Computer cheating me of victory

[Seth Buttercrump]

I'm playing SHIII with GWX 3.0 and in my current campaign am up to feb 45, and my latest save position is an attack on a heavily defended convoy off the coast of East Anglia.


I have had the usual CTD save issue before, but now the game is crashing when I hit the 4th destroyer, as pictured. As soon as the torpedo hits, regardless of the viewscreen, I get a CTD.


Any clues?


https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/attachment.php?attachmentid=3770&stc=1&d=1607794412

[John Pancoast]

It may be SH3 not your computer that is the problem. If you did a save with a convoy in sight it's amazing it even loaded; usually that in itself leads to a ctd.
Maybe your ctd is related to that.

[Seth Buttercrump]

It may be SH3 not your computer that is the problem. If you did a save with a convoy in sight it's amazing it even loaded; usually that in itself leads to a ctd.
Maybe your ctd is related to that.


Perhaps so- I have had save game load problems many times, but I also have experienced in-game crashes which is why I save in the first place. In this particular patrol I have a couple of saves so will try reverting to a previous one, and if all else fails restart the mission completely. I'm going to try a rollback in Commander and see if that makes any difference first though....

[CassiousClay]

I'm thinking it might be an issue with the model of the ship the torpedo is hitting. Do you know exactly what ship it is?
Have you hit the same ship (model) at any point before in your game?

This game is way too old to be causing a crash error because of too much stuff on the screen IMHO. As long as the computer being used isn't 10+ years old I agree it's not the computer unless maybe there's an issue with hardware somewhere. I doubt it, too as John does, but it is something to check and rule out.

Press WinKey+R and type eventvwr.msc
Press Enter and look in all the System and Application areas of the folder tree for errors. Error events will be easy to find and see. They'll be marked with a red ! icon on the left of the text list in the center pane.

You will see errors in there. It's Windows. That's is why tech nerds cringe and pick on Windows operating systems. It's full of errors and bugs. "But it runs! We can sell it! Send it out. Next: Another version of the office suite that sucks."

When you click on them if the description says anything about any of your hardware devices failing reply pasting that info. I'll have at least a slight idea what's causing it and what, if anything, you can do about it.

Memory errors, which you may see a lot of, are extremely difficult to trace especially not being there at the computer myself. You're mainly looking for Application or System errors that bluntly say in the description hardware or software you recognize failed. We're not looking for memory errors "at address x0000#####". Share the ones that plainly say something about hardware or application failures.

I'll help where I can. I don't and won't pretend to know things I don't.
Info can usually be found via web search. The internet is the information landfill. Formerly the information highway.

[CassiousClay]

Perhaps so- I have had save game load problems many times, but I also have experienced in-game crashes which is why I save in the first place. In this particular patrol I have a couple of saves so will try reverting to a previous one, and if all else fails restart the mission completely. I'm going to try a rollback in Commander and see if that makes any difference first though....

That's a good point and possibility. If there's a ton of saves back them up if you don't want to rid of them forever by deleting. I don't know where the save files for this game are (yet). Maybe someone can chime in with that info if you want to back them up. That's another thing to try for a solution. Delete saves if you have a ton of them. We really only need 2, the latest one and what SH players call the bunker save.

[Seth Buttercrump]

That's a good point and possibility. If there's a ton of saves back them up if you don't want to rid of them forever by deleting. I don't know where the save files for this game are (yet). Maybe someone can chime in with that info if you want to back them up. That's another thing to try for a solution. Delete saves if you have a ton of them. We really only need 2, the latest one and what SH players call the bunker save.
My save game directory is in the 'This PC/documents' folder, named SH3. I'm running Windows 10. It's a simple matter of copying and pasting it in order to create a backup.


Rollback made no difference- the game crashed as soon as the destroyer exploded!

[Seth Buttercrump]

I'm thinking it might be an issue with the model of the ship the torpedo is hitting. Do you know exactly what ship it is?
Have you hit the same ship (model) at any point before in your game?

This game is way too old to be causing a crash error because of too much stuff on the screen IMHO. As long as the computer being used isn't 10+ years old I agree it's not the computer unless maybe there's an issue with hardware somewhere. I doubt it, too as John does, but it is something to check and rule out.

Press WinKey+R and type eventvwr.msc
Press Enter and look in all the System and Application areas of the folder tree for errors. Error events will be easy to find and see. They'll be marked with a red ! icon on the left of the text list in the center pane.

You will see errors in there. It's Windows. That's is why tech nerds cringe and pick on Windows operating systems. It's full of errors and bugs. "But it runs! We can sell it! Send it out. Next: Another version of the office suite that sucks."

