A new solution for the Vista / 7 colour problems?

[CyberShadow]

Someone let me know (http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1054365/exclusive-directdraw-palette-isnt-actually-exclusive/3391614#3391614) of another method that might fix the colour problems, by adding a DirectDraw registry compatibility entry. Please test, it might be the best solution until the Beta is released, or even complement the fixes in the next Beta.

These registry scripts are for W:A 3.6.29.0.

Download: 32-bit operating systems (http://dump.thecybershadow.net/22c2aeb515682e06051f937156251094/29-32.reg), 64-bit operating systems (http://dump.thecybershadow.net/9b5996c2daece97aa13193fa53c224cb/29-64.reg)

[Pac-Man]

It works after restarting my PC (and may also work without a restart since I just tested WormKit --> read on). The recoloring problem is gone, except for the game loading screen (when the blue jar fills up). But the game itself then works flawlessy.
However, it doesn't work with WormKit, needs some .reg editing ;)

WormKit included REG files:
ZIP with both 32-bit and 64-bit support (http://kartwiki.cwsurf.de/other/worms/wormscolor.zip) EDIT: It's useless, with WormKit, only the first menu screen goes weird. After going to another screen, it works like the other script.

EDIT: Ok, recoloring happened again. I played around with the compatibility fix, and this is what I can tell you:
- It fixes the "medium" recoloring problem. Without it, the logo border (black color) would turn green and some other colors also get messed up.
- It sometimes (and always if started with WormKit - without wkColorFix) messes up the main menu like a "heavy" recoloring problem. Everything is pink-yellow-cyan then. But going to another menu fixes it.
- The only thing which is never fixed is the game loading screen when the blue jar fills up.
- After restoring the minimzed game, the colors go weird in the frontend, but only until you switch to another screen.
- After restoring the minimzed game, the colors go weird in-game, but only for 1 second or 2.
- For reference, another 256-color full screen game (Dr. Lunatic Supreme With Cheese) works now flawlessy, no matter what you do. Of course you have to change the App ID then.

[CyberShadow]

Thanks. I guess that wkColorFix works better, then. Did you notice if it fixed anything which wkColorFix didn't fix for you?

[CyberShadow]

Hmm, I don't see why would your registry script for WormKit do anything (considering that WormKit just starts up W:A in a separate process and quickly exits, and that you updated the EXE name but not the EXE-specific ID), and I couldn't notice any difference with and without your registry script. The script I posted should work regardless if you start W:A through WormKit or not. Are you certain that it makes a difference for you?

[Pac-Man]

Hmm, I don't see why would your registry script for WormKit do anything (considering that WormKit just starts up W:A in a separate process and quickly exits, and that you updated the EXE name but not the EXE-specific ID), and I couldn't notice any difference with and without your registry script. The script I posted should work regardless if you start W:A through WormKit or not. Are you certain that it makes a difference for you?

It can be true that it is useless. I will delete the WormKit value and test it again.
wkColorFix didn't fix the frontend recoloring problem when a popup window comes up (like "Enter Game Room Password", "Please Wait" e.g.), but your registry script does fix it.

[franpa]

I tested it by running wa.exe from Windows Explorer without closing explorer.exe process or wormkit modules etc. and here are the results:

1) Colours do go funky after returning from a minimize, however they fix themselves after changing menu or after a short period of time has elapsed when in-game.

2) The "loading pie" is always discoloured.

3) Everything else works perfectly.



Can you make a fix for launching the game via Wormkit? (I don't use Wkcolourfix) I am unfamiliar with the "flags" and "ID" parameters.

[CyberShadow]

Can you make a fix for launching the game via Wormkit? (I don't use Wkcolourfix) I am unfamiliar with the "flags" and "ID" parameters.

Are you absolutely certain that such a fix is needed? As I mentioned above, my registry script should work regardless if W:A was launched from WormKit or not.

[franpa]

Oh yeah, so upon further testing, the first screen you are presented with when loading via Wormkit is corrupted, after switching to another screen the corruption is fixed.

