If you start a new game, do you have the same problem? In the savegames folder, try making a copy of the BD_ACT4_START folder, and then load that save in the game (the characters would be at level 1, but you can check the graphics).
There could be an issue with different lighting in different areas of the game, or something else region specific, or there could be a problem with the game itself that is progressively getting worse (though I wouldn't think that would effect two different installs of the game, even if you didn't reinstall the gog version or verify local files for the Steam version).

Have you had any problems with other DirectX games? Especially if a new game has the same issue as act 4 does now, and you have not been updating drivers, programs or hardware, the progressive worsening of the graphics problems could be a sign of hardware problems.


There was a similar graphics problem in Divine Divinity that some people ran into, though without the progressively getting worse part. Perhaps some suggestions for that issue may help with BD...

Try running the game in Win 95 or XP compatibility modes.

In the 'Beyond Divinity' install folder, edit the config.div file (in Notepad, or other text editor) and add/edit the line rgb 555 and change the number to something else, like 565. If the line isn't there, go into the graphics options and change the gamma, or something, and it should be added, or you can do so manually (just not as the last line in the file, as the game expects that line to be blank, and ignores it).

Game screen greened out

Graphical Issue, Indoor textures turning black?

Indoor graphics issues

Rainbow Shadows and Uncooperative Interiors

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Thank you very much for the response. I was never able to successfully get the game running on either gog.com or steam, as it would give me the same error message either way. (http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3111571 ). So I am currently playing it off of a hard copy I ordered from amazon.

To answer your questions, I am currently playing the game In Windows XP compatibility mode, (this was necessary in order to correct a previous problem with the game making it run unbearably slow because it wasn’t very compatible with Windows 8).

I have never had any previous problems with DirectX games.

When I start a new game, I do not have the same graphics problems as before, indicating to me that the corruption is in the save file.

Also, I’m afraid I don’t understand what you mean when you suggest: “In the savegames folder, try making a copy of the BD_ACT4_START folder, and then load that save in the game (the characters would start at leven 1, but you can check the graphics).” I did make a copy of the BD_ACT4_START folder located in the savegames folder, but I am unsure as to where I am supposed to paste it in order to comply with the instructions you suggested.

Finally, when I try to edit the “rgb 555” line in the config.div folder (using notepad), I am denied access.

Anyway, thank you very much for your time and the suggestions. Tomorrow night when I have some time, I will check out the 4 links you provided and see if I can get some solutions there. I look forward to trying Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga, and Dragon Commander. Take care.


BTW, I found Larian Studios on facebook and just joined. Sweet. Thanks for all the updates.

Paul Snow

If you still have either digital version installed, you could try copying the configuration files from the disk version to the download version and see if that helps.

. There is also a possible item corruption bug in the disk version playing in Vista or later; usually playing the game in Win 9x or 2000 compatibility modes will avoid the problem; not sure about XP.

. If you wish you can zip your latest save and email it to me (raze@larian.com).

. There are folders called BD_ACT#_START in the savegames folder, but the game does not list them in the save/load window (they are only used when starting a new game or changing acts). If you browse there in Windows Explorer and make a copy of the folder, though (so it has a different name) it will show up in the load window. Just paste in the same folder, or right click drag and drop and select Copy here (or left click, drag somewhere in the savegames folder where it is not over another save folder, hold the Ctrl key down and drop).


Each save is a separate subfolder in the '..\Beyond Divinity\savegames' folder.
Under Vista/7/8, depending on how the user accounts are set up, if you install the game to the default Program Files path, Windows can create separate savegame folders for each user, and then map that folder to the game's savegame folder (so it will just see the saves for the relevant user).
C:\Users\ %account name% \AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files\Larian Studios\Beyond Divinity\savegames

. Did you install the game to the Program Files path? Try moving the file to the desktop, edit it and move it back.

Generally it is better to avoid installing games to the Program Files path. Sometimes you can avoid Windows restricting what you can do in that folder by installing or running a program as administrator, but overall it is easier to just use a c:\games folder, or something.

I just tried this with the disk version of the game running, and had no problem editing the file. Unlike Divine Divinity, though, changing the rgb value negatively effects the graphics quality (greenish yellow tint over the screen; dithering effect on portraits / UI / buttons). You can try it to see if it makes a difference, but I don't think it would be a solution.

Hello Raze,
Thank you very much for your timely response and I am very sorry it took me a few weeks to reply. I have not uninstalled Beyond Divinity yet because I haven't gotten around to it, (and to be honest, I just don't want to. It's such a fun game). Anyway, I did e-mail you the files from my savegame folder, and thank you for taking the time to look at them. I didn't zip the file however because I am SO computer illiterate that don't even know how to do that, (I only just owned my first computer a few years ago and I am in my mid thirties now!). Thanks for having a look at the savegame files. Maybe you can identify what the problem is but I'm not holding my breath.

Anyway, regarding your suggestion to copy the configuration files from the disk version to the download version, the two download versions won't even let me start the game, giving me an error message when I attempt to. So even if I could transfer the configuration of my disk version to the download versions, it wouldn't do any good since I can't get into the download versions to begin with.

Also I will try your suggestion regarding copying the BD_ACT#_START folder into my savegame file tonight or tomorrow when I get a chance. Thank you again for your time. Take care.

Sincerely,
Paul Snow

I started replying that large attachment sizes can be an issue (I think my ISP still has a 10MB limit), but just as I was doing so got your email. Zip files (or other archive formats) also have a built-in integrity check, which would identify any corruption in transit.

