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JoshRMT
Contributor
Contributor

Paying 1000$ for anyone that can get SWTOR working on VMWare Workstation

I will PayPal or bank transfer $1000 to anyone that can get the new PC game 'Starwars:  The Old Republic' working properly on VMWare Workstation.  Simple as that.  I am willing to discuss the issue on the phone, I just need a solution ASAP.  If you are interested in helping me with this, please email me at joshrmt@gmail.com.

Thanks,

Josh Griffith

A frustrated VMWare Workstation customer

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46 Replies
JoshRMT
Contributor
Contributor

I forgot to mention, the problem is that the game has a 'black screen' the entire time.  I am extremely confident that it is a video driver issue with VMWare Tools / SWTOR.

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Bernd_Nowak
Hot Shot
Hot Shot

Not interested in the money but according to the system specs it needs shader 3.0 support and runs with DX9 (Windows XP). According to the VMware 8.x product page it has Shader 3.0 support.

Best 3D Graphics Just Got Better

VMware Workstation was the first to support 3D graphics in virtualized environments and was the first to support Windows Aero in Windows Vista and Windows 7 virtual machines. Run even more 3D applications with support for DirectX 9.0c Shader Model 3 and OpenGL 2.13D graphics in Windows virtual machines.

This is taken from here: http://www.vmware.com/products/workstation/overview.html

So the most important question is what host OS are you using and what do you use as a guest?

My guess would be that it should run with a windows system as the host and windows XP as a guest, latest graphic drivers for the host, latest DX 9 for the guest as well as the latest VMware version. If this don't help you need to ask VMware for help, with an offer of 1000$ opening a support case with them shouldn't be a problem Smiley Wink

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JarettHA
Contributor
Contributor

This is working for me.  My key settings:

#1:  Windows 7 64-bit VM, up to date w/ vmware tools installed, the base disk on scsi. 2 cores minimum, 4 is better, 3gb+

#2: VMWare Fusion 4, up to date.

#3: These VMX settings (the last 3 are CRITICAL)

config.version = "8"
virtualHW.version = "8"

usb.present = "TRUE"
ehci.present = "TRUE"
sound.present = "TRUE"
sound.startConnected = "TRUE"
sound.fileName = "-1"
sound.autodetect = "TRUE"

unity.wasCapable = "TRUE"

numvcpus = "2"
cpuid.coresPerSocket = "2"
usb:1.speed = "2"

sound.virtualDev = "hdaudio"

vmmouse.present = "FALSE"

mks.enable3d = TRUE

svga.vramSize = "134217728"

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TheSeaward
Contributor
Contributor

This configuration didn't work for me, I'm booting a Boot Camp install on a SATA disk in VMWare Fusion 4.1.1 with a Windows 7 Professional 64bit as Guest.  The disk has 300GB NTFS for the OS and applications (SWTOR and other games) and a 200GB ExFat fs for shared files between OS X and Windows.

The game starts and I hear audio but I cannot see anything other than a black screen.  I've tried forcing the game into Windowed mode as well and it doesn't change anything.  It's very strange because I could subsequently install Parallels and run it that way and it worked fine -- the OS was a new install.  Performance under Parallels is good, certainly playable.

My configuration already had mks.enable3d = TRUE and I have allocated 4GB and 4 cores.  I added the other two, my config looks like this now:

.encoding = "UTF-8"
config.version = "8"
virtualHW.version = "8"
memsize = "4096"
mem.hotadd = "TRUE"
ide0:0.present = "TRUE"
ide0:0.fileName = "Boot Camp.vmdk"
ide0:0.deviceType = "rawDisk"
ide1:0.present = "TRUE"
ide1:0.autodetect = "TRUE"
ide1:0.deviceType = "cdrom-raw"
ethernet0.present = "TRUE"
ethernet0.connectionType = "nat"
ethernet0.virtualDev = "e1000"
ethernet0.wakeOnPcktRcv = "FALSE"
ethernet0.addressType = "generated"
ethernet0.linkStatePropagation.enable = "TRUE"
usb.present = "TRUE"
ehci.present = "TRUE"
sound.present = "TRUE"
sound.virtualDev = "hdaudio"
sound.fileName = "-1"
sound.autodetect = "TRUE"
mks.enable3d = "TRUE"
vmmouse.present = "FALSE"
svga.vramSize = "134217728"
serial0.present = "TRUE"
serial0.fileType = "thinprint"
pciBridge0.present = "TRUE"
pciBridge4.present = "TRUE"
pciBridge4.virtualDev = "pcieRootPort"
pciBridge4.functions = "8"
pciBridge5.present = "TRUE"
pciBridge5.virtualDev = "pcieRootPort"
pciBridge5.functions = "8"
pciBridge6.present = "TRUE"
pciBridge6.virtualDev = "pcieRootPort"
pciBridge6.functions = "8"
pciBridge7.present = "TRUE"
pciBridge7.virtualDev = "pcieRootPort"
pciBridge7.functions = "8"
vmci0.present = "TRUE"
suspend.disabled = "TRUE"
hpet0.present = "TRUE"

