Stuck at first loading screen error. Can't play

I just bought a beta key for this game and as soon as I log in and select my character. it just stays on the loading screen. I saw somewhere that you can minimize the game and open back up and it will fix it, but when i do that the screen just turns black and the sound keeps cutting in and out.

On the log in menu at the top it says that my graphics card can't render ocean water. That might be whats causing it, but people have said that they could still play it. I have a Radeon x1950 pro card that can run a lot of modern games including Diablo 3 at a smooth frame rate.

It would be great if someone could help me soon so I can play with a few friends.

http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-forum/248

oh oops.