No Background Stars in DA 1.80G

from GalCiv2 Forums
I just purchased the (downloaded) Dark Avatar expansion and I noticed that there are no background stars. There is still a nebula. And background stars still show up in the original Dread Lords chapter.

I have looked at the video settings and I can find no settings that would make them disappear. I turned up the Background Star Density setting, but it did nothing. Is there some setting that I am missing?

I have also uninstalled and reinstalled Dark Avatar, to no avail.

I would appreciate any help you could provide. Thanks.

Here are my specs:
2.4 GHZ P-4
1 GB RAM
NVidia FX 5500 256 MB
Windows XP SP2
Dread Lords 1.50.133
Dark Avatar 1.80G.100
4,281 views 5 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
There's a setting for that in the Options menu. However, I wouldn't know if there's a problem because I set Backgroud Star Density and Background Nebula Density to zero. I like a totally black background better, makes things easier to see.

Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I have experimented and it appears this is associated with the graphics in DA itself. When I uncheck "Allow Mixed Vertex Processing Mode" in Video Options, I can see the background stars, but the nebula disappears and the whole game becomes choppy. This setting is not available in Dread Lords. Apparently my graphics card cannot handle the background stars in DA. Bummer.
Offworld Trading Company
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Maybe go for a high-end older DX9 card on eBay? Something like a GeForce 6800GT or Radeon X1900. You could get one pretty cheap and it will run the game nicely, especially if you don't have a very powerful video card right now.

Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Try disabling the enhanced rendering option as well as mixed VP to set DA completely back to the DL rendering engine. The new engine was added in 1.6, and speeds things up on most systems. But some older cards like the GeForce FX can't handle it properly.
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Maybe go for a high-end older DX9 card on eBay? Something like a GeForce 6800GT or Radeon X1900. You could get one pretty cheap and it will run the game nicely, especially if you don't have a very powerful video card right now.


Unfortunately, I have only PCI slots. I have tried an X1300, and also a Geforce 6200OC which both gave me grief. The FX 5500 seems to the best one I can get for my current system.

Try disabling the enhanced rendering option as well as mixed VP to set DA completely back to the DL rendering engine. The new engine was added in 1.6, and speeds things up on most systems. But some older cards like the GeForce FX can't handle it properly.


Thanks kryo! I tried it and it looks and works great now!