
    SoulBlazer 00  
    Registered User
    posts: 681
    (2/8/01 4:37:17 am)

    [Edit update: A new repacked verison that's patched to version 1.1 has been uploaded thanks to pouzzler and bill22! So Greg's plea below was answered. You DO still need to run this one in pure DOS -Deb]

    Despite what the game info says, in order to get AC running correctly (have it run at all, or get past the game crashing when you build your first city), you MUST run it in PURE DOS (bootdisk).

    DO NOT apply the patch. Unforentuly, who ever cracked the game to run without the CD did not do so with the patched version. UD knows about this, and hopefully someday, someone will crack the patched version.


  • Cracking Protection Codes

    [OLD]
    juheja
    Registered User
    Posts: 1
    (6/7/01 4:44:36 pm)

    [Edit update: A new repacked version that's patched to version 1.1 has been uploaded thanks to pouzzler and bill22! -Deb].

    I thought so too, but found it very cumbersome. So I asked for ideas, and I was told this:

    You can run all updates (to 1.11b).
    Next, get a hex editor (FREX Winhex or Ultraedit - Ultraedit gives free 30-day evaluation period).
    winhex http://www.winhex.com/
    ultraedit32 http://www.ultraedit.com/

    Now, edit AC_MAIN.EXE and change from the line 0068290

    85 C0 75 20 to 85 C0 EB 20

    That should get you through the copy protection.

    --Juha


  • CD Crack

    [OLD]
    bill22 
    Registered User
    Posts: 880
    (6/8/01 1:05:59 am)

    [Edit update: A new repacked version that's patched to version 1.1 has been uploaded thanks to pouzzler and bill22! -Deb].

    1. Install the game, but *do not* apply advcrack.com

    2. *If you want to save the various readme files you will have to rename them before each patch or they will be overwriten.

    3. Download ac100_11.rar and ac1_11b1.rar (NOTE: You can download them from here also: http//www.dlh.net/cgi-bin/dp.cgi?lang=eng&ref=ps&sys=pc&cap=a)

    4. Copy them into your game directory and extract ac100_11.rar
      (You may want to make a copy of your files in case things go wrong).

    5. Rename ht100_11.rtp to patch.rtp

    6. DblClick on patch.exe. This makes changes to 2 or 3 files (ac_main and the .ct?'s) and creates a readme file.

    7. If you DblClick on Ac_main.exe now you will get the "Can't find CD error."
      Extract ac1_11b1.rar. This extracts ver. 1.11B of ac_main.exe and a readme file.

    8. If you DblClick on Ac_main.exe now you still get the "Can't find CD error."

    9. Perhaps if you made some changes...

      These instructions are for "Advanced Hex Editor" from Kahei Co. which you can download from here (it's ver 2.0) or you can use your own.

      • Open the ac_main.exe file. use the "edit" and then the "find" commands, search for

        04 00 85 c0 75 
      • and under "type" select "raw hex bytes" and hit OK (the 0's are Zero's) change the 75 to eb (so that it looks like this)..

        04 00 85 c0 eb

        and then save.

      • DblClick on ADVCIVIL.BAT and the game will (hopefully) not ask for the CD and run perfectly.

    (There is some info in one of the readme files about how to set it up for Windows if you are having problems with that).

    Of course, I'm just guessing.

    This may not do anything at all, or your computer could spontaniously combust. It could open a gateway to an altenate reality where Battlecrusier 3000AD is considered the best computer game ever made.

    Anything is possible!

    Good Luck!


  • Graphic Card Troubles

    bill22 
    Registered User
    Posts: 880
    (6/8/01 1:05:59 am)

    BTW (from the readme)-

    "The code auto-detects what type of card you are using and then based on that auto-detection initializes the low-level graphic routines."

    "If you happen to be one of those lucky ones whose machine confounds the detection code, you will know it because as soon as the character-based game banner goes away the screen will do strange things, the program may crash and usually the only way to recover is to reboot. All is not lost. Try running the game using the following command:

    advcivil /V1

    That's a one following the V and not an I. This command line switch forces the game to use VESA drivers instead of the chipset specific drivers."

    Disclaimer:

    -Well, I guess i'll just have to make a note (back up game files before doing this, game may no longer work in dos [possible video problem in DOS w/tweak for some], restore origional files if this doesn't work and you must play in DOS mode, etc. etc.) of that somewhere.



THE ADVENTURES OF WILLY BEAMISH

  • Game Crashes

    Magnificent Linnard
    Registered User
    Posts: 570
    (4/18/01 2:00:47 pm) 

    The Adventures Of Willy Beamish runs into problems at several points, and all of them are one of two types.

