JK patching doesn't work

[DregSmoker Dixie]

So while looking for a good fix to DF II on steam, everyone I ask points me in this direction http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/f9rh1/modding_guide_star_wars_jedi_knight_dark_forces/

Apparently, that supposedly works for everyone except me. I followed the instructions to a T, making sure that JK.EXE was not read-only, running the patcher as administrator, adding the extra command functions in steam, tried making a shortcut etc, but nothing works. When I attempt to launch the game, nothing happes. My status shows me playing the game for about 4 seconds, then goes back to being online. The game doesn't start up basically. I ran the patcher as administrator, which seems to have worked on the exe, but if I just double click the patcher without admin mode, Windows 7 brings up an error "This application is not a proper win32 application".

Any help from anyone on these forums? This has frustrated me to no end. I really want to re-live this game, as it was on of the first star wars games I ever played, but nothing is working, and it's making me extremely upset to find that no one else is having this issue. Can anyone point me in the direction of a better patch? It'd be much appreciated.

[DregSmoker Dixie]

Yup. As written, I followed the patching instructions to a T. However, now it seems my game won't even start up. A fresh install doesn't do anything. The game still doesn't boot even with a fresh install.

[DregSmoker Dixie]

Just freshly installed the game again and it still wonw't load. This is the steam vanilla install version, mind you. I used all the normal tricks I can think of that used to work, using the ddraw fix, setting compatibility options to win 98, running as administrator, but the game just refuses to load.

I believe I have seriously ♥♥♥♥♥♥ this game into oblivion at this point. If it matters, Mysteries of the Sith does the same thing. I attempt to launch it and it doesn't come up.

[DregSmoker Dixie]

Nope, didn't work. I guess I'm ♥♥♥♥♥♥. It just refuses to start now, without the notification that I'm playing the game.

[Raven (Aloha Dude)]

Did you try restarting the computer between installs? Sometimes when JK.exe crashes, it stays resident in system memory and it won't load again until it is Force Closed or the system is restarted. Best of luck finding a solution. For me, I ended up having to use good old software rendering to get it to play. No fancy textures/models for me, but at least it works. I found the command line "-displayconfig -windowgui" to be integral to get the game to run.

[Raven (Aloha Dude)]

I went into the Jedi Knight folder in steam and created a shortcut on JK.exe. This is the Target Path I use, which lets me start the game.

TARGET: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Star Wars Jedi Knight\JK.EXE" -windowgui -displayconfig

I also have it set to Disable Visual Themes and Desktop Composition. I should mention that I am running Windows 7 Home 64bit.

If you can get the game to start with those settings, then go to SETUP... DISPLAY... ADVANCED (display config will activate the Advanced menu option). From there set Display Devices to "[SW:NON-3D] DIBsectionwindowed display" and set 3D Devices to "[SW]RenderDroid." The Key is to use RenderDroid. You may also find a RenderDroid under [SW:3D] or [HW:3D] but they may not work as well. I found my above settings to work the best, but feel free to experiment. Press OK. Choose a resolution. Since we are using software rendering, you probably won't have access to HD resolutions or aspects. I went with 1024x768, which created a window that filled up the center of my screen nicely without spilling off the side. Again, you may want to experiement to find what works for you.

I'm using SteamFix JK.EXE which is patched to the Unofficial Patch. I found that using the Command Prompt to run the patches worked the best because you can read the feedback if it was successful or not. If you run it from My Computer, you may miss an error message preventing the patch from being successfully applied. I'm not using the dDraw fix because it didn't work with my AMD Drivers. I may roll them back to 13.1 one of these days to try out the HW rendering but for now, I'm happy with the software functionality. If you have any questions let me know. Good luck.

P.S. I installed the JK Music fix and it rocks! Highly recommended if you get the game to run. It really adds to the immersion experience. :)

[DregSmoker Dixie]

Hate to say it, but still not getting results. Tried the above method and it just refuses to start. Yes, I also restarted my computer this time. I've tried making a shortcut to the game, using the -windowgui and -displayconfig commands in the Target field of said shortcut, tried adding those to the steam game page to see if it would change, but the game just won't start.

I just guess it won't work for me at this point. It's a shame, because now I suppose the only way I can play this game again is if I break out my windows xp system. Thanks for all the help in the thread though.

[Raven (Aloha Dude)]

Just out of curiosity, could you post your CPU, GPU, System Ram, GPU Driver version, Windows version, and any other pertinent info? That could help us shed some light on this mystery.

[Kara]

I'm actually having the exact same problem as DudeDesigns and I have went through the exact same steps. I've had this game for about 2 years now and I still can't get it to work.

[DregSmoker Dixie]

All the luck to you mate, I never got it to work. I just assume my windows version is too modern at this point. Hope you sort it out, because apparently everyone else can get theres to work.

As for my system information, pardon the late post but I didn't post because it probably won't work.

CPU: Intel Core i7 @ 2.30 GHZ
GPU: Intel HD 4000 Series
RAM: 8 Gigs, 1 dedicated Video
GPU Driver is the lastest
And Windows is of couse 7 Home Premium.

[Xianese]

I've got this exact same issues as well and still not figured out a way of getting it to work. Will keep trying and let you know though.

[Xianese]

For what it's worth, this got the game running for me:

http://steamcommunity.com/app/32380/discussions/0/846943082477130953/

Now just getting a "level not loading" issue -_-

[[JECS] SOLiD]

My game wouldn't load either after following the reddit instructions. I did two things differently, not sure which one made it work.

After downloading JKEnhanced, you have to run jke.bat (not mentioned on reddit)

And finally, the launch options was a bit different on Neogaf:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=25545971

I changed to "-windowgui -path JKE" and it worked for me (without the quotes)

Good luck!

SOLiD