Seeking help with two problems I'm having while playing P.o.t.C. (Bethesda SOFTWORKS/UBISOFT/FOCUS)

[KAJIN]

Hi to all here at pirates ahoy.

I'm a newbie here but been using p.a. for a while to get much needed info. and so thanks to anyone whose info. I've used to help me (I can't name you all because too many people to remember ).

I come here in hope of finding help regarding a problem I'm having with my Pirates of the Caribbean PC game (Bethesda SOFTWORKS/UBISOFT/FOCUS).

I used to play this game on Windows XP with no problems.

I now have Windows 7 (32 bit).

I installed this game ok but it wouldn't load.

I found out about swiftshader 2.0 here at p.a. and downloaded it and put it in my P.o.t.C. folder and the game now works (thankyou to all who posted information about swiftshader).

But I am experiencing a couple of problems still when playing P.o.t.C and no matter how much I search (AND I HAVE SEARCHED ALOT!!!!!) I cannot find any information regarding my two problems.

Problem one is: Whenever I enter a battle with other ships there is a box in the bottom left corner of the screen showing my ship and its damage & health etc. levels but there are no boxes showing the damage & health etc. of other ships (I remember these were definitely present when I used to play the game on Windows XP). This makes the game almost unplayable for me because I need to know the damage & health of the other ships to play the game properly.

Problem two is: Whenever I enter a town the sound stops and starts constantly. Whenever I enter a battle with other ships the sound stops and starts constantly. The sound seems to be fine in all other areas I have visited so far while playing the game on windows 7 & using swiftshader (haven't been to all other areas).

Has anyone experienced these same problems?

Does anyone know why these two problems might be or are occuring? And if anyone does know why these two problems are occuring do you know of a solution/fix?

Is there now a swiftshader 3.0? And if so could swiftshader 3.0 help me with my two problems?

If anyone can answer any of those questions I will be infinitely grateful.

Yours hopefully,

KAJIN

 

[Pieter Boelen]

There is no SwiftShader 3.0, no. But we do have a completely different, new Intel Graphics workaround.

Are you using Build 14 Beta 2.3 yet? If so, the installer gives you the option to install an Intel GFX fix. If you didn't install that previously, recommend reinstalling with that instead.
Deinstall SwiftShader altogether. That should make the game run a lot more smoothly on all account.

Your problem #1 could be related to Realistic Game Mode. See here for more details:
http://www.moddb.com/mods/new-horizons/features/arcade-realistic-and-iron-man-game-mode

 

[KAJIN]

Hi Peter Boelen.

Thanks for your swift reply.

I'm not using Build 14 Beta 2.3 because I use a dongle for my internet and the Build 14 Beta 2.3 seems to be 2GB and for me 2GB costs me about £6.66 which I'm not sure I want to pay at present for Build 14 Beta 2.3 (though it is tempting because it does seem really good) because all I'm really after at present is the original game. I may download Build 14 Beta 2.3 in the future if I can't find another solution/fix for my problems.

I think I understand why you might think it is the Realistic Game Mode but it seems this isn't the reason for my problem #1. As I wrote I don't have Build 14 Beta 2.3, only the original game, and I've tried both Arcade Game Mode & Realistic Game Mode and in both Modes the boxes showing the damage & health etc. of other ships is still not showing on the screen.

Thanks again.

KAJIN

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Indeed if you don't have Build 14 Beta 2.3, then it won't be a Realistic Game Mode issue, making it all the more strange.
Where are you looking for those boxes? The only place they would be are in the Sail-To menu.
AoP and CoAS can have them hovering above the other ships, but PotC never had that feature.

You can still try our new Intel Graphics Fix. Here is one that should work for the stock game:
http://www.moddb.com/mods/potc-build-mod/downloads/intel-graphics-fix

 

[Hylie Pistof]

It has been so many years since I played the stock game..................

Win7 has security features that XP does not. Where did you install POTC? Also, you might need to make a DEP exception for POTC. Swiftshader should not make POTC suddenly run.

1. Can you see the ship condition when looking through the spyglass? That is how I check on their condition.

2. The sound has always stuttered, hasn't it? I can not remember it not cutting in and out.

What are your hardware specs? Maybe the Intel fix is not for you, but other things Amplificar did could help.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

The Windows security measures usually cause troubles with modpack installation; but the stock game should work to begin with even if it IS installed in Program Files.

BTW: When you say the game wouldn't load, what exactly does that mean? How far did you get before it stopped and what happened when it did?

