Bit Blot Forum
Aquaria => Support => Topic started by: borderking on December 22, 2007, 12:16:16 am
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I recently bought this game for a computer with a Nvidia Gforce FX5200 graphics card. I have downloaded all of the latest drivers for the video card along with the latest version of Directx. However, when I start the game, I can see the Bit Blot logo and the short intro screen, but when it gets to the main menu screen, all I see is the registered name on the lower left and the cursor. The rest of the screen is black. I can click on menu items and see them appear on the screen, such as the load game or replay intro dialog boxes, but if I manage to start the game, I can hear the voice and see the cursor, but everything else is black. I've tried every combination of options and configurations in the aqconfig box and nothing has worked. I'm not sure if this matters, but I'm using a widescreen monitor to display the game, but I've tried running the game in a window as well. Does anyone have any tips on how to fix this problem?
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Usually when this happens its a symptom of not having the latest/correct video card drivers.
Are you on a laptop?
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No, I'm on a Dell desktop, 2.2 gHz, with 512 mb of ram. I've been trying different things all day, but to no avail. I just downloaded the most recent video drivers from the Geforce website today, specifically to make sure I could play this game at the best possible performance.
By the way, among all the different combinations of configurations I tried, I have sometimes got no visual on the intro, just a black screen, then a completely white screen, and then the black screen again on the main menu. But by far, the most common result is what I described above in the first post.
I'm running DirectX 9c, which I just updated as well. I was wondering if the problem is related to the widescreen monitor...I usually have it set to display at a resolution that suits it well, not 1024x768, something higher...but I tried running Aquaria in a window at different resolutions, and I just get that frustrating black at the main menu and during gameplay, if I make it that far.
Any other ideas?
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The game actually uses OpenGL, so DirectX drivers shouldn't affect it either way....
Are you running XP or Vista? (or something else)
Did the demo run any differently?
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I'm running XP Home Edition. I didn't try the demo, I bought the game this morning as a present for my brother for our Christmas party this afternoon. Thank you for trying to help, if I can get it to work, I know it will be great. We've been looking forward to this game for a long time. I'll keep giving you any info I can!
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And the Geforce video card I mentioned came with the Dell, I didn't add it in myself.
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I had exactly the same problem and it went away when I installed path 1.0.3. I have an ATI 9600 PRO 128MB mobility and Windows Vista Ultimate 32 bits (Dell laptop). I tried all kind of things (windows update drivers, omega drivers, the drivers modification tool,...) and nothing worked, but now with patch 1.0.3 it seems to work (I haven't tested it much, but at least I can see now the menu screen :p).
Edit: nah, it doesn't work either :( It only worked the first time, if I go out and re enter the game then I get a black screen (with Framebuffer effects on) or randon garbage (without Framebuffer effects). I have tried also running Aquaria on XP SP2 compatibility mode, disabling aero,...
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Hrm.
I can try sending you guys a custom build that disables a couple things.... just to see if it works. (it would at least limit the possibilities of what could be going wrong)
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Thanks, I would be willing to try it.
By the way, a few added things. I just realized the PC I'm actually running is specifically a Dell Dimension Dim4600, with Intel Pentium 4 processor, 2.40 GHz, and now has 1.25 GB of RAM. I had some of the details wrong before.
Also, I don't know much about these things, but in case this matters...so the Geforce FX 5200 video card I have...it came with the Dell, I didn't install it myself. But it doesn't look like the card is integrated video, like it's not on the motherboard. I mean, my monitor cable is connected to one of the PCI slots on the back of my PC. I'm pretty sure it's PCI and not AGP. And furthermore, on the back of the video card, there are TWO separate places where I could plug in my monitor. The one I'm currently using is I guess what you would consider a typical, VGA connection (it's blue). The other one I'm not currently connected to is a white plug (DVI?) Would that matter? I could try the other kind of cable connection if that would make a difference...
If that wouldn't make any difference (I don't know much about this), I would definitely be willing to try the custom build.
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DVI shouldn't matter...
Can you email me? I can send you the modified EXE there.
zaphire@gmail.com
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Ok, thanks for trying a solution. I emailed to the address you gave.
Are many other people having this problem?
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A better question would be: Is there anyone else with a Geforce FX 5200 playing Aquaria out there? Does the game work for you? Or does everyone with this card get the black screen?
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I have a geforce 6800 and i'm having the same issue.
Thanks for any help.
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What is it with these Geforce cards?
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What is it with these Geforce cards?
I wish I knew. :'(
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did the modified exe work?
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Don't think he's got a chance to try it yet.
