Posted June 14, 2020
Although the Imperium.exe file has headers indicating that it should run on Windows 2000 or later, running the game as supplied on WinXP results in an error message ("The procedure entry point QueryFullProcessImageNameA could not be located in the dynamic link library KERNEL32.dll") after which the intro videos start, followed by a blank screen.
As an aside, the start menu shortcut created by the GOG installer will run launcher.exe which requires .NET Framework - running Imperium.exe directly bypasses the need for this middleware.
The cause of the problem is the galaxy.dll file in the game folder, which will not run on Windows XP. This is present even on offline downloads and has been responsible for many other GOG titles losing compatibility with WinXP as documented here.
Fortunately there is a solution:
(1) If you do not have a hex-editor installed, download and install one (I would suggest the free HxD);
(2) You will also need an extraction utility that can handle .7z files (7-zip and Universal Extractor 2 are free options, WinRAR is a good choice for those willing to pay);
(3) Download the GOG Galaxy 1.2.31.8 Patch from either:
- DrakoPensulo's Blog (via a mega.nz link) or
- directly from Xin.At
(4) The cautious may wish to check this download with VirusTotal (at time of posting only one engine - Sophos - was flagging this with a "heuristic" result, almost certainly a false positive);
(5) Copy the two files in the downloaded archive (bcrypt.dll and kernel35.dll) into the folder containing Eador Imperium;
(6) Make a backup copy of the galaxy.dll file (HxD will make one by default, but it always pays to be cautious);
(7) Use HxD to open galaxy.dll and replace every occurrence of "kernel32" with "kernel35" (4 occurrences should be found) - save the amended file;
(8) Running Imperium.exe should now give no error message and the game should start normally.
It is possible that future updates to Eador Imperium will result in an updated Galaxy.dll in which case the above will no longer work - if this happens, see Xin.At: How to make the GOG version of Into the Breach run on Windows XP (section 2) for an updated workaround.
As an aside, the start menu shortcut created by the GOG installer will run launcher.exe which requires .NET Framework - running Imperium.exe directly bypasses the need for this middleware.
The cause of the problem is the galaxy.dll file in the game folder, which will not run on Windows XP. This is present even on offline downloads and has been responsible for many other GOG titles losing compatibility with WinXP as documented here.
Fortunately there is a solution:
(1) If you do not have a hex-editor installed, download and install one (I would suggest the free HxD);
(2) You will also need an extraction utility that can handle .7z files (7-zip and Universal Extractor 2 are free options, WinRAR is a good choice for those willing to pay);
(3) Download the GOG Galaxy 1.2.31.8 Patch from either:
- DrakoPensulo's Blog (via a mega.nz link) or
- directly from Xin.At
(4) The cautious may wish to check this download with VirusTotal (at time of posting only one engine - Sophos - was flagging this with a "heuristic" result, almost certainly a false positive);
(5) Copy the two files in the downloaded archive (bcrypt.dll and kernel35.dll) into the folder containing Eador Imperium;
(6) Make a backup copy of the galaxy.dll file (HxD will make one by default, but it always pays to be cautious);
(7) Use HxD to open galaxy.dll and replace every occurrence of "kernel32" with "kernel35" (4 occurrences should be found) - save the amended file;
(8) Running Imperium.exe should now give no error message and the game should start normally.
It is possible that future updates to Eador Imperium will result in an updated Galaxy.dll in which case the above will no longer work - if this happens, see Xin.At: How to make the GOG version of Into the Breach run on Windows XP (section 2) for an updated workaround.
Post edited June 14, 2020 by AstralWanderer