HELP! SH3-GWX3 Saves CTD.

[Jimbuna]

Rgr that and good luck....I would have suggested using the original and without any additional ship additions:

http://www.mediafire.com/?c4oakjnc3tynwk5

[BigWalleye]

Jimbuna, the downloadable install .exe at Mediafire is the one linked to by the GWX website. It over-writes the stock SH3_Commander ship_names.cfg file with an older version of the file. The installer file from SubSim is date-stamped 11/11/09, while the Mediafire file was uploaded 6/9/09. (I can't recover a creation date.) I assumed that the most recent files (in both cases) would be safer to use, so I switched back from the Mediafire installer to the SubSim package. Is this a mistake? Is the Mediafire version the correct one to use? The two versions of the ship_names.cfg are quite different. There are lots of ships in the older version which aren't present in the more recent file and the organization is changed. I can imagine that using the wrong version could cause problems. (Maybe even CTDs.) What do you recommend?

And, hey, thanks for all the help with this. I'm gonna get this thing working someday!

[irish1958]

Again, I suggest you play without CMDR to see if this is the problem. Almost all of my CTD have been ship, menu and/or config problems. Since CMDR alters all these files, I would look there first.
If it makes no difference, then you are going to have to go through your mods one by one to find the problem or problems.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by BigWalleye

Jimbuna, the downloadable install .exe at Mediafire is the one linked to by the GWX website. It over-writes the stock SH3_Commander ship_names.cfg file with an older version of the file. The installer file from SubSim is date-stamped 11/11/09, while the Mediafire file was uploaded 6/9/09. (I can't recover a creation date.) I assumed that the most recent files (in both cases) would be safer to use, so I switched back from the Mediafire installer to the SubSim package. Is this a mistake? Is the Mediafire version the correct one to use? The two versions of the ship_names.cfg are quite different. There are lots of ships in the older version which aren't present in the more recent file and the organization is changed. I can imagine that using the wrong version could cause problems. (Maybe even CTDs.) What do you recommend?

And, hey, thanks for all the help with this. I'm gonna get this thing working someday!

Originally Posted by irish1958

Again, I suggest you play without CMDR to see if this is the problem. Almost all of my CTD have been ship, menu and/or config problems. Since CMDR alters all these files, I would look there first.
If it makes no difference, then you are going to have to go through your mods one by one to find the problem or problems.

As stated above...install withot using CMDR or the cfg file....ensure everything is working fine.

Should that be the case, install the newest version of CMDR plus the original cfg file....any problems try the newer file.

[BigWalleye]

Tried running without using Commander. Yup, seemed to work just fine. Sank a couple, saved, reloaded. OK each time. Then tried Commander with no frills - no Commander mods, no random files. Used the SubSim .cfg installer. Reloaded a save, then saved it and reloaded. Deleted the save and exited. Got a message: "invalid date encode". When I restarted SH3, without Commander, career was gone. So Commander seems to be causing the problem. I will start another career and try to use Commander with the Mediafire installer.

[Jimbuna]

Hopefully you are getting there....try this Cmdr and cfg file:


GWX3_SH3Commandercfg http://www.mediafire.com/?c4oakjnc3tynwk5
SH3Commander 3.2 exe http://www.mediafire.com/?v8hgs2wkr53psmq

[BigWalleye]

Jimbuna, I reinstalled Commander (from my saved download, not from your recommended Mediafire link) and used the Mediafire GWX .cfg file installer. Started a new career, sank a ship, saved twice. Tried to reload the second (later) save - CTD. BUT, reloaded the first save OK, saved again, and could reload that one too. Then reinstalled Commander again, used the SubSim installer, and started a new career. Again sank a ship, double saved - both saves were OK. So it appears things are working now, and that both .cfg installers are OK.

