Beyond Divinity On Vista? Any Vista Patch Plans?

I see a few games have come out w/ patches already, since Vista has been released. The Longest Journey (yes, the original TLJ) just got a new patch for Vista, so did Darwinia, and even Doom 3.

So, I'm curious, if anyone that has Windows Vista can actually run Beyond Divinity -- especially w/ the hassle of running it might come from it using StarForce.

Also, are there any plans for a patch for Beyond Divinity namely aimed at supporting it for Windows Vista?

Hi,

We are working on a patch to make the game run under Vista.

Best,
Lynn

Will this just be for Vista specifically, or will it be an upgraded patch for the other Operating Systems as well?

The patch bascially removes the starforce copy protection.

Lar

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The patch bascially removes the starforce copy protection.

Lar

That sounds excellent. Will our old savegames be still usable, or will we have to start over?

Sorry to pester. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shame.gif" alt="" />

Hi, you can still use your old savegames <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />

Please go here to grab the file.

You ROCK! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/delight.gif" alt="" />

(and so does the game! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />)

As an aside, you won't get in trouble from Starforce for removing them will you(if you signed a contract?)?

This is fantastic news.

THANK YOU, Larian!!!

Starforce can not make companies to use the copy protection that they license, and as long as they get paid, probably are not terribly concerned about doing so anyway. The game publishers, on the other hand, do have a say in what and if copy protection is used; presumably Larian has cleared this patch with them. At some point the possible revenue loss (increased piracy) may be (and in this case apparently has been) outweighed by other problems (compatibility, PR, etc), so the publisher may not wish to object to removal of the copy protection even if they sill have the legal/contractual right to do so (if they see this as potentially good PR, may even encourage it).

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Starforce can not make companies to use the copy protection that they license, and as long as they get paid, probably are not terribly concerned about doing so anyway. The game publishers, on the other hand, do have a say in what and if copy protection is used; presumably Larian has cleared this patch with them.

That would be my guess.

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At some point the possible revenue loss (increased piracy) may be (and in this case apparently has been) outweighed by other problems (compatibility, PR, etc), so the publisher may not wish to object to removal of the copy protection even if they sill have the legal/contractual right to do so (if they see this as potentially good PR, may even encourage it).

I don't think I've seen many copies of Beyond Divinity in my retail stores nearby, period.

Heck, is BD still in print by Hip Interactive in the USA?!?!?!?

Heck, here's my next question -- is Hip Interactive still even in business???

If the game's not in print any more, which would be a shame, there won't be too much of a loss at the retail outlets! :P There's no game to pick-up.

I do wonder who will publish Divinity 2. It could be possible a publisher might re-print DD and even BD -- or maybe even have a Special Divinity Collection box, and put it out right before they release Divinity 2.

Hip Interactive went out of business (and the UK publisher Digital Jesters isn't far behind), but Beyond Divinity is still available in online stores. Budget game publishers may have some retail presence, but I wouldn't expect a wide distribution.

I do hope a similar patch would be made for <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/div.gif" alt="" /> ... although my hopes are low ... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/disagree.gif" alt="" />

I installed the patch this morning, and the Starforce did not load up. However, it still read 1.47 as the version number. It also experienced an "error" while I was exiting the game, and I never had a crash before. Not too big of a deal since it wasn't like I was saving a game or something, but I am curious if the patch would have caused it?

Alrik, does DD have a problem running under Vista? If so it is not due to copy protection (with the latest patch, or updated re-release game version, a configuration file edit (here) will eliminate the need for the play CD, except for the blessing ceremony and end game videos).

Larian cant thank you enough for the update and what you did.. But might i get the answer of why it took you so long to remove starforce after months and months of complaints from many different people?

Thanks anyway and i hope you NEVER use SF again

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Larian cant thank you enough for the update and what you did.. But might i get the answer of why it took you so long to remove starforce after months and months of complaints from many different people?

Thanks anyway and i hope you NEVER use SF again

Maybe contract issues w/ StarForce and/or their publisher????

Maybe they were obligated to use StarForce for so long.

Who knows.

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Alrik, does DD have a problem running under Vista? If so it is not due to copy protection (with the latest patch, or updated re-release game version, a configuration file edit (here) will eliminate the need for the play CD, except for the blessing ceremony and end game videos).

No, I don't even have Vista. I think into the future. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />

Any plans to release a Russian version of patch 1.49? Many people in ex-USSR waiting )

@ Lar, Lynn & the rest of the Larian gang -> thank u!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hug.gif" alt="" />

Starforce! Now I remember why I never bought BD, I'd been wondering that for months. After Starforce (on Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, I believe) fried my PC, it's something I always make sure before buying a game. Any chance of a DD+BD+D:ED collector's edition coming out without any starforce taint? Seriously, I'm still scared to take anything with starforce anywhere near my PC

The 1.49 patch removes the Starforce copy protection; just install BD, delete the copy protection files (IIRC protect.dll and a Starforce folder) without rebooting and install the patch.

