Was looking forward to replaying this game but a short time in and the video is not behaving. The screen (or portions of it) turn white. The text disappears and there are just white boxes there, including on the menu screen.

I'm playing in an XP computer but not the one I used when I played it years ago. The video card is a NVIDIA GeForce 4 MX440 w/AGP8X if that means anything.

Is this something simple to deal with or will I have to forget about replaying it, at least in that computer?

I'm not sure.
The card may be too old for the game, and lack a hardware feature the game uses.
The specs listed in this picture of the back of the box
http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/dead-reefs/cover-art/gameCoverId,91824/
say you need a DirectX 8.1 compliant video card.

According to gpureview.com the Geforce 4 mx440 is a DirectX 7 card
http://www.gpureview.com/GeForce4-MX440-card-127.html
http://www.gpureview.com/GeForce4-MX440-8X-card-242.html
and was released in 2002.

The publication date of the game is 2007.
The game may be trying to use a DirectX 8.1 feature that didn't exist in 2002 when the card was released.

Of course the problem could be something else -- like incompatible drivers (incompatible with the game).

Do you have a slightly newer computer you could try the game on?

I have installed this game on my Windows 7 computer and it runs without issues.

If I'm reading that box link correctly it says Direct X 9.0C included. The 8.1 says something about the sound card.

Anyway, I guess I'll try it in my Windows 7 and see how that goes.

Thanks Jenny100 and Marian!

Next to where it says "VIDEO CARD" it says

The version of DirectX you have installed doesn't have anything to do with whether your video card is "DirectX 8.1 compatible" or not. "DirectX 8.1 compatible" is a hardware requirement. It doesn't mean "will the computer run when I install DirectX 8.1" -- it means "Will the video card be able to implement these special new DirectX 8.1 features? (or will it show a blank screen or white areas because it can't display these hot new DirectX 8.1 video effects)"

Yes I know it's confusing.


Good luck.

Yep! I see it now plain as day! Sorry about that!! As I said, if I was reading it correctly, and I wasn't of course.

The game will not run on my Windows 7.

Marian - did you change anything at all? What is your screen resolution?

I saw somewhere that in Windows 7 you should go to the file location and click on launcher and "select the correct size of your screen resolution". There are 3 options: 800x600, 1024x768, and 1280x1024. My screen resolution is 1920x1080. I am hesitant to change it to match one of the game options as I don't know how it will affect my computer. I have caught myself in a panic before when I did something and was then afraid I could not get it back to normal.

Marian, Jenny100, Draclvr??

Thanks.

I installed the game a year or so ago on my Windows 7 Home computer - I don't remember what screen resolution I chose, but it was definitely a resolution lower than what you have as your default resolution. Let's wait for the experts, but your screen resolution could be your problem.

What happens when you try to start the game? Nothing? Any error messages?

I'd choose the largest resolution it allows.
Does your monitor have a scaling option? Does it allow you to have black bars on the sides, or a black frame around the picture?

If not, see if your video card has a scaling option.

Usually the worst thing that happens is the game crashes and leaves your desktop at a low resolution (and your icons all messed up). Usually a reboot fixes it, but sometimes you have to manually go in and change your desktop resolution back to what it's supposed to be.
(Right-click the desktop --> Personalize --> Display --> Change display settings --> Use the dropdown box to select the resolution you want and save changes.)

Is right clicking the desktop and changing the resolution the same as my monitor having a scaling option?

No.
The Right-click directions I listed are only to change your desktop resolution.

Either your monitor or your video card properties have to do the scaling. Otherwise if you changed desktop resolution to 1280x1024, you'd get a horizontally stretched picture.

Not all monitors will do scaling. Some will scale but call it something other than "scaling". I have a monitor that let's you choose between "Full" and "Aspect" under "Expansion Mode". According to the manual, "Aspect" would retain aspect ratio (so you wouldn't get a stretched picture).

Marian - I did not see your post before. No error message. The game just doesn't open.

Jenny100 - thank you. I do not know if the monitor does scaling. I'm not sure if I have a manual or not. Will have to look. I also don't know about the video card but I won't mess with the video card anyway.

I tried again in the XP and got a little further - sort of. The picture itself stayed okay but the text did not. I turned off closed captioning so I didn't have that white box on my screen but I still cannot read the journal or the menu screen. I thought I saved but then went back in to load the save and it wasn't there so I don't know what I clicked.

If you have the model number of the monitor you can probably find a pdf of the manual on the manufacturer's website.


Try using the compatibility mode settings on the game exe (right-click the game's exe, choose Properties, Compatibility tab, and disable visual themes and advanced text services. Sometimes they interfere with games, and disabling them on the compatibility tab won't affect anything outside the game.

I'll check into both those things possibly tomorrow, for sure by Wednesday (day off). Will let you know.

Thanks Jenny.

I'm not sure if it will work.
I'm wondering if this game requires very specific versions of video drivers.