BallancePlayer
Overview
BallancePlayer is a modern, enhanced player for the game Ballance, developed by decompiling and improving the original version. It offers various new features and optimizations to deliver an improved gaming experience while maintaining compatibility with the original game.
Features
- Portable and ready to use, no configuration needed to start the game
- Support for
.ini file configurations
- Standalone
ConfigTool.exe for editing Player.ini
- Command-line options for flexibility
- 32-bit color mode support
- Compatibility with monitors that don’t support 640x480 resolution
- High refresh rate monitor support
- In-game resolution switching support
- Hotkeys for toggling fullscreen mode and closing the game
- No registry modifications
- No dependency on
Dsetup.dll
- Integrated
ResDll.dll for seamless operation
- Fixes for bugs present in the original player
- Various performance improvements
System Requirements
Supports the following Windows versions:
- Windows XP
- Windows Vista
- Windows 7
- Windows 8 / 8.1
- Windows 10
- Windows 11
Installation
BallancePlayer supports both the original Bin layout and a flat layout.
Original Bin layout
- Extract the provided package into the
Bin directory of your game folder.
- Keep game assets such as
base.cmo, Database.tdb, Sounds, Textures, and 3D Entities in the game folder.
- Launch the game by running
Bin\Player.exe. No need to set compatibility mode.
Flat layout
You may also place Player.exe, base.cmo, Database.tdb, asset folders, and runtime DLLs in the same directory. When base.cmo is found next to Player.exe, the default root path becomes the executable directory.
Building from Source
Prerequisites
To build BallancePlayer, you’ll need the Virtools SDK, which can be obtained from Virtools-SDK-2.1. Set the VIRTOOLS_SDK_PATH environment variable to the path where the SDK is installed before starting the build process.
Building with CMake
- Install CMake: Ensure CMake is installed on your system.
- Navigate to Project Directory: Open a console and navigate to the directory containing the BallancePlayer source code.
- Generate Build Files: Run the following command to generate Visual Studio project files for 32-bit architecture:
cmake -B build -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A Win32
- Open in Visual Studio: Navigate to the
build directory and open the solution file BallancePlayer.sln in Visual Studio.
- Build the Solution: Use Visual Studio to compile the project.
Building with Visual Studio 6.0
- Install Visual Studio 6.0: Ensure Visual Studio 6.0 is installed.
- Set SDK paths: Set
VC6_ROOT to your Visual Studio 6.0 toolchain path, or pass it to nmake.
- Build the Project: Run
nmake /f Makefile CFG=Release VC6_ROOT=C:\Path\To\VC6 from the project root.
Notes
The official release package is built with Visual Studio 6.0 for maximum compatibility with older systems.
Hotkeys
- [Alt] + [Enter]: Switch between windowed and fullscreen mode.
- [Alt] + [F4]: Force close the game.
- [Alt] + [/]: Display an about box.
INI Settings
The Player.ini file contains several settings that control the behavior of the game. If Player.ini does not exist in the current directory, Player creates one with default settings. Use ConfigTool.exe to edit it with a graphical interface.
Startup
LogMode: Controls how logs are handled.
0: Append to the log file.1: Overwrite the log file.
Verbose: Toggles verbose logging.
ManualSetup: Controls whether the setup dialog appears on startup.
Graphics
Driver: Specifies the driver ID of the graphics card to use.BitsPerPixel: Specifies color depth.
32: 32-bit color.16: 16-bit color.
Width: Specifies screen width (based on your monitor resolution).Height: Specifies screen height (based on your monitor resolution).FullScreen: Controls display mode.
0: Windowed mode.1: Fullscreen mode.
Window
ChildWindowRendering: Controls whether rendering occurs in a child window.
Borderless: Controls window borders.
ClipCursor: Controls whether the cursor is clipped to the window.
AlwaysHandleInput: Allows the player to handle input even when the window is in the background.
X: Specifies the horizontal window coordinate (can be negative).Y: Specifies the vertical window coordinate (can be negative).
Game
Language: Sets the game language.
0: German.1: English.2: Spanish.3: Italian.4: French.
SkipOpening: Controls whether to skip the opening animation.
