zandrag: Mine runs fine on NVidia 1070, 1920x1200 res, no compatibility settings needed.
DirectPlay is required to be installed, sometimes odd controllers (especially wireless) cause issues with DirectPlay requiring games. This includes headsets.
Sometimes running dxdiag (should show up if typed into search on windows 10 taskbar) then hitting Save All Information to a text file, looking at errors related specifically with the game exe in that text file will point to some issues (even weird headset/ controller stuff).
Frendy971: Dxdiag show me: Wrong Bucket 217018729, type 1 (sorry if it is wrong but I have it in Italian)
That is not enough to go on.
Note the WER#. Try the game again. Redo the Save all Info thing. Check the WER#. If it is higher, then note what is under Problem signature. That may give a better clue, like listing another exe file.
Note: not everything under Diagnostics is important, I have things about Microsoft Edge in there for some reason. But, I rarely if ever use Edge.
To check if DirectPlay is installed:
PC Settings -> Apps & Features -> Optional Features -> (on right side) More Windows features.
In tiny pop up window, expand Legacy Components, see if DirectPlay is checked. Not sure the italian names on these.
An option (though mine works fine without dgVoodoo2 and with the GoG version)
Checking out the files for Empire Earth, I see it uses the GOG.com DirectX 1-7 wrapper (file properties on ddraw.dll).
You can back that file up, and try dgVoodoo2 files. Though I don't need to, maybe something about your card is not working right with the one GoG has in Empire. ddraw.dll is in both the Empire Earth and the Art of Conquest expansion folders inside Empire Earth Gold folder.
If you are comfortable with regedit, you can remove the configuration settings for the game here:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\SSSI\Empire Earth
First thing to get rid of would be the Game Window Height / Width.
If the game then starts up, make sure to choose Dirext3D Hardware TnL, then your 32bit resolution. Restart and see if it still works. If not, it may be the resolution, and you can try lowering it.
Note: in registry, Rasterizer Name = Direct3D Hardware TnL
pcgamingwiki does state that the Hardware TnL may cuase crashes on certain modern video cards. Here is the blerb fro there:
Certain modern graphics cards may cause the game to crash when using hardware T&L.
This issue does occur in Windows 10
Use dgVoodoo2[2]
Download the latest version of dgVoodoo2.
Open the ZIP file downloaded and copy DDraw.dll and D3Dlmm.dll from the MS folder.
Paste the file into the installation folder.
Start the game.
Go to the video settings.
From the Video Card dropdown menu, select dgVoodoo.
From the 3D Acceleration list, select Direct3D Hardware TnL.
Select your desired resolution from the Screen Resolution list.
Click OK.
Notes
If you use a multi-monitor setup and intend to play the game fullscreen, you'll also need to extract dgVoodooSetup.exe to the folder of your choosing so you can set the display monitor to your primary (See Readme.txt, included in the ZIP file, for more details).
Requires a GPU capable of DirectX 10.1 or higher and Windows Vista (patched with the DirectX 11 Platform Update) or higher.