[EL 1.0298] problem with Nvidia card on split-GPU laptop *INFO*

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MaynardL
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[EL 1.0298] problem with Nvidia card on split-GPU laptop *INFO*

Post by MaynardL »

Hello,

I have a problem running the game using the Nvidia card. I have the steam version of the game and for some reason the default option to run the game is set to use the integrated card. If I don't change this option the game seems to work fine.
If I change the card option in order to use the discrete Nvidia card the game starts but only with a black screen (and audio) and it crashes eventually.

My system specs:
Windows 10
Integrated Intel HD 4600
Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M (driver version 368.39)
Evochron legacy version: i suppose it's 1.0298

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
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Vice
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Re: Evochron Legacy - problem with the Nvidia card

Post by Vice »

Switching display devices may be running into a problem on your system that is resulting in the game not being able to properly bind to the device. Or there could be another cause. Since a crash eventually occurs, I'd like to review a msinfo report on your system. Steps to save one are available here: http://www.starwraith.com/evochronlegacy/faq.htm#208 (no need to include the save game, just the zipped msinfo report). That will likely tell me more about what may be happening.

And in the meantime, you can try these steps:

- Check your display scaling, it may be set to a non-default value that isn't fully compatible with the display device, driver, and/or hardware configuration being used with Windows 10 that is preventing a non-default scaling mode (ie 125%) from working with the game. The game generally works fine even with a non-default overscale setting (on all of the Windows 10 test machines I run it through anyway). But it will make the graphics looks pixelated and chunky even if it runs, so if you do get it to work, you probably won't want to use the default borderless window mode with a 125% oversized scaling setting anyway. Either using the Windows recommended 100% setting or switching the game's screen mode is preferred (see below).

- Switch to a 'Locked (FS)' screen mode and test for changes (you can do this when the Intel device is running or by editing the game's main config file). The other option to change the setting is to open the sw.cfg file (located in the default save data folder c:\sw3dg\EvochronLegacy) and edit line 14 that likely reads 'Off2' and change it to read 'On2', then save the file and start the game.

- Activate the Nvidia card as the exclusive display device (usually done in BIOS), start Windows 10 with the new display device actively running your desktop, then launch and test the game for changes.

- Just to verify, download and run the Microsoft web installer for DirectX here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/downloa ... g=en&id=35 Just to make sure all potentially needed DX modules are installed.

Once I have the msinfo report, I may be able to determine more possible options.
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MaynardL
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Re: [EL 1.0298] problem with Nvidia card on split-GPU laptop *INFO*

Post by MaynardL »

Hi Shawn,

I can confirm that the following worked for me:

1- Scaled Windows 10 display settings back to 100% from the default 125%. I've then launched the game using the nvidia card and it worked perfectly. I've then reverted this step just to test solution 2 as well.

2- With the Windows 10 default scaling value back to 125% I've modified the .cfg file switching to locked full screen mode and this worked as well.

At this point I've decided not to test step 3 (Bios changes to enable the use of the discrete card only) and step 4 (Direct X check which is now clear being unrelated) as I thought the problem was more with display scaling rather than with the actual graphic cards (although I do still wonder why it manifested itself with the Nvidia and not with the Intel or with both)

Thanks for the help.
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