ApplyHotfix: Controls whether hotfixes are applied.
UnlockFramerate: Unlocks the frame rate limitation.
UnlockWidescreen: Unlocks non-4:3 resolutions.
UnlockHighResolution: Unlocks resolutions higher than 1600x1200.
Debug: Enables in-game debug mode.
Rookie: Enables in-game rookie mode.
Command-line Options
You can also use command-line options to customize game behavior:
Player.exe [OPTIONS]
--verbose: Enable verbose logging.-m, --manual-setup: Always show the setup dialog box at startup.-v <driver>, --video-driver <driver>: Set the graphics card driver ID.-b <bpp>, --bpp <bpp>: Set the bits per pixel (32 or 16).-w <width>, --width <width>: Set the screen width.-h <height>, --height <height>: Set the screen height.-f, --fullscreen: Start the game in fullscreen mode.-C, --child-window-rendering: Enable child window rendering.-c, --borderless: Start the game in borderless mode.--clip-cursor: Clip the cursor to the window.--always-handle-input: Allow input handling when the window is in the background.-x <X>, --position-x <X>: Set the window’s X coordinate.-y <Y>, --position-y <Y>: Set the window’s Y coordinate.-l <lang>, --lang <lang>: Set the game language.--skip-opening: Skip the opening animation.--disable-hotfix: Disable script hotfixes.-u, --unlock-framerate: Unlock the frame rate limitation.--unlock-widescreen: Unlock non-4:3 resolutions.--unlock-high-resolution: Unlock resolutions higher than 1600x1200.d, --debug: Enable in-game debug mode.r, --rookie: Enable in-game rookie mode.
Path Options
--config <file>: Use a specific Player.ini file.--log <file>: Write logs to a specific file.--cmo <file>: Load a specific composition file. This is a file path and does not change the resource root.--root-path <dir>: Set the resource root. Unless explicitly overridden, plugin, render engine, manager, building block, sound, bitmap, and data paths are derived from this root.--plugin-path <dir>: Set the plugin directory.--render-engine-path <dir>: Set the render engine directory.--manager-path <dir>: Set the manager directory.--building-block-path <dir>: Set the building block directory.--sound-path <dir>: Set the sound directory.--bitmap-path <dir>: Set the texture/bitmap directory.--data-path <dir>: Set the data directory used to resolve relative composition files such as base.cmo.
If you have any bugs or requests, please open an issue in this repository: BallancePlayer.
ChangeLog
v0.3.9 (2026-09-24)
New Features
- Added a built-in configuration dialog.
- Added an in-game configuration entry through [Alt] + [C]. Saved changes take effect after restarting the game.
- Player now opens the configuration dialog on startup when
Player.ini is missing.
- Added a standalone
ConfigTool.exe with display-mode dropdowns and control tooltips.
- Added multi-monitor support and a startup prompt for an already-running Player instance.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed command-line option parsing so short options, long options, and option values are handled correctly.
- Fixed configuration default path handling so it always targets the same
Player.ini used by Player.
- Preserved existing
Player.ini settings when saving changes from the configuration dialog.
- Avoided saving temporary command-line overrides back into
Player.ini.
- Recomputed related paths after root path overrides.
- Detected flat runtime layouts by using the executable directory as the default root when
base.cmo is next to Player.exe.
- Clarified path handling so
--config, --log, and --cmo remain file paths while --root-path controls resource directories.
- Preserved in-session configuration edits when opening the configuration dialog during gameplay.
- Report configuration save failures instead of silently ignoring them.
- Accepted shorthand 16-bit pixel formats such as
RGB565 and ARGB1555.
- Fixed fullscreen switching, screen-mode detection, and frame-rate unlocking.
- Fixed explicit configuration load/save paths and other runtime path handling.
- Fixed configuration tool tooltip lifetime issues and the VC6 Unicode instance prompt.
- Limited forced exit of an existing instance to the matching executable path.
Changes
- Improved VC6 and Virtools SDK build compatibility.
- Added release packaging support for VC6 and MSVC 2022 builds.
