GCII Ulti Edn on Vista64 Ultimate won't run?

Are you running the same resolution as the game is trying for? 1024x768

If you are not then go to the prefs.ini file in 'documents/my games/galciv2/your version' and either change the following to suit: -

[Video]

DisplayWidth=1024 (to your width)

DisplayHeight=768 (to your height)

ColorDepth=32

Fullscreen=1 (or set to 0 to enable reduced version)

That may not be the issue you have but it is the most common.

Thanks. My desktop is set at 1280 x 1024 but altering the values for the resolution in prefs.ini to match (and setting fullscreen to 1; colordepth was at 32 already) doesn't help - GalCiv2.exe just refuses to start

Nevertheless, I've just been playing a bit more of Twilight and have been enjoying it a lot, so at least something works - but still can't work out whether this is the standalone expansion or the full game? And its really weird that I can run the expansion .exe files but not the original game. It did actually work *once* - or at least I got to the options screen - but then it wouldn't run again so I reinstalled and it hasn't worked since. Bizarre.

Please repost the entire debug--that one has the top clipped off, and what is there shows a normal exit.

Luke one thing you can try doing is deleting the prefs.ini as this will force the game to go back to the default settings and may sort the issue out for you. If it does not then please do as Kryo states and post your entire debug.

OK I deleted prefs.ini but the game still doesn't start. And when I run GalCiv2.exe now, the game doesn't generate a new one. So here, as requested, is the entire debug.err. By the way I appreciate the help, very kind of everyone to be taking the time to try and sort this for me.

Debug Message:  Version v1.52 last updated on: Mon Sep  8 14:39:01 2008
Debug Message:  Checking DX Version.
Debug Message:  *********DXDiag info follows.*********
System Info
Time: 3/21/2009, 19:28:43
DirectX Version: DirectX 10
Machine Name: BELTER
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Ultimate (6.0, Build 6001) Service Pack 1 (6001.vistasp1_gdr.080917-1612)
Languages: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: System manufacturer
System Model: System Product Name
BIOS: BIOS Date: 12/05/08 16:28:38 Ver: 08.00.15
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU         920  @ 2.67GHz (8 CPUs), ~2.7GHz
Physical Memory: 6134MB RAM
Page File: 2481MB used, 9986MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows


Display Info
Display device 1:
Device Name: \\.\DISPLAY1
Card Name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip Type: NVxx
DAC Type: Integrated RAMDAC
Key Device: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_05E0&SUBSYS_40241682&REV_A1
Display Memory: 2926 MB
Current Display Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (75Hz)
Monitor Name: Generic Non-PnP Monitor
Monitor Max Resolution:
Driver Name: nvd3dumx.dll,nvd3dum,nvwgf2umx.dll,nvwgf2um
Driver Version: 7.15.0011.8206
Driver Date: 2/9/2009 13:18:00
DirectX Acceleration Enabled: Yes
 


Sound info
Sound device 1:
Description: Speakers (SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio)
Default Sound Playback: Yes
Default Voice Playback: Yes
Hardware ID: HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_11D4&DEV_989B&SUBSYS_10438334&REV_1003
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 100
Driver Name: ADIHdAud.sys
Provider: AnalogDevices
Driver Version: 6.10.0002.6480
Driver Date: 3/20/2008 07:44:34
Type: WDM
Other Drivers:
Acceleration Level: 1
Cap Flags: 0
Min/Max Sample Rate: 0, 0
 
Sound device 1:
Description: Digital Output (SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio)
Default Sound Playback: No
Default Voice Playback: No
Hardware ID: HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_11D4&DEV_989B&SUBSYS_10438334&REV_1003
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 100
Driver Name: ADIHdAud.sys
Provider: AnalogDevices
Driver Version: 6.10.0002.6480
Driver Date: 3/20/2008 07:44:34
Type: WDM
Other Drivers:
Acceleration Level: 1
Cap Flags: 0
Min/Max Sample Rate: 0, 0
 
