Battle Map graphics problem

[DEB8]

I have installed the original STW ( 1.12 ) and STW - Warlord Edition ( 1.02 ) onto my new Laptop.

The laptop has Windows 7 Professional ( 64 Bit ) and INTEL HD Graphics with 4.00 GB ( 3.83 GB usable ) RAM.

It all works fine, except for some of the in battle graphics...

a) Some trees are not showing correctly ( especially when troops are near / in them ). Their individual tree graphic appears on a rectangle, and the non tree part of the rectangle obscures the scenery ( trees ) / troops behind it.

b) Dead solders sometimes disappear and reappear dependent on the camera angle / range.
[ Live ones may be doing the same , but I have not noticed this yet ! ]

Any idea's as to how I can fix this ?

Thanks.

[DEB8]

It would seem that you have not allocated enough shared memory to the graphics adapter. You will need to configure this in the BIOS or UEFI. It's possibly the root of all your problems...

Definitely the boxes around trees and dead bodies disappearing was an age old problem and usually related to older graphics hardware with insufficient RAM.



If you don't allocate enough memory, the problems will continue. Ensure that about 128MB of RAM is allocated.

Interesting.

Thanks.

[ NB : You have posted your reply against the wrong thread... but thanks all the same. ]

Apologies for the delay re this request ; but just how do I adjust the RAM memory allocation here ?

Thanks in advance for any help...

Information re-posted here ( against the correct thread )!!

[DEB8]

I have looked into adjusting the RAM that the game/s use, but the only thing that I can trace that is adjustable in this respect is the O/S's Paging File.

My O/S would only allow a revised minimum of 200 MB here and also insisted on a maximum figure. I used 256 MB for both and also tried 5886 MB ( O/S recommended figure ) for both, but ( alas ) to no avail...

[ In fact things got worse, as some live figure sprites were disappearing too ( depending on the closeness / angle of the camera. ]

HELP !!!

[I.E. How do I configure this in the BIOS or UEFI ??? ]

[ReluctantSamurai]

I assume you've been here:

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/forum...on-amp-Support

If not you should. There's plenty of links to follow, as well as helpful advice. Not sure if you'll find anything useful, but the rollback of KB3086255 Windows update got Shoggy working again after I rid my computer of that crap....

[DEB8]

Link information viewed today ; but none of it is relevant to either my noted graphics problem or how to increase the RAM my Video card allocates to STW....

[ReluctantSamurai]

Try this:

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/chang...ard-58676.html

Or this:

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/...plication.html

According to the "Best Answer" posted in this link, a 32-bit program can utilize RAM to a maximum of 2 gigs no matter how much you have installed on your motherboard. And bear in mind there's a difference between VRAM (the amount of onboard memory on the vid card) and system RAM.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/67...ram-allocation

I don't really know how much memory Shoggie requires, but I have the original release disc and ran it on my "back-in-the-day" Win98 rig just fine. That rig had only a small fraction of both VRAM and system RAM available on my current rig, so I don't think this problem is memory related as far as what's available, but maybe what gets allocated to Shoggie come game time

[DEB8]

Wow !

Thanks for that.

[ I think the first link will prove the most useful, but the others made interesting ( if somewhat confusing ) reading. ]

I'll report the "results" in a few days time....

[DEB8]

Interestingly, the in game graphics look great under "Software" ( driver ) mode, with no tree ( or unit ) problems.

However, in "Software" mode, the game loses the mouse's ability to turn the camera to the left or right by simply moving the cursor left or right ; and the same problem similarly applies to moving the cursor to the top of the screen ( which normally moves the camera forward ).

If it proves necessary, I'd rather keep the tree & unit problems than lose the mouse's camera control...

[DEB8]

I'll report the "results" in a few days time....

Somewhat later than promised, but still :

Sadly, to date, I have been unable to test increasing my dedicated Video RAM ( via the BIOS ). This is because my laptop does not have the appropriate "function" built into it's BIOS system ( unlike my VISTA desktop PC - which by the way functions perfectly ( re Graphics ) at 32MB dedicated Video RAM ) !!

Apparently, it appears that my laptop's Video Card is supposed to adjust required ( dedicated ) Video RAM automatically. Sadly, it appears not to work correctly with STW...
So, I will have to visit INTEL's Website and see what I can "find out" there.

F.A.I.D.C.

[DEB8]

An update.

It transpires, ( per Intel's forums ), that some games were set up to read "Initial" dedicated Video RAM, rather than "actual" ( "full" ) dedicated Video RAM.
This means that newer Video cards with "integrated" graphics, fail to operate to their full capacity with these games.

[ It's a pity that the BIOS change option got left out of ( some ? ) newer O/S setups, just when it was needed the most. ]

Apparently, though, it may be possible to correct this on an O/S, by making an alteration to a certain Registry key entry. The problem is, it does not always work (and even if it does, it may not correct the actual problem here...). In fact ( per various comments on utube ), it ( a correction to read "actual" ( full ) Video RAM ) only works about 15-20% of the time !!!

Of course, making changes to a Registry key entry can be rather dangerous ( apparently ). I have a set of instructions and have to back up the Registry, ( or a certain part of it ), before attempting the change. When I get brave enough to try this out ( ), I will post further information...

[ReluctantSamurai]

Good info on the initial vs full RAM problem

[DEB8]

An update ! Apologies for the gross delay.

So. I finally got brave and made the appropriate registry change ( using the Registry Editor ). However, it did NOT solve the problem. So annoying.

I did detect three small changes though :

1) The white rectangles around some trees are now more transparent.
2) Some black rectangles have now appeared around some trees - usually "behind" the camera "view point" ! They are transparent to a degree though...
3) The unit sprites are not now so visible from some angles ! e.g. Heads and Torsos but no legs (if I recall correctly).

Win some, Lose some more...

I'll have to start practicing playing in Software Mode I guess...

[DEB8]

Today, for some reason, I am unable to trace any black rectangles ( re 2) in the previous post ). Perhaps this was just a temporary phenomenon after my changes...
Also, I now note, that the unit sprites, ( troops ) problem, is caused by something similar to that causing the tree problem ! The rectangles, are however, "completely transparent".

NB : The transparency at 1) in the previous post, ( and now at 3) ), allows you to see the ground and/or the sky, but does not allow you to see other trees/troops that are beneath the "transparent" rectangles.

[ Hey - I can use the arrow keys in Software Mode. That improves things a lot ! ]