So yes, your current registry fix works fine for both wa.exe and wormkit.exe

[franpa]

I'm pretty impressed at this fix, Windows 7 has been repeatedly surprising me with backwards compatability ever since I bought it. Worms 2, Tony Hawk's 2, Dark Reign 2, Black & White 1 etc. all run perfectly while you'd get patchy support under XP.

[CyberShadow]

Excellent. I'll add it to the Troubleshooting FAQ.

[Pac-Man]

I also like it. Especially because it fixes the pop-up windows, which wkColorFix does not. And because killing explorer.exe disables the functionality of Volume Up and Volume Down media keys on special keyboards.

[DocExplode]

Fantastic Job !!!

This fix worked flawlessly here! And without WormKit launching at all.

I do still get funky colors when I minimize at the game's interface, but pressing ESC turns to normal colors again, but ingame, I've minimized a lot of times and the colors stayed normal all the time.

At the WN Lobby, perfect job again. I really missed the right colors, especially when creating/loading custom maps.

The only thing i didn't see anymore, and I think it's a kind of improve, as the loading times increased, is the loading pie.

Perfect !

I will keep tracking and recommending the fix for another friends of mine and I'll refresh the status of the fix if I notice some problems. But I now can hope that it will be the definite fix for the lousy colors.

Keep up the good work!

[the_nic]

For me it works basically, but when I minimize WA in the menu screens my explorer.exe and WA crash relatively often. During gameplay minimizing is not a problem

[CyberShadow]

For me it works basically, but when I minimize WA in the menu screens my explorer.exe and WA crash relatively often. During gameplay minimizing is not a problem
Can you post an error log from a W:A crash?

[the_nic]

Can you post an error log from a W:A crash?

here it is :)

[Pac-Man]

It's a 64bit system you use. Maybe it doesn't work correctly on 64-bit systems (beyond the fact that you should make sure you used the 64-bit system version).

Oh btw, I didn't say thank you for this script to you CyberShadow, did I? Is it possible to send a nice greeting card over standard TCP/IP?

[GreeN]

Just DDoS him. It's the thought that counts.

[CyberShadow]

here it is :)
Well, I think I fixed that crash (for the next Beta)... but are you saying that W:A only crashes when you use this registry script?
It's a 64bit system you use. Maybe it doesn't work correctly on 64-bit systems (beyond the fact that you should make sure you used the 64-bit system version).Well, it works for me (and I use a 64-bit OS).
Oh btw, I didn't say thank you for this script to you CyberShadow, did I? Is it possible to send a nice greeting card over standard TCP/IP?
Just DDoS him. It's the thought that counts.
:D

[aydin690]

Alright, to warm up for worms reloaded, i dug out my worms armageddon cd and installed the game. Then installed this beta patch and launched the game. Initially, only the color of menus were messed up and but the game itself was fine. However, after like 2 mins of playing the color of the game would mess up as well. So i ran it in xp sp3 compatibility mode and everything seems to be fine now, no color distortions whatsoever without even installing the colorfix or the wormkit.

Intel C2D E6400
4gb ram
9800gt
Windows 7 professional 64bit

One more thing though, is there a way to run the game at a higher resolution? It looks horrible on a 1680x1050 monitor?

[CyberShadow]

You can change the resolution in the Options menu.

It's interesting that the compatibility setting would fix palette problems. Are you sure it wasn't a coincidence? Setting compatibility options is known to cause some other problems (http://worms2d.info/Troubleshooting_FAQ#WA_crashes_when_I_try_to_edit_ or_create_a_team_on_Windows_Vista).

Also, considering that you posted this in another thread, and your post doesn't make it clear: did you import the registry scripts from this thread's first post?

[aydin690]

You can change the resolution in the Options menu.

It's interesting that the compatibility setting would fix palette problems. Are you sure it wasn't a coincidence? Setting compatibility options is known to cause some other problems (http://worms2d.info/Troubleshooting_FAQ#WA_crashes_when_I_try_to_edit_ or_create_a_team_on_Windows_Vista).

Also, considering that you posted this in another thread, and your post doesn't make it clear: did you import the registry scripts from this thread's first post?

