37 replies to this topic

[kthxbye]

Hi there!
I have a problem with my current install.. Every time I try to enter the bandit camp, it loads the area and plays the movie ok but 2 seconds later it crashes to desktop without giving errors. It's the second time in two consecutive runs (with different installs) BG crashes on me right at the bandit camp, I'm quite sad. Anyone who knows what could be causing this?

My weidu.log is attached.

Thanks in advance!

Attached Files

•  WeiDU.log   26.42K   271 downloads

[kthxbye]

Solved.
It seems the crashes on the two installs were independant and it was only a coincidence both times those occurred at the bandit camp. This time the crash was caused by the scimitar +2 from my own mod (which last time I found on Sendai, strange it didn't cause any crash back then), and I have already fixed the error - I'm on my way to update my mod too.

[kthxbye]

... Ok, it seems my own mistake was just another coincidence. Fixed it and removed the scimitar from Raemon, the Bandit Camp starts to lag (something like 2fps shown) as soon as the bandits are spawned and it crashes in the middle of the fight (with Raemon's dead, and he's the only one my mod touched).
The bandits camp seems to be haunted in my installs. O.o

[Jarno Mikkola]

May I suggest that you'll use the LStest mod from here to see which creature scripts make the lag ever so thick? As it's supposed to go away when they are all dead, according to this...

[kthxbye]

I'm sorry I forgot to mention the ctrl-y solution here too.
I've just installed and tried the LStest mod, but still it shows no looping script - it displays a rather huge list of script blocks while I enter the area, with two noticeable freezes while the two blocks of AR8700.bcs that spawns the bosses and the bandits fire, then until Venkt (the mage) reaches the group there's no more script blocks firing - still, the game stutters really heavily. As soon as the mage reaches the party, I see 10 or so blocks all from the mage's DW# script, he fires a lighting bolt and when the animation of the bolt is halfway between the wiz and the target, the game freezes for good and I have to kill it from the task manager. Before installing the LStest mod, I could last 3 to 6 minutes before the final freeze.
I fear the game stutters because of the number of creatures active in the area: there are 10-15 bandits and two bosses already placed as actors, and at least another 10-15 spawns from the two AR8700's script blocks. The game stutters really bad also against the gibberlings (at least 20-30) in Ogre's Reach, while helping the paladin - but against the gibberlings I can easily let my characters fight on their own, with auto-pause if one of them get badly hurt. I can't do the same in the Bandit Camp..
Still, it seems odd to me that killing all the creatures solves the stutter problem, but there's no looping script. Furthermore, it didn't happen in my previous installs as I already cleared the bandit camp with SCS installed in at least one of my runs.

[OneEyedPhoenix]

You have done everything on this list I guess?

Changelog of the area and of the creatures in it might be useful.

Do you have the kind of hardware that would make you expect lags?

Edited by OneEyedPhoenix, 15 October 2009 - 10:57 AM.

[kthxbye]

About the list - I am sure it has nothing to do with the (very few) containers I have, since the lag appears only in the bandit camp area and only when SCS spawns the bosses along with some bandits, and some other bandits with a second script block. I manually avoided those blocks (setting some variables with CLUAConsole) and the Bandit Area was completely without lag. The only other area in which I experienced lag is Ogre's Reach in general, and in particular while helping the paladin versus the horde of gibberlings. Apart from these two situations, the game is flawless. The bandit camp's area script has been modified by SCS, the Vault and Irrbloss' item randomiser. I've both manually checked the .bcs and used the mod Jarno linked to check looping blocks, and there are none. Same for the creatures scripts - the only recurring scripts are the SCS ones, but it's known that SCS scripts for mages and spellcasters in particular are heavy - but have never made my game lag.

[EDIT]
Oh, by the way, if it had to do with something on the list it shouldn't stop as soon as I kill all the bandits. When I enter the area the game runs smoothly for about 2 seconds, then the area script blocks kick in and all the creatures spawn. It's unplayable until I kill the very last of them, when it returns to run smoothly.
[/EDIT]

About the hardware - I don't think I should expect lag, as I play on a dual core 2ghz with 2gb ram. The video card is integrated in the motherboard, but it shouldn't be a bottleneck for Baldur's Gate. I may try to format (there are some programs I want to get rid of) and defragment the harddisk, as I have my install folders on a separate partition (40 gb with 22gb free, while the primary is 120gb with at least 100gb free).

