Special Aircraft Service
The SAS Factory - Tech Help, Ancient Mods etc. => Community Universal Patch (C.U.P.) => The Keepsake: Old Mod Packs, Game Versions and Guest Mods => C.U.P. Lounge => Topic started by: propnut27 on March 07, 2015, 09:12:29 AM
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I've been playing IL-2 almost from the beginning. I love this game. Recently I've encountered major problems. I was playing DBW from v4.101. Had everything backed up. This is a little complex. Please stay with me.
1. I got a new computer last year running Windows 8. My old PC was running Windows XP, and the game was running smooth as a baby's a$$. The new computer would run the game, but start up was a little iffy. The problem seemed to be in the video side. The game wanted to run at a lower graphics setting than I was running for everything else. Sometimes, when the game went to autoshift down to it's video setting the switchover failed. I'd contrl/alt/delete out, and restart. This always worked, and the game ran fine.
2. After a while Microsoft began bugging me to update to Windows 8.1. I liked where I was, and ignored them. One day Microsoft got tired of asking, and just updated to 8.1 without my OK. That's when things got crappy.
3. Under Windows 8.1 the game video jams up 9 out of ten times that I try to start up. Same problem as before but much worse. I tried leaving the monitor at the lower setting, but this doesn't solve the problem. When it runs, it runs fine.
4 I was resigned to live with this because I love the game. Then, along comes CUP which is, by all reports, the Holy Grail of IL-2 development..
5. I want to have it, my idiot brain, and Window 8.1 seems to want to deny me this.
6. When I got the new PC I left all my backup on the old one, which I no longer have. So I do not have a clean IL-2 in any version.
7. I got v4.12.2m from Steam, but Windows 8.1 doesn't like that any better than my DBW.
8. Is my new PC AFU? Would a new video card help?
9. Is there anyplace I can get a clean IL-2 v 4.12.2m so that I can bump it up to CUP?
Any advice will be much appreciated. Thanks for your patience with me.
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9. You can get IL2 at www.GOG.com, I think it's the updated version. When you install it DO NOT INSTALL TO PROGRAM FILES! Make another directory, like C:\GAMES, and install it there.
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I am fairly confident this problem (s) can be solved.
a clean version you can get off your DVD.
--> a.exe, not setup.
do not install on C: program files, but elsewhere
c:\gamesil2_FB installs\Clean 4.07 install for example.
no DVD?
use your Licence key that you bought online to get a new copy off GoG or steam or wherever you got your game from.
under point 3)
what video card do you have?
what do you mean by "the game VIDEO"? the clip of the aircraft carriers with the Wildcats and the zeroes?
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once we get a clean copy running, we can backup that, and move forward.
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My DVD was purchased in 2006. I it is not recognized by Windows 8.1 I went to GOG.com and downloaded their version, which turns out to be v4.11. Upon installing I find that I get the same video problem I was experiencing with DBW on Window 8.1. The game worked with Windows 8, but not with 8.1.
I know very little about how computers work, but here is my opinion about what is happening. When stating up the game it has a routine where it analyzes the monitor resolution, and automatically adjusts it the meet the best resolution for the game to run. Under previous editions of Windows this has always worked smoothly. On windows 8.1 it is not functioning properly, to wit: sometime it will do this task properly, and the game runs well. This occurs once in about twenty attempts to start the game. The game itself loads normally every time, however, the slash screen freezes at 5%. I tried using the Alt/Tab, then going back in. I get a frozen start panel, or intro movie frame, with a corrupted picture slashed into three or four horizontal partial images with a slash/zigzag section between. them. In the background I can hear the movie soundtrack playing. If I hit the escape key the screen stays unchanged, but the sound changes to the main screen soundtrack, as it should.
No control input is available. Only Control/Alt/Delete will give me my computer back
I am mystified. Any suggestions, please.
Gil
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Woah.
ehhh...?
