Here is a videoish random crashy problem I ran into, and a fix for it.
Problem: Game doesn't start. The screen resizes to play the intro video, and occasionally you can hear the first few notes of the intro, but it crashes before displaying anything.
Fix: Right clicky "AoWSM.exe" > Properties. Go to the Compatibility tab, select "Run this program in compatibility mode for: Windows 98/Windows ME.
Attempting to fix: First, I loaded the standalone Bink player, and verified I could play the *.bik movie files. Then I disabled the intro video. The game would load, but that's just not good enough for me, and there were other video files in the movie directory... which worried me a bit. I tried all the other options in setup. So, I patched. Then I tried a different binkw32.dll (Shadow Magic has 1.5.20.0, turns out Rag Doll Kung-Fu has version 1.8) Didn't help. Tried some other .. uh.. executables that may exist and I shan't discuss. No luck. Then remembered how damn old the game is. And compatibility mode is my friend.
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP (5.12600)
DirectX Version: 9.0 (4.09.00.0904)
Desktop Resolution: 1152x864x16
Physical Memory: 1503 / 2046 MB ; Virtual Memory: 1721 / 2047 MB
Winsock 2 Detected: YES
AoWSM Version: 1.30 ; Resources ID: 0
Display Resolution: 1152x864x16 ; Display Mode: Full Screen
Pixel Format: 5-6-5 ; 3D Renderer: Hardware
Display Driver: RADEON X850 XT (ati2dvag.dll)
Driver Version: 0.0.0.0 (4098 / 23890) CAT 6.1
Detail Level:High ; Cursor Mode:Software
Sound: On ; Music: On
DirectSound: On