WowLoader Source Code Discussion

Hey, I'm the author of WowLoader.
It was suggested to me that I might find people interested in the source here.
As I've decided to move on, there's still a few things left undone (ignoring the various crashes).

First off, there's the activation issue.
The reason activate.exe isn't working is because it dynamically loads a DLL which cannot be loaded due to unresolved imports.
Unresolved imports is handled in the loader during the process creation stage, by creating the process suspended, the loader has a chance to resolve missing imports, before the OS attempts to resolve them.
The specific class which handles this is named CAppPatch.
Obviously this approach doesn't work with dynamically loaded DLL's.
What's needed is to hook the LoadLibrary(Ex)(A/W) call used and load the DLL manually.
You can use the flag DONT_RESOLVE_DLL_REFERENCES to get the OS to map the DLL properly.
Then you need to resolve the imports of the DLL yourself and call the entry point at appropiate times.
Not sure if there's more work to be done after that, in theory that should be enough.

Second, there's the dedicated server.
The dedicated runs as a service process, which means the loader doesn't have any control of it's creation.
What's needed here is to adapt the loader to work as a proxy service, which can then be registered in place of the dedicated server, to launch it properly.
Once the loader service is started, it will need to create the dedicated server process, passing the appropiate arguments, using CLoader.
Wow.dll will need to include hooks for RegisterServiceCtrlHandler(Ex)(A/W) so that it can catch the address of ServiceMain in the dedicated server.
Now, whenever the loader service receives a notification through it's ServiceMain it'll have to notify Wow.dll, so that it can relay the notification onto the dedicated server's ServiceMain.
I'd suggest creating a window in Wow.dll and using windows messages.

Anyway, that's about it, I think.
If you have any questions about the source, this is the place to ask them.
There's a little bit of info on the FileFront forums where I posted WowLoader originally.
Here's a direct link to the source code: http://upload2.net/page/download/Vno...r-SRC.rar.html

[Local] http://files.h2vista.net/software/Wo...Loader-SRC.rar

Bit of a bogded job then? Makes it unstable and possibly unreliable later on down the line (after updates)

Hey!

Good to have you here. :)

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Originally Posted by Limited

Bit of a bogded job then? Makes it unstable and possibly unreliable later on down the line (after updates)

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I'm sorry you can't appreciate the effort on my part for what it is.
However, the source code is right here, you're more then welcome fix it.

Cheers

I don't think this would be the best place to find someone to continue your code. As far as I know, there aren't too many programmers here. Where do hackers hang out anyway? I'll send this out to the few people I know, but I don't even have the minimum video card to run the game, let alone test the code.

By the way, great job getting it to work.

I'd have to agree with bitter. There aren't many programmers here, and those who can aren't all skilled to the level you require.

Meh, there a few programmers around here. Probably the best way to proceed is to create an account down at Sourceforge.

I don't know know any "hackers" that plays halo.
Oh well, at least I tried...

god i love these forums.

so many appreciative people.

Dude, you seriously have to fix the crash issues, please! I frikken almost fried my GPU by overclocking it so I could run it in Vista. I just wish and hope you would fix some of the crash issues. PLEASE. By the way, Bitterbanna, I don't have the minimum card either, but it still runs in Vista for me, with or without overclocking. I just had to OC it to get a playable framerate.

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Originally Posted by Flapjack

Dude, you seriously have to fix the crash issues, please! I frikken almost fried my GPU by overclocking it so I could run it in Vista. I just wish and hope you would fix some of the crash issues. PLEASE. By the way, Bitterbanna, I don't have the minimum card either, but it still runs in Vista for me, with or without overclocking. I just had to OC it to get a playable framerate.

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Your computer sucks to much to play it, thats why.
Thats the best way I can put it, you don't have the minimum requirements.

Also, I am just Amazed of what you did, some of these people need to stop and think about how hard it was to make this, and appreciate what you did.

I appreciate fully what he did! I'm amazed at it! I just wish he would continue development and fix the bugs. And for the record, my computer does not suck, and there's plenty of people with much better computers that can not play this with good quality and/or frame rate. The fact of the matter is, the people who've gotten this to work have noticed much better frame rates.

Post em up then, it could be just one small thing :like you GPU: causing it.

Post what up?

And what the frik? If it was my GPU it wouldn't run in Vista either.

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Originally Posted by Flapjack

Post what up?

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Specs -.-

1GB RAM
1.73Ghz Intel Pentium M
128MB Ati Mobility Radeon X300
80GB HD

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Originally Posted by Flapjack

1GB RAM That shouldn't be a problem
1.73Ghz Intel Pentium M Should be ok.
128MB Ati Mobility Radeon X300 Possibly it, as its X700 required.
80GB HD Ok

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Response in bold.