I had been trying to use the Commander Random/ folder to load some sound files and had also installed three mods in Commander, using JSGME. These were:

WB's Warning Orders (SH3 Cmdr) v1.3
WB's Mid-Patrol Radio Orders GWX (SH3 Cmdr) v1.0 (and the Atlantic submod)
TDW's DC Water Disturbance v4.0 (SH3 Cmdr date)

Do any of these have known problems? It seems that eliminating them has relieved my problem - although I found a least three other possible issues that may have been tripping me up too. Seems my installation was pretty polluted.

Right now, I feel like the guy who fell off a ten-story building, and, as he fell past his friends on the fifth floor, called out: "OK SO FAR!"

Thanks to everyone for all the help and advice. I hope I don't need any more. Watch this space.

NOW I'm gonna go play the game for a while. I hope.

[desertstriker]

TDW's DC Water Disturbance v4.0 (SH3 Cmdr date)

this one IIRC needs to go in the Date folder but i will double check

WB's Mid-Patrol Radio Orders GWX (SH3 Cmdr) v1.0 (and the Atlantic submod)

you need to add this or just replace completely the Randomized events CFG

WB's Warning Orders (SH3 Cmdr) v1.3

needs to replace \Cfg\Menu variable_en.txt. i recommend using JSGME on your SH3 commander yes it works and saves much hassle and the worry of completely replacing the files.

[desertstriker]

sorry double post can you point me to the mod DC watter desturbance mod i cant seem to locate it
edit: never mind i 5think i found it and my suspitions are correct that specific mod would need to be merged with the Date file if you wanted the random one you would have to get that one from here
http://www.mediafire.com/download/wwvsl7mm2euz2wv

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by BigWalleye

Jimbuna, I reinstalled Commander (from my saved download, not from your recommended Mediafire link) and used the Mediafire GWX .cfg file installer. Started a new career, sank a ship, saved twice. Tried to reload the second (later) save - CTD. BUT, reloaded the first save OK, saved again, and could reload that one too. Then reinstalled Commander again, used the SubSim installer, and started a new career. Again sank a ship, double saved - both saves were OK. So it appears things are working now, and that both .cfg installers are OK.

I had been trying to use the Commander Random/ folder to load some sound files and had also installed three mods in Commander, using JSGME. These were:

WB's Warning Orders (SH3 Cmdr) v1.3
WB's Mid-Patrol Radio Orders GWX (SH3 Cmdr) v1.0 (and the Atlantic submod)
TDW's DC Water Disturbance v4.0 (SH3 Cmdr date)

Do any of these have known problems? It seems that eliminating them has relieved my problem - although I found a least three other possible issues that may have been tripping me up too. Seems my installation was pretty polluted.

Right now, I feel like the guy who fell off a ten-story building, and, as he fell past his friends on the fifth floor, called out: "OK SO FAR!"

Thanks to everyone for all the help and advice. I hope I don't need any more. Watch this space.

NOW I'm gonna go play the game for a while. I hope.

Have you tried putting one in at a time then running the game?

That way you may be able to find out just which one it is that is causing the problem.

[BigWalleye]

Yes, Jimbuna, you are absolutely correct. What you suggest is the proper approach. I appreciate all your help, and your advice, which amounts to "Slow down, and start taking a logical approach."

The problem was that there wasn't just ONE problem. I had - and found - multiple problems, and putting in one piece at a time was slow work because, once I found one problem, there were still others to be found. But what got me in the end was the assumption that there couldn't be anything wrong with Commander - everyone uses it and no one has problems. Then I finally tried Commander alone with rockstock GWX3.0, and lo! CTD! I will continue to test the Commander mods, but I'm willing to play without them right now.

I confess that a big part of my struggle was due to assuming a single problem. I tried to be too quick and did not perform a disciplined fault tree evaluation. And the result was frustration and more corner-cutting. I should have known better. Actually, I do know better, I just didn't want to do the long, dull work. I wanted to get back to playing the game! An amateurish mistake by a long-time professional.

I am rattling on like this because there is a valuable lesson here. Hope someone picks up on it and saves themselves a lot of wasted effort.

[Jimbuna]

Never forget....None of us is as clever as all of us.

