Game Won't Load in Vista (32bit)

[dozerking]

I installed the game, updated it to the latest patch, double clicked on the Icon and it just sits there at a black screen. I tried installed the OpenAL driver again, no go. My 8800 and Auzentech Sound Card and all other drivers are fully up to date.

What's the deal with Vista? I'm at wits end here.

[Yuhaney]

Try reinstall it and do not apply the patch. Does this work?
And are you sure that you have the right patch? So do you have boxed or downloaded version of the game?

[dozerking]

oh yeah, I downloaded the right version, I have the boxed retail copy. I reinstalled twice now and tried it with and without the patch. What a nightmare. There's no errors either.


I checked my log that's under My Documents, here's what it says at the end:

"Initializing Sound Module
--------------------------------------------------------
Initializing OpenAL.
Trying to open software device... "

There's nothing else. I wonder if there's a problem with the audio, so I uninstalled and installed both my audio card drivers and OpenAL, but no luck, same log.

[Yuhaney]

Hmm... It should work in Vista.

Try this:
Uninstall the game and OpenAL. After that, install the game again and install the OpenAL straight after that.

[jens]

Try these suggestions
http://support.frictionalgames.com/entry/78/

[dozerking]

Try these suggestions
http://support.frictionalgames.com/entry/78/

Yeah, I tried that. No go. I wonder if there's an issue with my sound card, but then why would the game hang? I'm using a very good sound card, the Auzentech Prelude 7.1 (an X-Fi chip btw). Strange though, as I've heard around the boards that people are having lots of issues with OpenAL and OpenGL games in Vista. I wonder if this has something to do with MS and how they removed DirectSound from Vista. No? I even tried reinstalling Alchemy and that did nothing either. I'm desperate at this point.

Oh, one more thing. I upgraded my version of Vista to SP1 directly from MS's website. I wonder if that may be the cause. Many people haven't installed the SP since you have to do it manually until April if I'm not mistaken.

I'm not getting an error either like many others like the OpenAL errors, it just sits there at a black screen. I even waited for 15 minutes at one point to see what would happen.

I'm stumped.

[dozerking]

Oh, I tried the Omega Drivers for Nvidia as well, no go either.

[Thomas]

Copy the contents of hpl.log here.
It is found in "my documents/penumbra/black plague"

[dozerking]

Here it is:


-------- THE HPL ENGINE LOG ------------

Creating Engine Modules
--------------------------------------------------------
Creating graphics module
Creating system module
Creating resource module
Creating input module
Creating sound module
Creating physics module
Creating ai module
Creating gui module
Creating haptic module
Creating scene module
--------------------------------------------------------

Initializing Resources Module
--------------------------------------------------------
Creating resource managers
Misc Creation
--------------------------------------------------------

Initializing Graphics Module
--------------------------------------------------------
Init low level graphics
Setting video mode: 800 x 600 - 32 bpp
Init Glee...OK
Setting up OpenGL
Max texture image units: 32
Max texture coord units: 8
Two sided stencil: 1
Vertex Buffer Object: 1
Anisotropic filtering: 1
Max Anisotropic degree: 16
Multisampling: 1
Vertex Program: 1
Fragment Program: 1
NV Register Combiners: 1
NV Register Combiners Stages: 8
ATI Fragment Shader: 0
Creating graphic systems
Creating Renderer2D
Renderer2D created
Creating Renderer3D
Load Renderer3D gpu programs:
Extrude
Diffuse Vertex
Diffuse Fragment
Fog
Creating fog textures: Solid Additive Alpha
init sky box
Renderer3D created
Creating screen buffers size 800.000000 : 600.000000
Creating programs
RendererPostEffects created
Adding engine materials
--------------------------------------------------------

Initializing Sound Module
--------------------------------------------------------
Initializing OpenAL.
Trying to open software device...

[Yuhaney]

Have you allowed Penumbra: Black Plague? (If not, press Alt + Tab when you've started the game and allow it)
UAC (User Account Control) usually blocks all the new stuff that you've installed.