When you click on them if the description says anything about any of your hardware devices failing reply pasting that info. I'll have at least a slight idea what's causing it and what, if anything, you can do about it.

Memory errors, which you may see a lot of, are extremely difficult to trace especially not being there at the computer myself. You're mainly looking for Application or System errors that bluntly say in the description hardware or software you recognize failed. We're not looking for memory errors "at address x0000#####". Share the ones that plainly say something about hardware or application failures.

I'll help where I can. I don't and won't pretend to know things I don't.
Info can usually be found via web search. The internet is the information landfill. Formerly the information highway.




The ship is a Flower Class, as seen in the screenshot. It's definitely not hardware- I was having issues before I cleaned out the heatsink & fan which were clogged with dust, but it runs a lot cooler now- My PC is a Lenovo AIO which isn't the best gaming system but more than enough for SHIII, and way better than the one I was using when I first got the game in 2005. The result is the same regardless of whether I am looking through the periscope or switch to map view so it can't be a graphical issue. It's presumably just a binary glitch ie a 0 where there should be a 1 or vice versa- game crashes are not uncommon anyway, as well as the save load problem we all get from time to time. As they say one definition of madness is doing the same thing and expecting a different result :03:

[Seth Buttercrump]

I just ran again from an earlier save and it's definitely that ship that causes the CTD. This time I hit it with the homing torpedo that I had used to sink another one.


It's annoying to say the least because I had plenty of torpedoes left so could have hit several merchants and still had time to run away before the other escorts turned up. War is hell :03:

[CassiousClay]

Models aren't graphics. There's a very good reason I asked what I asked. What I'm thinking has very little to do with graphics. It could be an error in coding.

Try re-installing from a fresh download of the game.
Download = from a copy you get from somewhere online. If you have the steam version try verifying the file integrity. If you have a disk install it from the disk.

Looking at event viewer as I suggested might lead us to the cause. It has a good chance of helping pin point what's going on whether it's game related like an error in the collision box coding or something similar or something with your computer's hardware.

Do you do computer maintenance like defrag and run virus scans fairly often?

[John Pancoast]

I just ran again from an earlier save and it's definitely that ship that causes the CTD. This time I hit it with the homing torpedo that I had used to sink another one.


It's annoying to say the least because I had plenty of torpedoes left so could have hit several merchants and still had time to run away before the other escorts turned up. War is hell :03:

Fwiw if you don't already know regarding saves;

- don't do them when around ships/convoys.
- don't do them when submerged.
- don't do them near land.

Post your mod list when you can.

[CassiousClay]

Isn't it also relevant to know whether the game was installed recently? I had this problem with the game crashing whenever something like an explosion happened and the solution was reinstalling, making sure the install was good and done correctly. Something didn't install right or I did something incorrectly when installing. It's been running good since I reinstalled.

[Seth Buttercrump]

This isn't the first time the game has crashed for no apparent reason so I guess you are right about a coding issue, but this particular crash is a unique situation in that I can replicate the conditions and get the exact same result.


I am running the steam version, copied with GWX 3.0 so the whole thing is running from it's own directory. I have the 4gb patch.


I'm currently on my 44th patrol, so probably the simplest option is to restart from Bergen and see what happens. I'm no expert in the technicalities of software but am pretty experienced in problem solving for other people but not myself, it seems :03: I think in this instance it's not a battle worth fighting- I reckon I only have another couple or three patrols before the war is over.



My computing journey began with a ZX81! Those were the days when in order to play a game you had to write one...or spend 5 hours typing in the listings from a magazine and then get the dreaded rampack wobble.

[propbeanie]

Do you know how to use the MissionEditor.exe, and build yourself a mid-ocean scenario with a Flower Class and your sub type and torpedoes, similar date, then run it and torpedo that Flower? Does the game crash? How big is your Save file in Kilobytes, or maybe Megabytes?...

I have a Steam SH3, GWX, and the Flower does not crash. Very lightly modded game though, other than GWX... What is your mod list Seth Buttercrump?

[Seth Buttercrump]

Do you know how to use the MissionEditor.exe, and build yourself a mid-ocean scenario with a Flower Class and your sub type and torpedoes, similar date, then run it and torpedo that Flower? Does the game crash? How big is your Save file in Kilobytes, or maybe Megabytes?...

I have a Steam SH3, GWX, and the Flower does not crash. Very lightly modded game though, other than GWX... What is your mod list Seth Buttercrump?


