FFvT3R black screen after intro video.

[RadicalFreedom]

Hi, lovely to see a somewhat alive Freedom Force community

I can't get Freedom Force vs. The Third Reich to run properly. When I start a new campaign, after the first video to finishes, (or after I skip it,) the main menu theme begins again and the game is stuck in a black screen.

How do I fix this?

[BentonGrey]

Howdy RF, and welcome to the community!  You've found the best community on the internet. 

Let me ask you some questions, and hopefully we can get you sorted out.  First, what operating system are you running?  Second, is this a fresh install?  Third, if not, what did you do before this started?  Is this the main FF or a mod?

[RadicalFreedom]

Thank you for your reply

I'm using Windows 8.1. It's the Steam version - I don't think the install is fresh, because I installed an EZ FX 6.0 program from the www.alexff.com site. Additionally I've installed the AFF Mod Tools. Other than that I made a single character using a mix of the Mod Tools' character builder and the ingame character builder.

[BentonGrey]

Ahh, okay.  So, did you ever play the campaign successfully with this install/system?

My guess is that you're running into the difficulties that are common with FF on Win 8, but the good news is, those difficulties can generally be overcome.

First, I'd recommend setting your  shortcut to run as an Administrator, as well as setting it to run in compatibility mode for XP SP 2. 

Second, and this is where I have found a big help in my Win 8 machine, also make a Steam shortcut and set it in the same fashion.  Then, close Steam and launch it again in XP compatibility mode BEFORE you launch FF.

That SHOULD get the game running properly, including letting the campaign launch successfully.

[RadicalFreedom]

Hi, thanks for the help.

Took some days before I had the time to go through the motions. I did as you suggested, but it still doesn't work.

[BentonGrey]

Hmm, that's unfortunate.  I had hoped that would do the trick.  You closed Steam and re-launched it in compatibility mode?  If that isn't working, I suppose you might try downloading a mod and trying its campaign to see if it's specific to your FF2 install or if this is a universal problem.