diff -ur blobAndConquer-0.90/src/effects/shadows.cpp blobAndConquer-0.90.new/src/effects/shadows.cpp
--- blobAndConquer-0.90/src/effects/shadows.cpp	2006-10-28 19:34:10.000000000 +0200
+++ blobAndConquer-0.90.new/src/effects/shadows.cpp	2007-05-20 18:40:56.000000000 +0200
@@ -126,6 +126,9 @@
 
 void drawShadow()
 {
+	if (game->shadowPolicy == SHADOW_POLICY_OFF)
+		return;
+	
 	generateShadows();
 	
 	glPushAttrib(GL_COLOR_BUFFER_BIT | GL_DEPTH_BUFFER_BIT | GL_ENABLE_BIT | GL_POLYGON_BIT | GL_STENCIL_BUFFER_BIT);
diff -ur blobAndConquer-0.90/src/hud/options.cpp blobAndConquer-0.90.new/src/hud/options.cpp
--- blobAndConquer-0.90/src/hud/options.cpp	2007-04-24 09:32:01.000000000 +0200
+++ blobAndConquer-0.90.new/src/hud/options.cpp	2007-05-20 19:17:52.000000000 +0200
@@ -445,11 +445,16 @@
 	blood->addItem("Off");
 	blood->addItem("No Stains");
 	blood->addItem("On");
-	
-	shadows->addItem("Off");
-	shadows->addItem("Bob Only");
-	shadows->addItem("Blobs and Enemies");
-	shadows->addItem("On");
+
+	if (graphics->hasStencils)
+	{	
+		shadows->addItem("Off");
+		shadows->addItem("Bob Only");
+		shadows->addItem("Blobs and Enemies");
+		shadows->addItem("On");
+	}
+	else
+		shadows->addItem("Not Available (no stencil support)");
 	
 	decals->addItem("Off");
 	decals->addItem("Low");
diff -ur blobAndConquer-0.90/src/init.cpp blobAndConquer-0.90.new/src/init.cpp
--- blobAndConquer-0.90/src/init.cpp	2007-04-24 09:32:01.000000000 +0200
+++ blobAndConquer-0.90.new/src/init.cpp	2007-05-20 19:13:32.000000000 +0200
@@ -278,9 +278,15 @@
 	
 	glGetIntegerv(GL_STENCIL_BITS, &stencil);
 	
-	if (stencil == 0)
-	{
-		graphics->showErrorAndExit("Stencil Buffering is not supported");
+	/* update queried hasStencils value with the real thing */
+	graphics->hasStencils = stencil;
+	if (!graphics->hasStencils) {
+		printf("Warning: Stencil Buffering is not supported,\n");
+#ifdef __unix__
+		printf("  try changing your X-windows colordepth to 32bpp,\n");
+#endif
+		printf("  disabling shadows!\n");
+		game->shadowPolicy = SHADOW_POLICY_OFF;
 	}
 	
 	/*
@@ -315,8 +321,13 @@
 		exit(1);
 	}
 	
+	graphics->queryStencilSupport();
+	
 	SDL_GL_SetAttribute(SDL_GL_DOUBLEBUFFER, 1);
-	SDL_GL_SetAttribute(SDL_GL_STENCIL_SIZE, 8);
+	if (graphics->hasStencils)
+		SDL_GL_SetAttribute(SDL_GL_STENCIL_SIZE, 8);
+	else
+		SDL_GL_SetAttribute(SDL_GL_STENCIL_SIZE, 0);
 	SDL_GL_SetAttribute(SDL_GL_SWAP_CONTROL, 1);
 	
 	graphics->getAvailableScreenModes();
diff -ur blobAndConquer-0.90/src/system/CGraphics.cpp blobAndConquer-0.90.new/src/system/CGraphics.cpp
--- blobAndConquer-0.90/src/system/CGraphics.cpp	2007-05-04 09:14:36.000000000 +0200
+++ blobAndConquer-0.90.new/src/system/CGraphics.cpp	2007-05-20 19:13:43.000000000 +0200
@@ -19,6 +19,10 @@
 */
 
