Tips? I'm having trouble playing Retro CD Rom Games

[Victor Vector]

Well, this has been one heck of a journey to say the least. What got me motivated to start playing old computer games was Victor Vector and Yando: The Vampire's Coffin. I did eventually end up buying a Dell Laptop with Windows 98 SE. The good news is the game works, but it doesn't work 100 percent. There are certain items that do not show up. My friend has an Acter Laptop with Windows Vista and it does work 100 percent on his at 256 color. When I try to set it at 256 color as recommended, all of the colors become distorted..

The one good news is SIM CITY original works on both of our laptops.

So I bought some more CD roms, was so excited to see which ones would play. We bought Quake 1, Where in the World is Carmen's San Diego, a demo disk for MDK/Tomb Raider, and LINKS 386 PRO. Not ONE of them worked on either of our laptops, not ONE. And it looked like the files were there, but nothing we tried could get these games to work.

So I am feeling a bit stumped. I just wish I could have a laptop that would play all of the CD Roms before 2000. But it doesn't seem that easy. We try to play these games and they just DON'T play.

This is a PC gamers forum. I am NOT an avid PC guy. But any practical advice to help cheer me up would be welcomed. I really really have been wanting to relive the good old computer game days. I am a gamer and have been trying to get back into old computer games. I really wish I could play some of these old school CD Roms. I don't understand why they don't run. What could be the reason why this tech is so complicated?

 

[Colif]

We bought Quake 1, Where in the World is Carmen's San Diego, a demo disk for MDK/Tomb Raider, and LINKS 386 PRO. Not ONE of them worked on either of our laptops, not ONE.

What stage did they not work at?
Were you able to install them?
Did they just crash when you tried to start them?

Victor Vector is from 1993. Its 32 years old... (will people stop reminding me how old I am). I can't find much about it besides people trying to get the Macintosh version to help, which isn't much use. The site linked below doesn't know it.

System Requirements
CPU Required: 386
Ram: 4mb
Mouse required: yes
Audio required: yes
Supported video: SVGA

https://elisoftware.org/w/index.php/Victor_Vector_%26_Yondo_Cyberplasm_Formula_(PC,_CD-ROM)_Sanctuary_Woods_-_1995_USA,_Canada_Release

I did eventually end up buying a Dell Laptop with Windows 98 SE.

Do you know what Graphics card is in the Dell?

There can be problems trying to get old games to run on new hardware, mainly due to the games not knowing the hardware at all and in some cases running worse. Used to happen with graphics a lot.

So in many cases the only way to do it now is via emulation or websites hosting games:

Many of the games are playable online:
Links 386: https://playclassic.games/games/sport-dos-games-online/play-links-386-pro-online/
I used to play Links 386 at lunch at work almost 30 years ago.
Quake1: https://playclassic.games/games/first-person-shooter-dos-games-online/play-quake-online/
Carmen: https://playclassic.games/games/edu...n-the-world-is-carmen-sandiego-deluxe-online/
MDK: https://playclassic.games/games/action-dos-games-online/play-mdk-online/
Tomb raider: https://playclassic.games/games/action-adventure-dos-games-online/play-tomb-raider-online/

I didn't try any of them, I assume they are okay. they run in the browser.
Might not be the same but its much cheaper than buying old hardware to try to get right combo.

 

[mjs warlord]

look for the game launcher and put it into compatibility mode

 

[Colif]

look for the game launcher and put it into compatibility mode

does win 98 have a compatibility mode?

 

[Victor Vector]

What stage did they not work at?
Were you able to install them?
Did they just crash when you tried to start them?

Victor Vector is from 1993. Its 32 years old... (will people stop reminding me how old I am). I can't find much about it besides people trying to get the Macintosh version to help, which isn't much use. The site linked below doesn't know it.

System Requirements
CPU Required: 386
Ram: 4mb
Mouse required: yes
Audio required: yes
Supported video: SVGA

https://elisoftware.org/w/index.php/Victor_Vector_%26_Yondo_Cyberplasm_Formula_(PC,_CD-ROM)_Sanctuary_Woods_-_1995_USA,_Canada_Release

Do you know what Graphics card is in the Dell?

There can be problems trying to get old games to run on new hardware, mainly due to the games not knowing the hardware at all and in some cases running worse. Used to happen with graphics a lot.

