[TEC] Annoying bug is back

[Bubblehead1980]

I still get a lot of CTD's after attacking convoys and task forces and breaking contact. This had become manageable as I would simply save and reload, and it was no problem other than sometimes would not give me credit for all the ships I sunk but didnt bother me. I knew what I sunk.

Now its started doing it again and the saves wont reload, they crash to desktop when I try to reload. One did reload, but then had the annoying bug where the gauges, sonar all are stuck in the 12 o clock position. Any ideas?

[torpedobait]

Originally Posted by Bubblehead1980

I still get a lot of CTD's after attacking convoys and task forces and breaking contact. This had become manageable as I would simply save and reload, and it was no problem other than sometimes would not give me credit for all the ships I sunk but didnt bother me. I knew what I sunk.

Now its started doing it again and the saves wont reload, they crash to desktop when I try to reload. One did reload, but then had the annoying bug where the gauges, sonar all are stuck in the 12 o clock position. Any ideas?

That pretty much disappeared for me when I made sure my current SH4.exe was under Large Address Aware. I also took the precaution of downloading Smart Game Booster (4th Edition, I believe) and run it before starting SH4 (any variety). It closes off a number of Applications and Windows processes and services that are not needed to run the game, and turns them back on when SH4 closes. It gives the maximum amount of memory, which I felt was part of the problem with incomplete save files. BUT, and there is always a BUT, it is just my theory that seems to stand up in practice. Also, and this may be silly, but when I hit the Save button, I watch the disk activity light on my machine. I don't hit the Resume or Exit buttons until all noticeable activity likely related to the Save action have stopped. It only takes a few seconds, but I like to think I am giving the system enough time to complete writing out the save files.

Just my process that seems to work for me...

[CapnScurvy]

Torpedobait's answer of giving the game "time" to finish doing what it needs to do is a good one. On my slow Windows XP computer it takes about 5 minutes to load the Fotrs Ultimate Museum. I've actually timed it (what else do you do besides twiddling your thumbs). Many times I use the Museum for checking models, then exit to Windows to do something with the model. I notice it may take several minutes for the computer to stop its "churning" after leaving the Museum before the computer gets back to normal. It's my opinion, the game saves takes the same road, requiring time to finish its business.

This is from my [TEC] Windows10; Large Address Aware; SH4 Install thread:

Tips for stable gameplay:

1. Do not add additional mods to game play unless you are 100% sure they are compatible with the modifications you're presently using. All kinds of stability and gameplay related issues will come into play by having mods "overwrite" each other that wern't made to work with each other. Unless the additional mod you're adding states it's compatible with the first, assume it does not.....don't use it. The term "Mod Soup" is related to using mods that aren't compatible with each other....causing poor game play or CTD's. Avoid "Mod Soup" by knowing what you're adding to your game, and whether its compatible with the version of the game you have, or the present mods you use.

2. Never replay a saved game point that was made with different mods than what you currently are using. The saved game expects to find the same files in-game as when it was made. If a change in mods (adding/removing) is planned, delete your entire Documents/SHIII; SH4; SH5 folder from your computer. This "SHxxx" folder contains your chosen game options, plus this is where the game keeps your game saves. The game will produce a new set of Documents/"SHxxx" folder/files the next time you start the game, with the changes from the mod(s) currently activated included. You'll need to "reset" your particular "options" (like screen resolution), but that's a small price to pay for game stability by eliminating the Documents/SHxxx folder after a problem arises, or when changing mods.

3. Do not jump from Single Missions or from viewing the Museum directly into Campaign mode or vice versa. Before "switching gears", its a good idea to exit the game and restart a new session when making these kinds of changes. When you wish to load an individual Campaign saved game or Single Mission........restart the game first. SH tends to "remember" things from previous sessions which can affect stability, corrupting the game saving function.

4. Avoid using autosave game saves. They can easily become corrupted. There is an autosave made every time you leave port when you start a new mission, I would delete it, and make a self made save instead.

5. Save and exit/restart your game completely once you leave your home base or when approaching home base for docking (approximately 100-200 miles from the home base). This will improve game stability and unburden the game engine for upcoming rendering issues that may be present when a heavily modded harbor is either entered or exited. It's always a good idea to make a manual gamesave in-port and exit/restart the game before you start a new patrol. Don't delete your self made in-port saves (you may need them again), until you're sure you won't go back to that point....then by all means, get rid of them. When I say "exit", I mean you quit the game completely, returning to Windows. Do not use the Alt+Tab Windows feature!

