How do I run Independence War games on Win 10?

[ar81]

Do you know any tips to play on Win10 64 bits?

[RandBlade]

Would DOSBox work?

This says the game from here is compatible with Win 10
https://www.gog.com/game/independence_war_deluxe

[ar81]

Would DOSBox work?

This says the game from here is compatible with Win 10
https://www.gog.com/game/independence_war_deluxe

No. I try to install from my disks and they do not work. I will not buy again a game I already have. So I guess I-War is dead.

[RandBlade]

Disks? As in floppies? I haven't had a floppy drive since about 2002.

Try dosbox seriously if it is that old. That will be your best bet.

[ar81]

I mean CD. A CD is a compact DISC.

[RandBlade]

Yes but you said "disks" which is plural. Not disc singular.

Have you tried Dosbox?

[ar81]

It is for Windows, isn't it? How do you run on DOSBOX?

[RandBlade]

A lot of Windows 9x games actually ran using DOS infrastructure despite being a Windows game. Check the Dosbox website for instructions, I bet it will work.

[ar81]

It seems like lots of steps and no 3DFX...

[rille]

I doubt 3d-acceleration will work at all like that.
But on a modern computer it wouldn't surprise me if you could run it in software. =)
I'm not going to watch the video but 3dfx can wotk with DOSBOX if you have nGlide and the famous Gulikoza's patch.
This is common knowledge! I swear...

But back then T&L (Texture and Lightning) was a big thing, which is so primitive to say that basic matrix OPs are run with dedicated hardware.
3dfx cards was basically just a TMU, doing rotation, scaling, texture mapping, linear interpolation and some filtering.
Even I could probably implement a full chip in a FPGA on a few weeks if you locked me up in a room and didn't talk to me.
Today it would probably be an impossible one man effort, or I'm getting too old.

But for 3dfx on a modern machine, not running 98SE or XP naitive, you need a wrapper (a .dll shared library) that translates glide calls to opengl.
Try nGlide. http://www.zeus-software.com/downloads/nglide

My solution?
I got an old PIII with TNT and 2 x Voodoo II in SLI configured with Win98SE, running from a flashdisc to IDE interface (finally quiet!).
It's the machine I could not afford as a teenager. The perfect '98 machine with maxed RAM and all.

[ar81]

I have Independence War Deluxe Edition (IWDE) original discs.
After installing nGlide...
I managed to install it:
1. Copied disk 1 of IWDE and/or Defiance disk to a temp directory (depending on what you will install).
2. Downloaded IS3engine. It is a zip that contains a file called setup32.exe. I unzipped setup32.exe to temp directory
3. Run setup32.exe
It installs like a charm.

Now for compatibility...
4. Right click on the Iwar.exe (for defiance it would be IWDE.exe)
5. Properties > Compatibility
6. Check Run this program in compatibility
7. Select Windows XP SP3 in the dropdown list
8. Press Ok

Creating registry entries
When IS3engine installs, it adds your install directory as the CD drive. You need to correct registry entry to read the proper drive. In this example I will use drive D: as CD-ROM drive. Feel free to modify this to adapt to your drive letter.

9. Open notepad and post the following text, depending on what you installed.

If you installed only Independece War, paste this

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Particle Systems\I-War]
@="D:"

If you installed Independece War and Defiance, paste this too

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Particle Systems\IWDE]
@="D:"

If you installed only Independece War, and you have a 64bit machine, paste this

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Particle Systems\I-War]
@="D:"

If you installed Independece War and Defiance, and you have a 64bit machine paste this too

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Particle Systems\IWDE]
@="D:"

So, for example, if you install both Independence war and defiance, your registry file should contain this...

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Particle Systems\I-War]
@="D:"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Particle Systems\IWDE]
@="D:"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Particle Systems\I-War]
@="D:"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Particle Systems\IWDE]
@="D:"

10. Save text file and close notepad
11. Rename the text file so instead of TXT extension it should have REG extension.
12. Double click the file you just created. This creates the registry entry to registed drive D: as your CD-ROM. If your drive letter is different, edit the text above to assign the proper drive letter.

------------------------------------
Now run the game
13. Double click on the Iwar.exe or iwde.exe

Update. Check posts down below for additional steps

[ar81]

I managed to make Independence War Deluxe Edition to run on Windows 10. I updated the instructions. The only pending issue is to force the detection of nGlide to run as 3DFX.

Update: Now the next problem to solve is to see how to bypass the Lagrange point crash to desktop.

[Dreadnaught]

Thanks for keeping us updated on this! Damn I miss that game.

[ar81]

I have heard that if I manage to force nGlide to work, the lagrange CTD will be gone. Will need to do further research on how to do that.

[ar81]

Thanks for keeping us updated on this! Damn I miss that game.

I still remember when you asked me to remove you from the credits of that I-war fan fiction story, because employers thought space was childish. Tell that to Elon Musk. LOL!

[ar81]

Thanks for keeping us updated on this! Damn I miss that game.

I managed to make Independence War Deluxe Edition CDs to work.
The trick is to make 3DFX to work.
It works if you set the game for Win XP SP3.

* Run nGlide configurator

Screen resolution: 1920 x 1080
Refresh rate 60 Hz

* Go to the directory where you installed Independence War
* Right click on IWar.exe and Create a shortcut
* Right click shortcut - Properties - Shortcut tab
* Set target as follows. In this example the game is installed in C:\MyGameDirectory, you use your current setup.

"C:\MyGameDirectory\IWar.exe" -b -16 -800x600

* Compatibility tab
* Check Run program in compatibility mode
* Select Windows XP service pack 3
* Check run program as administrator

Run the game. You should see the 3DFX splash screen befre loading the game.
When you press Shift Q to end mission, it will crash to desktop, but your mission will be recorded as completed.

[ar81]

I really suck at I-war...

[ar81]

Was there any strategy guide on how to play Independence War Deluxe Edition?

[ar81]

The trick seems to take enemies one by one. A good way is to set course and start accelerating with A key so enemies start to chase you. Then press N and rotate ship to start picking them one by one.

I have not yet found how to deal with protected capital ships yet.