Loading screen CTD and other annoyances

[Neon Samurai]

Hi,

I've been trying to get back into the game using the latest version, and my game frequently crashes when at a load screen. It tends to happen randomly after 3-6 loading screens (particularly when loading a saved game).

I am running the mod with widescreen textures and ENB Improved Graphics. My video card is a Radeon r280x.

I checked the logs and couldn't find anything obvious
This is what is in the logs (i can't seem to attach files) the last time it happened (it crashed when engaging a ship)

error.log
RUNTIME ERROR - file: Loc_ai\LAi_monsters.c; line: 794
missed attribute: pistol
RUNTIME ERROR - file: Loc_ai\LAi_monsters.c; line: 794
no rAP data

system.log
...
Begin pointer = 0? end pointer = 460362340
Bad rope data for rope: (rope num = 119) (begin group=0, end group=-1)
Begin pointer = 0? end pointer = 460362340
Bad rope data for rope: (rope num = 380) (begin group=-1, end group=0)
Begin pointer = 460362340? end pointer = 0
Ship FR_Fleuron doesn't have fire places

Also is there a way of disabling the sidestep message spam in game?
Plus is there a way of disabling NPCs randomly talking to me (they do it without me pressing the action button) it is getting irritating being constantly bothered by people that have nothing useful to say.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

You could try uninstalling ENB and see if that improves stability. Do you have the Beta 3.3 WIP yet?
If not, I'd recommend getting that from the link in my signature too.

The sidestep message would only "spam" you if you press the buttons for it.
You can either re-enable the feature at the bottom of PROGRAM\InternalSettings.c or remove these lines from PROGRAM\seadogs.c:

        else
           LogIt("Sidestep disabled. --> Enable in PROGRAM\InternalSettings.h with SIDESTEP_ENABLED at the bottom of the file <--");

Note that there are two instances of it, one for left and one for right.

For the talking citizens, find this line in PROGRAM\InternalSettings.h:

#define CITIZEN_TALKCHANCE         0.005   // FLOAT - Off=0, Default=0.05, Chance for a citizen to engage the player in conversation on their own.

Set the value to 0 .

 

[Hylie Pistof]

If you are using an R9 280X the rest of your specs are probably pretty good too. So hardware is not your problem with crashing. I would suspect a lack of maintenance is tho.

This game has memory leaks and is ruff on the hard drive so very frequent maintenance including defragging is needed. I defrag every 3 days or so.

 

[Neon Samurai]

Thank you for replying

You could try uninstalling ENB and see if that improves stability. Do you have the Beta 3.3 WIP yet?
If not, I'd recommend getting that from the link in my signature too.

Ya I thought of trying that too, though not using ENB I find that the save/load menu is super laggy. I'm fairly certain I am using the current build but I will double check.

The sidestep message would only "spam" you if you press the buttons for it.
You can either re-enable the feature at the bottom of PROGRAM\InternalSettings.c or remove these lines from PROGRAM\seadogs.c:

        else
           LogIt("Sidestep disabled. --> Enable in PROGRAM\InternalSettings.h with SIDESTEP_ENABLED at the bottom of the file <--");

Note that there are two instances of it, one for left and one for right.

I had tried disabling the keys for it, but according to the options file, the keys are not really deleted just disabled, so I guess it is still triggering the code. So I will remove those lines then, or should I just enable it? (Is it ok to enable it? I understood it has clipping issues)

For the talking citizens, find this line in PROGRAM\InternalSettings.h:

#define CITIZEN_TALKCHANCE         0.005   // FLOAT - Off=0, Default=0.05, Chance for a citizen to engage the player in conversation on their own.

Set the value to 0 .

I had tried that, and it didn't seem to work. The redcoats still are driving me nuts in the tavern by coming up to me and telling me that they don't want to talk to me (it is almost comical in a way to have all of them do this to me). So I may just have to go yank it out of the code (i should be able to find it myself though).

If you are using an R9 280X the rest of your specs are probably pretty good too. So hardware is not your problem with crashing. I would suspect a lack of maintenance is tho.

This game has memory leaks and is ruff on the hard drive so very frequent maintenance including defragging is needed. I defrag every 3 days or so.

Ya, my computer is a brand new build. As for maintenance, I'm not quite sure what you mean. It is a brand new instalation of the game+mod and run on a SSD drive (which makes defrag pointless). I assume the memory gets flushed when the game crashes, and I have not noticed any residual buildup in my system memory. The crashing has been a constant problem since I popped the game+mod onto my computer a few days ago, and always at the loading screens (though strangely not in town, only when at sea, or moving from sea to shore).

