The Company of Heroes : Europe in Ruins Guide for Vista
Contents1. Installation
2. Firewall
3. Running the Game
4. Connecting to Games
5. Teamspeak
6. Dx10 Hotfix.Part 1. Installation
Due to the way Vista operates with User Access Control (UAC) and file system lockdown its important to not install to the default directory, I highly recommend creating a seperate folder for your game to install to (
ie. C:\Games\CompanyofHeroes\ ). Installing to the default directory in Program Files will create nothing but issues, requiring Administrator privlidges at every step of way even if you disable UAC.
IMPORTANT. Before Installing Europe in Ruins you Have to install the "Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 SP1 Redistributable Package (x86)" not installing this first will result in the "Side By Side Error" if you have installed the mod already thats fine you can reinstall the mod after installing the update.
Get the Update Here !!
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=200B2FD9-AE1A-4A14-984D-389C36F85647&displaylang=en Hopefully Your ready for the next step
Part 2. Firewall
Vista is very picky with its firewalls, If your operating a 3rd party Firewall
(I recommend Zonealarm 7) then dont worry too much about this step but it might pay to keep in mind that you will have to Allow access through that firewall for this game.
Presuming that you are running the Standerd Firewall you need to update your firewall to allow several programs through.
- EIR_Launcher.exe
- EuropeInRuinsMod.exe
- RelicCOH.exe
If your unfamilar with Vista you can find the Firewall Options in the Start Menu, In Settings, Control Panel, Windows Firewall. From there all need to do is Click "Allow a Program through Windows Firewall" Located in the top left of the Firewall Window.
Now under the Exceptions Tab Click "Add Program..." in the bottom Left. Select the Program you need to Unblock and click "Ok" If the programs dont appear select browse and locate them. You do remember where you installed them right
Part 3. Running the Game
Now due to User Access Control (UAC) some things will need to be run at "Special Privlidge Levels". You can turn UAC off but I recommend that Annoying as it is to Leave it on. However i will go into that at a later date.
(for those who dont know what UAC is, thats the program that asks you the Cancel or Allow on a lot of programs or functions) When you first installed the game you ended up with Desktop icons right? Time to
Right Click on these and select "Properties". Under the Compatibility Tab Select "Run as Administrator" at the bottom and select Ok. Dont worry about running in different modes for now.
Unfortunatly everytime you run the game it will Request permission to run, You will soon get sick of Cancel or Allow but unless you have an excellent Firewall and Anti-Virus get over it
You can run the game and mod without selecting this but chances are it wont work correctly or more than likely not at all. Even if it seems to work Administrator programs get right of Resources and thus run better.
Part 4. Connecting to Games
Ok so youv'e installed and pushed the files through the firewall, Youv'e gone ahead and created a Company but now your having trouble connecting to the games. This could be a number of issue's, Some of which I've encountered and some im sure will spring up later. First Check your router or ask the operator of your network to check your Port Forwarding. If the game does not connect to Relic Online at all then this could be your culprit, However it could also be Vista. If thats the case we will have to change Your Network Settings, Then we can look into Alternitive options like Hamachi.
Network Settings. By Default Vista will set all new networks to "Private" as part of its security. Most users shouldn't have issues with this but some do. What we need to do now is set your network to "Public" and allow it to "Discover" and in turn be "Discovered" by other net users.
DISCLAIMER : THESE SETTINGS WILL PRESENT AN ADDITIONAL SECURITY RISK AND SHOULD ONLY BE USED IF YOUR HAVING TROUBLE CONNECTING. IF YOU DONT DO AS YOUR MOTHER TOLD YOU AND LEAVE IT ALONE Ok, Again look in your "Start" Menu, In Settings, Control Panel, Network and Sharing Centre. You should see a Picture of your Internet connection, Under this should be something along the lines of "Network (private Network), Directly opposite this ont he right hand side will be the word "Customise" in blue writing. Click this link. From there just select "Public Network" and select Next.
Back in that first Screen but underneath the Network Customise link there will be a box titled "Sharing and Discovery" you should see "Network Discovery" in here, Turn this on.
If all else has failed as some players for varied reasons find you can always try using Hamachi. This is a last resort as its diffilcult to find players willing to use this program and/or set it up right. However if you must then Only Hamachi 1.0.1.5 can be used for Company of Heroes.
Get Hamachi 1.0.1.5 Here !!
http://filehippo.com/download/777ceb3a3447f5d17525e7fcb9d3fe9e/download Its important to NOT update Hamachi otherwise you will conflict with everyone else. Follow the instructions built into Hamachi and you should be right, However you may have to Change you network to Public as aforementioned above.
Part 5. Teamspeak
Ok the next thing to do is install Teamspeak, Not much to mention here except for a small setting you may have to change. Windows Vista does not include support for a lot of "Older" services. Including VS2005 and Direct Sound. When you run Teamspeak for the first time Go to Settings, Options and select "Wave" This is located in the top left right above "Direct Sound". Easy change but can result in some massive sound clipping or Lag if left on direct sound.
Part 6. Dx10 Hotfix
Ok as posted by FLdash,
If your experiencing large lag spikes with a DirectX 10 compatible Video card this may be the fix for you, However from what I can gather it wont work for anything else. More to come as I investigate.
More to come later as i gather energy for another type spree or as more issues come to light, again as always if you encounter an issue with Vista im more than happy to look into it.
