Windows technical FAQ/troubleshooting guide

Puppytine

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This FAQ is meant to gather technical issues most frequently encountered with MBII setup and gameplay. Please have a look in the list below first, and if you don't find the problem described, please create a new thread to describe your issue in the Support section.
Hi guys,

This thread is what title says, Movie Battles technical FAQ/troubleshooting guide, affecting MBII installations on Windows.
I was asked for writing a technical FAQ by Viserys long, long time ago, and I had an idea about a guide for even much longer time, but due various reasons (mainly procrastination) I started to write it only now :(. Though better late than never.
This guide is still very incomplete, both in terms of content and in terms of formatting; I'm gonna enhance it once I have more time.

I'm sorry for this poor, terrible English this guide is written, but this is best I can do.

Credit for this FAQ goes not only to me, but for the whole community; It includes both people who were answering question in the Support section and who were asking for help.
I've made this document from the things I learned in the Support section, so without the community this wouldn't be possible to archive.

Part 1: Installation

Question: So, what am I supposed to have to be able to play Movie Battles II?

Answer:
  1. Jedi Academy, a Lucas Arts game from 2003.
    MBII is just a modification of JA, you must have a Jedi Academy in order to run Movie Battles.
    Please notice that Jedi Outcast has nothing to do with MBII. It's different games; do not install Movie Battles in JO folder, it will not get you anywhere.
  2. Microsoft .NET 3.5.
    It's required by MBII Launcher, and, in turn, MBII Launcher is required to play on Windows because of anti-cheating system.
    Download Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 from Official Microsoft Download Center
  3. Microsoft C++ libraries 2013.
    Movie Battles .dlls are linked to C++ libraries, game won't start without runtime installed.
    https://aka.ms/highdpimfc2013x86enu
  4. Optional: Microsoft C++ libraries 2015.
    Required for MBII Client only, not for JAMP.
    Download Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 from Official Microsoft Download Center

Question: Which version of Jedi Academy is compatible with Movie Battles II?

Answer: Any:
  1. Steam version.
  2. GOG version.
  3. CD version.
All these version are perfectly fine with MBII, you don't need to buy the game on Steam if you already have a compact disk.
But there is one exception: CD version of Jedi Academy must be patched to 1.01.
If your game isn't 1.01, download the patch by one of these links:
Jedi Academy Patch (PC) - JKHub
Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Jedi Academy: Patch 1.01 zum Download - 4Players.de
Patch 1.01 - Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy Downloads | GameWatcher


Error message: "Application load error 5:0000065434"

Solution:
  1. Move Jedi Academy to default Steam folder. It usually look like:
    C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Jedi Academy
    WARNINGS: Please notice that it should be partition C: (or partition where Steam was originally installed?), not any other partition.
    Please notice that path that has "SteamLibrary" is not a default Steam folder.
  2. Switch to MBII Client:
    MBII Launcher => Settings => uncheck "Steam integration" (skip if there's no such checkbox) => Engine => MBII Client => Play.
Information: A bug in Steam version of Jedi Academy.

Further reading:
Launcher - My problem


Issue: Launcher wants to update MBII over and over again

Solution: MBII Launcher => Settings => check "Enable logging" => Repair installation.

Information: A bug in Launcher.

Further reading:
Launcher - Launcher tries to update every time you open it


Issue: Launcher crashes every time it tries to update itself

Solution:
Delete:
Jedi Academy\GameData\MBIILauncher.exe.mbbak
Download and place into "Jedi Academy\GameData" manually:
http://update.moviebattles.org/launcher/MBIILauncher.exe
http://update.moviebattles.org/launcher/AutoUpdate.exe
http://update.moviebattles.org/launcher/MBII_Patcher.dll

Information: A bug in Launcher.


Part 2: Running the game

Issue: Game crashes when I'm trying opening a console by pressing Shift + ~ (aka Shift +`, tilde)

Information: Jedi Academy isn't patched to 1.01.