Hmm.
what i would do in your place, would be to run the "setup.exe" that is in the same folder as the "il2FB.exe"
and then i would play around with the "driver" settings in that.
windowed/not windowed
different resolutions... from the lowest to the highest.
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Your PC... what kind of Machine is it?
[ @all: are we dealing with a laptop where we need to apply the switch from onboard video to dedicated Nvidia Graphics card?]
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First, I would update your game to the current version, 4.12.2. You can get the patches at Mission4today http://www.mission4today.com/index.php?name=Downloads&c=605 (http://www.mission4today.com/index.php?name=Downloads&c=605).
You can manually set the resolution of your monitor:
-open the conf.ini file in the main folder of your game installation
-set the native resolution of your monitor like below
[window]
width=1920 <----set it to match the native width of your computer
height=1080 <----set it to match the native height of your computer
ColourBits=32
DepthBits=24
StencilBits=8
ChangeScreenRes=1
FullScreen=1
DrawIfNotFocused=0
EnableResize=0
EnableClose=1
SaveAspect=0 <----make sure this is set to 0
Use3Renders=0
WideScreenFoV=1
UIColor=0
UIDetail=0
UIBackground=rnd
Try this and report back with the result.
Cloyd
EDIT: I, and many others, run IL2 on Win8.1 without any issues, so I don't think that is the source of the problem.
Please confirm that you did not install to the default directory.
What are your computer specs?
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yup, that woulda' been the second thing on my list. :)
what worries me though is the freeze at 5%...
if the game does not start... wtf...
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Cloyd, Typhoon, I really appreciate your assistance to this old fool.
I'm running an HP Desktop, model p7-1410 using the stock video card that came with it. OS is Windows 8.1. The monitor is a Samsung S24C230BL (analog) at 1920X1080. using Open GL.
The GOG version is installed in a GOG Games folder on my C drive, not in Program Files. Is that right?
I tried diddling with the Config.ini of the GOG v4.11 as you suggested. This game had been auto resetting the resolution to 1280X1024. The config entries had the SaveAspect set to 1, which I reset to 0, and the bottom four entries: WideScreenFoV, UIColor, UIDetail, and UIBackground, were not listed. I added them. After following your suggestion the game loaded, but with a completely blank screen. I could hear the sountrack intro music, and main screen music, but with NO video, not even the Intro splash screen frozen at 5% that I was getting previously. I got the same response with the Steam v4.12.2m version, and my old DBW game.
Everything else is operating normally on the computer. IJDK
I now know for sure that my ignorance is NOT bliss.
Gil
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Gil,
Did you update to 4.12.2? (I think the widescreen and menu enhancements came with 4.12) You should do that if you have not already done so. Having the game in the GOG folder is OK, anywhere but the Program Files folder.
Dave, another old fool
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I did attempt to put in the v4.12.2m Mega Patch and it did seem to load properly, however, when I tried to verify that it had loaded I discovered that the GOG download does not have a #SAS, or a #DBW file, or anything equivalent. The first folder is a "bin" folder. The contents do not look like any other version of the game I've seen. The patch did not take effect. It's still v4.11m
I repaired the hole my head made in the drywall, and pared my emotions down to a muttered WTF.
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I repaired the hole my head made in the drywall, and pared my emotions down to a muttered WTF.
:D
thanks for this. ;)
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red mist and anger,,,
not steam... GoG.
sorrryyyyy... foot in mouth.
lets try that again..
http://www.gog.com/forum/general/where_do_games_install
says that your game should be in C:\GoG\
so you *should * be able to manually change the resolution.
about #SAS or #DBW
-> the game is a standard install without the ability to have mods installed... that will come later. much later.
we need to start your game first. have it load and do a few quick missions. then set up your buttons n stuff.
okay, lets take this from the very, very beginning.
-> you can play other games, right, you have the drivers for your video card installed?
when YES
try this
the setup.exe has a "safe" setting, see these screenshots...
