Hi Lant,
Although it's been almost 20 years, I suddenly got the urge to try to play Black and White again, and I am very appreciative of the time and energy you have put into making this site!
I wanted to post in this thread as it looks like I got the same error message described by coopkramer. In the long run, copying the installation folder provided in the last message has worked! If anyone visiting this thread just wants to get it running, use the .7z file attached above.
However, I did try a number of methods to try to debug the issue and I took notes as I went. In the hopes that my efforts may aid anyone in making future updates or give hope to anyone else having my issues, I have decided to upload my debugging notes. I am sure they are overly verbose for the average reader to which I would respond "Tough. I'm an engineer and this is how I solve problems". Hopefully they will come to some use. Also note that it's been a while since I have gotten games with ISO files, cracks, and unofficial patches, so I already know I'm not as savvy as the young'ins.
Debug notes - THIS FIRST PART DID NOT WORK FOR ME
- Install Black and white to default folder (using ISO from myabandonware) which was C:\Program Files (x86)\Lionhead Studios Ltd\Black & White.
- Install patch 1.3 (I am assuming this is the official one) using all default options
- Download p5dll.dll and put it into the C:\Program Files (x86)\Lionhead Studios Ltd\Black & White
- Give "Full control" as described to the C:\Program Files (x86)\Lionhead Studios Ltd folder
- Rename runblack.exe to runblack_old.exe. Then copy runblack.exe from crack folder of ISO to C:\Program Files (x86)\Lionhead Studios Ltd\Black & White. I am assuming this is the method to implement the no-cd crack which it seems is needed for the next step. I did not do any other addons or creature unlocker.
- Install BaW patch version 2.0 on this site.
- Copy folders within <Mounted ISO>\Audio\Music to C:\Program Files (x86)\Lionhead Studios Ltd\Black & White\Audio\Music
- Run Setup.exe in C:\Program Files (x86)\Lionhead Studios Ltd\Black & White as administrator and set resolution to 1024x768 and verify graphics are set to "Maximum Level Detail"
- No alterations to registry or compatibility mode (verified it was unchecked)
- Attempt to run runblack.exe as admin. Result: Get messagebox that says "The procedure entrypoint ?Initialise@LHDebugStack@@QBEHXZ could not be located in the dynamic link library C:\Program Files (x86)\Lionhead Studios Ltd\Black & White\runblack.exe"
Other things I tried when debugging
- Restarted the computer. Result: no difference
- Attempt to delete cracked version of runblack.exe and run as admin. Result: nothing happens. Interestingly this is different response than when using the cracked version (no error message thrown)
- Run not as admin. Result: No change
- Setting to lower resolution (I have 800x600 and 640x480 options). Result: No change
- Change "Direct3D Driver" in Setup.exe and re-run. I have 2 options for my machine "AMD Radeon™ RX Vega 11 Graphics \ Microsoft Direct3D Hardware acceleration t..." and "AMD Radeon™ RX Vega 11 Graphics \ Microsoft Direct3D Hardware Transform an..." (the rest gets cut off in the drop down so I can't see the whole thing)
I'm thinking some potential root causes for the error are
- Issue with myabandonware ISO
- Issue with recent Windows 10 update that requires changing this procedure
- Issue with using no-cd crack - should I have done the copy procedure described above or is there some other way to do it?
- Issue with p5dll.dll - Is the C:\Program Files (x86)\Lionhead Studios Ltd\Black & White path the correct one or is the "game folder" described in the instructions elsewhere?
- Issue with Setup.exe - I noticed the drop down for "Color Depth" is empty. Is this expected?
- Issue with graphics card. I have AMD Vega 11 integrated graphics.
What is working so far
Using the .7z folder in this thread, I copied the provided <InstalledBlackAndWhite>\Lionhead Studios Ltd\Black & White folder to C:\Program Files (x86)\Lionhead Studios Ltd after renaming the original folder to "Black & White_old". I did not run/change the .reg file or Setup.exe. Then I ran runblack.exe as administrator. It kinda works! Only issue is it comes up in a little box in the upper left hand corner of the screen - This gets solved below.
Some notes:
- After successful run, I went into setup.exe and noted that the "... Hardware accelerat..." version of the Direct3D driver was selected and the color depth drop-sown was still blank. Re-ran at higher resolution (1024x768) and it still worked.
- The program really doesn't like it when I alt+tab out of play. Switching in and out of the program after it was working has been... fun
- I attempted to change the resolution in the registry and noticed that the ScreenD value was set to 2 (not 32 as indicated in the installation instructions). I left the settings at 1920x1080x2 and it now fits my whole screen – Woo hoo! Oddly this fixed the alt+tab crashing problem described above... weird.
- With dangerous curiosity, I changed my ScreenD value to 32, and that also works... for now. It's generally against my better judgement to go against "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", but thought I'd give it a whirl for the name of science.
Enough of my ramblings. Best of luck to you all and I'll update this thread if anything changes!
