Zoltec's 7.9 CTD Investigation Thread

Discussion in 'The Temple of Elemental Evil' started by Zoltec, Aug 21, 2013.

Remove all ads!
Page 2 of 5
  1. Agetian

    Agetian Attorney General Administrator

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2004
    Messages:
    2,526
    Likes Received:
    0
    Re: ToEE Front-End X 4.0 Discussion Thread

    @ Zoltec: Yes, all the evidence seems to indicate that this issue goes beyond anything that is in the game folder... Would be good to know what it is, but so far the source of the issue has eluded us. Let me know if you dig anything else up! Good luck!

    - Agetian
     
    Agetian, Aug 21, 2013
    #16
  2. Zoltec

    Zoltec Pгōdigium

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2012
    Messages:
    547
    Likes Received:
    16
    Re: ToEE Front-End X 4.0 Discussion Thread

    The Windows 7 has a more advanced windows file protection than its predecessors i.e. <xp, vista>, assuming that the system file is altered, bypassed, and changed by ToEE. Though even it's changed it does recover and replace the original files that's a one-way explanation on why does ToEE is fixed by restart on Win7 OS, same goes for XP but the result is here, it doesn't work right? So the file protection is not enough to secure what ToEE does alters.

    Still, I'm a bit suspicious on how the font is implemented my best bet is to look at the tig.DAT, extract its contents and you will see arial font is being called or associated in the .dll versus Co8 mod which is not calling anything from it other than inside the .dll, and of course, corrections and validations are welcome.
     
    Zoltec, Aug 21, 2013
    #17
  3. Zoltec

    Zoltec Pгōdigium

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2012
    Messages:
    547
    Likes Received:
    16
    Re: ToEE Front-End X 4.0 Discussion Thread

    After a full-reinstall, I'd run TFE-X and played ToEE at my deployed resolution 1024x768, still to no avail, the problem is still rooted. But eventually, out of curiosity I have managed to run ToEE sucessfully by clicking the original toee.exe inside the \Temple of Elemental Evil\ folder. So there it goes! It runs, then I'd tested again if it will work on the TFE-X again, and viola it works! My system is being deepfreezed so I think there is no alterations done in the operating system files + the wpa protection, and the alterations is solely done in toee.exe itself.

    To be clear, all of these info are from TFE-X v4.0, haven't updated to the new one.

    So there is a workaround, copy the fresh installed toee.exe in your backup folder then paste it to the main folder, overwrite it and your good to go again, make sure you set the supported resolution in toee.cfg or just run toee.exe with the appropriate resolution in toee.cfg. In order to proof the toee.exe from being corrupted the TFE-X must paste the backup-one <toee.exe> into the previously accessed toee.exe.
     
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2013
    Zoltec, Aug 21, 2013
    #18
  4. Agetian

    Agetian Attorney General Administrator

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2004
    Messages:
    2,526
    Likes Received:
    0
    Re: ToEE Front-End X 4.0 Discussion Thread

    @ Zoltec: This is very interesting! I wonder how it gets corrupted though, I mean, toee.exe is not ever written into by anything in the front-end... the only time toee.exe will get touched by TFE-X is when it's missing in the game folder and needs to be restored from backup; also, toee.exe is a simple wrapper for a dll call, there's not much to corrupt there, to be honest... anyhoo, I'll keep an eye on this and will run a few binary comparisons to see if the executable is being changed. My guess, though, would be that not the executable itself gets changed but some permission-related flags... Anyhow, I'll run a few tests later and I'll post here if anything interesting shows up. Thanks for testing, Zoltec!

    - Agetian
     
    Agetian, Aug 21, 2013
    #19
  5. Zoltec

    Zoltec Pгōdigium

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2012
    Messages:
    547
    Likes Received:
    16
    Re: ToEE Front-End X 4.0 Discussion Thread

    Well, no problem. I haven't able to figure it out much myself either. Goodluck, with the tests. I'm really sure it's the culprit since it is the most "overlooked" file.

    I've run TFE-X 4.0 and all compatible resolutions are now working, strangely, when I updated it to 4.2 all of the available resolution crashed after the continuation of splash screen <Loading protos (clearing old)...>. Same goes with previously installed version TFE-X 4.0, this version does not work after the 4.2 installation. Running through toee.exe w/o Front-End, is the only way to access the game.

    I've run TFE-X.jar instead of .exe one, and it plays fine with all supported resolutions.

