View Full Version : MTW in virtual machines
Hello everybody.
My first question on this fine forum would be, is it at all possible to launch MTW in any kind of virtual machine, like VirtualPC, VMWare Player or VirtualBox?
On my current physical PC, the game works more or less okay (well actually more like less okay, with lots of CTDs and about a 15-second delay before loading any kind of screen). But I'm afraid on another configuration I won't be so lucky (on my previous PC the loading time was about 3 minutes, totally unplayable).
In VirtualBox I have managed to successfully pass the Direct3D check, but then the game CTDs immediately at startup. Did anybody have more luck?
In VMWare Player 5.1 the game starts and even loads very fast (no more stupid no-reason delays!) but then returns into the pause menu automatically each time strategic map is loaded. (Battle maps load just great, by the way.)
Welcome to the Org, Eraser! ~:wave:
The idea of running in MTW in a VM did occur to me about a year ago, but I never got around to trying it out (pick a reason: too busy, game works in my current setup, too lazy). What version of Windows are you running in the VM?
I'm running Windows XP SP3 in both VMs.
I've only tried running Linux in VMWare. How does XP handle WGA in a VM?
Have you tried the button fix patch on your VM installations?
I have, yes. Didn't work at all. For the record, it didn't work at all in any of the OS I've tried, physical machines included.
Brandy Blue
04-27-2013, 00:51
What is a button fix?
What is a button fix?
It's the replacement .bif files for the next and previous buttons on the campaign map. peter_de123 found it while messing around with the PMTW mod files (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?103656-NEW-Fix-for-CTD-when-starting-campaign-%28Nvidia-High-End-Cards%29-10).
In VMWare Player 5.1 the game starts and even loads very fast (no more stupid no-reason delays!) but then returns into the pause menu automatically each time strategic map is loaded. (Battle maps load just great, by the way.)
How did you get past the Direct3D check in VMWare Player? It's disabled in my XP SP3 Pro VM (Vista host), and the suggested fix on the VMWare site doesn't appear to do anything.
How did you get past the Direct3D check in VMWare Player? It's disabled in my XP SP3 Pro VM (Vista host), and the suggested fix on the VMWare site doesn't appear to do anything.
What version of VMWare Player are you using? In the latest 5.1 version, you should go to the Display tab in the virtual machine properties, and turn on the checkbox activating 3D acceleration. In earlier versions, true, D3D wasn't at all supported (it still isn't for Win9x guest OS).
5.0.2 is the highest version mine will get to using the built-in updater (originally had 3.something installed from scratch).
You should try 5.1, probably D3D support was introduced only in this version.
Brandy Blue
04-30-2013, 23:29
It's the replacement .bif files for the next and previous buttons on the campaign map. peter_de123 found it while messing around with the PMTW mod files (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?103656-NEW-Fix-for-CTD-when-starting-campaign-%28Nvidia-High-End-Cards%29-10).
??? Peter's thread mentions Napoleon Total War, not PMTW.
??? Peter's thread mentions Napoleon Total War, not PMTW.
My bad. It's been a while since I read that post...
Brandy Blue
05-01-2013, 02:06
Thank you Drone. I look forward to trying this out, one day when I can find time.
You should try 5.1, probably D3D support was introduced only in this version.
Where are you getting VMWare Player 5.1 from? The VMWare website only has 5.0.2, is 5.1 a beta release?
Thank you Drone. I look forward to trying this out, one day when I can find time.
It's a very small and simple fix to apply - only minor problem can be obtaining the download itself...
Since applying it I have not ( yet ) had any crashes caused by clicking on a province with more buildings than the game screen can show
( i.e. show without "next page" buttons to get you to the "overflow" ).
Where are you getting VMWare Player 5.1 from? The VMWare website only has 5.0.2, is 5.1 a beta release?
My apologies, 5.0.1 was what I meant. Checked up on update list, 5.0 was the version introducing D3D support.
