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Article ID: 907881 - Last Review: November 14, 2007 - Revision: 3.12

Known graphics issues in Age of Empires III

View products that this article applies to.

INTRODUCTION

This article describes the known graphics issues that may occur when you play Microsoft Age of Empires III.

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MORE INFORMATION

General troubleshooting information

Download update

The Age of Empires III update is available for download. This update addresses many issues with the game. To download the game update, visit the following Ensemble Studios Online Web site:

http://www.agecommunity.com (http://www.agecommunity.com)

To download and install the latest game update from the game, follow these steps:

Start Age of Empires III.
On the main game screen, click Help and Tools.
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 are experiencing graphics problems, 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 a piece of software that enables the operating system (Microsoft Windows) to communicate with the hardware in the computer. A driver acts as a translator between your hardware and the operating system. 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 the ever-changing software technologies.

To download and install the latest drivers, contact the computer or video hardware manufacturer. See the "References" section for more information about how to contact the video hardware or computer manufacturer. To see whether applicable driver updates are available for download, also visit the following Microsoft Windows Update Web site:

http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com (http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com)

To view a video presentation about how to install the latest video card drivers from the Windows Update Web site, see the "Additional information" section.

To identify the name and manufacturer of your video adapter, follow these steps:

In Microsoft Windows 98 or in Microsoft Windows XP, click Start, click Run, type dxdiag in the Open box, and then click OK.

In Windows Vista, click Start
Collapse this imageExpand this image
, type dxdiag in the Start Search box, and then click dxdiag.exe in the Programs list.
Click the Display tab.
Under Device, look for Name and Manufacturer.
Click Exit.

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General video card Issues

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

Display issues with 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 chosen 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:

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

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Video hardware specific issues

ATI

When you use certain ATI video cards, you may experience 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

All Nvidia cards

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

When you use the Nvidia 6800 video card together with the 6.14.0010.7189 driver that is dated April 14, 2005, terrain objects such as trees in Age of Empires III have an artificial appearance. This behavior occurs when the following conditions are true:

The Shader Quality game setting is set to Low.
The Bit Depth game setting is set to 16.

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

http://www.nvidia.com (http://www.nvidia.com)

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.
Note 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

When you play the game, you may see horizontal brown lines across the screen. This issue does not occur on all GeForce 6600gt cards. This issue only occurs 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:

Start the game.
Click Help and Tools, and then click Options.
Click Graphics Settings.
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, set graphic settings to the following options in the game. To do this, follow these steps:

Start the game.
Click Help and Tools, and then click Options.
Click Graphics Settings, and then configure the following graphics settings:

Anti Alias Quality : Low
Shader Quality : Low
Shadow Quality : Low
Water Effects : OFF
Bloom : On High
Poly Models : Off
Terrain Detail Objects : Off
Click OK, and then start the game.

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:

http://www.matrox.com/video/support (http://www.matrox.com/video/support)

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:

http://www.agecommunity.com/gameUpdates.aspx#english (http://www.agecommunity.com/gameUpdates.aspx#english)

If the issue continues to occur, visit the following Intel Web site and try their suggestions:

http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/intelgm965/sb/CS-026146.htm (http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/intelgm965/sb/CS-026146.htm)

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:

http://www.agecommunity.com/gameUpdates.aspx (http://www.agecommunity.com/gameUpdates.aspx)

If the issue continues to occur, you may have to purchase different video card.

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Specific Video hardware error messages