    There is always a CTD on TFE-X Application on the continuation of splash screen <Loading protos (clearing old)...>. Opposed to TFE-X Jar it doesn't, assumptions are toee.exe wants direct access to the Jar file. Or there is a loading problem on TFE-X Application concerning the splash screen CTD indicated.
     
    Zoltec, Aug 21, 2013
    #20
  6. Agetian

    Agetian Attorney General Administrator

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2004
    Messages:
    2,526
    Likes Received:
    0
    Re: ToEE Front-End X 4.0 Discussion Thread

    Your observation with the .jar vs .exe experience confirms the fact that it might be related to the permission system. The system might be more "careful" with the .exe and deny some of its permissions while the .jar, executed through the JRE alone, might seem less "suspicious". Thanks for this bit of info, I'll investigate a bit further. ;)

    - Agetian
     
    Agetian, Aug 21, 2013
    #21
  7. Zoltec

    Zoltec Pгōdigium

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2012
    Messages:
    547
    Likes Received:
    16
    Re: ToEE Front-End X 4.0 Discussion Thread

    That's true. But I won't focus on one concept only, it may point in there, but later on we'll found out that the problem lies on another source, there's no guarantee.

    Still, the .dll call wrapper toee.exe is still the only one solution to access the game cleanly when all else fails.

    Interestingly, the .jar file crashed two times with my supported resolution @ <Loading protos (cleaning old protos)...>. I won't have any opinion yet on this matter atm. No leads yet.

    So to say, the TFE.jar and TFE.application cannot be fixed even toee.exe is directly executed from the game folder, though the last resort to run ToEE is from toee.exe

    Try observing the execution method of TFE-X 3.0e and the latest build, the processing method might be the culprit.
     
    Last edited: Aug 22, 2013
    Zoltec, Aug 22, 2013
    #22
  8. Zoltec

    Zoltec Pгōdigium

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2012
    Messages:
    547
    Likes Received:
    16
    Re: ToEE Front-End X 4.0 Discussion Thread

    Say, Ag. I got the culprit red-handed. Seems the crashes is mainly based on toee.cfg abnormal increase of bytes and that makes our toee.exe crash altogether. ;)

    I'm using TFE-X 4.2

    The original toee.cfg has a size of 853 bytes, while, the modified toee.cfg has an abnormal amount of 873 bytes, I don't know I just compared the contents and nothing seems added.

    Here are the files for comparison.

    To test the crash. Simply put the modified one into your TFE-X 4.2 installation folder.

    To revert the crash. Simply put the original one into your TFE-X 4.2 installation folder.

    Goodluck!

    EDIT: I've observed again the toee.cfg [853 bytes], when I select supported and unsupported resolutions and run it, the toee.cfg bytes abnormally decrease and increase upon repetitive crashes. Oh yes, the bytes decrease by one and increase by two, that's because when our resolution is 1024x768, it counts overall at a normal rate of 853 bytes, but when we chose 800x600, the bytes decrease by 1 because we remove 1 byte from 1024x768 it now becomes 800x600 that's normal. What's abnormal is having 873 bytes but has 1024x768 configured which is supposedly 853 bytes in total, what's more I compared the contents of 873 bytes and 853 bytes and has no particular changes, maybe on headers.

    UPDATE: Okay, I didn't notice the difference on "movies_seen=(304,-1)(1027,-1)(1002,4009)(1015,-1)", because I've been blindspot! My two notepads are near to each other. But I think the problem is associated with these numbers (I think we are surfacing the real problem), this is the 853 bytes file "movies_seen=(304,-1)(1027,-1)" and it's working correctly at my disposal versus the 873 bytes with extended "(1002,4009)(1015,-1)" I didn't know what that means and someone (modder) could please give me a hand here?

    TEST: Okay, I've added this ---> (1002,4009)(1015,-1) to toee.cfg (853 bytes) then become (873 bytes), and that absolutely triggers my crash on splash screen. Even If I disabled Toee intro movies it is persistent. This is the hard evidence of my crash okey.

    ANOTHER UPDATE: Okay, I've scanned movies.mes and I'm noting that, it is calling the {1002}{New_LE_Final_0.bik;;LE_1.mes} // Vignette-Lawful-Evil and the {1015}{Hommlet-LE.bik;;LE_2.mes} // Vignette-Lawful-Evil, hmm, I think this is the problem, where intro movies should be called instead right? And what really bothers me is the (1002,4009) 4009, it must be -1, since it is disabled.