+ i removed the "intro" on the bottom left corner.
(http://s23.postimg.cc/rvagymzsr/image.jpg)
(http://s23.postimg.cc/55bc5ngl7/image.jpg)
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edit
i just tried that on a standard 4..12.2 install, and since i have two screens, and tons of programs open,
i had to alt+tab a few times into, and out of the game, untill i had the game on the screen.
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I did attempt to put in the v4.12.2m Mega Patch and it did seem to load properly, however, when I tried to verify that it had loaded I discovered that the GOG download does not have a #SAS, or a #DBW file, or anything equivalent. The first folder is a "bin" folder. The contents do not look like any other version of the game I've seen. The patch did not take effect. It's still v4.11m
I repaired the hole my head made in the drywall, and pared my emotions down to a muttered WTF.
Gil, you need to back up to the beginning, IMHO. You don't need to worry about #DBW or #SAS or anything else until you get a working, functional installation of the STOCK game, updated to 4.12.2. So far, it appears that you haven't achieved this basic prerequisite?
Dave
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You are correct. As I explained in my first post, this is an intermittent problem. About once in 25 tries the game loads smoothly, and performs perfectly. The other 24 times I get this weird video lockup/disconnect. The game always loads. I can always hear the soundtrack playing behind the locked up screen. Thanks to fooling around with the settings I now know that this same problem occurs on all versions of the game from three different sources. Everything else on my machine runs like a Swiss watch. I am totally mystified.
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we need to find out when the game runs smoothly - what are the circumstances.
once we nail that, we will make sure that these circumstances are always applied, so that the game always runs as it should without weirdness or crazy stuff happening.
does the game load okay when you apply "safe settings" as described above?
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Actually.....no! I went down each of the resolutions in Safe settings, none worked. In Default settings 1280X1024 worked.... once. I ran through the others and came back to it. Didn't work.
In highest settings, one of the resolutions worked.... once. A return visit was unsuccessful. Each time it loaded properly I played a short single mission, one the the Finnish Buffalo mission. Worked dandy. Once. The successful result was not repeatable.
On one of the experiments I moved the GOG Games folder out onto the desktop, the original v4.11m download, and it worked well twice in succession. When I added the v4.12.2m MegaPatch it would not work. I've been trying to find a pattern that works, but it keeps slipping away just when I think I've got it nailed. My wife is really starting to get POed at the time I'm spending on this.
Gil
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well this is DAMN WEIRD.
just the kind of stuff i am interested in.
what would i give to have an hour at your computer while you take the missus out for lunch.
well... an afternoon maybe - an hour is not enough.
if the game runs, then the game is fine.
what seems to be the problem is possibly the environment the game runs IN. Something in your Windblows or so that screws things up...
and that is an entirely different Ballpark!
checking video drivers and running a dxdiag... finding out how exactly it crashes/stops working...
could it be a java issue? OpenGL related? related to a windows update, however unlikely?
F-bomb me if i know.
@storebror -
do you think your instalog mod could help here?
we might set the man up with a SAS modact 5.30.X, and add the instalog to find out what the hell is going on?
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From experience with online sales IL-2 versions (no user feedback available yet, I'm sorry, but all users who could have been affected decided to be an asshole and never reported back their results with this) I'd recommend:
- Install the Direct 2 Drive Patch for all versions (https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php/topic,1531.0.html)
- Install the Latest Selector (https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php/topic,16403.0.html) to launch your game.
- Choose "Stock Game" in IL-2 Selector to check whether everything's up and running.
Best regards - Mike
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Thank you. I'll give it a try.
Gil
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Storebror, as they say in the church hall, BINGO!! The Direct to Dish Patch and the new Selector Patch have the GOG game running like a thief.After diddling with the screen resolution settings she running.