- Added version information to
ConfigTool.exe and CMake build presets.
v0.3.8 (2025-09-25)
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue where the window became invisible when switching from fullscreen to windowed mode.
v0.3.7 (2025-09-24)
New Features
- Added support for external configuration file change detection and merging.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue where plugin calls to ClipCursor could be disrupted when the ClipCursor setting was disabled.
v0.3.6 (2025-08-20)
Changes
- Switched from ANSI to Unicode to improve compatibility and internationalization support.
v0.3.5 (2025-05-23)
New Features
- Introduced a standalone configuration tool for easier management of game settings.
- Added support for loading custom game compositions.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed a crash that could occur when enabling verbose logging.
Changes
- Removed deprecated settings:
LoadAllManagers, LoadAllBuildingBlocks, and LoadAllPlugins.
- The game no longer pauses by default when the window is deactivated.
v0.3.4 (2025-04-24)
New Features
- Added support for DPI awareness handling to improve display scaling across different monitor configurations.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue with the command line parser that could cause incorrect parameter handling.
- Resolved an irregular game acceleration issue that occurred when frequently switching between windowed and fullscreen modes.
Changes
- Removed the deprecated
PauseOnDeactivated setting.
- Enhanced error handling with more descriptive messages and improved recovery from common failure states.
v0.3.3 (2024-10-01)
New Features
- Added the
LogMode setting to control log mode.
- Added the
Verbose setting with the --verbose option to control debug log output.
- Introduced the
ApplyHotfix setting with the --no-hotfix option to control whether script hotfixes are applied.
- Added the
ClipCursor setting with the --clip-cursor option to manage cursor clipping behavior.
- Added more graphics settings and options.
- Improved error messaging for better clarity.
Changes
- Logs now overwrite the existing file instead of appending to it.
- Reorganized configuration categories for better structure.
- Where possible, relative paths are now used.
v0.3.2 (2024-07-16)
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue with broken plugin registration.
Changes
- The application window now opens in the center of the screen by default.
v0.3.1 (2024-03-04)
Bug Fixes
- Fixed a potential issue with abnormal resolution settings.
v0.3.0 (2023-05-20)
New Features
- Added the
ChildWindowRendering setting with the --child-window-rendering option to control rendering in a child window.
Bug Fixes
- Resolved a possible black screen issue when switching to full-screen mode.
Changes
- By default, rendering is no longer done in a separate window.
v0.2.4 (2023-03-23)
Bug Fixes
- Fixed a game initialization failure that occurred when no screen mode was selected in the setup dialog.
- Corrected the render driver initialization process.
v0.2.3 (2023-03-13)
New Features
- Added support for running multiple instances of the game.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed a crash that occurred when exiting the game.
Changes
- Deprecated the
Resizable and ClipMouse settings.
- Enhanced error messages for better clarity.
- Refactored the codebase to simplify the implementation.
v0.2.2 (2023-01-23)
New Features
- Added the
ManualSetup setting and corresponding --manual-setup command-line option to control whether the setup dialog box is shown at startup.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed issues with short option parsing in the command line.
Changes
- Deprecated the
AdaptiveCamera setting.
- Deprecated delay-loaded DLL.
- Deprecated path customization.
- Simplified the workaround for driver and screen mode enumeration.
v0.2.1 (2022-11-24)
New Features
- Added support for console logging.
- Added the
LoadAllManagers setting with the --load-all-managers command-line option to control whether all managers are loaded.
- Added the
LoadAllBuildingBlocks setting with the --load-all-building-blocks option to control whether all building blocks are loaded.
- Added the
LoadAllPlugins setting with the --load-all-plugins command-line option to control whether all plugins are loaded.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue where the screen modes will be changed incorrectly.
- Resolved a startup failure caused by incorrect path settings.
Changes
- Removed the dependency on the modified version of
TT_InterfaceManager_RT.dll.
v0.2.0 (2022-10-15)
New Features
- Added a Chinese version of the README.
v0.2.0-rc1 (2022-10-09)
Bug Fixes
- Fixed a potential crash issue that occurred upon exiting the game.
Changes
- Improved the game loop for better performance.
v0.2.0-beta4 (2022-10-02)
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue preventing the player from switching between fullscreen and windowed mode when using OpenGL.
