Audio and Video Problems

from GalCiv2 Forums
Hello all,

After playing the demo (on a different computer than the one I am currently using) I decided to buy this game for Christmas for myself since I so thoroughly enjoyed. When it arrived today I successfully installed it and then updated to version 1.4 (or whatever the newest version is). But I have two problems.

The first (and much more minor one) is that the video is choppy for the opening cinematic. I'm not yet far enough into the game to know if this is more pervasive but I expect everything will look and run smoothly except for possibly the battle scenes.

My more major problem is that the audio is very choppy. I haven't uploaded any music into the game (as I read you can (but I would be very appreciative if someone would instruct me as to how to go about adding music so that I can hear some of my own music rather than just what was provided)) but the music keeps cutting out for a half a second and then coming back. Also, the audio at the beginning was choppy.

Here are my computer specs:
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Processor (1.77 GHz)
1 Gb RAM
250 Gb hard drive
RADEON X700 Graphics Card
CMI8738/C3DX PCI Sound card (I know it's bad but I've never had a problem with it running much "intensive" games)
HP vs17 (17" LCD monitor that I've also never had a problem with)

I would greatly appreciate any ideas as to how to fix these problems and how to upload music to the game so I can listen to that instead.

Everything is working fine elsewhere (including graphics card) and my personal troubleshooting found no problems (it's possible I missed something basic but unlikely).

Thank you for your time and assistance,
Dave

P.S. I guess in retrospect this doesn't qualify as a bug but I was unsure as to where I should post this besides this forum. If this is not the correct place then I apologize.
4,845 views 4 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Get your debug.err from C:/ProgramFiles/Stardock/TotalGaming/GC2 folder and open it in notepad and post in a reply here. It will give more info like driver dates and such.

The custom music ability didn't make it into the final release.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Here's the requested information. Hope this can help solve the problem.

Thanks,
Dave




Debug Message: Version v1.4x last updated on: Mon Oct 23 17:43:56 2006
Debug Message: GalCiv2 is activated.
Debug Message: Checking DX Version.
Debug Message: *********DXDiag info follows.*********
System Info
Time: 1/3/2007, 22:06:21
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
Machine Name: SCHENK
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: HP Pavilion 061
System Model: PX769AA-ABA a1130n
BIOS: Phoenix - Award BIOS v6.00PG
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3500+, MMX, 3DNow, ~2.2GHz
Physical Memory: 1022MB RAM
Page File: 277MB used, 2182MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS


Display Info
Display device 1:
Device Name: \\.\DISPLAY1
Card Name: RADEON X700 Series
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip Type: RADEON X700 PRO (0x5E4B)
DAC Type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Key Device: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_5E4B&SUBSYS_23021002&REV_00
Display Memory: 256.0 MB
Current Display Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: HP vs17 flat panel monitor
Monitor Max Resolution: 1280,1024
Driver Name: ati2dvag.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6587
Driver Date: 12/11/2005 22:41:03
DirectX Acceleration Enabled: Yes



Sound info
Sound device 1:
Description: C-Media Wave Device
Default Sound Playback: Yes
Default Voice Playback: Yes
Hardware ID: PCI\VEN_13F6&DEV_0111&SUBSYS_011113F6&REV_10
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 100
Driver Name: cmaudio.sys
Provider: C-Media
Driver Version: 5.12.0001.0639
Driver Date: 7/16/2002 09:58:12
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_4_SAMPLES
Debug Message: Game Resolution: 1024 x 768
Debug Message: Running fullscreen.
Debug Message: HAL (hw vp): RADEON X700 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 369e99
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\HP_Administrator\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\ships\*.xml
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\HP_Administrator\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\ships\*.shipcfg
Debug Message: Reading Star Names
Debug Message: Reading Star Names... Done
Debug Message: Error loading mission 16 from C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\./Data/English/Campaigns/Dread Lords Campaign.gc2campaign
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\HP_Administrator\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\Dread Lords Campaign\*.sav
Debug Message: Error loading mission 16 from C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\./Data/English/Campaigns/Dread Lords Campaign.gc2campaign
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: Loading custom map: ./Data/English/Campaigns\An Unexpected Visitor.gc2map (0 x 238639519)
Debug Message: Num Anomalies: 7
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: Loading custom map: ./Data/English/Campaigns\An Unexpected Visitor.gc2map (0 x 238639519)
Debug Message: Num Anomalies: 7
Debug Message: Setting Game Options
Debug Message: Creating Civs
Debug Message: Terran Alliance: Intellence -> 40
Debug Message: Drengin Empire: Intellence -> 40
Debug Message: Altarian Republic: Intellence -> 40
Debug Message: Creating Civs... Done
Debug Message: Updating ZOC.
Debug Message: Updating ZOC.
Debug Message: Galaxy Create... Done
Debug Message: UIBeginGame called with g_ulLocalPlayerID = 0
Debug Message: UIBeginGameHelper: New Campaign Game Started: Dread Lords Campaign
Debug Message: UIBeginGameHelper: Mods are Disabled
Debug Message: DomesticWnd: Cannot find OBJID Domestic_Government_Tab
Debug Message: DomesticWnd: Cannot find OBJID Domestic_Governor_Tab
Debug Message: DomesticWnd: Cannot find OBJID Domestic_Stats_Tab
Debug Message: DomesticWnd: Cannot find OBJID Domestic_Graphs_Tab
Debug Message: EconomicWnd: Cannot find OBJID Template_Button_Back
Debug Message: OptionsWnd: Quit Btn
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: WorkAreaBack.png not cleared 1 counts left.
Debug Message: GameUninitialize end
Debug Message: Device not cleared. 2 counts left.
Debug Message: D3D not cleared. 1 counts left.
Debug Message: Destroying Window.
Debug Message: Main Shell terminating normally
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Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Your audio drivers are pretty old, and your video drivers could use an update as well.
The videos might play more smoothly with AntiAlias turned down to a lower level, or off entirely.

But even so, the audio gets choppy on a lot of systems, mine as well. And I have all updated drivers and a faster system with more ram than you.

It does clear itself up after a couple minutes usually, though.
Sometimes it helps to go into options and turn off the background music for a turn, then turn it back on.
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Moose hit it dead on. GalCiv needs latest drivers for your vid cards.