FOTRS new install problem

[Talvezny1]

And I forgot to mention that it is the FOTRSU v1.0.1.g

[propbeanie]

Originally Posted by Talvezny1

And I forgot to mention that it is the FOTRSU v1.0.1.g

Probably the most common issue players have neglected when activating FotRSU is to fail to empty their Save game folder. This is generally found at "C:\Users \UserName \Documents \SH4". The only time it would be a different folder is if you have used MultiSH4 to name it something else. So navigate into that folder, and delete either the whole thing, the "data" below that, or the "cfg" folder below that. It all accomplishes the same thing.

What happens is when you play the Stock game, it writes quite a bit of the game's data from your install folder to that Save folder. You play the game more, it writes more. THEBERBSTER's version of Webster's GFO mod (which is very good, btw), is built mostly on Stock files, so you probably would not have noticed too much difference, but FotRSU uses different "calls" to the ships and planes used in the game, and that is where the problem comes in. For whatever reason, when you use a different configuration of the game (GFO versus FotRSU), the changes the mod would make are not written to the Save folder, if there is already a file by that name there already, so you end with a mix of GFO and FotRSU, which the SH4.exe and its associated files cannot run. The pieces will not mix together. When you empty the Save folder, the game will re-create it with the data from the game's install folder, and then be able to run correctly.

So, you have:

1. Fresh install of the game outside of a "Program Files" folder.
2. Move the mod zip file into your MODS folder and extract the files there.
3. Activate the mod using JSGME.
4. Use LAA from the "Extras" folder in the mod (FotRSU) to "open" the bits on "SH4.exe"
5. Navigate to "C:\Users \UserName \Documents \SH4" and delete the "data" folder below.
6. Start the game and change all of the Options to what you want.
7. Play the game - don't forget that the Career Options are accessed in the US Captain's Office from that radio console to the left in the view.

In theory, you should be good to go. #4 above is probably the 2nd most common piece overlooked. There are pdf files in the mod's "Support" folder that have all sorts of varying amounts of detail of the above. If you are good at manipulating an Adobe Reader menu, there is "01_FotRSU_TableOfContents.pdf" that can be opened and used to access most of those pdf files. The trick to that comes from the way you configure your pdf Reader app.

[Talvezny1]

Thanks for the responses. I was messing around this morning and I realized that Bit Defender was blocking SH4.exe from attempting to access files. I gave it permission and it's "All ahead full"! So far so good but I've made so many changes and attempts to fix this that I'm sure a bolt is loose somewhere that never got retightened. Oh well. I'll find it at 400ft! Thanks again and WOW! Does FOTRSU look good!

[Talvezny1]

So I was able to play it once and now when I try to load it I get to the Title page that shows the load progress bar for FOTRS Ultimate and get a message once the progress bar reaches full. The warning message is:

Warning
There is a new (not implemented) page: <PageChooseLoadSave>!

Any idea of what is now going on?

Now I notice that if I click OK I get various other messages

Warning
There is a new (not implemented) page: <PagePLayerRank>!
There is a new (not implemented) page: <PageIntelligenceUnits>!
There is a new (not implemented) page: <WeaponsandSensors>!
Menu ID not found: 0x6101000b!
Menu ID not found: 0x61080004!

I assume I have some corrupted files or perhaps missing files. What is my best course of action here? A complete reinstall from STeam? Reinstall of just the mod?

So deactivate the mod, checked file integrity of the STeam install. Downloaded and replaced the files that were missing or needing repaired. Then activated the mod. I can now make into the sub for a mission but graphics are funny and it crashes inside of 15 sec.

I have adjusted the resolution inside the grphics setting to my monitors native setting and have turned off the various special effects. Still crashing! Thoughts?

It's got to be something with frame rates or refresh rate. The voices stutter and the mouse is slow.

