[TEC] Does this game have some kind of cache file?

[leovampire]

Another words a main file it builds up information for a quick read and just writes new lines onto it as it finds them in the data base?

I would like to find a way to make it reread all the data in the game's Data file with all the mod's like it is seeing them for the first time so it will fill in all the blanks instead of just writing new one's over old and maybe getting something mixed up in the process.

There must be a reason why some things work in the quick missions and not in the campaign layers and so forth.

The best example I can offer is from another simulator I have for Trains. The game has grown to a size of over 30 GB on one of my hard drives from all the upgrades added and the new content created that I downloaded and once in a while like after a month of constant use it gets new things screwed up and dosn't read them. But there is a main cache file that if you delete it it makes the game relook at every single item in the files. Now being 30 GB that sometimes takes over an hour or more for it to do it but after it is done and the game starts every little single detail is there and stuff I can find to use in my layouts that I forgot I had but can now find in the directory of objects.

So maybe the same thing is going on here. Put this in take this out change this load over and over again and do it again. Maybe some of the data is being writen over in a way where not all of the changes are applied right anymore.

[irish1958]

i agree, there must be one somewhere.

[Digital_Trucker]

I think I know how to find out. I have an application called process monitor that keeps track of all file operations and registry reads/writes. It can be set up to filter out all but one programs actions (if I can just remember how to do it, it's been a while since I've used it). I'll give it a shot and let you know what I find out.

[leovampire]

would be an awsome fine if that solved a lot of mod problems as far as working the way it was intended the first time and not after the game loads a few times just to get it right which I swear sometimes happens.

[Digital_Trucker]

It might take a while to make heads or tails of it all. There are "only" 135,137 entries involved in loading the game and starting a patrol from port :damn: . I saved a csv log file that's "only" 25 MB. Sometime in the AM, if I can remember after having slept, I'll upload it somewhere and post a link if anyone else wants to have a gander at it.

[jean74]

Hi,

Perhaps inside SHSound.act Sound.act SHSim.act... But I dont understand how to work this files...

Best regards,

Jean

[Digital_Trucker]

I rar'ed that logfile (it's a standard csv with field names/headers in the first line) and put it up here http://files.filefront.com/Logfilerar/;8368021;;/fileinfo.html

I'm going load it into OpenOffice Calc and see if I can't figure out the best way to look at it to figure out what we need to know. If anyone else wants to, feel free to download it and play with it in your favorite spreadsheet (always loved that word, sound like a manure spreader:lol: ) program.

Edit:Well, scratch the OO Calc, now I've got to find a spreadsheet program that handles more than 65,536 records :damn: I even excluded registry operations and still had over 72,000 records.

[Digital_Trucker]

Ok, I got the log file down to a reasonable number (less than 2 to the 16th power) and hosted it at http://files.filefront.com/Logfile1rar/;8369512;;/fileinfo.html
if anyone is interested in abusing it.

[wovik]

What are "SS.bin", "SI.bin" and "SL.bin"? Does anyone know?
I have seen "SI.bin" produced in my SH4 root directory but not the other 2. I believe it only occurred when I had a crash.

I delete it and the SH4 save directory when making major mod changes to similate starting fresh again.

[leovampire]

never fails that way. But I know that is why the lightning is only working in the single mission layers and not the campaign layers. But the more you look at stuff I swear the more confusing it gets as to what actual controls what and what does what as to how the game loads things from the hard drive.

[Digital_Trucker]

LV, did you once say that you did a complete reinstall of the game in order to try to get lightning to work in the campaign mode? If so, do you remember if you deleted the save folder in "My Documents"? I'm grasping at straws here to see what it is that's causing this behavior by the game.

[leovampire]

but I am thinking that the next time I go into port I am going to do away with all past saves and start with new ones to see if it makes a difference.

[wovik]

My experience is that it can make a difference deleting the SH4 saves root folder and letting SH4 recreate it on the next startup. I have made many small changes trying to get it how I would like it and even loading from an autosave from port doesn't always guarantee the changes will be implemented or worse, it may make a mess of some other aspect of the similation. When I delete the save folder I always get the changes in the game. Sometimes I tweaked too much but you do get them.

