Might and Magic VII crashing

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Hey.

I dug out my old, hard copy of MM7, and begun playing it again.

It works fine... except when I get to the dwarf rescue quest in the Bracada Desert mine. For some obscure reason, when I try to jump in the elevator, the game crashes.

Now normally I would just shrug it off, but I can't get any further in the game because of that.

I'm running MM7 in software mode (not like I had a choice, anyway), on my crappy old P3. Video card's a S3 Trio3D onboard which works with regular Trio3D drivers. Incompatibility, perhaps? The video card works perfectly, at any rate.

I haven't faced such a problem in either MM6 or MM8. WTF?

 

Are you running it in Windows XP? If so there are loads of problems with that.

If so this site can help you alot!

MM on Windows XP

This will let you play the game with sound and 3d. On this page you will also find mention of Mok's MMVII patch which may help the mine problem, I am not sure though but it's worth a shot.

 

I'm running it on ME, actually. I had the very same problems on 98SE... well, on this damn computer. And when I try to install it on 2k (on my P4) the install starts then crashes just as fast.

 

I'm trying to run it on XP, and have problems with it recognising DirectX 9.0c, so that may solve my problems, thanks Apeman

 

@DarkStrider: I've managed to successfully run MM7 on XP with hardware acceleration and everything enabled properly (the only thing that didn't work properly was the sound, but I found a custom DLL that fixed the problem). The big problem seems to be DirectX, rather than Windows itself. MM6-8 just don't like any DirectX 9 version (and it does seem to get worse as you go from a to c).

@DotW: IIRC, you don't need to go to the lower level to finish the game. All the dwarves you need to rescue are on the top floor. If you don't have an Archer in fact, all you miss is some experience and items, since the only quest in the lower floor is the Archer promotion quest (though it can be a BIG pain if you have an Archer and can't upgrade him)

 

@Ziad the installation fails to recognise Directx is my main problem

Update: I followed the instructions on Apeman's link and it still crashes before starting

[ May 29, 2006, 13:17: Message edited by: DarkStrider ]

 

You were right, Ziad. I don't need to set foot in the lower levels because I had the genius NOT to take an archer... I'm currently doing some promotion quests, and I have "helped" both King Parson and Queen Catherine. F*** them. IIRC, the next big things is the trumpet, right, Ziad? I can't wait to choose paths. Darkness it will be!

 

IIRC if you help both, you can stay independent. I tend to think Catherine has more point than Parson, but it's not like any of them is an angel.

Archers ruled in MM6. Can't recall if I had one, or maybe a ranger or hunter or something, in my MM7 team. I definitely train the whole party in the use of the bow ASAP, though, and try to reach the highest proficiency level allowed ASAP, too, as well as have good bows.

 

IIRC, you're correct, Chev, but I'm a lazy-arse, and I just don't feel like invading Riverstride Fort or bother rescuing Loren Steel. Who gives a damn about humans or elves, anyway? I can't wait to rob the elves blind as promotion quest to Black Knight

DS, have you tried Mok's MM7 patch? I heard it can help an awful lot.

 

I would if I knew where the smeg to find it

Also my main problem is the installation fails, it says I don't have Directx high enough, and won't install.

 

Grab the newest DirectX from Microsoft or somewhere. But doesn't a new enough version come with the game, anyway? I think Windows should have high enough included in the system from a certain version on. MM7 is pretty old. I would think even the DirectX from Windows 98 would be enough for it to run. At any rate, grab DirectX, the newest one. Clicky

 

I have Directx 9.0c Chev downloaded about two weeks ago from Microsoft, because of problems with directdraw and Oblivionn.

When I try to install under windows XP it does a test on the system to check that I can run the game, it says it needs v6, but it doesn't recognise 9.0c and fails the installation.

Strangely enough MM6 - Mandate of Heaven I'm runnibg with no probs whatsoever, and yes chev Archers rule, my party is Druid, Archer, Cleric, Sorcerer

If anything I need to install an old version of directx, install MM7, patch it, upgrade directx and hope it runs.

 

Mok's MMVII patch

This baby works wonders every time, at least on my system.

There are also two one for MMVI and one for MMVIII

Hope it works!

 

Here's my plan which hopefully will work

1. Uninstall MM6
2. Remove Directx
3. Install MM6 and directx6
4. Install MM7
5. Install patches
6. Install directx 9.0c

And then hopefully I'll be able to play 7, as well as 6

 

@DS: Your plan is doomed to fail: you cannot uninstall DirectX 9 (last version that could be removed was 7 IIRC). There is an unofficial utility on the internet to remove DX, but you use it at your own risk: I tried it once, and it can make things quite messy. Really the only way you can backtrack to older DX is by reinstalling Windows, which is probably not worth it just for MM7. You could check if Apeman's patches have some workaround to install the game.

@Chev: The trick with MM6-8 is to NOT grab the new DirectX

@DotW: If you're playing evil you can actually play both rulers for suckers and betray both. You can get a "false" Lorren Steel to spy on Catherine, and get false plans to the king. It's also much easier and faster than doing the quests properly, and you get exactly the same XP and gold rewards! What you do with the trumpet then decides who wins the war (or if Harmondale stays independent), just as if you'd helped both.

 

@Ziad already found that I couldn't uninstall and didn't to play around and maybe make things worse

 

Have you tried my patch yet?

 

I can't install it Apeman, so patching is a bit difficult, unless it's a patch fopr my system to allow me to install it.

 

I just checked out the patches, and they work like "normal" patches, ie on top of an already existing installation. At this stage they're no help unfortunately.

Darkstrider, what you could do is find another PC where installation does work, then copy the entire game directory back to your home system (if you've got a 1Gb USB drive this should not be a problem). MM7 does not have anything important in the registry, so this will at least get you the game on your home PC. Then you can apply Apeman's patch, and the game should work properly.

I remember the MM games complaining about DX 8 (which is what I had on XP the last time I played MM7), but the game installed anyway... strange that the installer doesn't let you carry on with DX 9.

 

Woo, I'm bumping another thread.

I succesfully got MM7 to run under Win2k, SP4, DX8.0 on an Athlon X2 3.4 GHz. Had to play it in software mode, and my processor was detected as "Unknown AMD processor" but it worked. Didn't had to use Mok's MM7 patch either.

BTW, is it just me or MM7 is cat-piss easy compared to MM6? I just got through MM6, and MM7 looks like a big ****ing joke so far.