SH3 questions

[geralthotspur]

So I started playing SH3 for the first time ever and I installed the GWX mod. The game works fine but sometimes it crashes either when im at sea or when loading into a campaign.

Is this normal or something i can fix?

Do I need the 4gb patch for this game?

[bstanko6]

GWX is a great mod, but buggy. And yes, always opt to have the 4gig patch every time. It will help for mods and megamods.

[geralthotspur]

Originally Posted by bstanko6

GWX is a great mod, but buggy. And yes, always opt to have the 4gig patch every time. It will help for mods and megamods.

Its just trying to start a campaign 4-5 times because it crashes when loading in is really annoying.

[THEBERBSTER]

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[Aktungbby]

geralhotspur!

[Pisces]

Is GWX3 the only mod you installed? Or did you add others too? Please show the full list. By default SH3 with GWX3 should not require more than 3GB of memory I think. So I doubt that is the problem. But since other mods can add a lot of high res imagery for further modding the 4GB patch of the executable is well advised.

Other causes of crashing are temperature issues. Try limiting the framerate with V-sync and check GPU/CPU temperatures and make sure your fans are clean. On a hot day many years ago it crashed my game when I had torpedoes exploding into a convoy ship. I guess the GPU couldn't handle the extra workload of generating explosion graphics in such a short time

If the game crashes at the very start of a campaign, or even when loading into a brand new patrol then possibly the game files are corrupt. If mods have been applied, or removed, after you start a patrol and saved then you will likely experience crashes at loading up. Never change mods during a patrol! Live with what you got until you end the patrol. Or start a new campaign. Purely graphical UI mods may be an exception. But if it relies on other mods, and something is missing, then crashes are likely (and no indication as to the cause) Any thing that changes the models or functionality of Uboats and NPC-units and becomes part of savegames can cause problems once a game is loading.

And then there are the save-game corruption issues with the game. Unfortunately you have to follow the rules explained in the GWX manual. Those are best-practices to avoid them. Corruption can still occur since you cannot avoid what you never knew was there. Saving when other units are still in the rendering bubble (even if they are invisible far away in the horizon fog) may introduce corruption. But there are also other causes, among which is using the predefined crew action state buttons on the crew page. There is nothing to be done about it but to revert to a previous savegame that did not have that condition. It's a painful loss of precious time and effort. But it is what it is.

[Pisces]

Originally Posted by bstanko6

GWX is a great mod, but buggy. And yes, always opt to have the 4gig patch every time. It will help for mods and megamods.

No, SH3 is the main culprit still. GWX is a best effort at fixing or mitigating what is wrong with it. I'm not saying GWX is perfect or does not have it's own bugs. But many perceived problems are due to the core of the game. Most notable the savegame issues.

[geralthotspur]

Originally Posted by Pisces

Is GWX3 the only mod you installed? Or did you add others too? Please show the full list. By default SH3 with GWX3 should not require more than 3GB of memory I think. So I doubt that is the problem. But since other mods can add a lot of high res imagery for further modding the 4GB patch of the executable is well advised.

This is my current mod list

GWX
16k Atmosphere
Merged Campaign
Enhanced Damage Effects
Integrated Orders

I have the 4gb patch too and I have vsync on

Originally Posted by Pisces

If the game crashes at the very start of a campaign, or even when loading into a brand new patrol then possibly the game files are corrupt. If mods have been applied, or removed, after you start a patrol and saved then you will likely experience crashes at loading up. Never change mods during a patrol! Live with what you got until you end the patrol. Or start a new campaign. Purely graphical UI mods may be an exception. But if it relies on other mods, and something is missing, then crashes are likely (and no indication as to the cause) Any thing that changes the models or functionality of Uboats and NPC-units and becomes part of savegames can cause problems once a game is loading.

And then there are the save-game corruption issues with the game. Unfortunately you have to follow the rules explained in the GWX manual. Those are best-practices to avoid them. Corruption can still occur since you cannot avoid what you never knew was there. Saving when other units are still in the rendering bubble (even if they are invisible far away in the horizon fog) may introduce corruption. But there are also other causes, among which is using the predefined crew action state buttons on the crew page. There is nothing to be done about it but to revert to a previous savegame that did not have that condition. It's a painful loss of precious time and effort. But it is what it is.

Ill check out the manual for saving the game and ill double check to see if any files are corrupt, thanks for the help!

[David I]

Be sure to install SH3 and GWX in the C folder of your computer and not the Program Files (x86).

The Merged Campaign eats up a lot of memory. Which make sense when the game is populating both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans with boats, ships and planes. The Merged Campaign should only be used if you are transiting between Europe and Asia. I never got it to work properly until I installed the 4gig patch.

[Randomizer]

Odd these negative GWX comments...

Have run GWX for more than a decade on multiple computers and find it largely bug-free and stable with almost no mod-related issues. It is still my go-to SH3 mod even after installing and trying campaigns using the latest iterations of NYGM, LSH3, WAC and CCoM.

Mileage varies I guess.

-C

[Fifi]

Originally Posted by Randomizer

Odd these negative GWX comments...

Have run GWX for more than a decade on multiple computers and find it largely bug-free and stable with almost no mod-related issues. It is still my go-to SH3 mod even after installing and trying campaigns using the latest iterations of NYGM, LSH3, WAC and CCoM.

Mileage varies I guess.

-C

Yes, GWX is very stable even heavily modded. That’s the one i started with very long ago, and don’t remind any CTD issue.