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I've hesitated to post anything because most of my testing, I've done at home and I have a Vista machine there with an Intel vid card. At work, I also have an Intel vid card (82865G) but the machine is running Windows 2000. On both machines, if I try to create a new character, short of boosting the gamma up to 3.00 and allowing fog to be rendered, very little can be seen from any direction with or without the isometric view setting. No character detail can be seen: color, style of hair, skin, clothing etc.

 

I hadn't seen anyone mention this specific location problem, so thought it might be worth mentioning.

 

My errorlog file was quite long and had a lot of repeated lines of information in them, but most were like the first line of this - the only difference being the particular "node":

 

elc/asc.c.get_string_property:586 - Unable to find property group in node hskin

 

elc/misc.c.my_fopen:421 - Error: Can't open file "custom_mirrors.lst"

 

 

PhilDaBurn...

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Sorry, guys, but the Intel just sent me the WORST reply I ever got from any company I dealt with in my life: Because of that, I am not sure we can do anything about your problem, and advise you to change your video card, and if possible, boycott Intel (I sure am going to do that, I will never buy anything from them or with an Intel chipset/CPU).

 

Hello Radu,

 

Thank you for contacting Intel® Technical Support.

 

As far as we understand, you are having difficulties trying to play Eternal Lands*.

 

1. This game is not on the compatibility list for this graphics controller, which means Intel has not specifically tested the game on this controller, and is not aware of any issues. For the list of tested games, please visit this web site:

 

http://support.intel.com/support/graphics/...b/CS-011967.htm

 

I suggest checking the system requirements for the game to verify that your system meets all the requirements. For the features supported by this controller, please visit the following link:

 

http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/inte...b/cs-012579.htm

 

2. Please try the following steps to resolve this issue:

 

- Please test setting the Windows* desktop to High Color (16 bit) color depth in Display Properties.

 

- Update the video drivers to version PV14.25.50 This driver version for your graphics controller can be found at this webpage:

 

http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scripts-df...?ProductID=1764

 

- Check the game manufacturer's website for any game updates or patches.

 

- Make sure no background tasks are running, such as virus scanners, task schedulers, or any other programs that run in the task bar.

 

- You may also try to run the game in safe mode, if the game has the option, since it will disable any unsupported hardware features.

 

For additional game troubleshooting information, please visit the following link:

 

http://support.intel.com/support/graphics/gaming/index.htm

 

Would you mind answering a couple of questions to help us improve our web content? (By answering these questions in a reply to this e-mail message we can correlate your suggestions to specific web content related to your issue.)

 

a-Did you receive a previous response to your e-mail message containing suggested web solutions to help you resolve your problem?

b-If yes, could you tell us why the suggested solutions did not enable you to resolve your problem, and how you think we could make them more effective?

c-If you did not receive a previous e-mail with web links and suggested solutions, would you like to provide any other feedback on how our web site could more effectively aid you in finding answers to your questions?

 

Sincerely,

 

Allan J.

Intel® Technical Support

 

Intel® System Software Web Site

http://support.intel.com/support/chipsets/index.htm

 

Intel® Graphics Support Web Site

http://support.intel.com/support/graphics/

 

Intel® Desktop Boards Support Web Site

http://support.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/

 

Intel® Viiv Support Web Site:

http://www.intel.com/support/desktopplatforms/viiv/index.htm

 

A representative of Intel may subsequently contact you (via email) in order to obtain your feedback on the quality of the support you received. If you do not wish to participate, simply delete the survey email.

 

Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.

*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

 

<===== Received from radu.prv@gmail.com on 2007-05-29-08.38.44.000000 ======>

 

Eternal Lands

Problem with your OpenGL drivers

##ERIGNORE##

First_name: Radu

Last_name: Privantu

Email: radu.prv@gmail.com

Customer_type: Developer/Designer

Product: Intel® 82915G/82910GL Express Chipset Family

Product_id: 1764

OS: Windows* XP

Survey_opt_in: Yes

System_type: Other

System_manufacturer:

Motherboard:

additional_adapter:

Processor_type:

RAM: Select RAM

systemram_other:

Monitor_Brand: Select Monitor Manufacturer

Monitor_Model:

Non_English_version:

servicepack: Service Pack 2

DirectX_Version: 9

Software_type: Game

Driver_version:

Game_application: Eternal Lands

Desktop_Screen_Resolution: Select Resolution

Desktop Color Depth: Select Color Depth

Desktop_Refresh_Rate: Select Refresh Rate

Issue: Problem with your OpenGL drivers

Changes: n/a

diagnostic_report: Hello

I am the lead programmer for Eternal Lands: www.eternal-lands.com

We are having a problem with your OpenGL drivers: all the Intel videocard Windows users are not seeing anything in some areas of the game. Linux users do not appear to be affected, and ATI/Nvidia cards are not affected either.

We did some debugging, but non of the develoeprs have an Intel videocard, so it is very hard, if not impossible for us to find and fix the problem.

 

Based on our observations, it seems to be a problem with your drivers, although it is possible that part of the fault is ours.

 

We have some data to show you, and our software is Open Source, so you can inspect the code if needed.