- Resolved problems with task switching that could lead to errors.
v0.2.0-beta3 (2022-10-01)
Bug Fixes
- Fixed a UI crash that occurred during task switching in fullscreen mode.
- Resolved an issue where specifying a display driver had no effect.
Changes
- Swapped the positions of
Driver and Screen Mode in the FullScreen Setup dialog.
v0.2.0-beta2 (2022-09-28)
Bug Fixes
- Fixed a pop-up black screen issue after exiting.
v0.2.0-beta1 (2022-09-28)
Bug Fixes
- Fixed forced fullscreen Vsync.
- Fixed the issue that window position can not be restored correctly.
v0.2.0-alpha4 (2022-09-25)
Bug Fixes
- Resolved a black screen error on monitors that do not support 640x480 resolution.
v0.2.0-alpha2 (2022-09-23)
New Features
- Added support for in-game debug mode.
- Introduced new command-line options like
--root-path=<dir>.
v0.2.0-alpha1 (2022-09-17)
New Features
- Added support for more resolutions, skipping the opening animation, mouse clipping, off-site startup, game path customization, and Virtools console output.
- Introduced many new settings and corresponding command-line options.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed issues with fullscreen setup.
- Resolved an issue where the player would get stuck when using custom resolutions.
Changes
- Unified log and error output.
- Rearranged settings and corresponding command-line options.
v0.1.9 (2022-08-30)
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue with the position-saving mechanism when exiting fullscreen mode.
Changes
- If the window is resizable (with a title), it now appears in the upper-left corner with a slim margin from the screen edge when the window position is set to 0.
- The saved window position value can now be negative.
- The game will now save the last used game mode (fullscreen or windowed) and restore it the next time it starts up.
v0.1.8 (2022-08-17)
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue where the game was locked at 60 FPS on 144Hz monitors when v-sync was enabled.
- Resolved a bug preventing the game from finding multiple display drivers.
v0.1.7 (2022-08-15)
New Features
- Added
X and Y settings with corresponding -x and -y options to set the screen coordinates of the upper-left corner of the window.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue where the game window resized unnaturally before starting.
Changes
- The last window position is now saved and restored on the next startup.
v0.1.6 (2022-08-05)
New Features
- Added the
Borderless setting with the -c option to start in borderless mode.
- Added the
Resizable setting with the -s option to make the window resizable.
Changes
- The window is now non-resizable by default.
v0.1.5 (2022-07-20)
New Features
- Added support for 32-bit color mode.
- Added support for command-line long options.
- Added the
Language setting with the -l option to set the game language.
- Added the
UnlockFramerate setting with the -u option to unlock the frame-rate limit.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed a UI disorder bug during task switching.
Changes
- Changed the command-line option for disabling task switching from
-d to -e.
- Reimplemented the initialization configuration mechanism.
- Rewrote command-line support.
- Integrated the functions of
ResDll.
v0.1.4 (2022-05-12)
New Features
- Added the
PauseOnTaskSwitch setting with the -p option to enable game pause during task switching.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed bugs where the game would exit early and crash upon exit.
Changes
- Removed unnecessary virtual functions to improve performance.
- Removed the unused Interface Sprite.
- Improved error handling.
v0.1.3 (2022-05-09)
New Features
- Added support for command-line options.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed fullscreen crash.
- Fixed task switching issues.
- Fixed resolution duplicates in Graphics Options.
Changes
- Removed dependency on
Dsetup.dll since checking DirectX is unnecessary on modern PCs.
- Removed exception handling to improve performance.
v0.1.2 (2022-05-08)
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue where the game might crash upon exit.
Changes
- Default config files are now generated when no configuration file is found.
- Replaced remaining registry operations in the main function.
- Removed
FixedString.
v0.1.1 (2022-05-04)
New Features
- Added support for initialization file configuration.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue where the game displayed incompletely in windowed mode.
Changes
- Removed some unknown class members.
v0.1.0 (2022-05-03)
Bug Fixes
- Fixed a memory checking bug that caused incorrect results.
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