So in many cases the only way to do it now is via emulation or websites hosting games:

Many of the games are playable online:
Links 386: https://playclassic.games/games/sport-dos-games-online/play-links-386-pro-online/
I used to play Links 386 at lunch at work almost 30 years ago.
Quake1: https://playclassic.games/games/first-person-shooter-dos-games-online/play-quake-online/
Carmen: https://playclassic.games/games/edu...n-the-world-is-carmen-sandiego-deluxe-online/
MDK: https://playclassic.games/games/action-dos-games-online/play-mdk-online/
Tomb raider: https://playclassic.games/games/action-adventure-dos-games-online/play-tomb-raider-online/

I didn't try any of them, I assume they are okay. they run in the browser.
Might not be the same but its much cheaper than buying old hardware to try to get right combo.

Thanks. Yea playing Victor Vector the Vampires Coffin is important to me, it does work on my friends Acter Laptop 2008. My Del has 256 color which is what the game needs. I set it to that but it distorts all of the color, to the point you can't see it. I'm not really sure where you find what your graphic cards are.

Thanks for sending me the links. I tried them all. Do you think that the graphics and frame rates are different on these emulators? I wonder how much of a difference is Quake with the disc?

Links Pro is a good golf game. I cannot open that with that site. It wants me to type in a certain command and doesn't let me advance. Let me know if you know how to run that one. I got it to play on another site but the issue is that there were so many ads getting in the way and also it feels like the timing is off. I can't time my swing accurately due to timing glitches.

 

[Colif]

It wants me to type in a certain command and doesn't let me advance.

that is odd, I can get to the menu where you start game, where did it ask for the command and what does it want?

Thanks for sending me the links. I tried them all. Do you think that the graphics and frame rates are different on these emulators? I wonder how much of a difference is Quake with the disc?

It might depend on your connection speed, the reaction speed on a disc might be faster than on a browser. I doubt the games are hosted on high speed servers. Demand wouldn't be there to justify cost.
That would explain the lag in reacting to

Shame you don't have windows 7 or newer:

Links 386 Pro

An essential game for all sport simulator fans. LINKS 386 Pro was a groundbreaking instal

www.gog.com

Finding a working version of Victor Vector is an entirely different task. Its either 30 or 33 years old, I seen both.

just as well we only looking for one of them:

1. Victor Vector & Yondo: The Cyberplasm Formula
2. Victor Vector & Yondo: The Hypnotic Harp
3. Victor Vector & Yondo: The Vampire's Coffin
4. Victor Vector & Yondo: The Last Dinosaur Egg

i can't find anyone talking about running this. I have seen videos of people running it in windows 3.1, but we know it works in Vista, just not on your PC.

Next time you are in windows 98, can you open Device manager by right clicking my computer and clicking properties. Then go to Device manager tab and expand the Display Adapters option.
Can you tell me the name of your graphics card? Might help figure out why you not seeing it right.

 

[mjs warlord]

Sorry for late reply @ Colif said .... does windows 98 have a compatibility mode ....

Unless somebody tells me i am wrong you activate it from a games launcher ... nothing to do with windows.
To do this look in the games files for the launcher it will say gamename.exe and it usually has a thumbnail picture of the game on it as well. Right click on it and choose compatibility mode. Dont forget to do apply and ok.

For games as old as 98 you need the oldest windows op system in the list.

If you have a more recent game that wont work in the op system your running its usually because the pc you have now is too good for the game and you might do something like jump on a mountain ( in myst ) and go straight through it into green screen. Go to the compatibility tab and cjhoose the op system that was around when the game was made.

I dont know if its just a coincidence but if i ever need to do this i always end up using vista with no service pack

 

[neogunhero]

This is going to be a pretty ham-fisted suggestion, but why don't you just buy a cheap modern laptop that is capable of playing all of those games in compatibility mode? Modern computers can support things like DOSBox and other emulation/translation methods to play old PC games. You can also buy cheap USB CD and floppy disk readers and be able to use your old physical copies. There is also sites like GOG where you can officially buy old games, or websites like MyAbandonware which may be morally grey, but they give downloads to old games that are typically not officially sold anywhere anymore.

I believe a modern laptop could fix all of your issues, and it doesn't have to be an expensive one if the most graphically demanding game you'll be playing is Quake 1.

 

[Colif]

I generally don't try to play ancient games so I didn't know about the game launcher thing.