Edit: Start Here... !!Don't Install Patch 3!! "...A Newbie's Progress Log" Since most of what's below are details of simple solutions, the following is a lot easier than it looks, as long as you take a linear approach to the installation and take it step by step. First of all, don't install Atari's official 3rd patch. If you do so, it seems that you may have to clean your registry to prevent in-game glitches further on. For total newbies (like me)... CO8 5.5.0 BETA is not just a mod but also corrects many game-breaking technical problems that the official patches don't cover. It's more or less a required download for continuos ongoing play and even then, it seems, there are still problems, dealt with most comprehensively here: Common Issues and Solutions But first, read the installation instructions... Installation instructions... http://www.moddb.com/mods/circle-of-eight-modpack-550-beta ...I'm not sure how comprehensive those instructions are as they don't say anything about a cd-crack, although if the crack is required only for the looting bug it's stated that CO8 5.5.0 BETA already takes care of that. Also, .NET FRAMEWORK 2.0 isn't compatible with 64bit Vista. However if you're running vista you've probably got a newer version already installed. You can check the version you have installed by going to START > CONTROL PANEL > PROGRAMS > PROGRAMS AND FEATURES, and locating "Microsoft .NET Framework..." in the list. (The version I have is .NET FRAMEWORK 3.5 SP1 which TOEE seems to work under). CO8 5.5.0 BETA Download... http://www.moddb.com/mods/circle-of...ta/downloads/circle-of-eight-modpack-550-beta (None of the Fileshack links worked for me at all. The Filefront download worked but didn't support 'resume download' in my download manager.) More valuable/required advice for 'smooth and problem-free' gameplay: The Co8 Guide to Successful Gaming With ToEE Under Vista, using WinRAR to extract CO8 5.5.0 BETA to the TOEE root directory caused conflicts unless I navigated to and uncompressd the .RAR files using the WinRAR interface having launched WinRAR with the 'Run as administrator' option (by single-right-clicking on the WinRAR icon in the expanded 'WinRAR' directory in the 'All Programs' menu under the 'Start' menu, and selecting the 'Run as administrator' option on the pop-up list given). Just clicking on the CO8 mod .RAR file itself didn't work for me and right clicking on a .RAR file doesn't give me the option to uncompress the .RAR file 'as administrator' (In short: I found that for it to work correctly the .RAR file had to be uncompressd using the interface of an instance of WinRAR launched using the 'Run as administrator' option). Under Vista I also needed to launch ToEE Front-end X ('TFE-X') using the 'Run as administrator' option otherwise an error message would pop-up telling me there was already an instance of it running. When I launched it using 'Run as administrator' it worked okay. (TFE-X is included in the CO8 5.5.0 BETA download.) (Don't forget to launch TFE-X from the ToEE root directory using the 'Run as administrator' option when you want to play.) The game seems to run okay but exiting via the game's menu causes the game to stop responding and my mouse-pointer to disappear. To get back to windows without having to re-boot I'm using alt-tab to select the Windows icon, then tapping enter to clear the error message and get my mouse-pointer to appear again (it works for me but your mileage may vary). Activating CO8 5.5.0 BETA with TFE-X resolved this issue for me. Now the game shuts down with no problem. The first time I tried to activate CO8 5.5.0 BETA with TFE-X it froze and then gave me conflicts and error-messages even after a re-boot, so I re-installed patch 2 a second time (the error-message seemed to think it hadn't yet been installed) and launched TFE-X (as administrator) from the TOEE root directory and having done that it activated successfully (I'd previously been launching it via shortcuts I'd added to my desktop and start menu) The 1920 x 1080 screen size config hack didn't work until I'd activated CO8 5.5.0 BETA with TFE-X. Before activating, the environment appeared but the characters models weren't visible and couldn't interact with certain objects in the environment (namely the first chest in the tutorial. The rat was also invisible rendering it untargetable (i.e. I couldn't attack it because the sword icon didn't appear)). Also, saving the config file after alteration was very troublesome (it wouldn't let me save directly to the file and sent me round in circles. The easiest way I found was to alter it, save it to desktop and then drag