    REALIZATION: Okay, I've realized that I'm in a previous campaign with the LAWFUL EVIL alignment because I'm testing the game for crashes. So, it is automatically generated in toee.cfg after you've encountered the vignette movie, I don't know but I'll test more. Still what bothers me is the 4009, it should be -1... and the game crashes with those on the cfg.

    CONCLUSION Okay, conclusion is. The TFE-X must erase any extras from "movies_seen=(304,-1)(1027,-1)" from now on, except the original content. :) For these generated extras (1002,4009)(1015,-1) crashes my loading on splash screen.
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Aug 22, 2013
    Zoltec, Aug 22, 2013
    #23
  9. Agetian

    Agetian Attorney General Administrator

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2004
    Messages:
    2,526
    Likes Received:
    0
    Re: ToEE Front-End X 4.0 Discussion Thread

    @ Zoltec: toee.cfg is auto-modified by the game, including that movie line which indicates which movies you've already seen; TFE-X writes into toee.cfg to change the width and height of the screen when the resolution is changed in TFE-X. Therefore, its size may change, there's nothing abnormal in it per se... I'm on a different PC at the moment but once I get back home I'll test the file you supplied and I'll see if I can reproduce the behavior you mentioned on my computer (as well as find out if there's any correlation between the cfg and the crashes). On my PC before, though, I could not stop the game from crashing by killing toee.cfg altogether :( But I'll take a look. Thanks for the info again!

    - Agetian
     
    Agetian, Aug 22, 2013
    #24
  10. Zoltec

    Zoltec Pгōdigium

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2012
    Messages:
    547
    Likes Received:
    16
    Re: ToEE Front-End X 4.0 Discussion Thread

    Read all of them it is all connected and a feasible solution to loading crashes.

    Yes if you have read it all, there's nothing abnormal with .cfg file, what's abnormal is the persistent crashes, when the (1002,4009)(1015,-1) is generated in the .cfg file. Which means there is something wrong on those lines (and will be future lines). And that should automatically be erased by TFE-X before starting the game in your upcoming version maybe its the 4.3.

    I think this one will finally get us rid of the crashes from the startup, as it is making more complications on the game itself.
     
    Last edited: Aug 22, 2013
    Zoltec, Aug 22, 2013
    #25
  11. Zoltec

    Zoltec Pгōdigium

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2012
    Messages:
    547
    Likes Received:
    16
    Re: ToEE Front-End X 4.0 Discussion Thread

    No I tried that now, and TFE-X is not launching. :) It is looking for the game folder likewise.

    (Winxp)
     
    Zoltec, Aug 22, 2013
    #26
  12. Zoltec

    Zoltec Pгōdigium

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2012
    Messages:
    547
    Likes Received:
    16
    Re: ToEE Front-End X 4.0 Discussion Thread

    Agetian, you might want to test that with "Disable intros" in your TFE-X, it seems it's working correctly whenever I set it to "Enable intros".

    TFE-X 4.2

    NOTE: Test this with your compatible resolutions!

    movies_seen=(304,-1)(1027,-1)(1002,4009)(1015,-1)

    Window mode - Disable intro

    Resolution 800x600 - Success
    Resolution 1024x768 - Success

    Fullscreen - Disable intro

    Resolution 800x600 - Failed <= experimental build 1, Success
    Resolution 1024x768 - Failed <= experimental build 1, Success

    Window mode - Enable intro

    Resolution 800x600 - Failed
    Resolution 1024x768 - Failed

    Fullscreen - Enable intro

    Resolution 800x600 - Failed
    Resolution 1024x768 - Failed

    movies_seen=(304,-1)(1027,-1)

    Window mode - Disable intro

    Resolution 800x600 - Success
    Resolution 1024x768 - Success

    Fullscreen - Disable intro

    Resolution 800x600 - Success <= experimental build 1, Failed
    Resolution 1024x768 - Success <= experimental build 1, Failed

    Window mode - Enable intro

    Resolution 800x600 - Failed
    Resolution 1024x768 - Failed

    Fullscreen - Enable intro

    Resolution 800x600 - Success
    Resolution 1024x768 - Success

    movies_seen=(1027,-1)

