Post your crash bugs here

Paul Riley · 03-21-10, 04:35 AM

Having had a stable game for a long time now I have recently (over the last 2 days) experienced two quite nasty crashes resulting in me having to quit and reload an earlier saved game.Now I have a few ideas of what could be going wrong and I thought it would be useful to have a place to post all these crashes and bugs (thats if its not been done before) before resorting to more unconventional and violent solutions.
I will begin with what I have experienced so far -

Crash 1
This happened the day before yesterday.I had just broke out of the English channel on my way to my patrol grid just south of Ireland.We spotted a distant merchant heading our way.To cut the story short I sank it and then saved my game just after.Upon reloading the game it would freeze for about 2 secs then a popup would appear saying 'SH3 has just encountered a problem,sorry for the inconvenience' blah blah blah.
Cause?
This has been discussed many times in the past,and sadly it escaped my memory,but what may have happened was,first I saved the game submerged,and second it was in VERY close proximity to a sinking ship,say some 300-400m.
It seems both these factors contribute greatly to the chances of the game crashing.

Crash 2
This happened last night.Upon reloading my 2nd patrol due to the earlier crash I was just passing Dunkirk on my way into the channel again,and decided to save the game as it was getting late and my night vision was faltering

Upon reloading the game the same crash occured as described in 'crash 1',bringing me to a POSSIBLE cause.
Cause?
As there is no obvious cause for this one I can only assume it is linked to either Dunkirk in particular or the channel,meaning both these areas could be more prone to crashes than other areas.Maybe you have also encountered this behaviour with specific areas?

Its also interesting to note that before I left port I had installed quite an old mod called 'improved smoke' by 'iambecomelife' I think the author's name is.I am wondering if this mod could be conflicting with either GWX3 or Racerboy's SH4 effects? I am also today going to save my career and fresh install everything,only this time without the res fix hack and improved smoke mod,as before these two were installed my game was rock solid,without a single crash!,EVER!
Finally,I would like to hope this thread is stickied in the near future as it is very important and could save a lot of broken knuckles,cracked monitor screens and failed relationships/marriages.
I look forward to your experiences and comments.

03-21-10, 04:57 AM

Saving "too close to ports" is also a no no.
I haved saved fairly close to Hartlepool, but have never had cause to use those saves.

I used to get into trouble saving too close to my own port.
(Insurance against a computer crash while entering port.)

Paul Riley · 03-21-10, 05:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snestorm

Saving "too close to ports" is also a no no.
I haved saved fairly close to Hartlepool, but have never had cause to use those saves.

I used to get into trouble saving too close to my own port.
(Insurance against a computer crash while entering port.)

My two crashes could be linked to this also!,because in the distance I could JUST see the lights of Dunkirk! why would this crash the game though?if it IS linked to this it would be extremely crippling,especially when getting tired and you really need to save

Thanks for the tip

03-21-10, 05:13 AM

I don't know the "why". Perhaps due to spawning or unseen trafik?

My old instalation used crash south of Norge/Norway.
When I would reload a save from there, it would crash shortly after.
I then learned that saving in Heavy Fog is also a no no.

Admittedly, this stuff can make SH3 a pain when one would realy rather be in bed.

Paul Riley · 03-21-10, 05:30 AM

I never realised such a fantastic game like this could be so unstable!,I mean I have hardly EVER had any crashes since I got it in 2005.The last 2 crashes are really the only times its ever crashed for me

I am DEF thinking the higher resolutions hack could be at fault for me,maybe something I didnt do/activate etc.I dont really need it anyway,I was always happy at 1024 resolution (plus 2x AA),and GWX with other mods soon helps take your mind off higher resolutions.

03-21-10, 05:37 AM

Wise decision.

One of the first things I did after installing was to turn the "particle density" down to about 12%. Game runs great, and I don't see any negative effects on anything.

Paul Riley · 03-21-10, 05:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snestorm

Wise decision.

Lets hope it was a wise decision.
Good tip about the particle density,I have never had to alter this but its still good to know it can alleviate problems,more performance wise I would imagine?

KL-alfman · 03-21-10, 06:13 AM

after one year lurking and half a year a member of this board I learned by many posts that one shouldn't save:

- submerged
- near land (50km range)
- near any traffic (again 50km)
- near sunk vessels

I don't know the reason but mostly it hasn't been any inconvenience to me cause I just pause my games during patrol (only in my IXB-career I saved far out in the Atlantic due to the longer patrols you sail with these boats)

Paul Riley · 03-21-10, 06:21 AM

Do you leave your computer on and just unpause when wanting to play again?.Excellent tactic but very expensive!

Pisces · 03-21-10, 06:21 AM

When in doubt in the middle of the sea do a hydrophone check with your own ears (don't rely on the crew). If you hear something, go way from it. If not, you can save. It's a very annoying bug. Especially when you're just in the middle of a convoy attack an need to leave the game.

Paul Riley · 03-21-10, 06:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pisces

When in doubt in the middle of the sea do a hydrophone check with your own ears (don't rely on the crew). If you hear something, go way from it. If not, you can save.

Its a shame we have to do this just to save the game,causing us to miss many good chances of an attack

03-21-10, 06:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Riley

Do you leave your computer on and just unpause when wanting to play again?.Excellent tactic but very expensive!

I usualy do that too.
On my previouse installation SH3 wouldn't let me Save And Exit.
This one does, thankfuly.

When SH3 says "Game saved successfuly", I generaly give an additional 2 minutes or so, before pressing "OK".
The little gold light on my computer always indicates activity AFTER getting that message.

KL-alfman · 03-21-10, 06:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Riley

Do you leave your computer on and just unpause when wanting to play again?.Excellent tactic but very expensive!