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Error Message	Resolution
Your graphics driver may be too old to run Age of Empires III. If you wish to update your drivers, please contact your computer manufacturer for any necessary assistance.	This issue may occur if Age of Empires III detects that the computer video hardware drivers do not meet the minimum requirements. Contact the computer manufacturer or the manufacturer of the video card for information about how to update the drivers. To see whether applicable updates are available, visit the following Windows Update Web site: http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com (http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com) To view a video presentation about how to install the latest video card drivers from the Windows Update Web site, see the "Additional information" section.
DirectX 9.0c or higher is required to run Age of Empires III. Please run Age of Empires III setup again to install DirectX.	This issue may occur if DirectX 9.0c was not installed correctly. For more information about how to update or reinstall DirectX, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 256182 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/256182/ ) Games Err Msg: <Game> requires DirectX <version> or DirectX <file name> is not found
Initialization Failed. Direct3D initialization failed. Possible causes: Old or corrupted graphics driver. Direct3D improperly installed. Hardware acceleration disabled. Starting the application with the workstation locked. Please check the log file for more information. Age of Empires III requires at least a 64 MB video card. This computer appears to have a 0 MB video card. If you wish to upgrade your computer, please contact your computer manufacturer for any necessary assistance. Additionally, you may receive the following error message: Your system does not appear to meet the minimum requirements for Age of Empires III. Running the game on systems that do not meet the minimum requirements may result in instability, graphics corruption, and/or severe performance problems. If you wish to upgrade your computer, please contact your computer manufacturer for any necessary assistance. Age of Empires III requires at least a 64 MB video card. This computer appears to have a 0 MB video card. If you wish to upgrade your computer, please contact your computer manufacturer for any necessary assistance.	This issue may occur if one of the following conditions is true: The game cannot correctly initialize DirectDraw or Direct3D to display the game. The monitor cannot work with the resolution and the refresh rate that is selected. Program(s) on the system are interfering with Direct3D. For example, you may experience this issue when you use programs such as Refreshlock, Refreshforce, or NetMeeting. Remove or disable these programs on the computer. The DirectX installation is corrupted. The video hardware acceleration is disabled on the computer. To resolve this issue, first try to set the computer monitor settings to 1024 x 768 at 75 hertz. To do this in Windows 98 or in Windows XP, follow these steps: Right-click the desktop, and then click Properties. Click Settings. Move the slider under Screen resolution to 1024X768. Click Advanced. On the Adapter tab, click List All Modes. Under List of valid modes, select 1024 x 768 at 75. Click OK to close the List All Modes dialog box. Click OK, and then click OK to close the Display Properties dialog box. Test the game. To do this in Windows 98 or in Windows XP, follow these steps: Right-click the desktop, and then click Personalize. Click Display Settings. Move the slider under Resolution to 1024X768. Click Advanced Settings . On the Adapter tab, click List All Modes. Under List of valid modes, select 1024 x 768 at 75. Click OK to close the List All Modes dialog box. Click OK, and then click OK to close the Display Settings dialog box. Test the game. If the issue continues to occur, you have to perform troubleshooting steps to identify the actual cause of the issue. For more information about how to troubleshoot this issue, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 191660 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/191660/ ) Games: The DirectDraw option or the Direct3D option is unavailable when you start games for Windows
Your system does not appear to meet the minimum requirements for Age of Empires III. Running the game on systems that do not meet the minimum requirements may result in instability, graphics corruption, and/or severe performance problems. If you wish to upgrade your computer, please contact your computer manufacturer for any necessary assistance. Your video hardware is below the recommended minimum requirements for Age of Empires III. If you wish to upgrade your computer, please contact your computer manufacturer for any necessary assistance.	This issue may occur if your video card does not meet the game requirements. The video card cannot display Age of Empires III graphics on the computer. To resolve this issue, purchase and then install a graphics adapter that is supported by Age of Empires III. For more information about how to upgrade your graphics hardware, visit the following Microsoft Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/moviemaker/expert/dunn_03august11_vc.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/moviemaker/expert/dunn_03august11_vc.mspx) To obtain or to install a graphics adapter on the computer, contact the computer manufacturer. Additionally, you can view and compare features and prices of different video cards. To do this, visit the following Microsoft Web site: http://windowsmarketplace.com (http://windowsmarketplace.com) After you open this Web site, type video cards in the Search box, and then press ENTER. The result will show you the list of the most popular video cards that are available. For more information about video cards that are unsupported by Age of Empires III , click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 907884 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/907884/ ) The minimum system requirements for Age of Empires III If you do not want to install a graphics adapter that is supported by Age of Empires III, you can return the game for a refund. For information about the Microsoft Satisfaction Guarantee, visit the following Microsoft Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/productrefund/refund.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/productrefund/refund.mspx) Note You will receive this error message when you use certain video cards that have 64 MB of memory or more. Or, if a video card does not support the Hardware Transform and Lighting feature. Age of Empires III requires the Hardware Transform and Lighting feature.

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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:

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REFERENCES

For information about your hardware manufacturer, visit the following Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/gp/vendors/en-us (http://support.microsoft.com/gp/vendors/en-us)

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.

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