movies

When you say they do not work.... are they extremely choppy? Do they freeze? What do you mean they will not work? They just do not come on?

Umm from your post i take it you have actually downloaded them?

Might help us more if we know the extent of the issue in full. Also more info on your system and debug.err would help.

The less info you give the less help you will get.

Thats all the help i have for you right now.

Perhaps you could help ME then? My movies are all really choppy. Whats up with that? By your response Quixen, I take it you've heard of this problem before.

New graphic's card? new fan? new screen? or are you playing it from a extrenal hard drive?

Zach: If you bought the download version of the game, you should make sure you've gotten the movies as well--they are not included in the base installation. Just click the [+] next to GC2 in SDC and install the rest if you didn't.

Otherwise, both of you, please go to C:\Program Files\Stardock\Totalgaming\GalCiv2 (or wherever you installed the game at), open the debug.err file you find there in notepad, and copy/paste the contents into a post here. This will give us some technical information that can help troubleshoot your problem.

since we're on the topic of movies... i have the store-bought verson of the game, and my movies work fine.... but I accidently skipped a cut-scene in the campaign and want to watch it again... but every time i load a save from the map and re-finish it, the scene fails to play. Should I re-start the mission and play from scratch or is there an easier way to re-watch the cut-scenes?

theStormWeaver,

I bought the game from a store back in June. When I got it home and loaded onto my machine, the cut scenes (movies) were really choppy. The reason was my graphics card really sucked. Since then I upgraded and now I am not having the same problem. Could it be that you have an older graphics card that may be in need of replacement?

mine just freeze when they come on

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, 20:30:14
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
Machine Name: ZAXCH-5DGP2WCNM
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) (2600.xpclient.010817-1148)
Languages: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Dell Computer Corporation
System Model: Dimension 4300
BIOS: Default System BIOS
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 1.60GHz, ~1.6GHz
Physical Memory: 640MB RAM
Page File: 173MB used, 813MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS


Display Info
Display device 1:
Device Name: \\.\DISPLAY1
Card Name: NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 4000
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip Type: GeForce4 MX 4000
DAC Type: Integrated RAMDAC
Key Device: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0185&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_C1
Display Memory: 128.0 MB
Current Display Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: Dell M991
Monitor Max Resolution: 1600,1200
Driver Name: nv4_disp.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.5216
Driver Date: 10/6/2003 15:16:00
DirectX Acceleration Enabled: Yes



