UPD: here the links to PCGW
[url=http://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Empire_at_War]http://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Empire_at_War[/url]
http://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Troubleshooting_guide First how that possible Retail work differ...
Did you use all of them as is? Or you download and apply something? With also exe rile renaming? File renaming itself not required. To avoid issues with Windows and Nvidia - you can rename all games exes to game1.exe. Of course better more tweaks for system settings to solve source of such issues. But that harder. Not always possible for nowadays Nvidia and Windows.
NV Optimus is another broken thing from Nvidia (or first one to come). In any way it is not a game decide which deviced on to launch. Games and apps not decided anything not do anything. Just like steam-games in steam is like DLC for steam launched only by steam:rungameid (whatever way gou launched it even if directly from exe by steam drm it go to execute steam.exe-rungame command if steam already launched or not).
Steam is like OS for steam-games. Steam itself like a game tor another Steam - system OS. There is no app does not work. There is OS not working. Or only OS did work.
Go to Windows, Intel and Nvidia control panels. Set everywhere power save off/max performance. With settings from addition tab, not just switch it. Set default device to Nvidia in main and few addition settings screen (physyx plus OS/intel too).
First switch slider to Quality or Balance. Then go to advanced and set Nvidia degice as main. Also better to disable there (and for Intel) Veync/*any*sync. There is some option where you can set Nvidia card. Do it. Most options on Advanced keep on default for Balance or Quality you did choose. But double check them.
RivaTuner RTSS can be used for FPS limiting. Vsyncs outdated "crutch" - actual solution always be limiting FPS. Veync itself do the same. Only for 60hz displays. Now NV Panel have option for it.
Or 3rd party NV Inspector. Or RTSS. For me NV control panel seems not a best way to change settings, not always work as intendent, im on 960m notebook stay on some older driver as half of post-400 versions they are going to BSOD. There is no proper option to limit FPS there.
RTSS (in admin run) best way to do it. But need obtain it properly.
Also Nvidia Control panel ignore default device settings option for specific list of exe files it know. Any detections by exe file is stupid decision by design. Thats why renaming exe did work to solve Nvidia and Windows (game explorer) issues.
Never ever use Nvidia Experience for set up games! Again, it is wrong by design. And cause only issues.
Reinstall. Or verify game files if you use Galaxy. Twice in a row since Galaxy not report what it do download.
But first go to game saves folder and ERASE WHOLE user files. Look to PCGW where game store saves. Also Galaxy same as Steam have additional folder. For Galaxy it is somewhere in user AppData/.../GOG/.../userdata/userid(*or user0 for offline GOG versions)/gameid.
If games AND GAMING clients installed on disc C/ - reinstall them all to
D/Games/Steam/
D/Games/GOG-Galaxy/
games to
X/Games/SteamApps/common/
X/Games/Game-name-2/
eg X:\Games\Star-Wars-EAW-FOC\ (short simplest path, no any symbols except minus, no spaces, just latin and digits, shortener game folder name). Even for GOG Galaxy. For Galaxy you can set X/Games as folder, but it will use own game folder names.
Offline installer plus Galaxy client can detect it as Galaxy version. Verify files again. And you get GOG Galaxy version installed in custom folder. If it is still wrok in that way, im not sure.
For Steam do not use x/Games/Steam(*or SteamLibrary*)/SteamApps/common as path cause it is too long for some games also have long own folder name (any variation be more longer obviously). And Steam dont care.
Still use admin run to first start of the game, all launches of languages settings exe or any tools find in game folders (there isnlanguage selector for EAW, right?). For GOG version.
For GOG Galaxy launch Galaxy.exe(!) as admin for first run of it, configurate it. Install game.
And reinstall =/= validating. Still validate game installation twice in a row. Keep galaxy launched in admin run mode. And then DIRECTLY from Library - launch the game. After main menu of the game you can exit and relaunch everything without admin mode or use desktop links (for Steam never use desktop links, they broken for 20 years!).
Uninetall MSI Afterburner and RivaTuner RTSS tools if you have them. Reinstall RTSS from its official installer (unrelated to MSI).
Still close all apps, especially that have or probably have overlays. There isssue - with Nvidia again - DX D3D upto 9.0.c games undetected as rendered games apps if there is overlays. Instead overlay app launched by Nvidia but games launched by Intel.
All preD3D10 STEAM games broken for NV Optimus, cause Nvidia broke SteamOverlay and launch only it in gaming mode and ignore all that games.
Same can happen for any else overlays. Nahimic app, keyboard/mouse/gamepads apps, NV own Experience app (broken too), MSI app. Anything looks like part of driver but it was not. If you install some native installer drivers and there was additional checkboxes for soft - like NV Experience or LogiOptions for mouse/etc - they are NOT drivers but overlay apps. LogiOptions did not even appear on the screen but broke rendering of older games and broke NV Optimus for DX9 games.
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Bakc to why differ it is for GOG and Steam. If this is not admin rights issue that also can affect which device to use, it can be if you rename GOG/Steam or Retail versions exe files. EAW<->FOC exe.
Maybe you did manually add some apps to Nvidia Control panel? For advanced Tab check if there is some apps that can be removed from the list. ✅ mark on for only detectable apps. Remove apps that NV Control panel allow to remove.
