16bit Colour in FME

[MrXBob]

I'm trying to stream an old PC game which as far as I know runs in 16bit colour.

I can get it streaming if i keep windows set to 32bit, but the colours are messed up. If I change to 16bit, FME simply doesnt want to stream the video at all - it just does audio. The log even shows that video hasnt started streaming.

Is it possible at all?

[jamesandgeli]

i think adobe left out video encoding from a 16 bit system. Not too surprising since most people tossed 16bit after win95. Instead of changing windows to 16bit try making a new shortcut for the game u want to broadcast. right click it and select its properties. Now where you see the games location @ "ie. C\Cavedog\TotalA\totala.exe" add "-window" or "window" this should keep the 16bit settings from affecting the entire system (which i believe it automatically does when enabled to fullscreen) then you can use -h -w to set the size of the window, so it would look something like "C:\Cavedog\Totala\totala.exe -window -h 800 -w 600 there may or may not be a space between the -h and the 800, you will have to experiment. I think switching the system entirely to 16bit is where your problem may lie. The commands are direct x commands and im assuming this game is using the direct x engine.

[MrXBob]

Thanks for all the help - I tried forcing it into windowed mode but it wont do it unfortunately. It is a DirectX game

I'm going to try running it in a virtual PC window

[witespy]

You have two options .....

Try a Program called http://www.dosbox.com/ dosBOX.. it is awesome.

DOSBox is a DOS-emulator that uses the SDL-library which makes DOSBox very easy to port to different platforms. DOSBox has already been ported to many different platforms, such as Windows, BeOS, Linux, MacOS X...


OR ScummVM http://www.scummvm.org/

ScummVM is a program which allows you to run certain classic graphical point-and-click adventure games, provided you already have their data files. The clever part about this: ScummVM just replaces the executables shipped with the games, allowing you to play them on systems for which they were never designed!

wite

[MrXBob]

Thanks whitespy but I do know about those, and unfortunately its not a DOS or Scumm-based game. If it helps, it's Titanic: Adventure out of Time, it's a Windows game but its so old that it forces 16bit colour and 640x480 (or thereabouts) fullscreen.

[witespy]

what happens if you use DXWND to force almost anything into a windowed mode?

The last thing is to run it in a virtual machine like VMware ... witch I love <3

[jamesandgeli]

what happens if you use DXWND to force almost anything into a windowed mode?
<3
It cant hurt to try it, at the worse the system crashes and you have to do a reboot. if it doesnt work try adding the width and height commands to it, if it still doesnt work try the following;

"-window -w 640 -h 480" without the quotes, make sure you are updated to the lastest DirectX (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=2DA43D38-DB71-4C1B-BC6A-9B6652CD92A3&displaylang=en).

Are you running the game on Linux through wine, win, or mac?

[MrXBob]

Tried that, still not working - the problem i think is that the shortcut doesnt actually run the game. It runs a launcher which then runs the game.

I tried finding an exe for the actual game that the launcher runs - but there doesnt seem to be one. Also in the launcher there is an option called "try to change display resolution" - the game will only run if this is ticked.

[MrXBob]

Are you running the game on Linux through wine, win, or mac?

I'm running it on Windows XP

I've never heard of DXWND - im looking it up now

[jamesandgeli]

id never heard of it either, i thought it was a command not a program :P i would try the dx command i gave you. if you have an older version of dx try using the -w command i believe this is an older command to open it in a window. without the -w -h commands it is still going to want to open to the size of your screen and may change windows settings automatically. so make sure to use the -w -h.

[MrXBob]

Tried all of your suggestions, none work :( It has to be what i said earlier, it only runs the launcher not the game. So those commands wont work

I tried DXWND too and its pretty much the same thing - i have to select the games executable file, but there isnt one

[jamesandgeli]

hmm, if its loading via launcher it should have an exe outside the launcher. you would have to find this, create a shortcut for it (insert the window commands) and skip the launcher completely, by clicking the shortcut. that or crack open vb and modify the shortcut from within the launcher which makes me have a headache just thinking about it.

you are adding my commands to a shortcut and not the actual program itself right?

[MrXBob]

Breakthrough!

I did find the real executable - (and yes I'm adding the commands to a shortcut, not the actual program) although adding those options to it just gives me a popup warning telling me that only some options are available (they're basically the options from the launcher) - and dumps me back to the desktop, so I cant do it with those.

But DXWND does manage to run it in a window - although its just a black screen. Audio and control input is working fine, as far as I can "see" without seeing anything lol... hmmm

[jamesandgeli]

did you try the older -w command? also try running the exe (not the shortcut) and press alt+enter

[witespy]

looks like a MV is going to be the best bet . virtual machine

you can run that in windows mode.


wite

[jamesandgeli]

another way would be to find the config settings for the game in its directory, open them with notepad and search for fullscr (make sure you back the file up before editing) should look like 347237-fullscr. Delete this part and write "window" in its place. then try to fire it up.

[MrXBob]

I tried all the commands from the thread, but they all give the same message - telling me only the set 6 in the list are available to change. Anything else stops the game running.

Alt+enter doesnt work either :(

I'm going to try virtual machine in the morning, thanks for all the help guys!

[MrXBob]

Just an update - works great in Virtual machine running XP :) streams fine too

Thanks for all the help and suggestions :D

[witespy]

good show


you must really like that game!!!


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