Save game crash important discovery!

brett25 · 03-28-13, 12:59 AM

i know the save game crash is a plague apon us all, and i have taken it apon myself to troubleshoot this issue for along time now. I have put many hours testing each variable i could possibly come up with. Tonite I have located a cause that is definitive. This many not be the only cause, but in this particular case it was...and it is due to SH3 Commander. Now let me emphasize, its not SH3Commander itself thats the problem, of course, but rather, the data that was inside my particular install of Commander.

What I am recommending to people who are getting reapeated save game crashes is to point your Sh3 install to a fresh install of Commander. Over time i belive that Commander can get corrupted with bad data and should perodically be cleaned up. If anyone wants to verify this and let me know that would be helpful.. But like I say in this case im 100% certain that this was the issue.

The hint was that the corrupted save would only occur when a ship had been sunk...not a damaged ship on the surface but only after a ship had gone under the water...no save would load after that point...reintstalling Commander, this no longer occurs...

good luck and may we defeat this bastard once and for all

Marko_Ramius · 03-28-13, 10:24 AM

Hi guys !

I'm a victim of the dreaded save game crash since i decided to play again this fantastic game.

This really drive me crazy cause in the past, it was not an issue (maybe one crash in two years of playing but not more than that).

I play GWX 3.0 on windows 7 x64 (not in program files..), SH3Cmdr, HSie V16B1, Stiebler4b addon, and several GWX mods.

So, i can confirm what Brett25 said : All my save games crash ( i don't save underwater, nor near warships or land, etc ..) BUT : a saved game made before sinking a ship will not crash !!

No matter where and when i save my game, if i have sunk some ships, saved games will crash ( i mean, always crash ! it's impossible to play the game anymore .. )

I tried without HSie patch, Stiebler4b addon but with no luck : same crashes ..

Anvar1061 · 03-28-13, 10:31 AM

SSS
Very important discovery!

Marko_Ramius · 03-28-13, 11:06 AM

I tried to do what Brett25 said : Reinstalling SH3Commander, but my games still crash .. ( The saved games was a backup )

I tried to play without using Commander, using the GWX shortcut but with same fatal issue . .

I feel mad !

brett25 · 03-28-13, 12:01 PM

marco,
this is what i did, im not sure of the exact point things resolved so i will mention them all as it could be a combination of things:

Save your entire game folder somewhere else
uninstall sh3
do a registry scan and fix what it asks
reisntall sh3 to the default directory (this may be important)
reinstal GWX
completely reintstall commander (make sure there no old files in there)
then you can place your old install back into its place (or maybe just your MOD folder is needed)

point Commander to the location of your SH3 Install

now you will have to go back to the point before the ship sinks, luckily i had a save where i had already critically damaged the ship but it was still on surface and was the first attack of my patrol....

when i did this, once the ship sank i did a new save and i had no problems after that.

this fix will not allow you to resurrect you corrup save, but i believe once your bac kin your game and you have a new sinking it may be good from there

**you may not have to do all the reinstall SH3 steps, just try the Commander thing and get back into your game with a good save point and then let me know...

You see that fact that you can confirm that it is upon a ships sinking that this issue happens is good and helps to pinpoint the problem for others. So hopefully more people can confirm this and we can rid the world of this for ever. By the way, I have saved at 150 meters below the surface witha full depthcharging happening, and in every other concievable situation with no currupted save---only when the ship sinks.

Finally it may be a little early for me to say 100%, because I will need to sink more ships and see if itt happens again, but at least things can focus on the sinking ship as a cause

rudewarrior · 03-28-13, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brett25

now you will have to go back to the point before the ship sinks

Ok, I was wondering about this. There is a methodology issue here. If you go back to the point before the ship sinks, then there is no conclusive proof that SH3 Commander is the problem.

During one particular mission, I kept having CTD's upon loading. I would engage a convoy sink a bunch of ships, get way out of range, and save the game. Upon loading, I got a CTD. This sequence occurred during three different saves. Two of the times, it was the "same" convoy, then the third was a different convoy. Each time I went to the save prior to engaging the convoy, so "before a ship sank." After the third, I wound up engaging another convoy and doing the same thing, but this time, after returning to the game, it loaded up just fine. I used SH3 Commander throughout the entire process.

To put it simply, you are introducing way too many factors into your control sample in order to truly verify that SH3 Commander is actually the problem.

