Video Issues

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. This will give us some technical information that can help troubleshoot your problem.

Thanks for the tip; here is the contents of the Debug.err file.

Debug Message: Version v1.2 last updated on: Mon Jun 12 18:04:26 2006
Debug Message: Another instance of GC2 attempted to load.
Debug Message: *********DXDiag info follows.*********
System Info
Time: 7/22/2006, 15:44:28
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
Machine Name: LOCKESDESIRE
Operating System: Windows 2000 Professional (5.0, Build 2195) Service Pack 4
Languages: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: INTEL_
System Model: D845PESV
BIOS: BIOS Date: 10/20/02 17:32:10 Ver: 08.00.05
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.80GHz, ~2.8GHz
Physical Memory: 1534MB RAM
Page File: 190MB used, 3495MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINNT


Display Info
Display device 1:
Device Name: \\.\DISPLAY1
Card Name: NVIDIA GeForce FX 5500
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip Type: GeForce FX 5500
DAC Type: Integrated RAMDAC
Key Device: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0326&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_A1
Display Memory: 256.0 MB
Current Display Mode: 1152 x 864 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: MultiSync 750230404YA
Monitor Max Resolution:
Driver Name: nv4_disp.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.9131
Driver Date: 6/1/2006 17:22:00
DirectX Acceleration Enabled: Yes



Sound info
Sound device 1:
Description: SB Live! Audio [D880]
Default Sound Playback: Yes
Default Voice Playback: Yes
Hardware ID: PCI\VEN_1102&DEV_0002&SUBSYS_80651102&REV_0A
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 100
Driver Name: ctaud2k.sys
Provider: Creative
Driver Version: 5.12.0001.0252
Driver Date: 7/19/2002 10:47:52
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_2_SAMPLES
Debug Message: Game Resolution: 1024 x 768
Debug Message: Running fullscreen.
Debug Message: HAL (sw vp): NVIDIA GeForce FX 5500
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: Set mouse.
Debug Message: Set update timer.
Debug Message: Clear data definitions.
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\John Locke\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\ships\*.xml
*DEBUG ERROR: ***Unable to find required tech ImpossibleTech for PirateShip. ***
*DEBUG ERROR: ***Unable to find required tech ImpossibleTech for Starbase. ***
Debug Message: Reading Star Names
Debug Message: Reading Star Names... Done

First thing you can try is going to My Documents/My Games/GalCiv2, and opening the prefs.ini file there. Near the top there should be entries for the width and height of the screen, try setting these to the same as your desktop (1152x864).

I recall there were some peculiarities with win2k and GC2. I know at one point there was a special seperate exe you could obtain to fix these, but I don't know if those fixes have now been rolled in, or if you'll need to find it again (devs won't be back until Monday).

I had the same prob. Installed forceware 91.31 and screen was cut in half. Here's what I did to get it to work. (The videos finally work for me too )

Go to nVidia settings on start bar --> performance & quality settings --> set image settings to "performance" --> set anisotropic and antialiasing to "app controlled" --> in GalCiv2 options, set video to 0 antialiasing.

I did this and the game runs better now than before I updated the video drivers.
Oh, I guess I should let you know my system:
AMD Athlon 2 Ghz.
1024 PC 2700 RAM
nVidia GeForce FX5200 128 MB

Darth Kryo and MI6400:
Thank you both for your suggestions; unfortunately neither one has fixed my problem. /sigh I will keep plugging away at it; anyone with additional ideas please start typing...

I developed the exact same problem. The game appears to start in 640X480 video reolution, so the right half of the screen is unavailable. When I 'Ctrl-Alt-Del' out, my Task Manager is at the 640X480 resolution and I can't function and have to do a hard reboot of the system. I have updated drivers and my desktop is set for 1280X1024, and I have reloaded the game twice. Checked the pref. file--it was set to 1280X1024 also.

Weird stuff.....

OK...got mine working!

Try this:
Go into the pref.ini file and set Multisample to 0.

This will give an antialiasing of 0.

I found that it was the antialiasing that screwed up my video.

Your system sounds similar to mine, so I hope this works for you.

BTW, a Multisample of 4 also worked for me, but slowed the game down somewhat.