Wing Commander Prophecy Common Issues FAQ

Prophecy Issues FAQ

This document is a list of known issues with Wing Commander: Prophecy. It is not an entirely comprehensive list, but all of the major issues are covered here. If you have a question that is not answered here, please contact us via phone or email (number and address at bottom of page). As well, check out our web page for more detailed information (http://www.origin.ea.com/tech/index.html).

A note on Spoilers: some of the hints posted herein will be spoilers for some of you. Read the subject of a particular post before reading the actual post. Doing so will keep major plot elements away from your eyes.

MY GAME CRASHES WHEN I TRY TO INSTALL THE GAME OR SELECT MY VIDEO CARD

Sometimes, the installer crashes when attempting to write to the registry at the end of Prophecy installation or when the user tries to select his video card. This is the error message that is given:

"LAUNCHER.EXE caused an invalid page fault in module USER.EXE."

This is normally caused by loading EMM386.EXE in your CONFIG.SYS. You can either REM that line out, or if you do not feel comfortable doing so, try this fix:

1) open your MY COMPUTER icon

a) choose VIEW in the tool bar.
b) select OPTIONS from the pop up menu.
c) click on the VIEW tab.
d) make sure that the circle next to "Show all files" has a black dot in it.
e) make sure that the box next to "Hide MS-DOS extensions for files types that are registered" does NOT have a check in it.
f) click on APPLY, then OK.

2) create a file in your prophecy directory with this name: "prophecy.cfg"

a) in the prophecy directory, go to FILE, NEW, Text Document.
b) name it "prophecy.cfg"

3) open this file and write these three lines in it:

rasterMajor=<2 for 3Dfx, 6 for software, 5 for Direct3D>
cdDirectory=
installDirectory=

for example:
rasterMajor=6
cdDirectory=d:\
installDirectory=c:\prophecy

4) save this file and close it

5) create a bat file in this same directory.

a) in the prophecy directory, go to FILE, NEW, Text Document.
b) name it "prophecy.bat"

6) edit this bat file (right click on the file and choose EDIT) so that the only line in it reads as follows:
prophecy.exe @prophecy.cfg (or wcpdemo.exe @prophecy.cfg for the demo)

7) save and close this bat file.

8) now when you run prophecy, run prophecy.bat, not prophecy.exe and all should work just fine for you.

I AM IN THE LAUNCH TUBE AND I RECEIVE A PLAQUE TELLING ME MY CARRIER HAS BEEN LOST

Try this - when you get into the Rec Room of the mission you are having problems with, hop into the Simulator and complete mission 6. Then try to get into spaceflight. If that doesn't help, fly mission 7 in the simulator.

If that does not work, you may want to delete the file in your prophecy directory named "autosave.gsw." This last step should only be used if the first attempt to fix this problem proves fruitless. It won't hurt your machine or your game, but it might be easier to try the first suggestion first.

Hope this helps some.

MY MOVIES STUTTER AND SKIP

I have noticed that some of you are having problems with your movies stuttering and skipping. We believe this problem to be related to some sound card issues, although it could be related to a certain CD-ROM setting as well. If you are experiencing this problem with your Prophecy movies, try one of these suggestions and see if your problem is not resolved.

Open up your SYSTEM Properties control panel and click on the Performance tab.

1) once there, click on the File System button.
2) In the Hard Disk section of this window, make sure that your "Read-ahead optimization" is set to FULL.
3) click on the CD-ROM tab and make sure that your "Optimize access pattern for:" field is set to "Quad-speed or higher."

If you have a Creative Labs sound card, try turning on "Full Duplex Sound." Just hop into your SYSTEM Properties control panel and click on the Device Manager tab.

1) click on the '+' sign next to "Sound, video and game controllers."
2) below this line, click once on the name of your sound card.
3) then click on the Properties button at the bottom of the window.
4) once you have done so, click on the Settings tab in the new properties window you are in and place a check mark in the "Full Duplex Sound" box.

If you have a Diamond Monster card, try enabling "Direct Sound Safe Mode."

1) double click "Monster Sound Taskbar" icon.
2) click on the Preference tab
3) check "Enable Direct Sound Safe Mode."
4) apply "Restart system."

If none of these suggestions works, your sound card may not be certified by DirectX 5.0. run DXSetup in order to determine whether or not your card is indeed certified. As well, a list of hardware certified by DirectX can be found at one of these two sites:

http://www.microsoft.com/directx/pavilion/hardware/vidcardlist.htm

http://www.microsoft.com/directx/pavilion/hardware/soundcardlist.htm

If a piece of your hardware is not certified by DX5, contact the manufacturer of that piece of hardware in order to obtain DirectX 5.0 drivers for that hardware.

