Octopus Overlords

Hi all,

For some reason I've grown all nostalgic for the glory days of space sims, and I've decided to look for a copy of the X-Wing Trilogy (which contains all three of the single-player titles). I have some questions for those who know anything about the trilogy re-release (ca. 2001?) of these games.

1) Do they run normally in WinXP, or will I need some kind of DOS box or slow-downer kind of thing?

2) I've seen a popular fansite where the Alliance ships are being graphically updated. Are there any other kinds of updates or expansions I should know about?

3) (subjective) Is it worthwhile to even launch back into these decade+ old games? If you tried it, did you still get that grand old great-game feeling, or did you wish that you had left your golden memories undisturbed?

Thanks for any responses!

I have the Collection that I picked up for ten bucks years ago and I thought it claimed to run on XP but I've never tried it. I keep thinking about going out and getting a new joystick and I keep not doing it.

Theory has it that you have to dick around to make Tie Figher (My favorite of the three) work in XP

http://forums.megagames.com/forums/arch ... 38840.html" target="_blank

I'm not a graphics whore, so the old game feel would be fine for me. I liked the feel, the handling, and the just complex enough controls.

When I was in 7th grade (about 10 years ago) I got it for a birthday present and it ran fine on out WIN 95 machine. That would make me assume it would run fine if you used compatibility mode.

The collection runs just fine in XP. I relived my Tie Fighter days just a few months ago. I didn't bother with any graphical updates, though. The collection already updates the graphics from the original, so they don't look horrible....just not great.

Ironically, I've never been able to get into Rebel Alliance, despite trying many times.

IIRC: The versions of Xwing and Tie fighter in that collection use the updated XvT (Xwing vs Tiefighter) graphic engine and do not have issues in XP. The originals did.

Cylus Maxii wrote:IIRC: The versions of Xwing and Tie fighter in that collection use the updated XvT (Xwing vs Tiefighter) graphic engine and do not have issues in XP. The originals did.

Arguably, the newer version of TIE Fighter lost some of the charm of the original though. Here are the differences, courtesy of Wiki:

The Collector's CD-ROM edition and the Collector Series edition of X-Wing and TIE Fighter have many dissimilarities. Besides the use of new graphics and sound engines, the Collector Series edition omits many of the small movies and animations found in the Collector's CD-ROM and original floppy disk editions. Furthermore, the Collector Series edition does not use the iMUSE interactive MIDI soundtrack from the original game release, and is replaced by the static Red Book audio-based John Williams movie soundtrack used in the Collector's CD-ROM.

FWIW, here's a guide to running the original version under XP with VDMSound.

Thanks for the advice, everyone. It has just dawned on me that I just post a "LF" message at the trade forum. If anyone here is looking to unload their copy of the trilogy, please let me know.

Use DOSbox with D-Fend Reloaded for simplified setup of TIE Fighter. Worked like a charm on my computer, and the game itself stood the test of time.

If you have a widescreen monitor don't forget to try out the widescreen hack for X-Wing Alliance. It looks more complicated than it is. Let me know if you have any problems.

I sold my copy of the X-Wing Collection back in the day because I'm a retard. I still have Alliance, though, and I play it frequently. It's a shame Lucasarts sucks now and won't update the series.

Anonymous Bosch wrote:

Cylus Maxii wrote:IIRC: The versions of Xwing and Tie fighter in that collection use the updated XvT (Xwing vs Tiefighter) graphic engine and do not have issues in XP. The originals did.

Arguably, the newer version of TIE Fighter lost some of the charm of the original though. Here are the differences, courtesy of Wiki:

The Collector's CD-ROM edition and the Collector Series edition of X-Wing and TIE Fighter have many dissimilarities. Besides the use of new graphics and sound engines, the Collector Series edition omits many of the small movies and animations found in the Collector's CD-ROM and original floppy disk editions. Furthermore, the Collector Series edition does not use the iMUSE interactive MIDI soundtrack from the original game release, and is replaced by the static Red Book audio-based John Williams movie soundtrack used in the Collector's CD-ROM.

FWIW, here's a guide to running the original version under XP with VDMSound.

