Crashes Loading Save Games: 2 Solutions

[DEChurch]

Originally Posted by Shibster

Just got back into sh3 from sh4 after not playing it for 7 years. I installed gwx and some other additional from gold such as the enhanced damage. Sunk a merchant just before deciding to get off. For some reason I thought it might be bad to save from next to the sinking ship and headed off to get some distance. I don't think I put enough distance in to despawn the ship when I saved and excited, so now my save crashes after "not so long ago. " I've been playing for a week straight and this is the only time I've crashed.

Do you have the GWX enhanced damage effects mod installed? If so, just uninstall it and try to load that save again.

[Shibster]

I did. I tried the steps for solution 2 for the first post, which included removing the damage effects, but I was unable to get my save back to working. I noticed that my tonnage for the patrol wasn't showing in the save and that the time of the save was shown as before I left base. All other saves from previous patrols showed correctly. I think mine was corrupted. Unfortunately I accidentally deleted it so I can no longer troubleshoot.

[BBFIN]

Edit. Bad word deleted.

I tried everything said in this tread, still "Silent Hunter III has stopped working" when I try to load my career. All mods are disabled. I've tried load via SH3 Commander, CWX and Steam.

Do I have to give up? Do I have the nerve start all over again?

[Scarredclown]

Originally Posted by swervn69

Problem # 2 (more common, but more Mod-specific; I never had this problem for 3 years on the stock SH3 install, but it happened frequently after installing GWX3 Gold and the associated Mods on the download mirror):

I attempt to load a Save Game, where I am in a heated battle in the middle of a large convoy. The Load Game progress bar loads up to 100%, then the screen goes black and displays the "Not So Long Ago..." message. Next, the Command Room starts to display for a split-second, then the game immediately drops out and crashes to the desktop.

I tried for three weeks to resolve this problem, using as many tips and tricks as I could find with google, ubi and subsim forums - no luck.

I refused to accept various explanations, like "you saved underwater", or "you saved within a gazillion kilometers of other ships, land, etc." Why? Because I have one Save Game that loads just fine, just off the coast of Hartlepool, where my XXI is underwater, in the middle of a huge convoy, sitting at the bottom, right next to a C2 that I just sunk, with a Flower Corvette bearing down on me from above. However, all subsequent Save Games fail to load with this CTD problem. If that one can load, then why can't the rest??

I did three things tonight, and my problem is solved! All my subsequent save games in the middle of this battle are now working again.

Solution # 2 (which one of these things fixed this problem?):

a) In Windows Explorer, I opened the C:\GAMES folder
b) I right-clicked on the SH3 game folder and selected "Properties"
c) On the General tab, in the Attributes section, I unchecked the "Read-only" box
d) I clicked on the Advanced button, and I unchecked the Archiving option, and I unchecked the "Index this folder" option
e) I clicked OK / Apply and selected "Apply changes to this folder, subfolders and files"
f) I opened the "My Documents" folder and right-clicked/Properties on the SH3 folder there and repeated Steps c, d, and e again
g) I launched JSGME (v2.2.0.120) and I removed the following Mods: "LifeBoats&Debris_v4", "Torpedo damage Final", and "GWX - Enhanced Damage Effects"
h) I launched SH3 again, and my "bad" Save Games loaded successfully!
i) I ran JSGME again and added those Mods back again
j) My "bad" SH3 Save Games still loaded successfully
k) I saved and loaded new Save Games, underwater, in the middle of that heated battle successfully!

That works for me ! thx, that save game crash was ruining the game for me ! Hope it will work in the long run .

[GT182]

What bugs the living daylights out of me is... we never really had a lot of these problems, at least I didn't, with XP. It seems the new operating systems we're running have messed things up royally.

Hopefully Win10 will work when I finally upgrade to it. I have to get 8.1 repaired first and clone it. Then I can do the upgrade.

[ColonelMolerat]

Hi all! My first post here!

After a *very* frustrating few hours, I found a solution to crashing-on-loading-saves that seems works for me. Hopefully it'll work for others too!

This is on the Steam version, on Windows 10.

