FIX: freeze, BSOD (Stop error), or "GPU Recover" when space map (Sullust) is visible

velvok · 06-24-2006, 02:39 PM

As I was playing through the single-player campaign, I began to have more and more freezes when I was on the space map. Ground combat would work flawlessly. Eventually the problem occurred within seconds of displaying the space map and made the game completely unplayable.

A clue to the problem was Sullust. That planet would have blocks of transparency constantly popping up -- something that I hadn't seen at all during periods of stable play. (Since I was playing the single-player campaign, I don't think Sullust was actually drawn until more recently.)

I'm a PC/Mac tech. So, to make a long story short, I tried everything on the system side, from reinstalling direct x, video drivers, and EAW to experimenting with older patches, different memory settings, and so on. The solution, however, was in the game settings.

By setting the resolution to 1024x768 and enabling V-Sync (while running EAW in safe mode) the problem disappeared. (Recognize this fix from another thread?) Sullust now draws perfectly and I can't seem to cause a crash of any type.

In case you're curious, here are my (general) system specs:

Macbook Pro 17" (Windows XP SP2 through BootCamp)
ATI Radeon X1600 (256 MB)
2 GB RAM

velvok · 06-24-2006, 02:41 PM

One mroe thing I should mention: Once the graphics mode is on 1024x768 and V-Sync is enabled, it seems that all other graphics detail options can be set to any level. The game remains stable.

06-24-2006, 02:53 PM

Are you playing this on a Mac or PC? EaW hasnt been designed to play on a Mac.

So long as the V-sync is enabled, all should be ok. Also, turn off anything you dont need running in the back ground

DMUK

velvok · 06-26-2006, 12:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarthMaulUK

Are you playing this on a Mac or PC? EaW hasnt been designed to play on a Mac.
DMUK

I'm playing it on a Mac running Windows natively. For all intents and purposes, It's a PC. Don't let the "Mac" name fool you -- with these Intel boards, there's almost nothing different in it than you'd find in, say, an HP notebook. I even use standard PC drivers for the ATI video card.

velvok · 06-26-2006, 12:16 AM

After all that work, it looks like lowering the graphics level didn't help any. All it did is shift what part of the galaxy was visible. Once I scrolled to the top and the left, the crash happened again. Oh, well.

At least the ground battles work like they're supposed to.