Game Unplayable - Staff please respond
 

I feel frustrated. There should be a post included with SEIV's advertising that reads:

This product is incompatible with Dell laptops using Windows ME

I feel ripped. I love the game, and played it on my old computer (now given to charity) and eagerly anticipated many hours on my Inspiron 8100 laptop. Oh well. The game won't run unless I'm willing to let my computer sit for a half-hour first while on.

Urgh. I am a professional and often only have an hour a day to play (lunch)... at home I'm a new dad and that pretty much kills any playing.

I hope this will be addressed in a patch. I feel ripped off.

Jason

Re: Game Unplayable - Staff please respond
 

You might want to send your save games into se4@malfador.com but I can tell you I play the game just fine on ME and I also play it just fine on several different machines and laptops I use with no issues.

One thing you may want to check is that your drivers are DirectX compliant and up to date.

------------------
Sarge is coming...

Richard Arnesen
Director of Covert Ops
Shrapnel Games
http://www.shrapnelgames.com

Re: Game Unplayable - Staff please respond
 

I also play on winMe with no problems

Re: Game Unplayable - Staff please respond
 

I would bet that it's some type of driver issue, as Richard said. I am running on an HP laptop using ME.

I'm curious, are you saying that the game will play if the laptop is up and running for about half-an-hour beforehand? That sounds almost like some kind of hardware issue where a connection is flakey until the system heats up and something expands to make a better connection. Don't know, but it sure sounds strange.

Re: Game Unplayable - Staff please respond
 

Are you using a fresh install with the latest patch? Your not copying saved games from your previous computer?

Do this:

Insure you have enough HD space.
Defrage, and or Scan disk. Also check for viruses. Update all of your drivers for Direct X, and video card.

Uninstall the game completely.
Do A fresh install.

If the game still will not play, then go to your local guns shop, pay the guy 50 bucks to borrow a shot gun, and one round. Go out side and shoot your lap top. J/K. Call Dell support and see what they say. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif

One other thing too, http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif if it is warezed . . . . . **** happens. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif


[This message has been edited by Atrocities (edited 15 November 2001).]

Re: Game Unplayable - Staff please respond
 

I think Jason2 may be referring to the "Range Check Error" problem that I and a couple of others have discussed in other threads. This problem does not appear to be due to out of date drivers or DirectX compliance, nor is it simply an OS incompatibility with ME, nor does it appear to be fixable with the uninstall/reinstall exercise. (I get this error on a Dell Inspiron 4000 under WinME, but not on a Dell Dimension 4100 desktop under WinME.)

The workaround appears to be to start the computer, load the game, let it crash, close the game, do something else (I haven't investigated whether the time spent doing something else is a factor), then restart the game -- at which point it appears to run.

Jason, I hope this helps. I certainly second your plea for a fix, because this appears to be a real bug and it's real annoying.

L

Re: Game Unplayable - Staff please respond
 

As far as we know all of the Range Check errors have been resolved but that doesn't mean they all have.

Just drop Aaron a note at se4@malfador.com with the exact error, what was going on when it occurred and the zipped up save games files.

Also if this is a modified Version of the game let us know that.

------------------
Sarge is coming...

Richard Arnesen
Director of Covert Ops
Shrapnel Games
http://www.shrapnelgames.com

Re: Game Unplayable - Staff please respond
 

I am still getting range check errors when simulating large combats. i posted the details on the Last request for bug reports.

to rehash, i can re-create RCEs anytime i simulate a combat involving a sphereworld loaded with (a) more than 1000 fighters or (b) more than 200 WPs filled with organic or crystal armor

depending on the configurations of the WPs, the errors can be generated with alot less.. but basically this means that it is impossible to fully defend a sphereworld, making it a very hard investment to keep.

it also could have some repurcussions for large fleet engagements.

------------------
"...the green, sticky spawn of the stars"
(with apologies to H.P.L.)

Re: Game Unplayable - Staff please respond
 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Richard:
As far as we know all of the Range Check errors have been resolved but that doesn't mean they all have.

Just drop Aaron a note at se4@malfador.com with the exact error, what was going on when it occurred and the zipped up save games files.

Also if this is a modified Version of the game let us know that.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Richard,

In my case the RCEs are occurring in all unmoded ver 1.41 games whenever I try to select or move a fleet of any size or any single ship. Unless this has been fixed in ver 1.49, which I haven't had a chance to install, it's one RCE that hasn't been fixed (it wasn't listed as a fixed problem in the Last history file I looked at for that patch); and I *did* email Aaron about it (with a savegame file, although it hardly matters in this case) -- three months ago.

