FoFiX 3.120+ - black screen

[Dadigger]

i thing its a "SSE2" or "atholn" xp problem .. // i try so many thing and it wont work either

my system

Athlon xp 2800+
1 gb ram
nforce2
GF 6600 le
win xp sp3 whit frameworks 3.5

[BigBadLou]

I PM-ed the authors last week about the problem and gave them the link to this thread but so far none of them replied to me or in this thread.
I would hate to think that they don't care that their newest version is broken.
I keep offering help but nobody seems to care. *shrug*

Lou

[death_au]

We care. Well, I do at least.
I've been going through possible causes for this in my head for weeks and weeks and keep coming up blank. I cannot see what was changed between 3.100 and 3.120 that would make this happen. And it doesn't happen to everyone. I'm yet to see it happen on any computer I've tried. It's pretty hard to fix a problem you can't see. (Pun completely unintentional)

[akedrou]

We care. Well, I do at least.
I've been going through possible causes for this in my head for weeks and weeks and keep coming up blank. I cannot see what was changed between 3.100 and 3.120 that would make this happen. And it doesn't happen to everyone. I'm yet to see it happen on any computer I've tried. It's pretty hard to fix a problem you can't see. (Pun completely unintentional)

This is pretty much exactly what's going on for all of us.

[slantyr]

did any of you install on top of an old version?

i think i had this problem and had to start from scratch

if an empty fofix.ini didn't fix it you should uninstall/delete and redownload

exactly what version did you download?

get one of the 7-zip files available and extract it to your desktop. can you play from there?

[BigBadLou]

I installed 3.100, 3.210 2.4 and 3.120 2.6 side by side with fresh INI files (even deleted them), both 3.120's manifest the same behavior.

What 7 zip files do you have in mind?

Lou

[Nutty]

What 7 zip files do you have in mind?

Slantyr seems to be wondering, among other things, whether this might be a permissions issue, or something to do with your Program Files directory or wherever you've installed the game.

He meant the .7z files here. He wants you to extract the game manually (from a .7z rather than using the .exe installer) into a folder on your desktop, which should ensure you don't have a permissions problem.

(.7z is the file extension for a compression format, like .zip. If you don't have one, you'll need a compression program that supports the 7-zip format, like this one.)

[Gittarero]

I am having this same problem too. Black main menu screen but can navigate into the game or options screens still. I spent ages changing settings, searching the web etc. and come up blank.

I too have an AMD Athlon processor. That's got to be something to do with what's causing this! I'm running AMD Athlon XP 2200+, 1.8ghz, 512 mb RAM (don't laugh).

PLEASE CAN ANYONE ELSE HAVING THIS PROBLEM POST IN THE TOPIC!! The more people who are having this problem the more likely it is to find a solution!

[daStorm]

It might indeed be related to Athlon XP.
I have two PCs here:
One with AMD Athlon BE 2150 (X2-type AM2 dual core 2x2,1 GHz) which plays fine.
The other is an AMD Geode NX 1750 (XP-type socket A single core 1,4 GHz) which has the black main menu.

Additionally, after installing the Dragonforce theme by Ironman24, the options menu also disappeared and I only saw the third menu level (display options, for example).

btw: My log tells me this:

Code: Select all

(D) Initializing pygame.mixer & audio system at 44100 Hz.
(D) Initializing video.
(W) OpenGL extension ARB_fragment_shader not supported - shaders disabled
(D) 1 joysticks found.
(D) 1 MIDI inputs found.


...

Code: Select all

(D) View: Push: LoadingScreen
(D) View: Pop: LoadingScreen
(D) View: Push: MainMenu
(D) View: Push: Menu
(W) OpenGL extension ARB_fragment_shader not supported - shaders disabled
(D) View: Pop: Menu
(D) View: Pop: MainMenu
(D) View: Pop: Menu


Needless to say. The shader warning does not appear in 3.100 logs.

[slantyr]

I installed 3.100, 3.210 2.4 and 3.120 2.6 side by side with fresh INI files (even deleted them), both 3.120's manifest the same behavior.

What 7 zip files do you have in mind?