Solution: Patch Jedi Academy. Read "Which version of Jedi Academy..." question for details.


Question: JAMP? MBII Client? What are those? How I can use them?

Answer:
Movie Battles can be run using different executable files. Those files are called "engines".
There are at least four engines:
  1. JAMP, "jamp.exe" (or, in case of Steam, both "jasp.exe" and "jamp.exe").
    Integral part of Jedi Academy, which is required to play Movie Battles.
  2. MBII Client, "mbii.x86.exe".
    Shipped with Movie Battles.
  3. Demo editor, aka jaMME, "jamme.exe".
    Download it here: jaMME - JKHub
  4. Stock, vanilla OpenJK, "openjk.x86.exe".
    Download it here: index · powered by h5ai 0.26.1 (http://larsjung.de/h5ai/)
An engine to use can be selected (except vanilla OpenJK) in MBII Launcher => Settings => Engine.
You can also run MBII using Steam version of JAMP by following these steps:
Steam Library => right click on Jedi Academy => Properties => Set Launch Options =>
Code:
+set fs_game "MBII"
Start Jedi Academy via Steam and select multi-player.
You can also run MBII using MBII Client by executing "Jedi Academy\GameData\Play_MBII_CustomOJK.bat" file.
Notice: MBII Launcher is still need to be run in the background.


Question: What's the difference between JAMP and MBII Client?

Answer:
JAMP displays HUD in widescreen in nice way, keeping proper ratio.
MBII Client displays HUD in widescreen stretched out and disproportionate.
90466f95cc34.jpg


46c045ac95cd.jpg

JAMP has console commands auto-completion: for example, after typing "recon" and pressing Enter, "reconnect" command is getting executed.
MBII Client does not have console commands auto-completion. You always have to type a command completely.

JAMP (Steam) records hours on Steam.
MBII Client does not have Steam integration.

JAMP often crashes when running on PC that has Intel graphics.
MBII Client is more stable on Intel video.

JAMP does not dispay orange and grey colors in text and nicknames.
MBII Client has support for orange (^8) and and grey (^9) colors.

JAMP cannot be switched from by Alt + Tab. It's necessary to bind a key combination in MBII Launcher.
MBII Client allows switching using Alt + Tab.

9da5e925d2de.png

Further reading:
OpenJK vs JAMP
[SOLVED] - Hud is still stretched out and disproportionate
Technical Issue - Widescreen UI on my resolution


Issue: Cannot switch engine from "JAMP" to "MBII Client". Combobox is grayed.

Solution: Uncheck "Steam integration".


Question: Why am I advised to use "/qui gon" and "/disco" console commands?

Answer: Do not listen to those guys. They are trolls.
Entering "/qui gon" command will make MBII instantly close, because autocompletion turns it to "/quit".
"/disco" corresponds to "disconnect".
Notice: autocompletion works only in JAMP, not MBII Client.


Issue: Lag and visual glitch every time sabers clash

Solution: MBII => Setup => More Video => Dynamic lights => Off.

Information: A bug in Movie Battles.

Further reading:
[SOLVED] - Saber Flash Stutter
black models
Incompatible with playing lag on each saber-saber hit (1.5)
Feedback Thread: 1.5


Issue: Mouse is acting weird, movement of cursor on the screen doesn't match mouse movement.
Image is cropped, you cannot see right and bottom sides.
c9fffb7e0d36.png

Information: Happens mostly on Windows 10, though other versions are affected as well.
The reason is Windows scaling. Having Comodo firewall on Windows 10 makes it worse, because in that case scaling settings are ignored.

