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A Vampire Story #1166950
10/23/18 04:35 PM
10/23/18 04:35 PM
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I have this game on disc and from Steam. I don't seem able to play either.

I had it downloaded for some time so tried to play that but was getting a message that the game was already open, and it was clocking playing time but the game was not open. I looked at the Steam troubleshooting but it did not really help me. I did not uninstall and re-install as I decided I would just play the game in my XP. (When I had MY XP, the game ran fine but I never actually played it, only started it to see what it looked like.)

I just installed it in the XP I use now but get an error message that main.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close.

Any suggestions (easy ones only please)?

Thanks.

I see in the Windows 7 and Games thread that this game plays on Windows 7 so uninstalling Steam and going to try the disc in here.

Last edited by oldbroad; 10/23/18 04:50 PM.
Re: A Vampire Story [Re: oldbroad] #1166952
10/23/18 05:00 PM
10/23/18 05:00 PM
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The official patch removed the SecuROM v7 copy "protection" on the game disc because even at the time the game was released it prevented the game from starting on some legitimate buyers' computers.

So I recommend trying the patch.

Just because a DVD drive was able to work as intended with the copy "protection" several years ago doesn't mean that the same DVD drive, now many years older and with more variability of speed due to age, can still work as intended with that same copy "protection."

I think the patch at patches-scrolls.de is the correct one, or you can try downloading the patch through the web archive of the game website ***here*** (which seems to be very slow -- the patch was only 18.7 kb but took several minutes to download).

Re: A Vampire Story [Re: Jenny100] #1166953
10/23/18 05:05 PM
10/23/18 05:05 PM
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There are quite a few suggestions in this thread about getting the Steam/Windows 7 version to work.

Re: A Vampire Story [Re: oldbroad] #1166954
10/23/18 05:09 PM
10/23/18 05:09 PM
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You may want to check the Discussion forum on Steam for Vampire Story. Several people have had issues getting the game to run and there are several different suggestions on how to fix it. Some got it to work, others didn't. Looks like you had the same idea Marian.

Last edited by Ewil02; 10/23/18 05:10 PM.
Re: A Vampire Story [Re: oldbroad] #1166956
10/23/18 05:31 PM
10/23/18 05:31 PM
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I'll look around some more and think on it. I really don't like fiddling as I worry I will mess up my computer.

It does not work in my Windows 7 either, not Steam or the disc. It does appear to be running somewhere in here but not where I can see and play it. In task manager, it does not show under applications but if main.exe is the game, that does show under processes.

Jenny - I'm not trying to play it in a computer/DVD drive I used before. These are different computers.

Thanks to all 3 of you for you suggestions. If I get it running somewhere, I'll let you know.

Re: A Vampire Story [Re: oldbroad] #1166960
10/23/18 06:07 PM
10/23/18 06:07 PM
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They both downloaded in just a minute or so for me. The patch does not appear to remove SecuROM. I've downloaded it from both places and it doesn't appear to make any difference. This is what it says:

Quote:
Fixes:
- Less "stuck" animations. If problem still occurs, restart game.
- removed two bugs (perfume and stadium) that could prevent further playing
- Support for graphics cards without AA: if the game did not start on your system, select "Safe AA" during patch installation to set AA to 0.
- small bug fixes and tweaks


What is AA graphics card support? Brain is not picking up on that!


Gardens put to bed for the winter. Time for some gaming!
Re: A Vampire Story [Re: oldbroad] #1166961
10/23/18 06:09 PM
10/23/18 06:09 PM
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Keep in mind that SecuROM v7 is the kind of DRM junk that may actually be blocked outright in current versions of Windows 7, preventing any chance of the game running. Of course there could be some other problem preventing it from running since the Steam version wouldn't have disc-based DRM.

Try the patch -- if you haven't already. Removing the SecuROM wasn't all it fixed. There is a readme with it that mentions "safe AA" if you're having trouble starting the game. Here is the readme from the patch downloaded from archive.org. Bolding/underlining is mine and has to do with an option the patch adds for the game not starting.