and drop it from desk top to TOEE root directory to replace the existing config file. Lastly: Activating the CO8 Mod caused the tutorial mission to disappear from my game's menu screen, so if you want to play through the tutorial and/or jump straight into some action early on it's probably best to play through the tutorial a few times before installing the CO8 Mod, incase the same thing happens to you. P.S. After installation and activation of the CO8 mod Don't forget to launch TOEE by 'running as administrator' the TFE-X file from the TOEE root directory. Not doing so can cause conflicts (I launched it from a shortcut and TOEE crashed and stopped booting. I resolved this by re-installing patch 2 and launching the TFE-X file from the TOEE root directory). Right now the only shortcut I have on my desktop for launching TOEE is a shortcut to the TOEE root directory that I created by right-clicking on on the 'Temple of Elemental Evil' folder in the 'Atari' folder and selecting "Send to desktop / Create shortcut". --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Successfully running Temple of Elemental Evil seems extremely complicated. I've had it installed once before but I couldn't get it workng (patching caused it not to run and without the patch I couldn't search bodies). There seems to be lots of information for how to remedy problems but there doesn't seem to be a walkthrough or guide for achieving a working installation from scratch. I'm not exactly sure what to do or where to start in order to give myself the best chance of getting it running properly. Is it easier to run on Vista, XP or 98SE? Given the choice which of these is it best to run it on for best results? (I have Vista and XP on seperate hard drives and can boot into either at startup via the bios. I'm in the process of installing 98SE as a kind of dual boot also). Which is the best of these to run it on for best results? Also, how do I tell if I have the U.K. version of the game or the U.S. version of the game? It seems that the patches needed to run the game successfully are only compatible with the U.S. version. Is that correct or am I just not doing it properly? Can both the U.S. and U.K. versions be patched successfully or do I need to buy a U.S. version of the game for best results? If someone could advise me as to the above so that I might have the best chance of getting the game to run successfully it would be most appreciated (I've wanted to play Temple of Elemental Evil for absolutely ages but before now I haven't been able to keep a stable enough OS installation to make it worth my while trying to learn the game and how to install, update and patch it all. It all seems very complicated.) Thanks in advance.
For the other people reading this thread who are in the same boat as me, here's some info... Having read ToEE on Windows Vista Compatability Testing & Workarounds Agetian I installed it under Vista and it runs with patches 1 and 2 but crashes to desktop if I install patch 3. Here are some crash to desktop threads that shed light on the problem... http://www.co8.org/forum/showthread.php?t=6283&highlight=%22crashes+desktop%22 http://www.co8.org/forum/showthread.php?t=4889 I have a more or less identical problem to this one (only I haven't checked the TOEE.EXE file yet) http://www.co8.org/forum/showthread.php?t=5657&highlight=%22crashes+desktop%22 A possible solution...? http://www.co8.org/forum/showpost.php?p=50576&postcount=6 Another (possibly) helpful thread... [Obsolete] Comprehensive ToEE Installation Instructions by Zebedee (I'm not sure why it's obsolete. There doesn't seem to be any information on that in the thread. Presumably because there are newer versions of the co8 solutions (and maybe they also render some of the steps unnecessary)). Do I really have to clean the registry after installing patch 3? Anyways, I've been at this for nearly two and a half hours now and it's almost two in the morning, so I've got to get some sleep. P.S. I thought the CO8 installations were purely mods. I didn't know they were actually bug-fixes until I ran these searches (originally I wasn't intending to install them because I thought they were user generated content and more likely to cause more problems than to help anything.)
Yes, Zebedee's instructions are obsolete, but they do get you started up to the Atari Patch 2 and explanation of the no-cd crack. However, the only supported Co8 mod is v.5.5.0Beta, which utilizes Front End X (version 2.2 is most recent). IIRC neither can be downloaded from this forum (or at least I can't find them either) so you must go to ModDB or maybe some other host.