I did it!!
Finally there's a way to guarantee MTW run fast and stable on *any* system. Thanks to forum members who hinted on Windows 7 improvements over XP in handling AGP graphics, I decided to test the game in the Windows 7 virtual machine run by VMWare Player - and it worked like a charm, no more stupid CTDs and immediate load times!
Of course, you need a not-so-obsolete host PC to have good results (no less than 3 Gb RAM, and a quad-core CPU would be a big plus).
Good news! Is this with VMWare 5.0.2? I never was able to get it working with an XP VM, glad to see you were able bypass the issues.
VMWare 5.0.1 actually, but I guess it'd work with any version 5.0 and newer. A seldom case of Win 7 beating XP when it comes to old games :)
Would you be able to explain just how to get it running in VWmare Player,as I've been trying to get it running myself since I read your post and I can't figure it out..
oz_wwjd, what exactly seems to be the problem?
Eraser, did you still use the physical CDs?
I have a new iMac and would love to play my MTW in VMWare (I've never got it to work with BootCamp). But as the newer macs don't have CDs, is it possible to "virtualize" the CD too with VMWare (and get it to run without resorting to cracks)?
Nikodil, no, I've left behind the whole concept of using physical CDs behind long ago. CD images all the way!
is it possible to "virtualize" the CD too with VMWare
Of course, you can add a virtual CD drive to your VM configuration and mount anything you desire there (use DaemonTools, for example).
(and get it to run without resorting to cracks)?
Personally, I see nothing wrong in using a NoCD if the game was bought legally. :) Nobody suffers, and the customer gains the ability to play without sliding CDs in and out constantly.
Cool, I'll give it a try then, maybe I'll finally be able to retire my stone age sony vaio.
(and my objections against NoCD cracks are purely technical, not legal)
(and my objections against NoCD cracks are purely technical, not legal)
With all due respect, that's a religious aspect, not technical. :)
For a vast majority of situations, a NoCDed game works as well as an original one, and that I've personally confirmed for MTW specifically.
Hmm, I'm using Parallels, and for some reason it still asks for the correct CD when launching. And the NoCD I've found for the gold edition. I only have the original MTW (+ separate VI expansion), do you know if there is there a NoCD for that too?
Yes, VMWare with Windows 7 seems to do the trick. With Parallels the screen was just black, both with XP and 7. And VMWare+XP had bad gfx glitches.
The problem is that I have VMware Player and I have no idea on how to get Windows 7 virtual machine running in it,as I've never done it before. My search online on how to do it has been unfruitful,so could you walk me through the process,or at least help me out here? I loved MTW as my favorite CA game of this series and I'd very much like to start playing it again,which my current video card doesn't permit me to do.
oz_wwjd, here's a detailed video instruction (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfpUpSP7dxo) you can use.
Thanks for that. Turns out that I needed version 4 of VMPlayer for it to work,but once I had that,plus your Youtube Link,everything's going fine.
Sadly, the virtualized Win7 (or, more precisely, VMWare SVGA II video card) is still subject to the "can't move units unless to attack" bug, and the game does happen to crash sometimes when loading the campaign map after the battle. Still, it's WAY better than any of the modern physical video cards.
TotalKampf
11-26-2014, 09:30
Hello.
I'm rebumping this thread to ask for help.
After hours of looking around for a way to play my old "Total War Eras" box, I found the Virtualbox method, and after some tinkering, managed to get Shogun Total War working. There is some lag in the battle maps (still bearable), but other than that, game is flowing flawlessly.
However, when I tried to repeat the same trick with Medieval Total War, I simply couldn't do it. Game installed just fine, but when I try to load, I get a Direct3d error that says "failure to initialize".
I am using the latest version of Oracle Virtualbox. I already checked the "Enable 3d acceleration" box, and also installed the guest additions in safe mode, so that Direct3d would be included.
Yet, nothing changed.
