Running Arcanum in Windows 7? Help please!

Hello People,

I read the FAQ, realize that you are a lot of grumpy cynical bastards etc., but still hope to get this basic question answered here:

- I recently found Arcanum. I am on a fairly new Windows 7 laptop, and I just installed this very promising-looking game. Sadly, after spending about 200 minutes searching the web and clicking through all the dead links and spam, I can still find no way to get the program to actually RUN.

Out of the box, the version appears to be 1.064 or something like that; it installs fine, but no matter how I launch the game, once I click "play" from the little mini launcher, nothing happens.

Yes, I read the FAQ. I should say that I am a computer idiot -- I do not understand computer jargon, I am sorry, but that's just the way it is. I am 42 and still not versed in this stuff.

On your site, I found the 1.072 patch, installed it, but that doesnt seem to help. I just cannot get Arcanum to run. I have windows 7 64 bit Home Premium Edition, and would dearly just like to get this thing to start.

Can you help, with idiot-proof instructions?

THANK YOU

 

First, if you haven't, install the LAST Arcanum patch, 1.7.0.4 (Maybe it's the one you already installed, I never heard of 1.7.0.2). After that, right click the main Arcanum executable and choose "Properties". Go to the "Compatibility" tab, check the "Run this program in compatibility mode:" box, and then choose WinXP from a dropdown list.

I believe that's how I got it working on my Win7 laptop, although it was some time ago, so I may be forgetting something.

Oh, and download and install Unofficial Arcanum Patch.

 

Thank you Viktor, I think that might have done the trick. Thanks!

 

Sorry to trouble again, I am unsure if this is a bug, I will simply ask here, if that is ok.

The game is up and running as per Viktor_Berg's instructions -- yey!

Yet on the Windows 64-bit 7 machine, running the 1--074 patch and the UAP as well, the game freezes up the first time I encounter combat -- this is in the first town I am supposed to go to, Shrouded Hills, when The Doc asks me to help with bank robbers.
Seems to start well, but it freezes up after the first round.
(I have turned based combat "on", because I wanted to figure out how combat works -- still working on that.)
The green lights keep flashing after I have finished what appears to be my "turn", then nothing happens, no matter what I push or click, so I usually just stop the game. Tried this 3 times so far, once I was able to get to round 4.
Am I doing something wrong?
Otherwise, this game seems very worthwhile so far, I really like the flavor
Thank you

 

I would recommend trying real-time combat, just to see what explodes. Also, you might want to check the Vista & Arcanum thread I made. What's true in there of Vista should be true of W7. I have yet to lay hands upon a copy of 7, so I can't test it yet.

 

The turn-based combat bug happens quite frequently in this combat...I don't know if anyone ever figured out why. The way to make it go again is to switch to real-time combat, then back to turn-based. You can do this by hitting the space-bar twice. (you'll lose a turn, but other than that all is well).

On the plus side, this bug almost never happens in any other combat.

 

Theorel is right. I have this problem all the time, too.

Don't worry, nobody actually trolls the Arcanum sections. There is love in this section.

 

The bug's very nature is freezing the combat when it's the enemy's turn, so I'm quite surprised to hear that it happens only almost never in turnless real time combat.

 

I may be wrong but I believe the bug is caused by:

the AI trying to decide what to do and getting itself caught in a loop.

where in real time you can still move and do things when or if the AI has this problem and with you doing something else the AI has a chance to kick itself out of the loop it got into.

I think Fallout and/or Fallout 2 sometimes has indecisive AI from time to time also but when it happens in Fallout 2 at least that critter with the problem with it's AI just keeps trying to walk a path or do a action it is not allowed to do for maybe 5-20 trys and then just ends it's turn instead of continuing the loop or doing something else.

so to sum it up I think it is the AI trying to do something it can't do (ether by game rules or limits in the critters graphics.) and in Fallout 2 it has ether a time limit on AI actions or a limit on how many times a action can be tryd by the AI before it stops it's turn. maybe a fix can be made for Arcanum that globally tells AIs to end their turn if X amount of time passed or that the AI looped X times.

 

Thank you for these replies. Switching back and forth helped.

While not flabbergasted, I am pleasantly surprised to see this forum so active at the end of 2009. I'm trying to figure out what that means. From what I gather, Arcanum has not been a huge commercial smash hit, it appears to be somewhat niche-isch. But this site has more traffic than most nice-game sites. Since I can imagine that almost everything that is to be asked or said about this game has been said or asked (but not yet by everyone, heheh), I presume there are further reasons for your frequency of this out of the way corner of the cyberverse. What's the deal, have you all joined karmic bands in a mystical harmonic shiva-sitting experience, or are you all merely insane and suffering from the same group hallucination?

