Game freezes when setting up US in new game (Full Version)

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Ubercat -> Game freezes when setting up US in new game (11/25/2013 7:53:45 PM)

For the second time in a row the game has frozen while setting up the US in a Global War scenario. The first time was before the latest hotfix, the second was after installing the new .exe. The second time I was in the middle of placing a stack of 3-4 carrier air units on the main US Pacific fleet which included 3 carriers. I don't recall the details of the first occurrence, but it wouldn't surprise me if I were doing the same thing.



Ubercat -> RE: Game freezes when setting up US in new game (11/27/2013 1:56:07 AM)

OK, every single attempt at the Global War scenario freezes up during the American setup phase. This happens whether or not I lend-lease any air units first and seems to have no relation to any special rules. In my last attempt I left all special rules unselected and the game froze the instant I pushed the end phase button (after all units were set). Some games freeze up in the middle of setup and some when I hit the end phase button. I never saw this happen prior to the two patches and the hot fix.

Am I really the only one experiencing this?



Shannon V. OKeets -> RE: Game freezes when setting up US in new game (11/27/2013 2:13:24 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Ubercat

OK, every single attempt at the Global War scenario freezes up during the American setup phase. This happens whether or not I lend-lease any air units first and seems to have no relation to any special rules. In my last attempt I left all special rules unselected and the game froze the instant I pushed the end phase button (after all units were set). Some games freeze up in the middle of setup and some when I hit the end phase button. I never saw this happen prior to the two patches and the hot fix.

Am I really the only one experiencing this?

I don't know what the problem could be. I'll try to reproduce it tomorrow - my brain is fried for today.



Zorachus99 -> RE: Game freezes when setting up US in new game (11/27/2013 3:17:12 AM)

Get back to basics:

1) Try disabling your anti-virus
2) What is your operating system?
3) How much RAM installed?

Is your system working properly? There is a lot of malware that interferes with normal applications.

Hitman Pro is excellent fast scanning Anti-Malware, and is free... It finds stuff Norton, McAffee, and others miss.



Ubercat -> RE: Game freezes when setting up US in new game (11/27/2013 2:03:51 PM)

Core i7 Quad core with 6G of RAM, Windows 7 home premium, 64 bit. The game was working fine before the patches, so it's hard to believe that Norton 360 suddenly decided that it didn't like the game after giving it a pass when I first got it.

I'll try Hitman Pro, thanks.



Zorachus99 -> RE: Game freezes when setting up US in new game (11/27/2013 7:13:35 PM)

If none of that works, hopefully you've kept the installer.

Uninstall, and delete the Matrix folder your hard drive.

Re-install the game, and re-patch. That is often worth a try.

If none of that works, then we can try some more advanced ideas.

Good Luck!




Ubercat -> RE: Game freezes when setting up US in new game (11/28/2013 2:35:49 AM)

I tried Hitman Pro. It found no problems but was kind enough to install two crap programs that I didn't want or need and also hijacked my homepage.

I uninstalled MWIF, deleted what was left, and then reinstalled version 1.0. I then tried a Global War game and it froze up very shortly into the process of setting up America. So the game worked fine when I first installed it after November 7th, continued working fine for 2.5 weeks, and then went South. I guess that I can't blame the problem on any patches now, and optional rules are also not suspects as I've been leaving them all off the last few attempts.

Does MWIF store anything anywhere other than it's own folder? I didn't see anything in my User folder in Windows.




Shannon V. OKeets -> RE: Game freezes when setting up US in new game (11/28/2013 2:57:47 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Ubercat

I tried Hitman Pro. It found no problems but was kind enough to install two crap programs that I didn't want or need and also hijacked my homepage.

I uninstalled MWIF, deleted what was left, and then reinstalled version 1.0. I then tried a Global War game and it froze up very shortly into the process of setting up America. So the game worked fine when I first installed it after November 7th, continued working fine for 2.5 weeks, and then went South. I guess that I can't blame the problem on any patches now, and optional rules are also not suspects as I've been leaving them all off the last few attempts.

Does MWIF store anything anywhere other than it's own folder? I didn't see anything in my User folder in Windows.



The original version, 1.0.0.0 had problems and there was an update available on Nov 7th (1.0.1.0). You should at least run that update. But I guess you would have to install all the updates.

I'll try creating a new Global War scenario after dinner (it's getting cold and my wife is looking annoyed).

MWIF doesn't use any files outside of it base directory/folder.



Zorachus99 -> RE: Game freezes when setting up US in new game (11/28/2013 3:17:12 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Ubercat

I tried Hitman Pro. It found no problems but was kind enough to install two crap programs that I didn't want or need and also hijacked my homepage.