And, also, be sure to disable any programs that may be running in the background while you are playing Prophecy (System Doctor, Launch Speeder, Norton Utilities, or any anti-crash software). Prophecy demands 100% of your system resources and tends to get a little testy when it has to compete with other programs. To see what programs are running on your machine, hit CTRL-ALT-DEL one time. A list of currently running programs will be displayed (be sure to keep Explorer running, though).

I CANNOT SWITCH TO A NEW CD WHEN I COMPLETE THE FIRST CD

This problem is often caused by running real-mode 16 bit CD-ROM drivers in DOS. In order to see whether or not this is the case on your system, try this:

1) open the SYSTEM control panel (START - Settings - Control Panels).
2) click on the PERFORMANCE tab.
3) if File System reads, "32-bit" and the bottom line in this window reads, "Your system is configured for optimal performance," then you are not running 16 bit drivers. If this window mentions that you are running in DOS-Compatibility mode, then you need to disable your 16-bit drivers.

1) open your CONFIG.SYS (run SYSEDIT from the Run option in the START menu and choose the CONFIG.SYS window from the WINDOW pop-up menu).
2) find a line that reads something like this: DEVICEHIGH=C:\\ /D:######## (where # represents actual characters).
3) place your mouse pointer at the beginning of this line and left click one time so that there is a blinking cursor at the beginning of this line.
4) type "REM" (without the quotes) and hit the space bar one time so that there is at least one space between "REM" and the CD driver line.

Save the changes made to your CONFIG.SYS and exit the System Configuration Editor. Restart your system. If you have 32-bit drivers for your CD-ROM installed, you should now have no problems. If you do not have 32-bit drivers installed, you will not be able to access your CD-ROM. You will have to contact the manufacturer of your CD-ROM for 32-bit drivers. In the meantime, remove the REM statement from your CONFIG.SYS in order to access your CD-ROM again.

Note: Editing your CONFIG.SYS is a pretty serious process. If you add or remove anything that you shouldn't, you could possibly mess things up on your machine. Do not perform this operation if you feel the least bit uncomfortable with it. Have a more knowledgeable friend or one of us here at Origin walk you through it if you need to.

I KEEP LOSING MY MIDWAY NO MATTER HOW WELL I PLAY THE MISSION

Capship defense missions can be quite tough. The reason they are so tough is that the state of your capship is being saved from mission to mission and is only repaired at certain points in the game. So it is quite possible to launch into a mission where your Midway has only one major component left.

For example, if i lose an engine in the "Convoy Rescue" mission, that engine will still be gone when i get to the "Holding the Line" mission.

When you defend the Midway, be sure to take out all of these fighters: Skate T or B clusters (they fire torpedoes and/or bombs when clustered, but are harmless when split apart), Mantas (red ones fire torpedoes and plasma bursts, blue ones fire plasma bursts), and Stingray clusters (they fire rapid fire plasma bolts). All of these ships can hurt your Midway.

If you find that you still cannot win a Midway defense mission, even when focusing on the guys that can hurt your Midway, then perhaps you need to load the last mission where your Midway took damage. Do so, and try to keep your Midway from taking damage. If you are successful in this endeavor, later missions should be much easier.

I CAN’T WIN THE JAMMING DEVICE MISSION ON DISK 2. STILETTO ALWAYS BEATS ME TO THE OBJECTIVE

This mission is actually winnable, although it can be quite difficult.

Once you get into nav three, you will notice several strange looking stationary objects sitting around. One of these is the jamming device you are looking for. When you get into this nav, turn off smart targeting (CTRL_T) so that you can target these objects. Cycle through your targets until you have one of these objects targeted.

In order to identify what is inside one of these containers, fly up to within just a few klicks of it (you may have to bump it). You will hear a short beep and will notice that the object's name in your target VDU will change to "UNKNOWN." If it is labeled "UNKNOWN," then you have to move on to the next target.

Keep doing this until you have located an object that is labeled "Jamming Device" when you ID it. Once you have done so, you have completed your objective.

This is the tough part of this mission: if you kill all of the aliens in this nav before identifying the jamming device, you are probably going to lose this mission. Stiletto will just be much faster than you are once she has no aliens to keep her busy. As soon as you get into this nav, you have to immediately start checking these containers. Doing so while evading enemy fire can be quite tough. You will most likely have to break off from your objective from time to time in order to pick off an overzealous Manta or two, but as long as you keep away from the enemies as much as possible, you should be able to locate this jamming device before stiletto does.

I KEEP LOSING MY MIDWAY IN THE CAP MISSILE MISSION ON DISK 3

This is the "CAP Missile Interception" mission.