Well, i just installed the game with my old cd, installed the beta patch and i had color problems.

So i exited the game, ran in xp sp3 compatibility mode and played a couple of quick matches and everything seemed to be fine. No, i didn't import the registry scripts from the op.

[CyberShadow]

Hmm. Just to make it clear... do you mean setting the compatibility mode on the shortcut (like here (http://dump.thecybershadow.net/7b4d1d8b238819858dd6817822df3c2a/00000625.png)), or the Windows XP mode feature (which uses Windows Virtual PC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Virtual_PC))?

[aydin690]

Hmm. Just to make it clear... do you mean setting the compatibility mode on the shortcut (like here (http://dump.thecybershadow.net/7b4d1d8b238819858dd6817822df3c2a/00000625.png)), or the Windows XP mode feature (which uses Windows Virtual PC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Virtual_PC))?

I meant setting the compatibility mode on the shortcut. I created a team and tried everything from practice to quick game to campaign to hot seat and the it only delays the color problem. The menus and everything are fine but after like 10 mins of playing the background gives out and 5 mins later all colors become messed up but if you restart the mission/round, the colors are fixed for another 10-15 mins. There are no color distortions in the menus either.

It's good enough for me because most rounds don't last that long.

[CyberShadow]

OK, though you should try the registry script in the first post. You only need to download and open it.

[aydin690]

OK, though you should try the registry script in the first post. You only need to download and open it.

Thanks, it worked brilliantly. :D

[DocExplode]

Hey CS, as you probably know, I'm using your fix for the colours and my WA crashed recently, when it was minimized (I've created a DirectIP game and minimized it to call my friends from MSN).

I'm not sure it's related with the fix, but i've attached the crash dump for your analysis. I hope it will help you in the tweaks for the next beta patch.

Thank in advance,
Doc

[franpa]

It's a 64bit system you use. Maybe it doesn't work correctly on 64-bit systems (beyond the fact that you should make sure you used the 64-bit system version).

I also use a x64 O/S and it works fine, minimizing is known (to the community afaik) to randomly destabilize W:A when done from the front end so I just don't do it until I'm in a game..

[CyberShadow]

I'm not sure it's related with the fix, but i've attached the crash dump for your analysis. I hope it will help you in the tweaks for the next beta patch.

That looks like one of those random deminimization crashes... a surface creation failed or something like that.

[aydin690]

Background colors still get distorted after a while but it's not a big deal.

[the_nic]

Well, I think I fixed that crash (for the next Beta)... but are you saying that W:A only crashes when you use this registry script?

At least not so often. And it didnt hang explorer.exe (but this is maybe related to the compatibility-registry-patch).
I was also using WormKit with wxColorFix. Maybe it happens only in combination of compat-patch + wk? I havent tested it without wxColorFix (yet).

Anyways, thanks for taking a look at it. I'm looking forward to the next beta :)

[DocExplode]

That looks like one of those random deminimization crashes... a surface creation failed or something like that.

I also use a x64 O/S and it works fine, minimizing is known (to the community afaik) to randomly destabilize W:A when done from the front end so I just don't do it until I'm in a game.

Well, good to know that. At least, it isn't related with the color fix :)

And yeah, I will use the franpa's sugestion: try to don't minimize when on the Frontend. ;)

Thanks

[Pac-Man]

When TESTING another fix, you should probably disable other fixes first :S e.g., don't use wkColorFix and this registry script at once.

[OddFlame]

Just want to say that this works almost perfectly for me also. The loading "pie" is still discoloured, but no problems otherwise. (:

Win7 64-bit here.

[DocExplode]

One thing that's interesting about this fix, it works for other old ddraw based games too.

I've applied it sucessfully on Broodwar too, with some modifications on .reg script.

Fantastic !

Edit:

If any1 is interested, the .reg files for the last Starcraft (and Broodwar) version - 1.16.1 - are attached at this post. (It's a bit offtopic, but helpful)

[franpa]

I'm curious about the syntax:

Is Name an internal name or just the name of the exe file?
how do you determine a files Flags?
Is ID just a CRC32?