Solution:
  1. Settings => System => Display => Scale and layout => Change the size of text, apps and other items => 100%.
  2. Right-click on "Jedi Academy\GameData\jamp.exe" => Properties => Compatibility => Override high DPI scaling behavior, change current value => OK.
    It's unclear which value will work for you, try them all.
  3. Repeat previous step for a file "Jedi Academy\GameData\mbii.x86.exe".
  4. NVIDIA Control Panel => Display => Adjust desktop size and position => change current value.
    It's unclear which value will work for you, try them all.
  5. If you have Windows 10 with Comodo products installed, uninstall Comodo or search online for additional compability guides.
Further reading:
[SOLVED] - Widescreen Issues


Issue: Every time someone connects, game lags.

Solution: MBII => Setup => Game Options => Defer player models => On.

Information: Corresponding variable is "cg_deferplayers".

Further reading:
[SOLVED] - Lag everytime someone connects
Technical Issue - Weird as hell FPS drops / temporary game freezes


Error message: "Z_Malloc(): Failed to alloc 16777216 bytes (TAG_TEMP_WORKSPACE) !!!!!".

Information: Your hardware isn't good enough to run Movie Battles II, or some software lowers performance of the hardware.
Usual reasons are: GLDirect, videocard drivers.

Solution:
  1. Uninstall GLDirect if you have it.
    If you not sure do have GLDirect or not, perform these steps:
    1. Open a console by pressing Shift + ~ (aka Shift + `)
    2. Type and press Enter:
      Code:
      condump a.txt
    3. Open "Jedi Academy\GameData\MBII\a.txt", search for "GL_VENDOR" and "GL_RENDERER".
      There should be values related to NVIDIA or ATI, ideally. Or Intel, at least.
  2. Reinstall drivers for videocard.
  3. Try lowering your graphics settings.
  4. Try switching to MBII Client:
    MBII Launcher => Settings => uncheck "Steam integration" (skip if there's no such checkbox) => Engine => MBII Client => Play.
  5. Get a better computer.
Further reading:
[SOLVED] - MBII closes after i join a server?
[SOLVED] - (Repeat): Z_Malloc(): Failed to alloc 1048576 bytes (TAG_TEMP_WORKSPACE) !!!!!
[SOLVED] - When Joining a server, the game crashes... sort of...
Technical Issue - Get this issue every time its about to join a game


Error message: "Z_Free(): Corrupt zone header!".

Information: This error occurs when a single-player executable, jasp.exe is running instead of multi-player executable, jamp.exe.
But Steam version of Jedi Academy has a more complicated system for dealing with executable files; It constantly renames mentioned files, so file that is actually running is always named "jasp.exe", but its contest can be either jasp.exe or jamp.exe, depending on which version (single- or multi-player) is launched.
MBII Launcher performs same renaming in order to be compatible with Steam.
So if you're getting "Z_Free..." error, you probably have a Steam version of JA, jamp as active engine, and something goes wrong during renaming. Probably some files are locked and cannot be renamed.

Solution:
  1. Shut down MBII Launcher, close all Steam-related windows, shut down an anti-virus and try again.
  2. If that won't work, delete file "Jedi Academy\GameData\temp.exe", if any, and restart your computer.
  3. As a last resort, switch to MBII Client:
    MBII Launcher => Settings => uncheck "Steam integration" (skip if there's no such checkbox) => Engine => MBII Client => Play.
    MBII Client isn't affected with Steam renaming thing in any way.


Error message: "VM_Create on UI Failed".

Information: This error occurs when jamp engine is active, and can be caused by various reasons, including being unable to load correct versions of game dlls.
Movie Battles dynamic link libraries are called "cgamex86.dll" and "uix86.dll", located in "Jedi Academy\GameData\MBII\MBII.pk3".
Every time game is loading or map is loading, jamp unpacks those dlls to "Jedi Academy\GameData\MBII". If unpacking is failed by any reason, "VM_Create..." message is displayed.
After that, jamp loads libraries without specifying full path, therefore if files named "cgamex86.dll" and/or "uix86.dll" do exist somewhere on search path, in "Jedi Academy\GameData" for instance, they are getting loaded instead of those were previously extracted to "Jedi Academy\GameData\MBII". There is a possibility that "Jedi Academy\GameData" contains some outdated MBII libraries, therefore this whole situation requires an additional attention.
In contrast, MBII Client extracts libraries to user's temporary directory, and uses fully-qualified paths for loading.
Some game recording software and anti-viruses also cause this issue.
Not having Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Redistributable Packages installed makes MBII throw "VM_Create on UI Failed".

