Strange freezing issue, but only with FFXI (new graphics card, driver issue?)

[Igi]

Same issue here. I've got a Gigabyte HD6950. Has a solution been found for this yet?

[Glamdring]

this isn't exclusive to Radeon cards, my nVidia 9400 GT has the same issue, I've done a few tweaks and the best I've been able to accomplish is to get my lock-out time pushed into the 60-90 minute range. This started with the roll-out of the Nvidia 3-series drivers, but I can't find an archive that has the last working driver in the 2s. Now that I know current ATI cards are not supporting FFXI I'm inclined to just buy another MMO. I know 14 runs on both but why would I put $ into it when the host company has made clear that they aren't going to keep products up to date with existing Tech? It's not even like this card is new, it's a 4 year old computer on the original card.

I've heard some rumors that it is related to the current version of Direct X. That makes sense; leave your game incompatible with one of the 10 most widely distributed programs on earth, and required for almost every other multimedia application so there really ISN'T and option to NOT install the current direct X.

The truly maddening issue is that since 14 runs without issue on both company's cards current drivers and current direct X they clearly know how to make it run. The only conclusion I can draw is that they don't WANT 11 to remain viable, and that's just sad. I love this game, love the character I've put so much effort into, and the people I've chosen to associate with. I'd hate to have to quit, but when I'm not allowed to play is there really another choice? Seriously, I'd love an answer here...

[Meevinman]

Lol, it's funny, cause i've only been playing for a day or two after 2 years of being absent. Played all day yesterday without a single problem occurring, been playing all day today. Was moving through Windy walls half an hour ago when it happened, rebooted my PC and it happened pretty much straight away, knew that this was not a good sign.

Will be quite mad, if it happens again.

Running a 6970+6950 flashed CFX

[Apkallu]

Just started back on FFXI a few weeks ago after being gone for 2 years.
I have an ATI 6970 and experience regular freezing which requires a hard reboot. The longest FFXI has run without crashing was 8 hours and the shortest was 2 minutes(froze in my mog house). I have been looking for a solution for weeks and have tried dozens of fixes with no luck. Does anyone know if someone was able to make a 6970 run without freezing?

Also I must say I am really disappointed in SE for not updating the comparability list in OVER A YEAR!?!
You guys have a new expansion coming out soon and people don't even know what hardware this game will run on...
I love FFXI but it looks like hardware compatibility is what will kill this game in the future.

[Ultrabored]

Has anyone been able to fix this? Came back to ffxi after a 1 year break and its still crashing randomly in the same way...
(hd6950 2gig)

[Neekzz]

Same here Ultrabored, came back to XI while I wait for the relaunch of XIV and am disappointed to see this has not been addressed yet. Alot of people updated to this series card when XIV was originally launched and can no longer play XI without random system lockups. Any DEV out there want to give a responce on this, too many people are dealing with this for it to be ignored. My PC only has two games on it, XI and XIV...

[Ziyyigo-Tipyigo]

List of cards/OS/drivers tested and confirmed by S-E:

http://www.playonline.com/ff11us/env...tml?pageID=win

[Neekzz]

I have seen the list of supported cards but I have also seen the recomended specs for XIV. What I am wondering is if they plan to update the list and begin to support the new cards that are needed to play XIV:ARR. It will hurt the game if people playing XI have to choose between the two.

[Ziyyigo-Tipyigo]

It will hurt the game if people playing XI have to choose between the two.

PS3 players are already facing that choice.

[SE_Chris]

We do apologize for continued problems you are having with the game. The startup issue you are experiencing could be caused by a video card or display related problem. When you encounter a video card or display related problem, please check to make sure of the following:

1. You have a compatible video card, check system requirements on the game packaging orwww.playonline.com
2. You have the latest video drivers in the correct language and for the correct operating system.
2a. nVidia - http://www.nvidia.com
2b. ATI - http://www.ati.com

Adjust the Resolution:
To change display resolutions, use "FINAL FANTASY XI Config" before running the PlayOnline Viewer. To access this program, access the Start menu from Windows, and go to "Programs," "PlayOnline," "FINAL FANTASY XI," then "FINAL FANTASY XI Config." By altering the background graphics and overlay resolutions, you can run FINAL FANTASY XI at higher resolutions. 64MB of texture memory is recommended for these settings.

Frame Rate Issues:
If you are having issues with the frame rate, try changing the following options in the FINAL FANTASY XI Configuration Tool.

"Screen Size" Tab
- Overlay Graphics Resolution (Default setting: 640 x 480)
- Background Resolution (Default setting: 512 x 512)
The frame rate will increase by decreasing the size of both resolutions.

"Textures" Tab
- Texture Compression (Default setting: Low)
- On-screen Maps (Default setting: Uncompressed)
The frame rate may increase by adjusting these settings.
(Results may vary by hardware.)

"Effects" Tab
- Enable bump mapping (Default setting: Unchecked)
- Environmental Animation (Default setting: Normal)
The frame rate may increase when you disable bump maps and environmental animations.

Turn off bump mapping in the FINAL FANTASY XI Config utility:
1. Click on Start, navigate the Start menu and go to Programs or All Programs, then PlayOnline, then FINAL FANTASY XI, and click on FINAL FANTASY XI Config.
2. Click on the Effects tab, and un-check Bump Mapping.

Turn on Fog Table Emulation in your video card software.

These steps vary, based on which card you have. The software provided by the video card manufacturer is used to make setting changes. You should be able to find something called Fog Emulation Table, and you want to make sure that is turned on.

If there are still players that continue to have issues after trying these fixes, please create a new thread with your exclusive issue and a full DirectX Diagnostic so that we can investigate this issue further. Thanks again.