HELP! SH3-GWX3 Saves CTD.

[BigWalleye]

I am playing SH3 with GWX v3.0, and using SH3 Commander. Recently, I have begun experiencing an intermittent problem: after a certain point in a career patrol, any time I try to save the game, reloading results in a CTD. I have tried to isolate the conditions under which this will occur. The only consistent factor is that it usually happens after I have had an encounter with the enemy. It doesn’t have to be warships, it doesn’t have to involve combat – I can run away. But, from some point on in a career patrol, I can not save the game and successfully reload the save.

I am running the following mod load:

GWX 3 Wilhemshafen,St Naz,Schluese and xtra ships V7
GWX - 20km Atmosphere (Unofficial Mod)
GWX - Alternative Flotillas
GWX - Enhanced Damage Effects
GWX - No Medals on Crew
GWX Turm Lights fix
TMTv2+ThomsensShips v4.4 for GWX3+Xtra ships
LifeBoats&Debris_v4
OLC's Modified Searchlight Beams for GWX3
Pascal_Port_People
Waterstream+Exhaust Combi V2.3 for GWX3
Waterstream+Exhaust Combi - Single Exhaust for TypeII
Sober's Darker Smoke
Torpedo damage Final ver2.0
Scirè-Tikigod- repeated order
TorpedoTubesFfireFinal vGW
Spirit of machines - BW
EAX_Sound_Sim_SH3
Supplement to V16B1 - GWX
Stiebler4B_Addon_for_V16B1 - GWX
O2-Gauges v2
Capt. Teach's SH3 Color Icons for GWX 3.0 (Standard)
NeuUZO&PeriV.2
SRM01 - Seabed Repair Mod
SRM02 - Option for GWX Enhanced Damage Effects
Urfischs_ModStrike_Beta1 - BW
Carotio_SH3_ClothesHatsFacesSkilledCrew
FM_NewInterior v2.1D
BritishAsdicMkIFinal
SHIII Internal Life Mod v1.2
SH-5 Water for SH-3 20 Km V84
sobers waves mod V12 27032013
Realistic contacts with Sub icons
1.4b Assisted Plotting Mod
No continuous 'Ship spotted' V1.2 for GWX3
widescreen_GWX3.0 BW Mod 1.1

I have all h.sie’s and Stiebler’s patches active except Wolfpack Less Contact Reports. I have tried saving more than 50km from land and more than 50km from any contact. Still get CTDs when reloading saves (NOT all the time!).

My machine is an AlienWare M11X, i7@1.70GHz, 8GB, Win7 Home Premium 64bit, nVidia GeForce 540M. I run SH5 on this rig with reduced graphics fidelity. For SH3, I presently have all GPU settings strapped down to app-controlled.

I have just completed a complete, ground-up re-install, in which I restored everything from the original downloaded files. (Stock SH3 is DVD with v1.4.) Anticipated that would fix the problem. Just got a CTD after sinking a small freighter with the deck gun in the Thames estuary on September 3, 1939 and fleeing a patrol craft. I submerged, let the PC go by, then resurfaced and ran out into the North Sea. Saved - reload was a CTD.

Has anybody had this problem? I’ve Googled everything I could think of and not seen a similar problem reported. At this point, I am at a loss. I would hate to have to play every patrol through without stopping!

I would sure appreciate any help!

[brett25]

try taking this out:

LifeBoats&Debris_v4

and retest (go back to previous good save, resink a ship and then see if it works)

also make sure you have the 4GB patch applied.

[BigWalleye]

Thank you, brett25! I'll give it a try without Lifeboats&Debris-v4!

I am using the 4GB patch through h.sie's patcher. Is that equivalent to the external 4gbpatch.exe? Or should I use the separate mod? I am concerned about applying the .exe fix over the top of h.sie's patch.

UPDATE: First, external 4gb fix is not compatible with h.sie's patcher. Wach makes sh3.exe incompatible with the other.

Second, took out Lifeboats&Debris_v4. No joy. Still gives CTDs after saves.

[Myxale]

A bit curious that CTD's-

I mean your Load-order is not that big nor complex so it should be something obvious.

