I had the same error and fixed it.
Try to play around with the options.
For my own graphic settings (ATI Radeon 4770 on Linux), I use this options:
Render Quality / Video Mode
* Enable LuaShader support - yes
* Use Pixelbuffer objects - yes
Render detail:
* Max simultaneous particles - 2000
* Max simultaneous nano particles - 2000
If you use Spring Lobby, you need to click "Switch to expert mode".