BTW, thanks for the help, Jarno & OneEyedPhoenix!

Edited by kthxbye, 15 October 2009 - 12:47 PM.

[OneEyedPhoenix]

I was thinking more in the lines of corrupted AR8700.are or creature resources. This could explain the crash at least.
Potential problems could be about anything, including a bad lightmap or ambients (these can be nasty).
But it sounds more like you have a flooding problem, which is why it would be interesting to see if any of your mods changes the gibber.cre for instance. (I know I had no lag with 30+ gibberlings on the screen when I fought them)

My gibber.cre changelog looks like this (for reference):

[codebox]
Mods affecting GIBBER.CRE:
00000: /* from game biffs */ ~SETUP-BGT.TP2~ 0 0 // Baldur's Gate Trilogy - Core
00001: /* from game biffs */ ~SETUP-SCS.TP2~ 0 5000 // Smarter general AI
00002: ~SETUP-SCS.TP2~ 0 5024 // Three quarters of the potions dropped by slain enemies break and are lost
00003: ~SETUP-BPV177.TP2~ 0 0 // Big Picture AI/Enhancement Mod, version 177 weidu (beta)
00004: ~SETUP-REVISEDBATTLES.TP2~ 0 27 // Modify .CRE Proficiencies, Abilities & Effects. This component MUST be installed.
00005: ~SETUP-BGTTWEAK.TP2~ 0 2400 // Enemy items shatter
00006: ~SETUP-XPMOD.TP2~ 0 1 // Reduce to 50%
00007: ~AURORA/SETUP-AURORA.TP2~ 0 0 // Aurora's Shoes and Boots
00008: ~AURORA/SETUP-AURORA.TP2~ 0 440 // Both 1 and 2 (50% of treasures lost)[/codebox]

Edited by OneEyedPhoenix, 15 October 2009 - 01:55 PM.

[kthxbye]

Actually my gibber.cre resource is even less modified than yours..

Mods affecting GIBBER.CRE:
00000: /* from game biffs */ ~SETUP-BGT.TP2~ 0 0 // Baldur's Gate Trilogy - Core
00001: /* from game biffs */ ~SETUP-SCS.TP2~ 0 5000 // Smarter general AI

EDIT: could be worthwhile saying that while I didn't try to disable environmental sounds and all the other tricks with my stutter problem in Bandit Camp, as it isn't (or it doesn't seem to be) an area related problem but more a creature/scripts related one, I do tried those solution in every combination possible when in Ogre's Reach, and each combination of options had the exact same lag my usual config has.

Edited by kthxbye, 15 October 2009 - 02:16 PM.

[OneEyedPhoenix]

Actually my gibber.cre resource is even less modified than yours..

Hm, this leaves lack of physical resources in your computer to my mind... (Though why is beyond me.)

Does it lag/stutter once about every three-four seconds (once each round)? If it does then it could well be a script problem, even though no blocks of script are triggered, as the game has to search through all scripts for valid blocks once each round. You could try replacing the creature scripts with shorter ones and see if that helps.

[Miloch]

If you're still getting a crash, follow the instructions here to generate a message in baldur.err and post it here.

As for the stutter, if it's mage and DW# related as you suggest, then it's quite likely Smarter Mages in SCS. I doubt it's Smarter General AI for the gibberlings, as they really shouldn't have much in the way of smartness, AI or otherwise.