 

[Hylie Pistof]

POTC did not have sidestep originally but modders figured out how to add it. It works but as long as you hold the button down you continue sliding sideways until you are off the map. There were too many complaints so it was disabled, but if you want it try it.

Normally crashes on loading screens are caused by obsolete hardware than can not handle the game, and lack of maintenance which causes it to "get out of tune". I know nothing of how SSDs work, but not being able to defrag them sounds bad to me. Many programs get installed in a fragmented state. Can a SSD at least be optimized?

One other possibility is the memory leaks causing crashes. I know that if POTC is played for too many hours straight it gets buggy and starts crashing. For that reason I get out and restart it every hour or so.

 

[Red Back Dude]

i use WD green hard drive and have very very few problems with the game

 

[Hylie Pistof]

Yeah, I doubt if the hard drive is the problem. The old computers just don't have the memory to process loading screens and crash, but that should not be Neon Samurai's problem. This one could be tuff to figger out.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Ya I thought of trying that too, though not using ENB I find that the save/load menu is super laggy. I'm fairly certain I am using the current build but I will double check.

ENB actually IMPROVES performance for you? That..... doesn't make much sense.
Since all it does is to add extra post-processing calculations for the drawing of each frame.

I had tried disabling the keys for it, but according to the options file, the keys are not really deleted just disabled, so I guess it is still triggering the code. So I will remove those lines then, or should I just enable it? (Is it ok to enable it? I understood it has clipping issues)

It allows you to step through walls and such. Personally I always leave it on, since it is easy enough to avoid it yourself.
As Hylie said, we just got tired of everyone complaining about how this mod-added feature isn't perfect due to game engine limitations.

I had tried that, and it didn't seem to work. The redcoats still are driving me nuts in the tavern by coming up to me and telling me that they don't want to talk to me (it is almost comical in a way to have all of them do this to me). So I may just have to go yank it out of the code (i should be able to find it myself though).

Strange. Perhaps those added characters in the taverns use different code? That'd be annoying!
Anyway, for the next modpack update, I will be vastly reducing the number of those extra tavern characters.
That should save some annoyance there, I think.

 

[Neon Samurai]

Normally crashes on loading screens are caused by obsolete hardware than can not handle the game, and lack of maintenance which causes it to "get out of tune". I know nothing of how SSDs work, but not being able to defrag them sounds bad to me. Many programs get installed in a fragmented state. Can a SSD at least be optimized?

SSD drives are like super fast drives that use memory rather than a physical disk. Because of how they work, defraging is pointless as it does not optimize or speed up anything, and is actually bad for them due to the high amounts of writes. An SSD drive can practically pull up data anywhere on it almost instantly. If you ever are looking to upgrade your computer in any way I would seriously consider getting one, as it is crazy how dramatically it can improve load times for everything. This game for example loads scenes so fast on it, that I can barely make out the tips screen

Anyhow I decided to move the game off my SSD and on to one of my Seagates, but it didn't do anything for stability.

One other possibility is the memory leaks causing crashes. I know that if POTC is played for too many hours straight it gets buggy and starts crashing. For that reason I get out and restart it every hour or so.

I wish I could manage even an hour. I'm lucky to get 15 minutes before a ctd. I'm not sure why it would be a memory leak in this case though (or at least I should be getting more time then I am). I could easily fit the entire game+mod+extras on a ram disk on this system, with enough ram left over to still max out the game's memory requirements (as a 32 bit program).

ENB actually IMPROVES performance for you? That..... doesn't make much sense.
Since all it does is to add extra post-processing calculations for the drawing of each frame.

I'm not sure what it is, but with the non ENB version starting a game (new character or loading) is rather painful as it can take several minutes where the game just sits there before the loading screen pops up. Otherwise performance wise I can't tell the difference at all between ENB and non.

It allows you to step through walls and such. Personally I always leave it on, since it is easy enough to avoid it yourself.
As Hylie said, we just got tired of everyone complaining about how this mod-added feature isn't perfect due to game engine limitations.

Ah, well I decided to enable it anyways, as long as it wont make me fall of the world or something.

Strange. Perhaps those added characters in the taverns use different code? That'd be annoying!
Anyway, for the next modpack update, I will be vastly reducing the number of those extra tavern characters.
That should save some annoyance there, I think.

I would suspect the code doesn't get disabled by that modifier for tavern characters. The modifier does seem to work with people outside taverns though.