I'm pleased your making progress

[BigWalleye]

So I believe (and hope!) that I have tracked down and eliminated all my problems. It seems I can once again save a game in mid-patrol and reload the save without a CTD. (I say “seem” because there is that old conundrum about trying to prove a negative. I can’t be 100% certain.)

I would like to thank - in addition to St Isidore of Sevilla - brett25, Desertstriker, Fitzcarraldo, irish1958, Jimbuna, Myxale, and everyone else who offered assistance and encouragement. I really apprecaite the great support.

Now for some lessons learned: First, there was not one problem, but many. I never pinned down a specific source for my CTDs, but by eliminating a lot of problems, due mostly to operator error, the CTDs appear to be gone. The first and most egregious problem was a corrupt installation, due to some very sloppy practices in the use of JSGME and Commander. I sometimes neglected to roll back Commander, I removed mods out of sequence, and I changed mods in mid-patrol. I had to completely uninstall everything and clean the registry, then carefully reinstall. (Twice, actually....)

I found an interaction between Seabed Repair Mod and Urfisch’s Modstrike that is a subkiller. Must install Urfisch’s mod first if you use both. And SRM seems to be built into GWX3, so the mod is superfluous.

I made a “tiny” error in using h.sie’s and Stiebler’s patchers. After patching with h.sie’s .bat file, I was implementing the patches with the selector, then using Stiebler’s patcher. Must put in all patches before activating any. (It’s in the documantation – I just missed it.)

It appears that trying to activate “TDW's DC Water Disturbance v4.0 (SH3 Cmdr date)” in Commander using JSGME causes me problems (CTDs). Currently, I am living without any mods in Commander. BTW, I never ironed out the issue of the two versions of Commander .cfg files for GWX. I am currently using the 7Zipped package (more recent) and all seems to be working. But I don't know that there is any problem with the earlier version, or any reason not to use it. They are different though.

Finally, I have removed all application-specific settings from my nVidia control panel. I am running only the default settings. Apparently, my puny GeForce 540M is happier that way. And I can see no discernible change in my display quality. This may say more about my eyes than the graphics, but I’m OK with it.

My current mod list (in install order):

GWX 3 Wilhemshafen,St Naz,Schluese and xtra ships V7
GWX - 20km Atmosphere (Unofficial Mod)
GWX - Enhanced Damage Effects
GWX - No Medals on Crew
GWX Turm Lights fix
TMTv2+ThomsensShips v4.4 for GWX3+Xtra ships
OLC's Modified Searchlight Beams for GWX3
Pascal_Port_People
Waterstream+Exhaust Combi V2.3 for GWX3
Waterstream+Exhaust Combi - Single Exhaust for TypeII
Sober's Darker Smoke
Torpedo damage Final ver2.0
Scirè-Tikigod- repeated order
TorpedoTubesFfireFinal vGW
Capt. Teach's SH3 Color Icons for GWX 3.0 (Standard)
NeuUZO&PeriV.2
Carotio_SH3_ClothesHatsFacesSkilledCrew
FM_NewInterior v2.1D
BritishAsdicMkIFinal
SHIII Internal Life Mod v1.2
SH-5 Water for SH-3 20 Km V84
sobers waves mod V12 27032013
Realistic contacts with Sub icons
1.4b Assisted Plotting Mod
No continuous 'Ship spotted' V1.2 for GWX3
Spirit of machines - BW
Supplement to V16B1 - GWX
Stiebler4B_Addon_for_V16B1 - GWX
O2-Gauges v2
widescreen_GWX3.0 BW Mod 1.1

And I’m back to playing the game!

Good hunting, all!

[Fubar2Niner]

Excellent news BW!Really pleased you have it sorted at last, welcome back to the wolfpack Kaleun. Now go get soe tonnage

Best regards.

Fubar2Niner

[brett25]

good job on figuring that out an thanks for the report and info
Every little bit helps in expanding our knowledge of this dreaded CTD on save issue