Forumer Thinkpadder found a solution to a problem several people were having with AoE3. The problem often looks like this:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=ddgdnc7r_6fxf64v
Typically, the only thing people with this problem have in common is that they all use the Intel 965 Chipset-type onboard graphics card. While AoE3 claims not to support the chipset, there is a way to get around that so you can still enjoy the game, if only on lower settings.
Here is whatThinkpadder found:
Ex-Seraph Cheesewiz - Former WICH Webmaster, AOE3H Webmaster, & RTWH Staff, HeavenGames LLC
World_in_Conflict_Heaven || Age_of_Empires_III_Heaven || Support_HeavenGames || The_Playpen || Do_The_Right_Thing
Typically, the only thing people with this problem have in common is that they all use the Intel 965 Chipset-type onboard graphics card. While AoE3 claims not to support the chipset, there is a way to get around that so you can still enjoy the game, if only on lower settings.
Here is what
I did some more research and it turns out that the chipset DOES work with the game. What you have to do is:
Make sure AOE isn't running anything on your laptop (i.e. best done after rebooting)
Browse to %User Profile%\My Documents\My Games\Age of Empires 3\Users (or Users2 if you are running TWC)
Delete the "NewProfile.xml" or "NewProfile2.xml" file
Reboot
Launch the game
Then you can reset the shader settings under Tools-Options. I initially started with low shader settings, then ramped them up to High (not highest), and the game looks good.
World_in_Conflict_Heaven || Age_of_Empires_III_Heaven || Support_HeavenGames || The_Playpen || Do_The_Right_Thing