Hi all

I just bought Fez but I'm unable to play :( It crashes at startup.
I get to the slot menu where I choose the first one and then select start new game. The starfield starts scrolling then the application just closes. I get no error dialog.

I have:
- Computer: HP Compaq nc8430, Intel Core 2 T7200, 4 GB Ram
- System: Windows 8 Pro, 64 Bit, fully patched.
- Graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 (Windows 7 drivers, as there is no driver for Windows 8)

I tried so far:
- Run June 2010 DirectX installer as describes in the READ FIRST section
- Checked that the game runs as Administrator
- Tried to run in copatibility mode (Windows 7)
- Tried windowed and full screen mode
- Checked the Application Event Log but can't find any entry from Fez
- Restarted the machine (of course)
- Disabled virus protection (Windows Defender)

Nothing changed the behavior.

After some searching I found a logfile (Debug Log.txt) in the application's installation directory. There is one exception, but the file does not seem to be updated with newer crashes. I copied the content below.

Any ideas?

Any help is appreciated.

Luki

---
(13:35:30.946) [OpenAL] 32-bit OpenAL-Soft will be used
(13:35:31.120) [OpenAL] Available mono sources : 255
(13:35:32.592) [Version] INFORMATION : 1.0, Build Date : 30.04.2013 03:17
(13:35:32.888) [MonoGame] INFORMATION : OpenGL version 2.1.8304 Release
(13:35:32.894) [MonoGame] WARNING : GL_ARB_framebuffer_object not supported : will use GL_EXT_framebuffer_object instead.
(13:35:32.897) [MonoGame] WARNING : No S3TC/DXT support : will decompress DXT textures at load time.
(13:35:36.001) [Intro] INFORMATION : First draw done!
(13:35:39.087) [Intro] INFORMATION : Preloading complete.
(13:35:39.356) [Intro] INFORMATION : Changing Intro Screen to : Polytron
(13:35:41.083) [Intro] INFORMATION : Changing Intro Screen to : Trapdoor
(13:35:42.842) [Intro] INFORMATION : Changing Intro Screen to : TrixelEngine
(13:35:44.312) [Intro] INFORMATION : Changing Intro Screen to : SaveIndicator
(13:35:47.418) [Intro] INFORMATION : Changing Intro Screen to : Fez
(13:35:54.135) [Intro] INFORMATION : Changing Intro Screen to : Zoom
(13:35:58.168) [Intro] INFORMATION : Changing Intro Screen to : SignInChooseDevice
(13:35:58.208) [Intro] INFORMATION : Changing Intro Screen to : MainMenu
(13:36:03.140) [Intro] INFORMATION : Changing Intro Screen to : Warp
(13:36:05.650) [Intro] INFORMATION : All components are loaded.
(13:36:05.868) [Unhandled Exception] ERROR : System.InvalidOperationException: Unable to link effect program
at Microsoft.Xna.Framework.Graphics.ShaderProgramCache.Link(Shader vertexShader, Shader pixelShader)
at Microsoft.Xna.Framework.Graphics.ShaderProgramCache.GetProgramInfo(Shader vertexShader, Shader pixelShader)
at Microsoft.Xna.Framework.Graphics.GraphicsDevice.ActivateShaderProgram()
at Microsoft.Xna.Framework.Graphics.GraphicsDevice.ApplyState(Boolean applyShaders)
at Microsoft.Xna.Framework.Graphics.GraphicsDevice.DrawIndexedPrimitives(PrimitiveType primitiveType, Int32 baseVertex, Int32 minVertexIndex, Int32 numVertices, Int32 startIndex, Int32 primitiveCount)
at FezEngine.Structure.Geometry.ShaderInstancedIndexedPrimitives`2.Draw(BaseEffect effect)
at FezEngine.Structure.Group.Draw(BaseEffect effect)
at FezEngine.Services.LevelMaterializer.DrawTrileLights(Mesh m, BaseEffect effect)
at FezEngine.Structure.Mesh.Draw()
at FezEngine.Components.LightingPostProcess.PreDraw(GameTime gameTime)
at System.Action`1.Invoke(T obj)
at FezEngine.Services.TargetRenderingManager.OnPreDraw(GameTime gameTime)
at FezGame.Fez.Draw(GameTime gameTime)
at Microsoft.Xna.Framework.Game.DoDraw(GameTime gameTime)
at Microsoft.Xna.Framework.Game.Tick()
at Microsoft.Xna.Framework.OpenTKGameWindow.OnUpdateFrame(Object sender, FrameEventArgs e)
at System.EventHandler`1.Invoke(Object sender, TEventArgs e)
at OpenTK.GameWindow.OnUpdateFrame(FrameEventArgs e)
at OpenTK.GameWindow.RaiseUpdateFrame(Stopwatch update_watch, Double& next_update, FrameEventArgs update_args)
at OpenTK.GameWindow.Run(Double updates_per_second, Double frames_per_second)
at Microsoft.Xna.Framework.OpenTKGamePlatform.RunLoop()
at Microsoft.Xna.Framework.Game.Run(GameRunBehavior runBehavior)
at FezGame.Program.MainInternal()
at Common.Logger.Try(Action action)

The error in the logfile points to the graphic adapter. As you write that there's no Windows 8 drivers available, you have made sure that you are using the latest one available?

Try the new patch, the changelog seems to include a fix similar to your problem

Thanks for your answer 81RED. There is no newer version available. On the official ADM site I can't even choose my built in adapter and the automatic update application does not find any neither.

The driver might be the reason but I see no way to get another (newer) version. Hi jaron11. You're right. I missed this point but the card definitely doesn't meet the game's requirements :(

Too bad. The game has to wait until I get new hardware...

Thanks for this hint anyway!

Hello cracrayol. Thanks for mentioning it. I tried it but without success. As jaron11 wrote, the missing OpenGL 3.0 support is likely the culprit.

Same here. :(