[REL] Fall of the Rising Sun Ultimate, full release

[propbeanie]

Originally Posted by PongoDeMer

"There is a house in New Orleans,
It's called the (fall of the) Rising Sun,
And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy,
And God, I know I'm one."

I have been spending the last 24 hours getting this mod (v1.004a_EN) to function. I have achieved partial success only. The problems I still have are the following.

1) The Submarine School doesn't function. The training scenarios boot up, but whenever I try to do anything - such as go to the bridge - everything vanishes, and I am left stranded on my desktop.

2) Exactly the same happens with the museum.

The good news is that stuff like quick missions and war patrols seem to work properly.

Please take note that I have loaded and activated the mod correctly, using JSGME 2.6. I know this, because I have used it to load and activate other mods. Also take note that I have been doing this with completely clean installations from Steam of SH4 plus U Boat Missions. In fact, I probably hold the world record for uninstalling and re-installing the game from scratch; with all folders deleted, including the SH4 folder in documents!!

Could anyone out there please help? Take particular note that I am a 61 year old semi-geriatric, NOT some 14 year-old computer whiz-kid, who can do all this in his sleep, so any replies will have to be phrased in simple jargon-free English, such as "Extract the sooper_dooper_snafu mod to the Silent Hunter 4 MOD file."

Thanks in advance,

Pongo de Mer.

You young whipper-snappers...

Originally Posted by propbeanie

Where did you install the game, in other words, what is the path? ie: "C:\Progamr Files (x86)\Ubisoft etc..." or whatever. Refer to the mod's Support folder, specifically the "Install Notes For the Various Versions of SH4 in Windows.pdf" for detailed guidance.

While it's been a bit of time, refer also to CapnScurvy's Windows10; Large Address Aware; SH4 Install posts and thread for Win10 specifics with SH4 and LAA.

You have to be careful where you install the game. It cannot be in a "Program Files" folder. You have to delete the contents of your Save folder ("C:\Users \UserName \Documents \SH4" unless you moved it), and you need to properly set LAA on the SH4.exe file, which sometimes requires setting the file to the proper Write attribute authority.

Therefore, for proper help, let us know where you installed the game to, whether you emptied the save folder, and if you have LAA properly set. I'll bet at least one of those items is not correct, and maybe all three... Also, be sure and look in the Support folder of the mod, or if the mod is activated, in the Support folder of the game, and refer to "Install Notes For the Various Versions of SH4 in Windows.pdf" for the boring details. You could also use the "01_FotRSU_TableOfContents.pdf" to start up a list of most of the pdf in that folder. Depending upon how your pdf reader is installed, you can use it as the "Home" link to all of the other files. Another way to start that is to use the "01_FotRSU_Support_TOC.bat" file in the root of the mod, or of the game if the mod is activated. It will start that "01_FotRSU_TableOfContents.pdf"...

Let us know about your install though!

PS: Do you hear this:



or this?:

[propbeanie]

Originally Posted by the beast

This is a save and "oops I screwed up" reload of the file. Sorry if that came off as rude. I was submerged and there were no airplanes. About 20-15 ships I'm gonna guess. It was kind busy up-top. I always name my save games a unique name. Usually the name of the patrol area with a "1" next to it for the number of saves in the area. For example, if it was Area 11-B I was ordered to patrol in, I would name the file " Area 11-B I" and if there was a second save in that area, I would save it as "Area 11-B II". No when it was done doing what it was doing I immediately went back to my game. The read only box is not checked. I have used the LAA exe on the SH4.exe multiple times. No, I don't even use replays. The size of the file is 2.77 MB...

