Etherlords II

Compared to the first game, I got this one to work just fine on my windows 11 pc. Ok, so, after installing the game, as I started it up I got “Cannot clear primary surface” error, so I fixed it by going to Config (which is located in game’s main folder), unchecked the Full Screen box. But this wasn’t enough, I had to change my monitor’s resolution to 1024x768 or else the game was running in a small box at top left side of the monitor. P.S I also set it to run in compatibility mode on Windows XP service pack 3, and run it as admin, not sure if those are important but better safe than sorry. With these changes I was able to play normally without even a crash up to campaign 3. After that I quit because the game hitting me with some long damn battles and quenched my nostalgia thirst. Now that I grab it again, I sure wished it had a speed up function. It does have an Accelerated Mode, but it doesn’t appear to do anything in combat. I gotta say, before I tweaked around I did try to give it a proper high resolution, but changing the resolution in settings.ini at 1080p resulted in messing up the HUD/UI during gameplay as well as menu; making it unplayable. I also tired that wide-screen fix from WSGF, but apparently it contained a malware, so, I ditched that option fast. Anyway, does it still hold up today? Well, kinda, the game is still very fun but it sure needs some QoLs, especially the function to save and load different decks you build and ofc supporting modern machines. Also, surprisingly Nival is still around, props to them for surviving, but the downside is that they shifted focus it seems (since back in 2017), towards being a support/consulting company for others, so my hope for a third or remakes is at around 0.1%.