Quote:
A Vampyre Story - International Patch 1 - Patchnotes
Dec. 05 2008

=================================================================

Installation & Requirements:
- this patch can be used for all versions of the game currently available: US, UK, France, Germany & download versions
- The suggested installation path is the same as with the game. Selecting a different path will add "\A Vampyre Story\" after the selected path. Make sure to correct this, if you renamed the actual game directory.

Fixes:
- Less "stuck" animations. If problem still occurs, restart game.
- removed two bugs (perfume and stadium) that could prevent further playing
- Support for graphics cards without AA: if the game did not start on your system, select "Safe AA" during patch installation to set AA to 0.
- small bug fixes and tweaks

General troubleshooting:
- playing the game on systems that are below the minimum requirements, or have a lot of other programs running at the same time, might cause problems within the game. If you encounter anything unusual, make sure to restart the game after quitting any unneeded background tasks.


AA (anti-aliasing) is implemented differently in current video cards from how it used to be in older video cards/older drivers/older DirectX. I'm not sure if Vampyre Story is an old enough game that this is a concern, but if it is, that could prevent the game from starting.

Re: A Vampire Story [Re: oldbroad] #1166964
10/23/18 06:16 PM
10/23/18 06:16 PM
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Ah, of course! Anti-aliasing. Duh!

I played the game from my disk on my Windows 7 drive before they "updated" the OS with the DRM blocking like Windows 8 and Windows 10 have. Don't get me started on THAT!

Anyway, the patch is the same from both patches.de and from the link you provided, Jenny. But it doesn't seem to remove the SecuROM junk.


Gardens put to bed for the winter. Time for some gaming!
Re: A Vampire Story [Re: oldbroad] #1166965
10/23/18 06:16 PM
10/23/18 06:16 PM
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I tried the patch in Win 7 but it did not seem to work and then I lost the main.exe in the game files. I don't know if/what I did wrong but I'm done playing with it in Win 7. I uninstalled the game. Not worth wrecking my computer. Anyway though, why would it be running somewhere in the system (under processes anyway) but not actually running?

It's still installed in my XP. I'm already too frustrated with it to continue any trouble shooting now. Maybe later, but it looks like I will probably not be playing this game.

Re: A Vampire Story [Re: oldbroad] #1166966
10/23/18 06:19 PM
10/23/18 06:19 PM
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Can't say I blame you, oldbroad. It's such a great game - definitely one of my favorites.


Gardens put to bed for the winter. Time for some gaming!
Re: A Vampire Story [Re: oldbroad] #1166967
10/23/18 06:42 PM
10/23/18 06:42 PM
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I don't remember where I read about the patch removing the SecuROM (10 years ago so I can't search to check the source). There are some No-DVD's that you can find with a web search, but a SecuROM problem with the disc version wouldn't explain why the Steam version doesn't work for so many people.

There may be more than one issue with newer operating systems like Windows 7 -- or at least with "Windows 7 with recent updates" -- even though Steam lists Windows 7 as compatible. Maybe it really only works with Windows 7 if it's unpatched and has no service packs added.

Anyway, I think installing the patch with the "Safe AA" option on XP might be worth a try.

Re: A Vampire Story [Re: oldbroad] #1166968
10/23/18 07:04 PM
10/23/18 07:04 PM
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I was thinking the same thing - nothing to lose!

EDIT: No luck. One thing I made sure I did was drill down to the game location for the patch. The default is to c:\Program Files (x86)\A Vampyre Story. The game actually installs to Program Files(x86)\The Adventure Company\A Vampyre Story.


Gardens put to bed for the winter. Time for some gaming!
Re: A Vampire Story [Re: oldbroad] #1166972
10/23/18 07:13 PM
10/23/18 07:13 PM
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So Draclvr, are you unable to play the game in your Windows 7 now? And did you just try the patch in XP or Win 7?

I already uninstalled in XP also but am actually re-downloading from Steam, though I'm not sure why. I guess I'm just not quite ready to give it up.