Re-starting of the game, and/or re-booting the computer and re-starting the game might work, but then again, it might not. Corruption of the Save file is corruption. Somewhat similar to a scratch on an LP, putting a penny or a quarter on the cartridge head arm might allow the player to "force" its way through the grooves, avoiding the skipping of the bad area, but it is still a kludge, and there is still that error in there. That might be all she wrote for your Saved game. We do hope we have found the combination of items that are causing these issues for some of you guys, a big one being if a airplane spawns into the 3D realm while inside of a "mountain" of terrain near your submarine, while responding to either your submarine having been detected, or your submarine detecting the enemy. We think we found a slight work-a-round for this, by creating smaller, closer AirBases nearby, but I am now having a time of it balancing the AirStrike response... It doesn't matter much at all if you can't continue the game from a bad save or from having been sunk by airplanes that now make it to the scene in less than 10 minutes, ya know?...

[Texas Red]

Re-starting of the game, and/or re-booting the computer and re-starting the game might work, but then again, it might not. Corruption of the Save file is corruption. Somewhat similar to a scratch on an LP, putting a penny or a quarter on the cartridge head arm might allow the player to "force" its way through the grooves, avoiding the skipping of the bad area, but it is still a kludge, and there is still that error in there. That might be all she wrote for your Saved game. We do hope we have found the combination of items that are causing these issues for some of you guys, a big one being if a airplane spawns into the 3D realm while inside of a "mountain" of terrain near your submarine, while responding to either your submarine having been detected, or your submarine detecting the enemy. We think we found a slight work-a-round for this, by creating smaller, closer AirBases nearby, but I am now having a time of it balancing the AirStrike response... It doesn't matter much at all if you can't continue the game from a bad save or from having been sunk by airplanes that now make it to the scene in less than 10 minutes, ya know?...
__________________

Yes I get it. I think I'll just try previous save games and see if they work.

[Texas Red]

Yes my previous save-games did work.
Thanks for the help.

[WH4K]

This campaign started with me taking a new Gato boat out of Mare Island. Do I have to go all the way back there?


eta: Apparently yes.


It is very hard to see the special "tilted anchor" that designates home port, in higher resolutions. Suggested way to make the map icons a little larger? They're really small at 2560x1440, although the game looks darned good otherwise.


I wasn't seeing the special port icon, so for a while I had no idea where my home port was. Would be nice is there was some way to tell, other than that map icon. Maybe a note on the boat's info page.

[propbeanie]

@ the beast - glad you are going once again.

Originally Posted by WH4K

This campaign started with me taking a new Gato boat out of Mare Island. Do I have to go all the way back there?


eta: Apparently yes.


It is very hard to see the special "tilted anchor" that designates home port, in higher resolutions. Suggested way to make the map icons a little larger? They're really small at 2560x1440, although the game looks darned good otherwise.


I wasn't seeing the special port icon, so for a while I had no idea where my home port was. Would be nice is there was some way to tell, other than that map icon. Maybe a note on the boat's info page.

The "New Construction" includes "Shakedown" missions for roughly 3 months worth of time at Mare Island - those missions may not function correctly either. You do have to come back to there until you transfer. You should be able to transfer after just a couple of weeks, if desired, to any port that has the Gato, which should be Pearl and Midway initially. The boat info you see in the game is "static", so therefore does not change over time. Is the 2560x1440 resolution your monitor's "Native" setting, or what Windows would show as "2560x1440 (recommended)", and that's what the game is set to? Is that a laptop you are on?

[WH4K]

No problems completing the shakedown activities, actually.

I was able to transfer to a more reasonable base (Midway) as soon as I got back to Mare Island.

One "uh-oh" thing I noticed on my last several saves, from the vicinity of Midway on: all of the 3D dial indicators on the boat stopped working. They were all stuck at default positions. Only the HUD engine telegraph, depth indicator, and compass were still accurate. Probably because I was naughty and used some (well, a lot of) time compression.

I've since headed out on a new patrol, and all the 3D dials are working properly again. I'll keep an eye out from now on.

Don't own a laptop, playing on a desktop. 2560x1440 is the monitor's native resolution (Dell U2715H, 27" diagonal). I suppose scaling issues are to be expected, given the age of the game.

