Cannot run SH3 Commander 2 - can anybody help?

[Hauptman]

Hi,

I am new to this forum (although I was searching through it for months now). For quite a long time I was one of those anonymous users who use these great add ons like RUB and SH3 Commander (they are not really mods as I think they are too complex to fill int that category) and some others. I appreciate the effort it took to prepare them and admire how they changed the game into something very different from the original. So thank you all! :up:

However, since SH3 Commaned 2 was released, I have the following problem. I can install it without problem and run it. However, when I want to set up a new carreer and click on the respective line, I usually get the error "invalid argument to date encode." This message keeps poping up everytime I try to move the month/year on the set-up for a new carreer screen up to a point where it is impossible to set-up a new carreer and play (due to the fact that the error message keeps poping up again and again and again :damn: :damn: :damn: ). Consequently, I cannot use SH3 Commander 2 (not even the latest update).

I do not think it is necessary to go into technical details at this moment as the previous version of SH3 Commander (1.43) worked well for me. Due to this error, I just used the original SH3 Commander 1.43 until now; however, since I updated to RUB 1.44 (thanks for every minute spent on creating it!), SH3 Commander 1.43 no longer works (RUB 1.44 and SH3 Commander 1.43 seem to be incompatible). Currently, I have to play SH3 without SH3 Commander. It is a pitty because I see the aplication to improve every day and cannot use it :cry: .

This problem seems to me quite strange because when I (in SH3 Commander 2) click on set-up for a single mission screen, no error messages appear no matter what buttons I press.

One last thing you should know before posting your advice. I play SH3 on Windows ME (yes, it is possible to play with that system without any extraordinary problem).

Can anybody tell me what is wrong or can the honourable gentlemen who created SH3 Commander 2 make an update which would solve this problem for me?

Thanks a lot,

Jorg Hauptman
U-boat commander

[JScones]

...when I want to set up a new carreer and click on the respective line...
What do you mean? What "line"?

Do you have any existing careers? If you do and you click on them, do all details appear, or do you get the text "Error!" appearing anywhere?

If so, then you appear to have permissions problems. Sorry, but I do not support running SH3 Commander on Windows ME, only the two platforms recommended for the game, viz XP and 2000. On XP this problem is fixed by simply ensuring that you log in as Computer Administrator. Alternatively, you may like to try running with your Firewall and/or Antivirus software disabled, just to test. It has worked for others.

Unless your in-game Flotilla.cfg file is corrupt (or it has been modified via mod or manual change - pls confirm), what is happening is that SH3 Commander does not have "permission" to access the file. Without this permission it can't retrieve any values. So, if you don't "own" the file, or it has been "inoculated" via a firewall or antivirus, it ain't changing!

Anyway, respond back to the above and we'll see where it takes us.

This problem seems to me quite strange because when I (in SH3 Commander 2) click on set-up for a single mission screen, no error messages appear no matter what buttons I press.
But do you get Flotillas to select? If so do you get an error when you click on the "..." button? For a single mission Flotilla availability dates are not queried, but they are for new careers. You will never get a date error when running single missions.

You can still start careers via the single mission screen - it is exactly the same as how you do it in v1.43 - it's just that you lose some functionality and are required to set selections manually.

[Hauptman]

1) I meant the line that appears in the left column (there are three lines "set-up for a new carreer", "set-up for a single mission", "existing carreers..."). When I click on the first one (top left corner of the SH3 Commander start screen), the error appears. Other two are ok. The error also appears when I click on year/month buttons inside the "set-up for a new carreer" screen, other buttons work fine.

2) I do not have any existing carrers, because I cannot get through the SH3 Commander start screen to start any carrer. A new error message "cannot write to menu_en.txt" or something like that appears and I remain in SH3 Commander screen. This would indicate that there is really a problem with accessing files.

3) My flotilla.cfg file is neither corrupt nor manually modified. Because of SH3 Commander problems, I recently reinstalled SH3 and have a new unmodified version with RUB 1.44 and a few other mods (which do not go into cfg files but generally modify other files - I am almost sure of this because I use mode enabler and it would warn me of any conflict). I can give you exact list but since everything worked fine with SH3 Commander 1.43, I think it is not necessary.

4) I shut my antivirus soft (Avast) and the error still appears. As there were not problems with SH3 Comm 1.43, I do not think the antivirus soft is the issue.

5) Clicking on "..." and flotillas is OK - no error. Only when I set starting year to more than 1939, then the same mesaage appears...

6) Regarding my Win Me, I was also surprised that it works. But it does and (as I am quite happy with working on Win Me) see no reason to change my system. I understand that you do not support Win Me but I thought it should be possible to fix SH3 Commander 2 to work with Win Me again because SH3 Commander 1.43 worked with this system without problems (if one version can then why not the other one?).

Thanks for help,

Jorg Hauptman

[Hauptman]

One more thing I just noticed. I tried to run SH3 and there was written "loaded with SH3 Commander..." Also the carreer I set up was there. So I loaded game, got out of harbour and then returned back and docked back in harbour (i.e., finished one patrol). It seems that even if it did not let me through when I tried to set-up the carreer in SH3 Comm screen, SH3 Comm in fact generated the carreer I requested.