    The more generic problem is timer-based puzzles. There are -several- (the game even opens on one), and they will not operate properly on modern processors. I have had the best luck with 66Mhz for them, excepting one puzzle. Late in the game, when rescuing Horny from The Cook, even 66Mhz is too fast. 33Mhz seems to be fine, though this, teamed with Max Detail, will slow the game down significantly.

    There has been at least one report of a repeatable crash early in the game, and I can safely validate that it is not specific to that individual. During the opening sequence in The Elementary School, the game may crash randomly during various events (for instance, entering the bathroom after showing Coach Buttz the pass, or if trying to sneak out while the teacher is still awake) with no error message at all. This is an issue in both DOS and Windows. It appears to be only when sound effects play, and only during those areas. Simply turn off sound, play through, then after you get home, turn the sound on again. (Note that this is not simply 'turning down the volume'--set the sound driver to PC SPEAKER).

    I did have one hangup with some screens showing up far darker than they were supposed to, but this did not halt play, and doesn't seem to be repeatable.

    The Magnificent Linnard



AIV NETWORKS

  • Step by Step Installation

    [OLD]
    Joan O Arc 
    Registered User
    posts: 378
    (10/28/00 4:43:13 am)

    [EDIT Update - A pre-cracked, pre-installed version of this game was uploaded by Raithun, so the unpacking/cracking information below no longer applies to the current archive at HOTU. No need to do a floppy install - Deb]

    This one keeps coming up so I downloaded it and have found a way to get it running.

    Now, one of the .NFO files states that it can be installed using either the subst method or with floppys. The problem with the subst method is that a couple of the resource files are broken up so when you try to unzip all the files to a directory to use the subst they get overwritten and the install will fail.
    A second .NFO file (by the same cracker!) tells you you MUST use the floppy method. Since the subst method is out, obviously we've got to do it like that. BUT this cracked version has passed through so many hackers that all kinds of extra signature files have been added so you can't fit the individual zips on one floppy. So we've got to weed out all these extra files. Here we go:

    1. Get out 5 blank floppys and number them 1-5. The disk volume labels must be changed in order for the install program to recognize them. To do this in Windows 9.x --
      Insert Floppy #1 in the drive > Run Windows Explorer > Right-click on the A: drive Icon > Properties > And then type Disk1 in the label box > Apply > Ok. Insert Floppy #2 and change its label to Disk2. Continue with the rest of the floppys until all 5 have been labeled accordingly. Please NOTE the labels must be exactly as shown with no spaces between Disk and the number. If you need to use DOS --
      Insert the floppys and type label at the DOS prompt. Type in the volume labels as outlined above for each disk.

    2. Unzip the download to an empty temporary directory. You should now have 7 .zip files.

    3. Insert Disk1 and extract these files ONLY from Network1.zip onto the floppy:
      A4.ICO
      DECOMP
      DECOMP2.ICO
      DEXENP.PAK
      DINSTALL.EXE
      DOTH.PAK
      INSTALL.BAT
      INSTALL.OPT
      MAP1.PAK
      MAP2.PAK
      MAP3.PAK
      MAP4.PAK
      MAP5.PAK
      NW
      PAKINST.BAT
      PHOTO.PAK
      README.TXT
      UNPAK.EXE
      WINSTALL.EXE
      In addition to these files, you must also extract the VER file from the NETWKFIX.ZIP that came in the download onto DISK1 in order for the install to work.

    4. Insert Disk2 and extract ONLY these files from NETWORK2.ZIP onto the floppy:
      PHOTO.PAK
      TITRE.PAK

    5. Insert Disk3 and extract these files from the NETWORK3.ZIP:
      D256.PAK PHOTO.PAK

    6. Insert Disk4 and extract this file from NETWORK4.ZIP
      D256.PAK

    7. Insert Disk5 and extract all the files from NETWORK5.ZIP

      Are you still there?? Almost done.

    8. To install the game to Windows, insert Disk1 and run WINSTALL.EXE. Follow the prompts and insert the rest of the disks to complete this part of the installation. The program will create two start button shortcuts. Click the Start button > Programs > Infogrames > and click Unpak. This will complete installation for Windows!
      Now, to add the crack: Extract the CRACK.EXE file from the NETWKCRK.ZIP into the \infogram\networks directory. Run the crack once to install it.
      (Later, when you're done playing AIV, run it again to remove it from memory.) Then you can run AIV from the Start button, but that shortcut does not provide sound. If you want to run with sound, you'll have to run either A4.BAT or GO.BAT. You'll find these in the \infogram\networks directory.