You said it started recently? What was the last change you did before things became prone to CTD? And what are your SH3 Commander settings?

My suggestion is, disable this mod and try again.

TMTv2+ThomsensShips v4.4 for GWX3+Xtra ships

Report back.

[BigWalleye]

Thanks, Myxale. Last additions were GWX 20Km Atmosphere and sh5 Water for SH3 29Km. But I have removed both with no apparent success. I'm thinking of stripping her down to bare metal and putting in one mod at a time. That will take some time, tho....

[irish1958]

Almost every time I have had CTD it has been traced to extra ships in some mod. I suggest you deactivate all mods which add extra ships and see what happens
If this doesn't help I suspect you will have to hunt mod by mod until you had isolated the problem or problems.

[Myxale]

Irish is right.
One of the biggest culprits of CTD are extra ships.
One of the reasons i could never enjoy BBW work properly.

[fitzcarraldo]

I have many problems with the Wilhelmshaven v7, and now I have v6 installed, without CTD issues. v7 add ships not working in museum (and presumibly not in game). With v7, I had many CTDs with saved games; I resolved that changing to v6.

Try changing to Wilhelmanshaven v6 mod.

Regards.

Fitzcarraldo

[BigWalleye]

Thank you gentlemen for your help and advise. Going after the extra ships, which in my case is Wlihelmshafen.... Checking out changes is slow because moving/removing a mod sometimes makes a save unusable. Then it's back to the harbor and wait till I catch a fish before I can evaluate the change. But I'm plodding ahead.

Thanks again for all the help! And if anyone else has an insight, I haven't verified a solution yet.

UPDATE: Fitzcarraldo, it appears you nailed it. I started a patrol September 1, 1939. Found a ship in the Thames estuary and sank it. Saved. Reload CTDed. Replaced Wlihelmshafen...V7 with ...V6. Restarted patrol. Found another ship in the same area, sank, saved. Reloaded save with no problems. Got chased by a cubic ton of RN. Saved with enemy warships in sight, maybe 20Km from land. Reloaded OK. Went to PD and slipped away. Picked up a sound contact of a merchant headed my way. Saved while submerged! Reloaded OK.

FITZCARRALDO, YOU DA MAN!

And again: THANKS TO EVERYONE who offered the benefit of their experience. Helpful and much appreciated!

BTW: Seabed Repair Mod and Urfisch's Modstrike Beta interact. You must install SRM after Urfisch's mod or your sub will lose depth control.

[brett25]

Glad you found the issue and great advice Fitzcaraldo....Alot of us have gone through this nightmare so there is alot of collective wisdom with reagrd to this issue


more and more it seems these CTD on save issues are mod related or RAM related, I think the whole business about not saving near land or near enemy ships etc can be disregarded. In my case a CTD on save that had been plaguing me for a long time was finally tracked 100% to a MOD conflict, and not in any way to do with where I was in relation to oher game elements when the save ocurred.....

[Myxale]

Ok, now that we have figured out what caused your head-ache, now would be a good time to ask how?

How does Wlihelmshafen...V7 cause CTD'S while hunting ships somewhere in the atlantic?

[BigWalleye]

I believe the problem is with the added ships. Full title of the mod: GWX 3 Wilhemshafen,St Naz,Schluese and xtra ships V7. It seems some of those extra ships cause the game engine to get indigestion. My problem with corrupted saves always occurred on a patrol after I had sunk at least one ship. Prior to sinking a ship, I could zip all over the freakin' ocean and save, then reload successfully. Once I sank a ship, the probability was high that any save, at any point, would CTD on reload. It didn't seem to matter how far away from land or enemy ships I got, or how long (game or R/T) I waited before saving. And it didn't seem to matter whether the ship I sank was from the stock GWX-modded game or an added one. (Sometimes it was a tramp steamer with the vanilla SH3 skin.)

I know that the guys who did the GWX 3 Wilhemshafen,St Naz,Schluese and xtra ships mod are experienced modders who do good work and test their work before releasing it. (I think Wreford-Brown and BigBoyWooly both had a hand in V7. Hope I didn't overlook anyone.) And I also recognize that V7 has been out for over a year, and I am sure there are others who are using the mod without problems. I don't mean to cast aspersions on anybody's work. Modding takes lots of hard work, creativity, and patience, and it's all made available gratis. I have nothing but respect for anyone who gives a mod to the community.

