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Serenitis

DW Troubleshooting

Serenitis
Nov 8th, 2017
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  1. Why won't this damn thing work?
  2.  
  3. --------------------------------------------------------
  4. "Have you tried turning it off then on again?" Edition
  5. --------------------------------------------------------
  6.  
  7. Distant Worlds is a picky beast. It likes a very specific set of things otherwise it just doesn't play at all.
  8.  
  9. First up here is the minimum requirements from the game dev:
  10.  
  11. OS: Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista, Windows 7, 8, 10
  12. CPU: Pentium 4 @1.5 GHz
  13. RAM: 1Gb RAM
  14. Video/Graphics: minimum 1024 x 768 resolution, 32 bit
  15. Sound: DirectX 9 compatible
  16. Hard disk space: approx 500Mb
  17. DVD-Rom: not required, except if installing from DVD
  18. DirectX version: 9.0c or later
  19. Peripheral hardware: Mouse
  20. Other: Microsoft .Net Framework 4.0 or later, Microsoft XNA 4.0 (both included with installer), Windows Media Player,
  21. Internet Explorer 11
  22.  
  23.  
  24. If you're reading this and have spotted that your spess pewpew gaem actually requires IE and Media Player and have done a spock eyebrow, you are not alone.
  25. It needs WMP for the intro movie, and the handler for the soundtrack.
  26. It needs IE for the "help" database.
  27. Fortunately WMP is still present in all versions of Windows so far, just in 8 & 10 it's buried (but still active). So it shouldn't be a problem.
  28. IE also shouldn't be a problem as it's part of all modern versions of Windows. 10 will prefer you to use Edge, but IE 11 should still be there and that should be enough. If you can get IE to run via the start bar DW should accept it.
  29.  
  30. If for whatever reason you don't have IE11, you can get it here:
  31. https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/18520/download-internet-explorer-11-offline-installer
  32. You will also need to add all it's prerequisites to install it, which may be missing from your system.
  33. There are six, and they are located here:
  34. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2847882/prerequisite-updates-for-internet-explorer-11
  35.  
  36. Note the minimum res. Having your system display set to anything less than 1024 x 768 will just dump you back at the desktop.
  37. Why would you be running less than this in [current year] I do not pretend to know.
  38. DW doesn't like 4k HD. At all.
  39.  
  40. The other three things DW needs to work at all are:
  41. DX9.0c
  42. .Net 4.0
  43. XNA 4.0
  44.  
  45. DW comes with a lot of support files "just in case".
  46. If you bought it direct or pirated it:
  47. C:\<wherever you installed DW to>\redist\
  48. or
  49. C:\<wherever you installed DW to>\_commonredist\
  50.  
  51. If you steamed it:
  52. C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Distant Worlds Universe\redist\
  53.  
  54. Standalone .net installer:
  55. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=17718
  56.  
  57. Standalone xna installer:
  58. https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=20914
  59.  
  60.  
  61. Run "dxsetup" to get DX9.0c. You can install later versions over the top, DW just needs some of the earlier dlls.
  62. Run "dotNetFx40_Full_x86_x64" to get .Net Framework 4.0
  63. Run "xnafx40_redist" to get XNA Framework 4.0.
  64.  
  65.  
  66. So that's FIVE things you need to make sure you have installed before you can even start the game.
  67. And everyone always forgets about the XNA.
  68.  
  69. --------------------------------------------------------
  70. A helpful thing that's not mentioned anywhere, is the dumptext DW generates whenever it throws a tant and doesn't work.
  71. It can be found here:
  72. C:\Users\<username>\Documents\My Games\Distant Worlds Universe\DW_CrashDump.txt
  73. or
  74. C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Code Force Limited\Distant Worlds\1.9.5.0\DW_CrashDump.txt
  75. This can be annoying/confusing, as DW will occasionally 'decide' to switch which one it uses.
  76.  
  77. This will tell you all sorts of things about what DW is struggling with, from missing software/assets to the exact file and line entry of the terrible attempt at modding you just made.
  78. First stop for any troubleshooting should be here. Even if most of it looks like gibberish, there will be some lines at the end of the entry telling you what the problem is.
  79.  
  80. --------------------------------------------------------
  81. Further points if you're still having problems:
  82. --------------------------------------------------------
  83.  
