DirectX Games

 
Several of the games on our site are DirectX games including Solitaire, MegaStars, and TripleStars. Most downloaded games and CD Rom games are DirectX games and they normally play faster,smoother, and have better graphics and sound. DirectX games are almost always Full Screen games which makes them easier to see thus less tiring on the eyes. Most online game sites do not have DirectX as they are a little larger and more expensive to develop.
 
To play our DirectX games you must have DirectX installed on your computer and it must be working properly. DirectX comes with all version of Windows since Windows95. However newer versions come out periodicaly so you may want to download the latest version of DirectX. A typical symptom of a DirectX problem is the game crashes or the screen turns Black as soon as you hit the PLAY button. Also the game may crash anytime during game play.
 
There is a diagnostics program that comes with DirectX called DXDIAG. This utility can be used to identify the version number of DirectX that you are currently running. It also allows you to test the individual components of DirectX. Running this test normally identifies any DirectX problem. Click here for information on running DXDIAG
 

Checklist for DirectX problems:

 
(1) Run the DXDIAG diagnostics test and see if that detects any problems. You may also want to download the latest version of Directx as this will overwrite any damaged files in DirectX.
 
(2) Exit all unnecessary tasks or programs before starting a DirectX game. Since the DirectX games are Full Screen games any task or program running in the background, that tries to write to the screen during a game, will probably crash the game. This includes receiving an instant message, virus update, pop-up ads, windows update, disk defrag, and many other type of programs.
 
(3) The popup/spyware  ads have been a particulat problems in the past few month as many players do not realize they are on their computer. We recommend that everyone scan their computers weekly for these popups and any time their computer seems slow or skuggish. There are several software products such as "Spybot", "adaware", etc. that are available for download from the internet. Its not unusual for players to find 200 popups on their computer the first time they scan. Its also not unusual to find new popups on your computer even when you scan weekly.
 
If your DirectX is working properly and you do not have any unnecessary tasks or programs running in the background you should have no problems playing DirectX games.
 
Tournament Games Staff