Sound info
Sound device 1:
Description: SoundMAX Digital Audio
Default Sound Playback: Yes
Default Voice Playback: Yes
Hardware ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2445&SUBSYS_01101028&REV_12
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 100
Driver Name: smwdm.sys
Provider: Analog Devices
Driver Version: 5.12.0001.3030
Driver Date: 7/25/2001 15:40:30
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_NONE
Debug Message: Game Resolution: 1024 x 768
Debug Message: Running fullscreen.
Debug Message: HAL (sw vp): NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 4000
Debug Message: D3DPRESENT_INTERVAL_DEFAULT
Debug Message: Refresh rate: 60
Debug Message: Bit Depth: 32 bit.
Debug Message: *********Checking D3DDevice Caps***********************
Debug Message: A full-color cursor is supported in hardware at high resolution modes.
Debug Message: RGB in format 6:6:6, Masks reported as ff0000:ff00:ff
Debug Message: Now Fullscreen
Debug Message: Shell initialization complete
Debug Message: ***** Initializing Game *****
Debug Message: Timer Frequency is 0 369e99
Debug Message: Initializing sound card.
Debug Message: initailizing bink
Debug Message: Create setup screens.
Debug Message: Clear galaxy settings.
Debug Message: Clear influence.
Debug Message: Clear up laws.
Debug Message: Clear first time events.
Debug Message: Clear wonders and trade goods.
Debug Message: Clear sector mapper.
Debug Message: * Collectors Edition *
Debug Message: Set mouse.
Debug Message: Set update timer.
Debug Message: Clear data definitions.
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\zach\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\ships\*.xml
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\zach\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\ships\*.shipcfg
Debug Message: Reading Star Names
Debug Message: Reading Star Names... Done
*DEBUG ERROR: ***TutorialWnd: Unknown edit field Totorial_GridList_Entry type: CustomListEntry ***
Debug Message: TutorialWnd: Cannot find OBJID Totorial_All_Button
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\Mods\Default\Data\CustomMaps\*.gc2map
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\Mods\Default\Data\Scenarios\*.gc2scenario
Debug Message: Creating Galaxy
Debug Message: Killing threads.
Debug Message: Kiling civs.
Debug Message: Killing ships.
Debug Message: Killing rallypoints.
Debug Message: Killing misc objects.
Debug Message: Killing stars.
Debug Message: Killing anomalies.
Debug Message: Killing space resources.
Debug Message: Killing colonies and planets.
Debug Message: killing scenario.
Debug Message: Clearing Turn Event Log
Debug Message: Clear galaxy settings.
Debug Message: Clear influence.
Debug Message: Clear up laws.
Debug Message: Clear first time events.
Debug Message: Clear wonders and trade goods.
Debug Message: Clear sector mapper.
Debug Message: Galaxy Size Set: 4 x 4
Debug Message: Creating Random Map
Debug Message: Creating Random Map... Stars
Debug Message: Number of Unplaced Stars: 12.
Debug Message: Creating Random Map... Planets
Debug Message: *************** Failed To Place Planet ***************
Debug Message: Creating Random Map... Anomalies
Debug Message: Num Anomalies: 42
Debug Message: Creating Random Map... Resources
Debug Message: Creating Random Map... Done
Debug Message: Setting Game Options
Debug Message: Creating Civs
Debug Message: Terran Alliance: Intellence -> 30
Debug Message: Drengin Empire: Intellence -> 30
Debug Message: Altarian Republic: Intellence -> 30
Debug Message: Arcean Empire: Intellence -> 30
Debug Message: Torian Confederation: Intellence -> 30
Debug Message: Yor Collective: Intellence -> 30
Debug Message: Creating Civs... Done
Debug Message: Updating ZOC.
Debug Message: Updating ZOC.
Debug Message: Galaxy Create... Done
Debug Message: UIBeginGame called with g_ulLocalPlayerID = 0
Debug Message: UIBeginGameHelper: New Game Started
Debug Message: UIBeginGameHelper: Mods are Disabled
Debug Message: Destroying ship Altarian Republic Colony. Orbiting: 0
Debug Message: Destroying ship Arcean Empire Colony. Orbiting: 0
Debug Message: Destroying ship Yor Collective Colony. Orbiting: 0
Debug Message: Updating ZOC.
Debug Message: Random Event: End
Debug Message: Drengin Empire (1): Researching: Space Militarization
Debug Message: Altarian Republic (2): Researching: Galactic Warfare
Debug Message: Arcean Empire (3): Researching: Xeno Research
Debug Message: Torian Confederation (4): Researching: Xeno Research
Debug Message: Yor Collective (5): Researching: New Propulsion Techniques
Debug Message: Pirates! (26): Researching: Galactic Warfare
Debug Message: Destroying ship Drengin Empire Colony. Orbiting: 0
Debug Message: Destroying ship Torian Confederation Colony. Orbiting: 0
Debug Message: Updating ZOC.
Debug Message: Random Event: End
Debug Message: OptionsWnd: Quit Btn
Debug Message: Posting WM_CLOSE message.
Debug Message: WM_CLOSE message received.
Debug Message: GameUninitialize start
Debug Message: Killing Galaxy
Debug Message: Killing threads.
Debug Message: Kiling civs.
Debug Message: Killing ships.
Debug Message: Killing rallypoints.
Debug Message: Killing misc objects.
Debug Message: Killing stars.
Debug Message: Killing anomalies.
Debug Message: Killing space resources.
Debug Message: Killing colonies and planets.
Debug Message: killing scenario.
Debug Message: Clearing Turn Event Log
Debug Message: Clear galaxy settings.
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Debug Message: Clear up laws.
Debug Message: Clear first time events.
Debug Message: Clear wonders and trade goods.
Debug Message: Clear sector mapper.
Debug Message: Clear data definitions.
Debug Message: Killing Galaxy: Completed
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Debug Message: Destroying Window.
Debug Message: Main Shell terminating normally

Zach, at the very least you need to update your video and audio drivers.
Yours are way to old.

Updating WindowsXP would be a good idea, too.

And your video card is not a DX9 card, which is what the game requires to show all the textures and effects. It may work, but it will never work very well for this game.

Your audio and video drivers are both horribly out of date. You can get new video drivers at nvidia.com, and google may be able to turn up audio drivers. Also, your video card does not meet the game's minimum requirements, though it should work if you update your drivers (it won't be pretty, but it'll work).

Video driver 10/06/2003 ????? Yikes!

Sound driver 07/25/2001 ????? Double Yikes!!

