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Windows XP compatibility |
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Should I buy the DVD-ROM or DVD-Video version? |
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Windows 2000 compatibility |
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DirectShow Overview |
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MMSystem error when "Play" selected |
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Creative Labs Encore |
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Software DVD drivers |
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New Version |
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Windows XP Compatibility
The Dragon's Lair Deluxe Pack is not compatible with Windows XP. Our DVD-ROM releases can be made to work under Windows XP using Windows 95 Compatibility Mode -- click here for more details. The Dragon's Lair Arcade Authentic version (CD-ROM) is XP compatible although there is a patch in our Downloads section that corrects a few issues. Note that the Arcade Authentic version is not the same as the Deluxe Pack. The Dragon's Lair 20th Anniversary Special Edition is XP compatible. |
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Should I buy the DVD-ROM or DVD-Video version?
If you own a set-top DVD movie player you should buy the DVD-Video version -- the DVD-ROM version will not work for you. If you own a computer, there is a chance that the DVD-Video version will work using the DVD movie player on your computer but currently many PC-based movie players fail (note: we've found that the latest versions of WinDVD and PowerDVD will run DL, SA and DL2; PowerDVD will run Time Traveler). We expect that as time goes on most manufacturers will correct bugs in their movie players and Dragon's Lair DVD-Video will run on most DVD-equipped computers however the DVD-ROM version will run more smoothly on a computer than the DVD-Video version as it won't have pauses at decision points, will have random scene order and will (in most cases) skip the resurrection when you defeat a scene. An advantage of the DVD-Video version is that it contains historical interviews with Don Bluth and Rick Dyer, the creators of Dragon's Lair. (Note: Space Ace and Dragon's Lair II DVD-ROM contain all the same extras as on the DVD-Video versions).
Some computers will not run the DVD-ROM version. Dragon's Lair relies on the MCI interface in Windows which is gradually being phased out in favor of DirectShow (see below). Most DVD-equipped computers today support at least MCI and sometimes both MCI and DirectShow but occasionally some computers only support DirectShow. We have DirectShow updates for the games that can be downloaded from our web site if your driver only supports DirectShow. To test if your computer is likely to run Dragon's Lair, you can download a small sample file from our Downloads page and try running it using the Media Player (Start>Programs>Accessories>Multimedia [or >Entertainment on W98]). If you can play this movie then you probably have MCI and Dragon's Lair will probably run on your computer. Note that being able to play this file using your DVD movie player doesn't prove MCI or DirectShow.
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Windows 2000 Compatibility
Apparently Microsoft has come up with a compatibility fix in Windows 2000 that allows our DVD-ROM games to run. Here are the details as sent to us by Mike Wolfe (thanks Mike!):
Hi. I wasn't sure if Digital Leisure was aware of this but the new Microsoft compatibility update (_not_ the service pack 2 version) allows the dragon's lair and space ace DVD-ROM versions to run on Windows 2000. By making a shortcut to the executable, right clicking the properties, and setting the mode to win98 or win95. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/release.asp?ReleaseID=29763
You might want to also check out the Windows XP compatibility above if you are experiencing problems as the solution is quite similar.
We've had positive and negative reports back regarding the fix. Remember that you will still need a compatible DVD driver such as SoftDVD Max, or WinDVD 3.0 (with our DirectShow patch). The patch will not work with the Deluxe Pack but we have new CD-ROM versions of Dragon's Lair, Space Ace and Dragon's Lair II available as the Dragon's Lair 20th Anniversary Special Edition which are Windows 2000 compatible.
*Note* Another compatibility fix:
I was having problems installing the Compatibility pack on Windows 2000 because I was running service pack 3... Sometimes "Compatibility Mode" is defaulted to off, and if you try to install the "compatibility update" once you have installed service pack 3, it will tell you that you aren't allowed to install it since it's already present in service pack 3...
However it has been available as an option if you have installed Windows 2000 Service Pack 2 or higher. It was not enabled by default on Service Pack 2. Systems that are subsequently upgraded to Service Pack 3 may well already have this enabled, but some systems that are clean installed to Service Pack 3 may well to have a dll file registered to make it work. If you are running Windows 2000 with service pack 2 or higher and this option isn't working, you can enable it as follows: Click Start. Click Run. Type CMD. In the command prompt window that opens, type regsvr32 %systemroot%\AppPatch\slayerui.dll. You will receive a message that the DLL has been successfully registered. The compatibility mode option is now available for use.
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DirectShow Overview
DirectShow is the new DirectX component that comes built into Windows 98/Me and can be installed onto Windows 95. It allows applications to play back video with much more control than MCI (the existing standard) and, in theory, is much more compatible between different driver implementations for the different DVD cards.
