Help! - "Failed to Initialize Graphics" Error (MZ)

[Wavelength]

Hi all - really hoping someone can help me with this, because it's making it impossible to test any of my work in RMMZ.

This only started happening two days ago (March 17), but every time I try to Test Play one of my games, or run one of my games from the Deployed Project folder, the game crashed before loading with the message "Error: Failed to Initialize Graphics." This is a completely new error to me; I was working and testplaying in MZ just fine for months beforehand. I am using version 1.2.0 (I believe I had this version prior to March 17, but I'm not sure). Testplay still works fine for me in RPG Maker MV. I am running a Windows 7 PC.


This happens with both existing projects and with new, completely clean projects, but one of the weirdest things is that it doesn't happen when I download and attempt to play other people's completed games from this forum (those run just fine for me). Additionally, this also doesn't happen when I Deploy my game and send the package to a friend (who doesn't have MZ); he can play my clean project just fine. I honestly don't know what to make of this, since I can play other peoples' games and they can play mine, but I can't play my own.

Spoiler: Screenshots Showing Directories where I run games from

Running my own game:

Running another person's game:

I cannot view the developer console for any additional error information, as the game client crashes before the console becomes accessible. I was able to find some files named "debug" deep in the directory of the MZ folder within Steam with text like the following messages; there were many lines but only the numbers were different on each. I can't understand these messages and don't know whether they're relevant nor whether they were generated before or after the errors started happening:

Spoiler: Messages from 'Debug' File

[0921/043650.343:ERROR:settings.cc(325)] Settings version is not 1
[0921/055400.017:ERROR:settings.cc(325)] Settings version is not 1
[0921/060236.446:ERROR:settings.cc(325)] Settings version is not 1

Here is everything I have tried so far - nothing has worked. If you guys suspect I may not have done something right, I'm willing to try it again, but I'm hoping someone can give me ideas for other logical steps to try before I am forced to take drastic steps like reformatting my entire computer or buying a new PC.

• I have tried rebooting my computer several times - no change.
• I have tried uninstalling RPG Maker several times, both from the Steam interface and from the Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel, and reinstalling through Steam after rebooting - no change.
  • I have attempted to reinstall the MZ demo to see how it would work without using Steam, but as my trial has expired I cannot access the program to testplay or deploy.
• I have tried creating new, clean projects - no change.
• I have Verified the Files for RMMZ using the Steam tool - verification completed with no errors found.
• I have used the Windows tool to check for updated drivers for my graphics card (AMD Radeon HD 5700 series). Windows confirmed all drivers were already up to date.
  • I have not tried uninstalling/reinstalling the drivers from AMD's website yet - would this help?
  • Any other devices that I might need to update the drivers for??
• I have tried searching through the Registry Editor for any registry entry that includes "RMMZ", "RPGMAKERMZ", or "RPG Maker MZ", deleting them, then uninstalling and reinstalling again - no change.

Since most of the work I'm doing in MZ is making plugins, which need to be tested for errors every step of the way, this is a complete roadblock to making anything and I'm willing to try anything feasible to get back on track. Any thoughts, suggestions, or even grief counseling will be sincerely appreciated. You might be saving me hundreds of hours of headache or thousands of dollars.

 

[AeroPergold]

I also get the same error for playing in the HTML distributions of any of my MZ games.

 

[Shaz]

Have you had any windows updates recently (just prior to the start of the problem)? Any browser updates?

 

[bgillisp]

@Shaz That was my thought too, but they are using windows 7, which no longer get updates. But on that thought...

Try selecting restart on your PC. That will force windows to close down everything, reboot and start over. Shutdown oddly enough isn't a true shutdown anymore so sometimes the way shutdown is programmed can cause issues if no restart has been done in a while.

 

[Dev_With_Coffee]

Try run with WebBrowser.

Method 1:
Open RPG Maker MV > Help > Contents:
RPG Maker MV > Documentation > Local Server Setup

Tutorial: [ISS (Windows Vista/7)]

Method 2 (No installation is required):
https://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?threads/fix-error-failed-to-load-data-actors-json.124240/

 

[Shaz]

Does any of this help?