Lou

as nutty said, i wanted you to try the archive and extract it manually to eliminate the possibility of installer and other issues

also when i posted earlier i had assumed that the .ini would be in the main fof folder with the .exe, it isn't anymore

you will find it in the hidden application data folder

go to Start/run and then type %appdata% to bring up the folder. then delete any information related to fof

the next time you start fof it will create a new one for you so no worries.

if it works take this new one and put it in the folder with the .exe and windows will use it from there
the benefit of this is that you can have as many different versions of fof/fofix as you want as long as they each have their own .ini

example- i have six different versions of fof/fofix that all work fine and have their own settings

the processor shouldn't be the problem, i have a single core 1.9 gig amd athlon xp 939 slot that ran fof fine. sadly i can't test this on 3.120 because the motherboard died but it still shouldn't be the problem. the processor in any computer is simply a means to an end and is either fast enough or isn't

[Gittarero]

I installed 3.100, 3.210 2.4 and 3.120 2.6 side by side with fresh INI files (even deleted them), both 3.120's manifest the same behavior.

What 7 zip files do you have in mind?

Lou

as nutty said, i wanted you to try the archive and extract it manually to eliminate the possibility of installer and other issues

also when i posted earlier i had assumed that the .ini would be in the main fof folder with the .exe, it isn't anymore

you will find it in the hidden application data folder

go to Start/run and then type %appdata% to bring up the folder. then delete any information related to fof

the next time you start fof it will create a new one for you so no worries.

if it works take this new one and put it in the folder with the .exe and windows will use it from there
the benefit of this is that you can have as many different versions of fof/fofix as you want as long as they each have their own .ini

example- i have six different versions of fof/fofix that all work fine and have their own settings

the processor shouldn't be the problem, i have a single core 1.9 gig amd athlon xp 939 slot that ran fof fine. sadly i can't test this on 3.120 because the motherboard died but it still shouldn't be the problem. the processor in any computer is simply a means to an end and is either fast enough or isn't

Sorry but you're wrong. Its not because we installed with the installer, or that the ini isn't in the fofix folder. It IS something with the AMD XP processor that doesn't cooperate with opengl and I would put money on it.

My fofix.log has the shader errors too...

(D) Checking MIDI output ports for a wavetable or synth for sound generation...
(D) MIDI output port count = 2
(D) MIDI Output port 0 found: Creative Sound Blaster MPU-401
(D) MIDI Output port 1 found: Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth
(D) GameEngine class init (GameEngine.py)...
(D) FoFiX v3.120 Final starting up...
(D) pygame version: 1.9.1release-svn2575
(D) Initializing audio.
(D) Audio configuration: (44100, -16, 2)
(D) Initializing pygame.mixer & audio system at 44100 Hz.
(D) Initializing video.
(W) OpenGL extension ARB_shader_objects not supported - shaders disabled
(D) 0 joysticks found.
(D) 1 MIDI inputs found.
(W) MegaLight\sounds\ failsound.ogg not found -- using general failsound.ogg instead.
(W) MegaLight\sounds\starpowerready.ogg not found -- using starpower.ogg instead.
(W) MegaLight\sounds\crowdcheers.ogg not found -- using data\sounds\crowdcheers.ogg instead.
(W) MegaLight\sounds\staractivate.ogg not found -- using starpower.ogg instead.
(W) MegaLight\soundsattleused.ogg not found -- using starpower.ogg instead.
(W) MegaLight\sounds\stardeactivate.ogg not found -- sound disabled.
(W) MegaLight\sounds
escue.ogg not found -- using starpower.ogg instead.
(W) MegaLight\sounds\coopfail.ogg not found -- using out.ogg instead
(D) Default animated stage for MegaLight theme = Normal
(D) Ready.
(D) 8 drumscw sounds found in sounds: drumscw1.ogg - drumscw8.ogg
(D) 6 guitscw sounds found in sounds: guitscw1.ogg - guitscw6.ogg
(D) 6 guitscw sounds found in sounds: guitscw1.ogg - guitscw6.ogg
(D) 6 bassscw sounds found in sounds: bassscw1.ogg - bassscw6.ogg
(D) View: Push: MainMenu
(D) View: Push: Menu
(W) OpenGL extension ARB_shader_objects not supported - shaders disabled
(D) View: Pop: Menu
(D) View: Pop: MainMenu
(D) View: Pop: Menu

[death_au]

My fofix.log has the shader errors too...

Menus do not use shaders. Anywhere, anytime. The problem with menus not displaying has nothing at all to do with shaders.

People with this problem: even though you can't see the menus, are you able to get into the actual game at all? (Song playing, etc) and if so, can you see anything?
I'd suggest a different theme than megalight, just so you can see if it at least shows stages or something.
...also, I have no idea if this information will even help, but having some information is good.

