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Need Help Making the game work...

B

Baracuda

Landlubber
Hello everyone, I have just decided to join this forum because I have seen it while ago and thought how awesome it is. I have had problems with these games that use STORM engine and cannot get it to play normally.

I have POTC and AOE (Caribbean Tales) and cannot get them to work normally. They crash in similar ways, with the exception that AOE usually lasts a little longer.

First thing first I am trying to get either of them running on my laptop, which is:
-AMD Turion X2 1.8GHz
-ATI Radeon X1200 series 128 RAM
-2 Gb Ram
-Windows 7 Premium 32-bit

I have read many things on this forum and still cannot get these games to work. I am using the stock versions of both games but AOE is 1.5 version with no MODS.

For POTC, it crashes usually when I switch from land to sea or vice versa (even though once I ran it for a few hours before crashing). I even tried to use Standard Utility Analyzer and Compatibility Administrator 32-bit and did not see any improvements - I am probably not using the tools properly because I would need a detailed walkthrough on how to use the software. Moreover, I tried to switch to 1024x768, turn off the Safe-mode for sound and other stuff on the config.exe but no luck.

AOE does not crash as often as POTC can but it is still not playable.

I also tried to change compatibility to XP SP3, disable desktop composition and visual themes but there was no difference whatsoever. I played POTC back in the day on my older computer and if I recall correctly I had no problems since I remember destroying Black Pearl - if I had gotten that far, the game must have worked.

It is really frustrating now since I cannot play neither game, the engine is killing me. I just want to play a simple game, without Mods if possible, and be happy.

Is there any hope for me?
 
:ahoymate!

You want to play without mods and want it to be stable? POTC played ok for me years ago on a dog of a computer too. But the storyline was not nearly as long as it is now, so that you did not get to the worst glitches.
There are some things you can try. Have you read the FAQ here yet? There are some things that might help.

Try this engine.ini. It drops right in and improves performance.

Also, this is brand new stuff but it does work. Read this thread and try these goodies. I am running them now.
http://www.piratesahoy.net/threads/heap-corruption-random-crashes.19362/
 

Attachments

  • engine.ini
    35 KB · Views: 173
Ahoy mate, welcome aboard.

Make sure that you do not have the games installed in to the default directory in Program Files, that will cause major problems with Windows "security features". Install them to C:\Games\ or something.

I would say 2 gig is the absolute minimum, and if your video card is using part of that ram then you have even less available. Check what background processes you have running and free up as much memory as you can. On some laptops, there is also an Intel graphics chip installed that fights for resources with the other graphics chip. What is the model of your laptop?

Also, be sure and read the FAQ, it has relevant information for all STORM engine games.
 
Ahoy there, thanks for your help.

Unfortunately, the engine.ini file and the bypass rar did not really make a difference to me. I was not sure whether core reference file was just for testing and I did not download it so I could use a confirmation about it before I download/install it.

My PoTC was not in the program files folder...I tried to reinstall the game but there weren't any improvements in the performance.

If I exhaust all the options of getting PoTC to run then I will consider MODS if they can improve performance. What do you people think?
 
Did you manage to play PotC in 3D sailing mode at all and is it just unstable or does it ALWAYS crash when you try to go to sea?

Do you have the US or European version of PotC? If the US one, getting even Build 13 Final will convert your game mainly to the more stable Euro base, which may help you.
 
Ok, we will start with ram. I am using Win7 64 and as it sits here it is using 1.65GB of ram. The computer you played on years ago probably used XP and had 1GB of ram. XP uses very little ram to run, so you did not run out. Your current ctd when changing maps is probably because you are running out of ram because your old computer had more spare ram than your current one.

The engine.ini is from the European version of POTC and gives a jump in performance and reliability compared to the American version I used before. If you are already using the European version, then you will notice no difference.

There are two files I use from that heap thread. The bypass in the 1st post is to prevent certain ctd's and it does help there. If it does not help you, then your problem lies elsewhere. It modifies stock files, not mod files. The same applies to the ENGINE breakpoint mod. It changes the stock files in order to stop certain ctd's.

I just looked at your video card and it is below the standard needed for games. It can barely play old games like Quake 3, Warcraft 3, or Half Life 2. I watched a demo of Gary's Mod using this video card on Youtube and it was awful. The good news is that the X1200 is still rated better than the Intel graphics.

Overall, it seems your problem playing POTC is hardware related, not software related. An old desktop would seem to be better than a newer laptop. :shrug
 
Ahoy there, thanks everyone for your contributing posts, I truly appreciate your input!

The thing that confused me the most is that its stability changes a lot. For example, usually it crashes during the land/sea switch. But I played the game yesterday for like 4 hours without crashing and including the 3D sailing mode. My conclusion is, but I could be wrong, that hardware is not the crucial problem in the stability of the game. But I am not an expert and am nothing compared to all of you, you guys really seem to know your stuff.

Yes, I admit it, my video card is old and when it was new it was not really made for playing games. But I did play a lot of games newer than PoTC on low to medium details.

Overall, from what you guys say it is unlikely that I will be able to play this game, unless the mods change things dramatically. I need the new computer anyways this one is like 5 years old. I guess I will have to be patient until I get a new one.

P.S. How do you determine whether it is US or EU version?
 
Thanks Pieter, I have the US version. Which mod would you recommend me for the best stability? Maybe I should give it a try.
 
Build 13 Final has all the European version files included, so definitely try that.
Then get that European engine.ini that Hylie posted too, as that is the only file not included in the modpack download.
 
Hey,

I forgot to mention one thing, it might be worth of a try (if the problem itself is not CPU based)

When I tried to run the program via the Standard User Analyzer on the launch it said this:

"C:\Windows\system32\msvcp60.dll is either not designed to run on Windows or it contains an error. Try installing the program again using the original installation media or contact your system administrator or the software vendor for support."

I tried reinstalling the game but the same issue is there when I tried to launch it again. The software does run, but with the same sea/land crashes. Any thoughts?

Thanks
 
Thoughts? You have a corrupted file in Win7. Mayhaps it is time to reinstall windows and start on a very regular defrag and maintenance program?
In the meantime, try this.
 

Attachments

  • msvcp60.7z
    109.2 KB · Views: 132
Note that to open this file, you'll probably need the 7-Zip archiver:
http://www.7-zip.org/

This is worth getting anyway because it's completely free and can read a whole range of archive types (including RAR, normally handled by WinRAR for which you're supposed to pay if you use it for more than a certain time).
 
hey peeps i joined this site today and its sick ilove it! i seem to be having a problem with my game! :'( as soon as i open the game i select new game... and then the pc just goes blank and say that EGINE.exe has a problem and needs to shut down! so i tried using the engine.ini by replacing it with my current one... this time the my screen stays blank no menu comes up and it says that it is out of range? please help... im new to this stuff so please forgive me
 
:ahoy mate!

There are several possible causes of this. Are you using a laptop with Intel graphics? Where is POTC installed? If you installed into "program files" then Windoze security is activated and blocks some functions.
 
The type of video card is most important. What is your operating system? If it is XP, please go into your control panel---> system--->device manager. That will let you see your video adapter.
 
xp professional? i found the device manager and went to display adapters and found the following : intel(R0 G33/G31 Express Chipset Family
hope thats wat u looking for? i looked for video adpater but display adapters is all i found?
 
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