[SOLVED] Unable to Initialize Graphics System - Driver Easy

Your game will fail to initialize graphics system if the graphics driver is oudated or there's a compatibility issue. Get it quickly fixed with these following methods.

www.drivereasy.com

 

[Wavelength]

Thank you very much for the ideas so far, everyone. They were defintiely worth trying. @Shaz @bgillisp @Dev_With_Coffee I appreciate it big time.

I tried Restarting my PC rather than shutting down (with, and without, the uninstall). No change.

No Windows 7 updates since January 2020. I checked my browser updates - Chrome (my main browser) had a version that came out on March 12. I don't think anything would have changed on Mar 17, but I suppose it's possible I might have restarting Chrome that day? IE and Firefox hadn't been updated in years. Just in case, I tried updating them and trying once again to Testplay my game - no change. I couldn't successfully roll back Chrome to an earlier version, so uninstalling it is one option on the table, though I seriously doubt that's responsible for the error.

Tried running in Compatibility Mode - no change. I'll try the last solution in that interesting drivereasy doc tomorrow.

@Dev_With_Coffee I have to admit I don't really understand how Javascript is working way behind the scenes. It looks like most of what you've linked is very useful, but focused mostly on HTML targets. Do you believe that those methods are likely to help me as well with MZ games where Windows is the deployment target or I'm testplaying within the program? I'm counting on your judgement here; if you think it's likely to help even without an HTML target then I'll certainly try it out tomorrow.

 

[Dev_With_Coffee]

MZ is WebGL or Canvas too, so it sure works too.
If the problem is something in Windows it is still a little difficult to find out without having access to your computer.

 

[Wavelength]

MZ is WebGL or Canvas too, so it sure works too.
If the problem is something in Windows it is still a little difficult to find out without having access to your computer.

That does make sense. Thanks very much for clarifying; I will try those techniques as soon as I can!

 

[Wavelength]

Great news!! My MZ playtests are working again. What ended up working was downloading legacy beta drivers for my Graphics card from the manufacturer's site - in this case the "Radeon Software Crimson Edition Beta".

Oddly, several days ago I had tried doing a full reinstall of the "normal", stable drivers that had been working fine for so long, and doing that produced no change (still got the Failed to Initialize Graphics error). So it was shocking that these legacy beta drivers did something different (my guess is that it disabled/bypassed something in the stable drivers that wasn't playing well with something in the packaged games), but hey, not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth!

I'm so glad to have that egg cracked (or restored as the case may be) and be able to get back to my plugin-making!! Thank you, everyone, for your suggestions here.

@AeroPergold It might be worth checking if your graphics card manufacturer has an entirely different set of drivers available you could use (create a restore point on your computer first!), though given that it's only happening with the HTML target for you, it could definitely also be one of the other solutions from this thread (like IIS) that ends up doing the trick.

 

[Shaz]

Sounds like a reason to buy a new computer to me ... just sayin'

 

[Wavelength]

Sounds like a reason to buy a new computer to me ... just sayin'

Not gonna lie, the temptation's there! But I'm very much into the "waste not, want not" mindset, so I ride my stuff until the wheels fall off (and the doors fall off and the chassis comes apart and I'm basically Wile E. Coyote holding onto the steering wall and gliding along the air simply because I haven't looked down yet).

 

[Dev_With_Coffee]

From your own experience, use a backup system, external hard drive or cloud.
Seriously, I lost everything, and the worst thing happened to me twice.

 

[mfexplorer]

Sadly someone I gave my game URL to had the same issue. Must be something to do with some PCs and their graphic card drivers, not the game itself.

 

[ATT_Turan]

Must be something to do with some PCs and their graphic card drivers, not the game itself.

I think that was established in post #10, where the OP's problem was solved by installing an older version of their graphics card drivers

Weird stuff happens sometimes with drivers and interactions with specific pieces of software.

 

[mfexplorer]

Yes but there is no way I'm getting the person at the other end to do this work because he doesn't care that much. I just wanted to show him something. I read about the solution, too.

 

[benos]

I'm on safe mode until I get new monitor, same thing happened, so whether getting a new monitor. I got another monitor/tv that dad suggested to use, which is a lcd tv that can be used for pc as well, it's big. I don't know. But I'll give it a try. It might help me get out of safe mode and use rpg maker mz properly again.