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Thank you, steinerr
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steinerrr: Hi Guys,

Sorry, forgot I moved the file.

Also, it is better to use standard version M.A.X. 1.04 as I discovered, as 1.56 has a few nasty AI bugs, making the AI dumber.

So, here is a permanent link to MAX 1.04 patched with DOS32a extender.
I am currently running a game vs godlike AI 1vs1 at turn 412 with no issues - using simultaneous turns.

Please note, there may also be performance issues in huge games like this, as with giant amounts of units flooding the entire map it becomes extremely CPU demanding. In addition to DOS32a extender I recommend using manual CPU cycles 200,000+, normal2x graphics scaler and frameskip 1x, even if you have a latest Corei7.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/05yze5nre9aaz4g/MAX1.04patchedDOS32a.zip?dl=0
Just in case you are wondering why you can't post links, you need rep of +5.

So anyone seeing this post of mine, upvote steinerr please ;)

EDIT: I edited in the meantime your link in my reply ;)
Post edited October 09, 2017 by Goodaltgamer
avatar
steinerrr: Hi Guys,

Sorry, forgot I moved the file.

Also, it is better to use standard version M.A.X. 1.04 as I discovered, as 1.56 has a few nasty AI bugs, making the AI dumber.

So, here is a permanent link to MAX 1.04 patched with DOS32a extender.
I am currently running a game vs godlike AI 1vs1 at turn 412 with no issues - using simultaneous turns.

Please note, there may also be performance issues in huge games like this, as with giant amounts of units flooding the entire map it becomes extremely CPU demanding. In addition to DOS32a extender I recommend using manual CPU cycles 200,000+, normal2x graphics scaler and frameskip 1x, even if you have a latest Corei7.

h t t p s : / / w w w .dropbox.com/s/05yze5nre9aaz4g/MAX1.04patchedDOS32a.zip?dl=0
Hi there.
Can U please explain step by step what I should to do with than files to play MAX without crashes.
1. install GOG version of MAX
2. download rar files (w w w .dropbox.com/s/05yze5nre9aaz4g/MAX1.04patchedDOS32a.zip?dl=0)
3. whats next?

In Russian:
подскажите по шагам как правильно настроить игру? Этот шедевр никогда не получалось нормально отыграть из-за бага, хоть сейчас бы исправить ситуацию!
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Shico84: Hi there.
Can U please explain step by step what I should to do with than files to play MAX without crashes.
1. install GOG version of MAX
2. download rar files (w w w .dropbox.com/s/05yze5nre9aaz4g/MAX1.04patchedDOS32a.zip?dl=0)
3. whats next?
Extract the files from the downloaded zip file (MAX1.04patchedDOS32a.zip) and copy them over the same files in the installation directory of the game. If you copied the files correctly, you should see "DOS/32A - DOS Extender"... message when the game starts. You may also want to edit the file dosboxMAX1.conf if the settings don't work well enough for your system.
Sorry for arriving late for the party.
Did anyone got to play succesfully IPX over the internet?
Last time I tried it would render the game too slow and game would crash after 3 or 4 turns, even if not building or moving.
I want to believe that someday this will work, hope is the last to day xP
hi@all,

since the current available GOG version of MAX 1 (v1.04 - r21516) already contains the last available DOS/32A v9.12 extender, I had very high hopes to see round based gameplay above 100+ rounds... but sadly, nothing changed at all!

After I've crossed round 95, either from there the game crashes permanently everytime you try to end the round, or it developes some weird behavior, and finally after round 102-105 it's really game over, at least for me! :((

Tried it with 2 fresh game starts, until round 95 starts everything run smoothly, and after hitting round 96 you're doomed!

Really sad, because I totally like MAX 1 since its first appearance back in the 90's (then played on an P75 with W98SE, and already buggy like hell ^^ ), but yeah, since the game never got any proper W2k/XP/Vista/7/8.1/10 upgrade I guess it's finally the end, especially since Interplay seems as dead as a doornail... their webpage is mostly empty now, but it seems it was still alive some time ago...