[Pac-Man]

The ID is found in the subfolder "MostRecentApplication" - run the game you want to fix and then read the ID of it there.
Name isn't needed afaik. The flags key is interesting though.

[CyberShadow]

"Name" must be the name of the executable. "Flags" controls which compatibility options are to be enabled. I'm not sure if they're documented anywhere.

[Pac-Man]

Oh, I always thought Name is optional?

[CyberShadow]

"Name" isn't optional, but the name of the registry key can be anything.

[Ombodi77]

Another great job!

It works well with WormsArmageddon.exe and with Wormkit.exe too.
Great that no more need to kill the explorer everytime when starting a game or want to do something while minimalized game..

Thanks very much!

[franpa]

The ID is found in the subfolder "MostRecentApplication" - run the game you want to fix and then read the ID of it there.
Name isn't needed afaik. The flags key is interesting though.

Thanks, you must explicitly run a program as an administrator (right click -> run as) for it to update that part of the registry.

[Pac-Man]

Yep, because writing to that registry key is admin only :)

[ShOwTiMe]

Hey guys I'm using Win7 x64 and just have installed W:A. I've updated it to the latest patch and used the fix from the 2nd post. I played a couple of games and it works perfectly besided I put in /nointro and when I hit wa.exe the game starts like it should and first it has the color issue but after one mouse click it's back to normal. Also when I minimize I can't maximize it again and need to shut it down. That's so far but I'm able to play. I really appreciate that. Thanks for your effort!

[franpa]

Do not "Right Click -> Run as Administrator" and do not set that option in the compatibility tab of the programs properties.

[CyberShadow]

I've updated it to the latest patch and used the fix from the 2nd post.Don't you mean first post? We have established that the fix in the second post doesn't do anything.

[Pac-Man]

Well the second fix does what the first one does too.

[ShOwTiMe]

I used the one from the 2nd post.

@franpa: I run wa.exe with compability to win xp sp3 and I set it to open as administrator and it works fine or what did you mean?

[CyberShadow]

it works fine
when I minimize I can't maximize it again and need to shut it down

:rolleyes:

http://worms2d.info/Troubleshooting_FAQ#When_I_minimize_the_game.2C_I_ can.27t_restore_it

[ShOwTiMe]

Thanks! You know I'm just happy that the colors stopped inverting for me. The minimize issue isn't a big thing for but here again thx!

Edit: Alright everything's fine now besides if I minimize while I'm in front-end menu and maximize it again the colors get inverted and I can't do nothing. I can't go into any menu nor click anything or press anything but ESC which terminates the game.

[franpa]

Escape sends you back a screen (and is the only working key). So go to another area of the front-end like, netplay or options or something etc., minimize/restore then hit escape and you will go back a screen and still be in W:A and everything should be clickable again.

[ShOwTiMe]

You got me wrong. I noticed that esc sends me back but not when I'm in the first menu where you can choose netplay or options or etc.

[CyberShadow]

That's right. Going back from the main menu gets you back to where you were before that... your Windows desktop ;)

Minimization problems will be fixed in the next Beta.

[Introvert]

Well made. Will it be necessary to remove this fix later? How do we do so?

[franpa]

I'm sure if neccesary, he will make a REG file that deletes the appropriate entry if a time comes when it is no longer needed.

[CyberShadow]

The registry entry only works with 3.6.29.0.

[pisto]

tried with win7 x64, nothing to add, the behaviour is the same other experienced (great!:))

anyway, I see the same "flash" right after restoring in-game (do you rmember me telling you about?), as with the alpha versions.

[Shroom!]

Hey Cybershadow thanks for that! Just tried it and it works :) Will try again now to be sure.

[CakeDoer]

Okay so I'm using Windows 7 Pro 64-bit, worked fine for a couple of days but just today I joined a Shopper and the colours got f***ed again.

Going back to WormKit now...

[Pac-Man]

That doesn't really help... you should tell us which software you installed before it happened, what you changed before it happened. And check if the mess up is still there after minimizing and restoring the game.

[DocExplode]

Okay so I'm using Windows 7 Pro 64-bit, worked fine for a couple of days but just today I joined a Shopper and the colours got f***ed again.

