ATI Video Card Issue

from GalCiv2 Forums
I am having a very frustrating issue with this game and my computer. My video card I have been assured by the creator of the video card and the computer is compatable with DirectX 9.0(c). That is why I bought the game, because I have not had any issues with that requirement in the past. I have the most updated driver for the video card, although apparently they have not created a new driver for it in 2 years. The long and the short of it is that I get an error after the cinematic and sometimes not till I click to start an option from the main menu. This either is an endless repetition like a broken record that doesn't go away unless I reboot or an error message that "ati2dvag display driver stopped working normally". This is apparently linked to d3d9.dll in some way. I would like to know if there is any way that the makers of the game can come up with a fix for this sort of bug, if there is a setting that I can change somewhere to make it work, or if nothing is possible how to get a refund.
5,379 views 15 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
You need to post your debug.err log here so we can help. It is located in the main game folder.

I highly doubt an ATI based card doesn't have drivers available that are not newer. You can use Omega drivers in any case for that brand card. 2 year old drivers will not render MS directX 9.0c correctly as that software has only been out less than a year. And the game requires that version of directX to function.

Regardless, post your debug.err log and lets see if we can getyou playing.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I ran the game and my drivers hadnt bin updated since 2003.It told me at the start so i downloaded ati catalyst software off there site and it contained the updated drivers.
Elemental: Reforged
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I could not play on my notebook before because ATI had stopped to support my manufacturer some time ago. Then I used Omega drivers... now playing hours every day...
Maybe you want to try that.
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I don't touch Omega drivers with a 10 foot pole, since they messed my system up completely. I have a pretty generic Sapphire card, you can't get closer to reference than that, since Sapphire makes all of ATI's own "branded" cards.

You can download either the ATI generic drivers from the ATI website, regardless of the board manufacturer, or the SoftMod drivers from the TechPowerUp website. I have never had problems with aSoftMod driver, and they unlock some features compared to the ATI drivers, without taking the risks that the Omega drivers do.

http://www.techpowerup.com/softmod/
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
thank you for the advice. I downloaded the Omega driver and now the game is running fine for the most part. There is one big problem however. The movies are very jumpy and the audio and video skips a beat and stutters every couple seconds. Is this due to the Omega driver, or is there some other way to fix it. I think that I will try to find the Softmod Drivers that Mistoffeles metions.
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
@Imperator44

Turn off in game anti-aliasing.
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The anti-aliasing is turned off in game. I made sure of this after your posting and there was no change. It does appear that the only real option for the video driver at present is the Omega one, which I am now currently using again as the softmod and other options do not apply to this computer. The ATI Catalyst driver does not recognize the current driver to update it, even when the default one is on, and says that I need to apply a VGA driver, but since I have applied the only drivers available I take it that I do not have the needed hardware or software to make that work.

I would appreciate any other advice on how to fix the problem, but the anti-aliasing is turned off from the game options menu and that did not fix the problem. BTW, the opening cinematic does not have any problems. I am going to fiddle with my control panel for the ATI card that was part of the Omega download to try to find a solution.

Thank you for the help
Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
JFMI, before you installed the omega drivers, did you completely uninstall the old ATI ones first? If not, that could cause issues. ATI makes a removal tool on their website. At least they used to.
Reply #9 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I didn't, that must be it. Can the computer function without drivers long enough to install the Omega ones again? Do I need the removal tool, or do I just need to uninstall the drivers from the Control Panel?
Reply #10 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Its better to use the removal tool. But best check at the ATI site. Control Panel uninstall may miss something, but is better than nothing.

If you are running XP, it should allow you to run in native 16 color mode without any drivers installed. The best place to remove the drivers from is while running in Safe Mode. You can add the new drivers there too if the box won't boot into the regular XP 16 color mode after removing them.

Here is a link to a tool called 3DAnalyze. It is a german site and a bit hard to navigate. Click on the big picture of the Tommi-Systems app to download it. The tool is mainly used for pc's running apps that need Hardware T&L but don't have the capability. But it has other tweaks that may help you out. Use at your own risk. I have used it successfully in the past.
http://www.tommti-systems.de/go.html?http://www.tommti-systems.com/main-Dateien/files.html
Reply #11 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I have made sure that it was uninstalled. The hardware finder even offered to try to find software for it as there was none installed. The Omega drivers are back installed and the problem still pursists . I am going to try to find a tweak in the 3DAnalyze. I suppose I may just have to bite this bullet, but some of the best features of a game are the short victory videos.
Reply #12 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
One last question. Is it possible that this problem is the result of a bad install and a reinstall would fix it? Are there problems like that that can't be fixed by repair and must have an uninstall and then a new installation?
Reply #13 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Sorry for the delay - just had a bad electrical storm go through and lost power.

Have you tried to contact SD about this? They are in the Chat rooms at SDC every weekday during business hours and beyond - US Central time.

I wish I could be of more assistance - but without actually looking at your pc I can't do much more than guess right now. Maybe your Binks installation is hosed? Perhaps someone else may have a suggestion - if I think of anything else I'll get back.

Yes, those problems exist with all software at times, but usually they are unlikely. Could be a hosed install, worth a shot if you are up for it.

Really sounds like your directX, your drivers, and the video stuff is just not getting along. But again, that is a guess. Post a debug.err log if you want - maybe someone can spot something there.
Reply #14 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
hehe post that debug! if your video drivers were that old im sure your sound is also. could be ram, sound, page file, spyware, viruses, when was last time you defragged? running other apps while playing, trying to play in windowed or full screen mode? need more info to help ya out!!
Reply #15 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The bug finally worked itself out . . . i've no idea what the problem was now for sure. Thank you all for the help, it is greatly appreciated. It may well have had something to do with running other apps, I just don't know. There have been a couple bugs that happened in game after several hours of play, but its unclear what they were or what caused them as they just ended the game. On the whole though its not much of a problem and i'm sure someone else is already describing the problems for a future patch better than I could since there for me is no clear trigger.