ViperRacing: Can't install!!

Hi! Finally, after ordering on Nov 20 at www.sierra.com, VR arrived here in Germany, they must have used a canoe... Now, full of e***ment, I try to install the ***, and what happens? A dialog box telling me: Can't find _SETUP.DLL, which is needed to complete the installation. Error 103 Oh, the disappointment! Did anybody else have this error and receive a solution from Sierra? I emailed their support, but I'm not expecting an answer very soon... Hmm, where's the CD with that demo again? l8er ronny -- How to get rid of censorship in German game releases <http://www.gamesmania.com/german/maniac/freedom/freedom.htm |\ _,,,---,,_ I want to die like my Grandfather, ZZZzz /,`.-'`' -. ;-;;,_ in his sleep. |,4- ) )-,_. ,\ ( `'-' Not like the people in his car, '---''(_/--' `-'\_) screaming their heads off!

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> Hi! > Finally, after ordering on Nov 20 at www.sierra.com, VR arrived here in Germany, > they must have used a canoe... > Now, full of e***ment, I try to install the ***, and what happens? > A dialog box telling me: > Can't find _SETUP.DLL, which is needed to complete the installation. > Error 103

Ok, it's solved. Well, it runs now, but it's still a stupid mistake on Sierra's side. The US version "needs" the country settings, but this has to happen during Win95 installation. Nevertheless, if you just copy the "Data" directory to the HD and start race.exe, it works without the Setup program or the CD in the drive. Due to the bug I at least found a way not having to swap CDs for VR... ;^) l8er ronny -- How to get rid of censorship in German game releases <http://www.gamesmania.com/german/maniac/freedom/freedom.htm |\ _,,,---,,_ I want to die like my Grandfather, ZZZzz /,`.-'`' -. ;-;;,_ in his sleep. |,4- ) )-,_. ,\ ( `'-' Not like the people in his car, '---''(_/--' `-'\_) screaming their heads off!

Hi there, Sorry about the language problem--it was caused by using an international Installshield template with a non-international version of Installshield. It somehow slipped through the cracks of Sierra's product testing. Of course, the European versions will not have this problem, but people running the current US Viper on non-English machines will. (My advice to any game programmers: NEVER agree to work on an installer!) Further evidence of our incompetence: the "race.exe" on the Data directory wasn't supposed to be on the CD! However, it actually helps fix the non-English bug. So here's the workaround: 1.) Insert Viper CD. 2.) Make a directory on your hard drive (e.g., c:\Games\Viper) 3.) Make a subdirectory called Data (e.g., c:\Games\Viper\Data) 4.) Copy the contents of the Data directory on the CD to the one on your harddisk. 5.) Copy Data\race.exe to the Viper directory Now, you should be set, and just run "race.exe" However, the "race.exe" is a FUNKY variant, so your drivers will be called "H-1" and stuff. So be warned! -Dave Dave Pollatsek MGI

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> Hi there, > Sorry about the language problem--it was caused by using an international > Installshield template with a non-international version of Installshield. > It somehow slipped through the cracks of Sierra's product testing. Of > course, the European > versions will not have this problem, but people running the current US Viper > on > non-English machines will. (My advice to any game programmers: NEVER agree > to work on an installer!)

Hi! My advice to game publishers: there are hundreds, most probably thousands of gamers, who HATE localized games (bad translations, censored graphics or content, late patches, etc.), so PLEASE keep sims independent from language settings of Win95!! BTW, EVERY time I install a Sierra product, I know I will be swearing at some point during installation: I want to organize my directory structure, so racing sims go on partition D:, 3D shooters on E:, and flight sims on F:, BUT I don't want to have THREE f**** Sierra directories on THREE drives. This pis...... <pausing for a few seconds now> Thanks, after fooling around enough I found this solution myself. 8^) l8er ronny -- Your mouse has moved. Windows must be restarted for the change to take effect. Reboot now? |\ _,,,---,,_ I want to die like my Grandfather, ZZZzz /,`.-'`' -. ;-;;,_ in his sleep. |,4- ) )-,_. ,\ ( `'-' Not like the people in his car, '---''(_/--' `-'\_) screaming their heads off!

