White Screen

from Stardock Forums
I just bought this game and all I get is a white screen and music. I press Enter and it goes to the start screen. It's all white except for the options. Everything works fine but I just can't see anything!
5,500 views 4 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Have a look in :

C:\Documents and Settings\*your account name*\My Documents\My Games\GC2TwilightArnor
(or GalCiv2 or GC2DarkAvatar - depending which version you are playing)

you will see a file called debug.err, post that. Inside there is info that gives the clue as to whats going on in many situations - not all. Make sure you post it in its state immediately after the "crash" - dont restart a game, the file is reset every time time you start a game.

Once people see that, they can help. Keep the faith, Stardock customer service is legendary, you just need to start the process, and go with the flow, they'll get you working if your PC is within the game specification needs.

Regards
Zy
Reply #2 from PolMach Forums Top

Yeah, your debug.err would be helpful, but I fear it's the 'Shader 2' issue creeping up again :( 

Basicially, even if you can INSTALL DirectX9c, it dosent meen that your card is necessarilly COMPATABLE with it, inparticular the use of Pixel Shader 2. Older cards will show a white screen with text-in-tact if Shader 2 is not supported, which it sounds like your problem is.

Now, ther are 2 options :)

1. If you've been meening to upgrade your video card, perhaps now is the time :)  I dont know your situation (college gamers tend to be strapped for cash) but you can get video cards (some supporting even Shader3) for around $25 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102406 , after shipping).

2. Contact [email protected] to start the refund process. The developers have all agreed that it's programtically unfeasable to rework the engine to support sub-S2 cards  :(

Sorry for the bad news, but I hope this helps.

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Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
I've had exactly the same problem since downloading and didn't really understand what the hell to do with the debug.err file  ;p 

I've emailed the support team to see if they can try and fix it :|
Reply #4 from PolMach Forums Top
The debug.err file is located at "my documents/my games/polMachine2008/". The file can be opened with notepad, and its contents can be posted when you report problems. The file will have your PC specs in it, as well as game messages that we can use to track down issues.

In this case, a white screen when you try to run the game means you don't have a new enough video card. As boogieBac says, you have to either get yourself a new card (which can be a pretty cheap investment) or you can contact support about a refund.