Has the "more then 2GB" slow performance been solved (64 bit vista user here)

Not as far as I know. I hope to be able to build a new computer in the next couple months, so I'll see if this performance hit happens with more than 3072MB of RAM in 64bit Win7 RC, in addition to 64bit Vista...

30-40 FPS in XP x86; 10 - 20 FPS in Vista x64

I feel like I got entirely ripped off purchasing beyond divinity with a modern pc. I made sure to leave 1 star review on gog.com http://www.gog.com/gamecard/beyond_divinity#reviews=1 sort by most recent first.

So this game is unplayable if you have vista 64 bit?

That's somewhat of a shame. What about this anthology thing? Does it update BD to run better?

The disk version / original download version of the game can be be run in Vista/7, though should be run in win9x compatibility mode to avoid a rare bug that can corrupt equipment. There is a workaround for the performance problem, if encountered.

There were Vista/7 compatibility fixes in the most recent update to BD (in the anthology, GOG update, etc), as well as support added for higher resolutions and widescreen aspect ratios. I think the performance problem with more than 3GB RAM should be fixed; I had no problems with a 64 bit Win7 system with 6GB RAM, anyway.

So far there have been two reports of poor performance in BD. One was due to an anti-virus program, and the other reported by someone who gave no further feedback and AFAIK never checked if the amount of RAM Windows could see had any impact on the performance, and just assumed that was the case.

Originally Posted by Raze

The disk version / original download version of the game can be be run in Vista/7, though should be run in win9x compatibility mode to avoid a rare bug that can corrupt equipment. There is a workaround for the performance problem, if encountered.

There were Vista/7 compatibility fixes in the most recent update to BD (in the anthology, GOG update, etc), as well as support added for higher resolutions and widescreen aspect ratios. I think the performance problem with more than 3GB RAM should be fixed; I had no problems with a 64 bit Win7 system with 6GB RAM, anyway.

So far there have been two reports of poor performance in BD. One was due to an anti-virus program, and the other reported by someone who gave no further feedback and AFAIK never checked if the amount of RAM Windows could see had any impact on the performance, and just assumed that was the case.

Ok so where do I get the updated version of BD? I'm playing DD atm, and Ive already got D2:DKS so I have no reason to get the anthology. Is it only from gog the standalone updated version? Or if I buy a disk version is there a patch to update it? If it's the same as DD in that gog has exclusive the updated version does BD have the same issues with the update that DD does? As that was the main reason I avoided gog version of DD and got the disk version.

Currently the updated version of BD is available from GOG and the Larian Vault, and should be available soon from Steam. There are at least a couple other digital distributors who have the original download version, which is the same as the latest disk version. There may be a patch; the original digital distributions were handled by the publisher, Focus, who may need to be involved in any updates.

There were no problems with the source code for BD, so none of the fixes or changes in the disk version patches were lost.

Originally Posted by Raze

Currently the updated version of BD is available from GOG and the Larian Vault, and should be available soon from Steam. There are at least a couple other digital distributors who have the original download version, which is the same as the latest disk version. There may be a patch; the original digital distributions were handled by the publisher, Focus, who may need to be involved in any updates.

There were no problems with the source code for BD, so none of the fixes or changes in the disk version patches were lost.

Ok thanks. Last question does the save game and item editor for DD work with BD? Or is there ones for that game?

There were no item or save editors made for BD, and the DD ones are not compatible. There are some manual ways to cheat, though.

Actiontrip.com's Beyond Divinity Cheats - starting a new game with stronger characters

armory trick in act 1

Hex editing - gold, experience, stat/skill points (not re-checked in the most recent version)

Teleporting anywhere (via hex editor)

Originally Posted by Raze

There were no item or save editors made for BD, and the DD ones are not compatible. There are some manual ways to cheat, though.

Actiontrip.com's Beyond Divinity Cheats - starting a new game with stronger characters

armory trick in act 1

Hex editing - gold, experience, stat/skill points (not re-checked in the most recent version)

Teleporting anywhere (via hex editor)

Thanks for that, finshed Div Divinity and got BD from Steam. It looks like your hex editor instructions don't work in the new version, or I can't find matching strings when looking for skills for the two main characters. I can find the right "base #", above "deathknight #", but there isn't a string 6 rows above the 'b' with anything separated by 4 "00". There's 7 strings of numbers followed by 5 strings of "00".

Also scrolling down from the first "deathknight #" I cannot find another "deathknight #", they either have red or black or some other word before or after. The last one looks like "deathknight act4 #".

I meant to check that, but then forgot about it. I'll write it down this time, but it will be at least a couple days before I'll have time to look at it.

Originally Posted by Raze

I meant to check that, but then forgot about it. I'll write it down this time, but it will be at least a couple days before I'll have time to look at it.

Any luck figuring the new version out?

Yes for a quick edit to boost free stat points to test something (the value was a couple rows down and a few bytes over from v1.47/1.49), no on anything thorough. Over the next few days I'll see if I can burn a couple DVDs to free up some hard drive space, re-install BD and recheck everything (the actual checking shouldn't take terribly long, but I still have some Christmas stuff to do, etc).