Retro Inspiration On Windows 7

My wife has been off work this week (holiday) and so I have not been doing any work on the module as we have been spending the time doing a few things we wanted to do together. She is off next week as well, but I hope to get a little more time working on the module as she writes an assay she has to do for her study. However, while I have not had the chance to do any more module work, I have spent a little time looking at some of my older games and seeing if I can get them to work on Windows 7. I picked out a handful of games and managed to get every single one to work. I am hoping to look at/play them again and get some inspiration when it comes to quests and puzzles. Let's call it homework. ;)

Because others may also be interested in my results, I will post them here for reference. Furthermore, if anybody has any other older game that they have had problems with (and I have it), I will gladly see if I can get it to work on my own computer and see if any extra considerations need to be taken into account when installing. Anyway, here are the results of four classic games that I now have working just fine:

Heretic II

Wiki information on Heretic II found here.

- Install from the SETUP.EXE in SETUP directory rather than the root directory. (Patched to version 1.06)
- Use compatibility Mode Windows XP (SP3)
- If game fails to start (crashes to desktop), start the TUTORIAL GAME first, then escape to menu and start normal game.
- Any SAVES will work now without having to start the TUTORIAL.






Hexen II

Wiki information on Hexen II found here.

- Install as normal. (Patched to version 1.11)
- Compatibility Mode Windows XP (SP2)
- Delete "opengl32.dll" file from the Hexen II directory. (Allows modern video cards to work.)
- Make a shortcut with "C:\Hexen II\glh2.exe" -width 1280 -height 1024 -bpp 32 in the target.









Thief II - The Metal Age

Wiki information on Thief II found here.

- Install as normal. (Premiere collection version.)
- No compatibility changes.
- Set SOUND with hardware accelerator ON and 4 Channels only. (Other settings may randomly freeze the game.)
- Install Indeo Video 5 CODEC. (Required for ingame video to work.)







Will Rock

Wiki information on Will Rock found here.

- Install as normal. (Bundled software.)
- No compatibility changes.






All these games (except Thief II) can be played in a co-op multi-player as well. A friend and I are going to play some of these games again because we recall how much fun we had with them at the time. Many can still be purchased for only a few pounds and are worth it for the hours of fun that can still be had with them if you like this sort of thing. :)

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