Dude, it runs in Vista!!!!!!!!

RUNS

IN

VISTA!



One would think since people are saying it runs better on XP, that my not meeting some of the requirements wouldn't be an issue.

The reason why it has ridiculous requirements is because it is in vista. In xp, the hardware requirements for the game would be dramatically lower. If you don't believe me, look at any software or hardware product that is marked both Vista and XP compatible and compare the system requirements for both platforms. You will see that the XP system requirements is nearly half of thats of which is marked for Vista.

Files are locally hosted now under http://files.h2vista.net/software/WowLoader/

http://files.h2vista.net/software/Wo...Loader-0.2.rar
http://files.h2vista.net/software/Wo...Loader-SRC.rar

Thanks TheGhost.

Its good to see some pro-open source members around here. To much people here have a microsoft mentality on open sourcing.

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Originally Posted by jahrain

Its good to see some pro-open source members around here. To much people here have a microsoft mentality on open sourcing.

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I'm confused, you're glad to see some members in favor of open source because "to much" people are for open source? Unless you were trying to suggest that Microsoft is against open source, in which case you would be wrong as usual (yes, those are three separate links).

Nick

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Originally Posted by Nick

I'm confused, you're glad to see some members in favor of open source because "to much" people are for open source? Unless you were trying to suggest that Microsoft is against open source, in which case you would be wrong as usual (yes, those are three separate links).

Nick

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Lol, he was suggesting MS was/are against open sourcing. I like you're reply, a lot.

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Originally Posted by Flapjack

I frikken almost fried my GPU by overclocking it so I could run it in Vista.

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sounds pointlessly unrelated to the problem. also, get a better gpu.:lol:

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Originally Posted by Flapjack

1GB RAM
1.73Ghz Intel Pentium M
128MB Ati Mobility Radeon X300
80GB HD

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...Your expecting Halo 2 for Windows Vista to run well on a glorified 9600 XT?
And I could have sworn the minimum CPU requirement for H2V was a 2.0 ghz CPU.

Also, if you almost fry components while overclocking, please don't continue. Im pretty sure your using the stock heatsink amirite? Not a good idea. Your better off buying a $30 7300 or going for something that doesn't suck. Like an $150ish 8600 GT.

Not to excuse the fact that they somehow managed to get a game that ran on basically a Geforce 3 and an 800 mHz Pentium 3 to not perform at least the same on a much much much more powerful platform, even with some features tacked on or "improved". Even taking console optimizations into account the PC simply has so much more power to use that it simply shouldn't run as bad as it does.

Thats way besides the point though. Nice job on getting the game to work on XP abcba. Were you the same guy (or in the group) who also got Shadowrun working on XP by any chance?

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Originally Posted by legionaire45

...Your expecting Halo 2 for Windows Vista to run well on a glorified 9600 XT?
And I could have sworn the minimum CPU requirement for H2V was a 2.0 ghz CPU.

Also, if you almost fry components while overclocking, please don't continue. Im pretty sure your using the stock heatsink amirite? Not a good idea. Your better off buying a $30 7300 or going for something that doesn't suck. Like an $150ish 8600 GT.

Not to excuse the fact that they somehow managed to get a game that ran on basically a Geforce 3 and an 800 mHz Pentium 3 to not perform at least the same on a much much much more powerful platform, even with some features tacked on or "improved". Even taking console optimizations into account the PC simply has so much more power to use that it simply shouldn't run as bad as it does.

Thats way besides the point though. Nice job on getting the game to work on XP abcba. Were you the same guy (or in the group) who also got Shadowrun working on XP by any chance?

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Yeah dude, if you read more closely, you'd see it's a mobility card...I.E. a laptop. I didn't overclock that much, 10-20%...but I haven't done it again and won't, which is why I really want the bugs on this to be worked out so I can play on XP, which, apparently for those for whom it works, gets a much better frame rate.

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Originally Posted by Nick

I'm confused, you're glad to see some members in favor of open source because "to much" people are for open source? Unless you were trying to suggest that Microsoft is against open source, in which case you would be wrong as usual (yes, those are three separate links).

Nick

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LOL

Your first post you posted in a WEEK, and it was another pathetic microsoft defense. Not to mention your post defies all principles of logical implication by insisting I have posted or said something which I haven't in order just to say that it was wrong, as usual. I'm sure microsoft loves the open source (first couple things that come up when googling microsoft + open source), but thats not my concern. My metaphorical statement on those with the "microsoft mentality on open source is" implies that they don't appreciate it, look down upon it as inferior, yet use it when convenient.

