GalCiv 2 crashing on start-up

from GalCiv2 Forums
Every time I try to start up GalCiv 2 to play it crashes or freezes. It just creates a black box in the upper left corner of the screen and sits there.

Debug Message: Version v1.4x last updated on: Mon Oct 23 17:43:56 2006
Debug Message: GalCiv2 is activated.
Debug Message: Checking DX Version.
Debug Message: *********DXDiag info follows.*********
System Info
Time: 11/12/2006, 19:50:46
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
Machine Name: ROBERTS-GOOD-CO
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Languages: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: EMACHINES
System Model: T6520
BIOS: Phoenix - Award BIOS v6.00PG
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3400+, MMX, 3DNow, ~2.4GHz
Physical Memory: 894MB RAM
Page File: 274MB used, 4548MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS


Display Info
Display device 1:
Device Name: \\.\DISPLAY1
Card Name: ATI RADEON XPRESS 200 Series
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip Type: ATI Radeon Xpress Series (0x5954)
DAC Type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Key Device: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_5954&SUBSYS_71411462&REV_00
Display Memory: 128.0 MB
Current Display Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: Plug and Play Monitor
Monitor Max Resolution: 1600,1200
Driver Name: ati2dvag.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6641
Driver Date: 9/26/2006 20:50:22
DirectX Acceleration Enabled: Yes



Sound info
Sound device 1:
Description: SB Audigy Audio [DF00]
Default Sound Playback: Yes
Default Voice Playback: Yes
Hardware ID: PCI\VEN_1102&DEV_0004&SUBSYS_00511102&REV_03
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 100
Driver Name: ctaud2k.sys
Provider: Creative
Driver Version: 5.12.0001.1196
Driver Date: 8/11/2006 14:45:38
Type: WDM
Other Drivers:
Acceleration Level: 3
Cap Flags: 0
Min/Max Sample Rate: 0, 0



Debug Message: *********END dxdiag info.*********
Debug Message: Entering WinMain
Debug Message: ******* Starting Game Shell *******
Debug Message: Going Fullscreen
Debug Message: Preparing to change display settings.
Debug Message: Using multilsample setting: D3DMULTISAMPLE_4_SAMPLES
Debug Message: Could not create the render device using default format. Switching to 16bit
Debug Message: Using multilsample setting: D3DMULTISAMPLE_NONE
Debug Message: Could not create the render device.
Debug Message: InitializeDirect3D Failed.
Debug Message: Now Fullscreen
Debug Message: Shell initialization complete
Debug Message: WM_CLOSE message received.
Debug Message: GameUninitialize start
4,451 views 5 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Debug Message: Could not create the render device using default format. Switching to 16bit

Since the game requires to run into a 32 bit mode, seeing a line with 16 bit is not a good sign.

And you should look at this thread https://forums.galciv2.com/?forumid=162&aid=127231 and try the various steps. Maybe one will help you.

Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Sometimes setting the resolution and screen mode manually in the Prefs.ini file solves these types of problems.

The file is located in My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2.
Open it with Notepad and set your game resolution to your desktop resolution of 1280x1024.

Since you are running in fullscreen mode, you may also need to set that line to '0'.

So, in Prefs.ini, it would be set like this:

[Video]
DisplayWidth=1280
DisplayHeight=1024
ColorDepth=32
Fullscreen=0
HardwareMouseCursor=1


The Fullscreen=0 may or may not be necessary, so set the res first and if that fails then set the fullscreen mode.


SoundPackager - Customize the Windows sound scheme
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
(Already resolved in another thread)