Shadows won't play

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Mshark
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Joined: Sat May 25, 2013 5:32 pm

Shadows won't play

Post by Mshark »

I hate to start another thread, but this isn't exactly what other seem to be experiencing. I can launch Shadows fine, go through the setup process and hit Play. At that point, it shows the "starting new galaxy" screen and locks up from there.

Running Windows 8

I just downloaded Shadows this morning (Sat 5/25). Tried rebooting and re-installing Shadows. No luck. Ran the hotfix, but it says that my version is already current. Had no problems whatsoever with any of the previous DW games through Legends. Any other suggestions? I'm really anxious to start playing pre-warp!
Brad
Bingeling
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RE: Shadows won't play

Post by Bingeling »

What version is reported on the lower left if you start the game? 1.9.0.0 or 1.9.0.1? The hotfix is the latter.

If you download the .zip version of the hotfix from the sticky on this forum, you can be sure that it is applied (as long as you extract it as instructed).
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Erik Rutins
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RE: Shadows won't play

Post by Erik Rutins »

Hi Mshark3,

Did you already go through the pinned Tech Support FAQ in this forum?

Main questions would be to try manually installing the various dependencies (including DirectX 9) from the /redist sub-folder of your Shadows installation and make sure Windows Media Player is installed and enabled. Also to make sure you are logged in and running the game as Administrator.

Regards,

- Erik
Erik Rutins
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peddroelm
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RE: Shadows won't play

Post by peddroelm »

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins
..
Also to make sure you are logged in and running the game as Administrator.
..

Can be logged in as standard (non-administrator) user but in this case you must start the game by right clicking the game icon/shortcut an choosing the "run as administrator" option ...
Mshark
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RE: Shadows won't play

Post by Mshark »

Thanks for the suggestions....but no luck yet. I am currently showing version 1.9.0.1., and am logged in as administrator.

I went to the Redist folder and reran .Net (says I already have the most recent version) and Direct-X. I do have Windows Media Player active. Very strange; I feel like there is something very simple that is causing this, but can't put my finger on it.
Brad
Bingeling
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RE: Shadows won't play

Post by Bingeling »

Maybe a faulty install? Do you have a crash log?

Location as in this post (apart from an obvious tweak to the last folder name).
http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/fb.asp?m=3331188
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Erik Rutins
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RE: Shadows won't play

Post by Erik Rutins »

Hi Mshark3,

Could you post a DxDiag for us please?

tm.asp?m=2413997

Please also post a crash log if one exists.

Regards,

- Erik
Erik Rutins
CEO, Matrix Games LLC


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For official support, please use our Help Desk: http://www.matrixgames.com/helpdesk/

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Mshark
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RE: Shadows won't play

Post by Mshark »

Sorry, but I don't have the expertise to produce the logs requested.

But I did a complete re-install from original DW though Shadows. I came upon this: If I select a game from the main menu to play in the classical age, the game runs fine. If I select a game from the pre-warp era, that's when it locks up at galaxy creation.
Brad
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Erik Rutins
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RE: Shadows won't play

Post by Erik Rutins »

Hi MShark3,

So you are able to play a Classic Age game without a problem?

Would be very interested in seeing the crash log for that Pre-Warp game.

When reporting a crash problem, it can also be very useful to provide us with a crash file.

Crash logs and save folders are not in the Documents folder.
They are in application data (which may require a folder option change to show "hidden files and folders".

Windows 7:

C:\Users\XXXXXX\AppData\Roaming\Code Force Limited\Distant Worlds\1.9.0.0

Replace the XXXXX with your username and the version with your version number.
Erik Rutins
CEO, Matrix Games LLC


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For official support, please use our Help Desk: http://www.matrixgames.com/helpdesk/

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TanC
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Joined: Wed May 08, 2013 8:51 am

RE: Shadows won't play

Post by TanC »

I'd like to contribute what I am experiencing as well. I have exactly the same issue as Mshark3. There are no crash logs (surprisingly enough!) but please find my dxdiag attached.
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DxDiag.txt
(32.59 KiB) Downloaded 5 times
TanC
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RE: Shadows won't play

Post by TanC »

Also, to follow up on this issue further, I've found that the game "hangs" due to some galaxy generation settings. I've tried playing with the settings outlined under "How to play an Easy Introductory Game in the Pre-Warp Age of Shadows" thread and it works flawlessly! To recreate my issue I've tried playing with the following settings. I've zipped the screenshots of the settings up and attached it to this message.
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DWSScreenshots.zip
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elliotg
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RE: Shadows won't play

Post by elliotg »

ORIGINAL: TanC
Also, to follow up on this issue further, I've found that the game "hangs" due to some galaxy generation settings. I've tried playing with the settings outlined under "How to play an Easy Introductory Game in the Pre-Warp Age of Shadows" thread and it works flawlessly! To recreate my issue I've tried playing with the following settings. I've zipped the screenshots of the settings up and attached it to this message.
Thanks for the screenshots TanC. That helped us to track down and fix this crash.

