Microsoft KB Archive/812328

= Impossible Creatures: Known Video Issues =

Article ID: 812328

Article Last Modified on 10/30/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Impossible Creatures

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SUMMARY
This article describes video-related issues that you may experience when you play Impossible Creatures.

In This Article

 * How to Determine What Video Adapter and Drivers Are Installed
 * How to Update Your Video Adapter Drivers
 * Hardware-Specific Video Issues
 * 3DFX Voodoo
 * ATI
 * Matrox
 * NVIDIA
 * Other



How to Determine What Video Adapter and Drivers Are Installed
To determine the version number of the video driver installed on your computer, use the DirectX Diagnostic Tool. To do this, follow these steps:
 * 1) Click Start, and then click Run.
 * 2) In the Open box, type dxdiag, and then click OK.
 * 3) Click the Display or Display 1 tab.
 * 4) Under Drivers, note the version number on the Version line.
 * 5) If multiple video adapters are installed in your computer, repeat steps 3-4 to determine the version number of the video driver for each additional video adapter.
 * 6) When you have noted the version numbers for all the video drivers installed on your computer, click Exit.

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How to Update Your Video Drivers
It is important to have current drivers for your video adapter. Contact the manufacturer of your video adapter for information about how to obtain and install the latest version of the video driver for your video adapter. You may also visit the following Microsoft Windows Update Web site to see if applicable driver updates are available:

http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com

For information about how to contact the manufacturer of your video adapter, click the appropriate article number in the following list to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

65416 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, A-K

60781 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, L-P

60782 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, Q-Z

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.

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3DFX Voodoo 3
When you try to play Impossible Creatures on a Microsoft Windows XP-based computer with a 3DFX Voodoo 3 video adapter installed, you may experience display issues if the Shadow detail level feature is turned on. To resolve this issue, turn off the Shadow detail level feature. To do this, follow these steps:
 * 1) Start Impossible Creatures.
 * 2) In the Select Player Profile dialog box, select the player that you want to use, and then click Accept.
 * 3) On the startup menu (the menu that appears after you click Accept), click Options.
 * 4) In the Options dialog box, click the Graphics tab.
 * 5) On the menu next to Shadow detail level, click Off, click Apply Settings, and then click Back to exit the menu.

3DFX Voodoo 3 2000
When you try to play Impossible Creatures on a Windows XP-based computer with this video adapter installed, you may experience a &quot;whirlpool” effect in water graphics instead of standard wave effects. There is currently no resolution for this issue.

3DFX Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
When you try to play Impossible Creatures on a Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition (SE)-based computer with this video adapter installed, you may experience display issues when you turn on the Shadow detail level feature. To resolve this issue, turn off the Shadow detail level feature. To do this, follow these steps:
 * 1) Start Impossible Creatures.
 * 2) In the Select Player Profile dialog box, select the player that you want to use, and then click Accept.
 * 3) On the startup menu (the menu that appears after you click Accept), click Options.
 * 4) In the Options dialog box, click the Graphics tab.
 * 5) On the menu next to Shadow detail level, click Off, click Apply Settings, and then click Back to exit the menu.

3DFX VooDoo 4500
When you try to play Impossible Creatures with this video adapter installed in your computer, you may experience display issues for ground and water graphics when dynamic shadows are turned on. To resolve this issue, download and install the most current drivers for this adapter. To do this, visit the following 3dfx Web site:

http://www.voodoofiles.com/3dfxhelp.asp

If updated drivers do not resolve this issue, turn off the Shadow detail level feature. To do this, follow these steps:
 * 1) Start Impossible Creatures.
 * 2) In the Select Player Profile dialog box, select the player that you want to use, and then click Accept.
 * 3) On the startup menu (the menu that appears after you click Accept), click Options.
 * 4) In the Options dialog box, click the Graphics tab.
 * 5) On the menu next to Shadow detail level, click Off, click Apply Settings, and then click Back to exit the menu.

3DFX Voodoo 5 5500 AGP
When you try to play Impossible Creatures with this video adapter installed in your computer, you may notice a &quot;whirlpool” effect in water graphics instead of standard wave effects. There is currently no resolution for this issue.

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When you start the game, you may see a splash screen and then the game terminates. To resolve this issue, visit the following 3DFX Web site to download and install the latest video adapter drivers:

http://www.voodoofiles.com

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ATI Radeon DDR
 When you try to play Impossible Creatures with this video adapter installed in your computer, you may experience incorrect graphics and incorrect menu displays. To resolve this issue, download and install the latest drivers for this adapter. To do this, visit the following ATI Web site:

http://www.amd.com/

 During game play, the mouse pointer may be displayed in black and white (instead of color). This video adapter does not support color options for pointers. There is currently no resolution for this issue.