I was told that in "energy-saving mode" my machine spends only a tenth of the normal energy-level (that would be around 60W). don't know if this is correct ......

03-21-10, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KL-alfman

I was told that in "energy-saving mode" my machine spends only a tenth of the normal energy-level (that would be around 60W). don't know if this is correct ......

Glad you brought that up.
Can I use the Sleep Mode (Vista), without loosing my game?

It's a feature I've never had, and know almost nothing about.

Paul Riley · 03-21-10, 06:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KL-alfman

I was told that in "energy-saving mode" my machine spends only a tenth of the normal energy-level (that would be around 60W). don't know if this is correct ......

You may well be right

Does your wallet stand up to it though?

03-21-10, 04:35 AM	#1
Paul Riley Ocean Warrior Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Sheffield, England Posts: 2,679 Downloads: 165 Uploads: 0	Post your crash bugs here Having had a stable game for a long time now I have recently (over the last 2 days) experienced two quite nasty crashes resulting in me having to quit and reload an earlier saved game.Now I have a few ideas of what could be going wrong and I thought it would be useful to have a place to post all these crashes and bugs (thats if its not been done before) before resorting to more unconventional and violent solutions. I will begin with what I have experienced so far - Crash 1 This happened the day before yesterday.I had just broke out of the English channel on my way to my patrol grid just south of Ireland.We spotted a distant merchant heading our way.To cut the story short I sank it and then saved my game just after.Upon reloading the game it would freeze for about 2 secs then a popup would appear saying 'SH3 has just encountered a problem,sorry for the inconvenience' blah blah blah. Cause? This has been discussed many times in the past,and sadly it escaped my memory,but what may have happened was,first I saved the game submerged,and second it was in VERY close proximity to a sinking ship,say some 300-400m. It seems both these factors contribute greatly to the chances of the game crashing. Crash 2 This happened last night.Upon reloading my 2nd patrol due to the earlier crash I was just passing Dunkirk on my way into the channel again,and decided to save the game as it was getting late and my night vision was faltering Upon reloading the game the same crash occured as described in 'crash 1',bringing me to a POSSIBLE cause. Cause? As there is no obvious cause for this one I can only assume it is linked to either Dunkirk in particular or the channel,meaning both these areas could be more prone to crashes than other areas.Maybe you have also encountered this behaviour with specific areas? Its also interesting to note that before I left port I had installed quite an old mod called 'improved smoke' by 'iambecomelife' I think the author's name is.I am wondering if this mod could be conflicting with either GWX3 or Racerboy's SH4 effects? I am also today going to save my career and fresh install everything,only this time without the res fix hack and improved smoke mod,as before these two were installed my game was rock solid,without a single crash!,EVER! Finally,I would like to hope this thread is stickied in the near future as it is very important and could save a lot of broken knuckles,cracked monitor screens and failed relationships/marriages. I look forward to your experiences and comments. __________________ Best Patrol: 10 merchants + HMS Nelson for 68.056 Tonnes Last edited by Paul Riley; 03-21-10 at 05:07 AM.

03-21-10, 05:30 AM	#5
Paul Riley Ocean Warrior Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Sheffield, England Posts: 2,679 Downloads: 165 Uploads: 0	I never realised such a fantastic game like this could be so unstable!,I mean I have hardly EVER had any crashes since I got it in 2005.The last 2 crashes are really the only times its ever crashed for me I am DEF thinking the higher resolutions hack could be at fault for me,maybe something I didnt do/activate etc.I dont really need it anyway,I was always happy at 1024 resolution (plus 2x AA),and GWX with other mods soon helps take your mind off higher resolutions. __________________ Best Patrol: 10 merchants + HMS Nelson for 68.056 Tonnes

03-21-10, 06:13 AM	#8
KL-alfman Grey Wolf Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Weimar Posts: 930 Downloads: 86 Uploads: 0	after one year lurking and half a year a member of this board I learned by many posts that one shouldn't save: - submerged - near land (50km range) - near any traffic (again 50km) - near sunk vessels I don't know the reason but mostly it hasn't been any inconvenience to me cause I just pause my games during patrol (only in my IXB-career I saved far out in the Atlantic due to the longer patrols you sail with these boats) __________________ Life, Liberty and Property!

03-21-10, 06:21 AM	#9
Paul Riley Ocean Warrior Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Sheffield, England Posts: 2,679 Downloads: 165 Uploads: 0	Do you leave your computer on and just unpause when wanting to play again?.Excellent tactic but very expensive! __________________ Best Patrol: 10 merchants + HMS Nelson for 68.056 Tonnes

03-21-10, 06:21 AM	#10
Pisces Silent Hunter Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: AN9771 Posts: 4,904 Downloads: 304 Uploads: 0	When in doubt in the middle of the sea do a hydrophone check with your own ears (don't rely on the crew). If you hear something, go way from it. If not, you can save. It's a very annoying bug. Especially when you're just in the middle of a convoy attack an need to leave the game. __________________ My site downloads: https://ricojansen.nl/downloads

03-21-10, 04:57 AM	#2
Snestorm Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	Saving "too close to ports" is also a no no. I haved saved fairly close to Hartlepool, but have never had cause to use those saves. I used to get into trouble saving too close to my own port. (Insurance against a computer crash while entering port.)

03-21-10, 05:13 AM	#4
Snestorm Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	I don't know the "why". Perhaps due to spawning or unseen trafik? My old instalation used crash south of Norge/Norway. When I would reload a save from there, it would crash shortly after. I then learned that saving in Heavy Fog is also a no no. Admittedly, this stuff can make SH3 a pain when one would realy rather be in bed.

03-21-10, 05:37 AM	#6
Snestorm Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	Wise decision. One of the first things I did after installing was to turn the "particle density" down to about 12%. Game runs great, and I don't see any negative effects on anything.