As Jason2 pointed out, it makes the game unplayable (aside from the workaround I mentioned in my previous post) on those machines on which it appears.

L

Re: Game Unplayable - Staff please respond
 

Part of the problem sometimes is making the problem recreate so we can catch it with the save game files. Without the recreation it's very hard to see where the problem is.

But just in case you can always check with him to see if he missed your email.

------------------
Sarge is coming...

Richard Arnesen
Director of Covert Ops
Shrapnel Games
http://www.shrapnelgames.com

Re: Game Unplayable - Staff please respond
 

I think that very well may be the problem Richard. I don't think he missed my email, because he responded promptly to my first email requesting additional information and a savegame file, which I provided; but unless he has access to a computer that recreates the problem, the savegame will function perfectly -- as it does on my desktop machine. I don't know what the solution is.

L

Re: Game Unplayable - Staff please respond
 

The range check error isn't specific to any saved game - when it occurs - it occurs for all saved games, so sending Richard saved games won't help. I even tried loading several SEIV v1.49 copies (no mods) on my Dell P4 w/ME. All saved files for all SEIV copies show the RCE. In addition, any attempt to start a new game ends with a RCE when I try to move a ship. However, as mentioned, loading SEIV after the computer has been used for ~1/2 hr for other purposes eliminates RCEs from all saved games until the PC is shut off (then RCEs reappear). It appears some flag is set by using other programs and once that flag is set, RCEs disappear.

Richard - Do you keep your PC on all (or much) of the time - maybe that's why you don't see it? From a cold boot, try loading any saved game. Otherwise, maybe it is a Dell/Win ME specific problem.

It's too bad this problem hasn't been fixed. While the solution might be as simple switching a single bit from 1 to 0, finding that bit may be like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack.

Re: Game Unplayable - Staff please respond
 

Davetox1, I really doubt that SE4 is the problem. I would guess some hardware component of your PC is damaged. It might be the memory chips (RAM). I myself had 2 damaged RAMs in 2 days and they are a pain in the a** as these errors are hard to catch and will have many faces (device not working, RCEs, blue screens...). If oyu have more then 1 RAM-Chip, try removing one of them (shut your PC down!) and restart SE4 after that. If the error returns, put in the removed RAM and take the other one out. Retry SE4. If the RCEs are gone with only one RAM in your PC, the remove RAM is damaged for sure.

Re: Game Unplayable - Staff please respond
 

I can only check the internet when in the office - so I appreciate the many responses in my absence http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif

I will attach the game... The computer I'm using is a brand new Dell Inspiron 8100 with a GForce2 ... I ran SEIV on a much older computer with no problems. I installed just the game and the current patch - I usually install the TDM modpack but haven't since the game won't play.

I read the other thread and will try starting, crashing, doing something else, playing - but there seems to be some sort of issue with Dells??

Thanks for the responses. I appreciate this community and the staff. My frustration comes from not being able to play such a great game.

Jason2

Re: Game Unplayable - Staff please respond
 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by [K126]Mephisto:
Davetox1, I really doubt that SE4 is the problem. I would guess some hardware component of your PC is damaged. It might be the memory chips (RAM). I myself had 2 damaged RAMs in 2 days and they are a pain in the a** as these errors are hard to catch and will have many faces (device not working, RCEs, blue screens...). If oyu have more then 1 RAM-Chip, try removing one of them (shut your PC down!) and restart SE4 after that. If the error returns, put in the removed RAM and take the other one out. Retry SE4. If the RCEs are gone with only one RAM in your PC, the remove RAM is damaged for sure.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sorry Mephisto, but I can't buy your theory. A bad hardware component would likely produce a variety of errors, as you suggest, not a crash in a single program. In my case at least, the Dell Inspiron 4000 that produces the error in SEIV appears to function flawlessly with other programs -- even other games.

Since the common thread connecting those of us who have the problem seems to be Dell laptops (I don't have a problem with my Dell desktop -- does anyone else?) plus WinME, I agree with davetox1 that that would be the plausible place to look for a solution. I also agree with him that finding it might not be easy.

L

Re: Game Unplayable - Staff please respond
 

Don't know if this will help, but it might.

