Post your crash bugs here

[Paul Riley]

Having had a stable game for a long time now I have recently (over the last 2 days) experienced two quite nasty crashes resulting in me having to quit and reload an earlier saved game.Now I have a few ideas of what could be going wrong and I thought it would be useful to have a place to post all these crashes and bugs (thats if its not been done before) before resorting to more unconventional and violent solutions.
I will begin with what I have experienced so far -

Crash 1
This happened the day before yesterday.I had just broke out of the English channel on my way to my patrol grid just south of Ireland.We spotted a distant merchant heading our way.To cut the story short I sank it and then saved my game just after.Upon reloading the game it would freeze for about 2 secs then a popup would appear saying 'SH3 has just encountered a problem,sorry for the inconvenience' blah blah blah.
Cause?
This has been discussed many times in the past,and sadly it escaped my memory,but what may have happened was,first I saved the game submerged,and second it was in VERY close proximity to a sinking ship,say some 300-400m.
It seems both these factors contribute greatly to the chances of the game crashing.

Crash 2
This happened last night.Upon reloading my 2nd patrol due to the earlier crash I was just passing Dunkirk on my way into the channel again,and decided to save the game as it was getting late and my night vision was faltering :zzz::dead::o:zzz:
Upon reloading the game the same crash occured as described in 'crash 1',bringing me to a POSSIBLE cause.
Cause?
As there is no obvious cause for this one I can only assume it is linked to either Dunkirk in particular or the channel,meaning both these areas could be more prone to crashes than other areas.Maybe you have also encountered this behaviour with specific areas?

Its also interesting to note that before I left port I had installed quite an old mod called 'improved smoke' by 'iambecomelife' I think the author's name is.I am wondering if this mod could be conflicting with either GWX3 or Racerboy's SH4 effects? I am also today going to save my career and fresh install everything,only this time without the res fix hack and improved smoke mod,as before these two were installed my game was rock solid,without a single crash!,EVER!
Finally,I would like to hope this thread is stickied in the near future as it is very important and could save a lot of broken knuckles,cracked monitor screens and failed relationships/marriages.
I look forward to your experiences and comments.

[Snestorm]

Saving "too close to ports" is also a no no.
I haved saved fairly close to Hartlepool, but have never had cause to use those saves.

I used to get into trouble saving too close to my own port.
(Insurance against a computer crash while entering port.)

[Paul Riley]

Saving "too close to ports" is also a no no.
I haved saved fairly close to Hartlepool, but have never had cause to use those saves.

I used to get into trouble saving too close to my own port.
(Insurance against a computer crash while entering port.)

My two crashes could be linked to this also!,because in the distance I could JUST see the lights of Dunkirk! why would this crash the game though?if it IS linked to this it would be extremely crippling,especially when getting tired and you really need to save :nope:
Thanks for the tip :up:

[Snestorm]

I don't know the "why". Perhaps due to spawning or unseen trafik?

My old instalation used crash south of Norge/Norway.
When I would reload a save from there, it would crash shortly after.
I then learned that saving in Heavy Fog is also a no no.

Admittedly, this stuff can make SH3 a pain when one would realy rather be in bed.

[Paul Riley]

I never realised such a fantastic game like this could be so unstable!,I mean I have hardly EVER had any crashes since I got it in 2005.The last 2 crashes are really the only times its ever crashed for me :shifty:
I am DEF thinking the higher resolutions hack could be at fault for me,maybe something I didnt do/activate etc.I dont really need it anyway,I was always happy at 1024 resolution (plus 2x AA),and GWX with other mods soon helps take your mind off higher resolutions.

[Snestorm]

Wise decision.

One of the first things I did after installing was to turn the "particle density" down to about 12%. Game runs great, and I don't see any negative effects on anything.

[Paul Riley]

Wise decision.


Lets hope it was a wise decision.
Good tip about the particle density,I have never had to alter this but its still good to know it can alleviate problems,more performance wise I would imagine?