We have a versions of Dragon's Lair, Space Ace and Dragon's Lair II DVD-ROM that runs under DirectShow on our Downloads page however we are using calls in DirectShow that were added toward the end of the DirectShow development effort and many hardware DirectShow drivers don't have these functions implemented (these functions handle what Microsoft calls "PES", or "Packetized Elementary Streams"). We require these calls to play the movies that are on the currently available Dragon's Lair DVD-ROM discs. We're told that many hardware DVD solutions can't support PES because it requires the audio and video streams to be split up, potentially modified and then sent back to the hardware for decoding and the hardware solutions haven't been designed with this flexibility in mind (they just dump the stream to the decoder). Since software DVD solutions do all the decoding in software, they can easily implement PES but there are sometimes other problems (see "Software DVD drivers" below). You can download this version from our Downloads page.
If there is a DirectShow driver for your DVD card installed on your system (called a "WDM") and you are running Windows 98 then if there is an MCI driver for your DVD card, it is automatically disabled. This means that the MCI driver that you need to run Dragon's Lair will automatically be disabled and if you have a hardware solution, we cannot immediately supply a DirectShow version that would work for the reasons outlined above. |
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MMSystem error when "Play" selected
This typically occurs when the wrong MCI DVD driver has been selected or if your MCI driver doesn't fully support MCI (such as PowerDVD and WinDVD). Try clicking on "Options" and selecting and trying all the other drivers listed (one at a time). If none of them work then there is a good chance that the MCI driver for your DVD playback system is not installed, or not installed correctly. If your system came with a DVD driver disc, you can try reinstalling it. You can also check the web site of your computer manufacturer or DVD upgrade kit manufacturer for the latest version of the driver. Without a functioning MCI DVD driver, Dragon's Lair will not work.
You can test your MCI driver by playing one of the Dragon's Lair movies on your DVD-ROM using the Media Player (Start>Programs>Accessories>Multimedia).
Also see "DirectShow" above. |
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Creative Labs Encore
If you are running Dragon's Lair DVD-ROM with the Creative Labs Encore Dxr2 and are using their revision 2 driver (Nov 97), click here to download a revised version of Dragon's Lair. This version also defaults the window to full height so you may want to download it even if you aren't experiencing the new Creative Labs driver problems (or are using the Dxr3).
If you used to have your Creative Labs Encore Dxr2 functioning and then installed Windows 98 and find that it is no longer functioning, try downloading the latest Creative drivers and installing them. Make sure to follow the instructions to uninstall the old drivers before installing the new ones.
The Creative Labs Dxr3 does not currently work with Dragon's Lair due to bugs in their drivers. At this point, we don't expect Creative Labs to fix the bugs but you can try some work-arounds supplied to us by our customers that reinstall older driver versions for the RealMagic Hollywood card by clicking here . This seems to not work on many of these newer systems. You may want to consider purchasing SoftDVD Max which is compatible with Dragon's Lair. |
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Software DVD drivers
If you are having trouble with Dragon's Lair DVD-ROM, please first download our version 1.10 (MCI and DirectShow) from our Downloads page.
MGISoft/Zoran SoftDVD comes preinstalled with many computer systems. In our testing and feedback that we've received from customers, this driver works quite well with Dragon's Lair. If your DVD driver isn't compatible with Dragon's Lair, you may want to consider purchasing SoftDVD from the MGI web site for $19.99 (electronic download).
Xing DVD is currently DirectShow only. We've tested this with our DirectShow beta (which can be downloaded from our Downloads page) and it seems to work quite well. It also runs the DVD-Video version although there were a few peculiarities with move timing and display of the yellow diamond move cue (we've sent this information to Xing for their consideration).
PowerDVD implements DirectShow but is doesn't work. It plays our DVD-Video versions well and without any move pauses. You can try contacting Cyberlink at gregory@cyberlink-usa.com and explain the problems you are experiencing. You may want to consider purchasing the MGISoft SoftDVD (see above). You can purchase PowerDVD here (they offer a free trial period).
WinDVD implements MCI and DirectShow but both don't work very well with our DVD-ROM version prior to their version 3.0, however we've tested version of 3.0 and it runs our DirectShow version perfectly! If you own an earlier version 2.x of WinDVD, you may want to consider upgrading to version 3.0. Our DVD-Video versions will work with this driver (including earlier versions) without any move pauses. You can purchase or download the latest version of WinDVD here (they offer a free trial period).
Mediamatics DVD Express supports MCI and DirectShow. The MCI version works well. The DirectShow version doesn't play audio and crashes on the Wind Room (stick with the MCI version!). The DVD-Video version starts out well but then crashes as it tries to move on to the second room.
Software Cinemaster is included with many new Gateway computers and ATI video cards. It supports MCI and DirectShow. Old versions of the MCI version seem to pause and then speed up the video to catch up and we've had a number of complaints from customers about the screen going black with audio still playing (we're told that version 3.1 or later works). The DirectShow version plays audio but always displays a black screen (did you ever want to try playing Dragon's Lair with only audio cues -- here's your chance). The DVD-Video version seems to play well. |
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New Version
We have released a new version of Dragon's Lair DVD-ROM (version 1.10) which is available now for free download for current owners of version 1.00. Improvements include: resurrections only after you've died (not all DVD solutions will support this), crumbling bones only when you've lost all your lives, moves exactly the same as the arcade release, increased compatibility with certain DVD kits. |
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| Dragon's Lair / Space Ace/ Hologram Time Traveller |
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