DirectX Problem.

[MrVarsi]

Im trying to run Buccaneer but I only get a message which reads:
Failed to initialize Direct3D. Make sure you have DirectX 9 installed and are running a graphics card that support Pixel Shader 1.1

I have a Mobile Intel® 4 Series Express Chipset Family card and have updated it with the lastet driver.
Ive also updatet DirectX to 9c.

So whats wrong?
Help! :confused:

[lonewolfdon]

What version of Window you running?
Maybe go into the folder where the game is installed, right-click and Properties on any exe files and set to "Run as Administrator", plus you might try a different Compatibility mode as well. Also run the Steam client with Admin privileges.

Not sure if any of that will help with the problem, but it's worth a try.

[MrVarsi]

Windows 7.

ill try that! thx

[MrVarsi]

didnt work. tried em all.

found this though.

--------- Parsing Arguments ---------
Binding server port to default IP
UDP initialized on port 0
DirectX 9 version - 9.0.0 c
DirectX 8 version - 9.0x
GFXInit::getAdapterTypeFromName - Invalid renderer name, defaulting to D3D9
Attempting to create GFX device: Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family (D3D9)
GFXD3D9EnumTranslate: Unassigned value in GFXD3D9TextureFormat: 12
Device created, setting adapter and enumerating modes
Win32Window::setMode - invoking curtain
GFXD3D9Device - using 'd3dx9_37.dll' for dynamic linking.
Failed to create hardware device, trying mixed device
Failed to create mixed mode device, trying software device


could it be that im running a 64bit?

[lonewolfdon]

Is it a laptop computer? Integrated Intel graphic-devices, especially on laptops, are generally poor or problematic for trying to run some games on. If it's a desktop computer, I'd recommend buying a decent graphics card (nVidia or ATI, personally I prefer nVidia) for it. If it's a laptop, not sure what to suggest other than update the drivers (which you say you've done), or to consider soon upgrading to a better system.

But don't give up yet, there still may be some workaround or fix for the problem.

For the DirectX, did you manually download and install?
I found this info on their Forum
http://www.pursuitofinfamy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=195 (you might want to read everything else over as well on that page):

-----------------
DIRECTX 9 UPDATES

Microsoft have been releasing regular updates to DirectX 9c which are not installed through Windows Update. These need to be installed manually by downloading the installer from the Microsoft site.

This affects all versions of Windows, even Vista. To determine if you have the appropriate version of DirectX 9 installed, search for the files d3dx9_38.dll and XAudio2_2.dll in the Windows\System32 folder, if these files do not exist then you need to install the DirectX 9 updates, at the time of writing the latest version is the November 2008 release available here:

Minimal installer: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=2DA43D38-DB71-4C1B-BC6A-9B6652CD92A3&displaylang=en
(this is a small EXE that will download all the files needed during installation)
-------------

[MrVarsi]

Wow! Thanks a million for helping me out man!

Ive searched those files and found them, so its seems that it isnt the directx fault.
its a laptop btw.

thanks for the link. ill ask on that forum aswell!

[TrippleD]

On board graphics would be your issue.

[MrVarsi]

sorry?

[lonewolfdon]

I think he's saying that it's your Integrated (on-board) Intel graphic-device on your laptop is the problem, that it's not able to run this game properly.

You can still try reading through the various threads over on the Buccaneer forums to see if there may be a possible work-around:
http://www.pursuitofinfamy.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=12

And try manually downloading and installing that DirectX version anyways just to see if it makes any difference though. It shouldn't hurt anything, and if something was missing that was needed, then installing that version of DirectX might help.

But chances are, your poor 'ol laptop just isn't up to par to handle this game.

[TrippleD]

System Requirements Minimum:

Operating system: Windows XP & Vista
Processor: 1.6 GHz Processor
Memory: 512 MB RAM
Hard disk space: 500 MB of Available Hard Disk Space
Video: DirectX Compatible 256 MB Video Card (must support Pixel Shader 2.0)
Sound: DirectX compliant sound card
DirectX®: DirectX 9.0c

http://store.steampowered.com/app/23100/

[MrVarsi]

I'll do that.

Intel self says that it supports Pixel Shader 4.0
http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/sb/cs-014257.htm
And my processor is on 2.20 GHz, while the memory is at 4 GB.
So, really, it doesnt make sense.

[lonewolfdon]

Hey MrVarsi... did a little checking for you of some possible "work-around".
Yes, it really strange that it's not working on your system if supposedly your graphic-device is supposed to support it. Maybe this game, and others, just simply doesn't like non-nVidia or non-ATI graphic devices? As I mentioned earlier, Intel on-board graphic devices are a bit flakey, and sometimes a hit or miss, when it comes to trying to run some games.

However, there's a utility called "3D-Analyze", in which you can have your computer "Emulate" having a different graphic-card than it actually has, or to skip/bypass a program checking for Pixel Shader 2.0.

Use at your own risk, and I have no idea if it actually works, or if it would help you to get your game(s) running that normally won't due to having an unsupported/ underpowered graphic-device, but still, it may be worth a try.