Unfortunately, your methodology does not support SH3 Commander being the culprit, and I actually find it highly unlikely that this is the case.

03-28-13, 12:59 AM	#1
brett25 Seasoned Skipper Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Oakland CA, USA Posts: 737 Downloads: 570 Uploads: 0	Save game crash important discovery! i know the save game crash is a plague apon us all, and i have taken it apon myself to troubleshoot this issue for along time now. I have put many hours testing each variable i could possibly come up with. Tonite I have located a cause that is definitive. This many not be the only cause, but in this particular case it was...and it is due to SH3 Commander. Now let me emphasize, its not SH3Commander itself thats the problem, of course, but rather, the data that was inside my particular install of Commander. What I am recommending to people who are getting reapeated save game crashes is to point your Sh3 install to a fresh install of Commander. Over time i belive that Commander can get corrupted with bad data and should perodically be cleaned up. If anyone wants to verify this and let me know that would be helpful.. But like I say in this case im 100% certain that this was the issue. The hint was that the corrupted save would only occur when a ship had been sunk...not a damaged ship on the surface but only after a ship had gone under the water...no save would load after that point...reintstalling Commander, this no longer occurs... good luck and may we defeat this bastard once and for all __________________ http://shmf.larsbundgaard.dk/index.p...1tn5&board=7.0

03-28-13, 12:01 PM	#5
brett25 Seasoned Skipper Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Oakland CA, USA Posts: 737 Downloads: 570 Uploads: 0	marco, this is what i did, im not sure of the exact point things resolved so i will mention them all as it could be a combination of things: Save your entire game folder somewhere else uninstall sh3 do a registry scan and fix what it asks reisntall sh3 to the default directory (this may be important) reinstal GWX completely reintstall commander (make sure there no old files in there) then you can place your old install back into its place (or maybe just your MOD folder is needed) point Commander to the location of your SH3 Install now you will have to go back to the point before the ship sinks, luckily i had a save where i had already critically damaged the ship but it was still on surface and was the first attack of my patrol.... when i did this, once the ship sank i did a new save and i had no problems after that. this fix will not allow you to resurrect you corrup save, but i believe once your bac kin your game and you have a new sinking it may be good from there *you may not have to do all the reinstall SH3 steps, just try the Commander thing and get back into your game with a good save point and then let me know... You see that fact that you can confirm that it is upon a ships sinking that this issue happens is good and helps to pinpoint the problem for others. So hopefully more people can confirm this and we can rid the world of this for ever. By the way, I have saved at 150 meters below the surface witha full depthcharging happening, and in every other concievable situation with no currupted save---only when the ship sinks. Finally it may be a little early for me to say 100%, because I will need to sink more ships and see if itt happens again, but at least things can focus on the sinking ship as a cause __________________ http://shmf.larsbundgaard.dk/index.p...1tn5&board=7.0 Last edited by brett25; 03-28-13 at 12:19 PM.*

03-28-13, 10:24 AM	#2
Marko_Ramius Frogman Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Near Paris Posts: 303 Downloads: 113 Uploads: 0	Hi guys ! I'm a victim of the dreaded save game crash since i decided to play again this fantastic game. This really drive me crazy cause in the past, it was not an issue (maybe one crash in two years of playing but not more than that). I play GWX 3.0 on windows 7 x64 (not in program files..), SH3Cmdr, HSie V16B1, Stiebler4b addon, and several GWX mods. So, i can confirm what Brett25 said : All my save games crash ( i don't save underwater, nor near warships or land, etc ..) BUT : a saved game made before sinking a ship will not crash !! No matter where and when i save my game, if i have sunk some ships, saved games will crash ( i mean, always crash ! it's impossible to play the game anymore .. ) I tried without HSie patch, Stiebler4b addon but with no luck : same crashes ..

03-28-13, 10:31 AM	#3
Anvar1061 Ocean Warrior Join Date: May 2012 Location: In the sea, on land and above Posts: 3,487 Downloads: 880 Uploads: 0	SSS Very important discovery!

03-28-13, 11:06 AM	#4
Marko_Ramius Frogman Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Near Paris Posts: 303 Downloads: 113 Uploads: 0	I tried to do what Brett25 said : Reinstalling SH3Commander, but my games still crash .. ( The saved games was a backup ) I tried to play without using Commander, using the GWX shortcut but with same fatal issue . . I feel mad !