FO stopped woring on Windows 11?

posted on March 6th, 2022, 11:01 am

I didn't have any problem running FO until recently. I had several installs, but today I've noticed that all of them crash as soon as I open the exectuable file.
I tried any possible compatibility modes so far, but the best I could manage was running it in Win95 or Win98, in which case, the game boots up in something like the map editor with an empty space and without the map editor shortcuts. And if I hit Esc it doesn't allow me to go to the main menu, only to escape the game completely.

Help me, I'm desperate! I can't live without FO

The weird part is that Armada II works perfectly...

EDIT: I tried to make a clean install too, the same thing happens.

posted on April 14th, 2022, 6:41 pm

Did you get it working in the end? Does using the Armada2.exe (or any of the directx dll files) from GOG.com's Armada 2 release work?

EDIT: FO 4.0 works with Windows 11, right? So that's at least something (and my Roots Mod should work then).

posted on April 16th, 2022, 9:29 am

No, I worked on for weeks and couldn't find a solution. That's why I updated to 4.0. That did the trick
It's an old-old original CD disk version by the way. 4.0 works fine.

posted on April 16th, 2022, 9:37 am

Ah, glad to have that confirmed (FO 4.0 working, that at least gives my mod some more years of life). I do think it's weird though that FO 3.2.7 doesn't work. They didn't change any of the directx dll files, did they?

posted on April 16th, 2022, 11:24 am

None, as far as I know. But the weird part is that the stock Armada II still works like a charm.

posted on April 17th, 2022, 6:07 pm

No, I worked on for weeks and couldn't find a solution. That's why I updated to 4.0. That did the trick
It's an old-old original CD disk version by the way. 4.0 works fine.

FO 4.0 exists? I only see 3.2.7 for download.

posted on April 17th, 2022, 6:26 pm

No, I worked on for weeks and couldn't find a solution. That's why I updated to 4.0. That did the trick
It's an old-old original CD disk version by the way. 4.0 works fine.

FO 4.0 exists? I only see 3.2.7 for download.

It was never officially released, doesn't change much surface-level stuff, and it has some bugs/issues, especially with mods that were made for 3.2.7 (but some of those are solvable). Still, there is a downloadable link for a build, see here: https://www.fleetops.net/forums/modscompleted/fo4-sortta-13103?hilit=sortta&start=30

posted on April 17th, 2022, 6:33 pm

That's good to hear! It seems like official progress has slowed... I haven't seen official news posts for a long time.

posted on April 17th, 2022, 6:36 pm

Well, they started working on their own engine a few years ago, and it's a very difficult and tiring task to write a new engine from scratch...

posted on April 17th, 2022, 6:38 pm

That makes sense. The NX engine correct?

posted on April 17th, 2022, 6:46 pm

That makes sense. The NX engine correct?

Yes, but sadly they never finished it* and it's not in FO 4.0, it's still the same engine. It's not really worth the switch from 3.2.7 unless you're on Windows 11 or are creating your own single player missions (4.0 has the save and load buttons in the escape menu for single player missions that were missing in 3.2.7).

* and I don't think they ever will. They've had years since the last news update and back then they had all the basics done. When I think about how much I got done in 6 months for my mod, on my own, there's just no way a dedicated team could not have easily put the finishing touches on the engine and remade the assets in the years since we last heard from them. That plus their radio silence tells me life just caught up with them and they stopped working on it but never formally announced that, maybe because they still like the thought of "one day" finishing it. This isn't meant as a rant, I'm just being realistic and telling you not to get your hopes up.