Man that sound driver is like half a decade old!

Well there you have it sir. Good luck!

You most likely won't get smooth movies with that setup. I had a Fx5500 256MB card on xp3000. Movies would start then freeze. Only when I got a 6800 card did they run smoothly.

since we're on the topic of movies... i have the store-bought verson of the game, and my movies work fine.... but I accidently skipped a cut-scene in the campaign and want to watch it again... but every time i load a save from the map and re-finish it, the scene fails to play. Should I re-start the mission and play from scratch or is there an easier way to re-watch the cut-scenes?

go to http://www.radgametools.com and download bink - that will allow you to watch the scenes from outside of the game

Sorry it took so long. I don't use this computer (the one with GalCiv 2 on it) much, and my homeworks been alittle heavy the last few days. Here is my debug.err file:

P.S. My Video Card is good enough for Half-Life 2, and it runs WarCraft III and expansions movies no problem, which are (no offense SD) MUCH more detailed then GalCiv2's. However... the pre-view movie for Episode 2 at the end of HL2 Ep 1 is choppy, but not as bad as GalCiv2.

Debug Message: Version v1.31 last updated on: Wed Sep 13 18:41:18 2006
Debug Message: GalCiv2 is activated.
Debug Message: Checking DX Version.
Debug Message: *********DXDiag info follows.*********
System Info
Time: 11/16/2006, 19:30:59
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
Machine Name: NONE-E169E72EF7
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.050301-1519)
Languages: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: n/a
System Model: n/a
BIOS: Award Medallion BIOS v6.0
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) Processor, MMX, 3DNow, ~1.0GHz
Physical Memory: 512MB RAM
Page File: 580MB used, 669MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS


Display Info
Display device 1:
Device Name: \\.\DISPLAY1
Card Name: NVIDIA GeForce FX 5500
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip Type: GeForce FX 5500
DAC Type: Integrated RAMDAC
Key Device: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0326&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_A1
Display Memory: 256.0 MB
Current Display Mode: 1280 x 960 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: Gateway EV700B
Monitor Max Resolution: 1280,1024
Driver Name: nv4_disp.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.8421
Driver Date: 3/9/2006 14:29:00
DirectX Acceleration Enabled: Yes



