VB6 Aurora:Download & Install

Aurora is released by Steve Walmsley, the developer. You can find and download the latest version at the Aurora Installation Forum.

There are two methods a player can use to install Aurora: manually downloading and installing the latest versio yourself, or more simply use the available 3rd party utility Portable Aurora.

Manually Downloading and Installing

Its recommended to read the instructions carefully and follow them exactly. If something goes wrong, the best place to ask is at the forums. The game will not work with any other number format.

Installation instruction for version any version up to 7.10

1) Follow install instructions for version 5.54. 2) Download the latest patch and save the file to your desktop or another easily accessed area of your computer. 3) To apply the patch, unzip the patch file and copy the files to the game install location as follow: a) Stevefire.mdb and Aurora.exe into the installation directory, overwriting the existing files with the same names b) a11.jpg, b20.jpg and M24.jpg into the Planetjpeg sub-directory c) flag0390.jpg and flag0391.jpg into the Flags sub-directory

Installation instruction for version 5.54

Important! Make sure you read these instructions carefully and follow them exactly. Aurora is written in an old language and therefore uses an installation program from the late 1990s. If you don't follow the instructions you will end up with a series of errors, usually 3061 then 3265 then a series of 91s. If that happens, uninstall and re-install and follow the instructions carefully. 1) Download AuroraInstall554.zip and save the file to your desktop or another easily accessed area of your computer. Extract the .zip file you just downloaded, you will have four files called Aurora.CAB, Setup.exe, Setup.LST and AuroraUpdate554.zip. 2) Run Setup.exe. This will run a standard (but old) Microsoft install program. The installation folder is, by default, in C:\Program Files\Aurora. Change the installation path to another easily accessed area of your computer (ex. C:\games\Aurora or C:\Users\yourUsername\Desktop\Aurora) Important: if asked about overwriting any existing files with older files, make sure you KEEP the existing files. This will happen about 10 times during the install. 3) Extract the Unzip AuroraUpdate554.zip into the installation directory you choose, and answer yes to overwriting Aurora.exe and Stevefire.mdb. Note If you live in a country where the decimal separator is a comma e.g. 1,200, see System Requirements section bellow. 4) (OPTIONAL) Download UpdatedRaces.zip (29MB) and overwrite the races in the Race directory. This updates the racial pictures and prevents errors when viewing the sample game Steve included. 5) You will need to install the program from this website to safely get some missing .dlls that you will need. You can uninstall the program immediately after if you want. 6) If you've followed all these steps, you're done and ready for your first game! Check the Tutorial section on the wiki for help getting started or visit the official Aurora4x forums.

Using Portable Aurora

Portable Aurora, all-In-One installer, is a 3rd party utility that make it easier to install and run the game. It includes all image packs and a wrapper that automate many aspects of running the game. You can download it from the Portable Aurora sub-forum.

System Requirements

Number format: If you are living in a country which uses the comma (,) for decimal separator, then while playing Aurora you have to switch the Regional Settings of your computer over to US or UK or another country that uses the period (.) as the decimal separator. In XP this is in the Control Panel.

Minimum resolution: The minimum resolution required is 1280x1024. A higher resolution or multiple monitors will allow you to see more windows at once. If your display doesn't support this, there are ways around it, provided your video card supports a higher resolution than your monitor/display. You can also play with slightly reduced-size windows (see main game menu).

• Scrolling desktop. A program that extends the desktop beyond your screen can be found at http://360desktop.com/
• In XP, something similar is already built in but it does carry a warning from Microsoft so you will have to decide if this is worth trying. Go to the screen where you set your resolution. Select the Advanced button and then select the Monitor tab. There is a checkbox which reads "Hide modes that this monitor cannot display". If you uncheck this box, you can set resolution to anything your graphics card can handle. If this resolution is higher than what your monitor can display, whenever your mouse pointer reaches the edge of your screen, the whole screen will scroll in that direction.

See Also

• Aurora Installation Forum official files and support.
• All-In-One installer and Portable Aurora
• Quickstart for Beginners tutorial.