Re: A Vampire Story [Re: oldbroad] #1166976
10/23/18 07:40 PM
10/23/18 07:40 PM
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Try looking at the suggestions from Steam posters through that link in my previous post.

Re: A Vampire Story [Re: oldbroad] #1166988
10/23/18 08:01 PM
10/23/18 08:01 PM
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Hi Marian. Sorry, I did not mean to ignore you. I did look at the suggestions in the Steam link you provided but most of what is there is not something I will attempt. Probably. We'll see.

Thanks!

Re: A Vampire Story [Re: oldbroad] #1166991
10/23/18 08:38 PM
10/23/18 08:38 PM
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Suggestions for the Steam version (from Marian's Steam forum link):
  • Run the game directly from Main.exe and not through Steam.
  • Run Main.exe as Administrator (right-click Main.exe and select Run As Administrator)
  • Use compatibility mode on the Main.exe with the box for "disable display scalings on high DPI" checked.
Originally Posted By: Adeptus Mechanikum
1. Install Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.6 -
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=7352
2. Custom Databases/New Database
3. Click Fix
4. Choose main.exe location steam/SteamApps/A VampyreStory/game/main.exe
5. In Additional compatibility modes select Layer_ForceDirectDrawEmulation
6. Next -> Next
7. Save your database
8. Right click on it and select Install
9. Close compatibility toolkit
10. Run game

Re: A Vampire Story [Re: oldbroad] #1166992
10/23/18 09:09 PM
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The first part of the problem is that I don't know where to find the Steam games, other than in the Steam ap. This is not the first time I've looked and been unable to find them. Since I can't find the games, I can't find the main.exe to change any compatibility.

OMG - now I think I found the games but when I clicked on A Vampyre Story, all of a sudden it is no longer in the list of games??????????

2nd Edit: Yep. I tried to "play" from in the Steam ap and got an error that the executable file is missing. Going to restart my computer and (maybe) try again or maybe play Quern!!

Last edited by oldbroad; 10/23/18 09:25 PM.
Re: A Vampire Story [Re: oldbroad] #1166994
10/23/18 09:32 PM
10/23/18 09:32 PM
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No, I'm working on it in Windows 10. But it won't work in Windows 7 either because of an update they did several years ago which blocks certain forms of DRM as it does in Windows 10. A Vampyre Story has SecuROM DRM on it which is one of the forbidden forms of DRM.


Gardens put to bed for the winter. Time for some gaming!
Re: A Vampire Story [Re: oldbroad] #1167002
10/23/18 10:26 PM
10/23/18 10:26 PM
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Originally Posted By: oldbroad
OMG - now I think I found the games but when I clicked on A Vampyre Story, all of a sudden it is no longer in the list of games??????????

How weird.
I've only heard of that when an antivirus deleted a game exe
So you didn't see a "Main.exe" at all there?

Originally Posted By: oldbroad
2nd Edit: Yep. I tried to "play" from in the Steam app and got an error that the executable file is missing.

Not too surprising considering your previous error.
Steam thinks it isn't there.
Did it uninstall itself?
Can you reinstall?
Is this on the Windows 7 computer or the XP computer?

+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+

Originally Posted By: Draclvr
No, I'm working on it in Windows 10. But it won't work in Windows 7 either because of an update they did several years ago which blocks certain forms of DRM as it does in Windows 10. A Vampyre Story has SecuROM DRM on it which is one of the forbidden forms of DRM.

I have the DRM-free version of Vampyre Story from DotEMU and it won't start on my Windows 7 x64 computer. I haven't tried the patch or the compatibility toolkit yet, but I'm thinking the problem isn't limited to the DRM.

Re: A Vampire Story [Re: oldbroad] #1167005
10/23/18 11:03 PM
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Maybe I should boot up my Windows 7 drive. I wonder if the game is still on it.


Gardens put to bed for the winter. Time for some gaming!
Re: A Vampire Story [Re: Jenny100] #1167012
10/23/18 11:35 PM
10/23/18 11:35 PM
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I don't know what is going on here. I posted something that seems to be gone now. I guess I didn't hit submit. I restarted my computer and A Vampyre Story folder was still not there but I did find it. I accidentally moved it into the 1 Moment of Time folder above it. (This is why I don't like messing around too much. I don't trust myself.) Anyway, I tried the following with no luck.

