Help!!!Sinking records are missing!

[flaminus]

Hi, captains. I've encountered a very serious problem!
Sometimes when I load a previous save game, some of the ships which I already sunk were just missing!
If you sent a status report, there would be only some of the sunk ships in the list, some of my gains are just gone! Even worse, any ship I sunk after this loading file will also be ignored! Then when I returned to base, what i got are only the partial gains of this patrol before I loaded that save game file. I've suffered this deadly bug for 4 patrols since the beginning of my new career!

For example:
1.jpg

And here is my mod list:
-----------------------------------------------
1_TriggerMaru_Overhaul_2-5
Real Environment RSRDC_TMO by Kriller + Caustic
RSRDC_TMO_V502
RSRDC_V5xx_Patch1
1.5_Optical Targeting Correction 031312 for RSRDCv502
1.5_OTC_Realistic Scopes for 16 to 9 RSRDCv502
Bigger Better Protractors
TMO_Sample_Emblem
#4 PE4 Ship_debris_SH4_with bodies
TDW_Ship_Plane_Fire_Damage_v1_3_SH4
TheDarkWraith_DC_Water_Disturbance_v2_0_SH4
TMO2_fix_for_TDW_DC_Water_Disturbance_v2_0_SH4
-----------------------------------------------

Really hoping someone could give me a tip.This problem is really frustrated...

[razark]

No tips available from me, but you're not alone. I've seen it happen often enough that I don't save and reload the game if I don't have to.

[flaminus]

Originally Posted by razark

No tips available from me, but you're not alone. I've seen it happen often enough that I don't save and reload the game if I don't have to.

Thank you for letting me know that i'm not alone.

So is this caused by mods? I think my mod list is relatively simple and it seems safe.

[razark]

Looking at your list, we share TMO, the Protractors, the fire damage, and the water disturbance. If we can get some more people to confirm any of those, it would help to narrow it down.

[flaminus]

Originally Posted by razark

Looking at your list, we share TMO, the Protractors, the fire damage, and the water disturbance. If we can get some more people to confirm any of those, it would help to narrow it down.

Well, now i think this may not be caused by mods, I change the mods and even re-installed the game, but that happened again. Actually, Every Time!!!
Now i'm almost giving up this game.

Maybe it's due to the Windows 10? what's OS do you have?

[slipf18]

It s not Windows 10 I wouldn't think. I have that and have never seen this problem. In fact I save often because I am always paranoid of a CTD.

Do you save under a different filename each time?

[razark]

Originally Posted by flaminus

Maybe it's due to the Windows 10? what's OS do you have?

I've seen it happen under both Vista and Win7.

Originally Posted by slipf18

Do you save under a different filename each time?

I think I need to just start a new campaign and try this.

[CapnScurvy]

Not receiving credit for sinking ships after a "saved" game point could be an indication something isn't right between your main game files found in the default "Ubisoft/Silent Hunter Wolves of the Pacific" folder (modded or not), and your "Documents/SH4" folder (where your game preferences and "saved" game points are kept).

The "SH4" folder is made/remade everytime the game is started and finds either the file is missing, or changed (like when you "activate" a new mod and the mod has changed one of the files that the SH4 folder contains). An important group of files that are checked/added to the SH4 folder are the .UPC files. If a mod has modified these files, the SH4 folder will replace the older files with the modded ones. TMO and OTC both have these .upc files (I don't know about the others).

Least it will IF you followed some basic rules with mod "Activation":

Add mods when you're in port...between missions, if, your not going to start over with a new Campaign. NEVER use the Windows Alt-Tab keystroke to return to Desktop!! The game doesn't recognize the feature, and won't accept the changes to the SH4 folder if the game is running in the background. Always close the game by exiting through the menu's in order to add mods to your game. Restarting will allow the SH4 folder to update to the new modded files. For me, I'd treat the SH4 folder as something like your socks.....change it often for better use!! Delete the whole folder....it will make another. Sure, you'll lose that Campaign you're almost finished with, or the saved point that has you sinking 3 Battleships with one torpedo, or your preferences of screen resolution......but do it anyway to keep the game running as expected.

Flaminus, you've got quite a mod list:

1_TriggerMaru_Overhaul_2-5
Real Environment RSRDC_TMO by Kriller + Caustic
RSRDC_TMO_V502
RSRDC_V5xx_Patch1
1.5_Optical Targeting Correction 031312 for RSRDCv502
1.5_OTC_Realistic Scopes for 16 to 9 RSRDCv502
Bigger Better Protractors
TMO_Sample_Emblem
#4 PE4 Ship_debris_SH4_with bodies
TDW_Ship_Plane_Fire_Damage_v1_3_SH4
TheDarkWraith_DC_Water_Disturbance_v2_0_SH4

Where all these mods "activated" at the start of your existing Campaign, or have you been adding some as you go along? Besides knowing how to add mods to your game, and when, you should also know..... don't replay a saved game point that didn't have the same mod list when you "saved" the point. If game files have changed since you "saved" a particular event, don't expect the game to work as expected with the files being different.

