Here is version 1.0 of my guide to getting MOO running on Windows XP. Sorry that it is a little late. I came down with some type of nasty bug that really took the edge off my energy levels.
You can find the word version of it on my website at (
http://www.solazzia.myhosting.net/moostuff/)
I hope you find it useful to the MOO effort.
Setting up Master of Orion to run in Windows XP
Version 1.0
This guide will walk you through a number of steps designed to get Master of Orion running on your computer. This walkthrough goes in descending order of simple to most complex, ending with setting up your own bootdisk or bootCD. Sections 1 and 2 go together, while any other sections can stand on its own.
Index:
Section 1: Compatibility Mode
Section 2. Error Messages
Section 3: DOSbox
Section 4: Advanced DOSbox Configs
Section 5: Bootdisks
A. Making a Bootdisk
B. Making a Bootable CD
Section 6: Misc Error Messages
Section 7: FAQ
Section 1: Compatibility Mode
These steps will walk you through configuring windows XP to run Master of Orion.
Step 1: Install Master of Orion (MOO) onto your computer. Refer to the game’s
documentation for instructions.
Step 2: Open windows explorer and browse to the directory you installed MOO in. Double click on Orion.exe. If MOO starts and runs then congratulations! If you get an error message move onto Section 2. If the program doesnt start or starts but doesn’t run and you don’t get an error message, then move onto step 3. If the game runs too fast to be playable or you get mouse and/or graphical bugs then move onto section 3.
Step 3: Right click on Orion.exe and pick properties from the menu that pops up. A new window will open with several tabs at the top. Click the compatibility tab. Check the box that says “Run this program in compatibility mode”. A menu box will un-gray, click on it and select Windows 95 from the dropdown menu. Click the apply button in the bottom right part of the window and then close the window.
Try to run MOO again. If you get an error message then leave your settings as they are and move onto Section 2. If the game runs too fast or you get mouse and/or graphical errors move onto section 3. If the game doesn’t run then move onto step 4.
Step 4: Depending on your computer and its setup, another compatibility mode choice may work. Go back to the compatibility window and try the other operating system choices.
If none of the other choices work then uncheck the compatibility mode checkbox and move on to either Section 3 (BOSdox) or Section 4 (Bootdisk).
Section 2: Error Messages
Memory Error Messages:
If you get an error message relating to memory then this section is for you. These error messages may say something like “Master of Orion needs 240K of conventional memory to play and you have only 220K available.” They may also say you are missing a memory driver or manager.
Step 1: Open windows explorer and browse to the directory where you installed MOO. Right click on Orion.exe and click properties. Leave any compatibility settings the same and click on the memory tab. You will see a new screen with several memory types and various settings. Set EMS memory to 2048. Set conventional memory to 600, initial environment to Auto and uncheck the protected box. Set XMS and DMPI memory settings to auto. Click the apply tab and try to start up Master of Orion.
If the game still doesn’t run then it means that you will be unable to get MOO running without a bootdisk or DOSbox, move onto Section 3 or 4.
If you get an error message that doesn’t relate to memory then move on to Section 5 (Misc errors).
Section 3: DOSbox
DOSbox is a program that emulates MSdos. It is one of the best ways to get MOO running under Windows XP. The only problem with DOSbox is the amount of processor speed it needs. If you are running windows XP on a very old computer, you may have trouble with speed and need to make a bootdisk for the best performance.
Step 0: Don’t panic!! This is a long section but once you work your way through it, you will never have to again. If you are already familiar with DOS and command lines then this will take you very little time. Those not familiar with DOS should take care to following these directions exactly.
Step 1: Download and install the latest version of DOSbox from: (
http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/news.php?show_news=1). The file you want is in the downloads section of that site. The latest version of DOSbox as of this writing is .61 and that is the version this guide will use. Installation is simple, just double click on the file you downloaded and follow the onscreen instructions.
