Problem Cannot get Orbiter to load at all

Buc Nasty

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I downloaded Orbiter 2016, both HTTPS link and torrent. Tried installing both. I choose typical install in the installer and try to launch any scenario. The sim opens to the splash screen with "Loading..." on the bottom, but never actually loads. I've let it sit for over an hour and nothing. I can't get it to progress no matter what.

Could anyone help me figure this out? Sorry if this isn't the right place to post this btw, new here. Just found out about this and am very excited to give it a try.

Specs;

ASUS TUF B550 Gaming-Plus
Ryzen 5 5600X
32GB DDR4 @ 3200MHz
AMD Radeon 6700XT
1TB Western Digital SN750 Black NVMe
 

gattispilot

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Welcome. Sorry having issues. Are you trying to start the normal graphics or d3d9 version? Can you post the log. It is file named orbiterlog
 

Buc Nasty

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Hi, I was trying to start with normal graphics. I did see the D3D9 page and it said to make sure to get the game running normally before trying to install it. I will post the log, where can I find it? A search of "orbiterlog" on my C: drive didn't yield any results.

Log is attached.
 

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  • Orbiter.txt
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dbeachy1

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Welcome to Orbiter-Forum! From looking at the log, I noticed this:

Devices accepted: 7
000000.000: [ ] RGB Emulation (SW)
000000.000: [x] Direct3D HAL (HW)
000000.000: [ ] Direct3D T&L HAL (HW)
000000.000: [x] Direct3D HAL (AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT) (HW)
000000.000: [ ] Direct3D T&L HAL (AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT) (HW)
000000.000: [x] Direct3D HAL (AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT) #2 (HW)
000000.000: [ ] Direct3D T&L HAL (AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT) #2 (HW)
...
000000.000: Direct3D interface OK
000000.000: Graphics: Viewport: Fullscreen 1920 x 1080 x 16
000000.000: Graphics: Hardware T&L capability: No
000000.000: Graphics: Z-buffer depth: 16 bit
000000.000: Graphics: Active lights supported: -1

So it appears that Orbiter is configured for 16-bit color mode and to not use "T&L" (Transform & Lighting). The first thing I would do is go to the Video tab in the Orbiter Launchpad and select "Direct3D T&L HAL" to enable "Transform & Lighting". Also, as a first test, I would select Windowed mode instead of full-screen. After startup, then, your Orbiter.log file should contain this:

000000.000: [ ] RGB Emulation (SW)
000000.000: [ ] Direct3D HAL (HW)
000000.000: [x] Direct3D T&L HAL (HW)
000000.000: [ ] Direct3D HAL (AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT) (HW)
000000.000: [x] Direct3D T&L HAL (AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT) (HW)
000000.000: [ ] Direct3D HAL (AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT) (HW)
000000.000: [x] Direct3D T&L HAL (AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT) (HW)
...
000000.000: DirectDraw interface OK
000000.000: Direct3D interface OK
000000.000: Graphics: Viewport: Window 1914 x 1171 x 32
000000.000: Graphics: Hardware T&L capability: Yes
000000.000: Graphics: Z-buffer depth: 32 bit
000000.000: Graphics: Active lights supported: 8

Once that works, you can try full-screen mode again if you prefer.
 

Buc Nasty

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Hi, thanks for the reply. For one reason or another the "Video" section of the launcher seems to be gone. It was there the first time I launched it since I changed it to fullscreen, however I now only have the options: Scenarios, Parameters, Visual Effects, Modules, Joystick, Extra and About Orbiter. Screenshot attached.
 

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dbeachy1

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Are you running "Orbiter.exe", or are you running "Orbiter_ng.exe"? If you run Orbiter_ng.exe (which stands for "Orbiter no graphics"), you won't have a Video tab until you install the D3D9 graphics client for Orbiter and activate the D3D9 module in the "Modules" section. Orbiter.exe, on the other hand, runs with the built-in DirectX7 video client -- which is much slower, but usually is fine for a first test.
 

DaveS

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which is much slower,
Not only that but it also doesn't support resolutions higher than Full HD (1920x1080). I have found out myself that selecting a higher resolution than that will lead to crashes, sometimes with the "Initialising 3D environment using a hardware device failed. Try again with a software device." error message.
 

Buc Nasty

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It looks like it was in fact using the orbiter_ng.exe. I just pinned the "Recently Installed" Orbiter 2016 to start menu and it seems it defaulted to that .exe files. Anyways, I changed it to T&L and it loads now, thank you for the help.
 
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