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Display Problems
Hardware or Software?
Freecell3D can be used in either Hardware or Software mode. Hardware mode uses the graphics chip on your graphics card or motherboard to draw the 3D display. Hardware mode should be used if you have a 3D graphics card that was released within the last 2-4 years (although some older cards will perform well also). Some graphics cards claim to be "3D" but only support a few 3D features. Unfortunately the drivers that control graphics cards do not always work in the same way, so 3D-software can work well on one card may have problems on another. Often ensuring you have updated drivers for your graphics card will cure the problem (see later).
Software mode, does not use your graphics chip - it uses the main processor (or central processing unit - CPU). This means that any problems that Freecell3D might have working with your graphics card are bypassed. The performance will depend on the speed of your CPU. With fast CPUs (eg more than 400 MHz) the performance and quality may be better than using you Graphics Card's processor.
You can switch between Hardware and Software mode using the "Options" from the "View" menu, or from the Freecell3D Welcome screen if you are still choosing to have it displayed. There is also an option on the start menu to select software mode.
Troubleshooting
Before investigating any display problems it is important to ensure that you have the both DirectX 7 or later installed and the latest drivers for you graphics card. DirectX is supplied by Microsoft to add multimedia enhancements to Windows. There may be a control panel icon called "DirectX" that will tell you what version you have. DirectX 8.1 can be downloaded from Microsoft here. Alternatively you may find that a coverdisk from a recent computer magazine has DirectX 7, 8, or 8.1 on it.
If you want to use Hardware mode you will also have to check that your graphics/video card drivers are up to date for use with DirectX 7. You can usually download the latest drivers from the website of your PC vendor or the graphics card manufacturer. For how to find information about your graphics click here.
Error Messages and Warnings
The latest version of Freecell3D shows plenty of information with most of the error messages, including where applicable, a suggested remedy. Sometime it will suggest that you change you screen depth (number of colors) and suggest compatible modes (eg 16-bit or 32-bit). To set the display depth open the Windows Control Panel and double-click the "Display" icon. Click on the "Settings" tab. In the drop-down "Colors" or "Color quality" box select an option that is 16-bit or more (16, 24, 32, 48 etc). It might be described as "high color" or "65536 colors" for 16-bit or "true color" for 24- or 32-bit. For the best visuals you should select 32-bit, but this might affect performance on some older systems. Note: some graphics cards do not support Direct3D in 24- or 32-bit mode - you must select 16-bit mode (65536 colors)
Warning - Transparency is not fully supported by your graphics card.
If you see this warning you might experience some minor graphics quality problems. Also the Transparent Dragging option will not be available. Otherwise the game should play correctly.
Please set your color depth to 16 bits per pixel or more.
Freecell3D needs the display set to 16-bit (65536 colors) or more. To set the display depth open the Windows Control Panel and double-click the "Display" icon. Click on the "Settings" tab. In the drop-down "Colors" box select an option that is 16-bit or more (16, 24, 32, 48 etc). It might be described as "high color" or "true color". For the best visuals you should select 24-bit or more, but this might affect performance on some older systems. Note: some graphics cards do not support Direct3D in 24- or 32-bit mode - you must select 16-bit mode (65536 colors).
You video card is running low on memory and Freecell3D has suspended drawing to prevent it crashing. Reduce the window size until the message disappears. If the window is too small then you can also carry out the steps described below in "Some or all cards are white or invisible or Card Textures cannot be loaded" to reduce the memory usage.
Other Problems
Nothing is visible
Maybe the view is not facing the table. Select one of the view presets to see if it comes back into view.
Your graphics card might be running low on video memory. Try setting your display to 16-bit color as described above. Also check that you are not using the High Detail cards. Try selecting Force Key Alpha and Force 16-Bit Textures from the Display Options.
Setting "Software" mode from the Display options should also cure the problem.
Movement and animation is jerky.
If you have an older PC or graphics card you should disable some of the advanced features such as: Drag Cards; and Animate Automatic Moves. You can also reduce the Texture Quality.
If you are using Hardware mode select "Optimize Hardware Rendering" in the Display options.
If you have a fast PC and graphics card then make sure the Target Frame Rate is set to 20 or above.
Cards move too slowly in Solver and Goto / Undo / Redo.
Decrease the Auto Move Interval. A suggested value is between 200 ms and 500 ms.
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