Step 2: Start up DOSbox and you will see two windows open. One says DOSbox at the top, has a version number and tells you what your current CPU cycles and frameskip settings are. When I refer to the main DOSbox window I am referring to the one with the CPU and frame skip information. Leave the other window alone at all times.
We will now go on to configure DOSbox to run optimally on your system.
Step 3: Close any programs that are running on your computer except for DOSbox and whatever you are using to view this document. Press control+alt+delete on your keyboard. This will open up the windows task manager (WTM). Most of the stuff here we can ignore. What we are looking for is in the lower right corner of the WTM. You should see something that says CPU usage and then a %, it should say something like CPU usage 55%.
The goal with DOSbox is to get your CPU usage close to 100% while DOSbox is running. To do this you can modify the amount of CPU cycles DOSbox emulates and how many frames DOSbox skips before it draws one on your screen. Select the main DOSbox window and press control + F12 once. At the top of the main DOSbox window you will notice that your CPU cycles went up by 500. If you go back to the WTM you might notice that, depending on the speed of your computer, your CPU usage went up as well. Keep pressing control + F12 until your CPU usage get close to 100%. Don’t go all the way to 100%. You don’t ever want to add more CPU cycles to DOSbox when your CPU usage is at 100%
Step 4: Once you get near 100% CPU usage go back to your main DOSbox window and press control + F8. You will notice that your frameskip went up by one. Going back to the WTM you will notice that your CPU usage went down. Increase your CPU cycles until your CPU usage gets close to 100% again. Now note down what your current CPU cycles and frameskip settings are on a piece of paper.
Close DOSbox and open up DOSbox.conf. You can find this file either in the DOSbox directory or in the DOSbox program group in your start menu. This file controls how DOSbox runs, what is emulates and what settings it has when it starts. There are many different categories and options but the one we are looking for is [render]. To find this section, you will probably have to scroll down a page or two.
Under [render] you will see a line that says “frameskip=0” change that to equal whatever your frameskip setting was. So if your setting was 1 then that line would read “frameskip=1”.
Continue down in the config file and find the [cpu] section. In that section you will see a line that says something like “cycles=2000”. Set this equal to whatever you cycles were. So if your cycles were set to 10000 it would read “cycles=10000”. Save this file and close it.
Step 5: Restart DOSbox. You should notice that DOSbox starts with the CPU and frameskip settings you specified in the config file.
Step 6: You are now ready to start up MOO. In your main DOSbox window you will see a line that says Z:\> and then a blinking cursor. The first thing you will need to do is “mount” your hard drive. First, find out the letter of the hard drive you have installed MOO on. For most people it will be C. You can find this information in windows explorer.
To mount your hard drive type “mount <hard drive number:> <Hard drive number you want it as :\>” then hit enter.
For example if your hard drive is C then you would type “mount C: C:\”
If you did everything right you will get a nice little message saying that your drive was mounted.
Write down what you typed in to mount your drive on a piece of paper.
The next step depends on whether the copy of MOO you have is on floppy disks or a CD. If you have the CD version of MOO then move onto Step 7. If you have a floppy version then move onto Step 8 and ignore Step 7.
Step 7: You will need to find out the letter of the CDrom drive that you put your MOO cd into. For most people this will be D or E. You can find this information in windows explorer. Then type “mount <cd letter :> <CDdrive you want to use :\ -t cdrom>”. For example if your CDrom was drive D then you would type “mount D: D:\ -t cdrom”
If you did everything correctly you will get a nice little message saying that your drive was mounted. If you made a mistake then simply retype the command.
Write down what you typed to mount you Cdrom on a piece of paper.
Step 8: Open the DOSbox config file as you did in Step 4, you don’t need to close DOSbox this time. Scroll down to the very bottom of the file to the [autoexec] section. Make two spaces under the line that says “# Lines in this section will be run at startup.”
Enter in the exact commands that you used to mount your hard drive and/or CDRom in the spaces you made. For example, if you did it with the commands used in this guide it would read:
[autoexec]
# Lines in this section will be run at startup.
mount c c:\
mount e e:\ -t cdrom
The next time you run DOSbox you wont have to mount your drives, it will be done automatically. Save the file and close it. Bring up your main DOSbox window.
