Posted March 11, 2015
I'm seeking the collective wisdom of the GOG community on this issue. Perhaps someone here has had the same experience and knows a good solution. I have a laptop computer that I want to play Diablo 2 on. Since it has a Nvidia card, it also comes bundled with an Intel HD graphics card and the Optimus technology, which is good for power saving and bad for game compatibility.
Windows 7 has its issues with Diablo 2. I can't run the game in 3D mode which means that I lose some lightning and parallax effects. I also get the messed up colors problem, although I can solve that by running the task manager in the background. I already run the game with compatibility mode for Windows XP 2, disabled desktop composition and administrator mode. It makes no difference for either 3d or 2d mode. When I try to run the game in 3d mode it hangs up as soon as I start it, and I have to finish it from the task manager.
I have a good idea what the problem is, but I don't know of a good solution to solve it. The thing is that the game is run with the Intel HD graphics card when I use 3d mode, and that abomination does have very few options that you can tweak. For example you can not turn of anti-aliasing, you can just change it from 2x to 16x. Anti-aliasing is one of the things which is supposed to make Diablo 2 not work (when in 3d mode). It could be that, or it could just be that Intel's drivers are crappy for compatibility.
So why can't I just force the game to run with my Nvidia card, problem solved? Well Nvidia, in their infinite wisdom, have decided that we no longer need the freedom to choose which card to use for certain applications. So when I use Nvidia Control Panel and select Diablo 2 I can only choose integrated graphics, and when I use the file manager and right-click on the Diablo 2 program and choose to run with Nvidia, a rude message box pops up proclaiming that I don't have the privilege to select graphics processor in the menu. Global settings does not work as well (it is probably overridden) It makes me really want to have a talk with the bloke that made the decision to make these changes.
I'm sure that there is some easy solution to this problem, there should be a file somewhere where I can just delete the Diablo 2 entry from the database so that I can make my own, but I haven't found it yet. Perhaps some of you have had the same problem and knows a good solution?
Windows 7 has its issues with Diablo 2. I can't run the game in 3D mode which means that I lose some lightning and parallax effects. I also get the messed up colors problem, although I can solve that by running the task manager in the background. I already run the game with compatibility mode for Windows XP 2, disabled desktop composition and administrator mode. It makes no difference for either 3d or 2d mode. When I try to run the game in 3d mode it hangs up as soon as I start it, and I have to finish it from the task manager.
I have a good idea what the problem is, but I don't know of a good solution to solve it. The thing is that the game is run with the Intel HD graphics card when I use 3d mode, and that abomination does have very few options that you can tweak. For example you can not turn of anti-aliasing, you can just change it from 2x to 16x. Anti-aliasing is one of the things which is supposed to make Diablo 2 not work (when in 3d mode). It could be that, or it could just be that Intel's drivers are crappy for compatibility.
So why can't I just force the game to run with my Nvidia card, problem solved? Well Nvidia, in their infinite wisdom, have decided that we no longer need the freedom to choose which card to use for certain applications. So when I use Nvidia Control Panel and select Diablo 2 I can only choose integrated graphics, and when I use the file manager and right-click on the Diablo 2 program and choose to run with Nvidia, a rude message box pops up proclaiming that I don't have the privilege to select graphics processor in the menu. Global settings does not work as well (it is probably overridden) It makes me really want to have a talk with the bloke that made the decision to make these changes.
I'm sure that there is some easy solution to this problem, there should be a file somewhere where I can just delete the Diablo 2 entry from the database so that I can make my own, but I haven't found it yet. Perhaps some of you have had the same problem and knows a good solution?