Now SH3 Commander recognizes this patrol. I can see it in the SH3 Com screen, I can do crew management etc. I still only have problems with setting-up a new carreer (stil the same error message when I click on the setting-up a new carreer line and year/month buttons).

On the other side, it must be something with the flotillas.cfg. I tried to remove the file - SH3 Comm worked fine - no error, but I had not flotillas and subs at all (which is obviously logical). So there is probably flotilla.cfg accessibility error.

[JScones]

If you select "Setup for a single mission" do you get a list of Flotillas to choose from? If so, if you select one and press "..." what happens?

2)...A new error message "cannot write to menu_en.txt" or something like that appears and I remain in SH3 Commander screen.
One more thing I just noticed. I tried to run SH3 and there was written "loaded with SH3 Commander..." Also the carreer I set up was there. So I loaded game, got out of harbour and then returned back and docked back in harbour (i.e., finished one patrol). It seems that even if it did not let me through when I tried to set-up the carreer in SH3 Comm screen, SH3 Comm in fact generated the carreer I requested.
So you get an error message saying that SH3Cmdr can't write to en_menu.txt, yet you get "Loaded via SH3 Commander..." showing in SH3? This means SH3Cmdr *did* successfully write to the file. This reeks of permission problems, but I don't understand ME enough to suggest a solution.

4) I shut my antivirus soft (Avast) and the error still appears. As there were not problems with SH3 Comm 1.43, I do not think the antivirus soft is the issue.
5) ...(if one version can then why not the other one?).
New version=new functionality=potential for new errors. Your error is caused by a new enhancement.

Now SH3 Commander recognizes this patrol. I can see it in the SH3 Com screen, I can do crew management etc. I still only have problems with setting-up a new carreer (stil the same error message when I click on the setting-up a new carreer line and year/month buttons).
Are you getting any "Error!" labels on your new existing career screen?

Do you know what file or function SH3 Comm calls when I click on "setting-up a new carreer" line and/or the year/month buttons inside this screen?
Haven't you wondered why we have been focussing on Flotilla.cfg? ;)

[JScones]

Only because it's not 100% clear, you did install the v1.4b patch over your reinstallation of SH3?

[Hauptman]

1) Set-up for single missions - I get a list of flotillas (always the same - 1,2,7,10) and list of all available boats (even XXI in 1939). No error - I think it should be ok.

2) new existing carreer screen - no errors at all. But I cannot start SH3 through SH3 Comm - another message "cannot write to" ..."carreer10.cfg" and again the message with menu_en.txt. But if I get out of SH3 Comm and run SH3 without SH3 Comm, then I get the "loaded via SH3 Commander" message again and everything seems ok. If I subsequently get out of SH3, I can roll back SH3 files through SH3 Comm and I have plain version of SH3 again (e.g., no monthly messages).

3) I have the 1.4 patch installed properly. As I said, up until 1.43 RUB and SH3 Comm version everything worked fine.

If you have any idea, please let me know.

Jorg Hauptman

[JScones]

I know you've tried switching off your antivirus, but are you running a firewall or other system monitoring software? If so, test with it all switched off too.

Otherwise, I'm not sure. I don't know ME well enough to understand how file access permissions are managed.

It may help if you post a step-by-step list of what error messages you get (the full accurate message) when you select your existing career and press the Launch SH3! button.

[Hauptman]

Ok, here is the list. So first I go to SH3 Comm screen, select the newly founded carreer and pres launch SH3. First, I get a message that some crew member was transferred and then:

"Unable to write to C:\dokumenty\SH3\data\cfg\careers\Karl Notsch\Crew_Career_10.cfg"

When I press ok, SH3 does not initiate but I stay in SH3 Comm screen, latest report message written on screen is "Integrating selected SH3 options"

In case I turn off realistic career transfers, I get a different message "Unable to write to C:\Zabava\Silent Hunter III\data\Menu\en_menu.txt"

In both cases SH3 fails to load.

If you do not know the cause of this error, it is ok. I still can play without SH3 Comm...

Have a nice weekend!

[gdogghenrikson]

shouldnt this be moved into the mods forum

[JScones]

OK. The bleeding obvious first - those files exist at the paths stated in the error messages?

If so then SH3 Commander is finding the files but is not being allowed to write to the files. This is permissions related, but I can't help any further because I have never used Windows ME (or for that matter written any software specifically for Windows ME).

shouldnt this be moved into the mods forumThe "Mods Workshop forum"? Why? SH3 Commander is not a mod, it's a full third party add-on available to more than just the modding faithful.

[Beery]

shouldnt this be moved into the mods forum

Most moderators tend to respect the desire of the original poster as to where they want the thread located. Unless it causes a real problem I always respect that choice. There are also very important considerations that exist to leave certain mod threads in the general SH3 forum: the main one being that the general SH3 forum gets more traffic from users. In the case of problems getting mods to run, often players are more able to give advice than mod-makers, since players will tend to have more experience with installation issues than mod-makers. Also, mod-makers tend not to use other people's mods, so a post like this finds much more responses in the general forum. If it was posted on the mod forum, chances are it would get few or no responses unless Jaesen or I happened to spot it.

[Hauptman]

Ok, thanks JScones anyway. I will try to play without SH3 Commander for now and will see if somebody comes up with the solution in the future.
:hmm: :hmm: :hmm: