Generals Zero Hour won't work...

steger · Post by **steger** » 31 Jul 2005, 20:24

Hi all,

Nice to see a site devoted to helping out widescreen problems. I'm new to this.

I searched the forum for a solution to have zero hour run in 1680x1050. And followed it...

- I ran the game once.
- Changed the options.ini to 1680x1050
- and expected it to work.

But it doesn't work at all, in fact it loads up in 800x600 and i am only allowed to chose from 1024x768 and 800x600 in the in-game menu. It looks real bad. HELP!

Apple cinema 20"
6800GT
detonator 77.72

Cheers

Dazz · Post by **Dazz** » 02 Aug 2005, 18:56

It does work what you do is change the options needed in the options menu in game then exit then change the .ini but DO NOT save any options from ingame once you have changed the .ini file other wise it will defualt back to it's standard mode and you will have to go back into the .ini file and change it again.

steger · Post by **steger** » 03 Aug 2005, 16:46

That's just what i've done - and it doesn't work. The resolution is poor (looks like 800x600) and it is stretched!

Is that really the only solution to a great game! This sucks! Someone please help.

KOJiN · Post by **KOJiN** » 25 Jan 2006, 11:21

Strange it worked for me. As long as i dont go into options after changing the ini its fine.

On another note you can get past the vert- cropping in widescreen by editing the "MaxCameraHeight" in the INIZH.big file using notepad or any text editor. Just increase that a bit and you can zoom out further making up for the cropping :D

Chances are that this would work on regular generals too but i havent checked.

neoWidescreen · Post by **neoWidescreen** » 27 Jan 2006, 17:19

Paddy may want to post this as a seperate thread or update this thread. Also, any chance of permanently hosting my modified file?

C&C GENERALS ZERO HOUR - WIDESCREENED. :)

* RESOLUTION - Change it by editing OPTIONS.INI under your "my documentsCommand and Conquer Generals Zero Hour Data" folder as previously listed on this thread.

* FOV - follows on from what KOJiN said. If you are lazy, you can download my edited version from v1.04 (should work fine in 1.06 and 1.08 too). UNZIP the file GAMEDATA.INI to: "%your install path%Command & Conquer Generals Zero HourDataINI". If you want to return Generals back to normal, just delete gamedata.ini. Simple.

modding FOV yourself: for leet hax0rs
if you want to edit it yourself, google "FinalBig" and download it, open INIZH.BIG (located where you installed C&C Generals Zero Hour), extract GAMEDATA.INI, edit "MaxCameraHeight" from a default value of 310 to something higher, then save your modified gamedata.ini to "%your install path%Command & Conquer Generals Zero HourDataINI".

SCREENSHOTS
i've uploaded some screenshots to show you the difference in MaxCameraHeight.

1920x1200, MaxCameraHeight = 310 [default]

1920x1200, MaxCameraHeight = 410

1920x1200, MaxCameraHeight = 610

I love setting it to 610... looks sensational on my 24" screen. Here's a full-sized game screenshot to show you just how good it looks.

...the best bit, if you make this change, then go to a LAN party, don't tell them about this hack. ;) You can claim it's just the widescreen that's giving you the advantage. :lol:

KOJiN · Post by **KOJiN** » 27 Jan 2006, 18:35

Yep spot on neoWidescreen. Thats exactly how i did it ... prob should've said in a bit more detail, whoops :roll:. I'm running it on ver 1.08 and have no problems.

Just one thing to keep in mind is that this can cause a bit of a performance hit, as your showing a fair bit more on the screen, so dont get too carried away :D

neoWidescreen · Post by **neoWidescreen** » 28 Jan 2006, 00:31

KOJiN: Yeah, i know there's a slight performance hit... but i prefer watching my nukes in slow-mo. :P :lol: At MaxCameraHeight=610 I didn't notice any decernable lag on my 6800GT, with the exception of super-weapons. But then it's always lagged when you use nukes/scuds.

I haven't updated to 1.08... no need; the changelog says it adds compatibility for the complete C&C pack. Personally i'd go back to 1.03 for the legendary scud-hack if i could... works great at lan's. :wink:

Post by **Paddy the Wak** » 28 Jan 2006, 18:44

Hello ...
I don't have these games and I would like to update the "Solution" C&C GENERALS ... please excuse my ignorance but ... is ZERO HOUR an add on for C&C for GENERALS ? ... and if so does this solution apply to both ?

Cheers ... :D

Post by **Paradigm Shifter** » 28 Jan 2006, 19:57

Zero Hour is the addon. :)

When it came out it appeared as if it broke widescreen support (like patch 1.4 for Dawn of War did...) so I never bothered to get it...

KOJiN · Post by **KOJiN** » 28 Jan 2006, 19:59

Hey Paddy, yes zero hour is an addon for generals, however it creates its own seperate install. So instead of editing the value in "inizh.big" (which is where "gamedata.ini" mentioned by neo comes from) you would edit the same field in "ini.big" in the generals root dir. I've just tested it and both fixes work on the original generals too :)

Looks like we have a working fix :D

neoWidescreen · Post by **neoWidescreen** » 29 Jan 2006, 10:32

Since we're all falling over Paddy to help him, it's worth mentioning that although ZH creates it's own installation, you *must* still have the original Generals installed - otherwise ZH doesn't load. Once you've played Zero Hour, you'll never go back to the original Generals. ZH is so much more diverse and interesting (and hence fun!)

I just hope everyone understands that when you unpack the gamedata.ini you DO NOT have to re-insert it into "INIZH.BIG". You can if you want to be super-leet, but it's easier to edit when left in the INI folder.

KOJiN... we do have a working solution. I think we've done a pretty good job too. ;) *pat ourselves on the back*

Post by **Paddy the Wak** » 29 Jan 2006, 11:23

... thanks guys ... 8)

I have updated the "Solution" it is here ... Solution: Command & Conquer: Generals & ZH [Edit]

Please let me know if it isn't quite right ... 8)
Any thoughts on a better way to title the "Solution" I could't fit it all in ... ?

Also ... neoWidescreen could you do us a screenshot a comparison shot at a normal 4x3 res from the same spot in the game ... and I will add it to the Solution ... thanks ... :D

neoWidescreen · Post by **neoWidescreen** » 29 Jan 2006, 13:19

Great work Paddy! A lot of surfers will appreciate this solution I'm sure.

The solution name is okay; if you could shorten Command & Conquer to "C&C" if you wanted. Most people (even EA's website) use this abbreviation.

4:3 screenshot here (i was going to take this at 800x600 so it looked really crappy compared to the widescreen shots. ;) But that wouldn't be fair)

Also paddy, it is possible to host that ZIP file somewhere? i'll eventually delete it knowing me.

Post by **Paddy the Wak** » 29 Jan 2006, 13:24

Also paddy, it is possible to host that ZIP file somewhere? i'll eventually delete it knowing me.

I'll see what can be done ... and get back to you ... 8)

Thanks for the 4x3 ... it is now added to the Solution ... 8) :D

Post by **Paradigm Shifter** » 29 Jan 2006, 15:07

The solution name is okay; if you could shorten Command & Conquer to "C&C" if you wanted. Most people (even EA's website) use this abbreviation.

Some of the best times I had DOS gaming involved typing "CD C&C" followed by "C&C"... :D

Even the install program called Command and Conquer, C&C... 8)

Post by **Paddy the Wak** » 29 Jan 2006, 18:56

Also paddy, it is possible to host that ZIP file somewhere? i'll eventually delete it knowing me.

Done ... :D ... your link has been modified ... :wink:

neoWidescreen · Post by **neoWidescreen** » 30 Jan 2006, 12:05

Some of the best times I had DOS gaming involved typing "CD C&C" followed by "C&C"... :D

*Dreamy sigh* those were great days, weren't they? When a 17" monitor was SOOOO HUGE. ;) And there was only 1 game that used more than 2 CD's - Myst. :P

But we digress. Anyone got the original C&C to work on widescreen? :P

Shalashaska · Post by **Shalashaska** » 30 Jan 2006, 13:39

[quote]Some of the best times I had DOS gaming involved typing "CD C&C" followed by "C&C"... :D

*Dreamy sigh* those were great days, weren't they? When a 17" monitor was SOOOO HUGE. ;) And there was only 1 game that used more than 2 CD's - Myst. :P

But we digress. Anyone got the original C&C to work on widescreen? :P

Nope and Ra2 also won't work. Yeah for offline but not online, and i miss buttons 2 on Ra2, the button random map :cry: and it really pisses me off :evil:

Fellblade · Post by **Fellblade** » 22 Feb 2006, 01:45

Great solution! Is there anyway to get this to work online though with multiplayer? If I edit the maxcameraheight to anything other than default, it won't connect with anyone else. (Version mismatch errors). Thanks!

neoWidescreen · Post by **neoWidescreen** » 22 Feb 2006, 16:29

Fellblade, I get that too. I presume it's considered a "cheat". I have not yet tried this on a LAN with everyone running the same cameraheight hack.

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