[kthxbye]

Thanks for the link, I'll definitely try and generate at least three or four error messages in order to compare them and see if it's always the same cause.
Actually, I don't think it's the mage alone - I killed him and the stutter continued undisturbed. I had to kill every one of the bandits in the area to make the game run smoothly again. Yet, if I cut out the blocks that spawn Venkt, Raemon, Britik, Hakt, some Black Talon elites, some Chill Hobgoblins and some bandits I can enjoy the area with no lag and its pre-assigned actors (some hobgoblings, some bandits, Thaugosz or whatever his name is, Credus and the hobgoblin archer).
In Ogre's Reach, instead, I usually get strong stutter as soon as I join the area, and have the same stutter as in Bandit Camp while helping the paladin versus the gibberlings.
With strong stutter I mean about an instant of lag every 2 or 3 seconds, while the lag I get in Bandit Camp and while fighting the gibberling horde is just way worse than that: the game shows the very same screen (like a screenshot) for about ten seconds, then update it and keep it again for ten seconds. If I pause, the game lags 2 seconds or so before pausing then updates the screen and I have no problem at all scrolling the screen around, seeing inventories, character sheets and everything else. As soon as I unpause the game, the lag restarts.

In the meantime, I formatted my C: drive and defragmented D: drive (where I have the install folders). Will make you know if that helped and, if not, I'll post the .err output following Miloch's instructions.

Thanks!

[kthxbye]

Forgot to mention, even when the game shows only the "screenshot", sound works flawlessly.
Anyway, formatting/defragmenting didn't help.

Baldur.err always contains this (on windows, it's on one line - and it's always only once, even if the game crashed more than once, I guess BG just overwrites the old baldur.err instead of appending):

---------------------Start Logging Session---------------------

ASSERTION FAILED!
File: ObjCreature.h
Line: 1575

Exp: buttonNum<CGAMESAVECHARACTER_NUM_QUICK_WEAPONS

Msg: no msg.
Run Debugger?

EDIT: it occurred to me that before I said a lag that lowered fps to 2, now I say that there's a 10 second "screenshot". Actually both things are true. I get the lag to 2fps as soon as bandits spawn. As soon as they reach the party, script blocks start to fly (I still have LStest installed) and the game goes into the "screenshot every 10 seconds" mode. I do not know if the change is caused by script blocks or by something else.
I apologize for every misunderstanding I may have caused - I'll try to be more precise next time.

Edited by kthxbye, 16 October 2009 - 12:07 AM.

[Miloch]

ASSERTION FAILED!
File: ObjCreature.h
Line: 1575

Exp: buttonNum<CGAMESAVECHARACTER_NUM_QUICK_WEAPONS

Same exact message as here, same place too, and the only other time I've seen it. The other poster said an earlier saved game solved the issue, but obviously there is some mod that messes up this area somehow since two different posters get the same thing. Maybe it is a CRE instead of a PC or NPC that has more weapons than it should. Guess it's time to do change-logs on venkt.cre and whatever else seems to be contributing to this.

Edited by Miloch, 16 October 2009 - 12:37 AM.

[kthxbye]

I don't want to rush things, but I've had this problem since I decided to try the Vault mod (which incidentally make changes on Venkt) and inserted it in my runs.
I'm going to changelog all the bosses in the Bandit Camp and the bandits as well. Maybe it's overdoing things but oh well. Will post here as soon as I have the logs.
Unfortunately I don't have saves from a lot before the Bandit Camp, but I did try with an old save (2 in-game days early), with a quicksave and with an autosave. Will try the Beregost crash fixer on my current save just in case.

Anyway it seems the crash and the stutter problem aren't related - or at least the crash could be related to the stutter in the bandit camp area only, not with the stutter in Ogre's Reach. Man, my current install sucks.

EDIT: checked with the other topic, the other poster had The Vault too. Not that it identifies it as the problem.. Hope to find out what's causing this.

Edited by kthxbye, 16 October 2009 - 01:37 AM.

[kthxbye]

Here are the changelogs on the area, the area's script, the actors and the script-spawned creatures.
Disregard the entries about LStest, as it was installed after the first few crashes to identify the source of the lag, and the entry on raemon.cre about ktweaks, as it occasionally lead to a crash but I identified and fixed the problem, so it's ok now (was a malformed item ability on k-sw1h04.itm ).

