Tuesday, July 24, 2007

A Tale of Woe: Part 2

At long last, everything was ready. I hit the Launch button and an error message appeared. I tried again and was given the three original options again. I tried #2. A new error. I tried #1. Same error as number 2.

I decided to do some research and learned that DX10 only worked on Vista. I do not have Vista. I will not even think about installing Vista until Service Pack 2 comes out. The question then became, had I hosed MB by installing the DX10 bits? I dunno. Maybe. Possibly. So I uninstalled, intending to reinstall from the disc.

And what happened? Nothing! Yep, I now had a new error on trying to install MB (something not found) from the disk. I tried again and then again.

At this point it had been two-days since I purchased the game. I was beginning to break out in hives. My mouse-hand was beginning to atrophy from disuse. I considered an animal sacrifice, but all I had was a boneless chicken breast in the fridge. I stabbed it anyway. It didnt work. And then I thought: Steam! I could download the game! I could, theoretically, play MB at some point in the near future!

I started the download from Steam. It took roughly ten hours, but eventually, the percentage hit 100 and the Launch button lit. I pressed it and chose option#1, Launch MB.

Error. I tried #2. Same error. Pixel shader version detected: 2.0.

I used my own special swearword. I do not use this word lightly. It could, in the wrong hands, tear a hole in the space-time continuum and utterly undo existence. Yes, I was that irritated.

So what the hell did Pixel shader version detected: 2.0 mean? I ventured onto the web and discovered that MB requires pixel shader 3.0. Now, I have a badass video card. It was top-of-the-line two years ago and while old, it is still quite capable. But not anymore. Its pixel shader only goes up to 2. 3 is right out.

So, now what? I do not wish to buy a new video card, yet I would like to play MB (which at this point, had better ROCK!). If theres an inexpensive shader 3.0 capable card, I may just buy it, play MB, and then put my old card back in. We shall see.

Cheers,
-Jason

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Have you tried downloading and installing DirectX9.0c and trying to run the game with option 2? Google for directX9 and take the first link to MS for the download.
It's cheaper than buying a new vid card and may just work.

Jason Janicki said...

Yeah, I tried that. I had DX9.0c already installed. I updated via MS and it still didn't work. Looks like I'm heading for a new card.

Thanks for the suggestion, though :)