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PC version of Space Hulk: Vengeance of the Blood Angels

Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 2:00 am
by UnholyTancred
I just gave this Windows 95 version a try.

Works fine in Windows XP but takes a bit to get it to work. Direct Draw has to be disabled in dxdiag. The game doesn't install and gives an error when running the exe from the disc. Instead, a shortcut has to be made to the desktop and then it oddly runs fine.

The game doesn't install. According to this derelict and ancient PDF of the PC manual, Space Hulk creates an entry in the registry where it stores save games so it just runs off the disc.

I noticed from YouTube vids of the PS1 version that they changed the look around a little bit, but the PC one is a direct port so everything looks the same.

The Windows version runs a little faster and is more smoother. Whenever voice acting comes on I hear my 3DO drive seeking. There are short pauses sometimes especially when it's looking for the the character's name. When there's way too much action going on it sometimes skips a sentence or two. On the PC version it's seamless. Maybe my 3DO laser is a little dirty or maybe it's the result of it's 2x CD-ROM but then again I am running this on modern hardware and the game is mounted on a virtual drive. Unfortunately I don't have a Pentium II machine to test it in it's native environment ;)

PC controls are baaaaaad especially during melee sequences. Mashing either A or B is much either than Spacebar or TAB. Controls are all over the place. Very clumsy. You can change them but I prefer the 3DO pad.

The one fatal flaw is that this game is so old that there is only 1 resolution and it's programmed to stretch the image entirely over your screen so I have a low resolution game stretched out into a disgusting pixelated mess on my 22 inch widescreen monitor.

Basically, the versions are identical. I prefer the 3DO version due to the controls and not having to stare at a stretched ugly mess. You can change the difficulty in the PC version (but that's for n00bs obviously) and it does feature online play although I have no clue how that's supposed to work.

Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 2:26 am
by 3DO Experience
I also have the PC version (both SH games actually) but I never got it to work, I'll have to try your method. I have an old 95 machine tucked away but it's in the pile that will become the game room. As for your 3DO's slow response it must be your machine as it works seamlessly on all of mine. Try a lens cleaner, hopefully it's not going bad.

Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 5:07 pm
by awbacon
my Space Hulk also works fine upon accessing audio

Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 5:53 pm
by UnholyTancred
Mine too... most of the time. What I meant was when there's too much action on screen.

Go boot up that Grand Hall original mission and send all your marines in the middle of the room to their death. They'll all be shouting their warnings, battle cries, death cries, and so on and so forth. Some of the shouts will be interfering with other shouts. Eventually there's too much shouting going on that sometimes a sentence will be cut off, for me, and when someone yells their comrade's name who they are avenging it takes an extra second or two to load that person's name.

Speaking of Grand Hall, the Windows version has the same amount of slowdown. It really is identical. The multiplayer is an interesting feature. Half of the original missions can be played up cooperatively with 10 players, depending on the mission. There are 6 brand new maps designed for online play. 2 are co-op and 4 are death match. They look quite neat.

As for my FZ-1.

A simple sound test... ok.

When I cycle through my marines in the tactical screen slowly, the drive seeks and loads the marine's name and he sounds off. But if I mash the C button rather quickly, some of marine's don't shout their names out. Do it and report back your findings.

Don't scare me that my FZ-1 is dying :(

Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 11:55 pm
by 3DO Experience
Yeah you can skip over the names but I've never noticed the drive seeking before they sound off. I'll pull out the FZ-1 as I can still get to it and let you know if it does it as you described.

Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 12:58 am
by BryWI
if its a copied disc that might be what is causing it. My FZ-1 does that with alot of copies when seeking audio or video. Original Discs still play fine on my machine though.

Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2009 10:11 pm
by Devoid
I always wanted to play this game but had never invested the time to track it down. I remember buying the original Space Hulk in a double pack with System Shock, and I was pleasantly surprised by it, especially considering I only bought the package because of the latter. Vengeance of the Blood Angels is even better apparently.

Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2009 11:37 pm
by PowerPie5000
I have Space Hulk on the 3DO and it's a pretty cool game... the only thing that p*sses me off is it seems to freeze quite often when the gene stealers come too close! This maybe because i am running it on a Goldstar 3DO though :? .... a 2nd revision UK PAL Model GDO202P.... I thought it was only the first Goldstar model that had compatibility issues? obviously not :evil:

Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 11:31 pm
by 3DO Experience
Hello. It's possible to run it on XP by following these steps (full credit to Freddo and cef6 on the VOGONS website for providing this information).

NOTE: Do not leave your computer in the state described below for anything other than running "Space Hulk: Vengeance of the Blood Angels". You will have to re-enable the Direct X Directdraw acceleration after you've finished playing (this is explained below).

1. With the CD in the drive, click on My Computer and right click on the drive icon, then select "Explore". Open the "HULKDATA" folder and then the "BIN" folder.

2. Right click on HULKW95 and select "Create Shortcut", and then click "Yes" to place it on your desktop.

3. Right click on the newly created shortcut on your desktop, select "Properties", and in the "Start in" box delete just the "HULKDATA\BIN" entry, leaving your drive name only (e.g. "F:\", or whatever letter your CD-ROM drive has).

4. To disable the Directdraw acceleration: Open the Start menu, select "Run" and then type: "dxdiag" and click "OK". This will run the Direct X Diagnostic Tool. If you haven't run this before then you may see a dialog box about downloading something from Microsoft. What you select doesn't matter for these purposes.

5. Click on the "Display" tab and select the "Disable" button next to where it says DirectDraw acceleration. Select "OK" on the box that appears.

7. In order to remind you to re-enable Directdraw acceleration after playing leave it running whilst playing the game.

8. Double click on the desktop shortcut to load the game.

Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 2:29 am
by Trev
You can change the difficulty in the PC version (but that's for n00bs obviously)
I'd still be curious to hear about this actually. I've beaten my share of tough 3DO games over the years, but Space Hulk has always proved too much for me ... maybe it's time for my annual run w/it to see if my skills have improved? Anyway, when I comes to this game (and this game only) I do kinda feel like a newbie. :oops:

Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 5:41 pm
by 3DO Experience
Really? I love this game but only find it troublesome about 3/4 of the way through.

Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 4:40 am
by Trev
I'm gonna try again ...