[KL-alfman]

after one year lurking and half a year a member of this board I learned by many posts that one shouldn't save:

- submerged
- near land (50km range)
- near any traffic (again 50km)
- near sunk vessels

I don't know the reason but mostly it hasn't been any inconvenience to me cause I just pause my games during patrol (only in my IXB-career I saved far out in the Atlantic due to the longer patrols you sail with these boats)

[Paul Riley]

Do you leave your computer on and just unpause when wanting to play again?.Excellent tactic but very expensive! :hmmm:

[Pisces]

When in doubt in the middle of the sea do a hydrophone check with your own ears (don't rely on the crew). If you hear something, go way from it. If not, you can save. It's a very annoying bug. Especially when you're just in the middle of a convoy attack an need to leave the game.

[Paul Riley]

When in doubt in the middle of the sea do a hydrophone check with your own ears (don't rely on the crew). If you hear something, go way from it. If not, you can save.

Its a shame we have to do this just to save the game,causing us to miss many good chances of an attack :dead:

[Snestorm]

Do you leave your computer on and just unpause when wanting to play again?.Excellent tactic but very expensive! :hmmm:

I usualy do that too.
On my previouse installation SH3 wouldn't let me Save And Exit.
This one does, thankfuly.

When SH3 says "Game saved successfuly", I generaly give an additional 2 minutes or so, before pressing "OK".
The little gold light on my computer always indicates activity AFTER getting that message.

[KL-alfman]

Do you leave your computer on and just unpause when wanting to play again?.Excellent tactic but very expensive! :hmmm:


I was told that in "energy-saving mode" my machine spends only a tenth of the normal energy-level (that would be around 60W). don't know if this is correct ......

[Snestorm]

I was told that in "energy-saving mode" my machine spends only a tenth of the normal energy-level (that would be around 60W). don't know if this is correct ......

Glad you brought that up.
Can I use the Sleep Mode (Vista), without loosing my game?

It's a feature I've never had, and know almost nothing about.

[Paul Riley]

I was told that in "energy-saving mode" my machine spends only a tenth of the normal energy-level (that would be around 60W). don't know if this is correct ......

You may well be right :hmmm:
Does your wallet stand up to it though?

[KL-alfman]

Glad you brought that up.
Can I use the Sleep Mode (Vista), without loosing my game?

It's a feature I've never had, and know almost nothing about.


I only play SH3 with my "ancient" desktop-rig where XP2 is installed upon. never tried to install on my Toshi-laptop where vista-business runs.
but yes, I never had any problems with returning to the game after a over-night sleep-mode.

[KL-alfman]

You may well be right :hmmm:
Does your wallet stand up to it though?


it's just like leaving a (stronger) lamp on the whole night.
yes, I can afford that (yet)!
it's not the electricity which hurts my wallet but the gas for heating! :cry:

[Snestorm]

I only play SH3 with my "ancient" desktop-rig where XP2 is installed upon. never tried to install on my Toshi-laptop where vista-business runs.
but yes, I never had any problems with returning to the game after a over-night sleep-mode.

That's very good news.
Thank you very much.

[Paul Riley]

Anyway,lets get back to bug reporting! :know:

[sharkbit]

Crash 2
This happened last night.Upon reloading my 2nd patrol due to the earlier crash I was just passing Dunkirk on my way into the channel again,and decided to save the game as it was getting late and my night vision was faltering :zzz::dead::o:zzz:
Upon reloading the game the same crash occured as described in 'crash 1',bringing me to a POSSIBLE cause.


I've seen a couple of times on this forum about mysterious crashes around Dunkirk on more than one occasion.

It's funny-I've broke every rule in the book about saving close to land, close to ships, submerged and have never had a problem-knock on wood.

One bug I've come across that causes a crash a couple of times is moving your nav map around and getting Russia centered on screen. The game has crashed a couple of times I've done that.

Most crashes I've had earlly on were hardware related on my old rig. My power supply fan went out and my case had no case fan. I would get a CTD after about an hour of playing. After doing some RAM upgrades and the like, the little light came on finally-heat. :sunny:
Installed a case fan, changed out the power supply, and blew the dust out of the case.
Voila!:woot: No more CTD's.

