Game Just Goes Black

have the same problem.
I bought the game in germany and used the activation key.

A friend of mine has the game in english. does it make sense to install his version and then activate it with my key?

pwiek

We need to know your debug.err file so we know more abvout your config.

For starters also, make sure you have the latest version of the game so that we're all on the same page.

My game has the same problem. Goes black even though my computer should easily run it. I only got to play the game once.

The error report says that Appname Galciv2.exe
Appver 1.0.0.1
Offset 00001d74

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.

Be sure to copy the debug immediately after the error occurs; if you start the game again, the debug will be erased and recreated for the new session.

Note: If running on Vista with DA 1.6b2 or later, the debug.err is now located in My Documents\My Games\GC2DarkAvatar.

Debug Message: Version v1.5 last updated on: Thu Jan 11 13:39:19 2007
Debug Message: GalCiv2 is activated.
Debug Message: Checking DX Version.
Debug Message: *********DXDiag info follows.*********
System Info
Time: 6/4/2007, 13:09:26
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
Machine Name: BROCK
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 1 (2600.xpsp2.030422-1633)
Languages: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: HP Pavilion 061
System Model: DW232A-ABA A510N
BIOS: Phoenix - Award BIOS v6.00PG
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) XP 3000+, ~2.1GHz
Physical Memory: 512MB RAM
Page File: 269MB used, 884MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS


Display Info
Display device 1:
Device Name: \\.\DISPLAY1
Card Name: NVIDIA GeForce 6200
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip Type: GeForce 6200
DAC Type: Integrated RAMDAC
Key Device: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0221&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_A1
Display Memory: 256.0 MB
Current Display Mode: 1024 x 768 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: IBM 2235 C50
Monitor Max Resolution: 1024,768
Driver Name: nv4_disp.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.9371
Driver Date: 1/30/2007 14:54:39
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_1106&DEV_3059&SUBSYS_810A1043&REV_60
Manufacturer ID: 65535
Product ID: 65535
Driver Name: ALCXWDM.SYS
Provider: Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
Driver Version: 5.10.0000.5410
Driver Date: 12/12/2003 12:06:44
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: 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

Go to My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2, open the file prefs.ini, and change the line that says Fullscreen=1 to Fullscreen=0 then save and start the game.

You'll also want to increase your virtual memory size to at least 2GB, or you'll have issues playing all but the smaller maps.

Thanks but now I have a new problem. The opening menu now shows up but I cant click on anything. My mouse is working fine on all other applications but the game wont register that I am clicking.

Go back into prefs.ini and find the DisplayWidth and DisplayHeight lines--if they're different from your desktop resolution, set them to the same thing (1024 and 768 respectively).

Thanks man you have been a huge help.