Windows 8 and Red Alert 2 Yuri

[manwithdog]

Well, after several attempts at trying to run this game (Red Alert 2 Yuri's Revenge) on Windows 8 I have given up on the idea of 'upgrading' to Windows 8. I am sticking with Windows 7. The best I have done with this game is to install it, actually get into the game and start a skirmish. But of course then the screen scrolls sooooo slowly etc that it's just unplayable. Yes I do admittedly change the game's res to 1920 x 1080 (via the ini files) but this works perfectly okay in Windows 7. I have also just tried out a supposed 'solution' by adding 'VideoBackBuffer=no' to the ini files, but that didn't help either!

Now I know that people will say "hey that game is 12 years old now, just let it go.". But why should I? I still enjoy it, and having around 1000 extra multiplayer/skirmish maps, it has a lot more life in it yet.

Considering Windows 8 supposed to be built upon Windows 7, seems odd that this game no longer works as it did?

All this might seem trivial, maybe even to Microsoft, but this may well be a deal-breaker with many more Red Alert 2 gamers out there. So if Microsoft decide not to sort these problems out, then gamers like me who like the old classics will not be 'upgrading' anytime soon.

GET IT SORTED MICROSOFT!!

 

[Hopachi]

Do I hear Yuri's Revenge? It's fixable! Great game btw.

Right click ra2md.exe (the main executable) -> compatibility -> reduced color mode = 16bit.

Compatibility to XP sp3 or you can leave it to default.

First time might need run as admin.

It works here.

Background info:

GET IT SORTED MICROSOFT!!

They don't have to do anything else since it's old code.
Westwood, the original maker was bought by EA and after that, the game wasn't developped any more (patch 1.001 as latest).
MS brought a better compatibility mode in Win8 and from what I've experienced RA2 works just as in XP.
Don't forget with compatibility 16bit color mode only because the 16bit resolutions were removed from resolutions menu.

About Yuri's Revenge:
You've probably heard of NPAE (extra's in the game) patch and the custom resolutions (play in HD resolutions) in INI file...edit: yes you applied resolution, I see, all still works on Win8.
It's just a matter of finding that out.

 

[manwithdog]

Do I hear Yuri's Revenge? It's fixable! Great game btw.

Right click ra2md.exe (the main executable) -> compatibility -> reduced color mode = 16bit.

Compatibility to XP sp3 or you can leave it to default.

First time might need run as admin.

It works here.

Background info:

GET IT SORTED MICROSOFT!!

They don't have to do anything else since it's old code.
Westwood, the original maker was bought by EA and after that, the game wasn't developped any more (patch 1.001 as latest).
MS brought a better compatibility mode in Win8 and from what I've experienced RA2 works just as in XP.
Don't forget with compatibility 16bit color mode only because the 16bit resolutions were removed from resolutions menu.

About Yuri's Revenge:
You've probably heard of NPAE (extra's in the game) patch and the custom resolutions (play in HD resolutions) in INI file...edit: yes you applied resolution, I see, all still works on Win8.
It's just a matter of finding that out.

Mmmmm....
You got me all excited for 5 minutes. lol.

Tried those settings and got nowhere mate. On the game screen it just barely crawls along. (If that!)
What is this NPAE? Is that something I also need to use to get this working properly?

Sorry if I'm a pain here, but I would love to go to Windows 8, but this is stopping me.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Hopachi]

Anytime.

Hmmm.... I can prove with screenshots that it works here! Is there any error showing or just exists?

NPAE is Npatch Automn Edition
NPatch download page

NPatch - Revora Forums
Good for modders and extends the game's engine capabilities. One of the features I like is that it makes better random maps + desert random maps and archipelago (each player his own island - map). Some slowdowns (slow explosions) on newer pc's, staring from dual cores get fixed by npatch (and there is that videobackbuffer you mentioned for video fixes as well...).

I only installed the game a couple of years back in XP LOL. Then I zipped it with all my extra maps, map editor and patches (in one folder). After that it was successfully unzipped and used on Vista, 7 and now 8. So I skipped any installer issues. Maybe that's why it worked from the start...

If you know VMware or VirtualBox: I suggest you run the installer in a XP virtual machine and then, after all works well zip or copy the whole game folder back to win8 and only then apply the compatibility fix I've mentioned (or you can even use the virtualized version in XP but I don't recommend this if you're a starter with VM's).

 

[Hopachi]

I've used it on many systems, it's one of my favorites even if it's 2D.

There is even a parameter to run it in windowed mode using "-windowed" switch to the executable's shortcut, works, but I've never had to use it since fullscreen rocks.