Solution:
  1. If you don't have CPP 2013 libraries, download and install: https://aka.ms/highdpimfc2013x86enu
  2. Right-click on "Jedi Academy" => Properties => Security => give yourself all possible permissions, including all subfolders.
  3. Delete files "cgamex86.dll", "jampgamex86.dll", "uix86.dll" from these folders:
    • "Jedi Academy\GameData"
    • "Jedi Academy\GameData\base"
    • "Jedi Academy\GameData\MBII"
  4. Shut down, completely and entirely, all these programs:
    • "AMD's Gaming Evolved Raptr App", "Razor Game Booster" and any game recording software.
    • Any kind of anti-viruses.
    • Discord.
Further reading:
Hosting Server - Start three servers on one host machine
[SOLVED] - "AMD's Gaming Evolved Raptr App" cause for the error "VM_Create on UI failed" with JAMP and Steam


Error message: "The program can't start because MSVCP140.dll and VCRUNTIME140.dll are missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem."

Solution:
  1. Download and install this: Download Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 from Official Microsoft Download Center
  2. Or, MBII Launcher => Settings => Engine => JAMP => Play.

Information: MBII Client requires Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 to be installed on target computer.
You have to either install that run-time, or switch to jamp, which doesn't need VCPP libs to run.

Further reading:
[SOLVED] - MSVCP140.dll missing
[SOLVED] - MSVCP140.dll and VCRUNTIME140.dll are missing from your computer


Error message: "Client and server versions don't match. Client on A.B.C, server on X.Y.Z"

Information: This is exactly what message says, your installation is either damaged or outdated. Doesn't matter what MBII Launcher or loading screen say, a message on join have a higher priority.
Not having full control over JA folder may prevent updating Movie Battles.

Solution:
  1. "Jedi Academy\GameData\MBII" => Ctrl + A => right click on selected files => Properties => uncheck 'Read only' => OK.
  2. Repeat for these folders:
    1. "Jedi Academy\GameData"
    2. "Jedi Academy\GameData\mme"
    3. "Jedi Academy\GameData\mmeMBII"
  3. Delete files "cgamex86.dll", "jampgamex86.dll", "uix86.dll" from these folders:
    1. "Jedi Academy\GameData"
    2. "Jedi Academy\GameData\base"
    3. "Jedi Academy\GameData\MBII"
  4. Right-click on "Jedi Academy" => Properties => Security => give yourself all possible permissions, including all subfolders.
  5. Then,
    MBII Launcher => Settings => check "Enable logging" => Repair installation.
Further reading:
Technical Issue - Updating to 1.4.4.1
[SOLVED] - Mod will not update from v1.4
[SOLVED] - I can't join to any server
[SOLVED] - Client and Server versions don't match


Issue: This guide doesn't have an answer for your question.

Solution:
  1. Probably it's already answered somewhere on this forums. Use search to find a solution: Search Threads and Posts | Movie Battles II Community
  2. Try Google search. Algorithms of forums search and Google are quite different, so you should use both.
  3. No useful information found? Try repairing MBII installation, many problems are getting solved this way:
    MBII Launcher => Settings => check "Enable logging" => Repair installation.
  4. If you are here, the best option would be to start a new thread in the Support section. But you absolutely, positively need to post a latest log from "Jedi Academy\GameData\MBII_Launcher\logs" to the new thread you're starting.
    As well as describe your problem in the most detailed way, providing as much information as possible.
    Error messages require additional attention: please, quote them fully and directly, do not retell error text with your own words. If error window do have a "Details" button, click it and copy-paste everything that has appeared to your thread.
    Finally, consider making a screenshots where your problem could be seen clearly.