What about the totally bitchrod tats from Tie Fighter?

Tie Figher officially has the last cut scenes I ever gave a rat's ass about ever in a game. Electric blue force tats! You just can't top that. It's a mathematical certainty.

Those are still in the Collector's Edition.

Peacedog wrote:

Anonymous Bosch wrote:

Cylus Maxii wrote:IIRC: The versions of Xwing and Tie fighter in that collection use the updated XvT (Xwing vs Tiefighter) graphic engine and do not have issues in XP. The originals did.

Arguably, the newer version of TIE Fighter lost some of the charm of the original though. Here are the differences, courtesy of Wiki:

The Collector's CD-ROM edition and the Collector Series edition of X-Wing and TIE Fighter have many dissimilarities. Besides the use of new graphics and sound engines, the Collector Series edition omits many of the small movies and animations found in the Collector's CD-ROM and original floppy disk editions. Furthermore, the Collector Series edition does not use the iMUSE interactive MIDI soundtrack from the original game release, and is replaced by the static Red Book audio-based John Williams movie soundtrack used in the Collector's CD-ROM.

FWIW, here's a guide to running the original version under XP with VDMSound.

What about the totally bitchrod tats from Tie Fighter?

Tie Figher officially has the last cut scenes I ever gave a rat's ass about ever in a game. Electric blue force tats! You just can't top that. It's a mathematical certainty.

Amen:



It's been a while since I played 'em, but I think Little Raven is correct about both versions having the tattoos though.

I found the original X-Wing Alliance last year while sorting through my old games. Loaded it up and it ran fine. I added the updated graphics and they make a huge difference. The text is borked with the new graphics, but there's a pretty easy fix for it. The only problem - and it's a huge one - is with the targeting reticule. On newer nVidia graphics cards, it's drawn behind the background and basically disappears. this makes the game unplayable for me, so I've shelved it for now. If someone knows of a fix for this, I'd be grateful. I'm hoping it'll get resolved eventually.

Moggy123 wrote:I found the original X-Wing Alliance last year while sorting through my old games. Loaded it up and it ran fine. I added the updated graphics and they make a huge difference. The text is borked with the new graphics, but there's a pretty easy fix for it. The only problem - and it's a huge one - is with the targeting reticule. On newer nVidia graphics cards, it's drawn behind the background and basically disappears. this makes the game unplayable for me, so I've shelved it for now. If someone knows of a fix for this, I'd be grateful. I'm hoping it'll get resolved eventually.

IF you're comfortable with a hex editor, I've found the following:

A couple different and obscure sources wrote:The solution is to use instead the Direct3D7 function IDirect3DViewPort::Clear2 function.
Note that XWA only requests (I think) Direct3D 1, so if you are unlucky it might just crash on some Windows versions, but it worked for me on Windows XP x64.
To use ViewPort::Clear2 to clear Z-Buffer you have to make these changes to the xwingalliance.exe (tested with 2.02):
at offset 0x1973ce (0x597fce in memory):
Pattern from: c7 45 ec ff ff 00 00
to: c7 45 ec 00 00 80 3f
at offset 0x197410 (0x598010 in memory):
Pattern from: 50 68 00 00 00 03 6a 00 6a 00 8d 4d 88 51 8b 15 a4 e7 b0 00 52 a1 a4 e7 b0 00 8b 08 ff 51 14
to: 90 6a 00 ff 75 ec 6a 00 6a 02 8d 4d 88 51 90 90 90 90 6a 01 a1 bc 15 7b 00 50 8b 08 ff 51 50

I just listened to this episode of the Retronauts podcast where they talk in-depth about this series. It was pretty interesting to learn how much of the Star Wars expanded universe was used in these games, and how the games in turn influenced the expanded universe. If you're into Star Wars and the X-Wing/Tie Fighter series, you should give it a listen.

I need to go home and listen to this. X-Wing and Tie Fighter we so huge for me. I actually want to be go back and get flight stick and pick them up again from GOG. Only I fear that the intervening 30 years have so dulled my dexterity that it would just be embarrassing and frustrating trying to control the flight stick and keyboard well enough simultaneously to play effectively.