Along the native run in Win8, because you still have issues with it, I can confirm that it also works pretty well under the following programs on Win8:

Make one of the following VM's and install the game there.
-VirtuaBox VM: use XP machine + guest additions
-VMware Player: use Win ME machine + tools

But of course it would be cool to get it going normally in Win8. Any other questions are welcome.
Make sure you try the install somewhere it works and apply the compatibility settings back in Win8 like I mentioned in previous post.

It crawls along you said: slow? crashed?
What exactly are the problems?

If you decide to stay on Win7, you are free to do it because of a decent reason.

Cheers
Hopachi

 

[manwithdog]

Well, I've done everything now and still got nowhere.
Spent a good part of yesterday going through all different ways of getting it to work and nothing did! So I'm not wasting any more time on it. Bye bye Windows 8, I'm sticking with 7.

Thanks for trying to help though mate. Much appreciated. And have a great Christmas!

 

[Hopachi]

You're welcome.

One last thing:

This is something that works here.
The "gamemd.exe" is the most important one BUT I forgot to mention. It's the main one and the ra2md is just the launcher.

We always need to launch ra2md and never the gamemd.
First time on launch: as admin for initializing string... you know an error that occurs but afterwards dissapears.
This can be considered as a last attempt there.
Win98/ME compatibility to both exe's and 16bit color mode.

-If you run higher DPI settings in Windows then the dpi settings have to be checked as well because this game will look bad otherwise.
I had to use these settings on Win7 once.

Have a great Christmas too!

 

[manwithdog]

Tried all that mate, still no good. Plays at a crawl. I have even tried installing the 32bit version of Windows 8 Pro as I read somewhere that it supposed to be more compatible with old software like Red Alert 2 Yuri. But that just gave me the same result.

Not to worry mate. I'm quite happy with Windows 7 anyway.

Thanks for all your help though. Much appreciated.

 

[jynxs]

Hi there. I have had the Same Problem since i installed Windows 8.
I have Tryed
Multiplayer install and the normal way using compatibility and admin modes tryed every diff combination.

once installed also tryed every diff combination of starting the game and lots of different res. i tryed the multiscreen trick i also tryed switching my nvidia card to high performance . also tryed a modified ddraw.dll file to help. i have tryed turning my power mode to high performance also.
i have tryed 16 bit mode tryed in safe mode.

I have tryed everyway possible on windows 8 there is no solution.
Unless some genius comes up with a patch.
I am so guttered i got windows 8 installed so if microsoft can add a solution which was working within windows 7 its would be great.

My Menus are missing and no mouse and sometimes mouse blank screen on the left. alt tab is the way out.

i dont wanna use a virtual box win 8 is supposed to be similar to win 7 and microsoft are missing something.

 

[manwithdog]

Hi there. I have had the Same Problem since i installed Windows 8.
I have Tryed
Multiplayer install and the normal way using compatibility and admin modes tryed every diff combination.

once installed also tryed every diff combination of starting the game and lots of different res. i tryed the multiscreen trick i also tryed switching my nvidia card to high performance . also tryed a modified ddraw.dll file to help. i have tryed turning my power mode to high performance also.
i have tryed 16 bit mode tryed in safe mode.

I have tryed everyway possible on windows 8 there is no solution.
Unless some genius comes up with a patch.
I am so guttered i got windows 8 installed so if microsoft can add a solution which was working within windows 7 its would be great.

My Menus are missing and no mouse and sometimes mouse blank screen on the left. alt tab is the way out.

i dont wanna use a virtual box win 8 is supposed to be similar to win 7 and microsoft are missing something.

Yes, I've done all those things myself now. After many hours of scouring the internet for solutions too.
I still can't believe that I have it working so perfectly on Windows 7 (Ultimate x64) it will not work on Windows 8! I am certainly NOT going to be going to Windows 8 until I hear of any 'patches' like you say.

Incidentally, I tried running the game in Virtualbox etc on Windows 8 (out of pure desperation), and it still wouldn't work.

 

[Hopachi]

The ddraw.dll is not required guys, it's been unstable on some configurations.

As I said, you can try npatch.
There are 2 versions a normal official one and one with No-CD but I'm not gonna discuss about this.
The point is that npatch provides a newer game executable and works here on my config.

32 or 64bit doesn't matter for this game, but there is a 64bit patch that exists but I'm not sure it's doing anything.
I don't use that with npatch because it doesn't work.

Incidentally, I tried running the game in Virtualbox etc on Windows 8 (out of pure desperation), and it still wouldn't work.

This one requires specific settings, but I can assure you I got it working.
The VirtualBox install is even faster than on Win7 (when making random maps is almost instant)

XP (SP3) machine with guest additions:
1 CPU (only) recommended
256mb RAM
graphics 24mb, no graphic acceleration

This is important: no 3d, no 2d and 1CPU

You can choose to disable full-screen toolbar (optional) as well:


If you have VT-x on processor then you'll get better performance (is default set to ON in the acceleration tab if available).

