GCII:DA Choppy Movies

from GalCiv2 Forums
I know this question has probably been asked an answered hundreds of times but I can't find any answers.
Any movie in Dark Avatar except for the title movies is very choppy and I have tried quite a few things but can't figure out what it is. (This including Anti-Aliasing.)

I was hoping someone could answer this again. My computer runs a Nvidia Geforce 7950 GX2 and is Dual-Core, I have the drivers for the dual-core which otherwise causes planets to spin. My OS is Windows XP so it's not a Vista + Nvidia issue.

Does anyone have a general idea?
5,294 views 8 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
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. If this is a DA report, you'll find the debug in C:\Program Files\Stardock\Totalgaming\GalCiv2\DarkAvatar instead. This will give us some technical information that can help troubleshoot your problem.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Debug Message: Version v1.50 Dark Avatar last updated on: Fri Feb 9 14:05:57 2007
Debug Message: Checking DX Version.
Debug Message: *********DXDiag info follows.*********
System Info
Time: 2/18/2007, 21:11:47
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
Machine Name: MY-BA7C27412194
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.050301-1519)
Languages: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: americanfuture
System Model: AWRDACPI
BIOS: Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 3800+, MMX, 3DNow (2 CPUs), ~2.0GHz
Physical Memory: 2048MB RAM
Page File: 308MB used, 3632MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS


Display Info
Display device 1:
Device Name: \\.\DISPLAY1
Card Name: NVIDIA GeForce 7950 GX2
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip Type: GeForce 7950 GX2
DAC Type: Integrated RAMDAC
Key Device: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0294&SUBSYS_035B10DE&REV_A1
Display Memory: 512.0 MB
Current Display Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: Plug and Play Monitor
Monitor Max Resolution: 1600,1200
Driver Name: nv4_disp.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.9131
Driver Date: 6/1/2006 16:22:00
DirectX Acceleration Enabled: Yes


Sound info
Sound device 1:
Description: Realtek AC97 Audio
Default Sound Playback: Yes
Default Voice Playback: Yes
Hardware ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0059&SUBSYS_AE031458&REV_A2
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 100
Driver Name: ALCXWDM.SYS
Provider: Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
Driver Version: 5.10.0000.6060
Driver Date: 3/30/2006 22:38:48
Type: WDM
Other Drivers:
Acceleration Level: 3
Cap Flags: 0
Min/Max Sample Rate: 0, 0

Hope this helps.
Ashes of the Singularity II
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Please post the rest (or at least the next screenful).
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I had a problem like that with Sid Meier's Railroads... Turned out to just be my video drivers, might want to check for updates, not sure if you did already
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The rest of it is just game related stuff but:
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 1024
Debug Message: Running fullscreen.
Debug Message: HAL (hw vp): NVIDIA GeForce 7950 GX2
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: GalCiv2 is activated.
Debug Message: ***** Initializing Game *****
Debug Message: Timer Frequency is 0 369e99
Debug Message: Initializing sound card.
Debug Message: initailizing bink
Debug Message: No files found matching mask Movies\techs\*.bik
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents\My Games\GC2DarkAvatar\Gfx\Movies\*.bik
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: Popup Manager Update: Updating window with ID=0
Debug Message: Popup Manager Update: Unhiding FullscreenBink
Debug Message: Clear data definitions.
Debug Message: Killing ship styles:
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents\My Games\GC2DarkAvatar\ShipStyles\*.xml
Debug Message: No files found matching mask ./Data/\FleetFormations\*.fleet
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2Gfx\Planets\C0*.png
Debug Message: No files found matching mask Gfx\Planets\C0*.png
Debug Message: No files found matching mask gfx/Terrain/1SideN*.png
Debug Message: No files found matching mask gfx/Terrain/1SideE*.png
Debug Message: No files found matching mask gfx/Terrain/1SideS*.png
Debug Message: No files found matching mask gfx/Terrain/1SideW*.png
Debug Message: No files found matching mask gfx/Terrain/2SideN*.png
Debug Message: No files found matching mask gfx/Terrain/2SideE*.png
Debug Message: No files found matching mask gfx/Terrain/2SideS*.png
Debug Message: No files found matching mask gfx/Terrain/2SideW*.png
Debug Message: No files found matching mask gfx/Terrain/3SideN*.png
Debug Message: No files found matching mask gfx/Terrain/3SideE*.png
Debug Message: No files found matching mask gfx/Terrain/3SideS*.png
Debug Message: No files found matching mask gfx/Terrain/3SideW*.png
Debug Message: No files found matching mask gfx/Terrain/4SideN*.png
Debug Message: No files found matching mask gfx/Terrain/4SideE*.png
Debug Message: No files found matching mask gfx/Terrain/4SideS*.png
Debug Message: No files found matching mask gfx/Terrain/4SideW*.png
Debug Message: Reading Star Names
Debug Message: Reading Star Names... Done
Debug Message: No files found matching mask ./Data/English/Tutorials/*.xml
Debug Message: Popup Manager Update: Updating window with ID=1
Debug Message: Clear data definitions.
Debug Message: Killing ship styles:

Past that it's just about a thousand pages worth of long lines.
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
You have a high-end card so it shouldn't be a problem, but try disabling anti-aliasing.
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Nadda, still have the same effect after putting it on 0 and restarting. Maybe it's because I HAVE a high-end card? (It is JUST the movies, but the movies in this game are nice and entertaining.)
I think the AA off actually made the title screen itself run slightly choppier.
Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Do you have the game installed on the first/same partition as the boot drive, as putting it on a separate partition on the boot drive can make videos in any game a bit choppy unless it's on a secondary HD which is what I do to keep my system drive nice and tidy.