Part 3: The Graveyard

This section is for the issues/questions that are no longer relevant, for one reason or another. Usually because a bug got fixed.
But instead of deleting outdated information, it's getting placed here, just in case somebody will need it, for whatever reason.
Issue: Cannot switch engine from "JAMP" to "MBII Client". Combobox is grayed.

Solution:
  1. Uncheck "Steam integration".
  2. If there is no "Steam integration", do this:
    1. Delete this folder:
      C:\Users\YOUR_NAME\AppData\Local\Movie_Battles_Team
    2. Restart Launcher and click "No" when you're asked about Steam integration.
Information: A bug in the Launcher.


Error message: "Not enough space on the disk", but in fact there is a lot of free space on the disk.

Solution: Restart your computer.

Information: A bug in the Launcher.


Error message: "Jedi Academy has to be installed in steam's installation folder"

Solution: Move Jedi Academy to folder that has "\Steam\" part somewhere in a path.
WARNING: "SteamLibrary" and similar won't work. There must be a folder named exactly "Steam", with no any additional characters.

Information: A bug in the Launcher.

Further reading:
Launcher - My problem


Error message: "Please start the game via launcher and keep it running!"

Information: There is an anti-cheating system built in Movie Battles, and it requires to keep MBII Launcher running all the time you're playing MBII.
But the problem is, sometimes it doesn't work as intended, and there is no reliable solution for this problem so far.
Different things work for different people, but basically it's just random. Very sad :(

Solution:
  1. Keep MBII Launcher running all the time you're playing Movie Battles.
  2. Restart MBII Launcher at least once.
    Each time installation has been repaired or updated, Launcher MUST be restarted. Repair or update deactivates anti-cheating until next run, due a bug in Launcher.
  3. Move MBIILauncher.exe to "Jedi Academy\GameData"
  4. Use full-screen mode and native screen resolution
  5. If you have Steam version of Jedi Academy and it isn't installed in default Steam folder, move it to default Steam folder.
    Default Steam folder usually looks like:
    C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Jedi Academy
  6. Make sure MBII Launcher isn't blocked by a firewall.
    If you have a firewall (Kaspersky, NOD, Agnitum Outpost...), add MBIILauncher.exe to a white list.
  7. Switch a game engine to another one:
    MBII Launcher => Settings => uncheck "Steam integration" (skip if there's no such checkbox) => Engine => MBII Client => Play.
    If you already use MBII Client, select jamp.
  8. Restart Movie Battles, Launcher and your computer several times.
 
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i'm having trouble with fixing Shift+` but i have the steam version. when i use the updater it says "star wars jedi knight: jedi academy not found. please reinstall the game from the original cd-rom and try again." but i tried to reinstall and it still says the same thing.
 

Puppytine

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i'm having trouble with fixing Shift+` but i have the steam version. when i use the updater it says "star wars jedi knight: jedi academy not found. please reinstall the game from the original cd-rom and try again." but i tried to reinstall and it still says the same thing.
Interesting...
Are you sure game crashes exactly when you're trying opening a console?
Are you sure you're running Steam version? Maybe you have double installation, Steam and CD, and CD version is getting launched accidentally?
 

Puppytine

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FAQ has been finally updated.

Changelog:

Added:
  • Error message: "Jedi Academy has to be installed in steam's installation folder"
  • Error message: "Application load error 5:0000065434"
  • Question: JAMP? MBII Client? What are those? How I can use them?
  • Issue: Cannot switch engine from "JAMP" to "MBII Client". Combobox is grayed.
  • Question: Why am i advised to use "/qui gon" and "/disco" console commands?
  • Guide is split into two sections, "Installation" and "Playing the game".
Edited:
  • Question: So, what am I supposed to have to be able to play Movie Battles II?
  • Error message: "Z_Malloc(): Failed to alloc 16777216 bytes (TAG_TEMP_WORKSPACE) !!!!!".
  • Some small edits here and there.
Credits:
  • @Defiant for some valuable information about MBII Launcher.
  • @Quinto for an infographic.
  • @Def!led for a screenshot.
 

ent

Movie Battles II Team
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You have to either install that run-time, or switch to jamp, which doesn't need VCPP libs to run.
IIRC jamp is developed in VS 2005 and requires VC++ 2005 Redistributable, but they are already in the system.
 