NOTE:
To get full-screen: go to full-screen mode, use the resolution in XP the same you have on Win8 (host).
In the INI file: add the same resolution too.
In a VM, the game menu's are small in 800x600 as usual + there is no screen stretching. Don't panic: when the match starts you get your HD res from INI.

I currently use VMware Player (for practical reasons) where other settings apply, but as always 3D acceleration is NOT required for this game.

I'm sorry it doesn't work well on Win8 there.

If you need a quick VM tutorial about this we can post it in the Virtulaisation section.

If you have any other questions, about VM's or config's, feel free to ask them.

 

[Hopachi]

Have you guys tried Ares?
Ares - A Yuri's Revenge Expansion DLL

This should be the most compatible "patch" available. Replaces ddraw and npatch.

See readme file they provide in download.

I'm gonna post my results for this one on Win8 after I test it.

 

[manwithdog]

Okay. Followed everything you have posted and this is what I've ended up with...

I have re-installed XP in Virtualbox with the settings you suggested. i.e. Size, no Acceleration etc.etc.

Installed my original copies of Red Alert 2 + Yuri. Updated Yuri to 1.001. Then applied Npatch.

As things stand, I can run the game pretty much perfectly if I stick to 1024 x 768 as per what the game originally offered. But if I go into the ini file and alter the setting to a higher res (for me I need 1920 x 1080) then it plays up big time!

The problem with a lower res, apart from the obvious too small issue, is that when you move the mouse cursor to the sides to scroll the map you leave the game's 'box' (if you know what I mean), which means I end up having to use the cursor keys to scroll. Not the best thing to do when trying to play.

So the clue to getting this to work is in the screen size/res.

I did try a res between 1024 x 768 and my 1920 x 1080, and the game almost wanted to play properly, but it struggled with speed and the sound stuttered.

Thanks for all your help with this. It is very much appreciated.

 

[Hopachi]

I understand perfectly. All those issues happened here.
But that's good news if it worked!

Installed my original copies of Red Alert 2 + Yuri. Updated Yuri to 1.001. Then applied Npatch.

Good! 1.001 is the way to go.

The problem with a lower res, apart from the obvious too small issue, is that when you move the mouse cursor to the sides to scroll the map you leave the game's 'box' (if you know what I mean), which means I end up having to use the cursor keys to scroll

The box and stuttering are annoying to me as well. We'll fix this for the most part. But: have you ever tried right-click drag to move around the map? Yuri's Revenge allows that!
This way you won't be needing to go to the screen border all the time.

When you get to the edges it will begin stuttering on sound but I installed the latest additions and it was mostly fixed. It can still happen once in a while, but as long as it's not too frequent I like it + I use right click drag and it's way faster. Then it dissapeared completely after applying full screen with no box (see below).

So the clue to getting this to work is in the screen size/res.

1920x1080 is very high. I don't have such monitor here yet.
For me 1366x768 is the maximum and I use this.

However for you in order to get rid of the "box" there are a few possibilities:

Option one: remain on 1080p if it's not slowing down:
-give the machine more graphic memory try 32mb or better 48mb because 1920x1080 may require this (to counter the slowdowns you encounter)
You use 1920x1080 in the INI, OK and the host (Win7 or Win8 you use) main resolution should be the same.

Option two: choose a lower resolution that's decent enough but doesn't slow down:
-then 24mb up to 32mb graphics will be enough
-You use that in the INI (for instance 1366x768 if supported, to keep your HD ratio), BUT then the same resolution has to be applied on your host as well before you start up the fullscreen on XP machine.

This is only during play. But I hope the HD resolution will work for you.

That's it!

 

[Hopachi]

Have you guys tried Ares?
Ares - A Yuri's Revenge Expansion DLL

This should be the most compatible "patch" available. Replaces ddraw and npatch.

See readme file they provide in download.

I'm gonna post my results for this one on Win8 after I test it.

Here is the test. If you got it working in VirtualBox or you use Win7, doesn't matter this is just a promised test.
And it works!

Test: Making Yuri's Revenge work on Windows 8.

About Ares expansion: I provided their site in previous post above.
Ares is the lates enhancement to this (old) game but works just as Npatch for us because we are normal users and no modders, I assume.
It fixes dual core and modern CPU slowdowns and expands the game engine capabilities.
Npatch does this as well. The game also starts without any extra patch as we will see below, but Npatch or Ares is definitely recommended for Yuri' Revenge on a newer OS as Win8 and multicore CPU's.


The test environment: Win8 x64 RTM on VMware Player 5.0.1

This is my host Win8 pc (Blue for now) and all the Orange edge screenshots that follow are on the testing virtual machine in Player.


