Just got the game from Iceberg today

It installs just fine, but it just doesn't want to start even when I choose run as administrator

I'm using win7 64-bit

Any ideas?

EDIT: Started browsing about this problem. And it would seem I am not the only one. Hope I didn't buy a lemon.....

EDIT2: Just had a thought. Now trying to install it on my XP VM. As opposed to Win7, autorun kicked in without a hitch in XP Home. Now installing Physx.... visual C++... DirectX .. all good so far. Now it's about to install AMD Processor driver. installed.

Drat. Now the game wants to start, but freezes at title screen and an error message appears stating that "Failed to initialize Direct 3D because your hardware couldn't recognize some set or another". Darn

If you are using VirtualPC, a game that requires 3D hardware acceleration won't work because VirtualPC emulates an old S3 Trio from the 1990's that is a 2D card that only has about 8 MB of video RAM. It might work with VMware or VirtualBox since those have experimental 3D video.

You could also try emulating 3D video hardware inside your VM with 3D-Analyze if your VM has enough RAM
http://www.3dfxzone.it/dir/tools/3d_analyze/index.php

System requirements I found on the Iceberg websit are


But I've seen higher requirements listed for the video card listed.

jeez the print is small on this box! when did this game come out??

Does this mean I can never run it on win7 64-bit? Now I'm starting to wonder if I should buy episode 2.....

Maybe I should have looked before I lept...

EDIT: Ok. I think I've downloaded the right version. If I read you correctly, I need to install this inside my Xp Vm and then try to run the game?

If you're trying to run the game on an XP VM, try using 3d-Analyze. Without it, Virtual PC has NO chance of playing the game (assuming you have Virtual PC and not VMware or VirtualBox).

I'm not sure if Adam's Venture will work in Windows 7 or not -- especially the 64-bit version. You could try emailing Iceberg. There's an email link on this site
http://www.iceberg-interactive.com/support/techsupport.html
If the game doesn't work in Windows 7, they should put out a patch.

Adam's Venture 2 is supposed to work on Windows 7.

pffff what a nood I am.

I've decided to install Virtual Box. From what I could understand, I should be able to run Adam's Venture on it WITHOUT havint to install 3D-Analyse, since Vbox already emulates 3D?

If so, can't I just keep Virtual Box and uninstall Virtual PC?

I think 3D in VirtualBox is still in the experimental phase. But at least they're trying.

VMware Player is also free, last time I checked.

VirtualBox has a problem if you want to use Windows 95 or 98 VM's. It's OK with XP though.

Sometimes an old game works better with one emulation program than with another. If you've got space on your hard drive, you could keep both. If you find VirtualBox does everything you need, use that.

well, I took one teeny baby step forward: I tried starting the game via Vbox and this time I first got the play/support/quit screen. I clicked to play then I get the screen with title, legalese etc. That's where the game freezes, but not Virtual Box. Strange....

Just be aware that VirtualBox and VMware are not emulating the recommended cards for the game, which are ATI Radeon or Nvidia Geforce cards. If a game is fussy about what type of card you're using or what drivers you're using, it may not work.

Try 3D-Analyze. It was specifically made for games. VirtualBox was not.

now I'm confused. I understand that a certain game can be fussy about drivers/cards etc. But is 3D-Analyze an add-on for either of the vm programs or is it a standalone application???

Not sure if this is of any help, but the game needs the right version of PhysX to run. During installation it also installs extra files that PhysX needs. This is the case with both Adams Venture 1 and 2.
I have Win 7 32 bit and did have a problem with the right version of Physx. But after sorting this out both games ran beautifully on Win 7.

3D-Analyze is not an add-on.
3D-Analyze is a utility that allows a computer to emulate hardware T&L in software -- so if you have a computer without a 3D capable video card, it can run a 3D-accelerated game with the help of 3D-Analyze. It's not specifically for a Virtual Machine, but it might work with Virtual PC as long as the VM has enough RAM allotted.

Upsydaisy's idea is a good one though, if you want to try playing the game in Windows 7 again. Make sure you have the right version of PhysX for the game installed on your Windows 7 computer. I don't know if 64-bit is a problem, but at least we know the game will run in 32-bit Windows 7.

re: upsydaisy's comment: When I first tried to install the game on win7 I had checked all boxes (that included physx and some sort of utility for AMD processors). No joy.

I will try again. Maybe if I play with my compatibility settings...

If you have a newer version of PhysX installed, the version that the game uses won't install. That means you would have to uninstall your current version of PhysX before you install what the game uses.

sorry it took me so long to get back to y'all. I've tried everything you suggested, even contacted both Vertigo and Iceberg. I was rather disappointed in the lack of effort both of them put into assisting me other than giving me the traditional "update your graphics card drivers" spiel. what I find most strange is, they advertise having created this game using the Unreal Engine. Well I've succesfully BOTH Unreal and Unreal return to NaPali WITHOUT any tweating. So I fail to understand how my processor can't process this game.....

Oh well. This game may end up in the Trading pile..

Since it just doesn't start in Windows 7 64-bit (as opposed to giving the Direct3D error message the way it does in Virtual PC), it's possible that a NoCD might help.

forgive my noobness Jenny but I've checked the game's system requirements.

Is my ATI Radeon HD 4300/4500 series more performant than the suggested X1300?

Is it me or is the game geared more toward the GeForce series?

Your card is better -- as long as it's a physical card and not onboard graphics.

The game uses PhysX, which can only be rendered in hardware using a Geforce card. So yes the game is geared more toward the Geforce series, though it should play fine with your card.

Hence my problem. I've update my own ATI drivers to the latest ones.

As for the nocd part, does it mean I need to copy the whole content of the Adams venture cd without installing, and then use the nocd?

Lastly, whenever I try to install the AMD software, it keeps telling me it isn't compatible but still lets me launch (or try to) the game. So why install it at all?

I'm lost. Before I give up on this game altogether, could I send you a copy of my dxdiag so you could get a better picture of my situation please?

Hope it's not asking too much...

You need to apply the NoCD after installing the game.


I think you mean the PhysX software. The hardware version isn't compatible with ATI cards, but the software version should work. So I'd ignore the error as long as the game works.


I don't know if it will clear matters up, but feel free to go ahead and post it in the forum. If I don't see any problem, Inland or one of our other GB members may spot something.

I have Win7 64 bit and I too had problems with the game. Turned out all i needed to do was to remove my latest PhysX drivers and let the game install the outdated ones. Seems kinda dull, 'cause I bought the game as downloadable, that the game isn't fixed straight to modern pc