Random Crashes - AGS Issues?

[AlastorBosch]

(If this is the second time this post has shown up, it's because I think there was a snag when I tried before).
Hi,

I've been experiencing mildly annoying crashes every so often. They tend to happen during screen transitions, though the first one below happened when I clicked my coin purse on a katta, and I've had them over three? four? different character restarts. Windows gives me a message that looks something like this - An exception 0xC0000005 occured in ACWIN.EXE at EIP = 0x004F3820 ; program pointer is +339, ACI version 2.72.920, gtags (80,3)

AGS cannot continue, this exception was fatal. Please note down the numbers above, remember what you were doing at the time and notify CJ on the Tech forum.

Of the other two which I've documented (though I've gotten maybe six total) the exception and pointer numbers differed.

EIP = 0x004F34DC ; program pointer is +1099, ACI version 2.72.920, gtags (1,3)

and

EIP = 0x004F3CC0 ; program pointer is +335, ACI version 2.72.920, gtags (0,3)

[Anonymous Game Creator 2]

Can you give us more information about your system specs, what kind of sound card and video card you have, your DirectX version, and any other info that may be relevant?

[AlastorBosch]

Can you give us more information about your system specs, what kind of sound card and video card you have, your DirectX version, and any other info that may be relevant?

Yes. I'm running a PIII - ~590 Mhz, with 256 Mb Ram, 32mb vid card, and an SB Audigy soundcard, DirectX 9.0c, Windows XP w/ SP2. I looked at the Sys. Reqs before installing, and maybe other than not having DX10, which I'm not sure would work on my computer anyway, I meet the other things.

I'm running the game in 320x200, with the default settings, plus the 85Hz thing, since I'm using a CRT.

[Schloss Ritter]

Don't check the "the 85Hz thing" unless you're having problems otherwise. You don't have to check it just because you're using a CRT monitor.

On a slightly different subject, you're running XP on that system? How smoothly does it run? I've always been afraid to upgrade my Win98SE PIII 1GHz with 512 MB of RAM for fear of losing performance to XP's fancier interface, etc. But now it's getting to the point where I can't upgrade things that aren't supporting Win98 any more.

[Anonymous Game Creator 2]

Those crashes are strange. Could you make sure that you have the latest version of DirectX installed and also the latest version of your video card drivers. Then play the game a bit more and let us know if the problem persists?

[AlastorBosch]

Don't check the "the 85Hz thing" unless you're having problems otherwise. You don't have to check it just because you're using a CRT monitor.

On a slightly different subject, you're running XP on that system? How smoothly does it run? I've always been afraid to upgrade my Win98SE PIII 1GHz with 512 MB of RAM for fear of losing performance to XP's fancier interface, etc. But now it's getting to the point where I can't upgrade things that aren't supporting Win98 any more.

Yeah, I theorized about the 85Hz thing; I thought it was supposed to enhance, rather than act as a workaround. XP runs fine on my machine, though it can get a tad sluggish from time to time.

AGD2, I haven't updated, but I did play for a fair length of time after turning off that option, and it seemed to work fine. I'll continue playing and let you know.

And, overdue, but so far, I am 'very' pleased. The battle system is awesome (though I have trouble remembering the combos), and I look forward to discovering all the things therein.

[AlastorBosch]

Well, it seems I spoke too soon. I had turned off the 85 Hz thing, and it seemed to work fine for a longer period of time, but yesterday evening, it began going squirrely. I enlarged the cache for sprites. That seemed to be ok, but then I began getting the same crash when I tried to load a game in the desert. I re-adjusted the cache back to default, and it let me reload. Also, AGD2, I can't update my DirectX; tried and Windows is being a pain. So, I'm supposing this is just something I'll have to deal with? ::chuckles::

Edit: The more I experience the bug (I just did a few moments ago) I believe it to be not a quirk in the game, but something just a bit off with my machine. For one, the intro movie - for a second or two before it starts, there's a black screen like usual, but I can faintly hear the sound stuttering. The movie itself plays fine. Also, now (didn't happen on initial load-ups), when loading, music in an area will hitch for a second, then play fine (like at the KTI). I'm no IT guy, but this screams a need for updated something-or-other on my part.