FYI, you can zip a file or folder by right clicking on it in Windows Explorer and selecting 'Send To | Compressed Folder'.


Your save works fine here, in the disk and GOG version of the game, so the problem must be with the game itself or a conflict / problem with something else in your system.


I copied the following from a topic about the disk version of the game. I don't recall if I ever updated the checksum files for the download version of the game. It may look a little complicated at first, but basically all you would need to do to check your game files would be to download the DVDSig file, extract it somewhere, copy the program and 1.49 checksum file into the Beyond Divinity folder, run the program and click Verify.

~~ disk version ~~

The install program should report any problems, such as CRC errors, during install. However, if it fails to do so, or a file becomes corrupt after installation, the integrity of the files can still be verified using a program such as (194KB [url=http://www.efg2.com/Lab/Mathematics/FileCheck.ZIP]download) or [url=http://www.ozemail.com.au/~nulifetv/freezip/freeware]DVDsig[/url] (10KB, included with the md5 files below).

FileCheck is a small freeware program (no install required) to calculate the CRC-32 values (the cyclic redundancy check used in zip files) of a number of files. It can also compare a previously calculated CRC file with a set of files/folders.
DVDsig is a very small freeware program (also no install required) to calculate or verify the MD5 values (similar to CRC-32, but more accurate) of files. The program is not as flexible as FileCheck, given its specific purpose design, but it works fine for this, and is simpler to use.

After doing a clean install of BD and rebooting, I deleted the files in the '..\Beyond Divinity\DirectX9' folder (since they are not needed if/once DirectX 9 is installed). Then I used FileCheck to create a crc file of the game folders, installed the 1.45 patch and did so again, both before starting the game (I repeated this procedure with the 1.47 patch).
With the 1.49 patch I did a clean install as above, but also deleted the '..\Beyond Divinity\protect.dll' file and the 'StarForce Driver Installation' folder, before using both DVDsig and FileCheck to create md5 and crc files, respectively.

If you compare the appropriate CRC/MD5 file to your install, it should tell you if there are any corrupt files. You do not need to worry about moving any saved games out of the 'savegames' folder or deleting the files in the dynamic folders, since new files will not be tested by either program, just those listed in the verification files.
If you have started the game and changed any options, there will be differences reported in the config.div and keylist.txt files. The '..\Beyond Divinity\Editor\dgen_themes.000' file is also changed once the game is started.
Some time after the initial release for the game, the intro video was updated, so there may be a difference reported in the '..\Beyond Divinity\Static\intro.mpg' file, if you have CDs produced after that point. If you can see and get past the intro video, you can safely ignore any 'errors' reported for the this file.

There are several files in the Beyond Divinity folder created when the game is started or options are changed, including init.cfg, mapids.000, persist.dat, sinfo.000, slashed-d3d6.cfg, slashed.cfg, sound.cfg and starlog.txt. A couple other files are also added, but another crc/md5 file including these wouldn't help much, since most or all are system or option dependent, so these files would usually be reported as different regardless of being valid or corrupt.
At least the config.div], slashed.cfg and slashed-d3d6.cfg files in the Beyond Divinity folder can be deleted, and the configuration program / game will recreate them the next time it is started.

The crc and md5 files below are based on the original release UK English version; the North American version should be the same, but the Australian version will have differences (it uses a different copy protection).

Beyond Divinity DVDsig (293 KB) - program and md5 files

* Extract the zip to a temporary location, then copy/move the DVDsig.exe file and the dvdsig.md5 file from the appropriate folder to the 'Beyond Divinity' folder. The filename for the md5 file is set, so each version included in the zip file (the 1.1 original release and 1.49 patched game, as well as one for the 1.49 patch file itself) is in a separate subfolder.
* Run the DVDsig.exe file, then click on 'Verify' in the toolbar.

OR;

Beyond Divinity CRC files (192 KB) - patch versions 1.1 and 1.49
old CRC files (190 KB) - older patches, 1.45 and 1.47

* FileCheck expects the files to be in the original locations to verify, so if you installed BD to a location other than the default (C:\Program Files\Larian Studios\Beyond Divinity), open the CRC file in Wordpad (for example), and do a search-and-replace so the file/folder paths match your install.

If your CRC/MD5 values match, it is not the game itself, but likely a conflict with something else in your system or a problem in the saved game folder. When examining the list of 'errors' either program produces, potential problem files would be those with an error trying to read, or with a large size difference (especially zero byte files) from the known good install.

Hello, I thought I would add my two cents to this thread (Dead as it is) with my own experience with presumably the same corruption.

My system is a windows XP.

Graphics card is a NVIDIA GeForce210

The processor is a AMD Athlon LE-1660

I had loaded up the game seeking to load a game I had started with a different build, and it was still in the starting area, past the escape tunnel that lead to the building with the imp you can "rescue" from his master, and that table with all that extra meat available.

It loaded, and there was a whole lot of corruption, the lighting was heavily darkened, colors were messed up, textures and graphics popping out.

I tried starting a brand new game, but it still had the same corruption, and I tried to load up my later game which was saved in the arachnid forest, near the Imp village just a ways into the game past the initial escape, and everything was fine.

I had a hunch, and tried traveling from the latest save file from the arachnid forest all the way back, into the citadel area. The lava fields seemed fine, but when I went into one of the side buildings, it had the same graphical corruption.

That's my two cents, hope it brings some insight hopefully.