Cant play scenarios

[readybreak56]

When i go onto the main campaign the screen goes black and a message comes up with error report and that cotn has encoutered a problem and needs to close.It does the same with the scenarios but the tutorial works fine

[Amenirdis]

Hi. :)

I'm sorry, but you cannot play the game with your current graphics card. TM has written the following:

Nvidia- Riva, TNT, TNT2 (NOTE: The demo will play on a TNT2, however it will not be able to support the retail game.)

But even if you bought a new video card, CotN would probably not run too well, as your pc meets only the minimum system requirements.

[readybreak56]

what would I need to buy

[Asterix~]

A new graphics card. Those can get pretty pricy if you want a good one.

[Keith]

You want a newer card that can support the T&L (Transform & Lighting) effects used in the game.

A (now) old list of what cards will and won't work is here (http://www.tiltedmill.com/forums/showpost.php?p=34204&postcount=6).

A newer model Nvidia or ATI card will do the trick. For the best results and the best graphics get the most powerful one you can afford.

[Amenirdis]

A newer model Nvidia or ATI card will do the trick. For the best results and the best graphics get the most powerful one you can afford.

I'd have to disagree here a bit. The most powerful AGP card that can be bought right now is a waste of money in his/her pc. The Ram and CPU are such bottlenecks that it can't even make good use of the lates graphic cards. Not to mention that the PSU might be too weak to support those new cards.

Buying a new card, yes - but not the newest/best ones.

[Keith]

I didn't say just "the most powerful card", I said the most powerful card he can afford. Most people tend to buy less than the best when getting new graphic cards due to money concerns.

You can always take the card out and put it in a newer machine when he gets one, so I don't see it as a waste. Some systems can't support some of the highest end graphics cards. My Radeon 9800 Pro requires that a hefty power supply is running the system. So getting the best card you can that you system can support is never a waste.

[Amenirdis]

I know what you said. But since we don't know how much money he is willing to spend, it is only fair to mention that the best ones available now are not necessary for his pc.

The next machine will probably not even have an agp port anymore and would need a pci-express card. That's why I think it is a waste of money in this case to buy the best card there is, resp. spending too much money on one.
The point, as you said, is to get the best the system supports, but how should he know which card that's supposed to be, and which doesn't require further upgrades of other parts?

[Keith]

The point, as you said, is to get the best the system supports, but how should he know which card that's supposed to be, and which doesn't require further upgrades of other parts?

That's the joys of updating computer hardware. You start with what you want and then do some research on what your system can support. Checking the card specs and system requirements, look at card manufacturer product information pages and some of the online catalog sites like CDW (http://www.cdw.com), TigerDirect (http://www.tigerdirect.com), PC Mall (http://www.pcmall.com) and some of the hardware review sites like Tom's Hardware (http://www.tiltedmill.com/jobs/) for recommendations.

[Amenirdis]

Yeah, but how many people want to go through all that? Most people I know don't wanna read and compare components. And sometimes people end up spending as much for updating their old machine as for a new system.

Anyway, let's see what the OP has to say about how much he's willing to spend. That's the main thing here, I'd say.

[Keith]

If he wants to get the most bang for his buck he'd be smart to spend a little time checking things out first. Too many people shop just by price alone and end up unhappy.

[Amenirdis]

That's why I tried to make him aware that the newest/most expensive cards are not worth the money, when looking at his system specs. :) That's all. We just cautioned him from both sides: don't buy the cheapest card - and don't buy the most expensive either.

[readybreak56]

what should i get and how much would it cost

[Amenirdis]

Difficult to say. I'd suggest nothing fancier (meaning: newer) than a nVidia Geforce 6600 (GT) or an ATI 9600 (XT) for AGP slot. Avoid nVidia cards with an 'LE' in their name, as well as Geforce MX 4-series. Don't go below a Geforce FX5200.
Do you know how much watt your power supply unit has?

Can't tell you how much the cards cost. It depends where you live or where you want to buy them. Comparing prices at different shops is always a good idea. :)

May I ask you, if you plan to buy a new pc any time soon? How much of a gamer are you? How much money are you willing to spend?

[Keith]

what should i get and how much would it cost

Keep in mind that you are running a minimal system for CotN. Minimum required is 800Mhz and your system is running 900Mhz. You'll probably have to run the game with most of the options trund down to minimum or off.

With that in mind you don't want a really highend card. You'll be shopping for a AGP type graphics card what every it is you decide to get. Tigerdirect has a number of 3rd Party Geforce FX 5200 graphics cards (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=318) for a price between $45 - $85. There are also a number of 3rd Party Radeon based graphics cards for similar prices on the same page. Click on the link to get a 12 page list of available AGP cards at TigerDirect. Most of them require a 8x AGP slot.

You can filter the TigerDirect search for cards with 4x AGP if that is all your system supports.

There is a Radeon 7000 w/ 64MB RAM (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=1892496&sku=H231-7000) card for $29.99 that will run on 4x or 8x AGP slots.

It really depends on the specs of your system what card you can ulitmately use.

[Karter]

I remember when I had to upgrade my TNT card :(

they were state of the art at the time, great cards....built to last forever

[Keith]

I remember when I had to upgrade my TNT card :(

they were state of the art at the time, great cards....built to last forever

"Forever" doesn't last as long as it used to nowadays. :D

[readybreak56]

where do i put the graphics card

[Herodotus]

Where is your old graphics card?
Open the PC. Follow the lead from your monitor into the back of the PC (not the power cord, the other one) and that will be connected to the graphics card. Look at the slot on the motherboard to see if it is AGP or not.

Also try googling for the make & model number, it might tell you what sort it is, eg AGP 4x or 8x

If you need more help, Google on the make and model of your motherboard, you might get a labelled plan of it and it might tell you what the slot is.

[Keith]

Yes, just pull out your old graphics card and plug in the new one. You probably have a AGP slot which is a slightly different location than the rest of the slots in your machine. So it should not be hard to find. An AGP graphics card won't fit in any other kind of slot.