1024X768 is widescreen, but the picture is a bit distorted. 1152X864 is a 4;3 screen, clean and nice. Thank you for your excellent suggestion. I guess I should save a copy of this working game, then add the Modact 5.3 to the first one. Right?
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*horrayyyyy*
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My joy is short lived. After starting flawlessly 10 times in a row it start pulling the same old $hit on the 11th start. now it's right back to square one. It's almost as if I threw a new trick at it, and it took a few repititio9ns to figure out how to screw me again. It's diabolical.
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Signals over. I had screwed around with the resolution setting, and that set it off. As long as I stay at Default Settings, 1152X864 I'm golden. Now to add the Modact 5.3 Thank you all for sticking with me on this. I really appreciate your kind assistance.
Gil
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I'm very much afraid I'm becoming a pain in the a$$. When testing out my clean v4.12.2m game I find that many Single Missions won't load. I get the following message; "Mission Loading Failed: Mesh 3do/humans/Paratroopers/Russian/ mono.sim not created."
It seems I'm missing a file, but a search produced no matches. I seem to recall folks discussing this issue some time back, and there was a simple solution.
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You have a very weak GPU with very limited graphics RAM, that's likely also the reason why you cannot get most of the possible graphics resolutions to work.
To fix your Paratroopers error, and maybe even to get more resolutions running, see here:
https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php/topic,9756.msg185522.html#msg185522
Best regards - Mike
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Thank you Storebror. This suggestion has helped greatly. Thing are going very much better now.
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Propnut - a bit late but are you still having problems? I noticed a couple of things that were not proposed that may help.
1. Have you set your executable command FBIL2.exe "compatibility mode" to either Windows 7 or Windows XP? To do this, right-click on the file, select compatibility tab, check the box next to "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" then using the pull down menu underneath the box, check what version of windows you want to run IL-2 in. When Il-2 originally came out, Windows XP was the operating system.
Another box you can check within this tab is "Run this program as administrator"
I noticed that Windows 8.1 has a "Run compatibility troubleshooter" button at the top of this tab. I have not used it so unknown if it will help.
2. After getting your config.ini file in an acceptable working order, set it properties to read only. This will stop anything from changing it.
These are things I remember over the years that helped people who have had like problems as you are having.
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Thanks for chiming in, Doug. I have been finding tat the Config.ini, and Setup files refuse stay where I put them. I have to check them before each fight or they'll set themselves to something else entirely. These sound like good suggestions to me. I'll try them as soon as I can, and report back.
Gil
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Propnut - in one of your post, you said you have a "stock video card that came with the OS." Are you saying that your computer does not have a discreet video card attached to the motherboard? The two companies most associated with video cards are AMD and nvidia. If you do have a video card, what is the brand and model. I.E. Radeon 7970 / GtX 770. I have not heard of an OS analyzing a program to determine video setting before so it may be that your computer is using integrated video from the CPU. If this is the case, buy a dedicated video card. If you intend on sticking with Il-2 1946 then you do not need to purchase the most expensive video cards out there, but consider future proofing your system so that the card you buy today should handle your needs for the next couple years.
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Doug, I'm sorry if I was confusing. I meant that my computer had an integral video facility built into the motherboard. I have a pretty good machine, an HP p7-1410. One of the suggestions I got involved me getting a new Video card. This is what I did. I got a PNY Nvidia Geforce 610 with 2g of video ram. That is now up and running very nicely. The game is performing well, although I have to say that, after using DBW for a while, v4.12.2m seems a bit sparce. Once I screw up the courage to try to load up CUP I'm hoping to be thoroughly WOWed. Thanks for your taking an interest.
Gil
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No problem brother - even though a lot of post will highlight difficulties with CUP, the MOD is amazing. I have no regrets or complaints about it. I posted in another subject that I believe the CUP is the best MOD that supports IL-2 for off line playing and the competition is strong. Working with the excellent Daibalos guys, Il-2 has remained excellent for 14 years. That is truly an accomplishment that cannot be praised enough.