First off, what operating system are you using and which version?

I'd guess it's a flavour of Microsoft Windows, but is it: XP, Vista, 7 or 8?

My graphics card is apparently an Intel GMA- but I'm totally techno-illiterate....

Yea - I started a thread about this problem a couple of days ago - http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/sh...d.php?t=443801

Here is the info on your graphics card --> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_GMA <--

From the description on Wikipedia, it may not be the best choice to play STO on.

To ID your operating system, follow the instructions listed here
--> http://support.hubris.net/knowledge_base/006.html <--

For your reference, my upgraded video card and larger power supply set me back $260. If you spent around this on your computer, you may/will have difficulties displaying this game properly unless you heavily nerf the video options.

I thought about reinstalling the game but if this has more to do with someone on my laptop not being compatible with the game, then reinstalling probably will be a bad move.

I think you may be right. I posted on the other thread here:

http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/sh...31#post6641531

I was starting to worry that maybe my laptop was about to have a mobo failure or something.

It's been happening to me more frequently in the new content. Not always though. Ker'rat just bluescreened me.

I certainly hope that this issue, and the subsequent hard resets I have to perform to recover, aren't damaging my laptop in any way.

This game was marketed as being compatible with Intel HD graphics. My core i3 could handle medium just fine. Now, even with every setting on it's lowest value, my graphics driver resets repeatedly.

I hope that Cryptic gets on the ball and resolves this issue, or I'll stop buying $20 worth of failbox keys each month to sell on the exchange. A good deal of the player base is likely on laptops, and all low and mid range Intel laptops run HD graphics.

Unless they want to make the game incompatible for a fair number of the player base, they need to fix this.

My driver is updated, the game has been reinstalled, the on demand patching has been disabled, settings have been dropped essentially to 16-bit. It's not me, Cryptic. It's you.

To venture a guess, the issue is related to either: lighting changes, camera zoom/movement, particle effects, or those new "bitmap nebula" backgrounds added to some space maps.

I realise it doesn't narrow it down much, but it's a place to start.

If you want me to LTS don't break the game for me.

TL;DR: Fix it or I'll stop throwing money at you.

Seetu Aresson
Captain
USS Condor NX-200000

Windows 7.

Intel Core i3 CPU

How would I find what kind of graphics card I have?

Is it a laptop?

Then it's almost certainly got Intel HD graphics, which is integrated into the Core i3 chipset.

If it's a desktop, it still may be.

On the bottom right hand corner of the screen, you'll see lots of little icons in the tray. Click the little arrow there to expand the tray if you need to, and if you see a little tiny widescreen monitor icon colored in a black/blue gradient, it's Intel HD Graphics.

If you see something else, it's.. something else.