Sound device 1:
Description: SPDIF Interface (SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio)
Default Sound Playback: No
Default Voice Playback: No
Hardware ID: HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_11D4&DEV_989B&SUBSYS_10438334&REV_1003
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 100
Driver Name: ADIHdAud.sys
Provider: AnalogDevices
Driver Version: 6.10.0002.6480
Driver Date: 3/20/2008 07:44:34
Type: WDM
Other Drivers:
Acceleration Level: 1
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 hardware vertex processing
Debug Message:  Using multilsample setting: D3DMULTISAMPLE_4_SAMPLES
Debug Message:  Game Resolution: 1024 x 768
Debug Message:  Running fullscreen.
Debug Message:  HAL (hw vp): NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295
Debug Message:  D3DPRESENT_INTERVAL_DEFAULT
Debug Message:  Refresh rate: 75
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:  GalCiv2 is activated.
Debug Message:  ***** Initializing Game *****
Debug Message:  Timer Frequency is 0 da7a64
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:  Set mouse.
Debug Message:  Set update timer.
Debug Message:  Clear data definitions.
Debug Message:  No files found matching mask C:\Users\Luke\Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\ships\*.xml
Debug Message:  No files found matching mask C:\Users\Luke\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:\Users\Luke\Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\Dread Lords Campaign\*.sav
Debug Message:  No files found matching mask C:\Users\Luke\Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\Logos\*.sav
Debug Message:  No files found matching mask C:\Users\Luke\Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\Metaverse\*.sav
Debug Message:  No files found matching mask C:\Users\Luke\Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\Portraits\*.sav
Debug Message:  No files found matching mask C:\Users\Luke\Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\ships\*.sav
Debug Message:  No files found matching mask C:\Users\Luke\Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\temp\*.sav
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

After deleting prefs.ini in the GalCiv2 folder I am now having problems with the expansion. Another reinstall has failed to fix this. Here's the Vista error log: 

Problem Event Name:    APPCRASH
  Application Name:    GC2TwilightOfTheArnor.exe
  Application Version:    1.9.1.0
  Application Timestamp:    48c56ad4
  Fault Module Name:    GC2TwilightOfTheArnor.exe
  Fault Module Version:    1.9.1.0
  Fault Module Timestamp:    48c56ad4
  Exception Code:    c0000005
  Exception Offset:    00034350
  OS Version:    6.0.6001.2.1.0.256.1
  Locale ID:    2057
  Additional Information 1:    3ae0
  Additional Information 2:    bac497b8801ee3b3033834524704045f
  Additional Information 3:    7378
  Additional Information 4:    10902db62b887a27b2da6fd70ff9cd05

OK that was because I'd reinstalled the game but hadn't re-patched it. Re-patching it to the latest version allows GC2TwilightOfTheArnor.exe to run again and I'm able to play it with no problems. But GalCiv2.exe still fails to start.

I'm not sure what's going on here. Those two messages will only appear if you've actually clicked the exit button on the main menu (if it failed, crashed or was terminated forcefully it would go straight to the line below those two, or just stop abruptly).

In the event of a resolution issue as others have described, the game should bring up a partial-screen black box then crash. But that doesn't seem to be the case here, as the debug is definitely showing that you got to the main menu. Is the debug actually being rewritten when you attempt to run it, or is that just from the one time when you did get it to work (not sure what time zone you're in, so the time of day listed in the debug doesn't tell so much)?

Re: your initial question about which version is the best, Twilight of the Arnor is the current version of the game. DA has fewer features, and the base game even less; each one built on the one before it. The base campaign should be available in TA/DA though so unless you want to continue with this debugging so you can check out what the game is like without any of the expansion features, there's not much else to gain from doing so.

I dont know if this will help, but I am running vista ultimate x64 on a centrino 2 laptop and it works fine.  I have purchased the first combo pack and then the newest expansion and have not had any problems and I update and install via impulse.

Thanks Kryo; that debug message may well be from the one time I did get it to work. I'm not seeing the partial black-screen box followed by a crash, and I don't think this is about screen resolution as I've tried all that and in any case Twilight of the Arnor runs fine. I'm glad that's the current version and that I'm not missing out on lots of content as a result - it means that even if I can't resolve this bug it's not really that big a deal.

And Jomjr, I'm glad it all works for you at least! I suppose I could try completely reinstalling via impulse but I know my dvd drive is good as other games have installed fine, and if it was bad installation media then presumably nothing would work properly?

Anyhow, I have now taken out an official support ticket with Stardock which contains all the above info and I should get a full response in a couple of days so I will post back here as and when.

If there was any major corruption in the disc or trouble reading it, the installer would likely have hung, or the expansions wouldn't work either since they use a lot of the base game's files too, so that's not likely the issue, no.