6. Avoid overwriting of old/previous game saves. Always make a new one, with a new title or numbering system. Keep the most recent couple of saves, while deleting the earlier saves.

7. Occasional "save" and completely exit/restart the game in-between the actions/encounters, or when approaching an area with potentially dense sea/air traffic. At least once in every 72 hours of sim time!

8. Avoid game saving, or the use of high Time Compression after the "action" starts (deck gun attack; approaching/attacking large convoys; approaching ports; evading escorts etc). Save games prior to these kinds of expected activities.

9. Keep your Time Compression low and try to limit duration of your playing sessions while operating in areas with dense air, sea traffic or near ports etc.

10. When things calm down after successful (or unsuccessful) engagements, surface the boat, get some distance away from the "action" and save the game.

11. Avoid "alt-tabbing" of the game. Silent Hunter doesn't accept the practice (its not in their instructions of game play)......don't do it!

12. Set the game resolution/aspect ratio the same as your Windows "native" screen resolution.

13. If your computer has 4gigs or more of ram memory (and has a 64 bit Operating System), by all means use either "Large Address Aware" (LAA) or a similar app called the "4gig Patch". Do not use both......either one or the other! These apps will allow for more memory to be utilized by the game. Both SHIII and SH4 were made prior to the advent of systems having a bounty of memory as they do today (I'm not sure about SH5). It's important to give the game all the possible memory access it can get, especially when adding more content like mods. Having the game access the additional memory will help eliminate slowdowns, speeds up game play, helps the rendering of scenes, lessons the possibility of CTD's, and generally makes for better game play.

It may look like your doing a lot of extra things for nothing, but paying attention to giving the game extra time to complete its tasks is a good start.

[propbeanie]

... and ya gotta be careful with the changes you make while modding, and then using a Save file. The game is very persnickety about having a DD Asashio (as an example) drawn a certain way with certain equipment set to certain levels, and if it loads a save different from what is in the cfg and other files, it will complain most vociferously... Makes for tougher testing, but it is what it is... The prep work for a good, unscientific test run in the game often consumes 90% of your modding time...

[Bubblehead1980]

Originally Posted by torpedobait

That pretty much disappeared for me when I made sure my current SH4.exe was under Large Address Aware. I also took the precaution of downloading Smart Game Booster (4th Edition, I believe) and run it before starting SH4 (any variety). It closes off a number of Applications and Windows processes and services that are not needed to run the game, and turns them back on when SH4 closes. It gives the maximum amount of memory, which I felt was part of the problem with incomplete save files. BUT, and there is always a BUT, it is just my theory that seems to stand up in practice. Also, and this may be silly, but when I hit the Save button, I watch the disk activity light on my machine. I don't hit the Resume or Exit buttons until all noticeable activity likely related to the Save action have stopped. It only takes a few seconds, but I like to think I am giving the system enough time to complete writing out the save files.

Just my process that seems to work for me...

Do you have to activate LAA each time before start up SH 4? I had done this, thought only had to do it once


I just don't understand, SH 4 never did this on my old PC. Game runs fine until its time to break contact with a convoy or task force, once just out of visual range after an attack, boom CTD. This had stopped, but then started again

[propbeanie]

Once you apply LAA, you leave it be. Just check through LAA whether it "took" or not. You have to have the "Read Only" attribute turned off though when you go to hit it with LAA. Once you do that, the game can then gain all the RAM you computer will give it, which would be 3.4 gig on a 32-bit machine, and I don't kknow how much more on a 64-bit. Otherwise, you're stuck with the old XP 2 gig limit (which was actually about 1.5 gig, because of the OS itself). CapnScurvy has that write-up on it, focusing on Windows 10, but it applies for XP on, including the 32-bit versions, but is most useful for the 64-bit OS versions.

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...35#post2452635

I don't think though that the RAM would have anything to do with "breaking contact", unless it would be something else trying to render near you - ???

Check your museum (the whole thing), like CapnScurvy mentions, and see if it crashes. If the museum won't run, there's an issue with something (of course, thank you Mr. Obvious)...