Btw no one is going to buy microsoft's current little "OSSL" act to fool us into thinking they are for free and open source software. You can tell them to give up while they are ahead if this is just another publicity stunt to fan off the media onslaughts. If they really want to prove the world wrong and show they have changed and truly support open source, they are going to have to do allot more than post some old code to some useless lite applications, and launch websites to post code on. Come back and tell me m$ is for open source when they announce DX10 for Linux.

abcba: Thank you for this. I already have it downloaded and backed up.

I DO appreciate what you have done as will many others. Pay no attention to the naysayers here. They are just jealous that they have not thought of a way to do it themselves. :P :D

Well Done. You have shown us the light.......now we have to follow the path. :)

For some reason, Halo 2 seems to run with quite a bit of lag while I use this program. I have a Core 2 Duo #6600 (2.4Ghz), 3.2gb of ram, Radeon x1600 with 512mb of memory.

I should not be having these problems, anybody here have any ideas as to why my computer would have such problems with the game?

By the way, great program abcba! :D

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Originally Posted by Digikid

abcba: Thank you for this. I already have it downloaded and backed up.

I DO appreciate what you have done as will many others. Pay no attention to the naysayers here. They are just jealous that they have not thought of a way to do it themselves. :P :D

Well Done. You have shown us the light.......now we have to follow the path. :)

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qft thank you man! :D

Hey, how do you register it? I own the game, no worries, but I need to know how to register so I can play past the first mission.

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Originally Posted by jahrain

Btw no one is going to buy microsoft's current little "OSSL" act to fool us into thinking they are for free and open source software.

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Cognitive dissonance.

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Originally Posted by jahrain

some old code to some useless lite applications

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All credibility obliterated.

Nick

Thank you very much abcba. What you've done is wonderful. I'm no programmer, but I have a friend who I think will love to see this. I already have Vista, but I'm for anything that will increase Halo 2's user base.

And I feel a hole in my stomach while I type this, but to our acclaimed map maker and esteemed Prometheus project leader, let's keep our quibble away from this thread, huh? This abcba guy's done some cool stuff, and he's been nice enough to let some people see it in all of its glory.

I know it may not be pretty for me after I post this, so let it be known that I still think what both of you guys do for Halo players and editors is cool.

(Can't we all just get along?)

EDIT: Oh yeah, I'm not directing this at either of you personally (as if I could, we're on a series of tubes, after all). Because I know if I did, I would probably be destroyed.
In the words of Johnny Storm, "Flame on!"

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Originally Posted by baturkin17

god i love these forums.
so many appreciative people.

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<LOL>
Dental equine viewing does seem to be a favored past time.

Could we please keep this thread relevant to the WowLoader Source Code and keep other discussion out?

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Originally Posted by Flapjack

Hey, how do you register it? I own the game, no worries, but I need to know how to register so I can play past the first mission.

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answer this dude cause I'm stuck in the same spot as him on this.

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Originally Posted by Lightning

Ingame, hit home to bring up the blade, and "Join" XBL.

There are other ways, namely finding a certain patched MF.dll, placing THAT one inside the H2V install folder, and the loader's mf.dll into the windows/system32 folder, and away you go.

Live does work.

Reason the installer looks lame = Install IE7. It uses PNG transparency.

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Posted in another thread...I don't know if this works.

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Originally Posted by AAA

answer this dude cause I'm stuck in the same spot as him on this.

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Perhaps my first post wasn't clear enough.
The reason the activation wizard does not popup when the disc is inserted, is because the loader doesn't support that specific use case.
I've described what needs to be added but it doesn't look like there's anyone who's interested/capable.

umm...would this one not be easier? or do I HAVE to do it your way to have everything capable of working correctly?

http://liveu-87.vo.llnwd.net/flurl/m...asier...mb.JPG

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Originally Posted by abcba

I'm sorry you can't appreciate the effort on my part for what it is.
However, the source code is right here, you're more then welcome fix it.

Cheers

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Please dont put words into my mouth.

It's not that I dont appreciate it. I'm saying, its currently at its max really. Your tricking it into thinking the OS that is running is vista/making it think that XP is compatible with the game. That is pretty much the only way to make it work. Sadly it has its limitations such as the live issue, but that isnt fixable right now.

