Homeworld Cataclysm does not run on Windows 10
I installed Homeworld Cataclysm on my Windows 10 machine, applied the 1.01 patch, and tried recommended command line settings I found in various threads online, such as cataclysm.exe /heap 256000000 /enableSSE /triple /disableAVI /safeGL. One recommended thing I wasn't able to do is set compatibility options to NT, which isn't available as an option in the compatibility settings, but I tried other compatibility settings (Windows 95, 98, XP SE2, XP SE3). I'm also running it in administrator mode.
Right now, what I see is that the game doesn't even run. Upon double clicking nothing happens except that Windows brings up a dialogue box asking if this program was installed correctly and if I want to do compatibility troubleshooting.
From reading other people's accounts, it sounds like most people are, at the very least, able to get it to launch. What am I missing?
I found someone describing how they got Homeworld Cataclysm to work on windows 10.
Source: Link to window 10 cataclysm setting
Starting Options: Okay i had to apply some things to the shortcut (if not present, make one) in >order to make it work:
cataclysm.exe /heap 256000000 /enableSSE /triple /disableAVI /safeGL
I believe this is the setting you were looking for.
I got Cataclysm to work on Windows 10 a while ago, so I know it's possible. From what I remember, the required compatibility mode was removed in Windows 10, so I had to make my own. This is the process I used, to the best of my recollection, but it's been a while.
- Download and install the Microsoft Compatibility Toolkit.
- Download this compatibility database
- Run "Compatibility Administrator (32-bit)"
- Open the database you downloaded in (2). It should appear as "Homeworld Cataclysm" under "Custom Databases" in the tree on the left pane.
- Right-click "Homeworld Cataclysm" and click install.
The database I'm using likely includes more compatibility fixes than actually required, but I just copied one of the pre-made compatibility modes and tweaked it a bit (don't ask me what I changed; I don't remember).
There's a similar database linked from the Cataclysm page on PCGamingWiki that contains fixes for both Cataclysm and the original Homeworld. I gave it a quick try and it seems to work as well, so try that one if the one I made fails for some reason.
That, along with the command line flags from your question should hopefully get everything working. For completeness sake, these are the command line flags I have set:
/triple /enableSSE /enable3DNow /disableAVI /heap 1073741824 /window /noBorder
You may also have to fiddle with the registry settings under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Sierra On-Line\Cataclysm I seem to recall having to set glToSelect to opengl32.dll, and you can also set the screen resolution higher than the in-game settings allow (though widescreen resolutions cause some issues).