Try disabling your Virus Checking software... -Larry

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> Hi! > Finally, after ordering on Nov 20 at www.sierra.com, VR arrived here in > Germany, they must have used a canoe... > Now, full of e***ment, I try to install the ***, and what happens? A > dialog box telling me: > Can't find _SETUP.DLL, which is needed to complete the installation. Error > 103

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>BTW, EVERY time I install a Sierra product, I know I will be swearing at >some >point during installation: I want to organize my directory structure, so >racing >sims go on partition D:, 3D shooters on E:, and flight sims on F:, BUT I >don't >want to have THREE f**** Sierra directories on THREE drives. >This pis...... <pausing for a few seconds now>

Well, I agree with you there, but it was IN OUR CONTRACT that we had to do a "Sierra install", which uses a Sierra directory, as well as installing Sierra Utilities to the root of the Start menu, and using $^%$ installshield. (OTR, I think a lot of people feel the same way, so feel free to bug Sierra about their installer...) -Dave PS. We actually started the project as a "self-installing" game that would just run off the CD, and just store a bit of configuration info on the computer. We optimised our resource usage so that it would run really well on 8X or 12X CDROMS. Unfortunately, we discovered that a lot of CD-ROMs, while being labled 12X or whatever would clock out as 4X or worse, even on extended reads, so we ended up dumping that idea, but we ended up with a very small disk footprint that will certainly help pirates download our game from wArez sites. So it goes.

snip > Well, I agree with you there, but it was IN OUR CONTRACT that we had to do > a "Sierra install", which uses a Sierra directory, as well as installing > Sierra Utilities > to the root of the Start menu, and using $^%$ installshield. (OTR, I think a > lot of people feel the same way, so feel free to bug Sierra about their > installer...) I don't have much hope being able to convince them, actually. And of course, I didn't blame your company for the Sierra installer... ;^) I know, you HAD to use it! But that's the catch! The pirates NEVER have a problem to STEAL software, but software companies should reconsider, if they want to trouble their HONEST customers by using copy protection, that doesn't work on all CD drives (latest example is Colin McRae Rally!)... The last ten years should have proven that copy protection only bugs the honest customer, not the warez guys... l8er ronny -- How to get rid of censorship in German game releases <http://www.gamesmania.com/german/maniac/freedom/freedom.htm> |\ _,,,---,,_ I want to die like my Grandfather, ZZZzz /,`.-'`' -. ;-;;,_ in his sleep. |,4- ) )-,_. ,\ ( `'-' Not like the people in his car, '---''(_/--' `-'\_) screaming their heads off!

>My advice to game publishers: there are hundreds, most probably >thousands of gamers, who HATE localized games (bad translations, >censored graphics or content, late patches, etc.), so PLEASE keep >sims independent from language settings of Win95!! Seconded! Unless a game has a lot of text (adventures come to mind), a localized version is nothing but trouble and definitely not worth it. What should be included is a language specific handbook and a chart for the key mapping that coincides with the keyboards used in the different countries, though. This is also true for non-game apps (hello Microsoft!) My computer has a c:\programs directory, where sloppily programmed English speaking Win95 apps place themselves. It also has a C:\Programme directory, which is the official directory replacing C:\programs in the German version of Win9x. The same with C:\my files and C:\Eigene Dateien etc. etc. If the naming was the same in all versions, this wouldn't happen. (Call me ***retentive, but I hate this cluttering of directory structures!) An amusing tidbit about localized versions and the trouble marketing departments have with them: when Interstate 76 first came out here, it had a sticker saying (in German) something like "Hey, it's the cool original US version!" Now, the same sticker says "Hey, *finally* the game is completely in German!" Too bad, for the $20 it costs now, I would buy the "cool original US version", but I'm not interested in the dubbed thing. -- Wolfgang Preiss \ E-mail copies of replies to this posting are welcome.