Cannot play expansion! *FIXED*

[stenni]

Cannot play expansion!

I can start the game, but the universe stops building at 70% then crashes to desktop with the usual 'Evochron Mercenary has stopped Working'.

Any ideas what this is likely to be?

My system is reasonably good (i7 2600k with 8g ram + gtx 580 3gb) and EM latest version worked fine for me.

I'm a little confused . . .

[Edited on 12-11-2012 by Vice]

[Vice]

Sounds like your system is running out of memory at 70% loaded. Follow the steps here: http://www.starwraith.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6595 And if it continues and you want me to review your system for possible causes, follow the steps here (and include the reference ID for your license to the game): http://www.starwraith.com/evochronmercenary/faq.htm#8

[stenni]

Thank you. Vice for the uber-fast reply.

[Vice]

No problem. We'll get it figured out. It may just be a security program that needs to learn the new files of the expansion build, or it is otherwise interfering with memory the game needs that it wasn't interfering with before due to settings/learning it had done with the old version.

[stenni]

Interesting. Just as an experiment, I tried to reinstal EM and now I'm getting: Runtime Error 7008 - Object does not exisit at line 40607. Object Number Not Found: 11000.

I'll follow your links above and see if they can assist . . .

[Vice]

That error relates to build 1.828 and will occur when you don't properly reinstall the save data files for the old version of the game. To correct that error specifically, delete or rename the sw.cfg file in the c:\\sw3dg\\EvochronMercenary folder, then relaunch the old version of the game and it should then work.

[stenni]

EM now works, Vice - thank you. Now, let me see if I can get your expansion to work. Does it install independently of EM as a stand alone?

[Vice]

Both are EM, but yes and no, 2.X will generally install over 1.X (if you point it to the same folder, which is the default method). You can install it to a different folder, but then you'll need to be aware of the differences between the save data files and restore the ones you need to use with the version you want to play.

[stenni]

Ok, I actually got it to run (briefly via my C: drive - CTD with no error message), but I generally install games on my D: Drive due to HD space, but I just cannot get past 70% if I do.

One of the reasons I asked whether the game was a stand alone is because the file's size is smaller than its immediate predecessor's.

Perhaps my rig isn't as good as I thought . . .

[Vice]

The file size is smaller because a lot more of the content is now procedurally generated/generated in memory. So the static file size doesn't need to be as large as it used to be. If you switch planet rendering modes, you'll find the expansion version uses many times more hard drive space (about 2 GB total).

Could one or both drives be low on disk space? If you have plenty of room on the C drive, try switching the planet rendering mode to 'Pre-Generated'. That will change the way the game loads planet details and may change the behavior a bit. It will take several minutes to generate the data and save it to disk.

Also, what are you using for antivirus/antimalware?

[Edited on 12-6-2012 by Vice]

[stenni]

I am using Avira Antivir (currently disabled for this - I know, probably unwise, but could this have helped with installation?). I have less than 10gb left on my C Drive, but nearly 1TB free on the D Drive (a slower HD though).

[Vice]

Well, just to be safe, make sure the game's folders are included in any exception list Avira provides and maybe try to free up a few more GB on C (until you get about 20-25). Then try it again from C.

[stenni]

Thanks Vice. The expansion works beautifully now.

Top notch support!

I wish all other pilots the best of luck out there . . .

[Vice]

Excellent, glad it works now!