usb.vbluetooth.startConnected = "TRUE"

tools.syncTime = "TRUE"

displayName = "Boot Camp"

guestOS = "windows7-64"

nvram = "Boot Camp.nvram"

virtualHW.productCompatibility = "hosted"

proxyApps.publishToGuest = "TRUE"

tools.upgrade.policy = "upgradeAtPowerCycle"

powerType.powerOff = "soft"

powerType.powerOn = "soft"

powerType.suspend = "soft"

powerType.reset = "soft"

extendedConfigFile = "Boot Camp.vmxf"

numvcpus = "4"

cpuid.coresPerSocket = "4"

floppy0.present = "FALSE"

ide1:0.startConnected = "TRUE"

ethernet0.generatedAddress = "MYMACADDRESS"

vmci0.id = "obfuscated"

uuid.location = "obfuscated"

uuid.bios = "obfuscated"

cleanShutdown = "TRUE"

replay.supported = "FALSE"

gui.lastPoweredViewMode = "fullscreen"

unity.wasCapable = "FALSE"

replay.filename = ""

ide0:0.redo = ""

pciBridge0.pciSlotNumber = "17"

pciBridge4.pciSlotNumber = "21"

pciBridge5.pciSlotNumber = "22"

pciBridge6.pciSlotNumber = "23"

pciBridge7.pciSlotNumber = "24"

usb.pciSlotNumber = "32"

ethernet0.pciSlotNumber = "33"

sound.pciSlotNumber = "34"

ehci.pciSlotNumber = "35"

vmci0.pciSlotNumber = "36"

usb:1.present = "TRUE"

ethernet0.generatedAddressOffset = "0"

tools.remindInstall = "FALSE"

vmotion.checkpointFBSize = "134217728"

usb:1.speed = "2"

usb:1.deviceType = "hub"

usb:1.port = "1"

usb:1.parent = "-1"

ide1:0.fileName = "auto detect"

gui.viewModeAtPowerOn = "fullscreen"

usb:0.present = "TRUE"

usb:0.deviceType = "hid"

usb:0.port = "0"

usb:0.parent = "-1"


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JoshRMT
Contributor
Contributor

Yeah, i still havent gotten this working. Still looking for the $1000 solution if anyone knows it.

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Bernd_Nowak
Hot Shot
Hot Shot

To get an answer you might post your Host specs, VMware Workstation version and guest OS.

Also regarding the host OS are you using the latest graphic drivers from ATI/Nvidia?

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TheLoneVM
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

I have tried all sorts of things to get this game work out of the box no luck so far.  So we are looking into it, no promises, but it's on the list.

JarettHA: Could you verify a few things?  First, can you verify that you are running the new MMO "Star Wars the Old Republic", and not the older single player RPG "Knights of the Old Republic"?  If it is the first, please provide the following info: Mac OSX version, Mac model and graphics device, and if you can cut-and-paste the info from c:\users\<username>\AppData\Local\SWTOR\swtor\settings\client_settings.ini that would be very helpful.

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TheSeaward
Contributor
Contributor

It's possible that JarettHA is running on Windows and not OS X. I'm

using VMWare Fusion 4 on Mac OS X and I'm happy to provide you with my

details if you want them, but I don't have it working under VMWare Fusion.

It does play well under Parallels though, so I have confidence it can be

done on my preferred virtualization platform. Can I tempt you to

prioritize this higher by sending you a gift: these two droids?

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JarettHA
Contributor
Contributor

I am using the late 2010 mbp with i7 cpu and 8gb ram.  The host is current osx lion.  I think the graphics are the 330m. Make sure you are not using your bootcamp partition or else you will load the wrong drivers for the vid card.

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TheLoneVM
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

JarettHA: I am using the late 2010 mbp with i7 cpu and 8gb ram.  The host is current osx lion.  I think the graphics are the 330m.

Excellent I'll track one of these machines down to check against.  In the meantime, can you provide the info in the file:

c:\users\<your username>\AppData\Local\SWTOR\swtor\settings\client_settings.ini

Thanks!

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TheSeaward
Contributor
Contributor

no kidding?!