Step 9: You will now need to switch to your hard drive and change to the directory that MOO is installed in. First type “<hard drive letter:>” for example if your hard drive was C you would type “C:”. You will get a new line that says C:\>, or whatever drive you switched to and a blinking cursor.
Find which directory you installed MOO in, this information can be found in window explorer. It will probably be ORION or MPS\ORION. You will now need to switch to that directory. To do so we will use the change directory command (CD). Type “cd <directory you want to switch to>” for example, if MOO is install in MPS\ORION, we would type “cd mps\orion”. If MOO is installed in ORION we would type “cd orion”.
You will then get a new line that says something like C:\MPS\ORION>. That is telling you that you are on the C drive in the directory MPS in the subdirectory ORION.
Write down what command you used to get to the MOO directory.
Step 10: Almost done. Now type “dir/w”. This will show you a list of all the files in this directory. To start moo simply type the name of the file you would click, in windows, to run MOO. For most people this will be orion.exe. You can leave off the EXE though and just type orion. Either way will work fine.
Master of Orion will now start up. Don’t panic if it loads slowly or runs funky!
Leave MOO running and open up the DOSbox config file again. Below where you entered the mounting commands type in the commands you used to get to your MOO directory. For example, using the commands used in this guide, this section would now look like this:
[autoexec]
# Lines in this section will be run at start
mount c c:\
mount e e:\ -t cdrom
C:
Cd mps\orion
Save the config file and close it. The next time you start up DOSbox all you will need to do is type orion to start the game. Start up a game of MOO and play for a bit. Notice how fast it runs and how well your mouse works. Pay attention to how responsive the mouse is and how quickly the map scrolls when you move it. If everything runs smoothly then you are done! If things run slowly or your mouse acts funky then move onto Step 10.
Step 11: To make MOO run better you can play with our CPU cycles and frameskip settings. Its impossible to write a step by step guide for this, because, what you will have to do depends on the speed of your computer. You can change these settings around while DOSbox is running MOO, so just play around until you get things running smooth and quick. Here are some tips:
1. If the map scrolls slowly or your mouse jerks and skips on the screen you will probably need to increase your frameskip a level. Don’t forget to open WTM and increase your CPU cycles again.
2. If the game runs too slow you will need to increase your CPU cycles. Increase your frameskip setting first and then increase your CPU cycles until you get near 100% CPU usage again. If the game still runs slow then you can bump up your frameskip another level. Be careful, when your frameskip gets too high you will start to get decreased performance with skippy/jumping graphics and/or mouse cursor. There is a happy middle ground that you will want to find.
3. If the map scrolls quickly but your mouse is jumpy or jerky then you may need to decrease your frameskip a bit (Control + F7). Don’t forget that you will need to decrease your CPU cycles until you get below 100% CPU usage (Control + F11).
4. Always adjust your settings inside a new game. The opening movie and main menu screen will probably always run worse then the game itself.
Once you find settings that work for you wrote them down and update the settings in your config file to match. If you are running an older computer and MOO runs slowly or poorly, even after you play around with these settings, then move onto Section 4 for more advanced tips on how to increase speed.
Section 4: Advanced DOSbox configs
This section will deal with getting the best performance possible out of DOSbox. It is mainly intended for those people with older computers but anyone looking to get more speed while playing MOO may find it useful.
Step 1: Sound is always a major killer of computer speed. Since most computers don’t have a soundcard that MOO can recognize, DOSbox emulates many types of old soundcards. Doing this takes a good chunk of processor power. By turning off your sound you can usually increase your performance.
First run the setup program that came with MOO and turn off sound and music, to do so simply select none as your sound and music card.
Step 2: Open the DOSbox config file. Check the section on setting up DOSbox for more information on how to find this file.