If you could assign a person to work with us in reproducing and possibly fixing this issue, we would be very grateful.

 

Thank you,

Radu Privantu

Additional_info:

Form_id: 75

 

 

{ See Attached File: Attachment }

 

 

IMPORTANT NOTE IF YOU REPLY TO THIS EMAIL: Please perform a reply with history so that the following identifier "[THREAD_ID:9831285]" is seen in your response email. This will ensure that your reply is delivered to the proper support team at Intel and will reduce the time it takes to receive a response. Thank you.

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Sorry, guys, but the Intel just sent me the WORST reply I ever got from any company I dealt with in my life...

It's pretty typical for a first-response from a big company (unfortunately). Anytime I've done this sort of thing it usually takes several tries before I can convince anyone I actually know what I'm talking about and brushing me off with some FAQ isn't going to solve my problem. Some companies do this as the default response to ANY submission and don't even look at it until you write the second time.

 

At this point I reply with: I'm sorry but you don't seem to understand my problem and the suggestions you made did not fix the issues I'm having (that is, IMPLY that you actually tried what they suggested). As I said in the original report: (and summarize your diagnostic_report comments).

 

Sadly, this probably won't work either and you'll need to keep pushing until you get to someone who actually READS the report and begins to understand what you're asking.

 

Yes, I've gotten pretty familiar with the dance (which is a sad statement in itself).

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Well, the problem is that this dumbfuck didn't even READ my e-mail, because otherwise he wouldn't have told me to " Check the game manufacturer's website for any game updates or patches.".

 

I am sorry, but we offer far more support to our users (mostly who don't even pay anything) than Intel is offering us.

And BTW, the AMD/ATI people didn't give me this kind of bullshit response. Nor did Nvidia.

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Well, the problem is that this dumb**** didn't even READ my e-mail, because otherwise he wouldn't have told me to " Check the game manufacturer's website for any game updates or patches.".

 

Some companies do this as the default response to ANY submission and don't even look at it until you write the second time.

 

Looks like Intel falls into this category. :happy:

 

(Plus the fact that he probably didn't even write that response, he just cut-and-pasted in a standard "my game doesn't work" reply and sent it.)

 

I hate playing their game, but if I need the information badly enough (and have no alternatives) then I have to.

 

I remember once dealing with a Dell (overseas) service rep on the phone about a dead motherboard. It took a great deal of patience to walk through their script (Yes, I've verified the power cord is plugged in. Yes, I've verified that I have turned the computer on. Yes, I've verified that the monitor is turned on and plugged into the computer. etc, etc) until they FINALLY acknowledged that it might be a problem with the mother board and transferred me to a "2nd line rep" (who happened to be in the US) to get to the specific problem. I got it fixed, but it took several times longer than it needed to if they'd just accepted my first description and moved on from there.

 

I understand they probably get 99% idiots asking for help and they have to have a way to filter them out. It just makes it very painful for the other 1% to get the expert help we need to solve the more complex issues.

Edited by bkc56

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Actually, that was the second message.

The first message was an automated message telling some similar bulshit, then asked if I want to ESCALATE the matter, and I said yes.

So if this is how things work at Intel, then why in the fucking world would anyone buy anything from them?

 

And yes, that fucking idiot had some prestandard reply message, I doubt he even typed anything, most likely he just selected "standard BS response", without even reading anything.

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I highly doubt that someone at least read your mail, this reply looks like completely computer-generated.

 

I myself work for a bigger company which uses "workflow" to automate such processes too (no, i dont like it, but they bribe me with money to show up there every day).

 

Software_type: Game

 

first variable, to choose the mail to be send.

 

First_name: Radu

 

2nd variable

 

Hello Radu,

 

We are so cool, we just call him Radu. Being polite and calling him Mr. Privantu looks so... oldschool. (playing with upper/lower case and typos when filling out forms like that shows very easy that its only generated and they care a sh*t about you).

 

Game_application: Eternal Lands

 

3rd variable.

 

As far as we understand, you are having difficulties trying to play Eternal Lands*.

 

Still the same writing, upper/lower case. And an added asterik. This asterik would even be there if you typed "tomato soup" in that field..

 

Sincerely,

 

Yes, i love you too.

 

Allan J.

Intel® Technical Support

 

Oooh, a name, at least. Who is that? The guy who wrote or installed the software?

 

bkc56's idea may work, sending another email and asking for at least to force a trained monkey to *try* to read and understand your email.

 

Gah, brave new world...

 

Piper

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Yes, I also suspect it's been either auto generated totally by a computer, or there was a guy that just selected one of the script versions.

 

I did send them another e-mail telling them how happy I am with Intel.

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I tried again today with a version that Theryndan had compiled with todays CVS. I see light all around :) and only get the following errors at iscalrith insides. I hope this means it is fixable/fixed.