[Digital_Trucker]

I just finished going cross-eyed looking at that gaggle of file accesses that the game makes and I can't find anything overly strange (other than it accessing browser cookies and a few other unexplained anomolies having nothing to do with the game). I did notice that it creates some .bin files but it looks like it creates them first before it reads them, so I don't think they would be holding any leftover bits and pieces from a previous save. It's going to be something simple, I'm sure, as it usually is in a :damn: like this.

[wovik]

I just finished going cross-eyed looking at that gaggle of file accesses that the game makes and I can't find anything overly strange (other than it accessing browser cookies and a few other unexplained anomolies having nothing to do with the game). ......

Perhaps this is for internet access for multiplayer?

[leovampire]

you mean the folder in the documents that holds the save's?

[Digital_Trucker]

Perhaps this is for internet access for multiplayer?

Nah, I'm thinking more like marketing strategy since it is fooling with the ubi cookies. Perhaps to give them an idea of what games you are playing of theirs or what types of games to pitch to you when you are on their site. I'm totally guessing here, so don't quote me.

[wovik]

you mean the folder in the documents that holds the save's?

Yes, that's what I meant.

[leovampire]

or do you go inside of it and delete everything?

[wovik]

I delete the entire folder and subfolders. Delete folder:

"SH4"

When you first setup the game there was no "SH4" folder until the first time you started the game.
It will create a new one so it's easier to just delete the entire folder instead of just the files.
Of course, you loose all your saves.

[leovampire]

I just had 2 good jokes sent to me by a friend thought I would post it for you guys!

A guy comes home from work feeling bad about the day's
activities. He lays down on the couch and ponders his
actions. Like most of us, his conscience has two voices; that of his good
moral side and that of his mischievous side.
While staring at the ceiling, a voice in his head says
"don't worry about it, a lot of doctors have sex with their patients." The man
tosses and turns in reflection of his actions. Again the voice says "don't worry
about it, a lot of doctors have sex with their patients." Feeling somewhat
relieved, the man begins to relax and feel better about himself at which time
another voice in head says, "but you're a veterinarian."

And now this one:

A man goes to visit his 85-year-old grandpa in hospital."How are you grandpa?
he asks.
"Feeling fine," says the old man.
"What's the food like?"
"Terrific, wonderful menus."
"And the nursing?"
"Just couldn't be better. These young nurses really take care of you."
"What about sleeping? Do you sleep OK?"
"No problem, nine hours solid every night. At 10 o'clock they bring me a cup
of hot chocolate and a Viagra tablet ... and that's it.
I go out like a light."
The grandson is puzzled and a little alarmed by this, so rushes off to
question the Sister in charge. "What are you people doing,"he says, "I'm told
you're giving an 85-year-old Viagra on a daily basis. Surely that can't be
true?"
"Oh, yes," replies the Sister. "Every night at 10 o'clock we give him a cup of
hot chocolate and a Viagra tablet. It works wonderfully well. The
chocolate makes him sleep, and the Viagra stops him from rolling out of bed.

[wovik]

Perhaps this is for internet access for multiplayer?

Nah, I'm thinking more like marketing strategy since it is fooling with the ubi cookies. Perhaps to give them an idea of what games you are playing of theirs or what types of games to pitch to you when you are on their site. I'm totally guessing here, so don't quote me.

Yep, your probably correct. It does seem like every game will make an internet access if I don't have the DSL modem disabled.
I shut it down except for Flight Simulator when I'm using it to update the weather.

[wovik]

@leovampire

You can rename the directory if you want to save your campaigns. Will just have to hope any changes you make will work if you change it back to "SH4" to continue a career. I usually change it to "4SH" when I do this.

[leovampire]

I will definatly try it anything that will make the effects work will be a good thing.