But you fixed one thing I didnt think was possible. XP h2sapien :)

Also Nick. Everyone knows Microsoft doesnt like open source, they have been FORCED into open sourcing things to keep the numbers up and to keep the customers.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Flapjack

Yeah dude, if you read more closely, you'd see it's a mobility card...I.E. a laptop. I didn't overclock that much, 10-20&#37;...but I haven't done it again and won't, which is why I really want the bugs on this to be worked out so I can play on XP, which, apparently for those for whom it works, gets a much better frame rate.

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Which is even worse because you are overclocking a part that already gets limited air flow. It's good that you aren't overclocking it anymore though. Other then getting a new laptop I don't think there is too much you can do to improve performance. Even on XP H2V is still a pretty demanding game, and I'll be surprised if the issues you are having are easily fixable. You have a relatively slow CPU, a low amount (for the game) of ram and a relatively poor performing GPU. The only thing I can suggest is to turn absolutely every setting down or off and try and play it like that. If H2V has some kind of safe mode setting try running it in that.

Microsoft really isn't into open source. This is obvious. They release a few cut down apps here and there but until I see Windows/Office Free Edition (even if it is based off an older codebase like 9x) and it's source code released I won't consider them a part of the open source movement.

Yeah you're right...I got it to work in XP...but its not a lot better. It's definitely better, but not super. I've applied at three places so hopefully I can get a job, and a new computer.

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Originally Posted by Limited

Also Nick. Everyone knows Microsoft doesnt like open source, they have been FORCED into open sourcing things to keep the numbers up and to keep the customers.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nick

Unless you were trying to suggest that Microsoft is against open source, in which case you would be wrong as usual (yes, those are three separate links).

Nick

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:mysterysolved:

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Originally Posted by Veegie

:mysterysolved:

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I said doesnt like. Not doesnt do. Theres a big difference...

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Originally Posted by Limited

Please dont put words into my mouth.

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If you think I misinterpreted what you were thinking then fair enough.

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Originally Posted by Limited

I'm saying, its currently at its max really.

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How did you come to that conclusion?
There's still a few things which could be added.
And even if MS begins searching for it proactively, there would still be legitimate ways around that.

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Originally Posted by Limited

Your tricking it into thinking the OS that is running is vista/making it think that XP is compatible with the game.

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That's not all it's doing, it also provides several API's which are only available on Visata.

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Originally Posted by Limited

That is pretty much the only way to make it work.

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Well, duh. If your car runs out of gas, there's only one solution to that as well.

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Originally Posted by Limited

Sadly it has its limitations such as the live issue, but that isnt fixable right now.

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*Sigh* Did you even read my first post?
Or maybe the concept of source code escapes you?

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Originally Posted by Limited

But you fixed one thing I didnt think was possible. XP h2sapien :)

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Why would H2 Sapien be different from everything else?

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Originally Posted by TheGhost

Could we please keep this thread relevant to the WowLoader Source Code and keep other discussion out?

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Sup admin, am I the only one that can see your posts.. or..?

:h4x:

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Originally Posted by Snaver

Sup admin, am I the only one that can see your posts..

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DAMNIT! Missed one *deletes*

abcba, can you please just take one last look at your loader? for some reason it keeps asking for the disc when level 12-gravemind loads. apparently, everybody has run into this problem. if anybody can fix it, please? :(

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Originally Posted by Limited

I said doesnt like. Not doesnt do. Theres a big difference...

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I can't recall a company to financially support something they don't... support... morally?

As for the loader, it doesn't get past the initial Halo 2 logo load screen for me, upon launch.

When I click on loader.exe it doesn't work.


Edit. Damn! "Process exited with this return code 00000000"


Edit. Fixed that, now It loads half-way and then it exits out oh and loader.exe still doesn't work

I have two questions,

First for abcba: Which compiler do you use?

Second for everybody: Has anyone tried using the Alpha release of the Alky compatibility libraries (http://www.fallingleafsystems.com/) with H2V?

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Originally Posted by DemonOne

Which compiler do you use?

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Visual C++ 2005.
You'll need the Windows SDK for the Vista headers.
And possibly also the DirectX SDK.

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Originally Posted by DemonOne

Has anyone tried using the Alpha release of the Alky compatibility libraries (http://www.fallingleafsystems.com/) with H2V?

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The alpha release only implements DX10 API's (not needed for H2V).
And the implementation is far from being complete or even useable.
Not a single DX10 sample from the DX SDK works with alky.

