Pool of radiance 2 and vista?

mute

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Been having problem with this game. I know, not the most popular ever, but i like it. :)

My problem is that i get graphical articfacts on screen when moving the view. And the game becomes unplayable.

Realized just now also that the forum for POR2 is closed (atlast) although the site is still live and kicking!

I promise you that this is my last resort for help since i will probably get hints that i shouldnt play this "crappy game", i should play bg2, witcher or toee. (But I am a big fan of por2, but never managed to finish it - i was just about to do that now from my last save!)

If anybody got some hints, i would value them greatly! Currently i have tried to turn off everyting. With no result and i have played with every compatibility mode except win95.

I am running on Vista sp1 (premium) with a 8800GTS card.
 
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Just wanted to update myself and my findings.

I do believe the problem might be with vista and nvidia. Tried it on my vista work computer. Exact the same artifact problem.

If somebody that does have a ati card and vista. How does it run?

(Me have for the moment reverted to my old computer. It only takes 10-15 seconds to plug it in ...)
 
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just tried it - vista 64. I can get it to load up as administrator but the screen is flickering and menu button text is missing. Compatibility mode = no joy. Not happy!
 
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This happened to me with planescape torment. I think there's some weird option about running it with like directx software...or something. It's a really odd option.
 
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Well I used the setting "let application decide" in the control panel and that got me by the menu text problem and into the game. Now I have the occlusion issue folks are talking about in the POR2 GameBanshee forums, where the characters vanish or sections of them vanish. That's where the "disable directdraw" advice seems to come from, but it just doesnt work on Vista 64 I guess :(
 
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I found this here http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showthread.php?t=571551

It may be worth a try.

This will turn off DirectDraw Acceleration on Vista, but it also turns off Direct3D acceleration as well (since DirectDraw is emulated thru Direct3D.)

Quote:
Reduce the graphics hardware acceleration setting to determine whether there is an issue with the video adapter or the video driver. To do this, follow the steps for the operating system that you are using.
Windows Vista

1. Click Start, click Control Panel, click Appearance and Personalization, click Personalization, click Display Settings, and then click Advanced Settings.
2. Click the Troubleshoot tab, and then click Change Settings.

If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type the password, or provide confirmation.
3. Move the Hardware Acceleration slider to the left. The Hardware Acceleration setting should not be reduced to less than three notches from the right. The Hardware Acceleration setting should be set to the following:
Disable all DirectDraw and Direct3D accelerations, as well as all cursor and advanced drawing accelerations.
If you reduce the Hardware Acceleration setting, you may experience more issues with video rendering.
4. Click OK three times, and then close the window.
The above option depends on your Graphics Drivers as well, as an example on my system using the Nvidia 158.18 drivers, they don't allow accleration options to be altered at all.
 
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There was an option to run it without having to do it in dxdiag... Damnit, I'm trying to remember what exactly I did.
 
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Thanks Thrasher - unfortunately the "change settings" button is grayed out with a note "your current display driver does not allow changes to be made to the hardware acceleration settings".

Maybe a dual boot machine is in order or an old laptop.
 
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it won't destroy the Vista OS will it? Has anyone ever tested it for that?

I still have the collector's edition in a box on my shelf. I figured the bag of dice, a copy of the module and even the audio disk were worth the $20.
 
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I doubt it, as long as one installs it with installer patch, just as with any of the earlier OS's.

You may want to check to see if you have latest video drivers and see if they allow you to change settings, otherwise, a dual-boot machine may be in your future.
 
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It's not a problem with the OS. It's a problem with new graphic cards. You can handle this problem in XP by turning of directdraw in dxdiag menu. But, you can't do that on Vista. dxdiag menu do not have this option (damn m$) Nvidia drivers do not allow you turn it off manually also.

My solution to this problem: make a dual boot system. I have both Vista (Also Windows 98 in Virtual PC) and XP installed on my new system (gts250) to play new and old RPGs at the same time.
 
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It's a problem with new graphic cards.

Does this mean if I'll buy an Direktx 10 or 11 graphics card I won't be able to disable that anymore ? O_O
 
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I believe he was referring to newer (than PoR 2) graphics card implementations of DirectDraw functions. They are different and therefore need to be turned off to work with older software. This would be a long standing problem not related to newer versions of Dx.

Not to say that new and fun issues won't crap up with Microsoft's latest nursery of abortions.
 
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Actually, this sounded like the PST issue. There may be a fix for it. You will need to grab the Microsoft Compatibility Tool, and make a application compatibility patch for POR that will force DirectDraw Emulation.
 
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Quick How to adapted from the fix I used for PST:
1. Download and install the microsoft application compatiblity toolkit:
MS ACT
2. Start the 'Compatibility Administrator' with administrator rights.
3. Click the 'New' Button
4. Right click the new database. Select 'Create new application fix…'
5. Name your program and vendor however you like. Browse to your por2.exe (I actually don't know the exact name of the executable for POR2, so this is a guess) file. Click next
6. Select 'None' for operating system modes. Click Next. Tick the 'ForceDirectDrawEmulation' compatibility fix. (No need to select additional compatibility modes)
8. Click next and finish.
9. Save your database.
10. Right click the database and select install. This will install the database.
11. Close the compatibility administrator and start POR2. This should (hopefully) fix your problems.
 
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Interesting. Does this work only for Vista or can the toolkit be used on XP as well?

BTW, the link leads me to "We are sorry, the page you requested cannot be found.
See below for search results close to your request, or try a new search."
 
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