Known Issues with Spellforce 2 Shadow Wars

Technical support around SpellForce 2

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Unrealmaster
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Known Issues with Spellforce 2 Shadow Wars

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Known Issues with Spellforce 2 Shadow Wars

(Multiplayer) I try to play online but get a Code 1 error message
Code 1 is a server-side problem. This seems to be affecting everyone for some time now. This means the Servers are offline but if you have friends you wish to MP with then you might try simply using "Radmin VPN" and localy emulate a network with your friends for the lan mode (see attachments).

(UK - SF Universe) My SF2 CD key looks like it is incomplete and doesn't work.
Some UK copies of the SF Universe box shipped with two SF1 cd keys and no SF2 cd key. To enable you to tell them apart, the SF2 key is 40 digits long while the SF1 key is only 25 digits long. Please contact Quantic Lab support ( support@quanticlab.com ).

(US) My game crashes while trying to load a map
Some US copies of the game shipped with a bad sf2_base05.pak file, causing the game to crash after loading 5-10% of each map. You could try contacting Dreamcatcher Games via their support page and ask if they have a more convenient solution than a large download.

I cannot use widescreen resolution
SF2 does not support widescreen resolution but there is a workaround that involves editing the config.xml file. Or you can simply using the Hardware patch.

The cutscene camera occasionally locks up
If you are experiencing the "Camera Bug" while playing SF2: Shadow Wars with SF2: Dragon Storm installed then please consider installing the latest patch, vers 2.01. This patch contains the fix.

Entering the Keycode but nothing happens and I cannot continue
Key has not been correctly entered. Do not enter any space anywhere in the key.
Delete the full key with BACKSPACE and re-enter. Check for CAPS not being active and always enter the “-“ in between the digit/letter combinations. If that doesn't help, try this...

Code: Select all

IIRC i did have that glitch, but if memory serves it was just a matter of pressing [space] once, can't remember if it was in beginning or end.
Try write the code again, then move it forward one step with [space], or something like that.
Wow, putting a space in front worked the first time!
Game does not start properly or crashes with a “missing dll” message
Please make sure you have installed the DirectX9.0c version provided with the game. There are different versions of DirectX9.0c available, so your version may not be the correct one for the game

Game crashes to Bluescreen during at the beginning of a map.
This happens on some Nvidia Cards without the latest drivers. Please always install the latest appropriate NVidia drivers.
Some older cards may not support the Maximum Shader Settings in the game. Please use Shader 1.1 if you continue to have problems after installing the latest drivers

Computer reboots at the beginning of a map.
On the latest ATI Cards, older driver version may cause the game to reboot your computer. Please always use the recent ATI drivers for your card.

Save games do not save or load correctly/Error Message when changing maps
Savegames can become quite big (up to 60MB per save game) and the game always autosaves when changing maps. Please ensure you have enough disk space available on the drive where your /My Documents/Spellforce2 folder is located. Delete older saves if necessary.
After loading a corrupted saved game other savegames may also produce error messages. Restart your Spellforce2 game to load saved games correctly.

Game speed increases rapidly/Audio cuts off at end of sentence
This is a known issue that may appear on AMD Dual Core machines. Please update your Processor Drivers from here.

DirectX Error Message
Make sure your Graphic Card has at least 128 MB and do choose Textures above “High” setting. Change the resolution to 800x600.

Graphic distortions/Flickering Graphics or Effects/Display Problems
In some cases changing resolution without restarting the game may lead to distorted graphics. Restart the game after changing resolution or shader model settings if this appears.

GeForce Series 5000 up to 5900 cards do not support any setting other than Shader 1.1.
Please always make sure the setting is correct when you encounter graphic problems with these cards

Lags during Multiplayer/Crashes during Multiplayer
If the host of the game has a very slow machine or a slow internet connection, the game may run slowly and experience “jumps” in Internet games. Make sure the host always is the player with the best connection and hardware.
Sometimes when the host quits during a multiplayer game, the game may crash to desktop for the clients. Just restart the game and choose a new Internet game. Ask the host not to quit the game prematurely.

Performance Issues
The biggest effect on the performance can be reached with disabling or lowering shadow settings. Disabling Grass will also increase speed. If you use WASD controls during 3rd Person mode, you may experience slight delays at times. Using the mouse to move your Avatar will prevent these.
This is solved in 99% of all cases with the Hardware Patch.

I have disabled auto-skilling for my heroes, but they still distribute skill points by themselves.
As explained in the tool tip, your heroes will always follow their primary calling. Disabling automatic distribution of skill points will allow you to choose their additional skills when they have reached the appropriate levels of their primary skill tree branch.

StarForce Copy Protection Issues
Please check this forum for the Starforce thread.

If you have the US, the Spanish or the Australian version of SpellForce 2 and it doesnt start up (without an error message) check if you have the most recent mainboard chipset drivers installed. If you have a 64 bit processor please install this driver.
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I'm all in favor of the democratic principle that one idiot is as good as one genius, but I draw the line when someone takes the next step and concludes that two idiots are better than one genius.

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