Alright, I've been booting from my BootCamp partition, the VMWare video

driver seemed to be active because ATI's driver was giving me some grief

because it didn't know where my 6870 went.

I will do an install on a completely virtualized OS install and see if I

get different results, unless there is a way I can force my BootCamp

instance to use the correct driver for VMWare Fusion.

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JarettHA
Contributor
Contributor

Any physical card driver is the wrong driver.  Try loading the graphics driver from the vmware tools directory.

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JarettHA
Contributor
Contributor

FYI about the laptop:

Model Name:    MacBook Pro
  Model Identifier:    MacBookPro6,2
  Processor Name:    Intel Core i7
  Processor Speed:    2.66 GHz

Memory:    8 GB

NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M

  Chipset Model:    NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M
  Type:    GPU
  Bus:    PCIe
  PCIe Lane Width:    x16
  VRAM (Total):    512 MB
  Vendor:    NVIDIA (0x10de)
  Device ID:    0x0a29
  Revision ID:    0x00a2
  ROM Revision:    3560
  gMux Version:    1.9.21

It was almost unplayable until I gave it 4gb ram and 4 vcpu.  After that it was ok.   Not as fast as running it native in windows, but ok... (even still you have to escape cutscenes as soon as possible)

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JarettHA
Contributor
Contributor

Graphics Adapter in the VM:  VMWare SVGA 3D.

c:\windows\system32\drivers\vm3dmp.sys 7.14.01.0042 (by winddk) 2010

c:\windows\system32\vm3dgl.dll provider: UNKNOWN  Version: UNKNOWN  (thats actually what it says)

c:\windows\system32\vm3dum.dll 7.14.01.0042

My main windows vm is Win 7 pro 32-bit.  This should work in 64 as well.

dxdiag.exe info:

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
          Card name: VMware SVGA 3D (Microsoft Corporation - WDDM)
       Manufacturer: VMware, Inc.
          Chip type: VMware Virtual SVGA 3D Graphics Adapter
           DAC type: n/a
         Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_15AD&DEV_0405&SUBSYS_040515AD&REV_00
     Display Memory: 288 MB
   Dedicated Memory: 256 MB
      Shared Memory: 32 MB
       Current Mode: 1024 x 768 (32 bit) (85Hz)
       Monitor Name: Generic Non-PnP Monitor
      Monitor Model: unknown
         Monitor Id:
        Native Mode: unknown
        Output Type: HD15
        Driver Name: vm3dum.dll,vm3dgl.dll
Driver File Version: 7.14.0001.0042 (English)
     Driver Version: 7.14.1.42
        DDI Version: 9Ex
       Driver Model: WDDM 1.0
  Driver Attributes: Final Retail
   Driver Date/Size: 8/1/2010 09:09:04, 130608 bytes
        WHQL Logo'd: n/a
    WHQL Date Stamp: n/a
  Device Identifier: {D7B71B4D-4745-11CF-3776-0424A1C2CA35}
          Vendor ID: 0x15AD
          Device ID: 0x0405
          SubSys ID: 0x040515AD
        Revision ID: 0x0000
Driver Strong Name: oem9.inf:VMware.NTx86.6.0:VM3D_X86:7.14.1.42:pci\ven_15ad&dev_0405&subsys_040515ad&rev_00
     Rank Of Driver: 00F80000
        Video Accel:
   Deinterlace Caps: {94FAEFC4-C7AC-4799-B527-07A45C79CE43}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY
                     {94FAEFC4-C7AC-4799-B527-07A45C79CE43}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,UYVY) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY
                     {94FAEFC4-C7AC-4799-B527-07A45C79CE43}: Format(In/Out)=(YV12,0x32315659) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY
                     {94FAEFC4-C7AC-4799-B527-07A45C79CE43}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY
                     {94FAEFC4-C7AC-4799-B527-07A45C79CE43}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC1,0x31434d49) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY
                     {94FAEFC4-C7AC-4799-B527-07A45C79CE43}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC2,0x32434d49) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY
                     {94FAEFC4-C7AC-4799-B527-07A45C79CE43}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC3,0x33434d49) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY
                     {94FAEFC4-C7AC-4799-B527-07A45C79CE43}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC4,0x34434d49) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY
                     {94FAEFC4-C7AC-4799-B527-07A45C79CE43}: Format(In/Out)=(S340,0x30343353) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY
                     {94FAEFC4-C7AC-4799-B527-07A45C79CE43}: Format(In/Out)=(S342,0x32343353) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY
       D3D9 Overlay: Not Supported
            DXVA-HD: Not Supported
       DDraw Status: Enabled
         D3D Status: Enabled
         AGP Status: Enabled

Ill need to get a different external HD when i get home for the game drive for my vm.

