i cannot get star trek armada ii to run on windows 10

Set the compatibility level for Armada.exe to Windows XP (SP2) (for detailed instructions, see here). When the game is installed and patched, you need to make some settings. I am running this version with great success.

It promises to fix some bugs on newer systems and introduces additional screen resolutions. There is also an unofficial ‘version 1.3’ patch from the Star Trek Armada II: Fleet Operations team developing the eponymous fan-driven mod. Unless you game version already includes the patch to version 1.2 (like mine does), you must patch the game (you can get the installer here). Just run the installer as you normally would.

When installing the game on Windows 7, no special action is needed. I can confirm that NVIDIA’s driver software version 180 did not work with ST:Armada, whereas with 281, it works! This seems to have changed only recently. Many reports (like this one) say that ATI cards are not causing any trouble, whereas NVIDIA cards have lots of problems. The laptop has an NVIDIA GeForce 9500M GS graphics adapter. Although there are some reports of trouble running ST:Armada with more than 2 GB of memory, I am not seeing those problems. Everything described here should work the same on 32 bit. My gaming laptop is running Windows 7 Service Pack 1 64 bit. Now, finally, I got my beloved Star Trek: Armada working on my gaming laptop! Despite the negative effects this might have on my work and social life, I am more than happy I am writing this post to collect the information I gathered and to help others play the game on their modern machines as well. I even got myself another original release version from England after I had somehow lost the one I’d been using (which I paid for with what happened to be the only cheque I ever sent in the mail for anything). At one point, I even built a machine from old parts and installed Windows 98 on it – but time and again I failed, the blame lying with graphics drivers and/or DirectX being too old or too new, or just not working together. I tried everything from emulators to varying compatibility settings. Over the last couple of years, I’ve tried time and again to get the game running on my more modern systems. It came out almost exactly 10 years ago and was based on the same graphics engine, but significantly changed the navigation mechanics of the game, that just felt much too fiddly to me. I never liked the sequel, Star Trek: Armada II very much.

Maybe it’s mostly nostalgia, but to me it’s still one of the most fun RTS space games ever. I was 13 years old at the time and played the game up and down like crazy. It was relased just two weeks after Windows 2000, so naturally it was developed and tested for Windows 98/ME.

It’s been almost 12 years since Star Trek: Armada came out. (If you don’t care about my life and just want the technical information, skip to the fourth paragraph. Local Area – Holmes County Ohio USA (1).

I cannot get star trek armada ii to run on windows 10