v9.5 WTF ??

SPWaW is a tactical squad-level World War II game on single platoon or up to an entire battalion through Europe and the Pacific (1939 to 1945).

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Hexed Gamer
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v9.5 WTF ??

Post by Hexed Gamer »

Don't get alarmed, but hmm I have discovered this weird result (merely weird though, doesn't harm running the game).

I load the game, straight off of my dvd copy (home made), where the folder is transferred straight from the dvd (folder contains a full copy of the game folder in its fully set up look) to the hard drive, with no install routine (remember I burned the folder AFTER the game is fully set up), the folder is exactly as it was on the computer hard drive properly set up with all the MCs the patches the whole schlameal.

I simply copy it to the hard drive eh.

And it reads v9.5 in all the places where the version number normally is shown

Hmm is there something I should know about here? :)

I get an indeo video codec error window during game start up no matter which of the known (or less known) ways to start the game.
It only means I don't get to see Matrix Games logos and SSI start up logos and all that other stuff which doesn't mean anything to anyone after a point.
The game mode select options list appears and I am off to the races, no more delay than always.
The game functions properly, all with the exception of this odd ball v9.5 read out.

Any else actually see this?
Or am I the only one odd enough tot hink to burn the game to a dvd so that I can just dump the folder onto the drive and side step the entire install routine?

The game by the way, all 4 Mega Campaigns and all primary updates up to 8.3, is a 1.43 gig folder (according to my folder at least).
For those prone to fiddling with the game for things like H2H and all that, I found being able to dump multiple copies of a full game onto the computer without all the fuss of an install, handy.

Anyone else try this idea other than me?
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KG Erwin
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RE: v9.5 WTF ??

Post by KG Erwin »

Les, I'd noticed the odd 9.5 display when I loaded the game onto a PC running Win 2000. The game runs normally, so its gotta be some odd glitch in the OS. There is no such thing as SPWaW 9.5--8.3 is the final, so who knows if its some sort of registry oddity. [&:]
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KNomad
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RE: v9.5 WTF ??

Post by KNomad »

I saw the version 9.5 message on my brother's machine after he installed version 8.2.

Turns out that he didn't do a clean install, ie, didn't remove the old game directories.

After doing a clean install (uninstall ver 7.2 & delete the old directories) of 8.2 did the version numbers match on the title screen.

OTOH - it didn't seen to affect gameplay when it read v9.5
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Hexed Gamer
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RE: v9.5 WTF ??

Post by Hexed Gamer »

Well in my case, I did as capable an uninstall as is ever possible.

Using the game's uninstall, no matter the situation, the unistall ALWAYS craps out first try, then performs the uninstall as expected.
Doesn't seem to remove some residual files though.

I have no idea if it properly purges every aspect of the game though registry and all that.
Registry, heck I wouldn't even know where to find the registry hehe.
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minefield
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RE: v9.5 WTF ??

Post by minefield »

It's got something to do with the registry. I haven't encountered the 9.5 problem but when I updated one copy of my v8.2 to v8.3 the other copy of v8.2 now shows v8.3. So apparently after v8.1 the game started storing its version in the registry.
If you are interested in finding out more, start -> run -> "regedit" and do a search for panthers (should be unique enough) and see what you find.
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minefield
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RE: v9.5 WTF ??

Post by minefield »

Just thought about this. The v9.5 is probably being caused by the lack of a registry entry rather than one that is incorrect. That would explain the running from DVD, etc. problems. Win2000 probably just doesn't get the correct registry entries when SPWAW is installed or either SPWAW uses an old registry lookup routine from Win95/98 that isn't compatible (seems farfetched to me but it sounds good).
My next experiment will be to see if I can get it to say v6.9.
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RE: v9.5 WTF ??

Post by Gloo »

You should try this great PCMag utility: "InCtrl5", to check which changes are made in the registry when you install SPWaW. This soft will track each line added (or modified) in the registry then report it in a file (HTML or TXT format). You can then export each entry in a REG file and burn it on your DVD for future copies (a REG file is a sort of auto-exec file wich is used to update or modify some keys in the registry). The only drawback is that you'll have to always use the same absolute path (same HD and directory to copy your game to (or modify the reg entries manually... but there, it might prove easier and faster to use the normal installation procedure :o)).You wil find this sofware (it's free!) here: http://minilien.com/?iUUiOXoGzW

You should also download the soft called "UndoReg" which is the companion tool for InCtrl5 that allows to easily uninstall the progs you'll be monitoring the install processes.
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KNomad
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RE: v9.5 WTF ??

Post by KNomad »

registry problems?

format c:

always worked for me [:D]
The gnome zaps a wand of death. (Nethack)
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Incoming firepower has the Right of Way!
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rich12545
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RE: v9.5 WTF ??

Post by rich12545 »

Every time you uninstall there will be traces left in the registry. So whenever I unstall anything I go to the registry and search for key words, in this case spwaw and panthers will do fine and then delete all entries with those names. Not deleting registry entries after uninstalls will leave lots of stuff, some programs leave more than others.
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Hexed Gamer
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RE: v9.5 WTF ??

Post by Hexed Gamer »

Question...

What precisely is the "function" of the "registry".

And, why during an uninstall, is stuff left in it?

Frankly, when I run uninstall, I expect just that, no trace it was ever there.

It explains though, why I routinely bite the bullet and format my OS drive. Yes it's a long day to put it all back and running, but it sure does a lot for getting rid of mysetry baggage from someone's lousy excuse for an uninstall program.

Doesn't hurt to reset the timer on all my demos too :)
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panda124c
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RE: v9.5 WTF ??

Post by panda124c »

I have the same thing happen V9.5 after a clean install, but when I did an 8.3 update the version went to 8.3. So no big deal.
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rbrunsman
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RE: v9.5 WTF ??

Post by rbrunsman »

I installed Los's v5.0 graphics mod a few days ago using Modswapper and that same v9.5 popped up for me too. I haven't noticed any difference in play. I'm glad you mentioned it happened to you too. I won't worry about it now.

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