Crasshes, Mods, and Recording

from GalCiv2 Forums
Hi I am new here. I like this game a lot, but I have a lot of trouble with it
and I'm not great with computers. If anyone could help me utilize all these
things I would really appreciate it.

Question 1- My game is always crashing. Usually randomly, but almost always on a vote screen. I have a radeon 9600 series at max performance, everything looks great, but it still keeps crashing randomly. I have downloaded all the updates I could find- which wasn't easy, but I still get the same thing.

Question 2- I downloaded some mods, but I can't find them in the game interface screen. How or where do I put them so I can use them.

Question 3- Is there anyway to record some of the really fun space ship battles you go through so you can have like a library of your greatest ship fights.

If anyone can help me, please do.

Thanks guys, you look like you know what your doing. I don't.
3,969 views 6 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Question 1- My game is always crashing. Usually randomly, but almost always on a vote screen. I have a radeon 9600 series at max performance, everything looks great, but it still keeps crashing randomly. I have downloaded all the updates I could find- which wasn't easy, but I still get the same thing.


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.

Question 2- I downloaded some mods, but I can't find them in the game interface screen. How or where do I put them so I can use them.


Which mods specifically (please give links to them)? Not all mods use the mods folder, so installation can vary.

Question 3- Is there anyway to record some of the really fun space ship battles you go through so you can have like a library of your greatest ship fights.


Not in-game, though you could do this with a thrid-party recording utility such as FRAPs.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Thanks for your info. I downloaded all kinds of mods, I think I should go back and do one at a time and try it if they are all different. My debug.err info is as follows:

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: 6/23/2007, 16:30:18
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
Machine Name: LISA
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.070227-2254)
Languages: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: INTEL_
System Model: D865PERL
BIOS: BIOS Date: 04/02/04 13:33:00 Ver: 08.00.10
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.80GHz (2 CPUs)
Physical Memory: 1022MB RAM
Page File: 393MB used, 4533MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS


Display Info
Display device 1:
Device Name: \\.\DISPLAY1
Card Name: ATI Radeon 9600 / X1050 Series
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip Type: ATI Radeon Graphics Processor AGP (0x4152)
DAC Type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Key Device: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4152&SUBSYS_2079148C&REV_00
Display Memory: 256.0 MB
Current Display Mode: 1024 x 768 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: SONY CPD-200ES
Monitor Max Resolution: 1280,1024
Driver Name: ati2dvag.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6698
Driver Date: 5/17/2007 20:57:53
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_24D5&SUBSYS_E0008086&REV_02
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 100
Driver Name: smwdm.sys
Provider: Analog Devices
Driver Version: 5.12.0001.3630
Driver Date: 6/2/2003 16:42:14
Type: WDM
Other Drivers:
Acceleration Level: 3
Cap Flags: 0
Min/Max Sample Rate: 0, 0

Sound device 1:
Description: Modem #0 Line Playback (emulated)
Default Sound Playback: No
Default Voice Playback: No
Hardware ID:
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 81
Driver Name:
Provider:
Driver Version:
Driver Date:
Type: Emulated
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: 1024 x 768
Debug Message: Running fullscreen.
Debug Message: HAL (hw vp): ATI Radeon 9600 / X1050 Series
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 a67ab6a0
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\Scott\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\ships\*.xml
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\Scott\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\ships\*.shipcfg
Debug Message: Reading Star Names
Debug Message: Reading Star Names... Done
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\Scott\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\Dread Lords Campaign\*.sav
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\Scott\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\Logos\*.sav
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\Scott\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\Metaverse\*.sav
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\Scott\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\Portraits\*.sav
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\Scott\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\ships\*.sav
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\Scott\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\temp\*.sav
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: 5 x 5
Debug Message: Creating Random Map
Debug Message: Creating Random Map... Stars
Debug Message: Number of Unplaced Stars: 15.
Debug Message: Creating Random Map... Planets
Debug Message: *************** Failed To Place Planet ***************
Debug Message: *************** Failed To Place Planet ***************
Debug Message: Creating Random Map... Anomalies
Debug Message: Num Anomalies: 59
Debug Message: Creating Random Map... Resources
Debug Message: Creating Random Map... Done
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: 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: TitleWnd: Quit Button.
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: GameUninitialize end
Debug Message: Device not cleared. 1 counts left.
Debug Message: D3D not cleared. 1 counts left.
Debug Message: Destroying Window.
Debug Message: Main Shell terminating normally


