GK3 gameplay question

Voodoo got the best of you? Need a hint? Want to talk about Gabriel Knight? This is the place to do it!
Post Reply
User avatar
Rath Darkblade
The Cute One
Posts: 12771
Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2008 5:15 am
Location: Lost in Translation
Gender: Male
Contact:

GK3 gameplay question

Post by Rath Darkblade »

...so I started playing GK3 again (after nearly 20 years), and I'm wondering whether I can play it in a window. I've used the SHP installer to install the game properly (thank you, Collector!), and there's an option to configure the game prior to running it.

Unfortunately, any resolution less than 1280 x 960 fails - I get an error message telling me "Sorry, this program requires support for 16-bit colour mode". That's okay, as I'm not looking to run the game with such low resolution.

Unfortunately, even though I specifically pick the "Windowed" option, the game still runs in full-screen mode.

Any idea what I can do to run it in a window? i'm using Windows 7 Professional 64-bit with Service Pack 1. Thanks! :)
User avatar
Tawmis
Grand Poobah's Servant
Posts: 20764
Joined: Wed Oct 08, 2008 1:19 am
Gender: Not Specified
Contact:

Re: GK3 gameplay question

Post by Tawmis »

Rath Darkblade wrote:...so I started playing GK3 again (after nearly 20 years), and I'm wondering whether I can play it in a window. I've used the SHP installer to install the game properly (thank you, Collector!), and there's an option to configure the game prior to running it.

Unfortunately, any resolution less than 1280 x 960 fails - I get an error message telling me "Sorry, this program requires support for 16-bit colour mode". That's okay, as I'm not looking to run the game with such low resolution.

Unfortunately, even though I specifically pick the "Windowed" option, the game still runs in full-screen mode.

Any idea what I can do to run it in a window? i'm using Windows 7 Professional 64-bit with Service Pack 1. Thanks! :)
Did you try hitting ALT and ENTER at the same time?
User avatar
Rath Darkblade
The Cute One
Posts: 12771
Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2008 5:15 am
Location: Lost in Translation
Gender: Male
Contact:

Re: GK3 gameplay question

Post by Rath Darkblade »

Yes, but that does nothing other than produce the Windows "Bing!" noise.
User avatar
mendosa
Sierra Obsessed
Posts: 149
Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2010 3:40 am
Gender: Male
Location: Cracovia, Polonia, Universum

Re: GK3 gameplay question

Post by mendosa »

Maybe try this: https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/ ... 064638118/

I used it to run Sanitarium in windowed mode.
User avatar
Rath Darkblade
The Cute One
Posts: 12771
Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2008 5:15 am
Location: Lost in Translation
Gender: Male
Contact:

Re: GK3 gameplay question

Post by Rath Darkblade »

Alas, it does not work. :(

That could be because GK3 is not a Steam game!
User avatar
mendosa
Sierra Obsessed
Posts: 149
Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2010 3:40 am
Gender: Male
Location: Cracovia, Polonia, Universum

Re: GK3 gameplay question

Post by mendosa »

Sanitarium wasn't a Steam game, too, and it worked. I think that it's something in your OS settings.

EDIT - do you have an older 32 bit OS? You might use Virtual Machine to run it and test. The game also runs on Linux via Wine:

https://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager. ... on&iId=515

EDIT 2 - "Also if you are going to add -window after the .exe executable make sure you run as administrator.

Some games have a .ini file in the games directory. Most games have a line under [Display] called fullscreen=enabled. Change to disabled."

Quotation from TomsHardware.co.uk.
adeyke
Oldbie
Posts: 799
Joined: Wed Sep 16, 2009 11:47 pm

Re: GK3 gameplay question

Post by adeyke »

The windowed mode apparently requires that your desktop resolution be set to 16 bit color, so it might not be possible on a recent Windows.
User avatar
Rath Darkblade
The Cute One
Posts: 12771
Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2008 5:15 am
Location: Lost in Translation
Gender: Male
Contact:

Re: GK3 gameplay question

Post by Rath Darkblade »

Thank you, mendosa and adeyke.

I'm running Win7 64-bit, so that's not it. :(

I don't have a *.ini file, but I do have a sierra.inf file; however, that file doesn't have a "fullscreen" attribute in it. So I can't change that.

adeyke, you're right - I can't run it in 16-bit colour. However, I can run it in 256 colours (under the Compatibility tab) - would that help?
adeyke
Oldbie
Posts: 799
Joined: Wed Sep 16, 2009 11:47 pm

Re: GK3 gameplay question

Post by adeyke »

256 colors would be too few.
User avatar
Rath Darkblade
The Cute One
Posts: 12771
Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2008 5:15 am
Location: Lost in Translation
Gender: Male
Contact:

Re: GK3 gameplay question

Post by Rath Darkblade »

So... anything else I can try? *crosses fingers*
User avatar
BBP
Village Elder
Posts: 5064
Joined: Thu Mar 26, 2009 3:07 am
Gender: Not Specified
Contact:

Re: GK3 gameplay question

Post by BBP »

There's a new script around: PHANTASMAGORIA - A Puzzle Of Flesh! Check the Script Party topic in the Bard's Forum!
Skip to new scripts
User avatar
Rath Darkblade
The Cute One
Posts: 12771
Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2008 5:15 am
Location: Lost in Translation
Gender: Male
Contact:

Re: GK3 gameplay question

Post by Rath Darkblade »

Not yet. *tries* Well... all I can see with the config tool are the settings to use:

1. Full Screen/Window; and
2. Resolution - from 640x480 onwards.

I'm sure I'm missing something very obvious, but I can't think what. Any ideas?

I tried setting the resolution to the lowest I could while still getting the game to run - in this case, it was 1280x960.

Thanks! :-)
User avatar
BBP
Village Elder
Posts: 5064
Joined: Thu Mar 26, 2009 3:07 am
Gender: Not Specified
Contact:

Re: GK3 gameplay question

Post by BBP »

Did you run the config tool as admin?
There's a new script around: PHANTASMAGORIA - A Puzzle Of Flesh! Check the Script Party topic in the Bard's Forum!
Skip to new scripts
User avatar
Rath Darkblade
The Cute One
Posts: 12771
Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2008 5:15 am
Location: Lost in Translation
Gender: Male
Contact:

Re: GK3 gameplay question

Post by Rath Darkblade »

Yes... still no joy.
User avatar
mendosa
Sierra Obsessed
Posts: 149
Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2010 3:40 am
Gender: Male
Location: Cracovia, Polonia, Universum

Re: GK3 gameplay question

Post by mendosa »

Download a free OS, like Lubuntu (32 bit), download free virtual machine, like Oracle VM VirtualBox. Set the properties in VM, install virtual OS, then configure Wine, and install the Game. IMHO it must work.
Post Reply

Return to “The Gabriel Knight Series”