Graphics Failures

Up one category: FAQ

Problem

• Graphics card and/or software on user’s computer is not appropriate for Goodblox

What Happens

• Goodblox crashes during game play and reports a graphics error
• The user is not able to play any game, in either solo or online mode
  • Example Message: “Graphics failed to initialize”
• Roblox writing is weird and looks like it's in another language

Why it Happens

• Computer does not have the latest version of DirectX (Goodblox requires v9 or later)
• Graphics card does not have the latest drivers
• Graphics card is not supported by Goodblox (rarely the case)
• User has changed Goodblox graphics settings

What to Do

Try the following, one step at a time. After each step, see if the problem is still there. If it is, keep going.

Reset Goodblox Graphics

This is only appropriate if you can actually start Goodblox without crashing

1. Open Goodblox Studio
2. Open the Tools menu, and click on Settings
3. Click OK to proceed
4. Click the "Reset All Settings" button

Test Your DirectX Package

If you have Windows XP Service Pack 2 or Windows Vista, you probably have DirectX 9. Just in case, do the following:

1. Start > Run > dxdiag
2. Click on the "Display" tab
3. Click "Test Direct3D" button
4. Walk through all the diagnostics, allowing them to complete
5. If they don't get up to and through DirectX 9, then Goodblox won't work – let support know how far it gets

Upgrade DirectX if Necessary

If you don’t have the latest version of DirectX, then you can try upgrading directly. First, if you have Windows XP, update to Service Pack 2 or later. This is a good idea anyway. If you still don’t have DirectX 9 or later, update that from the website: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/179113

Lower Your Display's Color Quality

It's possible your graphics card can't support 3D rendering at the color quality you use for normal desktop operation. You can try lowering the bit depth to 16 bits, to see if that helps. Under Windows XP:

1. Right click on the desktop, and click "Properties"
2. Go to the "Settings" tab
3. Set your "Color quality" to "Medium (16 bit)"

Under Windows Vista: If your are running Windows Vista successfully on your machine, this is unlikely to be your problem.

Upgrade Your Graphics Card Driver Or Graphics Card

If you have DirectX9, but get an "incompatible driver" error when running the diagnostic tool, then you either have a graphics card that's too old, or a graphics driver for that card that is out of date. First try updating the graphics driver for your card: How do I install/update my graphics card driver?. If that doesn't work, then the card is too old and you'll need a new graphics card to play Goodblox.

Contact Support

Once you have tried all of the above, contact support at [email protected]. And be sure to tell them that you followed the instructions on the wiki.