Thank you again for all your help

DarkRunner
Galactic Civilizations III
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Erm, more specifically, I need you to crash the game, then immediately grab the debug.err. As above, if you start the game again it'll make a new one (as the one you posted there, it just shows a normal start and exit, so not too useful for helping you!).
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
erm, sorry. When it crashes, half the time it crashes my whole computer, and it restarts with a backup program. I don't know if that affected the report, but I will try it again as you suggested, thanks.
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Ok, here is the last debug error. My computer crashed with the game, and restarted automatically. I went straight to the debug.err program as soon as my computer came back up, opened it with notepad, and here it is:

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: 6/23/2007, 16:30:18
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
Machine Name: LISA
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.070227-2254)
Languages: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: INTEL_
System Model: D865PERL
BIOS: BIOS Date: 04/02/04 13:33:00 Ver: 08.00.10
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.80GHz (2 CPUs)
Physical Memory: 1022MB RAM
Page File: 393MB used, 4533MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS


Display Info
Display device 1:
Device Name: \\.\DISPLAY1
Card Name: ATI Radeon 9600 / X1050 Series
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip Type: ATI Radeon Graphics Processor AGP (0x4152)
DAC Type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Key Device: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4152&SUBSYS_2079148C&REV_00
Display Memory: 256.0 MB
Current Display Mode: 1024 x 768 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: SONY CPD-200ES
Monitor Max Resolution: 1280,1024
Driver Name: ati2dvag.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6698
Driver Date: 5/17/2007 20:57:53
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_24D5&SUBSYS_E0008086&REV_02
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 100
Driver Name: smwdm.sys
Provider: Analog Devices
Driver Version: 5.12.0001.3630
Driver Date: 6/2/2003 16:42:14
Type: WDM
Other Drivers:
Acceleration Level: 3
Cap Flags: 0
Min/Max Sample Rate: 0, 0

Sound device 1:
Description: Modem #0 Line Playback (emulated)
Default Sound Playback: No
Default Voice Playback: No
Hardware ID:
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 81
Driver Name:
Provider:
Driver Version:
Driver Date:
Type: Emulated
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: 1024 x 768
Debug Message: Running fullscreen.
Debug Message: HAL (hw vp): ATI Radeon 9600 / X1050 Series
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 a67ab6a0
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\Scott\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\ships\*.xml
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\Scott\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\ships\*.shipcfg
Debug Message: Reading Star Names
Debug Message: Reading Star Names... Done
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\Scott\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\Dread Lords Campaign\*.sav
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\Scott\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\Logos\*.sav
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\Scott\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\Metaverse\*.sav
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\Scott\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\Portraits\*.sav
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\Scott\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\ships\*.sav
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\Scott\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\temp\*.sav
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: 5 x 5
Debug Message: Creating Random Map
Debug Message: Creating Random Map... Stars
Debug Message: Number of Unplaced Stars: 15.
Debug Message: Creating Random Map... Planets
Debug Message: *************** Failed To Place Planet ***************
Debug Message: *************** Failed To Place Planet ***************
Debug Message: Creating Random Map... Anomalies
Debug Message: Num Anomalies: 59
Debug Message: Creating Random Map... Resources
Debug Message: Creating Random Map... Done
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: 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: TitleWnd: Quit Button.
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: GameUninitialize end
Debug Message: Device not cleared. 1 counts left.
Debug Message: D3D not cleared. 1 counts left.
Debug Message: Destroying Window.
Debug Message: Main Shell terminating normally


Please let me know how to fix this if you can. It is very frustrating.
I also have the smart exception program from this site (I think it was from here)
but I don't really understand how to use it. Let me know if you can help.

Thanks.
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Hm, it's the same one from before again. If the backup program you have that keeps restoring things is causing this, then you'll probably need to disable it so you can get a new debug that will help diagnose this problem.