DxWnd / Discussion / General Discussion: Uncle Albert's Magical Album

BEEN_Nath_58 - 2024-10-03

The game installs fine, but then refuses to run. It gives some error related to QuickTime, although it is installed.

It is said that the game doesn't work well in Windows XP either, so if we come across the QT issue we should be able to look at the real issue.

The game is abailable at MyAbandonware. Can anyone try it?

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- gho - 2024-10-03
  
  I think I remember that it was playable by dropping the correct .QTS file in the game folder, I'll try to recover from my files / notes.
  
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  - BEEN_Nath_58 - 2024-10-03
    
    I found a quicktime.qts in my Windows folder but putting it in the game folder didn't help. Anyways you will know better.
    
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BEEN_Nath_58 - 2024-10-03

Since the last month, I am putting my findings in text files. It looks like Vogons is unaware of your QTS dropping findings and maybe you can change that:
https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=1296659#p1296659

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gho - 2024-10-03

I recovered my personal RIP with profile that I attach here.
The RIP is about 290 MBytes (expanded to more than 600 MBytes) because it holds the full install of the game plus the almost complete CD content in the fake-CD folder because the game searches for files here and there and it was not easy to split the files between HD and CD. In any case, there seems to be no custom QuickTime, the game uses the one available on the CD though it's dot necessary to install it.
Well, give a try to the profile (it still works with latest DxWnd releases) and let me know if you need more.

Uncle Albert's Magical Album.dxw

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- BEEN_Nath_58 - 2024-10-03
  
  I had to install QuickTime from the CD, maybe you had it installed from some other game, or probably some equivalent codecs.
  
  Anyways now the game doesn...nothing.
  
  dxwnd.log
  
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  - huh - 2024-10-04
    
    Hmm I have the same behavior. I installed the game in my VirtualXP but did not install QT. Instead I copied cmgr32.dll, QTIM32.DLL, VIEWENU.DLL to the installed DATA folder.
    It somehow works in WinXP, but when I transfered the game to Win7, ALBUM.EXE hangs in memory. The profile for the game from @gho has not changed anything here.
    
    Last edit: huh 2024-10-04
    
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gho - 2024-10-04

... try this: https://en.webshare.cz/#/file/bPGR9SGtF9/uncle-albert-s-magical-album-dxwndrip-rar

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- huh - 2024-10-04
  
  OK, I got it thanks. But nothing has changed here. ALBUM.EXE is still hanging in memory.
  
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BEEN_Nath_58 - 2024-10-04

I tested in Win7 Started x86 yesterday, it hangs in memory

Tried it in real Win7 x64 today, hangs in memory. The game hangs while trying to Load a Libray? Also for some reason, FindFileA gives a NO MORE FILE message (I have never seen it, but I can't say if it's the cause)

The game is reported to work on XP, as well as reported by huh2.

PS: I think I should install Italian Windows sometime

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- gho - 2024-10-04
  
  I don't know .... it works for me until I flip the first page of the album (which requires listening and watching a few minutes of slow animations) then it crashes.Then a second try with exception handling flags was more robust and it worked. But I can't take care of it right now ...
  
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  - BEEN_Nath_58 - 2024-10-04
    
    I think I will need Italian windows to get there, and to get DEP issues in games simultaneously. You may consider putting some windowd mode game screenshots on MyAbandonware to confuse people 🤣
    
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huh - 2024-10-04

then it crashes

The game often crashes even in my VirtualXP. I haven't tried other settings.

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BEEN_Nath_58 - 2024-10-05

The game runs fine in XP with Handle Exceptions, just as gho described. Not sure why that isn't the case on 7, 10 and 11.

PS: is there a way we can have your OS installation image? it is quite difficult to imitate cases where mTropolis Windows Player works, Mech2 doesn't work, most games get DEP exceptions ...

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- gho - 2024-10-05
  
  Is there a way we can have your OS installation image?
  
  I fear not, the original image was pre-installed on the HP portable and since then it was kept updated from the original Win10 to the current Win11 with (almost?) all patches installed.
  The only way would be to make a many GB dump of my HD, but then my bank account could be in danger ... ;)
  
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  - BEEN_Nath_58 - 2024-10-05
    
    NOT NEEDED now
    
    Well let's skip that idea, can you make a log with:
    1. No compatibility setting + DxWnd log
    2. Windows 95 Compatibility Mode + DxWnd admin + DxWnd log
    
    The necessary log settings are below:
    
    For some reason, the game somewhat opens up to a File Selector on Windows 11, hence going further in logs, but that's not the case for Win7,8,10.
    
