Game freezing up and not working properly

[Andrew Loveridge]

When combat starts it is centered on the planet, often in small battles all your ships are off-screen to the left.  If you don't command them to do anything, it will look like nothing is happening.  Is the clock in the lower right counting down?
After combat, it gives you a battle report screen, before you can return to the star map.  What is the screen that appears for you after combat?

[hweston]

The planet never appears in the combat screen. The clock does count down. I try to deploy the ships but nothing appears. When it does not freeze it gives me a battle report. But will not go back to the star map.

[hweston]

Loaded it onto my laptop it seems to work fine. Both computers have nvidia cards and have updated drivers. On my laptop I can a planet in the background in the battle module but on my main computer I cannot see the planet. Everything seems to be stable on my laptop. Why is my main computer having problems when they have the same graphic cards. Please help if you can.

[PJL1973]

ORIGINAL: noxious

Might also try tweaking the graphic settings in the Options menu, particularly the shadow setting : set it to low, try, if it works, and you want better shadows, raise it a notch, try again, etc. Ditto with other settings. This trick worked for at least one of the testers.
Hope that helps, and that you can enjoy the game
Cheers !

This worked for me, expecially the shadow setting. Otherwise had everything from minor bugs like planet below disappering to hardcore BSODs and lock ups, deepending on that shadow setting. Basically anything other than lowest level doesn't work for me.

BTW, I too have a NVidia graphics card (driverr 100% updated). Details:

NVIDIA System Information report created on: 11/24/2009 22:35:06
System name: PJL-PC

[Display]
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E6750 @ 2.66GHz (2667 MHz)
Operating System: Windows Vista (TM) Home Premium, 64-bit (Service Pack 2)
DirectX version: 10.0
GPU processor: GeForce 8500 GT
Driver version: 178.13
Stream processors: 16
Core clock: 459 MHz
Memory clock: 333 MHz (666 MHz data rate)
Memory interface: 128-bit
Total available graphics memory: 2047 MB
Dedicated video memory: 256 MB
System video memory: 0 MB
Shared system memory: 1791 MB
Video BIOS version: 60.86.34.00.74
IRQ: 16
Bus: PCI Express x16

[Components]

nvCplUIR.dll 2.1.270.00 NVIDIA Control Panel
nvCpl.cpl 2.1.270.00 NVIDIA Control Panel Applet
nvCplUI.exe 2.1.270.00 NVIDIA Control Panel
nvViTvSR.dll 7.15.11.7813 NVIDIA Video and TV Server
nvViTvS.dll 7.15.11.7813 NVIDIA Video and TV Server
nvDispSR.dll 7.15.11.7813 NVIDIA Display Server
NVMCTRAY.DLL 7.15.11.7813 NVIDIA Media Center Library
nvDispS.dll 7.15.11.7813 NVIDIA Display Server
NVCPL.DLL 7.15.11.7813 NVIDIA Compatible Windows Vista Display driver, Version 178.13
nvGameSR.dll 7.15.11.7813 NVIDIA 3D Settings Server
nvGameS.dll 7.15.11.7813 NVIDIA 3D Settings Server

[hweston]

Received the following error on main unit. The NV_4 disp driver has stopped working normally, Iam running 191.07 which is different than my laptop Erik can you try this driver and see if it gives you trouble.

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: PJL
GPU processor: GeForce 8500 GT

Hm, 8500 and hweston had a 9500. I will have to lookup to see how these differ from the cards we tested with. Hweston, can you try setting all the in-game graphical settings to their lowest levels and see if that helps at all?

Hweston, regarding your question on the driver, can you explain a bit more? Are you running this on two systems now? What exactly is happening on the other system and do you have a DxDiag for that one too?

[hweston]

Yes I am running it on my laptop and my main unit. Both have nvidia cards but different drivers. The game on the laptop is running fine, but the console is the one Iam getting all the errors. It has the 191.07 driver. Will try and get the dxdiag to you from the laptop.

[hweston]

This is my dxdiag from the laptop, everything seems to running fine on my laptop. Running a different nvidia driver.

[hweston]

Sorry forgot to attach it.

[hweston]

Lower all the graphic settings to their lowest level and its seems to work.

[ZeusV]

same issue for me on my 2 recent computer.

- xp home edition (french canadian)

video card == > nVidia 9500 gt (driver updated)


- vista home premium (english)

video card == > nVidia GeForce 8200 (driver updated)

error notification The NV_4 disp driver has stopped working normally, (in tasbar)

after the combat module finish the tutorial can't continue.
tutorial dialog box don't close or the UI did't refresh.
need to exit the game.


tutorial and game test


if i fight in auto mode no problem (game with 100 turns done)

[Erik Rutins]

ZeusV,

If you lower all the in-game graphics settings to their lowest value, does that help?

[hweston]

I still get screens that do not redraw properly. So it still has problems even with the turned down graphics.

[hweston]

The game will not work at the present time with the 191.07 nvidia driver. Go back to a earlier driver and try it.

[Larac]

FYI

Having the same Issue on my Laptop.

Works fine until Trying to Fight a battle, Screen stops updating, windows stay open, never shows combat.

Did press the END Combat Button, and after a few min as it should have been doing the Speeded up combat, it then gave me a end of combat screen, but I was stuck there.

It looks like it is not locked but not updating the screen correctly.

Lee

[Larac]

NVIDA 9400M here
Sony Laptop Windows Vista

Really looks like a bad call to the FX card causing the issue.

As if I do a ALT Enter I can See the battle screen after it drops into a window, the game does not show any updates, just a still screen, but I see the ship.

So it is not a True Lock up, the Screen is not being refreshed, so that is why I am thinking a bogus call to the card.
The game is running, just no Display showing it do so so it looks like a lockup.

At least on my System.

Lee

[Larac]

As a mobile User I do not have that driver, and my options are more limited.

BUt hope that helps the rest of you folks.

Lee

[Masterdave]

I have the same problem on the combat screen-- screens flicker and stop functioning. I am running an NVidia 260 GTX card. I turned the Shadows down to minumum and it seems to work so far. Please fix this issue it seems to be happening on several generations of NVidia cards...

[Erik Rutins]

Hi guys,

Bob is investigating this, in the meantime please set all your in-game graphic options to the lowest levels, that's the best work-around we've got. Trying other nVidia drivers is also a possibility, but hopefully we'll figure this out soon and address it in the next update.

Regards,

- Erik

[ZeusV]

i lower my graphics setting to the lowest one

on my vista box work fine. done about 10 + combat with out problem. game turn are now 187.

on my xp box did work at start, later planet and ship weapon disappear. combat timer work until the end.

game setup, i choose small size map in case it`s memory managment.