 #include "../headers.h"
+#ifdef __unix__
+#include <GL/glx.h>
+#include <SDL/SDL_syswm.h>
+#endif
 
 Graphics::Graphics()
 {
@@ -135,6 +139,60 @@
 	}
 }
 
+void Graphics::queryStencilSupport()
+{
+#ifdef __unix__
+	SDL_SysWMinfo wm_info;
+	
+	SDL_VERSION(&wm_info.version);
+
+	if (SDL_GetWMInfo(&wm_info) && wm_info.subsystem == SDL_SYSWM_X11)
+	{
+		XVisualInfo theTemplate;  
+		XVisualInfo *visuals;
+		int i, numVisuals, visualCaveat, stencilSize;
+		long mask = VisualScreenMask;
+		Display *dpy = wm_info.info.x11.display;
+		
+		wm_info.info.x11.lock_func();
+
+		theTemplate.screen = 0;
+		visuals = XGetVisualInfo(dpy, mask, &theTemplate, &numVisuals);
+		
+		hasStencils = false;
+		for(i = 0; i < numVisuals; i++)
+		{
+			const char *ext = glXQueryExtensionsString(dpy, visuals[i].screen);
+			
+			glXGetConfig(dpy, &visuals[i], GLX_STENCIL_SIZE, &stencilSize);
+			
+			if (ext && strstr(ext, "GLX_EXT_visual_rating")) {
+				glXGetConfig(dpy, &visuals[i], GLX_VISUAL_CAVEAT_EXT, &visualCaveat);
+			}
+			else {
+				visualCaveat = -1; /* unknown */
+			}
+			
+			if (stencilSize && (visualCaveat == GLX_NONE_EXT)) {
+				hasStencils = true;
+				break;
+			}
+		}
+		wm_info.info.x11.unlock_func();
+		debug(("Query stencil support: has stencils: %d\n", (int)hasStencils));
+	}
+	else
+	{
+		printf("Warning: Couldn't determine the availability of stencil buffers (no X11 display),\n");
+		printf("  assuming they are available\n");
+		hasStencils = true;
+	}
+#else
+	/* assume stencils are available on other platforms */
+	hasStencils = true;
+#endif
+}
+
 void Graphics::getAvailableScreenModes()
 {
 	debug(("Graphics::getAvailableScreenModes()\n"));
@@ -286,7 +344,10 @@
 
 void Graphics::clearScreen()
 {
-	glClear(GL_COLOR_BUFFER_BIT | GL_DEPTH_BUFFER_BIT | GL_STENCIL_BUFFER_BIT);
+	if (hasStencils)
+		glClear(GL_COLOR_BUFFER_BIT | GL_DEPTH_BUFFER_BIT | GL_STENCIL_BUFFER_BIT);
+	else
+		glClear(GL_COLOR_BUFFER_BIT | GL_DEPTH_BUFFER_BIT);
 }
 
 void Graphics::updateScreen()
diff -ur blobAndConquer-0.90/src/system/CGraphics.h blobAndConquer-0.90.new/src/system/CGraphics.h
--- blobAndConquer-0.90/src/system/CGraphics.h	2007-01-04 18:39:32.000000000 +0100
+++ blobAndConquer-0.90.new/src/system/CGraphics.h	2007-05-20 19:12:40.000000000 +0200
@@ -76,6 +76,7 @@
 		
 		int currentScreenResolution;
 		bool fullscreen;
+		bool hasStencils;
 		float gamma;
 		
 		int redPulseDir;
@@ -85,6 +86,7 @@
 	~Graphics();
 	void destroy();
 	
+	void queryStencilSupport();
 	void getAvailableScreenModes();
 	void setResolution(int i);
 	void resetFPSCount();