Help me, oh Lazyweb.

[theweaselking]

I have a program. I will call this program "X-Com: UFO Defense" because that is what it is.[1]

It runs *just fine* on PC, but only in it's preferred fullscreen mode. This wouldn't be so bad, but in multimonitor mode it takes over screen #1 and also screws up screen #2.

I want it to either:
A) run fullscreen but without touching screen #2
or
B) run in a window.

It's too new for DosBox. And no, it doesn't expect or respect the fullscreen/windowed shortcuts.

Any suggestions?

[1]: Actually, it's "UFO: Enemy Unknown", but nobody knows it by that name any more. Same game.


EDIT: A solution!

The DOS version of X-Com 1 plus DosBox equals properly handled windowed X-Com 1.

Thanks, crion

Comments

[elffin.livejournal.com]

Describe please how it fucks up screen #2.

Also: Are both screens connected to the same video card?

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Screen #2's resolution goes down - hard to tell exactly to what, since control is locked to screen #1 and the active program. Items from screen #1 - mail windows, browsers, etc - intrude partially onto screen #2. Items from screen #2 that were fullscreen are windowed and extend off the far edge.

And yes. It's an Nvidia GeForce 9800GX2.

[elffin.livejournal.com]

It sounds like the driver is making each display part of a virtual desktop and showing only part of that address space on each display. The game's behaviour suggests that it is being told by the driver that at a given resolution, it gets a certain dimension of screen, and then it is taking over the display from the driver.

Have you poked around in nvidia-xconfig? I have never seen it but there may be a configuration that lets you configure X to have separate sessions on each display.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

I'm not running X. This is my gaming toy - an XP box.

[elffin.livejournal.com]

Ah, my bad - I assumed.

Well, crap. This is probably the first time in my life I've known more about tackling a problem in Unix than Windows since Windows came into being: I've only ever tackled one malfunctioning video card on Windows, over a decade ago (Xwindows, otoh...)

I'd start by making sure there's not any hidden monitors or video adaptors listed in Device Manager (View, Show Hidden Devices). Then I'd poke around in the nVidia display manager.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

nVidia's display manager allows multiple desktops and displays, but that doesn't actually help me much, at least initially, since I can't see how to make "desktop #1 on display #1, Desktop #2 on monitor #2"

I'm sure it's in there somewhere.

[kakita-tsuna.livejournal.com]

Hey! I played Enemy Unknown! And yeah it's the same, just that for comercialization they liked the other name better.

As for the screen issue. The main comes with the fact that DosBox isn't happy with dual monitors and does not know how to split one from the other, sends info for both, but since the game also can't stand such huge size it simple screws whatever he wants.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

I'm not using DosBox. DosBox was my first try, and didn't work - the game's too new for DosBox.

[kakita-tsuna.livejournal.com]

I am sure there's a fan modded version that was fixed to run on newer faster systems, called Gold, or something like that. Besides I am certain that the DosBox should run it just fine as I did at home with newer games like those I mention below.

If you like that kind of games you could try Fantasy General and Panzer General, both from the much beloved (and sadly now extinct) SSI (First company to edit D&D games, like Ravenlof and Return to Ravenlof and Menzoberranzan).

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

I've got that version.

It works just fine.

The problem is with multiple monitor support.

[kakita-tsuna.livejournal.com]

I hate to reply to myself, but I won't let Ravenloft remain without his proper 't'.

And yes it's confirmed, there's a .exe around the webz that enables you to play it on the new systems.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Like I said: I can play it, just fine - full screen, on a single monitor.

I just want to play it *and also have a second monitor going*.

In fact, I'd like to play it windowed rather than full screen.

[kakita-tsuna.livejournal.com]

Gomenasai. I can't help with that issue, single monitor here. :(

And for once that I thought I could help the one who brings so much awesomeness to LJ!

[anton-p-nym.livejournal.com]

Did you get the sound to work? I got everything else running pretty easily (single monitor, sorry) except for the sound, and I dearly miss it.

-- Steve remembers losing days at a stretch to Xcom.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Sound works just fine.

If you're having problems with any of it, go looking for the XP X-Com Loader. It's not hard to find, online.

I just want it to go without fucking up my second monitor.

Oh, well.

[anton-p-nym.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the tip; I'll look for it on my days off.

It's just one of those games I have to have; I tried it on a bootleg copy, bought it on 3.5" floppy, (both under the UFO title) lost that copy, and then bought the CD version when it came out.

-- Steve hopes you get that monitor issue cleared up.

Depends on what the game settings allow

[mr-rubix.livejournal.com]

I had the same issue on my work system with several older games - if the game allows it then simply ramp the resolution up to whatever the monitor is set to as default and it *should* stop screwing with the second display. This may require fiddling with the ini files, however, so I'll look for my old copy of X-Com and see what more I can dig up.

Re: Depends on what the game settings allow

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

X-Com is too old - it simply doesn't *have* resolution settings.

It runs at 640x480 and it's happy that way, and you'd better be, too.

(.ini files are an idea, but I suspect it predates THOSE, too. And I really want it in a window.)

Windowed you say

[mr-rubix.livejournal.com]

http://www.xcomufo.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t7365.html

Possible option?

Re: Windowed you say

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Neat! Must try.

In a virtual machine, because random .exes from the Japanese = not running on my baby, but must try.

Re: Windowed you say

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

English version works! However, the "window" is as small as the original 320x200 window as far as my mouse is concerned, even if I increase the size of it. This is not a big deal, except that my mouse goes *missing* when it's outside the "area" of the tiny window and yet "behind" the larger window that the smaller window has been expanded into.

So it MOSTLY works.

[crion.livejournal.com]

This isn't quite the answer you may be looking for, but there's an earlier version that does run in DosBox.

The dos version (http://www.abandonia.com/files/extras/UFO%20-%20Enemy%20Unknown_DOS.zip) ia available from abandonia.com (http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/38)'s page on XCom; DosBox can be found dosbox.com (http://www.dosbox.com/).

I downloaded both and ran it just now, so it should work for you.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

That works! Thank you!

[lafinjack.livejournal.com]

I was going to say "try the PocketPC version if you have a PDA", but apparently their port has a plain Windows version, too. I haven't tried that one out, but I do know the PPC edition is AWESOME, with much better world map art, a bunch of bug fixes, and button support so you're not always mousing every damn thing.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

The windows version does run in a window.

A teeny, tiny, PocketPC sized Window.

With no options to increase the size.

And, apparently, no options to adjust the sound.

So it's close, but not quite right.

[lafinjack.livejournal.com]

Ah well. I'm getting bored with UFO on my PPC anyway, there's not much variety from one playthrough to the next, even starting off on different continents, researching X vs. Y first, etc. My next goal is to get a reliable way to play Fallout on the go, except the Russian port isn't done yet, and DOSBox is giving me trouble that I haven't set time aside to sit down and figure out yet. I've only gone through it once, and it's been long enough that playing a 'good' character again would still be an interesting experience, and I want to see what being a wasteland bastard would be like.

[lafinjack.livejournal.com]

Oh, and this unfinished Fallout port will supposedly feature a version that plays well with Windows, which can be resized at will and utilizes resolutions higher than 320x240 or whatever the original was, unlike PocketUFO.