Thanks for your help!

[propbeanie]

Did you happen to notice any "Survivor" icons in the water or on land around / near any landmass you went by? Airplanes are causing most of our issues it seems, and while we initially blamed the Loadouts on the airplanes - and there were issues there - it seems it is AirBase spawned planes that are not flying to their full potential ( ) and crash quite often. These cause the "Survivor" assets to spawn, and some of those have issues also. We are working on both aspects, and hope to have something before too long. Time Compression does not help, and we might dial that back again... Both Midway and Pearl seem to be common factors in the issue with the dials and Saves not working.

[Zoltar23]

First thing I want to say is that I have the steam version of Sh4+U-boat missions

Been having a bit of a time recently.

I actually managed to install this mod correctly and get it running, until steam decided to uninstall it off the menu for some reason.

Flashfoward a day I have managed to install the mod all over again. Would have taken sooner, however my partners internet is slow, as well my HDD seems to be topping off at 100% rather easily. Then again managed to get my laptop (asus x550ze) back to a level of "working order".

Installed the game, made sure it was version 1.5, then installed jsgme, then this quite amazing mod, then ran LAA. However, when starting up the game, it goes through the intro all well and fine, however once it gets to the loading screen, the load bar stops after only filling below a quarter.

Its all rather strange, because before steam took the game off my menu, it worked well while on steam, but now kaput.

[propbeanie]

Steam can be rather persnickety. The number one issue for the game though is still Windows. If you install the game (or any older "legacy" game) in a Windows "program files" folder, Windows will get first crack at rolling back any changes you've done to the game folder. With Steam, it uses what it calls a "Library" folder, which is under the Steam install by default, which happens to usually be installed in "C:\Program Files (x86)". You want to have your Steam Library folder outside of a "program files" folder, so this usually involves either moving "by hand", or re-installing Steam to a folder of your own creation. I have "C:\Games \Steam..." for my install. You could consult "Moving a Steam Installation and Games" on Steam's Support Knowledgebase site for some help with that.

After that, what I do anymore, is after I install the game, I will copy the game and "paste" it elsewhere, and use that copy for a mod. This leaves the original install alone for "safe-keeping" for the future. For the Steam game, I will navigate into "C:\Games \Steam \SteamApps \common \Silent Hunter Wolves of the Pacific..." and then use the Windows key combination of <Ctrl><A> which selects all of the files and folders inside a folder. Then use <Ctrl><C> to copy the files. Navigate back up to either the "Games" folder or the "common" folder and create a new folder such as "SH4FotRSU", or whatever you want to name it to help you remember what it is. Go into that new folder, and then use <Ctrl><V> to paste what you copied in the Steam game folder. It will take a few minutes to bring the roughly 5 gig of the game into the new folder. This is the copy you will mod. Copy JSGME into there, and anything else you want / need to use. You can open your Steam app on the computer, log-in to your account, and then use the Steam menu to Add a game", "Add a non-Steam game", "Browse" or navigate to your new folder and select the SH4.exe file and "Open" in the Steam dialog. It will then have a check-mark and be sitting at the top of the Add A Game list. Click "Add Selected Programs", which will take you back to your Steam games start list. You can select the SH4.exe file in the left-hand window then, and right-click on it and select "Properties" from that context menu. You can then select all of the text in the box with the "sh4.exe" name, and change that to something meaningful, such as "FotRSU" or whatever you want to show on the Steam menu. Press the <Enter> to commit the change. Click the "Close" button and you are back at the Steam start menu. You can right-click that newly re-named icon again, and this time choose "Manage" on the menu, and then "Add Desktop Shortcut", if you want one. Doing this will then allow the Steam licensing to run, and start the game. I have had issues for the past year or more with Steam copies not starting unless I run it through the Steam app.