ATI Radeon 7000
When you try to play Impossible Creatures with this video adapter installed in your computer, you may experience display issues with the Fog of War feature. To resolve this issue, download and install the latest drivers. To do this, visit the following ATI Web site:

http://www.amd.com/

ATI Radeon 8500
When you try to play Impossible Creatures with this video adapter installed in your computer, you may experience display issues. To resolve this issue, download and install the latest drivers. To do this, visit the following ATI Web site:

http://www.amd.com/

ATI Rage Fury Maxx
When you try to play Impossible Creatures on a Windows 98 SE-based computer with this video adapter installed, you may experience a flickering pointer and a partially black screen. To resolve this issue, download and install the latest drivers. To do this, visit the following ATI Web site:

http://www.amd.com/

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Matrox Millennium G-550
 When you try to play Impossible Creatures on a Microsoft Windows 2000-based computer with this video adapter installed, the game may not start. To resolve this issue, download and install the latest drivers. To do this, visit the following HP Web site:

http://www.hp.com/

 When you try to play Impossible Creatures on a Windows 2000-based computer with this video adapter installed, you may experience graphical corruption. This issue may occur when the game resolution is set at 1600x1200 and the color setting is 32-bit. To resolve this issue, click the Graphics tab in the Options dialog box, and then lower the resolution or color depth setting.

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NVIDIA Adapters
 When you try to play Impossible Creatures with one of these video adapters installed in your computer, you may experience display issues. To resolve this issue, download and install the latest drivers. To do this, visit the following nVidia Web site:

http://www.nvidia.com

</li> When you try to play Impossible Creatures with one of these video adapters installed in your computer, the mouse pointer may appear in black and white instead of in color. To resolve this issue, download and install the latest drivers. To do this, visit the following nVidia Web site:

http://www.nvidia.com

</li> When you try to play Impossible Creatures on a Windows 2000-based computer with a Riva TNT 1 video adapter installed, the demonstration may stop responding upon startup. To resolve this issue, reinstall an earlier nVidia driver, such as version 28.32. The most recent version of the nVidia drivers no longer support this video adapter.</li> When you try to play Impossible Creatures on a Windows 98-based computer with this video adapter installed, you may see a flashing triangular patch in the game. To resolve this issue, download and install the most recent drivers. To do this, visit the following nVidia Web site:

http://www.nvidia.com

</li> When you try to play Impossible Creatures on a Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me)-based computer with the ASUS V-8200 Deluxe (nVidia GeForce 3) video adapter installed, the game may stop responding upon startup. To resolve this issue, download and install the latest drivers. To do this, visit the following nVidia Web site:

http://www.nvidia.com

</li> When you play the game on a computer that has an nVidia TNT Vanta video adapter, no text or words appear. You may only see symbols. To resolve this issue, visit the following nVidia Web site to download and install the latest drivers:

http://www.nvidia.com

</li></ul>

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Compaq GeForce 2MX
When you try to play Impossible Creatures with this video adapter installed in your computer, you may experience inconsistent textures. To resolve this issue, download and install the latest drivers. To do this, visit the following HP Web site:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/genericSoftwareDownloadIndex?softwareitem=pv-24147-1&cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&dlc=en&lang=en

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Diamond Stealth III S540
When this video adapter is installed in your computer and you try to minimize Impossible Creatures by using the ALT+TAB keyboard shortcut command, you may experience graphical corruption. To work around this issue, do not use this command to minimize the game.

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Elsa Erazor III (TnT2)
When you try to play Impossible Creatures with this video adapter installed in your computer, you may experience graphical problems. To resolve this issue, download and install the latest drivers. To do this, visit the following Elsa Web site:

http://www.elsa.com/EN/

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Leadtek WinFast A170 DDR
When you try to play Impossible Creatures on a Windows Me-based computer with this video adapter installed, you may experience graphical corruption. To resolve this issue, download and install the latest drivers. To do this, visit the following Leadtek Web site:

http://www.leadtek.com

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S3 Graphics Pro Savage
When you try to play Impossible Creatures on a Windows Me-based computer with this video adapter installed, you may see white squares with objects when Shadow detail level is set to Full. To resolve this issue, turn off the Shadow detail level feature. To do this, follow these steps:
 * 1) Start Impossible Creatures.
 * 2) In the Select Player Profile dialog box, select the player that you want to use, and then click Accept.
 * 3) On the startup menu (the menu that appears after you click Accept), click Options.
 * 4) In the Options dialog box, click the Graphics tab.
 * 5) On the menu next to Shadow detail level, click Off, click Apply Settings, and then click Back to exit the menu.

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ST Kyro (Power VR Series 3)
When you try to play Impossible Creatures on a Windows 98 SE-based computer with this video adapter installed, you may experience graphical problems and unexpected behavior. To resolve this issue, download and install the latest drivers. To do this, visit the following Power VR Web site:

http://www.imgtec.com/Downloads/index.asp

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VGA 28.32
When you try to play Impossible Creatures with this video adapter installed in your computer, you may see flashing shadows. To resolve this issue, download and install the latest drivers. To do this, visit the following eVGA Web site:

http://www.evga.com

The third-party products that are discussed in this article 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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Additional query words: display video performance

Keywords: kbdisplay kbconfig kbhardware kbinfo KB812328

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