    Window mode - Disable intro

    Resolution 800x600 - Success
    Resolution 1024x768 - Success

    Fullscreen - Disable intro

    Resolution 800x600 - Success
    Resolution 1024x768 - Success

    Window mode - Enable intro

    Resolution 800x600 - Failed
    Resolution 1024x768 - Failed

    Fullscreen - Enable intro

    Resolution 800x600 - Success
    Resolution 1024x768 - Success

    movies_seen=

    Window mode - Disable intro

    Resolution 800x600 - Success; Success
    Resolution 1024x768 - Success; Success

    Fullscreen - Disable intro

    Resolution 800x600 - Success; Success
    Resolution 1024x768 - Success; Success

    Window mode - Enable intro

    Resolution 800x600 - Success; Success; (Failed) Explanation Below
    Resolution 1024x768 - (Failed); Success; Success

    Fullscreen - Enable intro

    Resolution 800x600 - Success; Success
    Resolution 1024x768 - Success; Success

    <deleted>movies_seen=<deleted>

    Window mode - Disable intro

    Resolution 800x600 - Success
    Resolution 1024x768 - Success

    Fullscreen - Disable intro

    Resolution 800x600 - Success
    Resolution 1024x768 - Success

    Window mode - Enable intro

    Resolution 800x600 - Success
    Resolution 1024x768 - Success

    Fullscreen - Enable intro

    Resolution 800x600 - Success
    Resolution 1024x768 - Failed; Failed; Failed

    movies_seen=0

    Window mode - Disable intro

    Resolution 800x600 - Success
    Resolution 1024x768 - Success

    Fullscreen - Disable intro

    Resolution 800x600 - Success
    Resolution 1024x768 - Success

    Window mode - Enable intro

    Resolution 800x600 - Failed
    Resolution 1024x768 - Failed

    Fullscreen - Enable intro

    Resolution 800x600 - Failed
    Resolution 1024x768 - Failed

    movies_seen=null

    Window mode - Disable intro

    Resolution 800x600 - Success; Success; Success; Success
    Resolution 1024x768 - Success; Success; Success; Success

    Fullscreen - Disable intro

    Resolution 800x600 - Success; Success; Success; Success
    Resolution 1024x768 - Success; Success; Success; Success

    Window mode - Enable intro

    Resolution 800x600 - Success; Success; Success; Failed; Success; Success
    Resolution 1024x768 - Failed; Success; Success; Success; Success; Success

    Fullscreen - Enable intro

    Resolution 800x600 - Success; Success; Success; Success; Success; Success
    Resolution 1024x768 - Success; Failed; Success; Success; Failed; Success

    Folks, this explains the random crashes your experiencing, however, its not random but a sequential one and its based on the movie you've seen already. I'm testing this for a highest or perfect rate of success, then we could formulate a workaround from this crashes.

    Explanation

    When I played in that setting, with this set "movies_seen=" it happens to crash, after that "movies_seen=" entry is nowhere to be found on the toee.cfg contents. I conclude that, that is the main cause of the crash in that section.
     
    Last edited: Aug 22, 2013
    Zoltec, Aug 22, 2013
    #27
  13. Agetian

    Agetian Attorney General Administrator

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2004
    Messages:
    2,526
    Likes Received:
    0
    Re: ToEE Front-End X 4.0 Discussion Thread

    Yes, if it does indeed help everybody solve these issues I will implement it as a part of the next TFE-X iteration. I'm still in the middle of something but I will get down to testing later today. ;) I might also post an experimental TFE-X build that does what you're talking about and then I'd be happy if you try it and see if it solves the issue!

    - Agetian
     
    Agetian, Aug 22, 2013
    #28
  14. Agetian

    Agetian Attorney General Administrator

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2004
    Messages:
    2,526
    Likes Received:
    0
    Re: ToEE Front-End X 4.0 Discussion Thread

    Ok here's an experimental build of TFE-X that erases the above-mentioned part of the movies_seen line in toee.cfg on every ToEE startup, please test and see if this helps resolve the issue for you. :)

    - Agetian
     

    Attached Files:

    Agetian, Aug 22, 2013
    #29
  15. Zoltec

    Zoltec Pгōdigium

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2012
    Messages:
    547
    Likes Received:
    16
    Re: ToEE Front-End X 4.0 Discussion Thread

    I have a question, if we erased the "movies_seen" parameters, what are the effects will it cause on gameplay? For instance I will load my character, and TFE-X already erased my seen movies, what will be the effect of that? Will the movie replay, if I'll ever go there?

    Did you erase all of the contents of the parameter (movie_seen=)?
     
    Zoltec, Aug 22, 2013
    #30
Page 2 of 5
Our Host!