Attached Files

•  AR8700.ARE.txt   429bytes   254 downloads
•  AR8700.BCS.txt   545bytes   242 downloads
•  ARDENO.CRE.txt   314bytes   274 downloads
•  BANDCR.CRE.txt   247bytes   259 downloads
•  BANDITC.CRE.txt   248bytes   239 downloads
•  CREDUS.CRE.txt   433bytes   246 downloads
•  GLART.CRE.txt   246bytes   252 downloads
•  HOBGOBC.CRE.txt   315bytes   255 downloads
•  TAUGOS.CRE.txt   519bytes   263 downloads
•  britik.cre.txt   458bytes   252 downloads
•  dw_c3bt.cre.txt   124bytes   266 downloads
•  dw_c3cbt.cre.txt   125bytes   302 downloads
•  dw_c3che.cre.txt   125bytes   254 downloads
•  dw_c3hb.cre.txt   185bytes   268 downloads
•  hakt.cre.txt   525bytes   250 downloads
•  raemon.cre.txt   569bytes   252 downloads
•  venkt.cre.txt   665bytes   271 downloads

Edited by kthxbye, 16 October 2009 - 02:06 AM.

[Miloch]

Don't bother with the Beregost crash fixer unless you're getting a crash specific to Beregost. The only thing I can see with the Vault is it adds to Venkt a dart03.itm with *zero* charges to his quiver1 slot. It should probably have been like 10 charges in his weapon2 slot or something, but anyway you can try deleting it with DLTCEP and see if that helps (preferably with a saved game from before you first entered the area). Don't try it with NI because it can bugger the CRE worse than it is already.

Also the Vault replaces Hakt's bow in the weapon1 slot with a sw1h02.itm which probably should've gone in weapon2. But that is highly unlikely to be causing any issues, so don't worry about it.

If the Vault really is the suspect, this should probably get posted in that thread or forum so erebusant sees it. But a lot of the other CREs are affected only by SCS, or even specifically added by SCS, namely these components:

00003: ~SETUP-SCS.TP2~ 0 5000 // Smarter general AI
00004: ~SETUP-SCS.TP2~ 0 5010 // Better calls for help
00005: ~SETUP-SCS.TP2~ 0 6160 // Tougher chapter-three end battle

I think I recall the Better calls for help causing some issues like endless shout loops or something. Anyhow, you could try uninstalling those too to see if it helps.

I have no idea what "Ogre's Reach" is - some area added by the Vault or some other mod?

[kthxbye]

I'm sorry, I'm so used to the worldmap mod's names that I don't remember if in the vanilla worldmap that area has a name - Ogre's Reach is the area north of the gnoll fortress, where Laurel asks to help her against some goblins and where a noble asks to help against a bear. It has a small river running in the middle of the map, with two short bridges on the north and on the south of the area.
I really don't know if the Vault is involved in the crash, I thought it could because I've never been able to get past the bandit camp 'cause of crashes since the day I added it to my usual installs - but I do not want to spread false rumors. I will check everything I can to be sure to find the real problem.
While I see no problems in adding darts with 0 charges (should just get the item to be depleted as soon as it's loaded I think), it could explain why the crash seems to be at random times - as soon as Venkt tries to equip the darts, it crashes, IF it's the cause. I'll download DLTCEP and try to use it at once, didn't know NI could cause bugs.
About SCS, unless those scripts have been changed in the last version I've been able to clear the SCS modified bandit camp without problems in at least one game on the very same machine I'm using now. Uninstalling those components might be a problem since they aren't last. If useful, I may try to do another install avoiding those components and check if the bandit camp and ogre's reach work ok, but if possible I'd leave this try as last since it would require a lot of time.

Edited by kthxbye, 16 October 2009 - 03:05 AM.

[Lollorian]

Funny thing is, Hakt's Bow's also used for one of Thalantyr's recipes (so that's actually an incompatibility )

And Ogre's Reach is what the new Worldmap calls AR3499 The area north of the Gnoll Fortress (with Laurel the Paladin and the Gibberling Rush) ... Yeah, the Vault affects it ...

Spoiler

actually that's the LOCATION of the Vault!!!

Cheers,
Lol

[kthxbye]

I have found the DLCTEP, but since the Vault modifies both areas I lag in and could cause the crash, I'm going to do another install (I'll keep the current one on a separate folder for testing purposes) avoiding it and will test both areas and the fight with Venkt & the others. I hope I'll be able to give you results not after tomorrow evening. If avoiding the Vault fixes all my issues, I'll obviously report the thing on the Vault's boards.