It's really unbelievable to me that no one was able to do some kind of fan made patch or fix since the release in 1996, and it seems the original developer crew shifted into another dimension?! (or dead already?!)

Well. I'm going back to my corner and will shed some tears about the situation... :/


Regards
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vickerl: hi@all,

since the current available GOG version of MAX 1 (v1.04 - r21516) already contains the last available DOS/32A v9.12 extender, I had very high hopes to see round based gameplay above 100+ rounds... but sadly, nothing changed at all!

After I've crossed round 95, either from there the game crashes permanently everytime you try to end the round, or it developes some weird behavior, and finally after round 102-105 it's really game over, at least for me! :((

Tried it with 2 fresh game starts, until round 95 starts everything run smoothly, and after hitting round 96 you're doomed!

Really sad, because I totally like MAX 1 since its first appearance back in the 90's (then played on an P75 with W98SE, and already buggy like hell ^^ ), but yeah, since the game never got any proper W2k/XP/Vista/7/8.1/10 upgrade I guess it's finally the end, especially since Interplay seems as dead as a doornail... their webpage is mostly empty now, but it seems it was still alive some time ago...

It's really unbelievable to me that no one was able to do some kind of fan made patch or fix since the release in 1996, and it seems the original developer crew shifted into another dimension?! (or dead already?!)

Well. I'm going back to my corner and will shed some tears about the situation... :/

Regards
I think the problem is the total amount of units and AIs on the map and whether or not they do something to bug out the game - which is a matter of luck. I had 400+ turn games without issue at the same time I was also running into permabugs at about 200 turns a couple times. Playing vs 1 AI is definitely safer than a 4v4 ffa, however even a 4v4 game may work ok. One other thing you may want to do is to allocate 64mb of RAM memory in DOSbox instead of standard 16.
avatar
vickerl: hi@all,

since the current available GOG version of MAX 1 (v1.04 - r21516) already contains the last available DOS/32A v9.12 extender, I had very high hopes to see round based gameplay above 100+ rounds... but sadly, nothing changed at all!

After I've crossed round 95, either from there the game crashes permanently everytime you try to end the round, or it developes some weird behavior, and finally after round 102-105 it's really game over, at least for me! :((

Tried it with 2 fresh game starts, until round 95 starts everything run smoothly, and after hitting round 96 you're doomed!

Really sad, because I totally like MAX 1 since its first appearance back in the 90's (then played on an P75 with W98SE, and already buggy like hell ^^ ), but yeah, since the game never got any proper W2k/XP/Vista/7/8.1/10 upgrade I guess it's finally the end, especially since Interplay seems as dead as a doornail... their webpage is mostly empty now, but it seems it was still alive some time ago...

It's really unbelievable to me that no one was able to do some kind of fan made patch or fix since the release in 1996, and it seems the original developer crew shifted into another dimension?! (or dead already?!)

Well. I'm going back to my corner and will shed some tears about the situation... :/

Regards
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steinerrr: I think the problem is the total amount of units and AIs on the map and whether or not they do something to bug out the game - which is a matter of luck. I had 400+ turn games without issue at the same time I was also running into permabugs at about 200 turns a couple times. Playing vs 1 AI is definitely safer than a 4v4 ffa, however even a 4v4 game may work ok. One other thing you may want to do is to allocate 64mb of RAM memory in DOSbox instead of standard 16.
hello steinerr

well, increasing the DOSBOX memory (to 640MB) actually helped somewhat, but sadly held four rounds only... although the game then didn't crash with the memory error anymore, but stuck in the timer bug forever! (AI timer goes down till 00:00, and then... nothing happens anymore!) a shame... :/

regards
Post edited February 16, 2019 by vickerl
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steinerrr: I think the problem is the total amount of units and AIs on the map and whether or not they do something to bug out the game - which is a matter of luck. I had 400+ turn games without issue at the same time I was also running into permabugs at about 200 turns a couple times. Playing vs 1 AI is definitely safer than a 4v4 ffa, however even a 4v4 game may work ok. One other thing you may want to do is to allocate 64mb of RAM memory in DOSbox instead of standard 16.
avatar
vickerl: hello steinerr