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I'm at a loss here, I thought that since STW and MTW used the same engine, if I managed to get a way to play one, the other would be done as well.
Yet, it doesn't seem to be the case...
Please help.
The engines are close, but not exactly the same. I'm not familiar with Virtualbox, so I'm not sure how much help I can give. When exactly is the game crashing?
TotalKampf
11-27-2014, 19:36
The engines are close, but not exactly the same. I'm not familiar with Virtualbox, so I'm not sure how much help I can give. When exactly is the game crashing?
Right at the beginning.
After I put on my DVD, I double click the desktop icon of the Gold Edition, the small square appears, there is a 20 sec delay, screen goes black (as if to load the game), but there instead of the two cinematics that are supposed to play, an error sound + box appears that return me to desktop, saying something like ""An Error Has Occurred While Initializing Direct3D.".
I've already tried both VMWare and VMWare Workstation, both run the game, but the battle lag/errors makes it impossible to play. Units and trees have notorious black boxes around them, units don't move at all when you click on the terrain, and even scrolling over the terrain with the arrow keys is unbearably slow.
Is there any way to make MTW work on Win 8 or in Virtual Machines (won't mind downloading yet another virtualisation software)?
Or simply put, the only way to play this game is to install Windows XP in a host country?
TotalKampf
11-27-2014, 22:24
Here is my current situation, explained in detail.
I posted this previously in the totalwar.forums.com website see if anyone could help me there.
I am copying it all here, so you guys can also take a look at it:
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Originally posted at: http://forums.totalwar.com/showthread.php/142115-Medieval-Total-War-on-Virtual-Machines-(VMWare-VirtualBox-etc)
Hello there, I am currently using Windows 8 in my laptop, and I would like to play again the Total War Eras collection package I bought years ago.
Rome Total War Gold Edition and Alexander seem to work just fine, but both Shogun Total War Gold Edition, as well as Medieval Total War Gold Edition are impossible to play. Both immediately crash after intro credits.
I read that the graphic settings of both games are simply incompatible with Windows 8, and read in a number of websites (including this one), that using virtual machines could be a possible way to get to play them. I got a Windows XP SP3 iso image, and have been using that for my experiments.
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I download Oracle Virtualbox, and after some tweaking around, I got Shogun Total War to work. Granted, there are some minor flaws:
- Resolution for my laptop (1366 vs768) isn't available, so the best next thing I get is the old 1024x768, which leaves two black columns in both sides of my screen (not a real issue).
- Main menu and campaign map graphics are for the most part ok, yet they feel slightly slower.
- Battle graphics are ok for the most part, and game mechanics work just fine. Yet, scrolling around the map (whether with arrow keys or right clikc mouse), lags the game a bit. Nothing too hard to bear though.
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HOWEVER,
Medieval Total War Gold Edition doesn't work the same way apparently. I installed the game in guest (virtual) machine, just like I had with Shogun, and tried to open it.
Screen goes black after a few seconds, but reverts back to desktop with an error saying that Direct3d memory or acceleration settings are wrong. It doesn matter that I had installed the direct3d package, added with the Guest Additions of VirtualBox (done in safemode). It just won't work.
--
After that, I downloaded VMWare player (free for non-commercial use), and installed Medieval Total War, see if I had better luck with it.
I sort of did. After installing the game, it opened just fine, and though a bit laggy, the main menu seemed to work fine, and even the campaign tutorial and campaign map are for the most part functional as well (though noticeably more laggy compared to Shogun on VirtualBox). I then proceeded to test the battle map settings and there it was hell.
Trees, units and practically any element designed on top of the map has a noticeable black box around it. Likewise, scrolling around the map is incredibly laggy (much more than STW on Virtualbox). Yet, none of this is as bad as the complete impossibility to interact with your units and order them around. While you can select them, you simply can't get them to move or change formations. SUffice is to say, battles are off the question here.