 

[KAJIN]

Indeed if you don't have Build 14 Beta 2.3, then it won't be a Realistic Game Mode issue, making it all the more strange.
Where are you looking for those boxes? The only place they would be are in the Sail-To menu.
AoP and CoAS can have them hovering above the other ships, but PotC never had that feature.

You can still try our new Intel Graphics Fix. Here is one that should work for the stock game:
http://www.moddb.com/mods/potc-build-mod/downloads/intel-graphics-fix

It has been so many years since I played the stock game..................

Win7 has security features that XP does not. Where did you install POTC? Also, you might need to make a DEP exception for POTC. Swiftshader should not make POTC suddenly run.

1. Can you see the ship condition when looking through the spyglass? That is how I check on their condition.

2. The sound has always stuttered, hasn't it? I can not remember it not cutting in and out.

What are your hardware specs? Maybe the Intel fix is not for you, but other things Amplificar did could help.

To Both of you

Thankyou both of you. Combining certain things in your replies has solved my first problem.

The boxes are indeed in the Sail To option in the menu. And the damage to enemy ships is only shown on screen after Ethan Hawk buys the common spyglass. I apologize for not playing the game a little more first and managing to rediscover these things before posting here. I can't believe I didn't remember these things from when I last played the game, or managed to work them out again myself but it has been a long time since I last played the game. I have been gaming less and less over the last few years so I'll put it down to being out of the game of gaming more than usual. Yes, that's the reason, it's not that my memory and cognitive abilities aren't quite what they used to be (I tell myself this as confidently as possible ).

To Pieter Boelen

If I don't use swiftshader 2.0 on my PC then PotC always gets to the first menu screen but always crashes as I try to start a new game or load an old game. Swiftshader has been the only fix I've found for this problem. But now I will definitely try out this new Intel Graphics Fix: http://www.moddb.com/mods/potc-build-mod/downloads/intel-graphics-fix

To Hylie Pistof

The sound may have always stuttered. I'm sure it didn't on Windows XP but seeing as I forgot about the common spyglass and Sail To option in the menu revealing damage to enemy ships then I could easily be mistaken. But then the game ran flawlessly for as many hours as I played it on Windows XP, but alas, Windows XP was many moons ago (though I have heard of ways of partitioning my PC so I can have both Windows XP and Windows 7 but that's another thing altogether and I'll need to research that).

Amplificar? I've never heard of them or that (is it a member or a PC thing?). I'll have to do some research about them or that.

I will try Intel Graphics Fix and see how it goes. If it doesn't work I'll post my hardware specs.

To both of you

I have the game saved to a folder in my Desktop.

The game is running well on Windows 7 using Swiftshader 2.0. Though the engine does crash now and then but not too much. I'll try Intel Graphics Fix and see how it goes.

Mahalo

KAJIN

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Amplificar is a member here; he did some complex work for us, including that new Intel Graphics Fix.
Though technically, if the game ran fine without SwiftShader on Windows XP, you shouldn't need it on Windows 7 either. So that's a bit of a weird one...

 

[KAJIN]

ALL MY PROBLEMS ARE NOW SEEMINGLY SOLVED!!!!!

My first problem (not recalling how to view enemy ship damage) was solved thanks to some reminders from both of you.

My second problem (sound cutting in and out) has been fixed by using Intel Graphics Fix.

Thankyou to everyone here at Pirates Ahoy (geniuses), especially to Pieter Boelen & Hylie Pistof & Amplificar.

Currently I can play PotC again just as it should be.

I hope in the future I can help others here with their problems from all the knowledge I've gained form this great website.

KAJIN

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Uh? Why would the Intel Graphics Fix have anything to do with the sound issues???

Also, with that fix, probably your ocean doesn't look as good as it used to. Is that the case for you?

 

[Hylie Pistof]

When I was young old people would tell me "The older I get, the smarter I was." and I would laugh, thinking they were talking about the hubris of youth. They were not.

I do not have Intel graphics installed, but if it helps with the sound maybe I should try it.

 

[Armada]

Uh? Why would the Intel Graphics Fix have anything to do with the sound issues???

Just a thought... that fix disables a resource-heavy ocean shader, so perhaps with less load on the CPU, the sound is less likely to cut out?

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Maybe. If the CPU really gets so overloaded. Though usually it should be the GFX card handling the ocean, I think. And the sound should be the CPU.
So that'd be two separate pieces of equipment. Unless you use SwiftShader, in which case everything would be done by the CPU.