Ok, just to get one thing out of the way first... abcba, you are my HERO. I'm normally just a browser on this forum, butI created this profile just to thank you. Running under XP, Halo 2 runs better on Medium at 1280x720 with 2xAA and loads in 1/3 of the time as running under Vista on Low at 1024x768 with no AA. Let me reiterate: MEDIUM LOADS IN ABOUT A QUARTER TO A HALF OF THE TIME ON XP AS LOW ON VISTA. I can only imagine how smokin the framerates would've been if I just kept the same video settings as vista. With the settings cranked (for my 6600GT and 1gb of RAM at least), the framerate was still better. Not only this, but THERE IS NO MOUSE LAG, so I can actually use my MX518 instead of my 360 controller and have a good experience. Lastly, running Halo 2 on XP ACTUALLY LETS YOU CHOOSE ANY ASPECT RATIO, RESOLUTION, OR REFRESH RATE YOU WANT. On Vista my options were "800x600, 1024x768, 1280x960, 1280x1024" and only 60hz. Now my options are "640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x720, 1280x768, 1280x960, 1280x1024, 1920x1080, 1920x1200" and there are a gazillion refresh rates. On Vista I was stuck with either crappy res and decent framerate at 1024x768 or decent res and crappy framerate at 1280x960. Now I can do what I do with games like Half Life 2 and play 1280x720 letterboxed on my CRT (with 2xAA on), and the framerates are SMOKING. This loader can only get better, and although with my lack of coding experience there is no way I can help, I appreciate all this work you are doing for free. You, one man have beaten an entire team at "Falling Leaf" to the punch, and they are planning on charging $10 for their H2V "compatibility libraries".

Hey,


Can anyone provide the patched MF.dll for me? I tried using the Live interface ingame to register with my CD key, but Live and Network are still greyed out, and I can't continue the campaign after registering. So, if anyone can provide for me the patched MF.dll file, that would be lovely.



Thanks,
- Flappy

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Originally Posted by Flapjack

Hey,


Can anyone provide the patched MF.dll for me? I tried using the Live interface ingame to register with my CD key, but Live and Network are still greyed out, and I can't continue the campaign after registering. So, if anyone can provide for me the patched MF.dll file, that would be lovely.



Thanks,
- Flappy

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I have the second mf.dll that you supposedly use with the Live update that you need to do before signing in, but it's 4.0kb instead of 32.0kb and the game crashes at the first load screen when I use it. I still haven't been able to enter my cd key through the live interface yet.

hmph. I dunno what you're supposed to do.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by spiderman120988

abcba, can you please just take one last look at your loader? for some reason it keeps asking for the disc when level 12-gravemind loads. apparently, everybody has run into this problem. if anybody can fix it, please? :(

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They seem to have solved that problem in this thread:

Well, I removed link just in case its not allowed.

Basically - you copy all the map files with the *.dtz extension from your halo 2 dvd to a folder on your hard drive. Use a program - ungzip.exe to extract them. program only extracts one at a time. Rename files back to the *.map extension. Copy files to the map folder in the Halo 2 directory. Thats it.

Ya know, there wouldn't be this problem if people read up on the compatability issues of Vista, and had an XP/Vista dual boot set up...

People are getting lazier and lazier...

Then there people like this guy, who get all the energy and persistence the lazies didn't want, and make creations like this!

Thanks for the contribution!

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Originally Posted by spartacvs

I have the second mf.dll that you supposedly use with the Live update that you need to do before signing in, but it's 4.0kb instead of 32.0kb and the game crashes at the first load screen when I use it. I still haven't been able to enter my cd key through the live interface yet.

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Put the 32kb one in the windows\system32 folder and the 4kb one in the game folder, i got the network and live options enabled but they don't really work (can see servers but not join). One more step closer to full gaming :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by spartacvs

I have the second mf.dll that you supposedly use with the Live update that you need to do before signing in, but it's 4.0kb instead of 32.0kb and the game crashes at the first load screen when I use it. I still haven't been able to enter my cd key through the live interface yet.

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Did you copy the 32kb dll into your system32 folder?

Edit: Nevermind :gonk:

Sorry if this has been posted earlier but in version 0.2 there was a problem with campaign, after level 12 (when loading level "gravemind" ) the game asks for an original halo 2 dvd and u cannot play further... (u can use the map renaming but that's not playing actually) its not only me that had this problem, it appears that many people have been having this trouble....
And it would be very appreciated if the LAN was working, cuz when u try to create a LAN game happens nothing, when pressing create new game happens nothing....
thats all problems i have found so far......
I dont know if they have been solved in version 0.3 so can you please post an answer...

Can you please search the thread?

Can you please answer, cuz that thing

Quote:

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Basically - you copy all the map files with the *.dtz extension from your halo 2 dvd to a folder on your hard drive. Use a program - ungzip.exe to extract them. program only extracts one at a time. Rename files back to the *.map extension. Copy files to the map folder in the Halo 2 directory. Thats it.

