Please stop the crashing / freezing?

Post by **TurboC** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 6:40 pm

I posted this in the sticky but no one responded.

I did Joker's 1.02 "fix everything" patch directly onto the 1.0 CD install. However, the game seems a lot crashier than my old install. My first new game froze 6 times in 200 turns. My new Ferengi game is now freezing about every 5 turns. Usually I will do some action, the game freezes and keeps looping about a second of sound over and over. Sometimes I can end task, but usually I have to reset the computer. I save often but it often happens during saving.

Do you other vanilla players still crash like this? Any fixes?

Post by **thunderchero** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 7:35 pm

No there is no fix for crashes, But 1 every 5 turns is a little more than normal.

you have a couple options

1. uninstall game and reinstall without joker's patch ( you may have had a bad install)

2. use new multi installer that has all patches included.

thunderchero

Post by **TurboC** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 10:46 pm

1. What is the "norm" for frequency of crashes?
2. Is this the usual thing that happens -- complete visual freeze, sound looping over and over?
3. Multi-installer -- would that also include the original CD install, or completely from ISO or whatever? Would suck to own the CD and not use it for the install...
4. Are there versions/mods of the game other than vanilla which would be crash-free?

Post by **KrazeeXXL** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 11:10 pm

nothing in this game is "crash free". I had the same problems like you, and still don't know a solution. Sometimes it works 50 turns without crashes, the other game the frequency of crashes is every 5 turns. I dont know about this damn problem really. Mabye its something called "the memory leak". but it seems, that no one has a solution to this problem as yet

try Thunderchero's multi installers. and try hades 2.2. (set it up to "3D=3DFX" and if it doesn't work try to set it up to "3D=Software" in STBOF.INI) - just install it to the same directory you installed a mod, or Botf itself.

many crashes are gone for me since I used tc's installers, but to save often is a thing I have to do, like I did before.

would be nice if you would give some resonance to Thunderchero if "Hades 2.2" will work with your graphics card, or not. (and with which settings 3DFX or Software or nor of them)

Post by **thunderchero** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 11:15 pm

1. this depends on system and video card in my opinon but I think average would be in single player game 1 maybe 2 every 100 turns. In multi player game 1 maybe 2 every 50 turns.

2. yes or just crash to desktop

3. no Multi installer does not use cd to install. multi installer is an exe based installer of complete game.

4. No, noone has found a way to emiminate crashes.

thunderchero

Post by **TurboC** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 2:58 am

Has anyone had success reducing crashes by changing sound drivers? Or by turning sound off entirely?

Post by **DCER** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 5:08 am

I found that crashes are often caused by clicking too fast when combat starts. Wait for the starting sound to play out and the camera to settle, should help a bit.

Post by **TurboC** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 5:46 am

Well, lately I've been getting crashes when saving the game. Kind of a vicious paradox. I haven't even gotten far enough into this game to get much combat, haven't even triggered any combat crashes...

Post by **DCER** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 8:08 am

It looks to me this could be similar to the problem Tavenier has.

viewtopic.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=8985#8985

Except that in your case the problem might be file permissions. I'm assuming you're using Vista.

Post by **TurboC** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 3:21 pm

Nope, XP Pro. Although I do have a messed up thing on my machine where when I close a file or program, the whole system freezes for like 4 seconds. I even wiped my HD and reinstalled fresh, still have it. I was sure it was registry corruption but it isn't. Maybe it's something I have running, like Avast. I noticed other games like Portal having fits when I try to save or load, and actually it loops the sound there as well, but it gets through it without freezing like BotF. The thing is, I always had this crashing on BotF even long before I had the file problem...

Post by **stardust** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 3:45 pm

I know Avast can interfere briefly when it's updating and throws that pop up thingy (makes the cursor laggy for a few seconds) but then the game returns to normal.

The only other problems i've had with this game since i've been on my new pc with Vista is random crashes while looking up ships in the research screen and recently an annoying habit of the game locking up for a few seconds and continuing (that one i put down to a vista update though)

Post by **KrazeeXXL** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 10:17 am

I'm using XP Pro, too. So, I'm really sure about some things, because I know the same crashes for a really long time (3 years at least).
I'm using Internet again since 4 months on my home computer. Before this - without Internet - I had the same crashes, too. So it hasn't something to do with avast or any other "Internet-Programs".

waiting and not moving the mouse when a tacitcal battle begins is this I do for a long time now, too. And it doesn't help. Sometimes it seemed to crash in fact of moving the mouse or clicking on a ship before the sliding in tac comb ended, but even if I wait and do nothing, it crashes, too.

The crash, when saving the game, I know 2. using different slots, not only one, will maybe help you to avoid.

turning of the sound didn't helped me, too.

maybe its some directx7 -> directx9 (95 to XP) problem. I know that Flocke, is working on directplay now and will take a look at the graphics engine later, too, if he has some time.
A good guess, in my mind. I allready tried many many things and nothing helped really. So its logical to go back to the roots.
Ad the roots seem to be directx7/maybe the xp patch. I'm sure about this.

Post by **TurboC** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 11:28 pm

2 slots sounds interesting. I may try that. I may also run some tests in trying various ways to try to FORCE crashing. Like, clicking on things really fast as opposed to slow, and comparing what happens.

Post by **KrazeeXXL** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 1:26 am

if I play a really long game I use all slots and save often. (there are some other crashes, which let me do this, and the save/crash happens not that often to me like the other ones)

In the save menu I don't click with the mouse on okay for some years now. I just type in the name and hit "enter" on keyboard to avoid . it seems that if I do this the crash will not happen that often.

sometimes it seems, that crashes happen if I click "false" - not hitting the button in the game right. I meant pressing the left mouse button, while moving the mouse and then releasing it on another position. With my Mouse it happens sometimes and seems to crash in some cases (I'm using a G7, which is much more faster with its 2000dpi, compared to the 300dpi cable logitech I used in 99, which was much slower)

Before Thunderchero's Multi Installers I had f.e. a crash with colony ships/tt's - as I gave them the order to terraform/invade and then just rerorderd them to change their course. the screen appeared if I really wanted to change my orders and I clicked yes and it crashed all the time doing this. (no matter how I hit the button in this case)

since Thunderchero's Multi Installers (which is including Joker's Patch) this problem is gone for me now.
One more time again, I can't thank them enough!

Post by **TurboC** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 2:54 am

Krazee -- your suggestion about hitting the enter key when saving, instead of mouse-clicking Accept -- WORKS!

Just played through 15 turns of my old game, didn't change the install or anything else, no crashes. Kudos, my friend. After 10 years I finally know how to reduce the crashing. Being able to safely SAVE the game is such a massive improvement. Now even if I crash in combat, I will have saved right before it, so it's not a huge loss.