I was wondering if it was an MTW problem exclusively, and thus decided to install STW in the VMWare Player guest machine. Exact same results: Menu and map are for the most part alright, but battle graphics are broken in the exact same way (black boxes around units, trees and some parts of terrain; terrible scroll lag; no interaction with troops).
I concluded it was then a VMWare Player problem.
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After that, I decided to try the "upgraded" and professional version of VMWare: VMWare Workstation (version 10 and latest one).
I downloaded it from their website, and got a 25 number key to activate it.
Repeated the same process of creating a Windows XP SP3 machine (looks quick in the description, but you guys can't imagine how tedious it is to reinstall Windows over and over again), and added the VMWare Tools latest version.
After fixing some other issues with the machine (apparently there is a sound problem when your host OS is Win 7/ Win 8 and your guest is Win XP; which required me to install an audio fix from lilchips.com); I decided to experiment once again.
Results were ironically worse than what I had gotten with the free to use VMWare Player: After installing both STW and MTW, both games do open correctly and I can get to their main menu. Yet, the differences start to appear even there:
- Screen flickering (colours changing) can happen occasionally, unlike the stability I had had with both VirtualBoX (Shogun only) and VMWare Player.
- Battle map graphics are just as bad as VMWare Player: Black boxes around elements (troops, trees, occasionally castle walls); scroll lag is unbearably heavy; troops do not respond to any command.
- Unlike VMWare Player, campaign/strategic map is also broke. While you can access it, the moment it loads, screen and colour flickering go crazy. Even your mouse pointer starts to present issues as it starts to leave a graphic trail when you move it (dozens of mouse pointers at times). Getting out requires you to hit ESC and exit the game.
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Current Results:
Oracle Virtualbox:
STW: Bar some minor problems (ressolution, a slight increase in lag), Shogun Total War Gold Edition can be played here. Main menu, campaign map and battle maps are all functional.
MTW: In spite of installing the Direct3d component given in the Guest Additions, Medieval Total War Gold Edition won't even load the intro credits (even worse than my host Windows 8 OS). Direct3d errors as given as explanation.
VMWare Player:
STW: Main menu and campaign map work correctly, although lag is slightly worse than in VirtualBox. Battle map has a number of problems that make fighting real time battles impossible.
MTW: Exact same situation as the aforementioned.
VMWare Workstation 10:
STW: Main menu works correctly, although colour flickering occurs occasionally. Both campaign map and battle map graphics have severe problems that make playing the game impossible. Campaign map's colour are so heavily distorted, hardly anything is visible. Battle maps present black boxes around units, terrible scrolling lag, and units aren't responsive to commands.
MTW: Same situation as the above.
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Having described at length my findings. I come to you for aid and a number of questions.
1. Seeing as Oracle VirtualBox seems to have better responsiveness to the STW engine, is there anything I can do to get over the Direct3d problem that won't allow me to open MTW?
2. Is there any fix for the battle map severe issues presented in VMWare player? Similar question for WMWare Workstation 10?
3. If none of the virtualisation software programs I've tried can be used to properly play Medieval Total War GOld Edition; is there any other alternative or option I could look into?
4. Could the fact I'm using Windows XP SP3 be anyhow part of the problem? Should I try older virtualizations (Windows 98/ME/2000) ?
5. If virtual machines are simply not capable of playing Medieval Total War Gold Edition, what alternatives do I have? Is there any chance of finding a patch/configuration change/graphic card tweaking, that could allow me to open the game correctly in my host OS?
While XP or 98 are the best OS's to run MTW on, it will work with Vista or 7 with tweaking (assuming your graphics adapter is not Intel). I don't think anyone has gotten MTW running natively on 8.
On virtual machines, I don't know what to tell you, I don't know enough about how to tweak their settings and how they interact with the host machine. MTW was behind the time graphically when it was released, and I imagine there were shortcuts and liberties made with the DirectDraw/Direct3D libraries. Even the WINE folks have had no luck with the game.
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