    9. To install the game to DOS, run Pure DOS and insert Disk1. Run INSTALL.BAT. Follow the prompts and the program will unpack everything for you. Unzip the crack as outlined above. Start the game with either A4.BAT or GO.BAT.

    Whew!

    Deb


ALADDIN


ALIEN BREED

  • Copy Protection

    Joan O Arc 
    Registered User
    posts: 918
    (1/26/01 11:20:56 am)

    hello
    The copy here has a crack included with the download. Works just fine for me.

    1. Unzip the download to an empty temporary directory. You should have 3 files: INSTALL.EXE, PATCH.COM, and ALIEN.RNC. PATCH.COM is the crack.

    2. Run INSTALL.EXE. Game installs to default directory of \Alien. The installation prog will prompt you to configure sound, graphics, input device and speed.

    3. Put a copy of the PATCH.COM file into the \Alien directory (or whatever directory you chose during installation.)

    4. Change to the \Alien directory and run PATCH.COM.

    5. Run ALIEN.EXE to start the game, and at the copy pro screen just type in anything and hit enter. After a brief pause, the game will begin.

    This game runs in Win95 on my system, but if it balks, try DOS. If you find that you need to reconfigure the sound, graphics, etc run CONFIG.EXE. This game kinda reminds me of Into The Eagles Nest. Remember that one?

    Deb


ALIEN CARNAGE (AKA Halloween Harry)

  • Step by Step Installation

    [OLD]
    Joan O Arc 
    Watchdog
    Posts: 1624
    (4/18/01 1:25:58 pm)

    [Edit Update - I've uploaded a new self-extracting version of this game so the information below about unpacking the archive no longer applies. See the Read_Me.txt file included with the new download for more information]

    hello
    This newly added oldie works just fine for me. It's likely you didn't completely unzip the download or finish the installation.

    1. Unzip the download to an empty temporary directory. The download has 2 .zips inside of it (AC-DISK1.ZIP and AC-DISK2.ZIP). Unzip these 2 .zips into the same temporary directory. You should end up with 7 files: Ac_r.1, Ac_r.2, Ac-help.exe, Dealers.exe, Install.exe, Order.frm and Swcbbs.exe.

    2. Run Install.exe. A few files will be unpacked and an Apogee screen comes up. Down at the bottom it says "Press C to complete installation", so press the "C" key.
      The program will then prompt you for the directory you want the game in. The default directory is Carnage. Just go with the default. The Carnage directory will be created and some files will be put in it.

    3. Now go to the Carnage directory and run Ac_r.exe. The rest of the game files will be unpacked into the Carnage directory.

    4. Run Carnage.exe to start the game.

    It runs just fine for me in Win95 with soundblaster sound; you may have to run it in DOS depending on your hardware/OS configuration

    Hope this helps you

    Deb


ALIEN INCIDENT

  • Step by Step Installation

    Joan O Arc 
    Watchdog
    Posts: 2227
    (7/26/01 3:19:11 am)

    Hello
    I love these old point & clicks too, and Alien Incident is alot of fun.

    There is no need to transfer the files to floppy disk.

    The message that says "We don't stink" is what is displayed when you quit the game, so although you think the game has been completely installed, it hasn't been. Since you have a partial, incomplete installation, I suggest you delete the directory with the bad installation and start again.

    Try this:

    1. Create an empty temporary directory and unzip the download into it. You should have 7 smaller .zips (HBD-Al01.ZIP through HBD- Al07.ZIP)
    2. Unzip these 7 .zips into the same temporary directory. There are a bunch of hacker signature files in these .zips, all you really need to install this game from the 7 are: Install.exe and Incident.001 through Incident.007.
    3. Now, according to the HYBRID.NFO, just run the INSTALL.EXE program to install the game.
      However, this installation program does not run in Windows (on my system at least) so IF you have problems running INSTALL.EXE in Windows, then you must Exit to DOS before trying to run INSTALL.EXE.
      If you do have to exit out to DOS, do so and then type
      cd \TheNameOfYourTemporaryDirectory (enter) 
      to change to the directory with install and the raw files. Then type:
      install (enter) 
      to start the installation. The default destination directory is games\alien.
    4. The installation is lengthy, be prepared for a long wait. After installation is complete: the program changes to the directory you chose to install the game in, autodetects your sound card, and autoruns the game for you.
    5. If you need to reconfigure the sound card later, change to the game directory and run SETUP.BAT. There is music included in this Rip.
    6. To start the game at a later date, change to the game directory and run ALIEN.EXE. Again, the game takes a while to load and initialize. Be patient.