Sound info
Sound device 1:
Description: Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit
Default Sound Playback: Yes
Default Voice Playback: Yes
Hardware ID: PCI\VEN_1102&DEV_0007&SUBSYS_10061102&REV_00
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 100
Driver Name: P17.sys
Provider: Creative Technology Ltd.
Driver Version: 5.12.0001.0314
Driver Date: 6/4/2004 02:27:46
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: Game Resolution: 1280 x 960
Debug Message: Running fullscreen.
Debug Message: HAL (sw vp): NVIDIA GeForce FX 5500
Debug Message: D3DPRESENT_INTERVAL_DEFAULT
Debug Message: Refresh rate: 60
Debug Message: Bit Depth: 32 bit.
Debug Message: *********Checking D3DDevice Caps***********************
Debug Message: A full-color cursor is supported in hardware at high resolution modes.
Debug Message: RGB in format 6:6:6, Masks reported as ff0000:ff00:ff
Debug Message: Now Fullscreen
Debug Message: Shell initialization complete
Debug Message: ***** Initializing Game *****
Debug Message: Timer Frequency is 0 369e99
Debug Message: Initializing sound card.
Debug Message: initailizing bink
Debug Message: No string tables in C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\Mods\Default/Data/*.str
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\Mods\Default\Movies\*.bik
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\Mods\Default\Movies\techs\*.bik
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\Mods\Default\Gfx\*.png
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\Mods\Default\Gfx\Race\*.png
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\Mods\Default\sfx\*.wav
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\Mods\Default\Music\*.mp3
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\Mods\Default\Event Music\*.mp3
Debug Message: Create setup screens.
Debug Message: Clear galaxy settings.
Debug Message: Clear influence.
Debug Message: Clear up laws.
Debug Message: Clear first time events.
Debug Message: Clear wonders and trade goods.
Debug Message: Clear sector mapper.
Debug Message: * Collectors Edition *
Debug Message: Set mouse.
Debug Message: Set update timer.
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\Mods\Default\Data\*.xml
Debug Message: Clear data definitions.
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\Mods\Default\Data\Techs\*.xml
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\Mods\Default\Data\ShipComponents\*.xml
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\Mods\Default\Data\ShipDefs\*.xml
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\Mods\Default\Gfx\Planets\C0*.png
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\Mods\Default\Data\PlanetImprovements\*.xml
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\Mods\Default\Data\TerrainColorSchemes\*.xml
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\Mods\Default\Data\PlanetDescriptions\*.xml
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\Mods\Default\Data\Anomalies\*.xml
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\Mods\Default\Data\Events\*.xml
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\Mods\Default\Data\UPIssues\*.xml
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\Mods\Default\Data\Invasions\*.xml
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\Mods\Default\Data\PoliticalParties\*.xml
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\Mods\Default\Data\StarTypes\*.xml
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\Mods\Default\Data\StarbaseModules\*.xml
Debug Message: Reading Star Names
Debug Message: Reading Star Names... Done
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Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\family\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\Metaverse\*.sav
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\family\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\Mods\*.sav
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\family\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\Portraits\*.sav
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\family\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\ships\*.sav
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Debug Message: Killing threads.
Debug Message: Kiling civs.
Debug Message: Killing ships.
Debug Message: Killing rallypoints.
Debug Message: Killing misc objects.
Debug Message: Killing stars.
Debug Message: Killing anomalies.
Debug Message: Killing space resources.
Debug Message: Killing colonies and planets.
Debug Message: killing scenario.
Debug Message: Clearing Turn Event Log
Debug Message: Clear galaxy settings.
Debug Message: Clear influence.
Debug Message: Clear up laws.
Debug Message: Clear first time events.
Debug Message: Clear wonders and trade goods.
Debug Message: Clear sector mapper.
Debug Message: Loading Custom Map
Debug Message: Loading Data Defs
Debug Message: Clear data definitions.
Debug Message: Loading TechDefs
Debug Message: Max num techs: 248
Debug Message: Loading ImprovementDB
Debug Message: Loading Component Defs
Debug Message: Loading ShipTypes
Debug Message: Loading ShipConfigs
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Debug Message: Loading SBmodules
Debug Message: Loading PoliticalParties
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Debug Message: Loading Star Types
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Debug Message: Loading Stars
Debug Message: Loading Anomalies
Debug Message: Loading Resources
Debug Message: Loading Civs
Debug Message: Loading Colonies
Debug Message: Loading RallyPoints
Debug Message: Loading Ships
Debug Message: Loading Fleets
Debug Message: Can't find ship type Fleet in definitions
Debug Message: Can't find ship type Fleet in definitions
Debug Message: Can't find ship type Fleet in definitions
Debug Message: Can't find ship type Fleet in definitions
Debug Message: Can't find ship type Fleet in definitions
Debug Message: Can't find ship type Fleet in definitions
Debug Message: Can't find ship type Fleet in definitions
Debug Message: Can't find ship type Fleet in definitions
Debug Message: Can't find ship type Fleet in definitions
Debug Message: Can't find ship type Fleet in definitions
Debug Message: Can't find ship type Fleet in definitions
Debug Message: Loading Turn Event Log
Debug Message: Loading ENDGALAXYDATA
Debug Message: Updating ZOC.
Debug Message: UIBeginGame called with g_ulLocalPlayerID = 10
Debug Message: UIBeginGameHelper: New Game Started
Debug Message: UIBeginGameHelper: Mods are Enabled
Debug Message: OptionsWnd: Quit Btn
Debug Message: Posting WM_CLOSE message.
Debug Message: WM_CLOSE message received.
Debug Message: GameUninitialize start
Debug Message: Killing Galaxy
Debug Message: Killing threads.
Debug Message: Kiling civs.
Debug Message: Killing ships.
Debug Message: Killing rallypoints.
Debug Message: Killing misc objects.
Debug Message: Killing stars.
Debug Message: Killing anomalies.
Debug Message: Killing space resources.
Debug Message: Killing colonies and planets.
Debug Message: killing scenario.
Debug Message: Clearing Turn Event Log
Debug Message: Clear galaxy settings.
Debug Message: Clear influence.
Debug Message: Clear up laws.
Debug Message: Clear first time events.
Debug Message: Clear wonders and trade goods.
Debug Message: Clear sector mapper.
Debug Message: Clear data definitions.
Debug Message: Killing Galaxy: Completed
Debug Message: Shutting down sound system.
Debug Message: Clearing sound and music handles.
Debug Message: WorkAreaBack.png not cleared 1 counts left.
Debug Message: GameUninitialize end
Debug Message: Device not cleared. 2 counts left.
Debug Message: D3D not cleared. 1 counts left.
Debug Message: Destroying Window.
Debug Message: Main Shell terminating normally