Galactic Civilizations II: Common Issues And Solutions

Here are some common issues and solutions that new players may encounter. If you have a technical or account issue that is not covered by the list here, please email [email protected] directly for assistance, or describe your issue along with the contents of your debug.err file (found in My Documents\My Games\GC2TwilightArnor, GC2DarkAvatar, or GalCiv2, depending on version) in a post here. Please note that the debug.err file is overwritten each time you run the game, so make sure to get a copy of it immediately after your issue occurs.


1. The game opens with a black screen taking up part of the desktop, or opens then immediately closes.

This problem is typically caused by the game being unable to start up at the default resolution in fullscreen mode. This can be resolved by manually editing the prefs.ini file (found in the same location as the debug.err file above), and changing Fullscreen to 0, and/or changing DisplayHeight and DisplayWidth to match your desktop resolution.


2. The game starts but all of the buttons have no text on them.

Sometimes Windows does not immediately recognize the new fonts when the game is installed. This issue can be resolved by simply rebooting your computer after installation.


3. The game works fine up through the new game setup screens, but crashes while generating the galaxy.

There are a few common causes of this issue:

- The localization registry entry is missing, so the game cannot find the data files. This results in a "Danger Will Robinson, no Stars!" message in the debug.err file. It can be solved by use of a registry patch that sets it to English, based on which version of Windows you have: 32 bit or 64 bit. Save the file and run it, agreeing to merge when prompted (you may need to use an Administrator account on your computer to do this).

- One or more custom race setting files have become corrupted. This results in the debug.err file ending on the lines for race creation. Simply removing the raceconfigxml files from the same folder above that contains the debug.err and prefs.ini file will resolve it. Note that this will reset any changes you have made to the races in the new game setup screens.

- Mods are enabled, but the mod files contain errors. As every mod is different, the only way to resolve this is to disable the mods or review them manually to locate the error.

4. The game crashes when attempting to log on to the Metaverse.

Try the workarounds listed in this thread.

5. The main map in the game only ever shows icons, never 3D models.

This is simply a result of turning the Tactical View Zoom Level setting all the way up. At maximum, icon mode is always used, while at minimum, 3D mode is always used. Setting it somewhere in between makes it switch modes at a certain level of zoom, so you see 3D up close but icons further out.


6. You have purchased a retail copy of the game, and would like to update to the latest version.

If you have a retail copy of the game, you can register it here, and download the entire latest version of the game at any time from the Stardock store after that. Unfortunately, we do not maintain standalone patch installers for older builds--you must download the full game. If you have any difficulty registering (the exact version of the game you have is not listed on the registration page, your serial key is in an older format and is not accepted, etc.), please contact [email protected] for assistance.

7. You purchased the game in the past via Impulse (now GameStop), and GameStop has no record of the game for you.

If you purchased the game via Impulse, or from us directly prior to the sale of Impulse to GameStop in early 2011, and you cannot access your GameStop account to download via their app, you should be able to download the game from the Stardock store as above using your old account. If you have difficulty accessing your account, you can reset your password here or contact [email protected] for assistance.