    Last edit: BEEN_Nath_58 2024-10-05
    
    Screenshot 2024-10-05 172933.png
    
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    - BEEN_Nath_58 - 2024-10-05
      
      Just for a note, my observations of the game progressing somewhat is a bait. Since EmulateHeap is broken and basically breaks the game, so it progresses and then produces an error at the stage when the MPL file is read.
      
      You should be able to test it on your Windows 7 or Windows 10 system I guess.
      
      PS: this is the only third completely unplayable game I have. Can @huh2 and @gho tell more such games?
      
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BEEN_Nath_58 - 2024-10-05

There were two doubts that had went on my mind, but I was too lazy to try it.
1. The game was looping when trying to READ something. Reminded me of David Douillet Judo where disabling sound ran the game
2. The game would launch somewhat when EmulateHeap was enabled. This shim breaks WinMM somewhat.

Knowing that disabling sound devices has: stopped looping, as well as stop WinMM, I followed that path. And for the glory

Screenshot 2024-10-05 221639.png

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- BEEN_Nath_58 - 2024-10-05
  
  On XP, the log goes:
  
  winmm.waveOutGetNumDevs: numdevs=1 winmm.waveOutGetNumDevs: numdevs=1 winmm.midiOutClose: hmo=0xae480 winmm.midiOutGetDevCapsA: dev=0xffffffff siz=52(v1) > Mid = 1 > Pid = 1 > DriverVersion = 5.0 > Pname = Microsoft MIDI Mapper > Technology = 0x5(MAPPER) > Voices = 0 > Notes = 0 > ChannelMask = 0xffff > Support = 0xb(WAVECAPS_PITCH+PLAYBACKRATE+LRVOLUME)
  
  On Windows 11 with sound devices:
  
  winmm.waveOutGetNumDevs: numdevs=1 winmm.waveOutGetNumDevs: numdevs=1 winmm.midiOutOpen: devid=MIDI_MAPPER callback=0 inst=0 flags=0(CALLBACK_NULL)
  
  Last edit: BEEN_Nath_58 2024-10-05
  
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BEEN_Nath_58 - 2024-10-24

Can we return to this game @ghotik

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- gho - 2024-10-24
  
  Sure, but no hurry. I've plenty of unfinished businesses and I'd like to close some worksite before opening another one.
  BTW most of our pain seems to come from the broken EmulateHeap. Would it be possible to contact the author and seek for a Win11 compatible version? I can't even figure out WHY this should be broken on Win11. Maybe some change in the kernel hooking?
  
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  - BEEN_Nath_58 - 2024-10-24
    
    BTW most of our pain seems to come from the broken EmulateHeap
    
    Well this game (Uncle Albert) doesn't suffer from an EmulateHeap issue.
    
    Since we are on the topic:
    
    Would it be possible to contact the author and seek for a Win11 compatible version?
    
    You mean the 9xheap patcher? No I guess, maybe you will have to figure out what's wrong with the hook yourself. The author disappeared
    
    Note that DDRawCompat had a "hooking" issue in Win11 that Narzoul had to fix.
    
    At this point I am more interested in getting "EmulateHeap" fixed, than the hook. At least I can play a money-purchased Interstate 76 or Activision's Battlezone with it. I don't know what the procedure it: maybe another "heap setting" in DxWnd, or something that "Emulate 9xheap" can change from the actual shim.
    
    Lets continue it in the Longbow2 thread
    
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BEEN_Nath_58 - 2025-01-07

Can we get back to this game's issue?
https://sourceforge.net/p/dxwnd/discussion/general/thread/c59ab7d5ad/#d828

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gho - 2025-01-07

I recovered my archived files, but with some minimal touch I got the game working again on Win11, pretty stable and with sounds and animations. So, to fix a problem I need to have a problem. I didn't set anything about virtual heap or sound. What's wrong with your settings? Here in attach my profile, but I believe it has nothing too special about it. Maybe you are trying to run the game in fullscreen mode? Please, share your profile.

Uncle Albert's Magical Album.dxw

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- huh - 2025-01-07
  
  The game still hangs in Win7, but we know that. DxWnd doesn't even warn that the game is hanging in memory and I can exit it without any message.
  
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Uncle Albert's Magical Album

Window hooker to run fullscreen programs in window and much more...

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Uncle Albert's Magical Album

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Uncle Albert's Magical Album

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