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would you be able to send me a copy and let me try it out?
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Hrm, well its for the full version and not the demo.
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My desktop computer is also having a similar problem...the same problem really. Black screen on all but cutscenes. I've installed it on my laptop and my sister tried it on her's and it works fine in both those cases. Don't understand the problem with the desktop, it has the lastest drivers. I think it has a 6800 as well.
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I emailed you Alec from gravityage [AT] gmail [DOT] com for information about the modified .EXE. Regards
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You've got mail. :)
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It works, it works! :) Thanks a lot for your support Alec, what an amazing work you are doing guys :)
Regards!
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Okay, but this isn't a fix... its just a test. You're going to run into problems later in the game. (in dark areas)
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Well, at least I can get to the dark areas :) I'm going to get a new computer in 2 weeks more or less so I hope I won't find this problem again...
Regards!
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So it's still a mystery as to what's causing the problem in the first place?
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Yes, I tried the modified .exe file, and it works on my computer with the Geforce FX 5200 as well!
But as you said, this is just a test, not a permanent fix. The "dark effect" will be needed later in the game.
At least it's a step in the right direction...You've figured what might be causing the problem.
Any hope for a workaround? Or is this result actually bad news, since the "dark effect" is actually required later?
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Not sure yet. The problem seems to be the "subtractive blend" effect that I need to use for the dark layer. I guess not all cards/drivers support it? Not sure what the story is there.
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I was having this problem too, but then I think I found the solution (hopefully!). I also have a 6800, so I downloaded the latest drivers and accessed the Nvidia Control Panel that comes with it. I think you need to essentially have all the options on (ie. texture filtering, triple buffering, etc., etc.). I'll be buying the full version soon and I hope this works.
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I just tried that, reinstalled the newest drivers, and turned on as many options as I could, but nothing changed.
There were lots of options, and I fooled around with them as much as I could, but with the original build, I still just get the "black curtain."
The other possible workaround you might be working on may be the best bet.
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Hi all!
I have a NVidia GeForce 6200 TurboCache adapter, i downloaded the demo to try de game, and i have same problem, anyone have a solution to this?
Tks.
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Any update on this "black screen" problem, Alec?
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Haven't heard any update on this problem in two weeks...Any new info? Is everyone on vacation?
Anxious fans definitely still excited to play!
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I too wish for a fix of this problem, just so my sister can play too.
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Alec, could you keep us up to date on the potential for this "black screen" problem to be fixed?
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Alec, is it likely that Nvidia would provide support for the "dark-blend" effect that's causing the problems in their next driver release? Would they include the effect if they knew about the benefit it would offer games like Aquaria?
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I don't know, I'm not sure how to get in touch with them, or if they would care. :)
Its hard to know if its a driver thing or a card thing or what. I might be able to add some code to check the video card caps and see. If it says that its supported, then maybe there's a work around.
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Here's my quick solution. I had the same issues as the ones posting here, as in - mozaic textures, couldn't see anything, not even the scan lines. It was all a blur:
(http://i13.tinypic.com/6jx5k50.png)
So, make sure you set Image Settings to High Quality (am talking about nVidia cards, from which I own a FX5700)..
(http://i4.tinypic.com/6t2r6lt.png)
Cheers..
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It quite interesting issue with the gf graphics cards. But it seems that also some of other cards doesn't run Aquaria propely. for example I've checked the demo on a Intel Celeron 2,66 with 512 megs and a s3 Virge card with 64 megs of memory and the funny thing was the intro runned properly, but when the menu launched you could saw a checker made of slightly blurred black stripes. The most interesting thing is it only affected the game graphics, not the menus :o
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The only "good" thing about the "black screen" problem, the specific problem that was the source of this thread, is that it's specific enough that Alec seems to know what might be causing it.
And the "temporary fix" you provided about three weeks ago did "fix" the black screen, even if it's not an entire work-around. In addition, in case I never mentioned it, while using that "temporary fix," the game not only worked and was visible, but looked incredibly beautiful. There wasn't a single other graphical problem. It was perfect!
So in my case, and in the case of the other people I've been talking to who can't play because of the "black screen," it seems that this may be the only problem, and once that is fixed, then the whole game is a go!
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So in my case, and in the case of the other people I've been talking to who can't play because of the "black screen," it seems that this may be the only problem, and once that is fixed, then the whole game is a go!
Yeah, this is true.
Does anyone with this problem have MSN or AIM (or another Instant Messenger?) and some free time?