Just kill all four of the CAP missiles as fast as you can (using your booster pack to get to them quickly is highly recommended). If any one of those missiles reaches the Midway, you are dead. Once you have taken out these missiles, you will have to kill all of the bombers that show up in this mission before they can kill your Midway. So focus on Clustered TriRays and Mantas (even the blue Mantas can fire concentrated plasma bolts at the Midway's engines and kill them). And Skate T bombers can mess up your Midway pretty good, too.

HOW DO I WIN THE DREADNOUGHT MISSIONS IN DISK 3?

This set of missions kept me busy for a while, too. Here is the strategy that eventually won it for me:

Kill ALL of the turrets (gun and missile) and shield emitters in the first mission (Defang the Beast).

In the second mission (Dreadnought Assault), promptly take out the Dreadnought's Launcher with a Light Torpedo or two. With its launcher disabled, it cannot launch more fighters at you when its current crop of fighters bites it.

Also, keep in mind that there is a DevilRay here. He will be gunning for you and you alone. a couple of Dumbfires to the face should make short work of him.

Once the DevilRay and Launcher are gone, kill the Dreadnought.

I KEEP LOSING MY MIDWAY IN THE "DIVERSIONARY STRIKE" MISSION ON DISK 2

You just need to be fast. Try not to spend too much time on any one ship in nav 3, just kill them as quickly as you can. Beware of the DevilRay! He will be right on your tail the whole time and is tough as hell to kill. Resist the temptation to unload all of your missiles on him as you will need some of these missiles for the other enemies in this nav. If you kill all of the enemies in time, you will receive comms from Maniac and Hawk letting you know that your mission was successful. If you fail to kill all of the enemies in time, you will receive comms from Maniac and Hawk letting you know that your mission was a failure. As well, when you reach the Midway nav, the Midway will be swarmed by enemies and you will lose the mission.

I KEEP FAILING THE "BUG HUNT/NO SURVIVORS" MISSION ON DISK 2

The first ships you need to kill when you enter nav 1 are the three Lampreys. They are the only ones that will flee from you. Once they are dead, the rest of the mission is pretty straight forward (except for the bonus objective, which is a whole other story).

WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO IN THE "RELAY STATION INSERTION" MISSION ON DISK 2?

1) eliminate the Morays.
2) hang tight while Dekker and Blair board the Relay Station.
3) refuel with the Redeemer (unless it died in G'Wriss 206.7: Convoy Rescue).
4) defend the Relay Station from the incoming aliens intent on destroying it. From here on out, this mission functions just like a Midway defense mission. Keep Mantas and Clustered ships away from the Relay Station's bridge.
note: Blair will be abducted by the DevilRay no matter what you do here. His abduction cannot be stopped by you. You'll just have to hope you get the chance to rescue him later.

HOW DO I WIN THE "PAINTING THE TARGET" MISSION ON DISK 3?

You need to attach your Targeting Disk onto the Bridge of the Triton Transport. Target the Transport and cycle through its component parts until you have its Bridge targeted. Get very close to the Triton and then launch your Targeting Disk.

HOW DO I SWITCH NAV POINTS?

The documentation for Prophecy incorrectly states that the way to select a new nav point to travel to is to enter the nav map, then select a nav point by hitting 'N' or 'P.' The documentation mentions that upon exiting the nav map, the nav you had selected in the nav map will be your new destination. Such is not the case. When in the nav map, use your mouse to right-click on the white cross that represents the nav point you wish to travel to. Exit the nav map, and when all enemies in your current location have been destroyed, you will be able to autopilot to your selected nav.

As well, you can check which nav point you will travel to next by hitting the 'N' key in spaceflight. Your HUD will display your currently selected nav and your distance from that nav.

Sorry for any inconvenience this documentation error may have caused.

HOW DO I ENABLE FORCE FEEDBACK SUPPORT?

Sorry. There is no force feedback support in Wing Commander: Prophecy.

HOW DO I ACCESS THE MULTIPLAYER PORTION OF THE GAME?

There is no multiplayer portion of Wing Commander: Prophecy. A few months ago, Origin announced that in order to complete the game by Christmas in a satisfactory manner, multiplayer support would be removed. Ads were run in several gaming magazines detailing this decision and the circumstances surrounding this decision. As well, all mention of multiplayer capabilities were removed from the Wing Commander: Prophecy documentation and box art. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.

MY RUDDER CONTROL IS REVERSED!

You are correct. There is no way to change this without a programmable rudder system.

I CAN’T GET FOG AND LENS FLARE IN DIRECT3D

Again, you are correct. Only cards running on the 3DFX chipset will display these features.

If none of these suggestions works, then please either call or email origin tech support with more information on your system and problem. As well, a very thorough technical support guide can be found at http://www.origin.ea.com/tech/index.html. Hope this document could be of some help.

Arashi
Origin Customer Support
support@origin.ea.com
(512) 434 HELP (4357)
"I smell your fear."

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