The install paths on our computers seem different - so probably the Origin app does some registry lookup and ends up getting the Longest Journey executable instead. Since this is reproducible its probably not a random thing and someone did some sloppy coding somewhere. I don't think anyone will make a patch for this, ever.
My solution was to uninstall TLJ and stop playing C&C Tiberian Sun after realizing it is indeed 2015 and nostalgia doesn't solve anything. Another possible solution - if TLJ is truly one of your favourite games - is to show some integrity and buy a computer specifically to play it.
Good luck!
I just don't have them installed on C:\.
And I've figured it out. The problem is that both games have the executable Game.exe. No other games I have, have that. So I changed the TLJ executable from game.exe to games.exe. So when I now start Tiberian Sun, it launches normally. Same still goes for TLJ. It's thankfully that simple.
And there's nothing wrong with nostalgia, btw. 😎
Well, I'm GLAD that this was posted here. I, also, have had that exact same issue.
And yes, it's entirely because the sloppy coding in the C&C re-release package LAUNCHERS (not the original games, mind you) simply searched out the EXE named "game.exe" in the registry, and yes, finds the wrong one.
Of course, I'm no fan of game designers simply naming their program files "game" instead of an actual meaningful name, but in theory, at least, this should not be a problem. It takes a special kind of stupid to assume that on a gamer's PC, there could never be another program named "game.exe," and thus to put in an ACTIVE REGISTRY SEARCH for that executable name, instead of... ya know... simply LOOKING IN THE INSTALL DIRECTORY. Someone spent a bunch of extra time coming up with this "game launcher" issue... ON BOTH SIDES (EA's C&C game re-releases AND the original "The Longest Journey" game launcher) instead of... ya know... simply looking for the file in the directory where the game was actually installed. (sigh)
Yep, a special kind of stupid. But, thankfully, fairly easily fixed by, as mentioned, renaming the "TLJ" executable, editing the game install data from within GOG proper. Of course, the "web launch" option which GOG, like so many other packagers, provides is broken by doing so, but that's relatively trivial.
None of that should ever be necessary, however. Never. It's just bad programming. And worse, UNNECESSARILY COMPLICATED PROGRAMMING, by people who obviously think that they're smarter than they really are. (another sigh).
As for "old games not being worth playing," the guy above who said that must be twelve or so, I suppose. In reality, the best games of all time were NOT written or released recently. Nor the best movies, nor the best TV shows, nor the greatest works of prose fiction, nor the greatest... well, ANYTHING, really. In truth, works of art (which includes games, realize) are released all the time, and most are... underwhelming, at best. The GOOD ones? They get remembered. The bad ones? Forgotten. As it ought to be.
So, when you decide to play an older game, the odds are pretty good that the reason you've chosen to do so is because IT WAS, AND STILL IS, GOOD.
Case in point - my all-time favorite PC games of all time are the original two "Thief" games. They are not "up to date graphically," but they're still good enough to tell a terrific story and create a tremendously entertaining experience. And while I'd love it if these were given upgraded graphics WHILE NOT CHANGING THE EXPERIENCE OTHERWISE... the more recent "remake/reboot" game also named "Thief" was, while perhaps "prettier," a far inferior game.
The original DooM games are still tremendously popular. They can be run on newer engines, but the gameplay remains the same, tremendously entertaining, gameplay it always was. The Half-Life game series has yet to be beaten in terms of narrative immersion, despite it now being more than slightly "long in the tooth" as well.
Frankly, I can't think of a single RECENT game which I enjoy a tenth as much as some of those older "classics." And that's why I bought the C&C bundle here on EA, frankly. Because it got the GAMEPLAY "just right." And while more recently produced games may, potentially, be "prettier," none have introduced... ya know... actual IMPROVED GAMEPLAY. Nor "improved FUN."
It's sort of like Shakespeare. He wrote his works, CENTURIES ago now, as "mass media popular entertainment." They were essentially the soap operas of the day, after all! But because they were so well-received, they're still remembered, and still enjoyed, to this day.
That's the thing about art... ANY form of art. The good stuff retains its value long after the less impressive, even if "newer," competition has come and gone, and is long forgotten.
So... "why play a game from 2015?" (Or, from 1992, for that matter?)
BECAUSE IT'S GREAT ENTERTAINMENT. Today, just as much as when it was released.
'Nuff said.