    Game runs fine for me and is best run in pure DOS.

    Once you have a successful installation, you can safely delete the temporary directory and all the files in it.

    Hope this helps you.
    Deb



ALIEN LEGACY

  • Step by Step Installation

    bill22  
    Registered User
    Posts: 1183
    (7/12/01 7:24:49 am)

    I own this one. It's a great game. Played it through twice. Outstanding!

    1. Unzip alienleg.zip with the program of your choice. Ignore Install.exe (the game doesn't need to be installed).

    2. It does require a good bit of conventional memory. But an unmodified UD boot disk, available on the faq page: http://www.the-underdogs.org/faq.php runs it fine. (If you decide to use this read the readme!.txt file and make sure the set blaster= line is correct for your system and that any DOS SoundBlaster emulation TSR's are loaded in the a:\autoexec.bat file).
      (It will run in Windows if you can get the conventional memory high enough (570 -583,680). It does not require EMS, so you can change the Emm386.exe RAM switch to NOEMS if you need to).

    3. To set up sound open a DOS box at the folder that you extracted the game to and type

      al s

    In Windows98, the game consistantly reports that it does not have enough Conv. Memory (when I know there is enough) when the SoundBlaster options are selected. The game does run with no sound and using the Adlib option.

    You can also take a look at the alts.txt file, it has some troubleshooting tips that you might find helpful.

    The game comes with a .pif file (DOS shortcut) included. Unfortunately, it points to the wrong place and may have other problems depending on your system configuration. You can either modify it to match your system or delete it and use al.exe to start the game.

    Good Luck!


ALONE IN THE DARK III

  • Problems with Pentiums

    JerryKing
    Yorkshire Terrier
    Joined: 18 Mar 2002
    Posted: 20 Mar 2002 21:01 

    I have a possible solution for the "Pentium bug" in AITD III... this bug seems to affect all Pentium+ CPUs in parts II and III of AITD, and prevents you from pushing objects (they remain in place). This can be "fixed" in part III, since the only crucial moment that requires you to push something is the room where the karateka cowboy attacks you and you are stripped of arms. You need the push move to reach a Winchester and kill the attacker. However, if you save at that moment, and change the offets of the savegame that refer to your health, in order to increase its size to the maximum, you can then load it and simply kick and beat the karateka until he dies, paying no attention to his attacks. That's what I did, and I completed the game. I cannot remember the offsets right now, but they can be found out by simple save comparison... additionally, I think some AITD III savegame editors were released and should be available online.



MASTER OF ORION 2

  • Step by Step Installation

    Tommy
    Watchdog

    I purchased The Laptop Collection primarily to get Alpha Centauri: Alien Crossfire. After installing Alpha Centauri and Alpha Centauri: Alien Crossfire, when I tried to play them I got an error message informing me that my CPU was incompatible. After doing a little digging, I found this bit of information at the Firaxis Games website:

    "If you are attempting to run Alpha Centauri and receive an error message which refers to a CPU or processor incompatibility, add the following line to the Alpha Centauri INI file using a text editor (such as Notepad):
    ForceOldVoxelAlgorithm=1

    The first time that the game starts following this change you may receive the same error message. The game should start without error after it has been run once with the above change.

    Now it works!

    I hope this helps someone out.

    ~Tommy



ALTER EGO FEMALE

  • Black Screen Problem

    Sytass 
    Registered User
    Posts: 2406
    (5/23/01 3:19:25 pm)

    If you should experience the dreaded black screen problem try the following:

    • In the Windows Explorer, uncheck the read only status of each file (right click, properties).

    • If the game still doesn't run, keep F8 pressed during the boot up of your PC. In the boot menu that appears, select "Windows safe mode" or "DOS safe mode". Go to the directory of AE and run the game.


  • More about the blackscreen/lockup problem: EMM386

    Joan O Arc
    Tech Goddess
    (17 Aug 2002 10:51)

    Recently Eumel has noted that disabling EMM386 also helps with the black screen problem. How do you do this? Well --

    An easy way to do this is to open the CONFIG.SYS file with notepad and edit it. You will find CONFIG.SYS on the root directory of the C: drive.