If you try this test also: Limiting the Max resolution to you own maximum ,as seen in screenshot above, should increase performance in game.

On a host pc the game should start with the same compatibility settings.
I'm doing it here for testing the Ares expansion.


First of all, a test without any patch just with the game v.1001 to set compatibility right.
It won't start.... first step: compatibility troubleshooter (right click on launcher)



The settings that work very well here are XP SP3 and 16bit color mode.



Both executables need the settings as seen in screenshot above.


Then we launch the game (ra2md) from shortcut (first time as admin should be applied by the XP compatibility)



A test (1366x768 in INI file)

It runs smoothly.

Now let's apply Ares.
As Npatch, you get the same extra options when making random maps.

There is a readme file and after putting all files to game folder we need to run the BAT (batch) file.
It doesn't work... (Works in XP just to confirm it, but not on Win7/8) not even as admin. By looking into it (edit) we see that it uses Syringe.exe to add the ares.dll to the main launcher and so I make a shortcut to desktop to replace the BAT:


The extra parameters ("gamemd.exe" %*) are required:


And using this the game launches:

See version down in right corner.

A proof that it works, new settings on random maps:


Then we do a test (start) in game:

Still works smoothly; the crate in upper left gave me money by the way.

This is it for the (succesful) test.
Npatch or Ares: both pretty good, depends on game or mod and if the Syringe is flagged by antivirus or not (it should not be the case but some AV may report it due to what it's doing: dll injection to add features and fixes to the game). I scanned it with Defender and all is OK.

You might get it working in VirtualBox as seen in previus post, works in VMware Player as well and it you get the right settings and convince the Troubleshooter (see up) then it will work on Win8 natively because it was confirmed here. Compared to Win7, here on 8 we'll need to be more strict with the settings and the main executable needs 16bit color mode for in-game resolution.

For now, I use the game in VirtualBox and in VMware Player (on Win8 of course) because a virtual XP provides the best in-game performance in my opinion. And you don't need to tweak so much:
1CPU virtual machine with no 3D acceleration handles the game well enough.

As shown above, Win8 can handle it as well, after some settings tweaking (just make sure you choose the right options).
The choice is up to you.

Ok, this post is long enough, especially the images.

Cheers
Hopachi

 

[manwithdog]

Hopachi. Thanks for all your help with this. I wish I could of come back with something positive from it all as you have been a star mate! Unfortunately having gone through all this, plus out of pure desperation I have even installed VMPlayer too, nothing really works perfectly. Got close(ish).

So what I might do is have a dual boot of Windows 7 and 8. Maybe put all my games on Windows 7, or at the very least, use Windows 7 JUST for Yuri. lol. I know, sad isn't it going to all that trouble just for one game? Still addicted to it though after all these years! But anyway. At least by doing a dual boot, I know I can have my favourite game running perfectly on 1920 x 1080. Until 'maybe' such time as Microsoft might have some sort of update that 'may' help with playing these older games on Windows 8. I was really going to just stick with Windows 7, but I have the option at the moment to get Windows 8 for a really low price and I think it would be silly to not take that offer.

Thanks for everything mate. Nice one.

 

[Hopachi]

You're welcome.

One way or another, you can still play it, doesn't matter which OS.

VMware Player, long story short: working Yuri with best results under a Windows ME machine.
A bit harder to setup, so if you got it working in 7, don't waste time with Win ME.

Cheers
Hopachi

 

[pjn123]

@Hopachi - Thanks for the help. I tried everything a month ago but downgraded to 7 again just for RA2.
Have now tried running it in 16bit and it was fast and smooth

Maybe have something to to with our gfx cards too? ATI Radeon HD 5570 here

 

[Hopachi]

@Hopachi - Thanks for the help. I tried everything a month ago but downgraded to 7 again just for RA2.
Have now tried running it in 16bit and it was fast and smooth

Anytime.
The game is actually in 16bit color when in full-screen but most of the users don't even know or care.

Maybe have something to to with our gfx cards too? ATI Radeon HD 5570 here

I don't think so.
As long as gfx card can do 16bit color, the game will run. Virtually I only had 32mb graphics memory for it.
Game is pretty old (directx 6-7 I guess), but newer gfx will be no problem, especially with Npatch or Ares patches applied.

Cheers
Hopachi

 

[GoodAdvice]

Yuris Revenge - Loosing after Minutes

Dear all,

My !!GERMAN!! Yuri's revenge is starting without problems on my Windows 8 64bit.
I have applied the "Run as Admin" and compability / 65.536 colours things.
Game starts.

But if I start any campain or Skrimisch game
after 1min, 25sec I LOOSE the game.
Always.

If I LOAD a Savegame, the loading Screen will last forever.

HELP !!!