I'd love to try to fix this, but since I can't replicate the problem myself, I need someone who has the problem to test out some builds for me. It might be kinda a long and slow process, so only apply if you're willing to get into some hot and heavy debugging with me. ;)
(actually, its pretty fun if you're into problem solving!)
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Hello,
I've got a similar - if not the same - problem.
A few days ago I downloaded the demo and it worked perfectly. Yesterday I installed the most recent drivers (Ati Catalyst 8.1) for my graphics chip/mainboard/etc. (Asus M2A-VM mainboard with an integrated Ati X1250 graphics chip). After installing the latest drivers, I wanted to check Aquaria again before deciding to buy it, but it did not work anymore.
The intro with the landscape, windmill, etc. sometimes plays and sometimes it does not. Sometimes the background shows and sometimes it is just black. However once the menu loads, things get worse. I get literally 1 frame per second and the background does not always show. The cursor, menu items and the crystal are usually there. However the 1 fps makes it unusable. I tried to start a game once and got decent performance and it seemed like everthing got displayed. After deinstalling the drivers and reinstalling them I tried again but nothing changed except that I got 1 fps in-game too. Symptoms change a bit from start to start. It is somewhat weird that older driver worked perfectly and the new ones cause problems.
I changed back to the old driver (7.11) and Aquaria works normally. However I want to update my graphics drivers eventually ;)
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Yeah, this is true.
Does anyone with this problem have MSN or AIM (or another Instant Messenger?) and some free time?
I'd love to try to fix this, but since I can't replicate the problem myself, I need someone who has the problem to test out some builds for me. It might be kinda a long and slow process, so only apply if you're willing to get into some hot and heavy debugging with me. ;)
(actually, its pretty fun if you're into problem solving!)
I would be willing to do this :) If it's more than 2-3 hours I would prefer on a weekend, but I can try to work something during normal days. I'm in GMT+1 (Spain). My msn is the same as the email in my user profile in this forum :)
Regards!
Vicente
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how far are you guys from solving the problem?
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I haven't been contacted by Alec yet (maybe my time zone is bad compared to his... :( )
Regards!
Vicente
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I haven't been contacted by Alec yet (maybe my time zone is bad compared to his... :( )
Regards!
Vicente
Well, at the moment is the Game Developers Conference where Derek and Alec are, I think they had a lot to do in the days before too. Just be patient. :)
And don't worry about the timezone, Alec stopped sleeping a while ago. ;)
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I haven't been contacted by Alec yet (maybe my time zone is bad compared to his... :( )
Regards!
Vicente
it's just a bunch of feral monkies minding the shop atm it seems ;D
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Well Alec has been putting work into making the game widescreen and adressing various people's problems on the boards here. You'll notice he did attempt to fix the problem. But it's hard to fix something when you don't know what's wrong. And it's like Alec said, he doesn't exactly have the problem handy for troubleshooting purposes. Would somebody like to volunteer to be his guinea pig? I would do it but the computer in question is at my parent's house and I'm hundreds of miles away.
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Hey guys
Initially on loading the game I experienced graphical distortions much like the screenshot posted earlier. I found uninstalling the video driver running driver cleaner in safe mode and reinstalling the driver fixed the problem. Just a suggestion for anyone experiencing something similar.
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Well Alec has been putting work into making the game widescreen and adressing various people's problems on the boards here. You'll notice he did attempt to fix the problem. But it's hard to fix something when you don't know what's wrong. And it's like Alec said, he doesn't exactly have the problem handy for troubleshooting purposes. Would somebody like to volunteer to be his guinea pig? I would do it but the computer in question is at my parent's house and I'm hundreds of miles away.
As I posted in the third page, I wouldn't mind helping him to find this bug. I have a computer where I can reproduce it and where his intial fix helped solving the problem ;)
Regards,
Alitar
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I suffered from the same thing as SunBeam and it was driving me crazy, so I read his post and saw that he was using the NVTray tool.
So I downloaded it and ran the game and to my suprise it worked, so if your screen looks like this
(http://i13.tinypic.com/6jx5k50.png)
and you have a geforce card I suggest getting the NVTray tool from http://nvtweak.laptopvideo2go.com/
I'm using a Geforce 7900GS
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Out of curosity did this ever get fixed.
I recently bought Audiosurf and now that i've gotten kinda sick of it i wanted to see if the game would work for me.
Remember i got the problem on the demo though so i dunno if that means I'll get the problem in the full game.
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I've actually changed something in the latest version (1.1.0, which isn't out yet) that might fix some graphical problems that people have been having.
We probably won't be releasing a 1.1.0 demo for a bit - we'll want to do a Windows beta test first, after the Mac one is done.