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Author Topic: SFML programs don't work properly on some specific PCs  (Read 1863 times)

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Mira

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SFML programs don't work properly on some specific PCs
« on: March 08, 2011, 08:32:59 pm »
Greetings, ladies and gentlemen.

I have been using SFML for quite a short period of time, and i like it very much i must say. Though recently i noticed that SFML applications don't work propeply on some computers.

In particular, i noticed problems with graphics subsystem.

I have 4 computers to test SFML applications on:
(1) My main desktop PC, Windows 7 x64. Videocard is GeForce 8800. I use this PC to build programs.
(2) Another desktop PC, Windows XP x86. GeForce 5 series (5200 if my memory serves me well).
(3) A notebook, Windows 7 x64; integrated video: Intel 965 Express Chipset Family.
(4) A netbook (Asus EEE PC), Windows 7 x64; integrated video: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150.
(I omit CPU details cause i don't think it really matters in this situation)

I use SFML 1.6. I compiled it with MSVS 2010 and i link statically.
I build all the projects on (1).
I built a simple SFML test game that has only a white background and a sprite which can be manipulated via arrow keys. I also used sample programs which are included into SFML 1.6 project for testing purposes.

When i launch it on (1) and (2), everything is fine. sf::RenderWindow shows up and i see the test game. All sample programs work perfectly.

However, when i try launching the test game on (3), the computer just hangs. I can't do anything at all, only move the mouse cursor; Windows doesn't react to keyboard, ctrl+alt+del doesn't work, mouse buttons don't work. The only way to finish this was to force shutdown via power button.
I also tried to launch samples from SFML 1.6 project which don't involve graphic subsystem — same thing happens again. Even sound sample.

The situation is a bit better when i launch programs on (4). The test program shows a sf::RenderWindow, but there is nothing inside. I mean, the game sprite is supposed to be there, but instead i get an effect like the program takes a screenshot of everything that is behind that window, and no matter how you interact with that window, it just leaves that "screenshot" in the same place. Resizing, maximizing makes no sense.
Then i tried launching other samples on (4). It seems that the only problem is with graphics, because, for example, when i launch pong sample, it plays a bouncing ball sound, though i don't see any game sprites at all. When i launch sound sample, everything works just fine. When i launch win32 sample, i actually see the window and a quit button, but i don't see the sprites inside the two window rectangles.

So my question is: is that supposed to be happening? As far as i can see, computers with dedicated video cards have no problems, the issue seems to be with integrated video cards. Though nothing at all works on (3), i posted this in Graphics cause i am mostly interested in the behaviour of (4).
I also tried launching dynamically linked programs on every PC, absolutely the same thing happens.

I also found that some people from this forum who have ATI videocards experience sort of similar problems and the real solution for them is to install older drivers. I also read that this would be fixed in SFML 2.0 release, but that's about ATI, and i still want to know if there is any problem with integrated videocards or not.

Or maybe i am doing something wrong?

TechRogue

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SFML programs don't work properly on some specific PCs
« Reply #1 on: March 12, 2011, 03:00:09 am »
I can't be sure, but given that the program works fine on the two nVidia computers I'd say it's the fault of the GPUs on the other two. Intel is really horrible when it comes to OpenGL.

You might try installing the official drivers for your video card if you haven't already. The drivers that come with Windows 7 by default don't support OpenGL acceleration at all, so it might help.