GWX 3.0 Gold - saved mission files crash

[Bosun735]

Help please - my saved files repeatedly crash SH3 GWX 3.0. They get just to the point of implementation and SH3 crashes. This is most frustrating as I usually save at an important moment intending to come back later but lately this is not possible. Any help most appreciated.

[frau kaleun]

Are you doing any of the following?

1) Saving while submerged

2) Saving within contact range of other units (ships, planes, etc.)

3) Saving within contact range of land

All of these factors can play a part in making a saved game unusable.

Corrupted saved games are a known issue with SH3 from stock on up and as far as I know there is, unfortunately, no guaranteed way to avoid the possibility. Your best bet is to save only when surfaced and when you are out of range of other units and/or land. And with rare exceptions, mods should only be added or removed when you are in base between patrols.

Even if you follow all the above advice sometimes corrupted saves just happen, and if one save is corrupted, every save made after it will most likely be unusable as well. The only thing you can do is to work your way backwards through your saves until you find one that works and play on from there.

Now, if you are unable to reload *any* saves at all in your installation, even ones made under "ideal" conditions, that may be another issue.

[Tessa]

A couple of golden rules regarding savegames:



never save at dock, or anywhere (generally) within 20km of land. Will nearly ensure a corrupted savegame.
NEVER save underwater, regardless of whether you're in the middle of the Atlantic or near a convoy.
There is very small chance that you can successfully save underwater if you have 100% hull integrity-it must be the full 100 as just 1% is enough to cause CTD's.
Saving underwater is a horrible idea in general, with 100% you have a small chance of success if that is your only possible option - i.e. you can pause and leave the computer running, put it to sleep or otherwise leave it on. Use it as a last resort when you can't otherwise surface and save or get to a safe spot to save.
Saving near a convoy has a 50-50 chance (or less the closer you get) on being a successful save.
If you're game in CTD on start, fastest resolution is to reinstall rather than spend potentially hours troubleshooting.
In the event you're using a widescreen mod make sure that the exact monitor dimensions are d3d.cfg file - a 1360 x 768 setting on a 1366 x 768 is enough to CTD, just 6 pixels is enough to throw the game off.

[Bosun735]

Many thanks to Tessa and Frau Kaleun - very helpful

[Fish In The Water]

This is most frustrating as I usually save at an important moment intending to come back later but lately this is not possible.

'Important moment' seems to suggest near a convoy or at least near another unit. Could well be an issue there. :yep:

[Capt. Morgan]

I think there should be a sticky post on best practices for saving an SHIII patrol.

[Captain Nemo]

I try and follow the save game guidelines as much as possible, except one, I save on a regular basis close to convoys. If I'm stalking a convoy I don't want to move 50 or so kilometres away just to make a save, especially if there are ships I've damaged in the convoy. I do tend to make sure I'm outside visual range though. To be honest, I think the save game issue is pretty much a random one. If it happens on a regular basis there is most probably another underlying issue causing it.

Nemo

[sabretwo]

A couple of golden rules regarding savegames:


never save at dock, or anywhere (generally) within 20km of land. Will nearly ensure a corrupted savegame....

I have heard this one often before, but my experience is quite the opposite. I usually get good saves when in port at the start of a patrol, but once I get farther away from port the chances of bad saves goes up radically...maybe 50/50 once at sea. After sinking a ship, the risk of CTD on save reload seems to climb to near 100%. My rule, once I have sunk the first ship of a patrol, I never save and quit. I'll save (just so I have a chance of recovering a game if something later happens), but generally just pause the game and put it to sleep when not playing from that point forward.

[Tessa]

I try and follow the save game guidelines as much as possible, except one, I save on a regular basis close to convoys. If I'm stalking a convoy I don't want to move 50 or so kilometres away just to make a save, especially if there are ships I've damaged in the convoy. I do tend to make sure I'm outside visual range though. To be honest, I think the save game issue is pretty much a random one. If it happens on a regular basis there is most probably another underlying issue causing it.

Nemo

Have found that if you save your game with the convoy just visible on the edge of the horizon you'll be safe. I wouldn't get any closer than 1km or on the inside area of the escorts detection zone, those have a high chance of failing.

[flugkapitan]

I don't know if it makes any difference or not, but when I save I always do it when I'm in the zentralle. My reasoning is that when the sim loads, that's where you are.

Scott

[1480]

I don't know if it makes any difference or not, but when I save I always do it when I'm in the zentralle. My reasoning is that when the sim loads, that's where you are.

Scott

Pretty sound reasoning.

I always do a double save. Save at a point, continue for another 5 minutes of game time than save and exit. I rarely if ever get a corrupted save. HTH

[frau kaleun]

Personally I'm inevitably on the bridge when I save, because my pre-save routine is to submerge and verify that there are no sound contacts, and then resurface and verify that there are no visual contacts.

I know I could ask the WO for nearest visual contact from the zentrale, but somehow I always end up going up there myself. Never had a corrupted save that way.