Some issues

You were not here in the office when we were all pulling overtime for months trying to finish this game, so please DO NOT make assumptions about our jobs and how easy they are.


You don't have to download Stardock Central just to use the forums.  The forums can be used by anyone simply by going to the appropriate website (politicalMachine.com, in this case).  If you don't have a username, then yes, you'll have to create an account but that is not unlike any other forum on the web.  Not to mention, once you have a Stardock user name, you can use it on ALL of our websites (galciv2, sins, politicalmachine, etc...)


Impulse is a program for ease of downloading/updating games.  Games made by us, and games made by other companies.  You can also download other apps through Impulse.

After you have Impulse, it's a simple matter of right-clicking on a game (or other program) and clicking "Update".  This is instead of having to give every customer a package of files everytime we do a free update (which is often, because we like to keep our fans happy).  Besides that, a percentage of people out there aren't going to unpack the files correctly if we did it that way, and they'd either mess something up or just give up on running the most recent version of the game.  By having an app that does it all for you, all we have to do is make sure the app is doing it correctly and then tell users to just use it. 

Can you see why that would be advantageous?  It doesn't have anything to do with security, but it has everything to do with making sure people can easily get the latest version of the game.  Since it's all handled by Impulse, downloading and updating becomes a trivial task that anyone can do, anytime they have access to the internet.  We're not trying to make things hard, we're trying to make things much, much easier.

Of course he can make assumptions, Charles! They'd just be, you know, incorrect.


Most games don't let you treat a game like an office application in windowed mode due to the nature of dynamically resizing a 3D window to non-standard sizes. There are some that do it (MMORPGs, typically), but it's not something we've added to the engine at this point and isn't something terribly high on the priority list.

You can resize it by changing the resolution in the options.


That is a bug. When you change the window size in the options menu be sure to restart the application, especially if something like that happens. It should not be consistent (if it is, please tell us).

Also, since you're having crashes, could you post your debug.err so we can check your system settings? Thanks!

Suprisingly, despite it being a 20$ title and having a pre-existing code-base to work from, I think this was the hardest game we've ever had to develop.

Hopefully some of these updates will fix the problems players have encounterd, but crash-wise and game-play-wise.

ok, but what the use of having a windowed format if the curser will not allow me to reach the borders to even just physically move it?

-edit-

I'm just venting my frustration of the whole setup, i don't want to play any of the other games, i just want that one game, and get it to work. for a ~200 mb game i don't expect the programming or software to be that heavy in it. nothing like Bioshock, or Assassin's Creed.

If you post the contents of your debug.err we can see what your setup is, and also get important game messages that may lead us to a fix for your problems. 

The "debug.err" file will be located here: "\My Games\PolMachine2008\Debug.err"

Thanks,
C

Debug Message: Version 1.02 last updated on: Wed Jun 18 10:47:55 2008
Debug Message: sig.bin file located at: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Stardock\The Political Machine 2008\sig.bin
Debug Message: *********DXDiag info follows.*********
System Info
Time: 6/24/2008, 18:42:05
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
Machine Name: MSOE-245453
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp.080413-2111)
Languages: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard
System Model: HP Compaq nw8440 (RE458UC#ABA)
BIOS: KBC Version 40.15
Processor: Genuine Intel(R) CPU T2400 @ 1.83GHz (2 CPUs)
Physical Memory: 1024MB RAM
Page File: 754MB used, 2213MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS


Display Info
Display device 1:
Device Name: \\.\DISPLAY1
Card Name: ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 (Omega 3.8.330)
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc. (Omega 3.8.330)
Chip Type: ATI display adapter (0x71C5)
DAC Type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Key Device: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_71C5&SUBSYS_30B4103C&REV_00
Display Memory: 256.0 MB
Current Display Mode: 1680 x 1050 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: Default Monitor
Monitor Max Resolution:
Driver Name: ati2dvag.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6660
Driver Date: 12/16/2006 20:50:46
DirectX Acceleration Enabled: Yes



Sound info
Sound device 1:
Description: SoundMAX HD Audio
Default Sound Playback: Yes
Default Voice Playback: Yes
Hardware ID: HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_11D4&DEV_1981&SUBSYS_103C30A3&REV_1002
Manufacturer ID: 65535
Product ID: 65535
Driver Name: ADIHdAud.sys
Provider: AnalogDevices
Driver Version: 5.10.0001.5210
Driver Date: 10/1/2007 14:27:40
Type: WDM
Other Drivers:
Acceleration Level: 3
Cap Flags: 0
Min/Max Sample Rate: 0, 0