As was pointed out, when you start a mission and begin your first "save", name it "FirstMiss1", or something like that. On your next save point, don't just add it to the first saved point......make a new title like "FirstMiss2", and so on. By constantly adding to a single mission save point, you'll have quite a large file for the game to keep track of. Making a new title will keep them smaller and less likely to lose content. AND, delete the older ones as you move along in your Campaign.

Besides these "basics", there's also the possibility that you didn't get credit for a sinking due to the fact the ship didn't sink. Did you see it sink? Was there an icon on the Navigation Map of the ship sunk? I'm suspecting there was since the ships showed sunk on your ships log...but you just never know!? There's all kinds of "fixes" for issues with saved games, from never save when you're less than a certain distance from shore, or to another Task Force. Some say you should submerge and sit at a certain depth before saving. Might as well try standing on one leg and whistle Dixie!

[flaminus]

Originally Posted by CapnScurvy

Least it will IF you followed some basic rules with mod "Activation": ......

Add mods when you're in port...between missions

Besides these "basics", there's also the possibility that you didn't get credit for a sinking due to the fact the ship didn't sink. Did you see it sink?

Thanks a lot! CapnScurvy. Also,I've always been thinking that something goes wrong in the "document/SH4" folder, but i activated all the mods before i started a new career and changed mods when i was in port. It should have been right. So, this time i will delete the whole SH4 folder in document and try a new campaign without changing mods.

Besides, i'm sure all the missing ships were actually sinked by me. I can seen the sinking icon on the nav map and records in captain's log.

[CapnScurvy]

Originally Posted by flaminus

I activated all the mods before i started a new career and changed mods when i was in port.

That's usually how you do it.

Just remember to completely exit the game before returning to the desktop to add/remove mods.

this time i will delete the whole SH4 folder in document and try a new campaign without changing mods

Not a bad idea. For those that reinstall the game files, the SH4 folder should always be deleted too!

Also, remember to not replay a saved game point after switching out, or adding a mod. I know there's an urge for a player to see what's different when adding/removing mods with a particular mission situation that's been saved, but don't replay it after making changes to the game files. You're just asking for trouble.

[flaminus]

Originally Posted by CapnScurvy

That's usually how you do it.

Just remember to completely exit the game before returning to the desktop to add/remove mods.



Not a bad idea. For those that reinstall the game files, the SH4 folder should always be deleted too!

Also, remember to not replay a saved game point after switching out, or adding a mod. I know there's an urge for a player to see what's different when adding/removing mods with a particular mission situation that's been saved, but don't replay it after making changes to the game files. You're just asking for trouble.

Thank you very much for your kind advice, CapnScurvy.

Now the problem has been solved! But I found something strange:

Firstly, I deleted the SH4 folder and start a new career, in the first patrol everything went right. I got every ship i sunk list in my final report.

Then, since this is just a "testing" patrol and i wasted many torpedoes, I decided to start a second campaign. However, this time, that bad thing happened again, i lost my sinking credit.

At last, I thought there was still something wrong with the mods, so i disabled these 3 mods (Because i think they adding new *.dat files to the game, that might be the reason):

#4 PE4 Ship_debris_SH4_with bodies
TheDarkWraith_DC_Water_Disturbance_v2_0_SH4
TMO2_fix_for_TDW_DC_Water_Disturbance_v2_0_SH4

After that, the game worked well again, no more bugs occurred and i have finished 2 patrols with the full sinking credit.

This time i used "Ralles RealModSoup for TMO_RSRDC_OTC", a wonderful combination of many good mods. But this one also contains a new *.dat file which comes from the "TDW_Ship_Plane_Fire_Damage_v1_3_SH4" . i don't understand exactly what happened...How do you think about the mechanism of these *.dat files affecting the game ?

--------------------------------------

Originally Posted by razark

I've seen it happen under both Vista and Win7.

I think I need to just start a new campaign and try this.

Hi, razark. i hope this will help you with your new campaign. Try to delete the "Water_Disturbance"

[flaminus]

After a few tests, i'm pretty sure that the "water disturbance" mod will cause this problem, but it's hard to understand how such a mod will affect the campaign progress? it does not contain any relevant file.

[CapnScurvy]

Where did you get this TheDarkWraith_DC_Water_Disturbance_v2_0_SH4 mod?

I found the original thread, but it takes you to GameFronts old site, which is now called "The Escapist"!?! I was going to check the files to see what it contained, but perhaps it's all for the better if we can't download the mod.

If the mod contains any .upc files......there is the likely candidate for trouble with saved files. I would be surprised though if it did.

[razark]

It looks like you can get the mod here: http://www.mediafire.com/download/u5...ce_v2_0_SH4.7z

Originally Posted by CapnScurvy

If the mod contains any .upc files......there is the likely candidate for trouble with saved files. I would be surprised though if it did.

It's a .dat file. To make it work with TMO, there's a second .dat file that someone created. Otherwise, the game would crash when a torpedo or depth charge exploded.
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/down...o=file&id=3839


@flaminus
I still haven't tested it myself.