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JarettHA
Contributor
Contributor

http://www.uglyduck.com/info/vmware/swtor/Screen%20Shot%202012-01-11%20at%202.07.31%20PM.png

client_settings.ini

[Renderer]
AmbientNPCScale = 0.5
D3DFullScreen = true
EnableBloom = false
Height = 767
NativeHeight = 768
NativeWidth = 1024
PlantDensity = 50
RefreshRate = 85
TextureQuality = 1
UseMinSpecShaders = true
VerticalSyncState = true
Width = 1096
WindowX = 0
WindowY = 0


[Game]
MoviesFolder = ..\..\Movies
SwtorRegKey = SOFTWARE\BioWare\Star Wars - The Old Republic

http://www.uglyduck.com/info/vmware/swtor/Screen%20Shot%202012-01-11%20at%202.14.56%20PM.png

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JarettHA
Contributor
Contributor

Here is a video of it running.

http://vimeo.com/34914335

One thing I would be interested in knowing, is if those with the black screen issue can run through the trial of 3Dmark05 (3d testing software).  If the demo video plays or black screens on you.

SWTOR uses an old Directx 9 based engine.  (Simutronics' HeroEngine )

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TheSeaward
Contributor
Contributor

Okay I'm buckling in for an evening of banging this out.

Once again, OS X 10.7.2, vmware fusion 4.1.0, booting a Boot Camp image.

Dxdiag out:

Card name: VMware SVGA 3D (Microsoft Corporation - WDDM)
Manufacturer: VMware, Inc.
Chip type: VMware Virtual SVGA 3D Graphics Adapter
DAC type: n/a
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_15AD&DEV_0405&SUBSYS_040515AD&REV_00
Display Memory: 1532 MB
Dedicated Memory: 832 MB
Shared Memory: 700 MB
Current Mode: 1920 x 1080 (32 bit) (60Hz)

Operating System: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.110622-1506)

Language: English (Regional Setting: English)

System Manufacturer: VMware, Inc.

System Model: VMware Virtual Platform

BIOS: PhoenixBIOS 4.0 Release 6.0    

Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2600K CPU @ 3.40GHz (4 CPUs), ~3.4GHz

Memory: 4096MB RAM

Available OS Memory: 4096MB RAM

Page File: 1948MB used, 6240MB available

Windows Dir: C:\Windows

DirectX Version: DirectX 11

DX Setup Parameters: Not found

User DPI Setting: Using System DPI

System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)

DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled

DxDiag Version: 6.01.7601.17514 32bit Unicode

3DMark05 knocked me out of Aero but ran fine and stayed steady 60fps the whole time. 

I'm going to look at my game settings next and compare to the .ini file you posted earlier. Nice video by the way, show-off Smiley Wink

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TheSeaward
Contributor
Contributor

My client_settings.ini looked like this:

[Renderer]
D3DFullScreen = false
Height = 1080
NativeHeight = 1080
NativeWidth = 1920
TextureAnisotropy = 16
Width = 1920
WindowX = 0
WindowY = 0
GammaRamp = 1.1597826
MeshLODQuality = 1
PlantDensity = 75
EnableBloom = false
doShadows = false
SpeedTreeDistanceScale = 1.0752717
FarClipScale = 1.
FullScreen = true
[Game]
MoviesFolder = ..\..\Movies
SwtorRegKey = SOFTWARE\BioWare\Star Wars - The Old Republic

So I changed it to be like yours, JarretHA:

[Renderer]
AmbientNPCScale = 0.5
D3DFullScreen = true
EnableBloom = false
Height = 767
NativeHeight = 768
NativeWidth = 1024
PlantDensity = 50
RefreshRate = 85
TextureQuality = 1
UseMinSpecShaders = true
VerticalSyncState = true
Width = 1096
WindowX = 0
WindowY = 0


[Game]
MoviesFolder = ..\..\Movies
SwtorRegKey = SOFTWARE\BioWare\Star Wars - The Old Republic

First attempt report: still a black screen but I think the refresh rate needs to be 60.  A lot of flicker when I move the pointer, but like I said it's still a black screen.  I had to force a logout from Windows 7, logged back in to try again.

Second attempt report: same thing, super flicker.  then blackness.

Changed resolutions in the config, no avail.  Copying the install over to another disk and will do a straight virtualized Windows 7 workstation VM -- no Boot Camp.  I'll follow-up when I have done that.

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JarettHA
Contributor
Contributor

TheSeaward - what i find odd is your video ram amounts in your setup. I thought the max addressible within your vmx was 128M or 256M.

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