 

Log started at 2007-05-30 19:31:14 localtime (West-Europa (standaardtijd))

 

[19:31:17] Error: Can't open file "quest.log"

[19:31:17] Error: Can't open file "custom_mirrors.lst"

[19:31:17] Error: Can't open file "commands.lst"

[19:31:58] Bad light (number 4) when loading './maps/cont2map24_insides.elm'; co-ords [277116301511919400000.000000 4306482138230070200000.000000 274039735486251010.000000] colour [72436193644202464000000.000000 272550513506881900000.000000 215892031818567010000000000000.000000]

[19:31:58] Bad light (number 6) when loading './maps/cont2map24_insides.elm'; co-ords [263739657262882910000000.000000 70062373302213240000000.000000 4465263624349292200000000000000.000000] colour [0.000000 0.000000 0.000000]

[19:31:58] Bad light (number 8) when loading './maps/cont2map24_insides.elm'; co-ords [0.000000 0.000000 277116301511919400000.000000] colour [4306482138230070200000.000000 274039735486251010.000000 72436193644202464000000.000000]

[19:31:58] Bad light (number 11) when loading './maps/cont2map24_insides.elm'; co-ords [274039735486251010.000000 300149382410826000000000000000.000000 17699268790661422000000000000000.000000] colour [17888575817192600000000.000000 4465263624349292200000000000000.000000 0.000000]

[19:31:58] Bad light (number 15) when loading './maps/cont2map24_insides.elm'; co-ords [277116301511919400000.000000 4306482138230070200000.000000 274039735486251010.000000] colour [72436193644202464000000.000000 76582272519943787000000000000.000000 215887290562618210000000000000.000000]

[19:31:59] Got invalid sound number

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Yes, the darkness is gone with todays CVS. I scrolled all around using both mouse and arrow keys and did not get any darkness anymore.

\o/

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OMG, I got a follow up to that e-mail from Intel (I replied to the frist one they send, telling them how unprofessional they are).

Here is their response:

 

Hello Radu,

 

Thank you again for contacting Intel® Technical Support.

 

We understand your concerns; however, you need to keep in mind that the Intel® 915G Express Chipset (with the Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 900) is an onboard graphics controller. Onboard controllers may not have features supported by high-end graphics controllers. The purpose of our onboard graphics adapters is merely to provide a cost-effective graphics solution.

 

Our graphics controllers are embedded into motherboards and laptops as an integrated and cost-effective video solution. We are not competing in the graphics or gaming markets nor we comment or compare our products with those of third party manufacturers.

 

If indeed you need to take advantage of graphics intensive games and other applications, you may need to install a third party graphics card that will indeed comply with all the requirements. Although we update and develop constantly newer onboard graphics controllers with further support for 3D features and APIs, our controllers are not focused on the gaming section of the graphics market.

 

Then again, we understand the confusion and frustration that can arise in this matter; however; there are product specifications as well as there are product feature limitations.

 

Sincerely,

 

Carlos B.

Intel® Technical Support

 

Another pre-defined answer, without even reading the fucking e-mail...

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Another pre-defined answer, without even reading the ... e-mail...

Rather than 'didn't read', I'd be inclined to say this was a "we don't care" e-mail. They're just not willing to put the time/energy/money into a problem with a low-end video card found by a private developer. As with many companies, they only measure the ROI and don't factor in the customer good-will and word-of-mouth.

 

Their reply to your next e-mail (if you're willing to keep pushing on this) will help to confirm/deny if they're still not-reading, or have truly moved on to don't-care. If it's the former, you still have a chance. If it's the later, you're probably out-of-luck.

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I would much rather like to hear a polite: "we don't give a fuck about you and our customers", rather than not even reading the e-mails.

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Whoever fixed the blackness....Thank you!! :hug: Just checked it out on test server and both spots I checked are fine now :hiya:

 

And thank you to everyone that helped/tried fixing this. I know it was a pain and I'm sure that I'm not the only one that appreciates the effort.

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So, who fixed it, and what exactly was the problem?
rather curious about that myself, so I checked the recent CVS commits (not all below)...

2007-05-24 rei * *Possible* fix on darkness. Not likely, since I have no debugging info to have any idea where it is.

2007-05-27 ttlanhil don't use lights that have invalid values. this should fix the intel darkness bug as well as allowing map editors to remove bad lights

2007-05-28 xaphier * Fix from Alia. Fixed problems with selection.

2007-05-28 xaphier * Fixed light bug (too small bounding box for lights

2007-05-29 ttlanhil removing some of OPENGL_TRACE's calls

2007-05-29 ttlanhil when checking for bad lights, allow a slight negative value

 

so I'd imagine most likely is xaphier's lights fix

 

ed: I'd suggest someone who can teleport to the different maps do so with the debugging info on, so the map makers can be given the full list of (maps with) buggy lights

if you find the log somewhat hard to read, and have *nix command line tools, then this little script may come in handy:

user@hostname:~/.elc$ cat list_errs.sh
sed 's/\[[0-9:]*\] //' < ~/.elc/error_log.txt|sed 's/Last message repeated [0-9]* times//'|sed 's/Client closed//'|sed 's/Log started at .*//'|sort|uniq -c

if you're on windows and have these tools, then you may need to swap the ' for "

Edited by ttlanhil

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Hmm, I remember releasing a binary right after xaphier's fixes, and it didn't solve the problem (although it did solve a problem with some lights flickering). That's very strange.

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