Scroll down to the [midi] section. Set mpu401 equal to false.
mpu401=false
Go to the [sblaster] section and set sblast and cms equal to false.
sblaster=false
cms=false
Go to the [gus] section and set gus equal to false
Gus=false
Go to the [speaker] section set pcspeaker, tandy and disney equal to false.
pcspeaker=false
tandy=false
disney=false
Go to the [modem] section and set modem equal to false.
Modem=false
Save the config file and try out MOO. Hopefully this will increase your speed a little.
Section 5: Bootdisks
A bootdisk is also a great way to run MOO. Using one will allow you to boot into MSDOS instead of Windows. Because MOO was made to run in DOS it’s a lot easier to get the game running. There are however, a few quirks that make this an inferior option to DOSbox.
The first is that DOS can be hard to configure. Getting modern drivers to run is challenging. To bypass this problem we will be using a generic bootdisk. Unfortunately, the second problem has to do with Windows XP. More specifically, bootdisks simply wont work with on some computers. You may make your bootdisk and find that, due to your computers setup, it simply won’t work. Because of this I only suggest making a bootdisk when you’re computer wont, or it too slow, to run DOSbox.
With that said, this section is broken up into two parts. If your computer has a 3 ½ inch floppy drive then use the section entitled “Making a boot disk”. If your computer doesn’t have a floppy drive then use the section entitled “Making a bootable CD”.
Making a Bootdisk:
Step 1: This is pretty simply. Go to this page (
http://community.the-underdogs.org/pub/bootdisks/) and download the program called whive12. This is the Beehive bootdisk, which I have found to be the best generic bootdisk program available.
Step 2: Insert a 3 ½ inch floppy into your drive and run the file you downloaded. It should be called whive.exe. This will create your bootdisk.
Step 3: Find you what directory and drive moo is installed on. For most people this will be the C drive and the directory ORION or MPS/ORION. Note down this information on a piece of paper. You may want to print the rest of this section out or take notes because you will not be able to access this document while you are in DOS. Next, insert your bootdisk into your floppy drive and restart your computer.
Step 4: You will be presented with several lists of options to choose from when you use this bootdisk. You can play around with them if you like but the following will be optimal for getting MOO to run:
1. Select option 1.
2. Selection Option 1. Start with Qemm.
3. If you installed MOO off of a CD then select option 1 to load a cd driver. If you installed moo off floppy disks then select option 2 to not load a cd driver.
4. Select option 1 to load your mouse driver
Step 6: You should now be greeting by a DOS screen. You will see a line on it that says A:\ with a flashing cursor after it. From here the steps are the same as they were in DOSbox.
The first thing we want to do is switch to the drive where MOO is installed. To do that type “<drive letter:>” so if the drive was drive C then we would type “c:” then hit enter. You will get a new line of text that reflects the fact that you switched drives. If we switched to drive C then we would see “C:\”.
Note: You may get an error message here about an invalid drive selection. This means that the bootdisk has failed to detect your hard drive. I suspect this has to do with having multiple hard drives and/or drive designation. I am still looking for a solution but for now, if you get this error, you will be unable to use a bootdisk or bootable CD to run MOO.
Step 7: You will now need to switch to the directory where you installed MOO, to do that we will use the change directory command (CD). Type “<CD directory/subdirectory>”. For example if MOO was installed in the MPS/ORION directory we would type “cd mps/orion”, if it were installed in the directory ORION we would type “cd orion”.
Step 8: Now type “dir/w”. This command will show you a listing of all the files in your current directory. To start MOO you simply need to type the name of the file used to start it. In most cases this will be Orion.exe. You can also leave off the .exe and simply type orion.
Note: If MOO doesn’t start correctly or you get an error message then reboot your computer again and select Option #2 for question #2.
Making a Bootable CD: This option is more complex then simply making a bookdisk. I would highly recommend that you check out DOSbox before trying this. It should be used as a last resort.
You will need the following:
Access to a CD burner
A blank CD.
Step 1: Download the CD image you will be burning. An image for the BeeOS bootdisk can be found at: (
http://www.solazzia.myhosting.net/moostuff/). Save this file to your desktop or some other place where you can easily find it.
