Can't Get Visuals to Work

[Bwegner]

Hi all!
I recently bought Alive and I am very excited to use it and play with it but unfortunately, the visuals are not working and the only thing I can see are the Breath Spirals and Shape Shifter. I can hear the music on the environment and games and it is reading my HRV but there is nothing to look at/see. I bought a new HP laptop a couple of months ago so I assume it should have the capability to run the games. Any ideas or suggestions?

[Ryan Deluz]

Hi,

It sounds like your computer does not have a dedicated graphics card, and does not support OpenGL 2.0.

Alive may work even if your computer does not meet the minimum video card requirements. If you are unsure if Alive will work on your computer please download OpenGL Caps Viewer from http://www.somaticvision.com/downloads/ ... _Setup.exe and make sure your OpenGL version is 2.0 or higher (on the first tab of OpenGL Caps Viewer, next to OpenGL, it should say OpenGL 2.0 or higher).

Many laptops ship with integrated video cards, which can be unsuitable for games, such as those that are part of Alive.

Even an integrated video card, without dedicated video memory, can often still be made to work with Alive if you update your video drivers to the latest version. Go to your computer manufacturer's website and check for new versions of the video drivers for your computer model.

Best,

Ryan Deluz
Somatic Vision Inc.

[adriancmvd]

Hi Ryan,

I've been looking into a solution for what I believe to be this same problem. I ran your suggested OpenGL Cap Viewer and want to share with you the result, because my case is a bit different.

In my case, the computer was working with alive perfectly. Then there was a systemic problem that the computer tech thought for the best a reformatting of the machine. This proves to me that the graphics card, etc are capable of running the system.
After the operating system and drivers were reinstalled, I installed ALIVE only to find that the visualizers and games window is black. It has the instructions and grapher and audio and UI frame, but no game/visualizer image. Just a black screen.
SO- from what I read in your post, its a version of OpenGL.

I ran the viewer, and am not quite sure which result to report, so I attached this screenshot.

OpenGL Viewer Result

OpenGL viewer.jpg (130.27 KiB) Viewed 5379 times

It looks to me to be "OpenGL 4x - Tessellation".
Please confirm this from the image.

If this is the case, what is my next step to get the visuals back up and running on this computer?

Thanks so much,

Adrian CM Van Deusen

[Ryan Deluz]

Hi,

After reinstalling your system, you don't have the latest drivers. Did you upgrade your version of Windows, or do you have the same version of Windows?

If you have the same version of Windows, the issue is that you need to install the video drivers for your graphics card. Make sure you are not installing Microsoft drivers, you must install the drivers made by the manufacturer of your computer or video card.

If you have upgraded Windows, hopefully your video card manufacturer still supports your video card in the new version of Windows.

Best,

Ryan

[adriancmvd]

Ryan said, "have the same version of Windows, the issue is that you need to install the video drivers for your graphics card. Make sure you are not installing Microsoft drivers, you must install the drivers made by the manufacturer of your computer or video card."

Will refresh drivers, making sure that it's the manufacturer's driver and then will report back.

Thanks,

Adrian

[adriancmvd]

Hi Ryan,

I've gone through this issue with a fine toothed comb. As requested the original manufacturers drivers were installed.
I've attached two images to help you situate yourself in the issue. Remember, this worked before the reformatting.
She is still not getting any image in her video screen. All the frame is correctly showing images and audio is working. It's just the animations which are in a black screen.

I understand that, because it occurred after a reformat, this is not entirely Somatic Vision error, but when all other video drivers are working except the Alive animations, I'm hopeful that you have further insight or time to assist her get her Alive working again. It is the Clinical Edition.

Thanks,
Adrian

[Ryan Deluz]

Hi Adrian,

We can probably help by setting up a remote support session. Can you let me know, is this the same version of Windows that was installed before? Intel embedded video chips are technically NOT supported by Alive. Alive requires AMD, ATI, nVidia or other graphics cards with dedicated memory. Also, it clearly shows you are only supporting OpenGL 1.1, when a graphics card with OpenGL 2.0 support is required.

Regardless of these requirements, we can generally get things working on unsupported hardware, especially as you say it used to work AS LONG AS YOU ARE NOT USING A DIFFERENT VERSION OF WINDOWS THAN YOU USED TO. Many older graphics cards only have perfectly working video drivers with the version of Windows they were created for. Please let me know if a Windows upgrade was performed.

Also, let me know if the laptop has anything other than an Intel graphics driver, as some laptops have Intel + a better graphics card, that they switch between depending on what is needed.

Best,

Ryan