Silverfall - graphics problem

Hi everyone.
I've been able play this game after updating the tages protection. That was a pain.
Now I'm up to level 46 in the game with no problems until now.
When I click on the world map It's black ! It started turning pink first. The only thing showing now is the circles you click on to go back to places you've been.
Inside towns is ok. Walking around outside towns and such is good too.
Just the world is black. I need the world map to play.
I tried updating the video driver: AMD Radeon HD 6600 series But I keep finding these web sites that want me to pay with a credit card. I just can't seem to solve this problem.
Any help would be wonderful Mary Jo

Have you tried to update your video drivers from the AMD site here?

Oh my, never pay for drivers, follow Marian's link - they're free.

Thank You, for answering me.
I follwed your link and updated the drivers. It was esy and no cost :]] I don't know how I keep going onto those other sites. Guess I really did't know where to look.
Sad to say I still have my problem. I've defragged,ran cc cleaner,did a windows update too. Started new games still the same results. I also tried play under diffrent compatibility modes Lost my charaters and still had the black world map.
Could my disk just have gone bad ? Something in the monitor ?
Again thank you for answering me. maryjo

Try older drivers. The latest drivers are going to be oriented toward the latest video cards and intended for the latest games. The game came out in 2007, so look for drivers from around then, or at least for earlier than the latest. Here's the driver archive for Windows 7 x64.
http://support.amd.com/en-us/download/desktop/previous?os=Windows%207%20-%2064

I'm assuming you have 64-bit Windows 7. If you have a different version of Windows, you'll have to do your own search. Look for the link for "Previous Drivers and Software" on the right of the page where you downloaded your current drivers from.


Not unless the problem is being caused by the TAGES failing. One of the "options" for copy "protections" like TAGES is to have the game play as a demo for a certain amount of time, then mess up and refuse to play correctly. These are called "protection triggers" or "trigger functions" or some other names that would be bleeped in this forum.
From ***The Wikipedia article on TAGES (June 22, 2014)***:

Of course what they never admit is that these problems occur with legitimately purchased versions of the games as well. The problems will often occur when CD/DVD drives are getting old and don't read 100% the way TAGES expects them to any more. The drive may be 100% in every other way, but can't succeed at passing the copy "protection." Even some new drives will fail at passing the copy "protection" and cause the bugs and crashes.

You can try a NoCD and see if it helps. Look for one that's for your version of the game.

I suppose it's possible for a game to require one set of driver capabilities for the early parts and another set for the later parts. But if a game uses DRM that uses "trigger functions," it's also likely that you're being thwarted by "trigger functions."


The monitor either shows an image or it doesn't. If you're not seeing a message saying "sync out of range" the problem has nothing to do with the monitor. The game is from 2007 -- new enough to fully support widescreen rather than CRT monitors.

Thank You for trying to help me.
I don't know too much about older drivers. If I down load a older driver does it take over the computer? Affecting other games or programs? Would the computer know which drivers to use? and when?
What is a NoCD ? How would that work?
Do you think I should unistall the game and start over? Would hate to get back to that high level and lose it all again.
Thank You again. maryjo

If you download a driver for your video card, it only affects the video card.
It does not "take over your computer" unless you get an infected driver (maybe not a driver at all) from a questionable website.

It may or may not affect other games in a negative way.
It's unlikely it would affect programs (other than games) unless you were using programs that required 3D graphics acceleration -- maybe game-making programs.


The computer uses whatever version of the drivers you've installed.
You can download every driver for your video card that was ever made, but the computer will only use the drivers you've installed.
Often driver packages will prompt you to uninstall the old drivers before installing the new ones.

You can always go back to a previous version of the drivers if the ones you try don't work out for you.
This site has links for how to do this using different versions of Windows.
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/driverssupport/f/roll-back-drivers.htm


A NoCD bypasses the check for the original disc. Modern disc-based copy "protection" uses checks that go far beyond checking to see if there is a CD in the drive. They force the CD/DVD drive to scan parts of the disc that aren't normally used and use encrypted data, incorporating features like how fast the drive reads the disc. They delay how quickly the game starts and can wear out your drive. NoCD's were once mainly used by people who didn't want to have to put the disc in the drive every time they started the game -- or didn't like the delay the copy "protection" caused when starting the game -- or by people who downloaded illegal copies of the game. Nowadays NoCD's are often used by people who aren't able to play their legitimately purchased games due to copy "protection" that doesn't work properly with their version of Windows or with their CD drive. Sometimes there is no NoCD available for your particular version of the game.

I can't tell for sure that this is a copy "protection" problem, but considering the sneaky "trigger functions" that modern copy "protections" use, I wouldn't be surprised. It's one reason download versions of games may be better -- no CD check that can cause issues.


Unless you somehow got a corrupt install, you'll probably have the same problem once you replay to where you are now in the game.

Are you able to load old saves? If your old saves are still good, be sure to back them up somewhere if you decide to try re-installing the game.

Do you have a patched version of the game? It's had at least two patches -- 1.16 and 1.17 .

My first thought was to check the shader version of the game and the card,but then I saw you got through 46 levels so I doubt that's it.

Thank You for answering me right away.
I started a new game this time under as the administrator. It seems to be working ok that way.
The world map is good and working as it should. Before I just clicked on the game icon.
I'm hoping it will still work after I reach that level again. This is a legal game CD. I also have the stand alone expansion cd Earth Awakening.
Hope I don't run into the same problems when I play that.
How would I find out if there is a NoCD. Would I look on the internet or would the game ask me during a new install?
Thank You again for taking the time to answer all my questions. maryjo

About the NoCD, you would have to google for NoCD patch for Silverfall; it would be an online download.

Thanks I'll look for it maryjo

You're welcome.

It doesn't matter to the copy "protection" whether you have a legal version of the game or not. If your DVD drive doesn't read the game disc quite the way the copy "protection" expects it to, you get the same error as if you had an illegal copy.

That kind of nonsense is one of the reasons I refuse to buy games with disc-based DRM any more.

Amen to that. I refuse to do that now as well.

Add me to that list too...

Thanks everyone for answering me.
Probably tomorrow I'll look for that Nocd download.
Have to go out tonight I help facilitate a group for parents of addicts.
Thanks maryjo

Well, I could't deal with this game and it's problems any longer.
I uninstalled it and for $2.50 I bought it from Steam.
So far it's playing well. :]]]
I don't mind replaying the levels as long as I can finish this game.
Getting some nice equipment too. :]]]
Thanks again everyone. maryjo

Downloading from GOG or Steam (and at such an inexpensive price, too) can often be the best solution for problematic games. I hope the whole game works for you without problems.