[slantyr]

the game doesn't care where the ini is

my suggestion only benefits you if you want multiple versions

the problems your having are unique to your situation so we need to isolate

i'm trying to help you get to the point where the bug report is fixable

if your having problems because of a bad .ini it's impossible to diagnose

if your system can't handle the shaders you'll get that message every time ,but the game will still play

[luciuskarf]

Same error here =/
My PC is an Athlon XP 1700+

FoFiX 3.120 Final - Megalight theme:

Main Screen:

Submenu:

Ingame:

Compare below:
FoFiX 3.100 Final - 8-Bit NES theme

FoFiX 3.120 FInal - 8-Bit NES theme

My log (3.120):

(D) Checking MIDI output ports for a wavetable or synth for sound generation...
(D) MIDI output port count = 2
(D) MIDI Output port 0 found: Sint. softw.tab. sons wave MS G
(D) MIDI Output port 1 found: MPU-401
(D) GameEngine class init (GameEngine.py)...
(D) FoFiX v3.120 Final starting up...
(D) pygame version: 1.9.1release-svn2575
(D) Initializing audio.
(D) Audio configuration: (44100, -16, 2)
(D) Initializing pygame.mixer & audio system at 44100 Hz.
(D) Initializing video.
(D) Compiling shader "stage" from data\shaders\lightning.vert and data\shaders\lightning.frag.
(D) Compiling shader "sololight" from data\shaders\lightning.vert and data\shaders\lightning.frag.
(D) Compiling shader "tail" from data\shaders\lightning.vert and data\shaders\lightning.frag.
(D) Compiling shader "tail2" from data\shaders\rockbandtail.vert and data\shaders\rockbandtail.frag.
(D) Compiling shader "notes" from data\shaders\metal.vert and data\shaders\metal.frag.
(D) Compiling shader "neck" from data\shaders\neck.vert and data\shaders\neck.frag.
(D) Compiling shader "cd" from data\shaders\cd.vert and data\shaders\cd.frag.
(D) 1 joysticks found.
(D) 1 MIDI inputs found.
(D) 4 guitscw sounds found in themes\8Bit NES\sounds: guitscw1.ogg - guitscw4.ogg
(W) 8Bit NES\sounds\starpowerready.ogg not found -- using starpower.ogg instead.
(W) 8Bit NES\sounds\staractivate.ogg not found -- using starpower.ogg instead.
(W) 8Bit NES\soundsattleused.ogg not found -- using starpower.ogg instead.
(W) 8Bit NES\sounds\stardeactivate.ogg not found -- sound disabled.
(W) 8Bit NES\sounds
escue.ogg not found -- using starpower.ogg instead.
(W) 8Bit NES\sounds\coopfail.ogg not found -- using out.ogg instead
(D) 4 bassscw sounds found in themes\8Bit NES\sounds: bassscw1.ogg - bassscw4.ogg
(D) Default animated stage for 8Bit NES theme = 8-bit
(D) Ready.
(D) 8 drumscw sounds found in sounds: drumscw1.ogg - drumscw8.ogg
(D) 4 guitscw sounds found in themes\8Bit NES\sounds: guitscw1.ogg - guitscw4.ogg
(D) View: Push: MainMenu
(D) View: Push: Menu
(D) View: Push: Menu
(D) View: Push: ControlActivator
(D) View: Pop: ControlActivator
(D) Starting server.
(D) Connecting to host 127.0.0.1.
(D) View: Pop all
(D) View: Pop: MainMenu
(D) View: Pop: Menu
(D) View: Pop: Menu
(D) View: Pop: MainMenu
(D) Session #1 connected.
(D) View: Pop: Menu
(D) View: Push: Lobby
(D) Connected as session #1.
(D) 1 phrases taught.
(D) 2 phrases taught.
(D) Learned about World.CreatePlayer, 1 phrases now known.
(D) 1 phrases taught.
(D) Learned about World.PlayerJoined, 1 phrases now known.
(D) Learned about World.StartGame, 2 phrases now known.
(D) 2 phrases taught.
(D) 3 phrases taught.
(D) 4 phrases taught.
(D) 5 phrases taught.
(D) Learned about World.GameStarted, 2 phrases now known.
(D) View: Pop: Lobby
(D) Learned about World.SceneCreated, 3 phrases now known.
(D) Song select submenu position tuple: (0.10000000000000001, 0.074999999999999997)
(D) Learned about World.EnterScene, 4 phrases now known.
(D) Learned about World.SceneEntered, 5 phrases now known.
(D) View: Push: SongChoosingSceneClient
(D) Songlist artist colors: (0.50196078431372548, 0.50196078431372548, 0.50196078431372548) / (0.0, 0.0, 0.50196078431372548)
