SS Patch & Windows 2000

[Kontuz]

I get the following error when executing the patch on my computer which is running windows 2000:

Window title: ss_en_1.00_1.10_patch.exe - Entry Point Not Found

Window Text: The procedure entry point GetModuleHandleExW could not be located in the dynamic link library KERNEL32.dll.

I did a little searching and that module doesn't exist before Win XP.

Is there anything I can do to get the patch working on my system?

[TBS]

I suggest you contact THQ support about this, the sooner they know about it the sooner they can get someone working on a fix (thats me being optimistic).

I guess in theory if you had access to an XP machine you could install/patch on there and then copy everything across and manually update the registry. I can't guaruntee it would work though.

[Kontuz]

Thanks for the reply. I'll give THQ support a try.

[lsy]

any result??

[TBS]

lsy: you should contact them yourself. THQ is not going to have a simple answer along the lines of "click this, then that, then type this then run the patch and it will work", they will need to make a new windows 2000 patch. This costs them money and theyre only going to do it if they think it affects enough of their customers to be worthwhile.

If only one person emails in complaining then the chances are nothing will happen.

[Kontuz]

any result??

I got a nice reply saying they will contact the developers looking for a fix.

I think TBS gives good advice. If this problem affects you, open your own issue with THQ Support.

[PhreakSoul]

If someone needs the patch working with Win2k send me a private message.

[TBS]

PhreakSoul: if you have a solution, why dont you share it publicly?

[PhreakSoul]

Because I do not know if it violates the board rules so I'll not post it here.

Edit: If anyone can host the patch without day or download limitation please let me know.

[lsy]

WELL, the newest hotfix 1.2 dosn`t fix this yet. i am disappointing

TBS i had sent a message to THQ.and the reply looks like a computer automatic reply。it said they had noticed this.... but the NEWEST HOTFIX 1.1 STILL THE SAME

[TBS]

The hotfix was for some nasty balance breaking bugs discovered in the previous patch, I wouldn't expect it to fix this.

[PhreakSoul]

A friend told me that he could not install the HotFix 1.2 on SoulStorm that was patched with my previous patch for Win2k. So I decided to create a new patch and make it public after successfull testing. If the link violates the board rules or any other points (copyright, etc.) then a moderator can remove the link, I will send the link then via private message again.

1. Install SoulStorm (do not install cracks, trainers or other illegal stuff!)
2. Download official SoulStorm Patch 1.00 -> 1.10 (do not use the previous patch for Win2k I created!)
3. Use my attached patch (only 6 kb! MD5 of the exe: CFF577534ABEC428442EFF59582CAB4A) to modify the original patch (it does not replace the patch from version 1.0 to 1.1 any more!)
4. Install the official SoulStorm Patch
5. Download and install the HotFix 1.2.

Sorry that I can not provide more support, I removed only the GetModuleHandleExW call and replaced it with an inline routine that works also on Win2k (and still on WinXP). Have fun!

[TBS]

PhreakSoul: thats very impressive, well done. I don't consider it to break any of our rules (assuming point 1 is intended to read "do not install cracks..." rather than "do install cracks" ).

lsy, Kontuz: does this work for you?

I'm going to sticky this thread and attach a zipped version of your patch to this thread.

Actually, attempting to download your patch set off my virus scanner (Avast!) - it detected "Win32:OnLineGames-EGC"...any idea why that is?

[PhreakSoul]

Yeah, i forgot the word "no" but this was fixed already.

The virus detection is wrong. I encrypted the patch because I don't want that someone hijacks it and replaces names, etc.
So the antivirus software detections parts of the encryption routines as virus (because virus also uses such kind of routines sometimes).

You could also upload the modified official patch If you are afraid of false alarms. For me it is easier to upload 6 kb instead of over 170 mb again and again.

The patcher itself was done with "Embryo Patcher" because I was to lacy to write a own patcher with CRC32 and encryption.

[Kontuz]

Well the patch ran after I followed the steps from PhreakSoul. I did it before seeing the note about the anti-virus alarm.

So I wonder if I'm f*ked now.

[TBS]

The explanation sounds reasonable - virus scanners dont just have a list of known viruses, they also have lists of things to look for that might be viruses. False positives are not uncommon and given that the file worked as advertised I think its safe to assume it was clean.

Anyway, I can't believe someone would package up a virus just to infect a small number of people running Windows 2000 and playing DoW:SS.

Stickying thread.

[PhreakSoul]

Another point is that companies do not want that their employee are using illegal software. The most time such kind of patchers are used to patch trial or shareware software to get a full version. So the companies wanted such kind of software banned in some but not all antivirus software solutions. Next time I will write my own patcher code or use another that counts not as critical.

I guarantee that it contains no malicious code. Also I will support Win2k users in the future if another patch will also not run on Win2k (if any other patch will come and If I can find a solution).

@Kontuz: No, you are not f*ked

[Kontuz]

Thanks everyone for taking an interest in my problem.

@PhreakSoul: Thanks for your help. She may not rate much compared to others, but this rig is my baby

[Zany Reaper]

PhreakSoul - Hi man. Thanks for trying to help us Win2k guys out.

However, I can't get your hotfix to work. I put it in the same directory as the downloaded 1.1 patch for SS, after turning off my virus scanner. I get an error message saying something like "access to the specified device, path or file is denied."

I run the patch next & I get the same error. I don't know what I'm doing wrong...

Also, what's an MD5? Is it possible to edit that string of code you suggested with a Hex editor? Where in the patch file is it, & what do we do?

Cheers.

[TBS]

MD5 is a checksum - its just a way of checking that the file you downloaded is the same as the one he uploaded.

Are you running as administrator?

[PhreakSoul]

TBS is right, the MD5 ensures only that the file can be validated. The MD5 has nothing to do with the changes in the patch of SoulStorm.

PhreakSoul -Is it possible to edit that string of code you suggested with a Hex editor? Where in the patch file is it, & what do we do?

Sure, it is possible to use a hex editor to patch it manually:

Open the file "SS_EN_1.00_1.10_Patch.exe" and search for exactly the given bytes in the given order:
"51 68 C0 1F 40 00 6A 06 C6 45 FC 04 FF 15 3C F0 46 00" (found at hex offset 0x2121)
Replace them with:
"E8 00 00 00 00 58 2D 26 21 00 00 89 01 90 90 90 90 90"

Then search for the bytes:
"47 65 74 4D 6F 64 75 6C 65 48 61 6E 64 6C 65 45 78 57" (bold changes are found at hex 0x8A9C9)
and replace them with:
"47 65 74 4D 6F 64 75 6C 65 48 61 6E 64 6C 65 41 00 00"

Attention!

If you patch the wrong bytes you will break the patch. I give no warranty and it is always better to use my generated patcher. Start the patcher as administrator and select the correct file (default file name is correct). Feedback welcome.

[Zany Reaper]

TBS - Yeah, I'm using Admin. Still doesn't work though.

PhreakSoul - Thanks man. I'll use your Hexing advice, as the program doesn't work at my end for some reason.

Cheers.

[UnderTAKEr]

I’ve edited SS Patch 1.0-1.10, straight up with a text editor (I used UltraEdit) and it worked fine. After that you can install the SS Patch 1.10-1.20 without any modifications.

Thanks PhreakSoul for your great support. A well pleased Win2k user.

[Zany Reaper]

Thanks PhreakSoul again!

I used MadEdit (Linux Hex editor, via linux) to edit the file. Worked fine on my end

How did you get this info in the first place?

Thanks!