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xerno
xerno
Join Date 11/2006
0

GalCiv II and Voodoo 5

November 15, 2006 5:38:04 PM from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
Hello there, I've got pretty old and crappy Voodoo 5 card right now and the game just crashes after the intro with common windows (close&error) message. I updated the graphics drivers to some that should work even under directx 9.0 and get rid of that "your graphics card does not support dx9" message. I checked whole forums tried nearly every possible option in the prefs.ini but it remains the same.

I know its a bit old card but is there any chance i can get GalCiv2 to work

Error file:

Debug Message: *********DXDiag info follows.*********
System Info
Time: 11/15/2006, 23:28:54
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
Machine Name: KOMPOST
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: MSI
System Model: MS-6380E
BIOS: Version 1.00
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) Processor, MMX, 3DNow, ~1.2GHz
Physical Memory: 768MB RAM
Page File: 119MB used, 1756MB available
Windows Dir: D:\WINDOWS2


Display Info
Display device 1:
Device Name: \\.\DISPLAY1
Card Name: 3dfx Voodoo5
Manufacturer: 3dfx Interactive, Inc.
Chip Type: VSA 100
DAC Type: 3dfx Internal DAC
Key Device: Enum\PCI\VEN_121A&DEV_0009&SUBSYS_0003121A&REV_01
Display Memory: 32.0 MB
Current Display Mode: 1024 x 768 (32 bit) (85Hz)
Monitor Name: Plug and Play Monitor
Monitor Max Resolution: 1600,1200
Driver Name: 3dfxvs.dll
Driver Version: 5.00.2489.0028
Driver Date: 8/17/2001 14:55:58
DirectX Acceleration Enabled: Yes



Sound info
Sound device 1:
Description: Avance AC97 Audio
Default Sound Playback: Yes
Default Voice Playback: Yes
Hardware ID: PCI\VEN_1106&DEV_3059&SUBSYS_47101462&REV_40
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 100
Driver Name: ALCXWDM.SYS
Provider: Avance Logic, Inc.
Driver Version: 5.10.0000.3840
Driver Date: 3/25/2002 21:13:54
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: Preparing to change display settings.
Debug Message: Using multilsample setting: D3DMULTISAMPLE_NONE
Debug Message: Game Resolution: 1024 x 768
Debug Message: Running in windowed mode.
Debug Message: HAL (sw vp): 3dfx Voodoo5
Debug Message: D3DPRESENT_INTERVAL_IMMEDIATE
Debug Message: Refresh rate: 0
Debug Message: Bit Depth: 32 bit.
Debug Message: *********Checking D3DDevice Caps***********************
Debug Message: Hardware does not support a color cursor.
Debug Message: Border size reported as 6 by 25
Debug Message: RGB in format 6:6:6, Masks reported as ff0000:ff00:ff
Debug Message: Now windowed.
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: Set mouse.
Debug Message: Set update timer.
Debug Message: Clear data definitions.
Debug Message: No files found matching mask D:\Documents and Settings\ovecka.KOMPOST\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\*.StarSystems
*DEBUG ERROR: ***Unable to find required tech ImpossibleTech for PirateShip. ***
*DEBUG ERROR: ***Unable to find required tech ImpossibleTech for Starbase. ***
Debug Message: No files found matching mask D:\Documents and Settings\ovecka.KOMPOST\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\ships\*.shipclass
Debug Message: No files found matching mask D:\Documents and Settings\ovecka.KOMPOST\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\ships\*.shipcfg
Debug Message: Reading Star Names
Debug Message: Reading Star Names... Done
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xerno
kryo
Join Date 05/2003
+458 moderator
Reply #1 November 15, 2006 6:03:41 PM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
Voodoo cards (of any kind) don't meet the game's minimum requirements... that family ended at DirectX 6 as I recall, and does not support the majority of the features in later DX versions that the game requires.

FYI, the game requires a DirectX9 card to run fully as intended, which equates to a Radeon 9500 and up or GeForce 5 and up. DirectX 8 cards can generally run it with no *noticable* problems, and DirectX 7 cards can run it with very obvious problems, but at least it's playable. Anything older than that will generally just plain not work.
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xerno
xerno
Join Date 11/2006
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Reply #2 November 15, 2006 7:11:32 PM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
Hello and thanks for the answer. However after few hours of some driver testing i found a way to get at least into the menu I had to replace the original Lib3D.dll with some other (probably from beta?) I googled up and got around d3d9.dll by using 3D-Analyzer to emulate some other graphics card. I would be glad if you could tell me what libraries / effects are used in the game (that are not used in menu), so I could emulate / disable them and get playing.

EDIT: so I was able to get only to the first submenu of "New Game" - the galaxy and victory conditions settings, i asume second is race selection - does it contain any kinds of 3d rendered graphics?

This is the debug.err message: Debug Message: Reading Star Names
Debug Message: Reading Star Names... Done
Debug Message: CustomRaceWnd: Cannot find OBJID CustomRace_Description_Text
Debug Message: CustomRaceWnd: Cannot find OBJID CustomRace_Tab_Homeworld

Thanks.
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xerno
Glitch
Join Date 04/2006
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Reply #3 November 15, 2006 9:04:02 PM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
Yes, it shows a rotating ship.

Why don't you just upgrade your card? It's got to be easier than hacking around like this
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xerno
DethAdder
Join Date 02/2004
+73
Reply #4 November 15, 2006 9:15:31 PM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
I know the Voodoo line had an intense following back in the day, but you can get a card for $30 now that would make that voodoo five look like dirt.
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xerno
Rripperr
Join Date 03/2006
0
Reply #5 November 16, 2006 3:10:48 AM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
Why the heck are you using a card that is like, 7 years old? Is it PCI, too? You need to bite the bullet, and get a decent AGP (at least) card. If your motherboard doesn't support at least 4X AGP, then you really need to look at getting a new computer.. or give the game to somebody else that can actually run it.
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xerno
Ugleb
Join Date 09/2003
+1
Reply #6 November 16, 2006 5:26:44 AM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
I remember dreaming of the day I'd own a Voodoo 1....

By the time I got to buy an accelerator card (ahh the old lingo, rolls of the tongue) I was plugging in a voodoo 2. I remember my Voodoo 3 fondly, came in a cool box. Then the market got complicated.

Anyway, I imagine you could pick up a new card that runs a newer version of directX for next to nothing that still works on your board.
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xerno
CariElf
Join Date 08/2001
+68 sdemployee
Reply #7 November 16, 2006 11:18:33 AM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums

Well, you'll need to disable point sprites if you have any hope of making it to the star map.  However, replacing the lib3d.dll is probably a bad move as you'll end up with the wrong addresses for functions.  You really need to go out and buy a better video card.  A Geforce 2 Ultra is about the minimum you can get the game to run without actually hacking stuff.  I have a 1.2 GHz machine at home that I upgraded with a GeForce FX 5500 with 256 MB and it brought new life to my old PC.

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xerno
drakonfire
Join Date 05/2006
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Reply #8 November 16, 2006 11:50:43 AM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814141009

seriously, 30 bucks once you factor in shipping, you could get a much better card that will last a lot longer if about double that, newegg has some good stuff
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xerno
xerno
Join Date 11/2006
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Reply #9 November 16, 2006 11:58:59 AM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
I've got Radeon 9800Pro, but since as it broken iam searching for other solution with my backup card
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