Getting through those games and leveling up support pilots really felt like an accomplishment and cemented my love for Lucas Arts without question right up until Force Commander.

Wait, leveling up support pilots? Was that actually a thing?

Well, maybe in X-Wing. In TIE Fighter, your wingmen were mostly there to (very briefly) get shot at by rebel and pirate X-Wings before blowing up. In XWA, as I recall, the game basically played itself compared to its predecessors.

It was. I had batch files to backup and restore support pilots when they got captured or killed.

Huh. Guess I just wasn't paying attention too much - was there any noticeable difference in their performance?

NickAragua wrote: ↑Thu Jan 16, 2020 1:56 pm Huh. Guess I just wasn't paying attention too much - was there any noticeable difference in their performance?

My memory for nearly 30 years ago, says yes. Don't trust my memory. But it was a very active part of my game. I would fly missions to ace them again and again with different pilots to ace them and level up to better move forward. They were no substitute for my actual skill but their effectiveness and ability to survive changed noticeably as they leveled.

Hipolito wrote: ↑Wed Jan 15, 2020 11:13 pm I just listened to this episode of the Retronauts podcast where they talk in-depth about this series. It was pretty interesting to learn how much of the Star Wars expanded universe was used in these games, and how the games in turn influenced the expanded universe. If you're into Star Wars and the X-Wing/Tie Fighter series, you should give it a listen.

Wow, how have I never heard of this podcast? Thanks for the tip, gonna add that ep to my queue.

Veloxi wrote: ↑Sat Jan 18, 2020 5:52 pm

Hipolito wrote: ↑Wed Jan 15, 2020 11:13 pm I just listened to this episode of the Retronauts podcast where they talk in-depth about this series. It was pretty interesting to learn how much of the Star Wars expanded universe was used in these games, and how the games in turn influenced the expanded universe. If you're into Star Wars and the X-Wing/Tie Fighter series, you should give it a listen.

Wow, how have I never heard of this podcast? Thanks for the tip, gonna add that ep to my queue.

You're welcome. It's a fun listen, even for a fairly casual Star Wars fan like me.

I like your podcast too. I'm listening to your best/worst-of decade episode and adding some of the space games you mention to my wishlist.

Hipolito wrote: ↑Sun Jan 19, 2020 10:52 pm

Veloxi wrote: ↑Sat Jan 18, 2020 5:52 pm

Hipolito wrote: ↑Wed Jan 15, 2020 11:13 pm I just listened to this episode of the Retronauts podcast where they talk in-depth about this series. It was pretty interesting to learn how much of the Star Wars expanded universe was used in these games, and how the games in turn influenced the expanded universe. If you're into Star Wars and the X-Wing/Tie Fighter series, you should give it a listen.

Wow, how have I never heard of this podcast? Thanks for the tip, gonna add that ep to my queue.

You're welcome. It's a fun listen, even for a fairly casual Star Wars fan like me.

I like your podcast too. I'm listening to your best/worst-of decade episode and adding some of the space games you mention to my wishlist.

Oh wonderful! Thank you for listening!

LordMortis wrote: ↑Thu Jan 16, 2020 2:17 pm

NickAragua wrote: ↑Thu Jan 16, 2020 1:56 pm Huh. Guess I just wasn't paying attention too much - was there any noticeable difference in their performance?

My memory for nearly 30 years ago, says yes. Don't trust my memory. But it was a very active part of my game. I would fly missions to ace them again and again with different pilots to ace them and level up to better move forward. They were no substitute for my actual skill but their effectiveness and ability to survive changed noticeably as they leveled.

I think the best part for me was picking the picture of the support pilot that would show up on the mission selection screen. The pictures were screen grabs from the movies but still very cool. You couldn't get those images anywhere else pre-internet. And yes, once the pilots leveled up enough theu could better hold their own in a fight. At worst they didn't die as quickly and you could use them as cover to take out ties.

PCGamer: Play X-Wing with upgraded graphics. Trust us: you should

If ever a series needed a remake, this is it. Hell I probably buy it if it was exactly the same but with an upgraded HQ engine with great graphics.
I think I’ll have to give those mods a try though.