The only other thing I'm using is Commander. I think the crash issue was just that particular save game. In the end I reverted to an earlier save and have literally just completed my patrol. The patrol area was AN81 and it generates lots of convoys just off East Anglia so I hit one of them, sank 3 destroyers (including 2 Flower class and an AB) plus a large merchant, medium cargo and a Granville. I finished the mission by raiding Ostend and sinking a couple more ships in port, totalling 40,650 tons :03:


That was my 44th patrol and it's april 1945 so I'm expecting my next mission to be my last....

[FeatsOfStrength]

I'm playing SHIII with GWX 3.0 and in my current campaign am up to feb 45, and my latest save position is an attack on a heavily defended convoy off the coast of East Anglia.


I have had the usual CTD save issue before, but now the game is crashing when I hit the 4th destroyer, as pictured. As soon as the torpedo hits, regardless of the viewscreen, I get a CTD.


Any clues?



Are you running SH3.exe in compatibility mode? if not try running it in compatibility mode for Windows XP (Service Pack 2), that solved most save game related crashes in my experience.

[Seth Buttercrump]

Are you running SH3.exe in compatibility mode? if not try running it in compatibility mode for Windows XP (Service Pack 2), that solved most save game related crashes in my experience.




It wasn't a save problem- the game crashes when the destroyer explodes! In the end I gave up and re-started the mission. As Cassious has suggested it's presumably some kind of coding issue that manifests itself under particular circumstances, like the car in the movie Class Action :03:



Yes, I am running in compatibility mode- after a lot of trial and error.... I think the 'save game' issues are a bit of a red herring though- I had a working save position made while submerged in the middle of Dover harbour surrounded by stationary ships!

[Seth Buttercrump]

I have a new ctd issue in my latest campaign- I have just successfully wiped out an entire convoy off the east anglian coast, and received a radio message telling me about large numbers of enemy ships near Dunkirk (the evacuation presumably- this is may 1940) but when I get there the game runs very slowly and eventually crashes. I'm guessing the program has so many positions to calculate it can't cope- certainly not a PC issue as mine is still running cool as a cucumber.



I'm guessing this is something I just have to live with- just as well I took the precaution of saving right after I destroyed the convoy- I currently have 3 torpedoes and 7 shells left :03:

[propbeanie]

Do you have a Large Address Aware utility enacted on your SH3.exe file? Your computer can be a water-cooled behemoth running at 142GHz with 96Gig of RAM, but the game will still plunk along at 30fps and about 1.6gig of RAM, and limited bandwidth, because that's all Windows will give a 32-bit DirectX app...

[Seth Buttercrump]

Do you have a Large Address Aware utility enacted on your SH3.exe file? Your computer can be a water-cooled behemoth running at 142GHz with 96Gig of RAM, but the game will still plunk along at 30fps and about 1.6gig of RAM, and limited bandwidth, because that's all Windows will give a 32-bit DirectX app...


I wasn't aware there was such a thing, but have now downloaded and enabled one.


My pc is jut a vanilla Lenovo AIO with 8gb ram and AMD A10-7800 combined cpu/gpu running Windows 10. According to the installed Radeon utility the game is averaging 81.2fps but don't tell my wife it also says I have played it for 21 hours so far this week :03:

[CassiousClay]

Those "Large Address Aware Utility" things are garbage software for dummies.
Please un-do that, trash that garbage program, and ignore that info because it truly is false information.

You have win10 so you have a 64bit operating system. It is true that 32bit versions of XP (which you're not using so even me saying this is irrelevant) only read 4gb of RAM no matter what was in the machine. 64bit versions of XP read more, if I remember without looking it up I think it was either 8 or 16gb ram.

You can go to Start > Settings > System > About and read the System Type in the list under Device Specifications. There is where it tells you if you're system is a 32 or 64 bit operating system. It's most likely 64 and 64bit win10 will accept and read up to 2 TB of RAM memory.

You're ok. You don't need to run such thing on 64bit Win10. All that's doing is causing your system to be confused and if you followed such a programs instructions to change your virtual memory change it back to default settings after trashing the garbage.

The proof that my info is correct?:
Hundreds to thousands of people run this game on win10 without it.
You're putting diesel fuel in an unleaded vehicle by running that crap/garbage. Shut it off, get rid of it.

[Seth Buttercrump]

Hmmm


Since I installed the 'garbage software for dummies' I haven't had a single CTD, and FPS has gone from an average 81 to 331.


I am neither a software expert, nor a dummy, but a pragmatist, so if it works, I will continue to use it.


Thanks to both of you for your input though.