How to fix Darkest Hour for Windows 8!

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I've got much better fix for DH on win8. Format C and install some real, working OS like win7 :)

Haha.

Really, all the devs need to do is maybe get permission to include Wine D3D. It totally fixes the issue for me at least, and possibly everyone else.
 
Hey! The fix prescribed here (the one with WineD3D) also works for me in Windows 7 64-Bits, for vanilla HoI2 Doomsday Armageddon and Iron Cross (plus AoD and DH; I had problems with them too). Said games stopped working for me after installing AMD Crimson drivers v16.10.2 (I also tested the newer ones; every bundle up to v17.7.2 still results in a crash). But I looked up for a solution and this one worked like a charm. No hang ups and runs fine.

But I got the newer version of WineD3D from this page.

The file at the top: WineD3DForWIndows_2.13-staging.zip 32-Bits (regular, without x64 added to their name). Download, unpack the three files from the solution (WINED3D.DLL, LIBWINE.DLL and DDRAW.DLL), put them into HoI2 (or AoD, or Iron Cross, or DH) main directory (where .EXEs are) and run the game - that's what I did.

Maybe this is going to help somebody, writing it down just in case. Cheers.
 
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Hey! The fix prescribed here (the one with WineD3D) also works for Windows 7 64-Bit, for vanilla HoI2 Doomsday Armageddon and Iron Cross mod (plus AoD and DH, obviously; I had problems with them too, so I tested them also). The said game stopped working for me after installing AMD Crimson 16.10.2. But I looked up for a solution and this one worked like a charm. Full speed, no crashes, runs fine.

But I got newer version of WineD3D from http://downloads.adolfintel.com/Projects/WineD3D/Builds/
The file at the very top: 1.9.21.zip, 32 Bits (regular, without x64 added to their name). Download, unpack the three files from the solution (WINED3D.DLL, LIBWINE.DLL and DDRAW.DLL), put them into HoI2 (or Iron Cross, or AoD, or DH) directory and run the game - that's what I did.

Maybe this is going to help somebody, writing it down just in case. Cheers.


Thx for the effort. I did exactly what u said : downloaded the 32 bit files, copied the three files in my directory ... still fails to launch... end of an era.
 
For anyone interested, I managed to come up with a fix for HoI 2 DD Arma-based games (that means AoD, DH and IC; plus Armageddon itself) for those who experiences crash at load with AMD drivers.

You can absorb it here.
 
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Good thing I just got this on sale for only 2 bux, game doesn't work on Windows 10. Going to write steam a very nasty review warning others not to buy a game that doesn't even work.
 
Good thing I just got this on sale for only 2 bux, game doesn't work on Windows 10. Going to write steam a very nasty review warning others not to buy a game that doesn't even work.
Or perhaps you could explain what your problem is?
Anyway, Steam offers a refund, so you can get your 2 bucks back.
 
Or perhaps you could explain what your problem is?
Anyway, Steam offers a refund, so you can get your 2 bucks back.


The problem is that as soon as it loads to the title screen it crashes to desktop

I have tried running it in compatibility mode with Windows 8 or earlier, doesn't work.

Have tried running it in windowed mode, doesn't work, suffers a fatal error.

Tried the compatibility suggestion to lower the colors to 16-bit, fatal error.

Tried the fix posted at the top of the forum to replace the two sprites of carriers with lower res versions. Game still crashes to desktop after loading.

Only fix I haven't tried is replacing my video drivers with older versions which I am reluctant to do because that might mess with other programs, and I really don't think that is an efficient or effective fix.

I have heard great things about this game, so it is a shame I can't get it to work. A patch is the only way I can see this game working for me.
 
The problem is that as soon as it loads to the title screen it crashes to desktop

I have tried running it in compatibility mode with Windows 8 or earlier, doesn't work.

Have tried running it in windowed mode, doesn't work, suffers a fatal error.

Tried the compatibility suggestion to lower the colors to 16-bit, fatal error.

Tried the fix posted at the top of the forum to replace the two sprites of carriers with lower res versions. Game still crashes to desktop after loading.

Only fix I haven't tried is replacing my video drivers with older versions which I am reluctant to do because that might mess with other programs, and I really don't think that is an efficient or effective fix.

I have heard great things about this game, so it is a shame I can't get it to work. A patch is the only way I can see this game working for me.
A patch cannot solve any issue if the issue is not identified.
Have you tried turning off the sprites in the launcher before launching the game?
 
A patch cannot solve any issue if the issue is not identified.
Have you tried turning off the sprites in the launcher before launching the game?

That worked.


I've deleted my low review and replaced with a high review. Sorry about the problem in the first place. I do prefer unit sprites to chits though... ah well.
 
That worked.


I've deleted my low review and replaced with a high review. Sorry about the problem in the first place. I do prefer unit sprites to chits though... ah well.
The sprites issue is indeed caused by changes in the latest drivers. This fix (https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...-2-dd-arma-for-the-amd-drivers-issue.1007688/) should have worked. In this case the next patch should probably solve the issue. However you said that you tried that and it didn't work. Can I ask you to try again one more time (replacing the carriers sprite and launching the game with sprites enabled)? If this doesn't work, it could be caused by a different issue.
 
Good solution! Thanks second one worked for me! By the way for second method to work path to the game must be valid one.
Mine was on E:\ drive.
I tried the 3rd method and it worked great for the most part. Music stutters a lot... Had to turn it off.
Still better than the second solution with which in my case resulted in time to time graphics bugs (It could not overlay desktop properly so the game jumped back and forth)
 
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