Originally Posted By: Jenny100
Suggestions for the Steam version (from Marian's Steam forum link):
  • Run the game directly from Main.exe and not through Steam.
  • Run Main.exe as Administrator (right-click Main.exe and select Run As Administrator)
  • Use compatibility mode on the Main.exe with the box for "disable display scalings on high DPI" checked.



Is that toolkit thing as easy as it sounds and safe or am I better off not attempting it?

I'm in Windows 7 with Steam. I reinstalled the game to try it again. I thought Norton might have done something to it because I know it did quarantine some games on me but I don't see that being a problem with this one. Although, I couldn't find the right spot to check in Norton so I thought the reinstall might show me something if that was the problem.

Re: A Vampire Story [Re: oldbroad] #1167019
10/24/18 12:21 AM
10/24/18 12:21 AM
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Originally Posted By: oldbroad
Is that toolkit thing as easy as it sounds and safe or am I better off not attempting it?

It comes from Microsoft and you're not using it on anything but the game's exe so it should be safe.

I haven't used it (never heard of it before the Steam thread) but the directions "Adeptus Mechanikum" gave don't look too bad.

Re: A Vampire Story [Re: oldbroad] #1167354
10/26/18 11:27 PM
10/26/18 11:27 PM
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Jenny, did you happen to try the toolkit?

I just got back to looking at this game and decided to try the rest of the suggestion in Steam where you change the libpandadx9.dll to have a 2 at the end, start the game, turn off anti aliasing, and then go back and remove that 2. If there is a cut scene at the beginning, I did not see it but the game did open up to the menu. I also restarted my computer because the game did say restart was required after changing the aa (unless it meant restarting the game, I don't know). Anyway, the game will not start again now, but, I noticed in my task manager, next to the main.exe*32 under processes, in the CPU column it shows a 13 or a 12 in there (it changes back and forth). All other processes show 00 under CPU. Does this mean anything useful or is that normal?

Also, trying the patch again since I'm not sure what I did with it the other day. I put it in the game folder and extracted it and moved the extracted .exe into the game folder (it goes into it's own folder when extracted) but then you have to install it and it shows that it will install to
C:\Program Files (x86)\A Vampyre Story.

Is that correct or should it have all the Steam/Steam Ap etc. in there? I clicked the "Safe AA" and it shows "Completing A Vampyre Story Patch Wizard - A Vampyre Story has been patched on your computer, but the game still does not start. When I click on the patch exe it just goes through the patch installation again.

Oh now I remember. I tried the patch with my disc version but I don't think I did it right after seeing this tonight.

Another edit: I tried to do the toolkit download but got a 404 error - not found - download no longer available. Well, that was when I clicked through the Steam posting. I googled and found the download but it does say it is no longer supported. Downloaded but not sure about trying it. At least not tonight.


Last edited by oldbroad; 10/27/18 12:24 AM.
Re: A Vampire Story [Re: oldbroad] #1167361
10/27/18 12:17 AM
10/27/18 12:17 AM
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I think the patch has to be located in the same folder as the game's exe before you run the patch. So if you're using Steam, the location would be where Steam puts the game's .exe file.

Re: A Vampire Story [Re: oldbroad] #1167362
10/27/18 12:26 AM
10/27/18 12:26 AM
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Thanks Jenny. I'm not sure when you posted your response but I added more stuff to my post. I think I'm done for tonight though.

I do have the patch in the same folder, I just don't know where it's actually installing.

I put all the steam\steamapps\common\game in there with A Vampyre Story. Still nothing. Maybe I'm doing it wrong. Don't know.

Well, I'm trying the toolkit but used 64-bit administrator and it says that that program only fixes 64-bit applications, not 32-bit applications and that I should use the 32-bit administrator. Sound right?

Last edited by oldbroad; 10/27/18 12:50 AM.
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