Ok set particle density to 1, turned off the high quality textures. CTD
I want to clarify about running "just fine with the stock game."
Sometimes the stock game would crash with burning ships, but only if I zoomed in on them with my periscope and kept it there. Or if I tried moving my periscope really quickly when looking at a burning ship.
Also to clarify, the game pretty much crashes now any time I have a burning ship. I had been saving immediately after getting the ship sunk message so that I could leave on high TC, but that isn't exactly feasible. I have a nice test game now, since I am in the middle of a convoy w/3 burning ships all within 700 meters of me.
I am leaning toward the hardware issue, unless I hear of a possible solution from the NYGM team.
Keep those suggestions coming. I'm hoping there is a viable solution out there.