Debug Message: *********END dxdiag info.*********
Debug Message: Entering WinMain
Debug Message: ******* Starting Game Shell *******
Debug Message: Using 4 samples for multisampling.
Debug Message: Game Resolution: 1680 x 1050 (windowed mode)
Debug Message: HAL (hardware vertex processing)ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 (Omega 3.8.330)
Debug Message: Presentation Interval: Immediate.
Debug Message: Back Buffer Bit Depth: X8R8G8B8.
Debug Message: 32-bit z-buffer using 24-bits for the depth channel and 8-bits for the stencil channel.
Debug Message: ** Checking Direct3D 9 Device Capabilities ************************************
Debug Message: A full-color cursor is supported in hardware at high resolution modes.
Debug Message: Bump mapping is supported.
Debug Message: Border size reported as 6 by 32
Debug Message: RGB in format 6:6:6, Masks reported as ff0000:ff00:ff
Debug Message: Shell initialization complete
Debug Message: The Political Machine 2008 is activated.
Debug Message: ***** Initializing Game *****
Debug Message: No files found matching mask fonts\*.otf
Debug Message: Timer Frequency is 0 369e99
Debug Message: Initializing sound card.
Debug Message: initailizing bink
Debug Message: No files found matching mask C:\Program Files\Stardock Games\The Political Machine 2008\Data\*xml
Debug Message: No files found matching mask D:\My Documents\My Games\PolMachine2008/Campaign\*xml
Debug Message: No files found matching mask D:\My Documents\My Games\PolMachine2008/Gfx\*xml
Debug Message: No files found matching mask D:\My Documents\My Games\PolMachine2008/Maps\*xml
Debug Message: No files found matching mask D:\My Documents\My Games\PolMachine2008/Snapshots\*xml
Debug Message: No files found matching mask D:\My Documents\My Games\PolMachine2008/Gfx/Candidates\*xml
Debug Message: No files found matching mask D:\My Documents\My Games\PolMachine2008/Maps\*.PM2MapListXML
Debug Message: Map list file loaded successfully!
Debug Message: Create setup screens.
Debug Message: Create setup screens.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch detected Shader 3.0, but the hardware technique failed to validate.
Debug Message: WARNING: Model Batch failed to validate shader technique. Attempting to find a valid technque.
Debug Message: Set mouse.
Debug Message: Set update timer.
Debug Message: Popup Manager Update: Unhiding FullScreenBink
Debug Message: No files found matching mask D:\My Documents\My Games\PolMachine2008\Campaign\.PM2Save
Debug Message: No files found matching mask D:\My Documents\My Games\PolMachine2008\Candidates\.PM2Save
Debug Message: No files found matching mask D:\My Documents\My Games\PolMachine2008\Gfx\.PM2Save
Debug Message: No files found matching mask D:\My Documents\My Games\PolMachine2008\Maps\.PM2Save
Debug Message: No files found matching mask D:\My Documents\My Games\PolMachine2008\Snapshots\.PM2Save
Debug Message: Error flipping back buffer to primary buffer.
Debug Message: Device lost
Debug Message: ResourceManager::Invalidate
Debug Message: effect: C:\Program Files\Stardock Games\The Political Machine 2008\Gfx\fx\Candidate.fx has 43 refs
Debug Message: effect: C:\Program Files\Stardock Games\The Political Machine 2008\Gfx\fx\CandidateOutline.fx has 16 refs
Debug Message: effect: C:\Program Files\Stardock Games\The Political Machine 2008\Gfx\fx\ScreenSpace.fx has 9 refs
Debug Message: effect: C:\Program Files\Stardock Games\The Political Machine 2008\Gfx\fx\basic.fx has 29 refs
Debug Message: effect: C:\Program Files\Stardock Games\The Political Machine 2008\Gfx\fx\scene.fx has 22 refs
Debug Message: WM_CLOSE message received.
Debug Message: GameUninitialize start
Debug Message: Killing World
Debug Message: Killing World: Completed
Debug Message: GameUninitialize end
Debug Message: Shutting down sound system.
Debug Message: Clearing sound and music handles.
Debug Message: GameUninitialize end
Debug Message: ResourceManager::Invalidate
Debug Message: effect: C:\Program Files\Stardock Games\The Political Machine 2008\Gfx\fx\Candidate.fx has 43 refs
Debug Message: effect: C:\Program Files\Stardock Games\The Political Machine 2008\Gfx\fx\CandidateOutline.fx has 16 refs
Debug Message: effect: C:\Program Files\Stardock Games\The Political Machine 2008\Gfx\fx\ScreenSpace.fx has 9 refs
Debug Message: effect: C:\Program Files\Stardock Games\The Political Machine 2008\Gfx\fx\basic.fx has 29 refs
Debug Message: effect: C:\Program Files\Stardock Games\The Political Machine 2008\Gfx\fx\scene.fx has 22 refs
Debug Message: LEAK: Mesh Container: 0C00F178 ô’• had 4 refs
Debug Message: LEAK: Mesh Container: 0C9FFEC0 had 1 refs
Debug Message: Resource Manager leaked resource: texture wrapper: C:\Program Files\Stardock Games\The Political Machine 2008\Gfx\CandidateElements\ClothingTexture.png 2 refs
Debug Message: Resource Manager leaked resource: texture wrapper: C:\Program Files\Stardock Games\The Political Machine 2008\Gfx\Scenes\CandidateCreate.png 1 refs
Debug Message: IDirect3D9 object not cleared; 52 ref counts still remaining.
Debug Message: Main Shell terminating normally



----------------------------------------------------

I've uninstalled it via Impulse, numerous times now, even rebooting it when it asks me. with each re-install i ask it to find updates.

Everytime i start up the game its in the windowed form and the tabs can't be pressed so that i can take it back to windowed mode. or even change the resolution.

Turn on the hardware mouse cursor which is also, coincidentally, in the options.

Also, it looks like your video drivers may be about a year and a half overcooked Could you try updating those and see if the crashes get nipped in the bud?

right i hear ya but the game won't even allow me to tap on the tabs on the side, because each time i re-install it is stuck in windowed mode.

What do you mean?


if you are unable to turn on Full Screen mode via the options screen, you can change your preferences via the file that we write your settings out to.  It's called "prefs.ini" and is located here: "my documents/my games/PolMachine2008/".  You can open it with notepad and change "Fullscreen=0" to "Fullscreen=1".

the tabs, the buttons on to choose from on the main screen are unresponsive when it is in windowed mode.