[wovik]

Be warned.... sometimes changing the directory name to save you careers works fine with the new changes when you name it back to SH4. Sometimes it doesn't!! So much for making changes when in port. It doesn't always work. Yesterday I made a little change and when I went on the next patrol my SD radar didn't work. I tried rebooting the computor and starting the Patrol over but it still refused to work. I then finally renamed the folder and started a brand new career (with SH4 making a new SH4 folder) and the SD worked fine along with the change I made (which should in no way interfere with the SD Radar). I then undid the change and tried my old career out again and it worked fine. So you see, it wouldn't accept the change I made even though I was in port when introducing the change. I wish I could remember which of the many small tweaks I tried yesterday caused this mess. I only remember that the change was fine as long as I deleted the "SH4" folder in "My documents" and started a new career. I ran across this before too. The longest career I've had is 3 patrols since TM 1.5 was released! I keep tweaking things. LOL

[leovampire]

but anything that changes over all game effects in a major way react strainge.

The scene.dat file and the zone's file you can do what ever you want and put it in and out of the game over and over again but the materials file and particles file are a differn't story for one reason or another.

but you have to always dot every i and cross every T for anything to work. If you miss 1 thing that's it nothing works.

Example: I had to match up the minimum distance and maximum distance for each lightning setting in the scene, particles, and materials files to even come close to getting the lightning to work at all. When even 1 of those settings were off no go for effects.

[Digital_Trucker]

Slightly off the topic:


I'm beginning to think this game is possessed. Tater and I have been trying to implement an invisible ship to use as a camera target for photographic missions. The one that he did (an invisible sampan) is invisible in my periscope but visible everywhere else. The one that I did (a hybrid sampan/junk) is invisible (all views) and lockable on my machine but is not lockable on taters machine and causes a CTD if you add anything to the mission it's in. I could almost understand it if it was a camera thing, but I think it's a lot more than that. What works fine on my machine shouldn't just not exist on tater's (or cause a CTD for that matter) and vice versa. There are so many variables involved (type of video card, drivers being used, video settings, other mods in use, operating system, processor capabilities) that it may be paractically impossible for us to determine the root cause (which gives me that much more incentive to keep :damn: until the :sunny: goes off).

[leovampire]

make it submerged just enough to be able to get a lock on it?

[Digital_Trucker]

make it submerged just enough to be able to get a lock on it?

"That's a thought, but can you use a sub as a photographic target?" he says as he fires up the mission editor :lol:

[leovampire]

I did that in one of my phtograph missions so why not as a phto graph mission it's self?

What I did was add the shp from one of the US subs to it's file and named it properly for that JAP sub and it alowed me to use it for target practice and make it show up on the map.

[Digital_Trucker]

I just didn't know whether the photo target had to be a ship or if a sub would work. Turns out the sub works just fine except that you really have to be pointed directly at it because only the periscope showed above water when I set it at a 0 depth. Thanks for the idea Mr Magician. Will have to play around with it to see if it can be made easier to target and less easy to see.

[leovampire]

just one of the many things I have fooled around with trying to make new projects to fart around with for the game LOL!!!

I got the idea when I was working on setting up a sub hunt mission for the game involving the JAP sub's.

[THE_MASK]

Classic example on my system Ati X800 pro graphics card . The game starts off with 4 x AA and 4 X AF set on my CCC . Then after a few saves it reverts to some application controlled setting or something . AA and AF dont work anymore . The next time i save in calm seas and load back up AA and AF work . The next time it doesnt . :damn: I try to mod the shaders folder and i get no transparent water , so i put the backed up shaders folder back . Only a reinstall of SH4 gets the transparent water back . :damn: I am starting my 537th career .

[leovampire]

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

[skwasjer]

If either of you have been using S3D to test, keep in mind it may still be buggy and make the game go crazy (and you as a result). You could do a binary compare between the files to verify it has done ok. Other than that, best to wait for the next release to be really sure and use minitweaker until then (you can use the offsets in S3D as a guideline if you need it).

[leovampire]

but only in 1 part of the game not in all parts and I am not the only one testing and working on this.

And one of us only used the Mini Tweeker and created new files for tweeker just for the lightning alone.

So it must be something else.

But thanks for the heads up anyways skwasjer it is just one of those missing and unacounted for sub's from WWII mistories that need to be investigated.