direct draw=0 NOT working?!

[fluxcapacitor]

When I add the line "direct draw=0" to the preferences section of Alpha Centauri.ini, the game DOES NOT start at desktop resolution. In my case this is 1680x1050 for my 22" Samsung LCD monitor. This is on a PNY 8800GT, with Nvidia drivers 196.21, the newest available. I'm running Windows 7 Ultimate x64. I had this game running just fine last year, with this line added to .ini file and it worked just fine to make the game run at 1680.

Does anyone know why it would ALWAYS force 1024x768? SUPER annoying and I would love to play this again but 1024 sucks.

 

[Petek]

Does your ini file also have a command such as video mode=1024? IIRC correctly, such a command will override the directdraw line and force 1024x768.

Petek

 

[fluxcapacitor]

Yes that's what it will do, but that's not what I want. The game already DOES run in 1024x768, no matter what I do. I've tried all the compatibility settings, etc. By adding the line "direct draw=0", it's supposed to disable Direct Draw and force the game to run at my desktop resolution, 1680x1050. But it's not working.

I do have a dual monitor setup with an HDTV 32" @ 1366x768 also connected to this system. I don't think that's effecting this though because disable that 2nd display doesn't solve this problem.

 

[Petek]

Sorry, I didn't phrase my last reply very well. I meant to say to delete any video mode line in your ini file. Since you already know that, it's probably not the problem. Re-reading your first post, I think I see the problem: The directdraw line needs to go in the [Alpha Centauri] section of the ini file, not in [PREFERENCES]. Also, it's a single word (directdraw), not two.

Petek

 

[fluxcapacitor]

BINGO!!! That did it. THANKS. Looks so nice at 1680.

 

[Timthe1st]

Just thought of bumping this thread as mine isn't working properly in 1680x1050. It is launching with an odd res, e.g. the menu is not visible, and the menu background only takes up a little bit of the top left of the monitor (the rest of that monitor is black.)

One reason that may be causing this I think could be that I have two monitors, but I am not sure.

 

[Petek]

Are you running SMAC? If so, you might need to install the Win 2000/XP Update. This update fixes, among other things, the problem you noticed with the directdraw command. If this doesn't help (or if you already have the update installed), please post again. Note: If you're involved in any multiplayer games, all participants have to be running the the same patch version.

HTH

Petek

 

[Timthe1st]

Are you running SMAC? If so, you might need to install the Win 2000/XP Update. This update fixes, among other things, the problem you noticed with the directdraw command. If this doesn't help (or if you already have the update installed), please post again. Note: If you're involved in any multiplayer games, all participants have to be running the the same patch version.

HTH

Petek

Well I just reinstalled it so hadn't added any patches yet. Was just playing one game before installing SMAX because SMAX seems to stop it from working. (I tried installing SMAX now and it didn't work, any idea if there is a correct order of installing the game, expansion and patches? I have the version from Sold Out (2009)).

 

[Petek]

For now, just install the Win 2k/XP update mentioned in my prior post and see if that fixes the directdraw problem. Once that works, then please start a new thread for any SMAX problems. Be sure to install the SMAX 2.0 update and post any error messages.

Petek