pouët.net

Basic file requirements for running demos?

category: general [glöplog]
Is there a common core set of dlls or similar that need to be installed on a fresh WinXP install in order to run some demos? Half the ones I had ran fine before I did a reinstall, but after the reinstall, with the *exact* same driver setup, half of them fail to initialise or run, some without even reporting a missing dll. I suspect most of those would have been installed by previous programs.

Case in point, Sumotori Dreams doesn't run on a fresh XP install at all, even with the added mscrvp70.dll added to the system32 folder.

What am I missing here?
Did you install the latest DirectX version? Do you have those D3DX Dll's ?
added on the 2007-04-24 18:23:52 by keops keops
> Did you install the latest DirectX version? Do you have those D3DX Dll's ?

Yup, Dirext X 9c, April release.
Try to uninstall the 3D card drivers and reinstall the latest version.
added on the 2007-04-24 18:35:05 by keops keops
I'll try that, but it seems a bit odd, given that some demos still run perfectly.

Anyhoo, time for a reinstall!
I once had a similar problem, I guess something happened during the installation of the drivers the first time. I had to uninstall them then install them again. Hope it works for you.
added on the 2007-04-24 18:38:32 by keops keops
buy.amiga.
Well that didn't work :( Reinstall of the drivers made no difference. Sumotori Dreams still just gives me an hourglass, then nothing, no error reports either.

DxDiag returns everything as OK after all tests. The Debris demo works flawlessly.

I'm at a loss as to why it's not working.
Do you have the latest MSVCRT dll's?
added on the 2007-04-24 18:46:52 by Gargaj Gargaj
I'll do a search for those...
Could be that indeed, a lot of prods require them, for a reason I still fail to understand...
added on the 2007-04-24 18:50:35 by keops keops
Well I have msvcrt.dll, mscvrt20 and mscvrt40.... I'm sure there are others?
Well the code compiled with Visual Studio and featuring win code or whatever, is certainly dependent from microsoft's runtime dlls.

We could trace calls to this dll to know wtf it's required..?
added on the 2007-04-24 19:00:54 by SilkCut SilkCut
Ozzie: http://www.pouet.net/faq.php#24

Keops: simple -> "Visual Studio 2005 Express"
added on the 2007-04-24 19:02:51 by Gargaj Gargaj
just name some prods that DONT run and some that DO, maybe that'll allow us to be helpful?
Thanks all for the suggestions, a great help indeed. I'll see how those links go...
pah, or use this http://www.dll-files.com/
never use dll-files.com!
they have no security or malware-scanning involved, who knows how many of their files contain some sort of trojan you would never recognize?
added on the 2007-04-24 19:15:25 by Gargaj Gargaj
hmm... Gargaj (or anyone else), do you know of people having had problems with dll-files.com? Just in case...
thx.
added on the 2007-04-24 19:18:25 by bdk bdk
Well, still no luck. The Visual C++ 2005 Redist installed every msvcrt file imaginable, but still nothing with the Sumotori Dreams demo. My Dx 9c version was the April release, more than up to date, and tested fine.

Sumotori dreams fails to even start.

FarBrausch demos of various sizes all work. (64kb --> 8 meg size)

Heaven 7 by exceed works fine.

In fact, all the other demos I have now are working with the exception of Sumotori... ?!
Ozzie: the sumotori site says
Quote:
If the game crashes after starting, try turning the sounds off. If you upload a video to YouTube or goolge video, please include a link to this homepage. Bug reports are welcome.
added on the 2007-04-24 19:37:03 by Gargaj Gargaj
Tried the _No Shadows hint already, but the point is, the game isn't crashing, it's failing to even load in the first place! I've left an email bug report with the creator, but I just find it weird:

The game worked perfectly fine *before* I did a reinstall of the system, which had the exact same drivers and updates for all components. The only difference was that I'd installed about a dozen games and demos (demos of games that is, not demoscene demos). On a fresh install of the same drivers and updates, it no longer works (yet it seems all the other demos and games do).

Oh well, I'll keep fiddling...
they do say when the very latest dont work to try older versions.. but i'd rather wait for a reply from the creator..
added on the 2007-04-24 20:19:23 by psenough psenough
there is an option to link msvcrt libraries statically with vc2005. there is even an option to not link them at all. i believe this dll dependency issues should be developer's problem, not other's. then again people would assume msvcrt libraries are standart and use them with 64k's. "see dll-files.com you faggot" and using d3dx isn't any different than using glu or glut for me. but i guess not many people care, so i will end this monologue right here.
anes: I do, hence my post :)
added on the 2007-04-24 21:01:23 by keops keops

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