I have several 4-processor Dell workstations running NT that I use for number-crunching. If I boot them up and right away run a program called Matlab (a well-known sci/eng program), it runs loops very slowly. But, as I open and close windows, Matlab gradually speeds up. After doing this a lot (like, a hundred times or so), I eventually get a 10x speedup. So the workaround was to write a program that does nothing but open and close DOS windows. It takes a minute to run, and then Matlab works great. This problem is specific to those Dell machines and to loops in Matlab. Wierd but true.

Re: Game Unplayable - Staff please respond
 

Man, this is not the thread Dell's marketing department wants the world to see! http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/shock.gif

Question, if you just turn on the laptop and let it sit for a half hour or so doing nothing, will SEIV work properly or not? That might be a clue as to what sort of issue to look for.

Re: Game Unplayable - Staff please respond
 

Sorry, didn't read the part about the laptop. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/ima...s/rolleyes.gif If only dell laptops with ME are the ones that crash it is probably a dell problem, I agree.

Re: Game Unplayable - Staff please respond
 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Alpha Kodiak:
Man, this is not the thread Dell's marketing department wants the world to see! http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/shock.gif

Question, if you just turn on the laptop and let it sit for a half hour or so doing nothing, will SEIV work properly or not? That might be a clue as to what sort of issue to look for.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well, I actually like my two Dell machines. There just seems to be a quirk in the laptops that crashes SEIV, or, probably more accurately, there's a quirk in SEIV that causes it to crash on Dell laptops.

Your idea of letting the machine sit for a half hour before trying the program is interesting. Usually when I turn the laptop on it's because I mean to do something with it http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif, so I've never tried your suggestion. I will when I get a chance, because I agree that the results might be informative.

Thanks,
L

Re: Game Unplayable - Staff please respond
 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by [K126]Mephisto:
Sorry, didn't read the part about the laptop. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/ima...s/rolleyes.gif If only dell laptops with ME are the ones that crash it is probably a dell problem, I agree.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

No sweat, Mephisto. I thought you were making good sense, because hardware glitches *can* cause just the sort of infuriating intermittent errors we've been describing. I've been there too, and it's *not* fun http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon9.gif.

L

Re: Game Unplayable - Staff please respond
 

Hmm.. I am having the same problem on a new Dell desktop. Old Dell desktop (P3 450 Win 98 SE) has no problem with SE IV. New Dell desktop (P4 1.7 GHz WinMe) has the range check error when I try to move a ship anywhere. I will see if the work around mentioned earlier solves the problem and post back. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/confused.gif

Re: Game Unplayable - Staff please respond
 

Got it to work. Started SE IV and got the range check error, closed game, waited 45 minutes then started again and played for 4 hours with no problems.
I had a similar "timing" problem with Diablo 2 with the key being 1 hour for that game, but that is for a different forum.

Thanks!

Re: Game Unplayable - Staff please respond
 

Peeve, I'm sorry dude, but I have never heard of that. What are your system spec's?

Re: Game Unplayable - Staff please respond
 

se4 runs fine for me, but i have problems with winME that other winME Users dont seem to have. i have traced it down to the fact that there are several different OEM distributions of ME with entirely different features / problems.

I think you are better off not using ME if you can avoid it. upgrade to 2k or downgrade to 98. or find the old thread about running se4 under VMware http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Game Unplayable - Staff please respond
 

Peeve,

Yours is the first Dell desktop that I've seen reported with this problem. The rest of us are seeing it on laptops.

Judging from the configuration you quote I'm guessing that it's a more recent purchase than my Dell desktop (purchased in May, 1 GHz PIII, WinME), which runs SEIV without problems. But my Dell laptop, purchased in July (900 MHz PIII, WinME), exhibits the RCE-crash pattern.

On Puke's theory, suggesting the possibility of a problem related to the OEM Version of ME, I'm now wondering if Dell added something to their Version of ME between May and July that could be causing SEIV to choke. Maybe if all of us who are having the problem report when they purchased their machines, we'll see a pattern that will help pin this bug down.

L

Re: Game Unplayable - Staff please respond
 

My desktop specs are: (purchased in October 01)

P4 1.7 GHz, WinMe, 256MB memory, 64 MB GeForce 3, SB Live!, 40 GB HD.

Heard a computer call in show this weekend, some women called in had a new Dell desktop with WinMe, the screen saver she bought was locking up after exactly half an hour of being on. Wierd.

[ 01 December 2001: Message edited by: Peeve ]</p>