What I know is that my configuration had a problem with this particular mod, specifically with V7. I don't know whether it is because of a hardware limitation on my rig, or an interaction with another mod, or whatever. I still have no absolute proof that the change has solved my problem. (That involves the old "trying to prove a negative" conundrum.) At the moment, I am grateful to Fitzcarraldo, who at the very least saved me a lot of time by focusing me on a particular issue that he had experienced. I am relieved to be able to get back to playing the game, rather than spending all my gaming time troubleshooting. And, since V6 of the mod appears to work fine for me, I have no motivation to find and fix the issue I have with V7. Maybe I will tackle that chore at some future time.

Perhaps we should bring this to the attention of the mod developers. I am reluctant to call out: "Yer mod's busted!" especially when the problem may be with my configuration. So I prefer to leave it with the statement that I seem to have had a problem with V7 on my rig, and that someone else who is having a similar problem might benefit from my experience (and that of others.)

[fitzcarraldo]

Originally Posted by BigWalleye

I believe the problem is with the added ships. Full title of the mod: GWX 3 Wilhemshafen,St Naz,Schluese and xtra ships V7. It seems some of those extra ships cause the game engine to get indigestion. My problem with corrupted saves always occurred on a patrol after I had sunk at least one ship. Prior to sinking a ship, I could zip all over the freakin' ocean and save, then reload successfully. Once I sank a ship, the probability was high that any save, at any point, would CTD on reload. It didn't seem to matter how far away from land or enemy ships I got, or how long (game or R/T) I waited before saving. And it didn't seem to matter whether the ship I sank was from the stock GWX-modded game or an added one. (Sometimes it was a tramp steamer with the vanilla SH3 skin.)

I know that the guys who did the GWX 3 Wilhemshafen,St Naz,Schluese and xtra ships mod are experienced modders who do good work and test their work before releasing it. (I think Wreford-Brown and BigBoyWooly both had a hand in V7. Hope I didn't overlook anyone.) And I also recognize that V7 has been out for over a year, and I am sure there are others who are using the mod without problems. I don't mean to cast aspersions on anybody's work. Modding takes lots of hard work, creativity, and patience, and it's all made available gratis. I have nothing but respect for anyone who gives a mod to the community.

What I know is that my configuration had a problem with this particular mod, specifically with V7. I don't know whether it is because of a hardware limitation on my rig, or an interaction with another mod, or whatever. I still have no absolute proof that the change has solved my problem. (That involves the old "trying to prove a negative" conundrum.) At the moment, I am grateful to Fitzcarraldo, who at the very least saved me a lot of time by focusing me on a particular issue that he had experienced. I am relieved to be able to get back to playing the game, rather than spending all my gaming time troubleshooting. And, since V6 of the mod appears to work fine for me, I have no motivation to find and fix the issue I have with V7. Maybe I will tackle that chore at some future time.

Perhaps we should bring this to the attention of the mod developers. I am reluctant to call out: "Yer mod's busted!" especially when the problem may be with my configuration. So I prefer to leave it with the statement that I seem to have had a problem with V7 on my rig, and that someone else who is having a similar problem might benefit from my experience (and that of others.)

If you see the museum (with v7 enabled), in the Greek roster (for example), you will have a violent CTD with a greek warship (I don´t remember the ship)). With v6 you have all the ships in Museum working. I have all the WB´A/C and scripted ships, without problems, and the TMT mod. No problems with v6.

Best regards.

Fitzcarraldo

[Kpt. Lehmann]

Originally Posted by fitzcarraldo

If you see the museum (with v7 enabled), in the Greek roster (for example), you will have a violent CTD with a greek warship (I don´t remember the ship)). With v6 you have all the ships in Museum working. I have all the WB´A/C and scripted ships, without problems, and the TMT mod. No problems with v6.

Best regards.

Fitzcarraldo

Hi Fitzcarraldo.
Where can I find a DL link for v6?

[Kpt. Lehmann]

Nevermind. Found it. Thanks anyway.