Oolite Bulletins

Hi everyone. Just downloaded and installed the latest version (1.76). When I try to start the game however, it appears on the taskbar for a fraction of a second and then disappears as if it were never there. There isn't even time for the screen to go black.
I have checked all the obvious things I can think of (graphics drivers, re-installing) but I can't get it to load. Has anyone else had this problem?

The PC meets the system requirements. Maybe something is incompatible?

Hi Wardy and welcome. No help from me, I'm afraid... I'm only a dumb pilot.
However, it might help the boffins to know which OS you're using, and is there a Latest.log you could post?
(Latest.log can be found here: ~\Oolite\oolite.app\Logs)

I tried sending a crash report but it wouldn't accept the e-mail address.

I'm running:
Win XP Home (SP3)
2.8GHz Pentium 4
1GB RAM
ATI Radeon 9600 256MB Graphics
DirectX 9.0
The game is still 'Vanilla', no mods.

The log thingy says:

12:40:04.125 [log.header]: Opening log for Oolite version 1.76 (x86-32 test release) under Windows at 2012-01-24 12:40:04 +0000.
2 processors detected.
Build options: spoken messages, mass/fuel pricing, JavaScript console support, OXP verifier, localization tools, debug GraphViz support, JavaScript profiling.

Note that the contents of the log file can be adjusted by editing logcontrol.plist.

12:40:04.406 [display.mode.list.native]: Windows native resolution detected: 1024 x 768

And that's it.

Hi Wardy
i wonder if adding -nosplash to your Oolite shortcut might help, there's a page on the wiki that explains the process
http://providence.alioth.net/index.php/ ... _in_Oolite (look for the 'Startup Parameters' section)
It stops Oolite from displaying a mini 'title screen' on your desktop whilst the main game continues to load in the background, for some commanders with ATI graphics cards this can cause problems with the game starting

Right. I tried that, and I got a brief glimpse of a window before it disappeared. Just tried removing the graphics card and running it off the onboard chip but it did the same.

Hi Wardy,
Just a thought-I notice you mention DirectX in your spec. Oolite graphics use OpenGL so it might be worth checking that your chips/card have up to date drivers that support OpenGL (which it/they should). Try a driver update.

Your gfx card is rather old... the latest drivers it will support are the Catalyst 9.3 suite, I think (which should support OpenGL).
Check which Catalyst version you have.

I don't have a .GNUstepDefaults file. I don't know if that will make any difference.

Wardy wrote:

I don't have a .GNUstepDefaults file. I don't know if that will make any difference.

The file is normally generated on first run. Obviously you never got that far when trying to start the game. Might provide a hint to the developers, but from past discussions on this board regarding ATI/AMD cards I'm pretty sure your graphics setup is the culprit here.
In the link provided further up by Griff you will find a parameter to force full screen. You could give that a go together with the nosplash option. (Just a hunch).
Also, if you get a more extensive log output as you atempt these things, please post it.

Mods: I think this belongs in the PC section, might I suggest moving it there.

I think I have it now. I'm running Catalyst Control 10.02, which is completely incompatible with the graphics card.
Any Idea how I get rid of it so I can put 9.3 back on? There doesn't seem to be any way of uninstalling it, most of the files are buried somewhere in system/32 and it won't let me put 9.3 on as well.

I don't know wether to cry in frustration or laugh at my own incompetence.

Control panel, add/remove programs, select the Catalyst suite and uninstall.
Reboot, install 9.3, and reboot again... that should do it.

After a short rest and a long sleep, 9.3 solved the problem.
All this time i've been going along with a totally useless graphics driver. Just goes to show that newest doesn't always mean best.
Thanks everyone.

Wardy wrote:

Just goes to show that newest doesn't always mean best.

Unfortunately, that is often true of ATI/AMD gfx drivers!

El Viejo wrote:

Wardy wrote:

Just goes to show that newest doesn't always mean best.

Unfortunately, that is often usually true of ATI/AMD gfx drivers all software! And cars. And mobile 'phones.

FTFY.

Hej Commander Wardy, welcome !
Enjoy your Ooniverse!

El Viejo wrote:

Wardy wrote:

Just goes to show that newest doesn't always mean best.

Unfortunately, that is often true of ATI/AMD gfx drivers!

for old cards and PCs also nvidia drivers, and MS Software (directX / XP-SP2) - but nevertheless I appreciate the support there still is for such old software.