Troubleshoot graphics issues in Age of Empires III

This article describes the known graphics issues that may occur when you play Microsoft Age of Empires III. This article also provides general troubleshooting information that may resolve any graphics-related issues that you have.

General troubleshooting information

Download update

Make sure that you have the latest version of the Age of Empires III software. Updates (also known as patches) are developed to address many issues with the game. To download the game update, visit the following Ensemble Studios Online Web site: To download and install the latest game update from the game, follow these steps:

1. Start Age of Empires III.
2. On the main game screen, click Help and Tools.
3. Click Update Game.

The latest game update also fixes pause issue. If the game loaded paused, press Pause Break on the keyboard to un-pause it.

Install the latest drivers

If you have graphics problems, such as a black (blank) screen or slow performance in Age of Empires III, download and then install the latest video card driver.

The video card lets you see graphics on the screen. A driver is software that enables your computer to communicate with hardware or devices. Without drivers, the hardware that you connect to your computer—for example, a video card or a webcam—will not work correctly.

The latest driver for your video card can enable more efficient use of your video card features to improve the performance of the game. Generally, companies release their drivers regularly for the cards to keep up the pace with ever-changing software technologies.

To download and install the latest drivers, contact the computer or video hardware manufacturer. See the "Additional information" section for more information about how to contact the video hardware or computer manufacturer. To determine whether applicable driver updates are available for download, visit the following Microsoft Windows Update Web site: To identify the name and the manufacturer of the video card, follow these steps on a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Vista:

1. Open the Direct X Diagnostic Tool. To do this, click Start
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   , type dxdiag in the Start Search box, and then click dxdiag.exe in the Programs list.
2. Click the Display tab.
3. Under Device, look for Name and Manufacturer.
4. Click Exit.

General video card Issues

You may experience the following issues when you play Age of Empires III.

Display issues that affect monitors and resolution

For some computer monitors, certain resolutions may cause display problems. Age of Empires III provides support for many resolution settings based on the settings that your video card supports. However, the monitor may not support all the resolution settings. Any display problems that you experience when you play Age of Empires III may occur because of your display configuration. The display configuration includes the video card, the monitor, and the drivers.

We recommend that you try the various resolutions in Age of Empires III so that you can revert to another setting if the monitor does not support a selected resolution. See the monitor documentation or visit the monitor manufacturer's Web site for information about the native resolutions of the monitor.

Poor image quality on LCD monitors

LCD monitors provide poor image quality at non-native resolutions. See the monitor documentation or visit the monitor manufacturer's Web site for information about the native resolutions of the monitor.

Blocky smoke or units

When you play Age of Empires III, you may see blocky smoke or units. To resolve this issue, lower Shader support. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Start the game.
2. Click Help and Tools, and then click Options.
3. Click Graphics Settings.
4. Set Shader to Low.

Video hardware specific issues

ATI

When you use certain ATI video cards, you may have problems when you repeatedly press ALT+TAB to switch between the Age of Empires III game and another program. We recommend that you do not use the ALT+TAB keyboard shortcut.

Nvidia

Age of Empires III may close back to the desktop if the antialiasing mode is enabled. To resolve this issue, turn off antialiasing or set it to application-controlled by using the video driver control panel.

• Nvidia 6800: You may notice graphics flashing or slow performance in Age of Empires III when you use an Nvidia 6800 video card. This is a known issue. This issue does not have a workaround.
• GeForce 6600gt: You may see horizontal brown lines across the screen. This issue does not occur on all GeForce 6600gt cards. This issue occurs only on GeForce 6600gt cards if the video card manufacturer has overclocked the video card. There is no resolution for this issue. For more information, contact the video card manufacturer.
• GeForce FX 5200: The game performance might be choppy. To resolve this issue, turn Shader support to Low. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Start the game.
  2. Click Help and Tools, and then click Options.
  3. Click Graphics Settings.
  4. Set Shader to Low.
• GeForce 6200: You may see some graphics problems in the game, such as white blocks instead of water or smoke, very slow performance, or distorted graphics. To resolve this issue, reset the graphic settings options. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Start the game.
  2. Click Help and Tools, and then click Options.
  3. Click Graphics Settings, and then configure the following graphics settings:
     • Anti Alias Quality: Low
     • Shader Quality: Low
     • Shadow Quality: Low
     • Water Effects: Off
     • Bloom Effect: High
     • Poly Models: Off
     • Terrain Detail Objects: Off
  4. Click OK, and then start the game.

To download and install the latest video card drivers, visit the following Nvidia Web site:

Matrox

When you use a Matrox Parhelia 128 megabyte (MBO video card or a Matrox Millennium P750 video card, Age of Empires III may not correctly show bump mapping. Bump mapping refers to the snow or solid gray texture that appears in Age of Empires III. The Matrox Parhelia 128 MB and Matrox Millennium P750 video cards use the 6.13.0001.1691 driver and reference the 6.13.0001.1873 and 6.13.0001.1914 drivers. To download the latest Matrox drivers, visit the following Matrox Web site:

Intel 965

The game may freeze after the introductory movie. To resolve this issue, download and install the latest game update. To do this, visit the following Ensemble Studios Web site: If the issue continues to occur, visit the following Intel Web site, and try their suggestions: Next to the game, click the Details link. Additionally, download and install the latest Intel video card drivers.

Intel 82945G Express Chipset

Download and install the latest game update. To do this, visit the following Ensemble Studios Web site: If the issue continues to occur, you may have to purchase different video card.

Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.

Specific Video hardware error messages

Additional information

For more information about how to update your graphics adapter drivers by using the Microsoft Windows Update Web site, click Play to view this streaming media presentation:

For information about your hardware manufacturer, visit the following Web site: The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.