[Schloss Ritter]

Yeah, when you're running at or near minimum system specs for a game, there are bound to be issues. I have similar problems with Battlefield: Vietnam (intro video skips in game, though it plays fine in an external Bink player). I also get occasional lockups if a server crashes while I'm playing BF1942 or BFV.

[Anonymous Game Creator 2]

The crashes are definitely a system-specific issue, which is why I recommended updating both DirectX and your graphics card drivers.

Are the 'pointer' numbers mentioned in the crashes always the same? Or are they different every time? You can press CTRL-C to copy the contents of the crash dialog box to the clipboard. And CTRL-V to paste it here in the forum.

[AlastorBosch]

The numbers are always different. As for updating, let's just say it's not really an option. So, I'll just keep playing, and hope I don't inadvertently get to a point where I can't finish the game, such as being unable to load or what-have-you.

[AlastorBosch]

As I write this, I am well aware that when I hit 'submit', I will have jinxed myself, and things will resume as before. That being said, I started over a fourth time after dropping the color depth. This seems to have alleviated the crashes, though I still get minute/brief sound stutters on initial load-up, and restores. I don't expect that to go away unless I get a better computer. Thanks for everyone's help and patience, by the by.


PS - What's the purpose of the sand globe? And I thought thieves could learn to throw daggers in combat like brigands?

[Erpy]

The Shapeir-in-a-bottle can simply be used to decorate your room at the inn.

As for dagger tossing, just press the dagger toss button (default is Q) in combat. If you have more than 1 dagger, you'll toss it at the enemy. You can't do this in melee range though.

[ralakai]

On a slightly different subject, you're running XP on that system? How smoothly does it run? I've always been afraid to upgrade my Win98SE PIII 1GHz with 512 MB of RAM for fear of losing performance to XP's fancier interface, etc. But now it's getting to the point where I can't upgrade things that aren't supporting Win98 any more.

I'm not the person you asked, but I've got both Windows 2000 and Windows XP on a similar system to yours and the experience is fine. In fact, I only have 256MB RAM, yet Windows 2000 flies, and XP does pretty well after turning off some of the interface enhancements like fading menus, etc. Not as perky as 2000, but perfectly acceptable for many things. Mostly I run 2000, then reboot into XP if I need to use an XP-specific program. Win2000 even does well with 128MB of RAM, but XP isn't any fun unless you have at least 256MB. So with 512MB you should be quite okay.

[Schloss Ritter]

On a slightly different subject, you're running XP on that system? How smoothly does it run? I've always been afraid to upgrade my Win98SE PIII 1GHz with 512 MB of RAM for fear of losing performance to XP's fancier interface, etc. But now it's getting to the point where I can't upgrade things that aren't supporting Win98 any more.

I'm not the person you asked, but I've got both Windows 2000 and Windows XP on a similar system to yours and the experience is fine. In fact, I only have 256MB RAM, yet Windows 2000 flies, and XP does pretty well after turning off some of the interface enhancements like fading menus, etc. Not as perky as 2000, but perfectly acceptable for many things. Mostly I run 2000, then reboot into XP if I need to use an XP-specific program. Win2000 even does well with 128MB of RAM, but XP isn't any fun unless you have at least 256MB. So with 512MB you should be quite okay.

Yeah, I realize it will be smoother if I disable some of XP's bells and whistles

I Ah, and I forgot to mention, it's only PC133 speed RAM (I think), if that is fast enough, if you know what I'm talking about...

Anyway, I may just have to look into that, if I ever get a bigger hard drive to put all my downloads on (20GB just does not last like it used to).