I have a new computer and reinstalled W & W, sat down in anticipation to play and... nothing. It won't start. My new PC has Windows XP, and I'm getting the following message when I try to run the program:

"The program you are trying to run requires a current Indeo codec.
To obtain a current driver that is compatible with this version of Windows, please contact the manufacturer at http://indeo.ligos.com."

So I went to the Ligos site and found that I can get the codecs I need by buying Indeo XP for Windows, but I don't want to spend the $US 15 since I'm not sure if the game will run even after I get Indeo XP or what other effects (if any) Indeo may have on my system.

I have:
DirectX Version 8.1
Viceo Card: SiS 650_561_M650_M652_740 16.0 MB
Windows: Windows XP Home Edition Version 2002 Service Pack 1
Memory: 240 MB

Can anyone help? Will the game run with the Indeo codecs or am I out of luck? If I do get them, what else do they do to my computer? And is there anywhere I can get them free, like they used to be?

Thanks!

I'm sure Willow will be along in the morning to give you some thoughts about how to manipulate this, but a couple of thoughts...

1. Do you have the most current drivers for your video card? Or is that where you're getting stuck?

2. Have you done the virtualdub thing, so that the video files are uncompressed? If they're not compressed, you may not need the codec (which stands for "compression/decompression", IIRC, just like "modem").

3. Have you done the rest of the WinXP tweaks for W&W? Check the Tech Tips thread above to make sure you're covered.

4. Have you done a google search? I came across this link from Microsoft Support which has a resolution for free.

I will address your problem later and answer this first. Indeo is a video codec needed to play certain video files. You use a codec to downsize a video file. A 30MB avi file encoded will be only 2Mb for instance. Now I believe the Indeo 4.xx and perhaps the 5.xx are still freeware. Unfortunately it is not easy to find them. :( If you manage to get them they won't do anything to your computer besides letting you view movie files encoded with indeo.

Now I believe this error is due to the fact that windoiws 2000/XP can't play encoded videos. Therefore you need to fix this with Virtualdub as explained in the Tech thread (save as old time avi and you lose the encoding). If that doesn't work I'm sure we will come up with something else. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Id like to add this.

This is with the most recent xp that has sp1 built in, not the older xp. For instance I didnt get this error with xp, but my friend did.

I still had to virtual dub the town avis, that is different problem.

This error though is more likely dealing with the opening. I recomend either virtual dubbing that,
Or getting out notepad, saving a file with same name but .txt then renaming it to .avi. This is a placeholder file and the game should work it will just go black for a second before it starts. This works with bink video problems for newer games.

This is a licensing thing it affects a few games from this era. XP used to come with the indeo codec now it does not.

Indeo wants you to pay $20 or something. Its not freeware anymore. If you can find a freeware version dl it and see if it fixes it.


Id be interested in exactly when it stops running. I dont have WW installed right now to check the exact filename, but the opening avis can be changed in the file called something to the effect of WW.ini or deep6.ini or something like that. But thats complicated see if anything I said works first.

[ 05-30-2003, 06:46 AM: Message edited by: the mighty stamar ]

You mean the intro movie right? You can't decompress that with virtualdub since it is not an avi file. It has the file extension .bik and besides it is not copied to your hdd unless you do a full manual install. However I did manage to find a player that is able to decode the bik file and play it (unlike windows media player for instance). You can find it [url=http://www.radgametools.com/bnkdown.htm]here[/i], it's the Rad video tools. Hopefully that will supply the necessary codec. I do believe that Indeo 5.1 is freeware though but I haven't been able to ascertain that fact. [img]smile.gif[/img] I will get back to you on that.

Hrmm...

Ok, if that is the case that the video is on the cd, and it is hanging up.... you need to alter it in the .ini file, tell it not to load that.

I dont have the .ini file of the game installed right now to give you exact instructions or even what its called. If one of you can copy that file ( its the file type that apears as a notepad file with a gear coming out of it)
I could tell you what to change. Likely you are changing a 1 to a 0 or youre changing the file location of f:opening filename

Anyhow hope that helps if you describe exactly when it gives you that message it would help.

Barring that the search is for a free source of the indeo codec.