Going back to WormKit now...

I'm not sure it will help, but I've noticed that using programs on the background maximizes the chance of color mess.

I've tested with several programs, like utorrent, Windows Live Messenger and even Internet Explorer.

I think it's best to close the programs before starting WA to minimize the chances of color messing up.

[CakeDoer]

It's not that, works equally as well with MSN and Firefox in the background as it does without. I found that minimizing the game will sort out the colour problem, which is also good since I can minimize without problems.

The colour problem happens every 7-8 or so matches (doesn't depend on whether they're online or local) but as I said, it gets fixed easily by minimizing the game.

[rocky2k]

Thanks very much.....works great on 64 bit windows 7 home premium.

[GreeN]

Finally tested this recently. Works perfectly here @ Win 7 x64

[HusH]

Hello. The color problem is fixed, but got an other problem. When starting worms, my screen is 1/4 times normal size. Same thing in games. Not sure if its my screen setting which are wrong? Any have an idea what could be wrong?

[CyberShadow]

The frontend runs at a fixed 640x480 resolution. Have you tried setting the in-game resolution in the options screen?

[futurama42]

Worked perfectly for me. I am running Windows 7 and the colors look much better now.

[CakeDoer]

Hello again, like I said I use Windows 7 Pro 64-bit, have a GTX 260 and a 2005 Pentium D at 2.8GHz. The games used to get their colours screwed every now and then, but now it happens every game. Have the latest beta update (3.6.29.0). The colours fix themselves by minimizing the game, but it gets annoying to have to do it every time. Any ideas?

[CyberShadow]

Did you try going to the root of this problem and looking in palette.log?

[CakeDoer]

This is just from today (yesterday in my timezone):

[2010-08-27 19.23.50] Palette set by 0x307D2 "GDI+ Window" [explorer.exe]
[2010-08-27 19.23.50] Palette set by 0x10010 "" [csrss.exe]
[2010-08-27 19.23.51] Palette set by 0x1B02A6 ""
[2010-08-27 19.23.51] Palette set by 0x10010 "" [csrss.exe]

This sequence is probably repeated a million times before, just with different numbers after "Palette set by".

So I'm guessing there's some sort of problem with explorer.exe and csrss.exe? [/pointingouttheobvious]

[CyberShadow]

Hmm, yeah.

Does the old trick with terminating explorer.exe work for you?

(don't try terminating csrss, that won't do any good)

[CakeDoer]

WormKit Worms Launcher works just fine, but I can't minimize the game that way (well, I can, but then I can't maximize and besides, explorer.exe is terminated so I can't do much while the game's minimized).

Also, how do you make the game simply start, i.e. the movies at the beginning of the game to not show up?

[CyberShadow]

Using the /nointro command-line parameter. WormKit starts WA.exe with that parameter by default.

[CakeDoer]

Whoops, meant Worms Launcher instead of WormKit there. WormKit works great offline but screws up the moment I enter WormNet.

Also, how do I enter /nointro manually?

[Pac-Man]

[...]but screws up the moment I enter WormNet.

Are you sure you applied the registry entry with administrator rights?

[CakeDoer]

I don't remember.

I would re-download it, but Worms2D.info and CyberShadow's stuff are down. (http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/http://worms2d.info/)

[Pac-Man]

http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.worms2d.info
^_^if it helps

[CakeDoer]

Tried again, no luck. :/

[franz]

Closing most programs in the background with Windows 7 is key, but also if you have any desktop widgets or you have an alternating desktop background, you should turn those off too. Just something I've noticed.

[CakeDoer]

Like I've said and tested, doesn't work. Even closed my antivirus.

[Explorer]

I would re-download it, but Worms2D.info and CyberShadow's stuff are down. (http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/http://worms2d.info/)

I've noticed that worms2d.info server will go down daily, usually at noon (or before noon) in my timezone (GMT+8).

I don't know the reason why.

[HusH]

The frontend runs at a fixed 640x480 resolution. Have you tried setting the in-game resolution in the options screen?

