virtualbox.org

Hi. I was wondering if anyone else has encounter this issue.
Set up:
Latest VB on iMac 27" (late 2012)
VB System: Windows XP (with guest addition and Dirct3D support) installed

The application that is giving me a problem is Combat Mission Barbarrosa to Berlin. When I launch the game, it says that "This game requires minimum 800 x 600 video display". Also, at the top of the guest display it says that I am running 16 bit mode when I know the control panel is set to 32 bit.

I have the guest resolution set to 1280 x 960 and 32 bit color. I have also tried other settings on the guest system to include turning on/off scaled mode and full screen mode. Additionally, in the VB preferences (VB Manager) pull down menu, I have changed to various selections such as "Automatic" and "Hint" as well as changing the width/height to 1600 x 900.

Its almost like the application is changing the settings to lower than it needs to be able to run. Talk about a contradiction!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Genton

VM log file please. Minimum information needed for assistance.

Version 4.3.14
Guest additions: Yes with Direct3d
Host: iMac, 27-inch, Late 2012, A1419, 64-bit, 8 GB, OS10.9.4
Guest: Running on same machine above, Windows XP SP3, 32-bit, 256mb

Log file attached.

Note. It may be the program itself. I downloaded a separate demo mac version of the game and ran it in Sheepshaver and it did the exact same thing. It gave the exact same message on a black screen. To return to the desktop, I have to click anywhere on the screen.

Thanks,
Gent

Genton wrote: Log file attached.

Ahem.

If you're having problems with the size then make sure to compress it. In fact that's preferred regardless of the size.

Sorry about that. Not sure what happened when I saved the log for it to only show limited info. Attached is a compressed file of a new log capture.

Thanks,
Gent

I see that you've only allocated 256MB RAM for the VM. Your host can easily afford more than that. I'd suggest 1024MB. On the other hand you have VRAM set to 128MB - there's no need to have that so high. I'd go for 64MB max.

When you get the message about 16bit mode, you do understand that this is talking about display color depth, right? I.e. it is not talking about the number of bits in a CPU register? The dialog is from VirtualBox, and is a warning, not an error - you can tick the box if you never want to see that warning again. The warning is telling you that the VM has switched to a display mode which is incompatible with the mode your host is using. That means that the VM software will have to convert between the formats on every frame update, which will hurt performance.

You say that the game switches to 800x600. I'm not seeing that. I do see changes to VGA mode graphics - 640 x 480 x 16bps (bits per pixel). That would provoke the warning.

If I was you I'd check the compatibility mode settings for the app in XP, make sure you don't have the 640x480 mode ticked.

I increased the system base memory to 1024 per your instructions and reduced the video memory to 64 per your instructions as well. I do understand that the message at the top is related to color depth and not clocking. Additionally, I checked the application properties (inside the guest) and I do not have the compatibility choices selected. The game should run with Windows XP although I may try another selection. However;

The game switches to something other than 800x600 when I run it, not that it switches to that. The message I get from the game is that it needs at least 800x600 in order to run. When I reviewed the log file I attached previously, towards the end of the log, it it reads:

00:00:02.319570 Display::handleDisplayResize(): uScreenId = 0, pvVRAM=0000000000000000 w=720 h=400 bpp=0 cbLine=0x0, flags=0x1

and a little below that line, it reads:

00:00:02.341366 Display::handleDisplayResize(): uScreenId = 0, pvVRAM=000000010fb0a000 w=640 h=480 bpp=32 cbLine=0xA00, flags=0x1

I understand applications will auto change the resolution if it needs to in order to run properly but why would the game auto change it to less than required? Strange.

Additional info: When I run the application as "Run as...", I get a message from the app (not system) that asks me if I want to change the resolution to 640x480. I assume because it can't pick up the Direct3d. Either choice does not work and I get a system pop up that says "Could not initialize Direct3D graphics" See attached files. Maybe this helps. Not sure why it wouldn't pick it up since I installed the Direct3D support from the Guest Additions installer.

Attached are screenshots of my explanation above.

Sorry, but I think I've already helped you all that I can. I believe it's the OS which is switching the resolution due to a compatibility setting for the app, but you might be right that it's the app which is doing it. I can tell you that it isn't VirtualBox. At this point the only people who can offer non-speculative advice are the people who made the game. Or, possibly other users of the same game.

Finally, I'll point out that VMs do not in general make good gaming platforms.

Thanks Mpack. You are correct. In general, it's always best to run applications natively. Of course my house would be full of old computers and the wife would divorce me. If I find a solution, I'll post it here.

Thanks again!