    Look for the line that loads EMM386.EXE. It will look something similar to this (the path may be different):
    DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE RAM

    Put the REM command and a space at the beginning of the line so it looks like this
    REM DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE RAM

    ***Be very careful not to change any other lines in the CONFIG.SYS file.***

    Note that once you have made the changes and saved the CONFIG.SYS file; you will have to shut down normally, turn your computer off, wait a few seconds, and turn it back on for the changes to take effect.

    Putting the REMark command at the start of the line will cause the OS to skip over the line and proceed to the next one.

    Many games (especially oldies) need EMM386 to work. If you put the REM there, you can easily go back and edit CONFIG.SYS to remove the REM so that EMM386 will be enabled once again.

    Hope that helps you out. Let us know.

    Deb



ALTER EGO MALE

  • Black Screen Problem

    Sytass 
    Registered User
    Posts: 2406
    (5/23/01 3:19:25 pm)

    If you should experience the dreaded black screen problem try the following:

    • In the Windows Explorer, uncheck the read only status of each file (right click, properties).

    • If the game still doesn't run, keep F8 pressed during the boot up of your PC. In the boot menu that appears, select "Windows safe mode" or "DOS safe mode". Go to the directory of AE and run the game.


  • More about the blackscreen/lockup problem: EMM386

    Joan O Arc
    Tech Goddess
    (17 Aug 2002 10:51)

    Recently Eumel has noted that disabling EMM386 also helps with the black screen problem. How do you do this? Well --

    An easy way to do this is to open the CONFIG.SYS file with notepad and edit it. You will find CONFIG.SYS on the root directory of the C: drive.

    Look for the line that loads EMM386.EXE. It will look something similar to this (the path may be different):
    DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE RAM

    Put the REM command and a space at the beginning of the line so it looks like this
    REM DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE RAM

    ***Be very careful not to change any other lines in the CONFIG.SYS file.***

    Note that once you have made the changes and saved the CONFIG.SYS file; you will have to shut down normally, turn your computer off, wait a few seconds, and turn it back on for the changes to take effect.

    Putting the REMark command at the start of the line will cause the OS to skip over the line and proceed to the next one.

    Many games (especially oldies) need EMM386 to work. If you put the REM there, you can easily go back and edit CONFIG.SYS to remove the REM so that EMM386 will be enabled once again.

    Hope that helps you out. Let us know.

    Deb



AUTODUEL

  • Step by Step Installation

    Joan O Arc 
    Watchdog
    posts: 1271
    (3/17/01 10:39:05 pm)

    Hi Guys
    The Subst command (Known around here as "Hartmann's Muti-Purpose Multi-Disk Suggestion") is explained on the FAQ page. But you *don't* necessarily need to use it for Autoduel.

    Here are a couple of methods you can use:

    1. Method #1 (long way) sketched out in the READTHIS.1ST file.

      • The archive here has a complete copy of the game as it originally appeared on 2 floppys. So if you want to make a copy of the game as it was originally issued on floppies to save for your collection, you can unzip the download to an empty temporay directory making sure to leave the two subdirectories intact. You should have these two subdirectories off of the temp directory-
        \DISK1
        \DISK2

      • Get out two blank floppies and copy the files that are in \DISK1 onto the first floppy, and the files that are in \DISK2 onto the second floppy.

      • Insert the first floppy disk and run INSTALL.BAT. Follow the prompts until installation is complete. If you use this method, the installtion prog creates and installs the game into the directory \games\autoduel.

      • Now you need to crack the game. The download comes with a copy of PATCHER.EXE, a crack program. Put a copy of it into the directory with the game files and run it. Select Autoduel from the list of games to be cracked.

      • Run AUTODUEL.EXE to start the game.

    2. Method #2 (fast way, recommended )
      • Unzip the download to an empty temporary directory. Since the installation program for this oldie just copies the files to the hard drive, put all the files that are in the two subdirectories into the the temporary directory with the PATCHER.EXE and the 3 text files.

      • You will have to remove the read-only attribute from all the files if you want to use this method. At the MS-DOS prompt type-

        cd \WhateverTheNameOfYourTempDirectoryIs 
        attrib *.* -r 
        Then go back to into Windows with
        exit 

      • Run the PATCHER.EXE file to crack the game.

      • Run AUTODUEL.EXE to play.

    The game runs in both DOS and Win95 on my system, using either installation method.
    You can use your keyboard, mouse or joystick to play. I prefer the mouse, but that's just me. The F keys call up various menus and options, and some keystrokes do as well. "Q" will quit the game, and if you have created a new player, the game is auto-saved whenever you quit.

    Hope this helps you.

    Deb



Last Update: Monday, June 2, 2003. 0:00 GMT+1(193)

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