I am trying not to dig too deep into too many threads, since I want to avoid spoilers as much as possible (and so many threads do contain them, and without warnings as well) -- this is my first time through and I do so love a nice narrative -- I hope no one will take offense if I ask one or two further questions?

- Nowhere do I see a hint at my own characters' "Expertise" in a tech discipline, which is mentioned in the manual. Where is this quantification documented in-game?
- These manuals you can purchase at the University bookstore in Tarant -- my intuition tells me that these are used to increase Expertise, yet I cannot see how or how much.
- I have made a goofy little character who will one day be able to make guns and bombs. A daft little dwarf, I started him out with a point in throwing and got him to be an apprentice in Shrouded Hills -- yet he doesnt seem to be able to hit the side of a barn. Does Dex have to be >9 to be able to hit something with a point in throwing?
- I seem to get critical misses in most everything most all the time. Is this ... normal?

Thank you

 

Nope.

That's the one.

If you mean your Technical Aptitude it's on the right of the character screen. The closer to the gear at the bottom right the higher your TA. If by expertise you mean in each tech college, then you just need to check that particular college's tab in your character screen.

Those books are heavy as sin and increase it the college by 10 IIRC.

The higher your dex and throwing skill the better he will hit things.

If your attack skill and its corresponding attribute is low, then yes.

 

Nope. They increase the expertise by a number which is equal to you intelligence, unless you are a Idiot Savant or a Frankenstein Monster/Bride of Frankenstein, in which case you always get 1 - a bug (or rather, badly planned mechanics) which even Drog himself wasn't able to repair.

Also, to expand it for onomastikon - you don't have to read them, they increase the expertise by simply being in your inventory. When they're removed, the bonus is gone as well, and they are far too heavy to carry them with you all the time.

Arcanum was the reason why all of us came here, but it's the community that keeps living and the peculiarity of this community is what makes it live'n'kickin'. Also, not everything has been said about Arcanum, it would seem. Every now and then something new is always to be said, asked or noticed, which only proves what an incredible game this is.

 

Thank you all, that is illuminating.
Yes, this game seems to be great -- surprised that there was no "Arcanum 2" or something like that. Isn't there even a Fallout 3 now? (Cannot get that here in Germany, at least not in English, and I do so hate localized games.)

One last question, if I may. I also have the UAP up and running -- at least, I believe I do. Is there a way of seeing if that is the case? I mean, I don't see any sign of it in-game, sorry for being so computer un-savvy. I did however note in the patch notes that it said that one of the changes made was to remove the CD check. This does not work for me. (When I try to launch the game without the disk, it says "no disc".) Is that a sign that the UAP is not installed correctly? If so, can I install it over my current install, and still play the saved game I have?

Thank you.

 

Thank you.
Yes, the game checks for the disk.
I am running this in Windows 7 under compatability mode thingy as kind Mr. Viktor_Berg had suggested.
The only other "mod" I have going is the Higher Resolution Fix, which lets me run it in higher resolution.
I had imagined that I had installed the game, then patched to 1074, then installed HiRes, then isntalled UAP. Would that be the correct order if I were to do it again?
Will I lose my savegames if I do that?

I am terribly sorry, I am NOT computer savvy and need idiot proof instructions. I do NOT want to lose my save games, I am still in Tarant on my first time through.

Is this right?

First: Find save games and copy them somewhere safe
Then: Uninstall
Then: Reinstall.
Then: Do what Viktor Berg said with right-click on properties and choose XP Service Pack 2
Then: 1074
Then: Hi-Res
Then: UAP

Is that right?

Will having (correctly) installed UAP mean that my saved games can no longer be run? (If so, I think I will not reinstall...!)

Thank you so much for your time and effort

 

and perception.

and perception.

all ranged skills chance to hit is also effected by perception and the lower a chance to hit = the higher a chance for a crit miss.

 

Ah, that explains why I always got 10 from them. Never bothered to increase my INT higher than that.

Meh, that's fine.

 

I'm pretty sure you want to do UAP before the hi-res patch.

It might corrupt your saves, it's hard to tell. I've personally only run across 2 or 3 bugs that really bothered me, but other people have had different experiences I'm sure.

Anyways, feel free to play through without the UAP, or restart, Tarant isn't that far into the game, and once you know everything from the Shrouded Hills it probably won't take that long to get back to it.