GWX2 Black Screen on Startup

[XLjedi]

I just installed the D2D version of SH3 with 1.4 (on Vista64).

Game runs beautifully without GWX2. After installing GWX2 the load sequence gives me the howling wolf, the intro movie, then a black screen (is there s'pose to be a load screen?) I can see my cursor only... after awhile the cursor disappears too and I hear the music playing as if I'm at the game menu, but nothing but black on the screen.

Tried a reinstall once and same problem. :hmm:

[XLjedi]

Doh... :88)

Seems to be a graphics card setting issue. I was able to make it work by turning off all the GPU settings. I have the latest nVidia drivers for Vista: 169.25

I'll poke around and see if I can find some usable settings...

[XLjedi]

Oh good grief... I can't play SH3 with any AA at all! :damn:

This looks horrible :nope: (good FPS though :roll: )

Anyone heard any news on why the latest nvidia 169.25 vista drivers don't work with SH3? ...of if/when it will be fixed?

[Der Kolkrabe]

I just installed the D2D version of SH3 with 1.4 (on Vista64).

Game runs beautifully without GWX2. After installing GWX2 the load sequence gives me the howling wolf, the intro movie, then a black screen (is there s'pose to be a load screen?) I can see my cursor only... after awhile the cursor disappears too and I hear the music playing as if I'm at the game menu, but nothing but black on the screen.

Tried a reinstall once and same problem. :hmm:

Hi!

I have Vista32 and I'll got same problems first too...:damn:

Install and uninstall...no working...then d/l new driver to my GeForce 8600GT card.
Driver v.169.25.
Now works:rock:

Ps. I have same problems with SH4 too, both shows intro, then black screen...

After new driver....:up:

[XLjedi]

For me it was a graphics card / driver issue. I have an older 6800 ultra and if I turn on ANY of the AA features in the nVidia graphics control panel it will reward me with the black screen.

In my case, the 169.25 driver didn't seem to play well with SH3 and the GPU. For me, basically, nothing works with the 169.25 driver.

However, with other games (even the newer ones) I get beautiful game displays with the AA enabled. So it may just be something with the inner-workings of SH3 that just causes the game to not like the new drivers and AA.

It's interesting to me that the latest nvidia software came with some game presets under the advanced options and actually had Silent Hunter 3 in there with the recommendation that all features of the card be switched off.

My latest game, Sins of a Solare Empire, seems to render beautifully with the new drivers.

[Philipp_Thomsen]

Thats not related with the videocard.

Uninstall any codec pack you have and you'll see that the game works like a charm.

If you don't want to lose your codecs, just rename the folder called "movies" inside the game/data folder. Rename it to "moviess" for instance, and the game will also works like a charm. :up:

[XLjedi]

Yeah, when I had WinXP-32 installed, I do recall I had the same exact black screen issue upon trying to load Falcon 4 AF. When I researched the cause of that one it was, as you point out, linked to incompat with a codec pack that I had installed. Worked fine after I killed the offending codecs.

Now however, I'm working with a fresh install of Vista-64. I don't have any extra codec packs loaded. If there's a conflict now, it's with a codec pack that pre-exists in Vista.

Do you have a recommendation for what or how to disable codecs that are already installed in Vista-64 Ultimate edition? ...I'll see what happens when I rename the movies folder.

[Philipp_Thomsen]

Yeah, when I had WinXP-32 installed, I do recall I had the same exact black screen issue upon trying to load Falcon 4 AF. When I researched the cause of that one it was, as you point out, linked to incompat with a codec pack that I had installed. Worked fine after I killed the offending codecs.

Now however, I'm working with a fresh install of Vista-64. I don't have any extra codec packs loaded. If there's a conflict now, it's with a codec pack that pre-exists in Vista.

Do you have a recommendation for what or how to disable codecs that are already installed in Vista-64 Ultimate edition? ...I'll see what happens when I rename the movies folder.

Too soon to be using vista for anything. Too much incompatibility. I'll start using it by the end of the year, maybe more, maybe less. Whats wrong with XP?

If you dont have any codecs installed, then just rename the folder "movies".
I dont know any other way.

[XLjedi]

Too soon to be using vista for anything. Too much incompatibility. I'll start using it by the end of the year, maybe more, maybe less. Whats wrong with XP?

I would've agreed a few months ago...

It's actually pretty good now that SP1 is out. My games run well under Vista. Seems to manage my RAM better too. I notice my system monitor seldomly displays my RAM usage over 70%, frequently it would max out under my old XP setup (granted, probably my kids messing around with malware).

I wanted to install a 64-bit OS and couldn't bring myself to purchase XP64 when I know it's poised to be surpassed by Vista. My hardware drivers all seem to be up to date, network gadgets, wireless printer, BIOS, GPU, X15 keyboard... shoot even my Saitek X52 FCS is running with Vista-64 drivers. Everything is working! So far, the only thing I have not been able to rectify is the lack of AA in Silent Hunter 3 using the new 169.25 nvidia driver. Everything else runs well (actually a little better) under Vista. I'm a bit of convert now, the layout is much better in my opinion. I just like it...

The Ultimate version of Vista has a nice feature for backing up my system. I can shoot images of my RAID0 array drives to a third backup drive and just click a button to reimage my RAID drives if things get dicey. For me, that alone has been worth it. :yep: Previously, I've come home to the PC not working cuz one of my 3 kids has tried (yet again) to install something or play some internet game on it and the thing won't boot right, or has some new quirk (Hey dad, check out these cool new animated mouse pointers! :roll: ). I think the kids may have played a part in crashing my last HD. Now that I have the re-imager and a bunch of drives (1 crashes and I go buy 4 to replace it :lol: ) I've already made use of that feature at least a half-dozen times in the last couple months to just purge the system.

[wolkenwolf]

Same Problem here - Driver 169.25 and Beta 17xsomething
solved it with: inGame VSync on and Driver Vsync on :88):damn::lol: . AA4x/AF8x - runs fine.

[irish1958]

Is it my imagination or are all these problems related to the Nvidia cards? I don't recall any threads with problems with the ATI cards.
I am going to have to get a new computer in the near future and I am trying to decide what card to get.

[lm178]

I can confirm absolutely beyond all reasonable doubt that ticking Synchronized in the video options stops the black screen with AA enabled.:up:

[XLjedi]

Good call Wolkenwolf!

Yup! It's definitly the "Sychronized" setting in the game. It has to be checked.

Kinda difficult to set the in-game graphic options if they can't be accessed due to the black screen problem. Would've been nice to have a game setup/launch window that allows graphic settings to be changed without having to go all the way into the game. Had to turn everything off, get into the game, turn on the synchronized setting, then go turn on the GPU settings. :damn:

With the in-game "Synchronized" setting checked I can use everything in the GPU control panel, including the AA settings. Looks much better! :up:

So, I can now confirm that SH3 with GWX runs fine under Vista-64 even using a dated nVidia 6800 Ultra GPU.