Step 2: If you do not have CD burning software installed on your computer then you will need to obtain some. Because each piece of software is different I can’t provide a guide for each type. These instructions will be based on the trial version of NERO. Nero can be found at: (
http://www.nero.com/us/nero6-ultraedition.php). This is a limited time demo version but it’s sufficient to do what we need it to. Download and install it.
Step 3: Start up NERO and work your way through the demo version junk until you get to the main program. The first screen you will likely get is the cd-burning wizard, which we will want to close.
Step 4: Once the wizard is closed select file from your menu from the top of the screen and then burn image. A file selection box will open. Browse to the location where you saved the ISO image and double click on it. A new window will pop up. Leave all the options as they are and select write. Follow the on screen directions to burn your image to your CD. Once you are done exit NERO.
Step 5: Find which drive and directory MOO is installed in and write it down on a piece of paper. This information can be found with windows explorer. Most people will have it installed on the C drive in the directory ORION or MPS/ORION.
Step 6: Make sure your new CD bootable cd is in your CD drive and reboot your computer. You will boot into DOS instead of windows.
Step 7: You will be presented with several lists of options when using this CD. You can play around with them if you like but the following will be optimal for getting MOO to run:
1. Select option 1.
2. Selection Option 1. Start with Qemm.
3. Select option 1 to load your CD driver
4. Select option 1 to load your mouse driver
Step 8: You should now be greeting by a DOS screen. You will see a line on it that says A:\ with a flashing cursor after it. From here the steps are the same as they were in DOSbox.
The first thing we want to do is switch to the drive where MOO is installed. To do that type “<drive letter:>” so if the drive was drive C then we would type “c:” then hit enter. You will get a new line of text that reflects the fact that you switched drives. If we switched to drive C then we would see “C:\”.
Note: You may get an error message here about an invalid drive selection. This means that the bootdisk has failed to detect your hard drive. I suspect this has to do with having multiple hard drives and/or drive designation. I am still look for a solution but for now, if you get this error, you be unable to use a bootdisk or bootable CD to run MOO.
Step 9: You will now need to switch to the directory where you installed MOO. To do that we will use to change directory command (CD). Type “<CD directory/subdirectory>”. For example if MOO was installed in the MPS/ORION directory we would type “cd mps/orion”, if it were installed in the directory ORION we would type “cd orion”.
Step 8: Now type dir/w. This command will show you a listing of all the files in your current directory. To start MOO you simply need to type the name of the file used to start it. In most cases this will be Orion.exe. You can also leave off the .exe and simply type orion.
Note: If MOO doesn’t start properly or you get an error message then reboot your computer again and selection option #2 for question #2.
Section 6: Misc error messages
Error messages dealing with sound: You may get an error message relating to your soundcard. This could say something like “Unable to find soundcard” or “Sound card on port 7 ICQ 3 not found”. When MOO was created there were very few sound cards on the market. Since windows was not around with its nice automatic configuration utilities you have to a manually select your soundcard and configure it. Unfortunately, this means that most modern soundcards wont work with MOO. One possibility is to check your soundcard’s documentation. Some cards have drivers and/or features that allow them to work in DOS but most don’t.
One solution if you get an error message like this simply go into the MOO setup program. For most people this will be install.exe in their MOO directory. Choose to setup your sound and music cards and when prompted select no sound and no music. This should solve your problem.
Note: If you get this error message in DOS it is possible to find and add a sound driver to your bootup process that will allow a modern soundcard to work. This is a pretty complex process that involves messing around with system files. Because the potential to mess up your computer is very high and the process complex, I wont cover it in this FAQ. I suggest you either make a bootdisk as covered in section 5. The bootdisk in that section has a generic sound driver on it that works with most soundcards.
Section 7: FAQ
Have a question that wasn’t answered in this walkthrough? Got an error message or problem that wasn’t listed? Feel free to email me at Solazzia@peak.org, just put MOO in the subject line of your email. I will do my best to help you and put any addition info or questions in this section.
