So I finally got my hands on my long lost copy of Hexplore. I have the "updated for modern PC" patch (that coincidentally keeps me from having to use the CD to run the game), but the game crashes after the intro movie at the menu screen.

I'm running 64bit Win8, so that might be part of the problem, but I'm hoping someone has some good ideas.
I've tried 8-bit, 16-bit, 640x480, Win95 through 7, and high DPI settings compatibility options, but still no dice.

Tips?

Have you tried a clean install, and whatever official patches were available, if any? I have 1 or 2 CD copies which I used to make myself an .iso, but I think it still requires the real CD in the drive. I know a couple years ago, after weeks of work I did get the game to run without the frequent crashing on my Windows XP machine, I'll give it another shot and see if I can repeat what I did, and if it'll work on a Windows 8 machine.

Hm, I guess I'll have to actually fish around for my CD to test it out. I found a copy of it on an older computer and used that. The older computer version does not require the CD to run, so I copied the whole folder and tried that out.

The issue with the CD for me is that I haven't been able to find it for years. It came in one of those stupid generic white sleeves which makes finding it for me nearly impossible.

The unofficial patch is probably still the best bet, so don't bother with the CD just yet. There's probably some issue with a .dll file or you need to find the precise Windows setting. =/ The unofficial patch is working fine on my Windows XP machine, but later tonight I'll be able to try installing the game and patch on a Windows 8 machine and see if I can get it to run.

Now this game looks interesting! It has over 280 votes in the wishlist!

hey bro, looking in the net i find this patch:


https://www.dropbox.com/s/8tg4g0tp7qjk6cj/Hexplore%20Update%20for%20modern%20PC%27s.rar

maybe thats work, let me know if work

Thanks, that's the one I've been using. I read on a forum somewhere that it might be due to multicore CPUs or something. I'll look into some throttling or isolation method. Unfortunately, the game never got a lot of fanfare even when it had just come out.

And yeah, I would really like it to come to GOG. I tried searching for the right's holders but pinning them down is tough.

Okay, I just tried it on Windows 8 and the game with the unofficial patch seems to work fine, I didn't need to make any adjustments to any compatibility settings. See if you can get a list of files, either as a screencap of the explorer window or this way:
http://www.thewindowsclub.com/print-list-of-files-in-folder-windows
Then I'll compare the directory to mine and see if there are any file differences.

I'm also looking for the rights-holders but most of the developers are French and it's tricky to find their contact info. It's not impossible, so I hope they will be able to bring the game back one day.

directx 9.0c installed?

to further explain: XP directx 9.0c

Win8 directx11 only installed

older games require 9.0c

Here is a screenshot of what I've got, with the patch installed.

I looked online and the "crash at menu" seems to be a semi-common issue. I dunno what I'm doing wrong.

@goodaltgamer - SCPM is running Win8 and saying it works fine.

Yeah, if he did like me and installed 9 from the beginning ;)

I must admit I don´t know the game, but if it was designed on 9, it will require it. EDIT And as you said, you did run it on XP

EDIT: hey, how's the game? The graphic is cool : )

Can you post your Install.log file? Try renaming it as an image and attaching it to the post. My install log size is larger, so there may be some files missing from the sub folders?

File attached. There was one time that I opened the originating computer and found the main EXE missing, so there was the possibility that that brilliant bucket of bolts decided files were virus material.