SH4 "Load Game" Bounces to Desktop

[Hazelwood]

Not always but often enough to be irritating/disruptive, SH4 "Gold" has a problem when loading a saved game. It will get as far as the "Please Wait" box with dark screen (which is normal) but instead of launching the saved game, bounces to the desktop after 5+ seconds or so. It didn't used to do this until a couple of weeks ago but can't spot anything that would cause this problem. Any suggestions most appreciated.

System is Windows 10 Pro, 32 GB memory.

[KaleunMarco]

Originally Posted by Hazelwood

Not always but often enough to be irritating/disruptive, SH4 "Gold" has a problem when loading a saved game. It will get as far as the "Please Wait" box with dark screen (which is normal) but instead of launching the saved game, bounces to the desktop after 5+ seconds or so. It didn't used to do this until a couple of weeks ago but can't spot anything that would cause this problem. Any suggestions most appreciated.

System is Windows 10 Pro, 32 GB memory.

at that point, does the game end or does Win10 just bounce you to the desktop while the game keeps running?

[1Patriotofmany]

Bad save. Do you just have vanilla? I've run into this problem in the past. I've had multiple bad saves in a row in fact. Take your time making the saves and see if that helps(take a minute or more before each step in the save process. Don't mix different mods into the same save folder. Sometimes your only choice is to delete the corrupted saves and start from a good one before it. I find it happens with some mods more than others but also had it happen in vanilla. Worst case scenario for me was to completely remove SH4 and start again. I have one untouched Steam download. I make a new folder for each mod by copying the files from the untouched download. Use seperate multish4, Large address aware (LAA) and JSGME in each new mod folder. make sure LAA points to the SH4.exe in that mod folder you are using.

[Hazelwood]

Originally Posted by 1Patriotofmany

Bad save. Do you just have vanilla? I've run into this problem in the past. I've had multiple bad saves in a row in fact. Take your time making the saves and see if that helps(take a minute or more before each step in the save process. Don't mix different mods into the same save ..

I'm running plain vanilla. I'll try your advice re pacing the SAVE steps. Thanks for responding.

JH

[Hazelwood]

Originally Posted by KaleunMarco

at that point, does the game end or does Win10 just bounce you to the desktop while the game keeps running?

The game actually ends. My workaround is to do enough saves that I can go back far enough to find one that works without losing an unacceptable amount of game progress. Annoying but it's all I've got so far.

[KaleunMarco]

Originally Posted by Hazelwood

I'm running plain vanilla. I'll try your advice re pacing the SAVE steps. Thanks for responding.

JH

i'll add more tip to 1Patriot's advice: don't re-use the same Savefile name. By this i mean, don't save on top of a previous Savefile...type a different file name.
if you happen to re-load THAT particular save, it may be corrupted.

[Hazelwood]

Originally Posted by KaleunMarco

i'll add more tip to 1Patriot's advice: don't re-use the same Savefile name. By this i mean, don't save on top of a previous Savefile...type a different file name.
if you happen to re-load THAT particular save, it may be corrupted.

Thanks! I have, indeed, been overwriting previous saves. I'll give your advice a try.

[KaleunMarco]

Originally Posted by Hazelwood

Thanks! I have, indeed, been overwriting previous saves. I'll give your advice a try.

good idea.
that method of saving has been known to cause all-kinds of mayhem.

[Hazelwood]

Originally Posted by KaleunMarco

good idea.
that method of saving has been known to cause all-kinds of mayhem.

Doing "clean" saves (i.e., not overwriting) did the trick.😉

[sortofredhead]

Originally Posted by KaleunMarco

good idea.
that method of saving has been known to cause all-kinds of mayhem.

I have performed all the steps mentioned to ensure that a save game will load and yet again still find every single saved game from playing yesterday goes CTD. Set compatibility, set LAA, put SH4 not in Program folders, save under unque names without save overs, etc etc. Only exception is the auto save leaving Pearl Harbor. I enjoy playing but this just makes it totally unplayable.
Frustratingly, I checked some saved games that DID load properly after I had saved them, only to find that today, they CTD. I wish there was some way to make this game work right.

[sortofredhead]

Ok, I think I may have broken the "code" on this CTD issue. Not the real code but after doing everything that I read to do (don't save over old saves, put SH4 not in the program folders, etc etc), along with suggestions from a few of your great helpers, the one thing that was mentioned in just one post that seems to make the biggest difference is to end the SH4 program after making a save. I have found that so far (fingers crossed), that after exiting the program and then restarting it, the saved games come back up OK.

[propbeanie]

That is a function of the game, though Ubi never says it anywhere... Think of the "menu" in the game as a "mode chooser", if you will. When you use the Career choices on the menu, you are in the Career mode of the game, and as such, you must exit the game to change modes... even though you can go back to the main menu... If you use the Museum to look at stuff, when you are finished, you have to exit the game, and go back in to choose a different "mode" of the game. The Save Game situation is similar, but even more perplexing. When you Save a game, you should also exit the game, then re-enter and load the Save. My un-educated guess is that the game does not do proper Malloc and "de-malloc" properly. In other words, it creates memory buffers, when it starts, but apparently does not clear them until the game exits, hence it attempt to overwrite itself and therefore crashes... maybe.