well, increasing the DOSBOX memory (to 640MB) actually helped somewhat, but sadly held four rounds only... although the game then didn't crash with the memory error anymore, but stuck in the timer bug forever! (AI timer goes down till 00:00, and then... nothing happens anymore!) a shame... :/

regards
And one other thing - simultaneous turns games both go faster and are less bugged.
The only bugs I ever ran into in sim-turns were a couple times out of memory in 4v4 games.
However it can be overcome somewhat by reloading games from saves.

Also rarely - happened twice to me. AI may break the rules by building buildings in shared squares intersected with each other and once the construction finished and building was deployed - the game crashed immediately. Happened in my radar zone in sim turn game, so I was able to witness directly what was causing the crash.

Sim turn may be less perfect than true turn-based, but it is more practical for certain.
avatar
vickerl: hello steinerr

well, increasing the DOSBOX memory (to 640MB) actually helped somewhat, but sadly held four rounds only... although the game then didn't crash with the memory error anymore, but stuck in the timer bug forever! (AI timer goes down till 00:00, and then... nothing happens anymore!) a shame... :/

regards
avatar
steinerrr: And one other thing - simultaneous turns games both go faster and are less bugged.
The only bugs I ever ran into in sim-turns were a couple times out of memory in 4v4 games.
However it can be overcome somewhat by reloading games from saves.

Also rarely - happened twice to me. AI may break the rules by building buildings in shared squares intersected with each other and once the construction finished and building was deployed - the game crashed immediately. Happened in my radar zone in sim turn game, so I was able to witness directly what was causing the crash.

Sim turn may be less perfect than true turn-based, but it is more practical for certain.
yeah, will give it a try and step back to 1 enemy only + simultaneous moves...
but as mentioned in my initial post, it's really surprising no one took the chance and created some proper patch(es) since 1996! (and no, I'm no coder...)
avatar
steinerrr: Hi Guys,

Sorry, forgot I moved the file.

Also, it is better to use standard version M.A.X. 1.04 as I discovered, as 1.56 has a few nasty AI bugs, making the AI dumber.

So, here is a permanent link to MAX 1.04 patched with DOS32a extender.
I am currently running a game vs godlike AI 1vs1 at turn 412 with no issues - using simultaneous turns.

Please note, there may also be performance issues in huge games like this, as with giant amounts of units flooding the entire map it becomes extremely CPU demanding. In addition to DOS32a extender I recommend using manual CPU cycles 200,000+, normal2x graphics scaler and frameskip 1x, even if you have a latest Corei7.

h t t p s : / / w w w .dropbox.com/s/05yze5nre9aaz4g/MAX1.04patchedDOS32a.zip?dl=0
Did this fix the problem with crashing at high turn counts or is a solution still remaining elusive.
avatar
steinerrr: Hi Guys,

Sorry, forgot I moved the file.

Also, it is better to use standard version M.A.X. 1.04 as I discovered, as 1.56 has a few nasty AI bugs, making the AI dumber.

So, here is a permanent link to MAX 1.04 patched with DOS32a extender.
I am currently running a game vs godlike AI 1vs1 at turn 412 with no issues - using simultaneous turns.

Please note, there may also be performance issues in huge games like this, as with giant amounts of units flooding the entire map it becomes extremely CPU demanding. In addition to DOS32a extender I recommend using manual CPU cycles 200,000+, normal2x graphics scaler and frameskip 1x, even if you have a latest Corei7.

h t t p s : / / w w w .dropbox.com/s/05yze5nre9aaz4g/MAX1.04patchedDOS32a.zip?dl=0
avatar
SpellSword: Did this fix the problem with crashing at high turn counts or is a solution still remaining elusive.
It does not remove the issue completely, but it is becoming manageable with frequent saving and reloading.
There is some problem with memory management by the game obviously, even if 64mb is set (maximum for DOS I think).

Games with 500 turns and any other amount become possible.
The limiting factor are actually huge quantities of units produced by godlike AIs, this is what stretches RAM to the crashing point.

But with save reloading and DOS32a it is usually manageable and when units clash and as numbers go back down - the game generally returns into optimised state.

I personally found best setup to be 3-sided matches using simultaneous turns.
in 3-sided games 2 AIs frequently face off each other and clash, helping to keep unit populations in check and greatly reduce crashes and stalls.
Post edited July 04, 2019 by steinerrr
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steinerrr: And one other thing - simultaneous turns games both go faster and are less bugged.
The only bugs I ever ran into in sim-turns were a couple times out of memory in 4v4 games.
However it can be overcome somewhat by reloading games from saves.

Also rarely - happened twice to me. AI may break the rules by building buildings in shared squares intersected with each other and once the construction finished and building was deployed - the game crashed immediately. Happened in my radar zone in sim turn game, so I was able to witness directly what was causing the crash.

Sim turn may be less perfect than true turn-based, but it is more practical for certain.
avatar
vickerl: yeah, will give it a try and step back to 1 enemy only + simultaneous moves...
but as mentioned in my initial post, it's really surprising no one took the chance and created some proper patch(es) since 1996! (and no, I'm no coder...)
There might simply be no source code for this game anymore, as it is a 16-bit engine from mid-90s and Interplay has been defunct for a very long time now.

And reverse engineering using something like Ida Pro requires some really high programming and hacking skills and work-hours investment, which may not be commercially viable for GoG to commit (if they even have anyone with those skills)
Well, I feel somehow lost in this thread and in the proposed ways of fixing the issues.

Could someone from the experienced M.A.X. players explain for me, what have I finally to do to minimize the chance of those issues appear (if not resolving them completely)?

Thanks in advance.
To be honest, I have only come across these long game "crashes" a looong time ago, when I still played the game in a pentium PC with Win XP on it. I can count on one hand the times I lost games due to crashes (and even then I always used alternating saves, so I could easily restore from there and change the "future" of what would happen in the next turns)
Since I've been playing the GOG release (I got it around 2010??) I didn't have a single problem. Since then, I also changed playstyle. Back in the day, I used to be super careful and play on defensive mode, spamming the map full of towers. Since I switched to playing the game more aggressively and pretty much not building any turrets anymore, I didn't have a single crash.
I still applied the dos32a patch to see if dosbox' speed would improve, never seen any problem after that either.
The only problem I still had was the "countdown to zero" problem, when the computer's turn would never end. The solution I found to that was constantly moving the map while the A.I. turn's lasts, it's more effective if you scroll the map with the mouse than with the keyboard. It seems like if you keep your CPU "occupied" scrolling the mouse makes the AI behave properly. The reason for that I don't know, I just know that doing this works.
And please, always use alternating saves, missions in this game are long, don't rely on a single save. Change slots every 5 turns or so, so you can easily go back in time if anything happens.

Oh wait, I remember another thing: regarding the "AI neverending turn" thingy, I manually edited the MAX.INI file in order to increase turn times. I set the player's turn to the maximum possible value (16 minutes if I recall correctly) and the "End Turn" timer to 999 or something like that. Never had a problem since. But I still scroll the map during the AI's turn in order to make it pass faster. If I leave the computer untouched while the AI moves, it seems to last much longer, for some reason.
It's really really sad to see such an incredible game being treated this way, the guys allegedly lost the source code?? After programming the "best skirmish AI in a game ever" ?? Yeah, what a fantastic move for your programming career right there, holy baby jesus... And really sad to see that the sequel MAX2 was also riddled with bugs. What's wrong with those guys? Were their offices cursed or what? Amazing... When you see things like OpenXcom or even Diablo being recently reverse-engineered, you start to wonder if the same would happen to MAX if only the developers took a little more care of it.
Post edited August 02, 2019 by FeelingShred