** UPDATE **: Hey folks, I solved my own problem, I'll leave this post here in case it might help someone else. You can read what my problem was below, here's what I did to fix it:

Went to NVIDIA control panel and selected app-specific 3D settings. For some reason, "Threaded Optimization" was set to "On." Set it to "Auto", now everything is fine.



Howdy Folks,

Well, I just built a new computer system and was looking forward to playing GalCiv2, but it doesn't work on my new machine. Specifically, when I try to run it, either from the launcher or from the .exe, the game tries to load (I think), but all that happens is that a good chunk of my screen goes black (probably a 1024x768 chunk, my display runs at 1680x1050), and nothing else happens. Same happens with DA and TotA. I have to use the Task Manager to shut it down.

I've tried installing from my previously archived files as well as downloading a fresh copy and installing it, both with the same results as above. (I'm still using the old Stardock Central instead of Impulse, if that makes any difference). Since I'm trying to run it on a new computer, there's obviously something different enough about my new computer that's causing the game not to run. Here are my specs, along with a notes indiciating which items are the same from my previous computer:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ Dual-Core Processor
4GB (2x2GB Dual-Chnannel) DDR2 800 Corsair RAM
ASUS M2N-E Motherboard, Revision 1.02G, BIOS version 1202
eVGA 8800GT 512MB video card, latest WHQL-certified ForceWare drivers (175.16)
Windows XP Pro SP3 (same as before)
Dell 22" flat-panel display @ 1680x1050 (same as before)
Creative Labs X-Fi PCIe soundcard

Worst case scenario, I'll reinstall on my laptop, but I'm sure it will run on this system once I figure out what needs to be tweaked. Something in the NVIDIA control panel, perhaps? Any help would be appreciated.