Doesnt change anything, anyway i think u got me worng. Its not possible to take a screen shot of it, but i uploaded a pic where i show how much of the screen i see. The screen is "compacted" in to the middle, and that makes it really small.
Hope it make sence. .

[CyberShadow]

Well, if you want the front-end to stretch to your entire screen, that'd be a video card setting. Some monitors may also have a setting for this.

[de4thwish]

thanks seems to have fixed colour problem here. Running windows 7 ultimate 64bit. Also is there anyway I can alt tab out of the game without it crashing?

[RastaMahata]

Works great! :D Windows 7 x64

EDIT: Only the loading screen shows wrong palette colors

[WebCideR]

On Windows 7 64 bit it works but that said The after a game session the Frontend has those wierd color problems but as soon as i press a Button on the menu the colors turns normal.

So this is not anything annoying and its just a minor very minor issue now :)

[xEMFxEmine]

Works like a ****ing charm for me CS!!!!

I was starting to think Win7 was the devil then you saved me from reverting back 10 yerars!

Many thanks... well happy now! :o

[Baraka]

can you tell me please were i can find these Regestry key, because if i want to check it there, or resume to standart.

[franpa]

right click the .reg files and choose "edit" to view where in the registry it makes a change as well as what it changes.

[Baraka]

THANK you very much :) exact that i was looking for :D

But did this create a new Registry entry oder change a entry ?
What i must do, to annul, canceling. =?

[GreeN]

Find the key in regedit and delete it

[Baraka]

Thanks for the help !
This key works.
But sometimes i must minimize Worms Armageddon and after maximize the colour is ok, normal.

[MickBim]

It works, but it's a little strange.

Before that .reg, I've tried every methods I found to for WA to work on 7 (mine is 64bits). So, in order to do that, I've copied many times my WA directory under other names "WA_works" (with the WAVistaWin7.exe which was kind of unstable), "WA_old", "WA_bak", etc

After I merged the .reg, I launched WA.exe in my WA_works directory and it worked ! Colors were perfect all along, no crash whatsoever.

So, I decided to reinstall WA, in order to have a "brand new" game.
After I applied the latest beta patch, launched WA.exe in this new directory, and crashes all along when I launched a party. Menus are fine but it crashes when I start a new game.

I'll play using my "WA_works" directory but I must admit I don't understand why it doesn't work in my fresh install...

[CyberShadow]

You're not playing with any additional 3rd-party patches, right?

[MickBim]

You're not playing with any additional 3rd-party patches, right?

Not at all.
That's why I can't figure out why the fresh install won't work and the "backup" one will.

[franpa]

No wormkit modules for old versions of W:A etc.?

[CyberShadow]

Well, we can try to track down the reason of the crash if you're curious. (Otherwise you could just copy the relevant data files to the installation that works and be done with it.)

This module will allow getting more information about the crash.
Install WormKit (http://worms.thecybershadow.net/wormkit/) and the following WormKit module: 30805
Run the game via WormKit.exe and reproduce the crash. You should get an error message mentioning ERRORLOG.TXT. Find the file CRASH.DMP in your W:A folder, and post it here as an attachment.

[Joschi]

Background colors still get distorted after a while but it's not a big deal.

Same happend me. For exemple the weapons table too. Is there a solution?

[franpa]

minimize/restore.

[Melon]

Does anyone want to see if this (http://sol.gfxile.net/ddhack/) works for WA?

[CyberShadow]

does anyone want to see if this (http://sol.gfxile.net/ddhack/) works for wa?
42141
. .

[wormspluff]

I'm pretty impressed at this fix, Windows 7 has been repeatedly surprising me with backwards compatability ever since I bought it. Worms 2, Tony Hawk's 2, Dark Reign 2, Black & White 1 etc. all run perfectly while you'd get patchy support under XP.

Theres always that chance to run it in win xp sp3 compatability mode by right clicking worms and going into properties.

[franpa]

Such a method negates the ability to minimize and restore in the front end.

[Bugy]

Will you add script for the version 3.6.31.0?

[SgtFusion]

It shouldn't be necessary. 3.6.31.0 has a built-in fix for the colour problems.