Thanks for the info. I've since uninstalled TOEE, deleted the TOEE folder in the Atari folder manually, downloaded Ccleaner and cleaned my registery (if anyones thinking of doing this, caution, it can stop your OS installation working). Right now I'm following the instructions posted at www.moddb.com, which seem to be the best instructions I've found so far... Instructions... http://www.moddb.com/mods/circle-of-eight-modpack-550-beta[/COLOR] ...I'm not sure how comprehensive those are as they don't say anything about a cd-crack, although if the crack is required only for the looting bug it's stated that CO8 5.5.0 Beta already takes care of that. CO8 5.5.0 Beta Download... http://www.moddb.com/mods/circle-of...ta/downloads/circle-of-eight-modpack-550-beta (None of the Fileshack links worked for me at all (please click the 'report as broken' link if they don't work for you). The Filefront download worked for me but didn't support resume in my download manager. My currently intermittent connection caused me to have to make repeated attempts at downloading the complete file)). I'm running under 64bit Vista so I can't install .NET Framework 2.0 (it's not supported), however according to "Programs and Features" in Control Panel I'm already runnig .NET Framework 3.5 (SP1), so I'm going to go ahead anyway and see if I can get it working. Might .NET Framework 3.5 (SP1) cause complications in-game (if it works at all)? I'm imagining that I might be better off running it under XP so that I'm on the same page as everyone else (I really don't want to get three quarters of the way through the game just to have it crash because of a Vista conflict. ------------------------------------------------------ Edit: I edited and updated the first post of this thread with information good for getting newbies, like me, into the groove... http://www.co8.org/forum/showpost.php?p=83125&postcount=1
Just checked the Filefront and Fileshack downloads and they both worked fine ... @Idolon, I have to ask: have you seriously not noticed the 'Downloads' forum directly above this one, which contains the subforums 'Game Modifications' and 'Installation and Usage Instructions,' among others? These subforums themselves contain sticky threads like 'The Circle of Eight Mod Pack: A Step-by-Step Download Guide' and 'Circle of Eight Modpack 5.5.0 BETA Installation Instructions' and 'Circle of Eight Modpack Release Notes.' All this information you're posting here, as though hard bought and by necessity painstakingly pieced together from the ashes of our forums, is easily found therein.
Filefront worked for me but it didn't support 'resume download'. I thought it worth mentioning since DAP was suggesting I find another download site when it was just a local connectivity issue. Fileshack just took me to broken link pages when I tried to execute the downloads from the pop-ups. My apologies, it just wasn't 'idiot proof' enough for me. The forum directory appeared very disparate to me on first inspection. I wasn't yet sure just what it was I needed to download, why or in what order, or that the TOEE downloads would be included on the site outside of the TOEE forum, nor was I really sure where to start, so I thought I'd detail my progress in getting onto the curve, for others in my position.
Gaear, perhaps you should bump it because I overlooked it too (when looking around trying to help our new member). The 2005 date threw me off.
I wrote the above from the perspective of someone more or less totally new to the tools and processes (I've only tried to play it once before but at that time didn't get further than re-installing the second patch after the CTDs caused by patch 3). I think the core of the issue is that the forum's written in a way that assumes a higher level of competence and familiarity than an average new arrival might have (probably because everyone here knows it all inside-out already). It literally just needs an 'induction' thread to 'hold your hand' and 'walk you through' the process. The first post in this thread is very information-dense and probably not ideal (since it'll probably scare people off because of how complicated it appears, but caveats re. 'Running as administrator' ect. could be given up-front and much of the detail could be hidden behind hyperlinks clickable at each step should the need arise. Ultimately it's pretty straight forward as long as it's taken step by step in a linear fashion. It's juts all of the vista interface conflicts that makes it appear difficult (also, cleaning the registry after patch 3 is a definite watershed), but I think it'll probably work for a good number of people (if it doesn't scare them off) and could probably serve as a model for some kind of introductory/induction thread.