(D) song_cd_xpos found: None
(D) song_cdscore_xpos found: None
(D) song_list_xpos found: None
(D) song_listscore_xpos found: 0.825
(D) song_listcd_cd_xpos found: None
(D) song_listcd_cd_ypos found: None
(D) song_listcd_score_xpos found: None
(D) song_listcd_score_ypos found: None
(D) song_listcd_list_xpos found: None
(D) Dialogs.loadCollection() function call...
(D) View: Push: LoadingSplashScreen
(D) 3 phrases taught.
(D) Learned about Scene.ControlEvent, 3 phrases now known.
(D) Song.getAvailableLibraries function call...library = D:\Gutar Hero 3\Donwloads\FoFiX 3.100 final\data\songs\Rock Band II\Tier 1
(D) Dialogs.libraryListLoaded() function call...
(D) Dialogs.py: Finished inserting blank spaces in self.songs.
(D) Dialogs.py: Finished filtering doubled blank spaces in self.songs.
(D) Dialogs.songListLoaded.
(D) View: Pop: LoadingSplashScreen
(D) View: Push: SongChooser
(D) 6 phrases taught.
(D) Learned about Scene.ControlData, 6 phrases now known.
(D) View: Pop: SongChooser
(D) Retrieving sections from: D:\Gutar Hero 3\Donwloads\FoFiX 3.100 final\data\songs\Rock Band II\Tier 1\Paramore - That's What You Get\notes.mid
(D) Practice start position retrieved: 0.0
(D) Retrieving parts from: D:\Gutar Hero 3\Donwloads\FoFiX 3.100 final\data\songs\Rock Band II\Tier 1\Paramore - That's What You Get\notes.mid
(D) MIDI Type identified as RB
(D) View: Push: ItemChooser
(D) View: Push: Menu
(D) View: Pop: Menu
(D) View: Pop: ItemChooser
(D) View: Pop: ItemChooser
(D) View: Push: ItemChooser
(D) View: Push: Menu
(D) View: Pop: Menu
(D) View: Pop: ItemChooser
(D) View: Pop: ItemChooser
(D) 4 phrases taught.
(D) 5 phrases taught.
(D) Learned about World.DeleteScene, 4 phrases now known.
(D) 7 phrases taught.
(D) 8 phrases taught.
(D) Learned about World.SceneDeleted, 7 phrases now known.
(D) Learned about World.CreateScene, 5 phrases now known.
(D) Learned about World.SceneLeft, 8 phrases now known.
(D) View: Pop: SongChoosingSceneClient
(D) GuitarSceneClient init...
(D) View: Push: LoadingSplashScreen
(W) Extra GuitarSceneClient was instantiated, but detected and shut down. Cause unknown.
(D) [4, 2, 3, 7, 8, 6, 5]
(D) Simple tails used; complex tail loading error...
(D) GuitarScene keysList: [[64, 256, 1024, 4096, 16384, 128, 512, 2048, 8192, 32768]]
(D) loadSong function call (song.py)...
(D) Retrieving parts from: D:\Gutar Hero 3\Donwloads\FoFiX 3.100 final\data\songs\Rock Band II\Tier 1\Paramore - That's What You Get\notes.mid
(D) MIDI Type identified as RB
(D) Retrieving notes from: D:\Gutar Hero 3\Donwloads\FoFiX 3.100 final\data\songs\Rock Band II\Tier 1\Paramore - That's What You Get\notes.mid
(D) No song.ini setting found speficying early_hit_window_size - using automatic detection...
(D) Basic RB1/RB2 type MIDI found - early hitwindow of NONE is set as handicap base.
(D) Last note (number 3) found for player 0 at time 213433.592000
(N) No song-specific stage found
(D) Valid background found, index (0): default.png
(D) Practice background filtered: practice.png
(D) Valid background found, index (1): stage1.png
(D) Pause text / selected hex colors: #ffffff / #008000
(D) Pause text / selected colors: (1.0, 1.0, 1.0) / (0.0, 0.50196078431372548, 0.0)
(D) View: Pop: Menu
(D) View: Pop: LoadingSplashScreen
(D) 6 phrases taught.
(D) Learned about World.EnterScene, 6 phrases now known.
(D) View: Push: GuitarSceneClient
(D) View: Push: Menu
(D) 9 phrases taught.
(D) 10 phrases taught.
(N) Connection lost.
(D) View: Push: MessageScreen

[DoctorM]

Upgraded from Alarian to FoFiX tonight. Small window with black screen. I navigate and here the menus changing. I could probably get the game running if I could see it.

Tried dropping the Alarian ini into the directory and renaming it to FoFiX.ini. All it got me was a full screen of black.

Athlon XP processor here as well. Maybe it is the problem. Are new higher level SSE instructions being utilized now?