Anyhow I have yet to really test out non ENB, as I have been too busy monkeying with the code (and reinstalling the game multiple times)

 

[Hylie Pistof]

Ok, this is a long shot. This is a new machine? What power supply is in it? Is it a cheap no name PSU or is it a quality brand name unit?

When I first started playing POTC I had a store bought computer that was having video card issues and occasional crashes, but with POTC the crashes were constant as in a dozen a day. I finally traced it down to the PSU, bought a bigger better one, and all problems went away.

 

[Neon Samurai]

Its an EVGA supernova 750 g2. As for the system it is rock solid stable, even after an extensive burn-in (including torturing my video card with furmark), and playing several other games (games that system wise are far more demanding).

Anyhow I spent a bunch of time testing the standard version (with widescreen graphics), and it seems to be more unstable, as I am having the same problems with crashing on loading zones, and now it is randomly crashing while wandering around in towns too (something I didn't really have a problem with when using ENB). Also strangely the menus tend to be rather laggy (no I don't have that codec) particularly the loading screen (it typically takes 1 minute between clicking load game, for the confirmation window to appear, and then the same amount of time before the loading screen shows up after I click ok). This problem only exists in the non ENB install (ENB is silky smooth for me, when it isn't crashing of course). I checked with fraps to see if the framerate was taking a nose dive during it, but it indicated I was getting 1000-2000 fps (in game my fps is about 200). So between the two installs (which by the way are utterly identical, other than ENB, as checked by my file compare software), ENB is behaving a bit better. I may have to try copying the install to my older gaming laptop and see if the same problems occur or not.

Oh and the town crashes did leave behind an error log (sorry, forum still does not seem to want to let me upload). this one happened in Santiago in the first town section (the expanded towns version).

error.log
RUNTIME ERROR - file: seadogs.c; line: 735
invalid index 10 [size:10]
RUNTIME ERROR - file: seadogs.c; line: 735
invalid index 11 [size:10]
RUNTIME ERROR - file: seadogs.c; line: 735
invalid index 12 [size:10]
RUNTIME ERROR - file: seadogs.c; line: 735
invalid index 13 [size:10]
RUNTIME ERROR - file: seadogs.c; line: 735
invalid index 14 [size:10]
RUNTIME ERROR - file: seadogs.c; line: 735
invalid index 15 [size:10]
RUNTIME ERROR - file: seadogs.c; line: 735
invalid index 16 [size:10]
RUNTIME ERROR - file: seadogs.c; line: 735
invalid index 17 [size:10]
RUNTIME ERROR - file: seadogs.c; line: 735
invalid index 18 [size:10]
RUNTIME ERROR - file: seadogs.c; line: 735
invalid index 19 [size:10]
above repeats 5 times

compile.log
<snip>
ItemLogic: On load location Santiago_port
ItemLogic: found 0 buttons
ItemLogic: Loaded model items\\potion
ItemLogic: Loaded model items\\potionbig
SETTING MUSIC: music_spa_town
SETTING MUSIC: music_spa_town
SETTING MUSIC: music_bitva
Template <goto> -> path not found chr.id = Location fantom character <7>
Template <goto> -> path not found chr.id = Location fantom character <6>
SETTING MUSIC: music_spa_town
Template <goto> -> path not found chr.id = Location fantom character <11>
Template <goto> -> path not found chr.id = Location fantom character <10>

system.log
<snip>
Can't load grass data file: resource\models\locations\Town_Santiago\port\SCport_g.grs
Can't load texture resource\textures\SHIPS\RSD_1.TGA.tx
Can't load texture resource\textures\SHIPS\RSD_1.TGA.tx
Ship Boat doesn't have fire places
Can't load texture resource\textures\.tx
Can't load texture resource\textures\.tx
Can't load texture resource\textures\.tx
Can't load texture resource\textures\.tx

As for the other type of crashes, the most common by far is when transitioning between the world map and the open ocean (particularly near Cuba).

 

[Hylie Pistof]

That looks like a good PSU. So...........Does the stock vanilla POTC run ok? If so, then it could be a bad download. Seadogs is a stock game file.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Seadogs is a stock game file.

That file has been heavily modified, so it is no longer a stock game file.

Can't load grass data file: resource\models\locations\Town_Santiago\port\SCport_g.grs

Do you experience these town-based crashes always in the same towns? Or does it just seem random all over the place?

 

[Neon Samurai]

So far it happened twice in Santiago. Not sure about other towns, as to be honest I am not playing the game very much due to the constant crashes which are making progress difficult.

Anyhow I will see how stock POTC runs.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

I have been to Santiago and the other VCO locations many times without ctds.