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Old 06-21-17, 09:50 PM   #77
propbeanie
CTD - it's not just a job
 
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Real Life is first, all aspects. This is the "relaxation therapy" session - or it's supposed to be, and not a "diagnostic session"... but...

The Steam version is fine, so long as you know what you have, which we really don't, but we'll assume you got the Uboat missions add-on, correct?? - since you were doing mods. None of those mods run on v1.3... ?? Now, the OS, with a newer machine I'll guess Win10, and if so, probably 64-bit??? But even if it's Win7 32-bit, the same basics apply.

First of all, since it's a Steam game, and it updates itself (Steam that is) all the time, you have to make sure that you manage the SH4 install through Steam anymore, so if you have the game installed in Program Files (x86) or any other Windows "protected" folder, you'll have to use your Steam log-in and manage the install to be elsewhere. Some folks will make a "Games" directory in the root and put it there, or just let the "Ubisoft" folder sit in the root of the hard drive. That way, Steam can manage its licenses and Windows can protect you from yourself elsewhere and not in your game folder.

Since you probably have the UBoat Missions addon, you shouldn't have to worry about the "shortcut" you're using to start the game, but check anyway, and make sure that it's pointing at "SH4.exe" and NOT "GU.exe". Also, right-click on the SH4.exe file in the Ubisoft / Wolves of the Pacific folder (or whatever you named it), and choose "Properties" at the bottom of the list. On the first page of that pop-up ("General"), be sure that the "Read only" tick box is empty. Then, you could click on the "Compatibility" tab, and then click on the "Run this program as an administrator" tick box so that there is a check mark in it. If you'd ever see issues with higher resolutions on your display while playing the game, you could try the "Disable display scaling..." tick box. If all else fails later, you could try a "Compatibility Mode" up towards the top, but leave it as a last resort.

Next, refer to CapnScurvy's Windows10; Large Address Aware; SH4 Install for all sorts of guidance on Windows 10 and SH4 and especially LAA (Large Address Aware), which really helps the newer computers run the older games with the not so old or new mods... much smoother games.

Last but not least: your game saves. Do not overwrite saves. Always create a new Save file when you save the game. You can delete old saves from the same menu in the game if it gets too crowded with confusing file names (mine sure does) - and most important of all of that?? Do ~NOT~ load a saved game from another mod. Say you were playing TMO / RSRDC before, and activate RFB (just supposin') and when you start the game, you look through the saved games list and see an interesting one... you load it, or should I say "attempt to load it", and the game crashes. Sometimes they don't crash right away, and you get to play the game for about 30 minutes or so, then you get a contact... looks like a mess of merchants are coming your way, and you only see one blue line for an escort. "Oh boy!" you think, so you go after them. Either as soon as you target a ship, or the torpedoes are on their way, and about to impact your target when BOOM! CTD!!! You've now cross-contaminated the save folder in at least one location, maybe even the whole thing... Again, do NOT mix mods and their saves. That is why someone who really was looking out for dum-dums like me when they created MultiSH4 (they have a brain they use to think with)... maybe not as ubiquitous as JSGME, but probably should be.
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