I just had a recent problem with CTD's due to some mod conflicts due to installation order. I got that taken care of Friday and have actually been able to play some this weekend instead of pulling my hair out.

:)

[flag4]

'tis the old advice i got when i joined subsim and experiernced crashes:

not near land.

not near other ships.

not near sinking ships.

...as far away as possible from any moving/solid enviroment except the sea!!

ps: plan your gaming around your time - though i realise this can be difficult.

[Chisum]

Interresting thread.
Actually, I have a bug with the deckgun, it's not right, to many on the left, the visor is not correct and sometimes the correct middle is out of the screen.
And I don't know what can I do.

[KL-alfman]

I remember this bug was already reported.
though forgot the solution, wait till Jimbuna shows up.
he can surely help you.

[Paul Riley]

Interresting thread.
Actually, I have a bug with the deckgun, it's not right, to many on the left, the visor is not correct and sometimes the correct middle is out of the screen.
And I don't know what can I do.

Give it a few good bangs with a sledge hammer? ;)

[frau kaleun]

Give it a few good bangs with a sledge hammer? ;)

My LI calls that "percussive maintenance."

[Paul Riley]

I call it "bloody straighten out you piece of junk! VERDAMMT!" :doh:

[Paul Riley]

Sorry Chisum,we are hogging your post here ;)

[Chisum]

No problem but my hammer fell into the sea...

I'll ordered a second monitor to watch the left side.
:D

[Paul Riley]

Sounds good :yep:

[Captain Nemo]

Like you my game was rock solid but since installing the hi-res fix I have had the occassional save that won't load. I am happy to live with this because the higher resolution, in my opinion, does make a difference in SH3. I also believe the save bug is a random occurence, as mentioned before, I have saved close to convoys and submerged and under attack and never had a problem reloading the saves. Then again I have saved with nothing around me whatsoever and the save has gone bad.

Nemo

[Kpt. Lehmann]

Hi Paul.

I can tell you that GWX 3.0 itself is stable and all new elements contained in it were tested to the point of nausea during our development sessions. Otherwise, we'd have had thousands of reports consistently indicating a specific problem.

I strongly suspect one or more mod conflicts with the bits you've added to GWX after installation.

(RB's SH4 effects for SH3 modifies the particles.dat file and IIRC, Iambecomelife's old smoke mod may do the same.)

[Edit: Just checked out IABC's improved smoke mod... it is just a couple of TGA files and should be okay since it doesn't modify code.]

The easiest way for you to check, is to remove those mods and to then reproduce the circumstances that caused you to CTD.

Additionally, regarding the res-fix... I've seen a number of reports where users relate that following its installation... instability occurs.

It would be good of you to not assume that GWX 3.0 has a "bug" before checking out more likely suspects.:03:

[IRISH4Life]

I am confused! Not an unusual thing, but, I keep playing SHV, sometimes happily, but it seems just as I am about ready to sink a ship or finish a task. The whole game just shuts down no warning, no questions just off. It has happened on every historic mission I have played as well as my campaign.

My computer is completely capable of the task. Quad core, 8g ram, 512 video yada yada. plays beautiful just can't keep it playing. The last thing that I did was press the function button to relieve the crew from the deck gun. Pressed the button click, gone.

Frustrated and ready to go back to SHIV where TMO brings me happiness and smooth sailing and a more historic feel. Sorry SHV ready to shelve the game. Unless anyone could suggest a fix?

:down:

[Kpt. Lehmann]

Hi IRISH4Life.

It would probably serve you better to post SH5 technical queries in the SH5 forum instead of the SH3 forum here. ;)

[IRISH4Life]

oops, Sorry! There we go again confusion.

I thought that this was a SHV crash bug forum. Sorry.
:doh:

[John O]

I'll try reducing the particle density lower and see what happens. I've noticed most of my crashes are after saving with lots of search lights in the saved game. Noticed when raiding harbors and the lights come on, the game slows way down almost freezing until I get out of deck or periscope view. If I save while in view of lights, I always get a crash. I'll see if reducing particle density to below 10% helps.