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Altarian Prophecy Beta 4

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Altarian Prophecy Beta 4

from Stardock Forums

Please install and run SmartException from the free stuff tab in Stardock Central so that if the beta crashes, it will generate a report that you can send to me with your debug.err files and save games.

Please update the non-expansion part of Gal Civ if you haven't, but please note that your save games will be messed up because of the additional improvements.

I will want any save games that reproduce bugs, particularly crashes.  Save games in Altarian prophecy are only one file, no folders.

Please report typos in the typo thread.  String Not Found bugs are not typos.

Please give as much detail as possible when reporting bugs so that I can reproduce it more easily.

[email protected]

 

1,832 views 53 replies
Reply #51 from Stardock Forums Top
Each his own, a serious gamer doesn't use 98 except as a Drink coaster.
End of quote


I don't know about that, either. I know many people who refuse to upgrade to XP because of various game incompatibilities. Windows 98 will run most games more quickly because of its deficiencies, believe it or not.

XP controls multitasking. Great for stability because it tells the programs when to run and when to wait. A misbehaving app cannot hog the CPU which means that if the program hangs, it doesn't take the OS down with it. The flip side, of course, is that a game cannot hog the CPU, which means it has to share CPU time. Windows 98, on the other hand, relies on the apps to control their own multitasking, and games can hog the CPU time all they want, making them run more quickly. This is the major source of all game oddities from choppy sound to lockups in games in Windows XP.

Windos 98 makes use of vxd's to make calls directly to the hardware, bypassing the OS. This is great for speed, but if the vxd misbehaves, your OS is going to lock. Windows XP doesn't allow direct calls to the hardware. All calls to the hardware MUST go through the OS. Great for reliability, but since you have a middleman to go through, it's slower. (Note: many hardware drivers are now being based on Windows Driver Models, and no longer make vxd's for Windows 98, so the advantage isn't so clear in this department any more.)

Mind you, even being an avid gamer, I would still load XP onto a new rig even if it were to be an exclusive gaming machine; however, if Windows 98 still runs your games fine, then gaming isn't a compelling reason to upgrade.

~SDC~
Reply #52 from Stardock Forums Top
Technician, next time you get that string not found, please check your debug.err file for me so that you can give me the error it prints out.
End of quote


No problem but I hear that there is a new beta.

Should I check the debug.err file or wait until I can chance to upgrade ?

Galactic Civilizations III
Reply #53 from Stardock Forums Top

Technician, Check the debug.err file if you get it again before you upgrade, in case it wasn't just that the english.str file didn't get updated.

As for the sdc errors, select Check for Application Updates from the tools menu.  If SDC updates itself, make sure to restart SDC when prompted.  You can also try clearing out the temp folder in the stardock folder.