  84. Check that Windows Management Instrumentation Service is running.
  85. Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services
  86. In the list of services you should look for one named "Windows Management Instrumentation". The status column should say "Started".
  87.  
  88. If this is present in the list but not started, click the "Start" link to the left of the services list.
  89. If the game still will not start and you receive the same error, then you may have a broken installation of WMI. You can use the tool here to fix it:
  90. http://windowsxp.mvps.org/repairwmi.htm
  91. If "Windows Management Instrumentation" does not exist in the services list then you will need to enable it in Windows.
  92. http://computerstepbystep.com/windows_management_instrumentation_service.html
  93.  
  94. If you're having problems with .NET even though you've have it installed, it might be worth grabbing an earlier version to see if it plugs any holes.
  95. v3.5 is recommended. Fortunately this comes built in to every version of Windows 7 and higher.
  96. You just have to make sure it is active by opening:
  97. Control Panel -> Programs & Features -> Turn Windows Features On/Off
  98. Wait for the dialog to load (might be a while), and make sure the following is set:
  99. .NET Framework 3.5.1 should be a filled check box
  100. With the .NET itself checked, AND the two child items under it (comms foundation) UNCHECKED.
  101. While you're here you can make sure that IE11 and all items under Media Features are checked and active.
  102. Eg: https://i.imgur.com/J4BoFNF.png
  103.  
  104. Fortunately, DW comes with some support files.
  105. It can be found in the redist folder as above and is labelled "dotnetfx35.exe"
  106. Uninstall all your .NET entries on the control panel, then restart.
  107. Install 3.5 just to be sure (you shouldn't technically need it), then install 4.0 over the top of it.
  108.  
  109. If .NET is still being flaky you can try the MS repair tool here:
  110. http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=30135
  111.  
  112. If you try to install .NET and you're getting fatal errors and failed installs, you might have broken bits of previous installs lurking in your system, which may have been put there by other programs. And .NET won't install if it detects a 'newer' version.
  113. In this case you'll need to grab installers for ALL the .NET versions and run them newest to oldest.
  114. https://www.microsoft.com/net/download/archives
  115. When you run the installer, you will be given a choice between 'install' or 'remove/repair'.
  116. If you come up install, skip this one and check the others.
  117. If you come up remove/repair, choose remove and wait. Restarting may be required.
  118. IMPORTANT: Ignore the 3.5 installer - It's built into Windows now and dicking around with it without going through the
  119. control panel/features (above) will cause fun to happen.
  120. Once you've removed any broken installs, try the .NET 4.0 installer that comes with DW.
  121.  
  122. Bit of a long shot, but try temporarily disabling your anti-virus package and see if it makes a difference.
  123. Also check the vault/quarantine area just in case it's snagged any of the game files by mistake. And if so set up an exclusion that covers those files.
  124.  
  125. For Win10
  126. Check Control Panel > Programs > Turn Windows Features On/Off
  127. Go down to Legacy Components and make sure Direct Play is active.
  128.  
  129. If all else fails, uninstall .NET, XNA, DirectX and Distant Worlds.
  130. Then restart.
  131. And install in the following order:
  132. Distant Worlds
  133. dotnetfx35.exe
  134. dotNetFx40_Full_x86_x64.exe
  135. DXSETUP.exe
  136. xnafx40_redist.msi
  137. Restart
  138.  
  139. If you've dabbled in modding and used the DW Modding Tool and are now having problems starting the game, you'll be delighted to know that that tool does something fruity to the games core files (whether you change them or not) which sends DW some spurious data.
  140. So for instance, if you suddenly get a refusal to start and a crashdump that reads:
  141. More bias values than races at line 12 in file C:\<DW folder>\raceBiases.txt
  142. Even though you personally have never touched that file because you are sensible and used a theme full of copied files, and that file is superficailly identical to what it should be.
  143. Basically, that modding tool is not great. And I would trust it exactly as far as I can throw the moon.
  144. You can however recover it by copying over the file from:
  145. C:\<DW folder>\Customization\Distant Worlds Original\biases.txt
  146. And then renaming it to raceBiases.txt
  147.  
  148. --------------------------------------------------------
  149. Back to Guide Index: https://pastebin.com/hubsc3ZS
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