CTD issues with WoM

[Wambat]

Howdy. I just downloaded and installed WoM yesterday. I have experienced two CTD issues thus far playing the Adunabar campaign:

1) After the first engagement with RK at the bridge next to Minas Tirith. The battle is defensive, occurring on RK's turn. I get a CTD following the battle when the game cycles back to Adunabar's turn. This happens whether I win or lose this battle.

2) When assailing the city walls of the nearest eastern city, on the shores of inland sea in Mordor, I get a CTD when I try to move the unit holding the battering-ram by right-clicking and dragging, as to set a new formation. This method does not cause a CTD when used on units not carrying a battering-ram.

I had played WoM as Dunland over a year ago and did not experience any similar CTD issues at that time. I don't know if any changes have been made to the game in that time. I have used new downloads of the mod, downloaded yesterday, installing in order TNS, WoM, and then the hot-fix.

I will add any new CTD issues to this thread if/when I encounter them.

[Thangaror]

I've experienced many CTDs occuring after a battle is fought. The game crashes when the loading bar is almost filled or shortly after the campaign map is shown again. Afaik that's a vanilla issue, though it's strange that it occurs every time after a specific battle. Usually it's totally random. I had exactly the same problem once, after I fiddled around in the EDU and created a new unit. Do you use the "-show_err" tag?

A bug that occured with WoM was the cloned general, some issue with Adûnabârs family members, eliminated with the hot fix. But I doubt this bug occurs when the player controls Adûnabâr.

[Aradan]

The post-battle CTDs are often caused by lack of available memory. When you end a battle, give it some seconds before you click the button to go back to campaign mode.

The ram-related bug is a new one, I've never experienced it and it hasn't been reported before, so I'm not sure what's causing it. It sounds quite weird though, I can't think of a reason that would cause such a bug only under those circumstances.

[Wambat]

I am getting a CTD now that I have defeated Dunland and am trying to mop up the remaining, now rebel, Dunlandish units. One of these units is a lone general units. When I try to fight this units on the battle-map I CTD. The last time I have such an issue on a mob it was because there was some problem with the unit model. I suspect the problem is with the unit model for whatever Dunlandish generals use once they become rebels, since it is the only unit model involved that has not been involved in combat yet.

[Aradan]

The slave dunlendish general uses the same skin (and of course the same model) as the factional one, so I don't think that's the problem. Weird issue though - has anyone else encountered it?

[Wambat]

Just wanted to confirm that this CTD issue is happening consistently with both former Dunlandish and former RK rebel general units.

[Wambat]

I am now about 47ish turns into the game playing Adunabar. At the conclusion of this turn I am obliged to defend against an Haradin force. Somewhere between the 5 and 10 minute mark into this battle I get the dreaded CTD.

This happens regardless of how many, or how few, units are in the battle, and seems to be independent of the composition of forces. It also seems independent of the map itself, as the same thing occurs even if I retreat and fight in a different battle-map.

I get the feeling that I am hitting a memory wall, or something. But whether or not I have other applications running in the background does not seem to affect how long the battle lasts before the CTD.

In any event, the CTD seems to happen no matter what I do in the battle, even if I simply try to run away, I still get a CTD before all my units can escape the map. Maybe it has something to do with the strength ratio bar?

Let me know if it would help to post some screen shots.

[Aradan]

It does sound like a memory thing. If it was models, textures or sprites, you would have got it in previous battles, and before the map even loaded. It shouldn't be music either, because it would have happened in an earlier battle too. Your army composition doesn't matter, but I assume the enemy one remains the same? Can you try a custom battle using the exact composition of both armies (you being Adunabar, and facing Harad)?

[Wambat]

There are three different Haradin battle groups involved and can manipulate which I end up engaging by changing the strength or position of my forces. I get the CTD regardless of which force engages me.

When I avoided contact with the Haradins altogether, by withdrawing my forces beyond their reach, I was able to successfully complete a battle with Rhun. After I completed this battle, I tried going back to the initial save point and seeing if I could complete a the battle(s) with the Haradins. I was able to complete the battle with two of the attacking forces, but the third Haradin force caused the CTD again.

I kept an eye on the force ratio bar, and this was able to change without causing the CTD. Again, the point at which the CTD occurred seemed random. There were many points at which I had a full view of the large amount of forces involved (around 2500 men) while at 3xspeed, and this did not result in a CTD, and sometimes the CTD would occur when my view was focused on a small area of the battle-map containing no units and at 1xspeed.

I cannot figure out what the heck is going on. The only commonality of the issue is that the Haradin are involved, whom I have fought in battle-map many times before without adverse effect, and I am fighting in the dessert/tropical battle maps. it seems somehow also to conspire to end the battle before I can end it myself, but it is not directly caused by any "battle-ending" trigger, as the CTD happens before this can occur.

[Aradan]

If you still have a save-game right before the battle, can you back up fatw's formations_ai.txt and then replace it with vanilla's and try the battle again? I doubt it's formations, but I can't really think of anything else (aside from memory issues, which is not mod-related).

[Wambat]

I will give that a shot.

[Wambat]

As I went to give this a shot, my complex decided to shut off my Internet all damn day. So only now can I ask: which formations_ai text am I supposed replace? There are several in my RTW folder; what sub-folder should I be looking in? I suspect it is the one under bi/ci/data, but I should like to be certain before proceeding.

One thing eliminated in the interregnum: It occured to me that I had not, to this point, fought prolonged battles in the near-harad battle-maps, and that perhaps the graphics of the vegetation was causing the memory overload. Reducing graphic details in all areas, however, did not serve to resolve this problem, so I doubt this is the source of the trouble.

[Aradan]

You should replace the file in bi/ci/data with the file from bi/data - alternatively, simply rename the file to sth like "fatw_formations_ai.txt", and the game will use the vanilla BI formations file.

[Wambat]

The formations, unfortunately, do not seem to have any effect on this CTD issue. I cannot think but that it must have something to do with the type of battle-map, but I am unable to reproduce the CTD in skirmish mode. I continue to fight battles in other areas without issue, and have fought Haradin armies of similar composition without problems in Gondor.

Is there any way can send you my saved game file so that you can reproduce the effects for yourself and perhaps get a better idea of what may be the problem?

[Aradan]

Sure, just upload the .sav file somewhere and post the link.

You are running TNS + WoM + Hotfix, right?

[Wambat]

I am having trouble finding where the saved game files are kept.

I will update you that I thought I had made progress: I thought, if memory is the problem, perhaps upping the priority of of the game in the task manager will do the trick. I did this, and the quality of the game increased dramatically at once. I was also able to complete an engagement with an Harradin army. Unfortunately, the next engagement met with a CTD, and I have not been able to repeat the success. Many such inspirations, thus far, have met with similar fleeting and illusive successes.

[Aradan]

Saves for WoM are located in bi/ci/Batch/campaign name/saves/.

[Wambat]

Saves for WoM are located in bi/ci/Batch/campaign name/saves/.

I am afraid no such file exists in the indicated location.

[Aradan]

?!

After you exit the game, the .bat files transfers the save files there. While you're playing, the save games are in bi/ci/saves, as usual.

[Wambat]

?!

After you exit the game, the .bat files transfers the save files there. While you're playing, the save games are in bi/ci/saves, as usual.

Whether or not I have the game open, neither indicated file location exists in my folders. Do you think this may be contributing to the the CTD issue I am experiencing?