You can download the newest version from the following page (Look for the "3D-Analyze 2.36" link about halfways down that page):
http://www.3dfxzone.it/dir/tools/3d_analyze/download/

For more info and instructions in English on how to use it, see the following pages:
http://www.3dfxzone.it/dir/articles/3d_analyze_user_guide/
http://www.3dfxzone.it/dir/articles/3d_analyze_user_guide/?pid=2&lan=

Good luck!

[MrVarsi]

your my hero lonewolfdon! thanks for not giving up! =)

couldnt get it to work though.

im thinking about getting it from ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ just to see if another "version" would work.

[lonewolfdon]

Hmmm. Bummer it won't work for you. And I don't think getting the game from another source would make any difference.

Thanks for the kind words. I guess it's in my nature to be helpful. And I'm not one to give up easy, so I like to try and find work-arounds or fixes to these type of problems.

When you updated the drivers, were they from Intel's site?
If not, try getting the most current drivers for your system from the following link:
http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/detect.htm

Did you also try reinstalling the DirectX again? :
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=2DA43D38-DB71-4C1B-BC6A-9B6652CD92A3&displaylang=en

Some other things to try. Not sure this works for Windows 7, but probably does.

Click on Windows Start, then select the "Run" box (or alternatively, Windows key + R), and enter in: dxdiag

This should open up the DirectX Diagnostic Tool. Click on the "Display" tab, and make sure that all of the DirectX features are Enabled. Also, just temporarily, set all DirectX options on that Tab to "Disabled", then set them all back to "Enabled", as doing this could wake-something-up in the DirectX settings perhaps. You could also run the Tests there as well just to confirm things seem to be working okay. Also, hopefully in the bottom Notes, you should see "No problems found".

Click on the "DirectX Files" tab, and hopefully in the Notes section towards the bottom it should read "No problems found".

From the "Sound" tab, move the "Hardware Sound Acceleration" to "Basic" level (or another level of your choice, but try the Basic level for now, and you can always change back later).
Once ready, Exit the Tool.

Something else you might try:
1. Click on Windows Start.
2. Go to Control Panel.
3. Click on Appearance and Personalization.
4. On the left side panel click on Display settings.
5. Reduce the screen resolution to a lower setting and check if it helps getting rid of the error message.

Method 2:

Try reducing the hardware acceleration for the computer.

1. Follow the steps in the last method, in the same screen where you reduce the resolution, click on Advance Settings.
2. Select the Troubleshoot tab and try changing the settings.
---------------------------------

However, even after trying all of these things, your hardware just might not be compatible to run this game unfortunately.

Good luck!

[lonewolfdon]

Hi again MrVarsi.

I may have found a possible "work-around" for you with this game.
Basically, if we can force your game to run in a window, then it may bypass the problems you're having.

I tried setting windowed launch options via Steam for this game, but this particular game doesn't accept the -window command.

But, no worries, I found a nifty little free utility, called DXWnd, that can force most programs to run in windowed mode.
http://appaholic.co.uk/2007/10/16/dxwnd-force-almost-anything-into-a-windowed-mode/

I've already tested this out with Buccaneer, and it works!

Download the utility DXWnd here: http://appaholic.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/dxwnd.7z
It's in a "7z" format, which is a type of zip compression, so you'll need something that can un-zip 7z files.
If you need a good, and free, utility that can un-compress 7z files, as well as most other popular compression file formats, then I might suggest IZarc, which you can get a download from the following link:
http://www.brothersoft.com/download-izarc-23348.html

Anyways, once you un-zip the DXWnd utility, simply run the "dxwnd.exe" file. It's self-contained executable, so it doesn't need to be installed.

Once it's running, click on the "Edit" button from the menu-bar, select "Add", DirectX version to hook could be left at either Automatic or DirectX 9, Then on the Target Setup, click on the "..." button and navigate to the folder where the Buccaneer game is installed, select the Buccaneer.exe file then okay it.

This should add a new line to the DXWnd console. Highlight the newly added line that contains the Buccaneer.exe file, then click on "Edit" then select "Execute".

If all goes well, the game now should launch and be running in a window. You can click on the Maximize button in the top-right corner of the window to have it better fit your current screen.

Anyways, maybe forcing this game to run in a window like this might get around the problems you've been having. Worth a try I guess.
Told you I don't give up easy. ;) Heheh.

[MrVarsi]

Thanks again.

Did everything you wrote, minus the part about disable and enable the directx thingi. For some reason i couldnt enable or disable anything of that. It only read that they where working and enabled.

DXWnd didnt work either.

But this gotta be the games fault, shouldnt it? I downloaded the demo and got the same error message. But in the Buccaneer/profile folder, there are several files begining with D3D9. I have no clue about these things, but is that something to do with the directx? is it possible to change something with the game it self?

Couse ive played alot of other games lately and have never had a problem with them. I also got this laptop, like, 3 weeks ago.

[lonewolfdon]

Well, I'm running out of ideas. Could just be your graphic-device on your laptop just isn't able to run this game.

Maybe try asking over in the Buccaneer support forum for some possible suggestions or help.

Good luck.

[AgeOfStrife]

It's definitely the graphics chipset. While Intel might claim they support PS4, it's not full hardware support that the game requires, it's emulation and it's poor to say the least. Buccaneer works great on ATI and nVidia chipsets, but I've never got it to work on any Intel chipset, nor any other game that uses hardware T&L and PS.