The Conquer Online and Windows Vista FAQ
Disclaimer: These are all issues, problems, and possible fixes for them that myself or other players have experienced. There is no guarantee that the suggestions on how to deal with these will work. As new bugs and new fixes are found, I will try to keep up-to-date with them and add them to this thread. I use Windows Vista Ultimate edition, while i have not had all of the problems in this FAQ, I do not know if there is any difference between the versions and the way the bugs are.
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Contents of this Guide:
Section I: Introduction
Section II: Common Questions
Section III: Bugs and Possible Solutions
Section IV: Closing
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Section I: Introduction
The talk of Windows Vista and its compatability with Conquer Online is becoming increasingly more commonplace, so I figured it was time to start bringing it all together. Some people have absolutely no problems with Vista, and some have so many that it makes it near impossible to play the game. I'll start of saying here that Conquer Online and Vista are not made for each other, so don't expect perfect compatability until TQ announces that they are going to make it compatable. Conquer Online was made for Windows XP, according to the site it is compatable with "Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP/Vista" (Source) (The addition of Vista to that list is news to me though o.o). Not many things are compatable with Vista as it is a new operating system. However, I expect more programs will become compatable with it within the next two or so years. The point of this guide is to help guide you through the Vista/Conquer online relationship and to help you out with any possible bugs you may have.

Section II: Common Questions
Question: Can I even run Conquer Online on my Vista computer?
Answer: Probably yes. While some people have major issues with Conquer Online and Vista, most people can run it perfectly with only minor bugs and glitches.

Question: Why does Vista ask me to allow Conquer Online to run every time I open it?
Answer: This is part of Vista's new security features. Vista wants to make sure that you are in full knowledge of anything trying to connect to the internet to keep your computer safe. It may be annoying, but you'll get used to it after a while.

Question: The first time I open Conquer Online it asks me to allow it multiple times, why does it do this?
Answer: Vista needs to make sure that you, as an administrator, are allowing each aspect of the program to run. Since Conquer has many applications within the Conquer Folder (play.exe, Autopatch,exe, conquer.exe, etc.), it is checking for each item.

Question: What about the compatability with the new GUI? Does Vista work with the new Windows Aero theme?
Answer: Well, Aero needs to be run in 32 bit for it to work. Aero allows the 3D flip feauture as well as previews of each window open when you hover your mouse over the tab on the task bar. When running Conquer in 32 Bit though, you will be able to use Conquer to see previews of what is happening in your Conquer client in real-time. This is very useful if you are plvling or doing something else and want to check up on your other Conquer client. Here is a guide to running Conquer in 32 bit: Link.

Here are some useful key shortcuts that you can use with Vista:
Windows Key + Tab: This activates the 3D flip feature, keep pressing tab to scroll between open windows and your desktop.
Alt + Tab: Shows a little bar with your open windows and your desktop.
Middle Mouse Button: opens a screen with all of your open windows and your desktop that you can click and select.
Windows Key + D: This force minimizes all open programs and windows. This is useful for getting to shortcuts, icons, files, etc. on your desktop.

Section III: Bugs and Possible Solutions
Bug / Issue: There is an odd symbol at the end of my chat that looks like this: . I can't delete it, but it only appears when I type one letter like this: K.
Solutions / Possible Solutions: None so far as anyone else or I know. It is just a random character that has to do with fonts and Conquer Online. They appear no matter what font you use with CO, but don't seem to bug the game itself.

Bug / Issue: Buttons and other things appear in the wrong places in the client and there are random lines lines and graphic problems.
Solutions / Possible Solutions: This usually has to do with graphic driver issues. Make sure that you do regular checks for new drivers from your graphic card provider. If not, make sure that you have your dpi set to 96 under your visual settings.

Bug / Issue: My screen freezes whenever someone actiaves the skill 'Cyclone' and I have to force exit Conquer Online.
Solutions / Possible Solutions: Once again this problem seems to be graphic driver-related. Make sure you have the most up-to-date drivers for your video card and see if it goes away. Another method that some people have found works is setting all the applications in the Conquer folder to run in Windows XP SP2 compatability (Right click -> Properties -> Compatability). If this dos not work, the only other way is to press Ctrl + Alt + Delete and then hit cancel so that it refreshes your screen.

Bug / Issue: Whenever I log in I can't connect to any server. They all have the Green light saying they have a light server load, but I still can't log in.
Solutions / Possible Solutions: This probably has to do with Vista keeping Conquer from connecting to the internet. First try making sure that your firewall(s) and Anti-Virus programs allow Conquer through and try again. If that doesn't work, right click play.exe (In the Conquer folder) and hit "Run as Administrator" and try again.

Bug / Issue: I get a 'myshell microsoft' error with random chinese symbols in it and my client closes.
Solutions / Possible Solutions: This happens in XP too sometimes. If this is common or happens whenever you try to do something, try running the program as an administrator again and if that doesn't work, reboot the computer and try again. It sometimes has to do with other processes running.

Bug / Issue: When I run Conquer in 32 bit so I can use Aero, I get odd black boxes around super weapon sometimes.
Solutions / Possible Solutions: This happens whenever you run CO in 32 bit. I just deal with it as it is not often and I prefer to use Aero anyways. If you'd rather not see this, you can run CO in 16 Bit.

Bug / Issue: Whenever I type I get random symbols throughout my message. I get it at the end and somtimes I get segments of things that I or other players have said.
Solutions / Possible Solutions: The only confirmed part about this bug is that it may have to do with drivers with your mouse, keyboard, tablet etc. You can try uninstalling some drivers if you know the device will work without them, otherwise I think you're stuck with it. No one seems to know what causes it, but a thread I started HERE is where I discussed the same problem. Look through that to see if you can come up with anything.
-UPDATE-
After the August 29 Windows Update, my problems with the symbols was gone. One of the the 4 updates was meant to relieve hardware compatability issues with Vista. It may not solve everyone problem's, but it got rid of whatever problem there was with my tablet in relation to CO. The update name was "Update for Windows Vista (KB938194)".

This list is always update as new bugs appear. If you have a bug that seems to be Vista-related PM me and I'll add it to the list and see what solutions I can come up with. For now, try running the program as an Administrator or running it for compatability with Windows XP SP2 when you have problems. That seems to fix 60% of problems and is always worth a try.

Section IV: Closing
Vista and Conquer are not fully compatable as I said before, but there are usually ways to work around the problems you encounter. I expect that as more and more people use Vista TQ may start making it more Vista-friendly. The question you have to ask yourself is if you really don't like the way Vista treats Conquer, is it really worth downgrading and spending more money to go back to XP because of a game? You could always try having a computer with two operating systems on it if you want, but I think it is foolish to have an entire operating system devoted to Conquer.

I am just another player that has Vista, but I figure that if everyone that has Vista chips in we can find a way around most of the problems.

Keep me updated, everyone, on bugs and other glitches with Vista, or just common questions you have and I'll add them to the thread and try to keep this thread up-to-date.

Happy gaming! (With Vista!)