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Does nothing, its basically the same thing the game does when installing.... and yes i tried that if u ask and it didnt work..... my maps had .map extension from the beginning.
And if u have nothing to say dont say it....

Please make it work after level 12 or post more detailed description on how to do play further....

...did you even TRY what was suggested?

I don't know if this would work. Might do. Rename the later levels to the names of the earlier levels and you might be able to play them (by going into the program files and renaming the .map files to names of eariler levels).

Hey kornman, u working on a patched guerilla by any change?

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Originally Posted by Vicky

Hey kornman, u working on a patched guerilla by any chance?

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while this is kinda offtopic, yes its done, I'm just waiting for a few other things before anything final is done with them

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Originally Posted by Lightning

...did you even TRY what was suggested?

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Yes i did, so i said in the post, i dropped the maps from cd to my hdd and used that prog (ungzip) to unrar maps and i got names like this: 00a_introduction.map_ungzip.dtz Then i changed the extension to map and it became 00a_introduction.map_ungzip.map when is started the game and tryed to load levels nothing happened (probably cuz the game couldnt find the maps becuz of their different names) then i renamed them to 00a_introduction.map and started the game and the problem still existed "please insert ure original halo 2 cd"
I seriously dont understand how that was supposed to help cuz i basically didnt change anything....
Maybe im missing something.... ?

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Originally Posted by Kornman00

while this is kinda offtopic, yes its done, I'm just waiting for a few other things before anything final is done with them

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Waiting for? Well cool that ur doing it... again :p looking forward for a link.

One Q. remains: does anyone know where the savegame file is located if u install on XP ??? i cant find it anywhere..... :/

I have the gravemind problem too. I extracted the maps off the disc and it made no difference. I'm not expecting anyone to fix this for me, but if you could upload your savegames somewhere I'd be very grateful.

My save games are in:

C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Application Data\Microsoft\Halo 2\Saved Games

oh and thanks abcba

Thanx shweppsie, for telling where the savegames were, you're a good man, unlike some...
I believe that extract the maps works if ure maps were screwed while installation process, mine were fine... one guy said that the loader 0.3 fixes that level problem, but still can someone please put a list of fixes in 0.3
PS. when can we expect a fully working patch for XP ?

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Originally Posted by Ancient

but still can someone please put a list of fixes in 0.3

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WowLoader-DBG-0.3 wasn't intended as a fix for anything.
I wouldn't advise you to use it, as it contains logging code which will slow it down.
It was created to troubleshoot a problem several people had with the game crashing.
Which, yet again, turned out to be a missing dependency on their systems, namely xinput9_1_0.dll.
The only other change in that build is a workaround to one of the issues with activation.

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Originally Posted by Ancient

PS. when can we expect a fully working patch for XP ?

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The source code has been available for a while now but no one is interested in working on it.
The stuff left to be done is actually quite simple to implement, provided you have the know-how.
But I'm quite honestly tired of reading "bug" reports and subsequently wasting time trying to fix issues outside my codebase.
Every issue that I'm aware of, except the gravemind bug (haven't looked at this), is unrelated to anything I've done.
These are mostly issues which MS support would have been dealing with, had the game been released on XP.
So the chances of anything else getting fixed are slim at best.
As it is, you can play the single player campaign on XP and nothing else.

Well i did look into the src, might be just a little over my head but what i don't understand, you wrote in your first post that there was one more hook (for the game) to make and do some stuff with it, you already made hooks for other functions... why not put that one in as well? Although it may be pretty straight forward programming, it's always harder for others to read someone elses src.

Hey abcba,

I'm using your Wowloader 0.2 to run the installation on XP SP2, which gets me to the splashscreen then the directory choice, but then I recieve this error:

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z.../h2xperror.jpg

:S Any help at all?

I'm running these specs:

P4 3.20
6600GT 128
2GB DDR2
Win XP SP2

Cheers greatly :D

Do Run :) It'll continue (i also checked the box).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Vicky

Well i did look into the src, might be just a little over my head

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Anything in particular you don't understand?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Vicky

but what i don't understand, you wrote in your first post that there was one more hook (for the game) to make and do some stuff with it, you already made hooks for other functions... why not put that one in as well?

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Because that's where I've drawn the line.
Opening up the box of live bugs would be meaningless unless I also spend the time to ensure it's properly working.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Vicky

Although it may be pretty straight forward programming, it's always harder for others to read someone elses src.

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Yeah, well, that's the deal..

ok so i know you need to put the 32kb mf.dll into your system32 folder, problem is it wont let me replace the one thats already there. Howd you go about doing this?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by abcba

Because that's where I've drawn the line.
Opening up the box of live bugs would be meaningless unless I also spend the time to ensure it's properly working.