OK, OK, now I have edited the resolution in the Data->Cfg->Main and it is running smoothly.....so far BUT all my dials in the command room are faceless! I have readable dials and gauges in the radio room, and conning tower but not the command room.

Still no readable gauges or dials in command room and Captains quarters are very dark. Just tried a single mission "Attu". Game crashed when I tried going from bridge to binos. Had been playing FOTRS with high graphic settings. I am now on low settings.
Computer specs:
Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6200U CPU @ 2.30Ghz 2.40Ghz
8.0 Gb RAM
64 bit x64 processor
Win 10
Intel(R) HD Graphics 520
Nvidia GeForce 940M

[propbeanie]

Your AV trashed your install, along with doing what Windows does to a game when it is in a "Program Files" folder. So between the AV and Windows, you are being thrashed into submission. You will have to move your game install out of the "Program Files" folder. Consult that Steam Knowledgebase Article "Moving a Steam Installation and Games". It is a major bother, and will take a while to accomplish. Activating the mod will get you one play - maybe - of the game, but while you are playing it, in the background, Windows is changing all of the cfg and other recognized file extensioned files back to what they were on the initial install. Since JSGME did the activation, a lot of the files are "invisible" inside of its database, so now you can't use JSGME to properly restore you to a good stock game state, which is why there were so many missing files when you did the Steam "check". Doing a Steam "check" on an install with an activated mod will essentially wipe-out the mod also, since Steam puts everything back to stock.

I don't know how many Steam games you have, but if all you have is the SH4, or maybe the Silent Hunter 3, 4 & 5 series, I would be tempted to do an un-install of the Steam app and the games, then re-install Steam, but during the installation, choose a Library folder location outside of Windows' influence, such as "C:\Games\" or whatever you want to name it. You do NOT want to put Steam nor the Library folder directly into the root of the drive, since that again is "system" territory and will be altered back, but also because of the potential mess you could possibly make of the computer if you did that. You will still find most the Steam app itself still in a "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam..." folder, but your Library will be in "C:\Games \Steam \SteamApps \common \GameName" now, out of the direct clutches of all things MS and AV...

[Talvezny1]

Thank you for the reply propbeanie. I admit I don't understand all the workings of the computer. I do, however, have the folder moved out of the programs folder per the instructions. It is in my c:games/steam. I had to use the instructions to add another stream folder because I already had one in the c: programs. I even used sh4multiple to make it's own save file. I was playing fine with the FOTRSU mod prior to the latest release a few days ago. Not saying it's the new version's fault but I think I need to do another clean install and start over. Do the radio files cause any problems? I did install multiple stations this time around. I was only using captain midnights and the Honolulu station before

[propbeanie]

As mentioned elsewhere, just be sure and check the radio station with DigitalTrucker's "Radio Station Manager" for radio "events" that are out of sequence. So long as you install the stations as per instructions, and follow the RSM instructioins, it should be able to "fix" the issue, which is an understandable oversight in Captain Midnight's mod. There is a ~LOT~ of stuff in there, and in reality, the game should NOT crash on that, but rather ignore the out-of-order dates / times, and continue processing, but it does not. This is one of the weak areas of the game engine. The only thing that happens when you add radio stations is they take up hard drive space. If properly installed, they should not interfere with the game, other than a slight overall throughput hit on performance.

As for using MultiSH4 to make new Save folders, especially if you want more than just a Stock copy of the game and one for FotRSU, it is extremely helpful. You do still have to usually empty the Save folder between mod version changes and / or additions, depending upon what the mod alters. If you ever forget what folder you created for the Save folder, just run MultiSH4 again, and it does display the name you created previously. However, just like JSGME and LAA, you do have to pay attention to which folder you are starting the app in, and even the SH4 Mission Editor, if you use that, will retain the folder previously used, not the folder you are running it from. You can end up with all kinds of wonky results if you aren't careful... These are old-style programs, written back in the 32-bit Windows XP, exclusive, Single-thread days