Persitant graphics glitch with new AGS install.

[Vaelor]

Hi people.

Wonder if somebody could help past a persitant graphics error I can't seem to get past. I haven't used AGS for a year or two, but I just downloaded the new version today and "dusted it off", so to speak, to get back into some game design.

However, whenever I try to test run any game - including Demo Quest II, the default module - I get the following error:-

========================================================
There was a problem initializing graphics mode 320 x 200 (9-bit).
(Problem: 'Can not set video mode')
Try to correct the problem, or seek help from the AGS homepage.

Possible cause: your graphics card drivers do not support this resolution. Run the game setup program and try the other resolution.
========================================================

I am trying to run AGS on my flatmate's laptop, which is running (unfortunately!) Windows XP, at 1024x768x32, using the standard Intel 82852/82855 GM/GME controller.

Can't seem to find anything in the knowledge base about it, or any other thread on the matter, so here I am. Anybody know what could be causing this, and point me in the right direction as to how to get around it? I'm itching to get back into AGS but can't run any AGS games with this error popping up every time!

Thanks in advance.

- Vaelor

[Ishmael]

The laptop's display device does not support the resolution the game is trying to run on. Use the Setup Game option found from the menu, and set the game either to run at a higher resolution (640x400 that is) or in windowed mode.

Another option is to connect an external monitor, which supports low resolutions, to the laptop, if it has a VGA connector.

[Vaelor]

The laptop's display device does not support the resolution the game is trying to run on. Use the Setup Game option found from the menu, and set the game either to run at a higher resolution (640x400 that is) or in windowed mode.

Another option is to connect an external monitor, which supports low resolutions, to the laptop, if it has a VGA connector.

I actually am running an external monitor off the laptop as well, but running it on that monitor doesn't seem to make any difference - though the same display adaptor is handling both devices, so that's hardly suprising.

However, windowed mode seems to work fine, so I guess it's a good bandaid until I get my own PC repaired and can give back the laptop. Thanks for your help Ishmael!

[Ishmael]

I actually am running an external monitor off the laptop as well, but running it on that monitor doesn't seem to make any difference - though the same display adaptor is handling both devices, so that's hardly suprising.

Do you mean both screens active at the same time? Or only the external? I had the same problem with my older laptop, and I could only run lo-res games when I turned the laptop's display off and used only the external one.

[TerranRich]

Possible cause: your graphics card drivers do not support this resolution. Run the game setup program and try the other resolution.

That says it right there. Your graphics card doesn't support DOS resolutions.

[Ishmael]

I got the error with the laptop's own screen, but not with the external one. Same drivers...

[TerranRich]

Yes, exactly. The same drivers...which don't support DOS resolutions.

Whoops, I'm illiterate, sorry. 

[Vaelor]

Good in theory guys, but I just ran the original King's Quest 1, and also "Fuck Quest" (which I understand was made with an earlier version of AGS), both of which run in 320x200, and both of which worked perfectly on the laptop's own monitor.

Conversely, I've found that games made/run in the latest AGS will run in windowed mode, or in 640x400 mode, but running them in 320x200 fullscreen brings up that error every time, regardless of whether I output to the laptop's LCD screen or my old 17" Diamond View CRT.

So, the laptop's monitor, display adapter, and device drivers can quite obviously handle the older "DOS" resolutions quite well, which rules that out. And apparently games made/compiled with older versions of AGS also work fine. Possible that it could actually be a (minor) glitch in this version?

When I searched the forums initially before posting this thread, I found this old dead thread in which somebody encountered the exact same problem, but was either happy to use the other res, or never logged back in to pursue the issue. That could imply that this has happened to others as well. I wish that guy had mentioned what setup he was using to help pinpoint the problem...

Any ideas guys?

[Vaelor]

Yes, exactly. The same drivers...which don't support DOS resolutions.

Erm, he said same drivers for the laptop screen and his external monitor, and it worked fine on the latter. That would imply that the drivers *do* support "DOS" resolutions, I would say, since those same drivers worked fine on his external monitor.

If anything, I'd say that a standard LCD laptop screen might not support the res, but having just played some original AGI games on my laptop screen, that unfortunately rules out that simple answer...