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Ok, reconsidering... i wont either, it's buggy indeed and i'm not gonna risk my key or (worse) getting banned for fidling with the activation/live options. Maybe trapping the complete (normal) activation and live signin would be usefull, but i won't try that either.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Vicky

Do Run :) It'll continue (i also checked the box).

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Thats the trouble, I hit Run and then nothing... the hourglass pops up for a split second and then nothing opens... :S I opened it through the loader again, and again, and still, nothing after hitting Run... Any more ideas??

edit: after choosing to not show the message again, after clicking Install (in the custom install window) absolutely nothing opens, no continuation of the install etc... :S

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Vicky

Ok, reconsidering... i wont either, it's buggy indeed and i'm not gonna risk my key or (worse) getting banned for fidling with the activation/live options. Maybe trapping the complete (normal) activation and live signin would be usefull, but i won't try that either.

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Actually right now would be the best time to do fiddling as live is still shaky and not all together yet. Its less likely you might get banned for doing anything now as they are much more concentrated on fixing their own issues.

True, but it could also mean spending hours to get it going and after a (hopefully) bugless update for live one might have to start from scratch for live/activation on xp. Activation sucks anyway, i know at least one person that can't activate his bought version anymore. That was a 3rd or 4th install, so keep ur hd with h2v clean, up and running.....

Any ideas with my issue Vicky? After hitting run, nothing happens, now that i checked the box to not show the message again, after hitting customise install, then choosing the directory, nothing happens...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Vicky

True, but it could also mean spending hours to get it going and after a (hopefully) bugless update for live one might have to start from scratch for live/activation on xp. Activation sucks anyway, i know at least one person that can't activate his bought version anymore. That was a 3rd or 4th install, so keep ur hd with h2v clean, up and running.....

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Maybe its just a matter of the application storing the activation information in the system registry. Such as an activated cd-key hash somewhere in the registry that live or the game checks to see if it is currently activated. I doubt you might really have to do any live service hacking as most you might need to discover is probably all user client based. It might even be possible to make an activation recovery so once the game has been installed, it can still be activated.

I'm in the same boat as Firefly up there...can't even get the damned thing to install.

The loader brings up the GUI panel for installation and I can select a destination directory, but when I hit the "Run" button, nothing happens. I get dropped back to a command prompt with the message "Program exited with return code: 0000000."

If I recall my CS school days, zero is usually the "no error" retcode, so I'm a bit flummoxed as to where to start poking around.

I've updated my system with the latest DX9.0c redist update package, and dropped the 32K version of MF.DLL into my /system32 directory.

Here's a look into my system and video specs:
Windoze XP SP2
Athlon64 3700+ (90nm)
nForce4 Ultra mainboard
2GB PC3200 DDR (dual channel)
256MB GeForce 6800GT
300GB SATA2 HD (~240GB free)

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...the1/diag1.jpg

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...the1/diag2.jpg

Yeah, return 0 is usually no error but that might be just the loader exiting normally.
I don't think it's ur specs, not sure about the videocard, my pc is a little less powered, amd 3400+, and i had no problem installing on xp sp2.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by The Last Gunslinger

The loader brings up the GUI panel for installation and I can select a destination directory, but when I hit the &quot;Run&quot; button, nothing happens. I get dropped back to a command prompt with the message &quot;Program exited with return code: 0000000.&quot;

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Upload a picture of your H2V installation disc and I'll gladly help you out..
Also, the WowLoader-DBG builds were not meant for regular use.

i've got the same problem at level "grave mind"!! what can i do???
thanks abcba for your work!!!!

I am having the same problem as Fireflyfilms. I have even tried the after install steps first to see if that would work and I still get nothing after that page. If anyone had this problem and passed it, please help. I have installed the newest .net framework and updated video drivers. My computer is pent 4 2.60GH(2.73 overclocked) 1 gb ram. my graphics card is a ATI radeon X1600 Pro(512 mb ram)

Solved my installation issue, it was a bad copy. Redownloaded elsewhere and now it works fine :D

Now my concern is the bloody activation... ill search around.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fireflyfilms

Solved my installation issue, it was a bad copy. Redownloaded elsewhere and now it works fine :D

Now my concern is the bloody activation... ill search around.

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lol.

Hi all,
I am successfully running halo2 on xp using the abcba's wowloader.
The only problem I am facing is that of frame rates. I am getting avg of 5fps making it really difficult to play it. Even the opening menu looks really slow. Looking at my sys config: athlon64 2800+, fx5200 one might say that its a heavy game and 5fps is reasonable.

