GalCiv II and Voodoo 5

from GalCiv2 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
2,295 views 9 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
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.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
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.
Offworld Trading Company
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
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
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
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.
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
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.
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
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.
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

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.

Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
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
Reply #9 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I've got Radeon 9800Pro, but since as it broken iam searching for other solution with my backup card