Solutions to common SC2 problems

[:1]Issue: Game won’t launch, or fails to get past opening movies.

• If running with Windows XP update to Windows Service Pack 3.
• Update to the latest version of DirectX 9. NOTE: Having an updated version of DirectX 10, 11, Vista, or Win7 DOES NOT necessarily mean that your DirectX 9 is also up to date.
• Ensure that anti-virus and anti-malware is set to allow Supreme Commander 2 and Steam to run with full privileges.
• Validate the Integrity of your Game Cache. Select the Game inside of Steam and select properties > Local Files > Verify Integrity of Game Cache. This will ensure all game files match the latest version available on Steam
• If running an Alienware machine with the Alienware lighting effects option enabled, ensure that the Alienware command center is installed.
• Ensure that other games are still able to launch, including launching games through Steam.

Issue: Game has launched previously but no longer successfully launches.
UPDATE: Safemode procedure added in Patch 1.21.
If you are experiencing problems with your display and are unable to adjust your settings, you can now run the game in "Safemode" by:

Right clicking on Supreme Commander 2 in the Steam Library.
Select "Properties".
Select "Set Launch Options" on the General tab.
Type in "/safe" (without the quotes).
Start Supreme Commander normally.
Adjust desired settings, and exit SupCom2.
Remove the above launch option before you start again.

If the above Safemode procedure does not solve your problem, you can then attempt the "Prefs file" solution below:

Move, rename, or delete the game.prefs file to reset settings back to default. A word of caution this will remove any unlocked campaign progress.
The game.prefs file can be following location:
For Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\(UserName)\Local Settings\Application Data\Gas Powered Games\Supreme Commander 2\Game.prefs
For Windows Vista: C:\Users\(UserName)\AppData\Local\Gas Powered Games\Supreme Commander 2\Game.prefs
For Windows 7: C:\Users\(UserName)\AppData\Local\Gas Powered Games\Supreme Commander 2\Game.prefs

Issue: Game Randomly crashes after being in a game for awhile.

Check the RAM on the PC, ensure that none of the RAM has gone bad or is mismatched with different RAM.

Issue: Movies, Menus, In-Game Graphics, Mouse Pointers, or displays are corrupted, stutter, flash, or generally misbehave.

If you have already updated drivers, try temporarily disabling the In-Game Steam Overlay to see if the problem persists.
This can be done from the Steam Library by right-clicking Supreme Commander 2 > Properties > General Tab > Uncheck "Enable Steam Community In-Game".
Disabling this feature does not prevent you from joining Multiplayer Games through Steam using the standard in-game lobbies.
Steam updates this overlay independent of our game patches, so problems eliminated by the above procedure can only be fixed by Steam UI updates and patches.

Issue: In Game Graphics appear with many missing textures often appearing black

ATI Radeon graphics cards can sometimes present a corrupted display after alt-tabbing to a different application. If alt-tabbing is required during play, “Windowed” mode is recommended. A temporary workaround is to change the textures setting, and then change it back.