I have also read on many posts on the net saying it is heftier than f.e.a.r.

But has anyone tried running taskmgr in bckground to see how much sys usage is halo2.exe using???

well, I did, I found avg processor usage to be only 20%. My CPU is running colder too as compared to other games. This surprised me.

Can someone suggest what is happening? what can I do to make halo2 use my maximum hardware resources?

Regards

I'd say it's probably your graphics card...most of the fx5200's are only 64 bit cards that don't support higher than OpenGl 1.5 so I gather you would most likely not have Shader Model 3.0 support, if you even have Shader Model 2.0 support...
on top of that, the fx5200's typically only have 4 pixel pipelines
also, i'm not certain how well we can judge how processor intensive the game is...i mean...if i minimize Halo, i can play FEAR just fine...i think the game pretty much pauses itself when you alt-tab out of it
i just had an idea...gonna look for a program that logs cpu usage...

used perfmon...
i've an Athlon X2 3600 running at 1.9ghz
cpu usage during gameplay is an interesting thing for Halo2
virtually maxed out 1 core (95&#37; was the highest)
but the other core peaked at about 60%
not sure what resolution i'm running the game at, i know my effects settings are on medium
so i'd say your cpu could probably go for an upgrade to, if you're only on a single core 2600 while it maxes out one of my cores and gets halfway there on the other...
and then of course, once i alt-tabbed out of the game, activity on both cores dropped considerably and stayed around 10%

Ok, since i ha ve this working i can help people with things

here is a small q and a

Q. Whenever i start it up using wowloader it loads but after the screen where it loads left to right it crashes to the desktop why?
A. You need the latest version of directx9.0c *june or later* or you dont have the minimum requirements

Q. What are the windows xp minimum requirements?
A.
WINXP MINIMUM REQS

1.7ghz proscessor
512mb ram (low quality at 800x600, a little lag with meduim)
128mb gfx (256 reccomended)
Winxp sp2

Q. How do i use wowloader?
A. Either make a shortcut ,a batch file, or open halo 2.exe with it

Q. I cant get to level 12, it asks for my disc how do i fix this?
A. Make a copy of 07a_highcharity.map and rename Copy of 07a_highcharity.map to 07a_highcarity.map, the spelling mistake fixes this problem, and you do have to keep the original.

Q.I cant Start a lan game, why is this?
A. Most likeley due to network implementation issues

Q.Why cant i copy the 32kb mf.dll into my system32 folder, it wont let me replace it?
A. Restart your computer, this will make sure that no proscesses are using it, if you still have the problem, start in safemode

Also fyi greenxmodding.net would probably liek this

First of all abcba, allow me to congratulate you on a job well done...It's great that someone proved to the world that Microsoft was just shoving BS down our throats when made Halo2 Vista only. Your method is great, yet it's fascinatingly simple in it's implementation.

I tried out your patch on 2 systems, one worked like a charm...But I didn't have much luck on the other one :(
Funny thing, I can get the loader.exe to work in safe-mode, but once I start windows up normally I get an error launching startup.exe via the loader....(The send error report dialog box).

I tried disabling all other services running in the background, but still no luck so far. I understand that maybe there's another process interfering with the loader process?

I would be very grateful if you could give me a clue as to how this issue can be addressed...(Without reinstalling WinXP, of course lol ).

Thanks a lot and have a great day!:)

Someone's created a guide which pretty much covers every issue that I'm aware of: http://halo2xp.tk/
Beyond that, all sorts of software work by injecting one of it's modules into other processes.
Any code which is executed in the process started by the loader will "think" it's running on Vista.
So if you've got third party software which injects itself into the h2v process and assumes it's running under Vista, then that might be the cause of the crash.

Thank you, abcba....

I would like to know if there is any app that could let me monitor process activity, like sub process creation and injection...That would actually help me identify the offending process.

Thanks again for your response.

Well, the DBG builds (you can find those on the filefront forums) should tell you what processes are being created.
But when I mentioned module injection I was thinking of a dynamic link library (DLL) being loaded into the h2v process.
ListDLLs amongst others will allow you to get a list of the DLL's loaded into the process when it crashes.
When you have that, try comparing the lists between the two machines.

not really asking for a solution, just throwing this up in the air but...
ZOMG I'M STUCK ON GRAVEMIND!!!
lol
i beleive i've tried the map rename method, nah, didn't help me any
went to that link abcba mentioned a few posts ago and tried all that rot...
still nothin
so it looks like i'm just screwed for now as far as getting into that level. ((cries))