Elliot
TanC
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RE: Shadows won't play

Post by TanC »

ORIGINAL: elliotg

Thanks for the screenshots TanC. That helped us to track down and fix this crash.

Elliot
Wow. Fantastic and speedy job in piecing together the issue from just a bunch of screenshots! Thank you for the speedy follow-up and response elliotg and Code Force. Looking forward to the fix! [:)]
Mshark
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RE: Shadows won't play

Post by Mshark »

TanC,

You had me excited there for a minute, but alas, it still hangs up in the galaxy generation part. I followed your tutorial to the letter.

I appreciate that you have spent so much time troubleshooting this. I recently just got a new machine with Windows 8, and I can't find anything that I used to know when running XP, and the instructions for creating a DX Diag is a mystery. GRRRR....windows 8 basically turned my computer into a doggone I-phone. Hopefully whatever fix was discovered will fix me, too.
Brad
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mercho
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RE: Shadows won't play

Post by mercho »

Hi everybody,

my problem is comparable. When i start a game as a normal empire in the legends time or in the shadows time, the game goes on creating a galaxy. But when i want to start a game as pirate, wether in legends or shadows time, the game keeps hanging during creation of the galaxy... I reinstalled the game many times, reinstalled .net and xma many times, but exatly that problem keeps the same... hope you guys find that problem...

mercho
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elliotg
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RE: Shadows won't play

Post by elliotg »

ORIGINAL: mercho
Hi everybody,

my problem is comparable. When i start a game as a normal empire in the legends time or in the shadows time, the game goes on creating a galaxy. But when i want to start a game as pirate, wether in legends or shadows time, the game keeps hanging during creation of the galaxy... I reinstalled the game many times, reinstalled .net and xma many times, but exatly that problem keeps the same... hope you guys find that problem...

mercho
I suggest you retry these game setups in the new 1.9.0.2 patch that should be available very soon (Today I think).

Thanks
Elliot
TanC
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RE: Shadows won't play

Post by TanC »

ORIGINAL: Mshark3

TanC,

You had me excited there for a minute, but alas, it still hangs up in the galaxy generation part. I followed your tutorial to the letter.

I appreciate that you have spent so much time troubleshooting this. I recently just got a new machine with Windows 8, and I can't find anything that I used to know when running XP, and the instructions for creating a DX Diag is a mystery. GRRRR....windows 8 basically turned my computer into a doggone I-phone. Hopefully whatever fix was discovered will fix me, too.
Umm...sorry to get you all excited, Mshark3. If you want to get a game going, I suggest you follow the settings under this thread: PreWarp Shadows Game. My screenshots were to aid the dev team to recreate the error we're having. Like elliotg mentioned, we're going to have a fix out soon. :)
Mad Igor
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RE: Shadows won't play

Post by Mad Igor »

ORIGINAL: Mshark3
windows 8 basically turned my computer into a doggone I-phone.
bro,get rid of that poo ! install win7 (harrr harrr )
win8 is worse than Vista.
TanC
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RE: Shadows won't play

Post by TanC »

Thanks for the fix Code Force! I am now able to play Shadows in the settings that I wish.

Mshark3 - I hope the latest patch fixed your issues too?
Mshark
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Joined: Sat May 25, 2013 5:32 pm

RE: Shadows won't play

Post by Mshark »

YES!! It now works like a champ after I applied the new patch. Kudos to the Matrix team for their quick work on resolving this issue with the new patch. OUTSTANDING customer support!

Thanks also to the other users that replied to this thread and their suggestions.

Mad Igor, now I know that I'm not the only one who thinks Win 8 is a piece of crap. I have this sinking feeling that Win 8 is going to be like Vista or Win ME....meaning MS will stop supporting it before the year is out.
Brad
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