- Run 'Silent Hunter 3', and 'Testapp' (in the Silent Hunter 3 folder in Steam) as Adminstrator, and also in 'Windows XP, (Service Pack 3)', compatibility mode.


To do this, right-click on the application, then choose 'properties'. Click the 'Compatibility' tab. Click 'Run this program in compatibility mode for' and choose 'Windows XP (Service Pack 3)' from the drop down menu. Also tick 'Run this program as an administrator'.

- Run 'SH3 Commander' as Adminstrator. (I didn't run this in compatibility mode).

This is done the same as above, but skip the 'Run this program in compatibility mode for' step.

You may not need to do all of the above, but something in that seems to have worked for me. I tested it on a save out at sea, away from other boats, that wouldn't load before, and it loaded up. I also tested it on a save just after leaving harbour (only about fifty metres out!) and it worked.

However, I hadn't sunk any ships at this point, which seems to be a trigger for the crash in some saves, so I can't vouch it'll work if that's the problem. I'm new to the game, so haven't yet sunk any ships to test it out on!

Sorry if this has been said elsewhere, but I couldn't see it in my online searching.

[ivanov.ruslan]

Happy hunting

[Jimbuna]

Great first post Molerat.

Welcome to SubSim

[fumo30]

Originally Posted by Alfred Keitzer

I only save when I am......in the control room

That works for me very well.

Formerly I too had constant corrupt save games, no matter was there other ships nearby or not, or was I submerged or surfaced.
After I started to save game only in command room; No more save game load crashes.
...Maybe it has something to do with the fact, that the game always start in the command room and saving on some other position possibly confuses the game???

I'd like to focus at that I'm emphatically in the default position in the comman room when saving.

[Aktungbby]

ColonelMolerat!

[Outeniqua]

Originally Posted by swervn69

The reason I love this community!

Dude, words cannot describe my love for you at this moment. After several career restarts, reinstalling, etc. I was able to load the save that just did not want to budge. Especially after sneaking up on a convoy in my XXI and sinking a Bogue and 3 tankers, and successfully evading prosecution from 5 DD's, in 1944.

You sir, are a gentleman and scholar.

[Shadowblade]

I saved the game after I have destroyed enemy convoy and could not reload the save game.

disabling/enabling mods helped a lot - thank you very much guys

[ChromartyForthTyne]

Solution-#1 worked for me. Took a long time to load with all that missing data but to be expected after deleting 700+ files

[idl0r]

Originally Posted by fumo30

That works for me very well.

Formerly I too had constant corrupt save games, no matter was there other ships nearby or not, or was I submerged or surfaced.
After I started to save game only in command room; No more save game load crashes.
...Maybe it has something to do with the fact, that the game always start in the command room and saving on some other position possibly confuses the game???

I'd like to focus at that I'm emphatically in the default position in the comman room when saving.

So, it would be very interesting where and how that's represented in the save game. I did some tests and noticed that actually only that .isf file differs, if you save fast enought between F2 (control room) and F5 (map screen). Just need that bit though. I'd like to continue my patrol as the read-only/permission solution does not work this time. It did back a few years/months ago, while on Windows 7 but that doesn't seem to work, at least not in this case.

[idl0r]

Could someone with LSH2015 and these mods enabled perhaps try to load it and save it while being in the control room?
_LSH3-2015___FULLVERSION=1
_LSH3-2015___Patch_HSIE-V16B1=2
_LSH3-2015__Addon_SH3-ClassicDials=3
_LSH3-2015__BunkerStart=4
_LSH3-2015__ExtendedChallenge=5
_LSH3-2015__ExtentedChallengeBlackContacts=6
_LSH3-2015__HistoricalMessages=7
_LSH3-2015__NoFatigue-NoSleepCrew=8
_LSH3-2015_GUI__WIDESCREEN=9
_LSH3-2015_GUI__WIDESCREEN-Addon_SH3-ClassicDials=10
_LSH3-2015_SLS_SpecialEffects=11
_LSH3-2015_SLS_SpecialEffectsBig=12

Savegame via PM.