A rather important step in activating mods on SH4 correctly, is to empty the Save folder prior to playing the new mod, or prior to playing Stock after de-activating mods. The "Save" folder by default is "C:\Users \UserName \Documents \SH4", in which "UserName" is what you use to log into Windows with, and "Documents" might be "My Documents". Open the SH4 folder there and delete everything below there. That will re-set your screen resolution settings, as well as gameplay and audio settings, so be sure and go into there and set things the way you want / need to.

For more detailed help with this, or to use MultiSH4 to create yourself a new Save folder, refer to "Install Notes For the Various Versions of SH4 in Windows.pdf" found in the mod's Support folder, or in the game's Support folder if you have the mod activated. You can also start the "01_FotRSU_TableOfContents.pdf" file to open a list of pdf files you can read for the game and mod.

[torpedobait]

Originally Posted by Zoltar23

First thing I want to say is that I have the steam version of Sh4+U-boat missions

Been having a bit of a time recently.

I actually managed to install this mod correctly and get it running, until steam decided to uninstall it off the menu for some reason.

Flashfoward a day I have managed to install the mod all over again. Would have taken sooner, however my partners internet is slow, as well my HDD seems to be topping off at 100% rather easily. Then again managed to get my laptop (asus x550ze) back to a level of "working order".

Installed the game, made sure it was version 1.5, then installed jsgme, then this quite amazing mod, then ran LAA. However, when starting up the game, it goes through the intro all well and fine, however once it gets to the loading screen, the load bar stops after only filling below a quarter.

Its all rather strange, because before steam took the game off my menu, it worked well while on steam, but now kaput.

In addition to Propbeanie's excellent advice, be sure you uncheck the Read Only box and apply it to all folders and files in your Steam directiory version of SH4. Only then should you run Large Address Aware. Running LAA before undoing the Read Only settings may keep your game from using all the memory that it otherwise could. Experience is a great teacher!

[WH4K]

Originally Posted by propbeanie

Did you happen to notice any "Survivor" icons in the water or on land around / near any landmass you went by? Airplanes are causing most of our issues it seems, and while we initially blamed the Loadouts on the airplanes - and there were issues there - it seems it is AirBase spawned planes that are not flying to their full potential ( ) and crash quite often. These cause the "Survivor" assets to spawn, and some of those have issues also. We are working on both aspects, and hope to have something before too long. Time Compression does not help, and we might dial that back again... Both Midway and Pearl seem to be common factors in the issue with the dials and Saves not working.

Sorry, can't really help here. I generally don't get anywhere near landmasses, though I see lots of aircraft out at sea. They become rather annoying the closer I get to Japan or its territories, which makes sense.


I have had crashes nearing Pearl and Midway, sure. Sometimes it took several times crashing, re-loading, making a bit of progress, and repeat, before I could get close enough to dock. But it seems random. No problems docking on my last 2 patrols.


May have to do with the total distance traveled and/or patrol duration. I haven't had the "crash when nearing home port" since I switched to Midway as my home port.

[WH4K]

Some time today I started noticing a very annoying graphical glitch. The general animation will "hitch," or briefly pause, for no obvious reason, every few seconds.

It's super distracting. Screws up the entire game.


I've rebooted a couple of times, no change.


Guess I'm reinstalling yet again. Don't know what else to do.

[propbeanie]

My Windows 10 laptop will do that, and as CapnScurvy mentions somewhere in his Windows10; Large Address Aware; SH4 Install thread, before playing the game, make certain that all Windows Updates sitting in the que to download, are downloaded and installed. The shtinking system will continually fone home Elliot... Plus, you might have a bunch of $#!+ running in the background stealing clock cycles...

[WH4K]

Just updated Nvidia drivers - no difference yet. Did a round of Windows updates this morning - for all I know, one of those introduced the problem.


The video hitching is happening in all games, actually. Super irritating.


I don't know what else to try at this point but reinstalling Windows 10. Yay.