Puppytine

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IIRC jamp is developed in VS 2005 and requires VC++ 2005 Redistributable, but they are already in the system.
Close, but not exactly right.

Long story short: JA isn't linked to any VS CRT, Movie Battles is linked to CPP 2008.

I was able to run jasp and jamp (base) on Windows 2000 SP4 with no CRT installed.
But when I tried starting MBII, it failed with "VM_Create on UI" error. Dependency Walker showed that MBII dlls require MSVCR90.DLL, which is part of Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package.
Installing CRT didn't help to run Movie Battles on w2k though, since dlls also want RtlCaptureContext from kernel32.dll, this function doesn't exist before XP.

Visual C++ 2008 Package isn't included to Windows XP (obviously), and it isn't clear is it shipped with any newer version (or I was too lazy to google it properly :D ).

Also, jamp starts even on Windows 95, though it crashes very fast with GLW_StartOpenGL, before loading game dlls.
Probably because I was doing it in virtual machine, which drivers for virtual video aren't good enough. Installing DirectX 8.0a and GLDirect didn't help.

All this was performed with CD-copy of Jedi Academy.
No idea is Steam JA linked to any C runtime.

I'll fix FAQ a bit later.
 
Last edited:

ent

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Close, but not exactly right.

Long story short: JA isn't linked to any VS CRT, Movie Battles is linked to CPP 2008.

I was able to run jasp and jamp (base) on Windows 2000 SP4 with no CRT installed.
But when I tried starting MBII, it failed with "VM_Create on UI" error. Dependency Walker showed that MBII dlls require MSVCR90.DLL, which is part of Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package.
Installing CRT didn't help to run Movie Battles on w2k though, since dlls also want RtlCaptureContext from kernel32.dll, this function doesn't exist before XP.

Visual C++ 2008 Package isn't included to Windows XP (obviously), and it isn't clear is it shipped with any newer version (or I was too lazy to google it properly :D ).

Also, jamp starts even on Windows 95, though it crashes very fast with GLW_StartOpenGL, before loading game dlls.
Probably because I was doing it in virtual machine, which drivers for virtual video aren't good enough. Installing DirectX 8.0a and GLDirect didn't help.

All this was performed with CD-copy of Jedi Academy.
No idea is Steam JA linked to any C runtime.

I'll fix FAQ a bit later.
Nice investigation.
Well, for some reason I know what version of VC++ toolset we use for MBII releases. :D
 

Puppytine

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FAQ is updated according to latest MBII releases.

Changelog:

Added:
  • Issue: Launcher wants to update MBII over and over again
  • Issue: Launcher crashes every time it tries to update itself
  • Issue: Lag and visual glitch every time sabers clash
  • "The Graveyard" section

Moved to graveyard:
  • [Partially] Issue: Cannot switch engine from "JAMP" to "MBII Client". Combobox is grayed.
  • Error message: "Not enough space on the disk", but in fact there is a lot of free space on the disk.
  • Error message: "Jedi Academy has to be installed in steam's installation folder"
  • Error message: "Please start the game via launcher and keep it running!"

04daf058870b.jpg
 

Defiant

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Updated the guide to state that MBII now requires Microsoft Visual C++ 2013.
 
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Hello there.I'm having a strange problem, both MB 2 in Jedi Academy and Jedi Outcast. After death and subsequent loading, the character moves very slowly, and attempting to crouch or jump results in a stuck.Does anyone know how to solve this? I would be very grateful.
 
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