Returns to desktop after intro movie.

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.

Is there an Intro on DA?

TIP

Debug Message: Version v1.0 last updated on: Mon Feb 6 12:52:05 2006
Debug Message: Could not find a TGN Serial No.
Debug Message: *********DXDiag info follows.*********
System Info
Time: 1/1/2007, 15:25:25
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
Machine Name: HOME-2F5032CC79
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Languages: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard
System Model: Presario 2500
BIOS: PhoenixBIOS 4.0 Release 6.0
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.66GHz
Physical Memory: 446MB RAM
Page File: 177MB used, 877MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS


Display Info
Display device 1:
Device Name: \\.\DISPLAY1
Card Name: RADEON IGP 345M
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip Type: ATI RS200M
DAC Type: Internal DAC(350MHz)
Key Device: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4337&SUBSYS_0850103C&REV_00
Display Memory: 64.0 MB
Current Display Mode: 1024 x 768 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: Default Monitor
Monitor Max Resolution:
Driver Name: ati2dvag.dll
Driver Version: 6.13.0010.6138
Driver Date: 11/1/2003 13:17:12
DirectX Acceleration Enabled: Yes



Sound info
Sound device 1:
Description: ALi Audio Wave
Default Sound Playback: Yes
Default Voice Playback: Yes
Hardware ID: PCI\VEN_10B9&DEV_5451&SUBSYS_0850103C&REV_02
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 100
Driver Name: ac97ali.sys
Provider: Microsoft
Driver Version: 5.12.0001.6003
Driver Date: 4/22/2005 01:33:24
Type: WDM
Other Drivers:
Acceleration Level: 3
Cap Flags: 0
Min/Max Sample Rate: 0, 0

Sound device 1:
Description: Modem #0 Line Playback (emulated)
Default Sound Playback: No
Default Voice Playback: No
Hardware ID:
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 81
Driver Name:
Provider:
Driver Version:
Driver Date:
Type: Emulated
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: Multisample Type chosen in prefs not supported. Forcing a supported type.
Debug Message: Using multilsample setting: D3DMULTISAMPLE_NONE
Debug Message: Game Resolution: 1024 x 768
Debug Message: Running fullscreen.
Debug Message: HAL (hw vp): RADEON IGP 345M
Debug Message: D3DPRESENT_INTERVAL_DEFAULT
Debug Message: Refresh rate: 60
Debug Message: Bit Depth: 32 bit.
Debug Message: *********Checking D3DDevice Caps***********************
Debug Message: Hardware does not support a color cursor.
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\Administrator\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\*.StarSystems
*DEBUG ERROR: ***Unable to find required tech ImpossibleTech for PirateShip. ***
*DEBUG ERROR: ***Unable to find required tech ImpossibleTech for Starbase. ***
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\ships\*.shipclass
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2\ships\*.shipcfg

Its Dread Lords not DA

You need to update your video drivers, they are way too old.

And you should also increase your swapfile to at least 2GB. This game can soak up a lot of memory, especially on the larger size galaxies.

Are there any updates for an ati rs200m?

This is from a different thread on the Stardock site:

I have the same video card (Radeon IGP 345M) and the exact same problem when I tried to download the catalyst drivers. However, the problem is not with your computer or with Stardock; the problem lies with ATI, who refuses to support the video cards they put in laptops. To add to my own annoyance, the only Radeon IGP driver not supported by the catalyst drivers is the 345M...

Anyway, to get around the problem, go to www.omegadrivers.net. They'll have a special mod there that will work with ALL ATI Radeon drivers. Thanks to it, I can finally play the game!

https://forums.stardock.com/?forumid=28&aid=26335

So it looks like your only hope lies with the Omega drivers.

Pilf, in addition to updating your video drivers, please patch the game up to 1.4X as well. You can find the patch on the downloads page of this site.

Thanx. I'm downloading it now. How do you increase your swapfile? What is it for that matter?

Right-click My Computer (the desktop icon) and choose 'Properties'.
Select the Advanced tab.
Click 'Settings' in 'Performance'.

Select the 'Advanced' tab.
Click 'Change' in 'Virtual memory'.

The 'C:' drive should be highlighted in the drive window.
Click the 'Custom Size:' radio button.
Set both initial and maximum values to 2048 - which will set up a 2GB swapfile.
If you have enough free hard drive space you can set both to 3072, which will create a 3GB swapfile. (You can see how much free space is available on the drive in that window, too, just above the Custom Size button.)

Click 'Set'.
Then OK your way back out.
You may need to reboot the system once that is done, but you will be prompted to do so if that is the case.

Thanx. I've downloaded the Omega driver and installed it but now it sais that the DirectDraw, Direct3D, and AGP texture accelerators are not available. I tried to open the SmartGart thing but nothing happens after I click on it.

Did you uninstall the old drivers first, or install over the top?

I installed over the top

I went back and uninstalled everything and installed it all over again but still no luck.

And are you still running version 1.0 of the game, or have you updated to 1.4?

If it is still 1.0, download the 1.4x update from the Downloads section of this site, then run the file to update the game.'
It would be a good idea to delete the Prefs.ini file (located in My Documents\My Games\GalCiv2) after you update, just to get a fresh file created when you start the game again.

There have been quite a few bug fixes since 1.0.

If that doesn't work, we'll try to think of something else to try.

Post your latest debug.err info with the game at 1.4. It may show something different.

I'm downloading it right now but i don't think thats the problem because I can't play any games anymore unless I return to my old driver.

Then perhaps go back to the old driver (since at least your other games do work with it), and try the game with version 1.4.

That video chipset you have seems, from what I have read about it, to be about the flakiest chip in history.

When you updated your drivers, did you get the second newest one as advised by the site? Support for all older chipsets such as yours was dropped in the latest version of ATIs drivers (which the omegas are based on), but with the omega's modifications to work on any chipset, it may not actually prevent you from installing the latest ones.

Make sure you get the second one on this page, based on Catalyst 6.5. The Catalyst 6.7 version does not support your chipset.