I uninstalled MWIF, deleted what was left, and then reinstalled version 1.0. I then tried a Global War game and it froze up very shortly into the process of setting up America. So the game worked fine when I first installed it after November 7th, continued working fine for 2.5 weeks, and then went South. I guess that I can't blame the problem on any patches now, and optional rules are also not suspects as I've been leaving them all off the last few attempts.

Does MWIF store anything anywhere other than it's own folder? I didn't see anything in my User folder in Windows.




I hate that happened to you. CNET blows! Piriform doesn't package garbage.



Shannon V. OKeets -> RE: Game freezes when setting up US in new game (11/28/2013 3:24:52 AM)

Okay, I ran two tests.

One was using the in-development version (1.0.4.2) with no optional rules. It ran fine through US setup to USSR setup.

The second test was using the current customer version (1.0.4.1) with Novice optional rules. It also ran fine through to USSR setup.

I didn't lend lease or scrap any units. For the first test I used a saved setup for the US (the same one available in the customer version).

---

Since you have already reinstalled the game, could you try installing all the updates? Possibly the Hot Patch didn't install correctly. Matrix has since made that an official update (with the same version number: 1.0.4.1).

That's my best guess at this point.



Ubercat -> RE: Game freezes when setting up US in new game (11/28/2013 1:40:56 PM)

I'll try that tonight after work and after Thanksgiving dinner. Thanks, and I hope you all had (have) a great Holiday!



Ubercat -> RE: Game freezes when setting up US in new game (11/29/2013 1:41:05 AM)

No dice. I'm patched up to the latest version and it just freezes right up, mostly at the point where I'm deciding which airplanes to deploy out of the choices I have. I also tried loading a setup file and it froze before anything loaded.

I noticed that setup files for the other factions in Global War all had "global" in the file name but the US file didn't. I doubt that that's relevant but it was curious to me.

G*****n this is frustrating.



Shannon V. OKeets -> RE: Game freezes when setting up US in new game (11/29/2013 2:25:58 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Ubercat

No dice. I'm patched up to the latest version and it just freezes right up, mostly at the point where I'm deciding which airplanes to deploy out of the choices I have. I also tried loading a setup file and it froze before anything loaded.

I noticed that setup files for the other factions in Global War all had "global" in the file name but the US file didn't. I doubt that that's relevant but it was curious to me.

G*****n this is frustrating.

How about a screen shot? It might have something to do with what forms you have open. This is just a wild guess, but that is what we are down to at the moment, isn't it?



sanch -> RE: Game freezes when setting up US in new game (11/29/2013 1:27:14 PM)

I ran into this problem too. I had a crash while setting up Germany. And when I restarted, I crashed setting up USA.

So I rebooted. Then I insured nothing else was running, and then the game ran just fine.

I suspect that if you crash or have other errors, some debris is left laying around in memory which leads to additional problems if you try to restart the game.



Ubercat -> RE: Game freezes when setting up US in new game (11/30/2013 1:24:43 AM)

Here's the screenshot. It's hard to believe that leftover crap in main memory could be causing the crashes. There have been plenty of times that trying to setup a game has been the first thing I've done after turning on the PC (after checking Email and posts at forums).

Mysteriously, I've now managed to setup the US a couple of times. The key seems to be to rush through it as fast as possible with no regard to putting things in the best spots. Not the best way to play the game!



Shannon V. OKeets -> RE: Game freezes when setting up US in new game (11/30/2013 2:17:17 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Ubercat

Here's the screenshot. It's hard to believe that leftover crap in main memory could be causing the crashes. There have been plenty of times that trying to setup a game has been the first thing I've done after turning on the PC (after checking Email and posts at forums).

Mysteriously, I've now managed to setup the US a couple of times. The key seems to be to rush through it as fast as possible with no regard to putting things in the best spots. Not the best way to play the game!

Well, your screenshot looks exactly like mine as for what is being displayed and where the forms are positioned, sized, etc. So that rules a lot of suspects out, but doesn't help us understand why the problem arose.

I doubt that it has anything to do with time. I've dawdled over setting up units a lot, repositioning them all over the place, and never had the trouble you reported.

How about available memory? MWIF wants a lot of memory to run and if there are other applications placing a demand on RAM, that could lead to a situation similar to what you described. You can bring up the Windows Task Manager to see what each Process has as its "private working set". On my machine, I see FireFox using around 1 MB. Adobe Acrobat also is using a 1/3 of a MB; probably because I keep all 3 PDFs for MWIF open.

I don't think disk space is a concern. The program isn't reading or writing to the disk once you have started setting up units. Once you complete the setup for a major power, then the AutoSave routine will write a saved game out to the disk. But this problem happens earlier.



Ubercat -> RE: Game freezes when setting up US in new game (11/30/2013 2:38:59 PM)

I have 6 Gig of RAM. I don't often leave other things open when I play a game; maybe a browser window if I'm consulting something in the middle of a game and want the info to stay handy.

UPDATE*UPDATE*UPDATE

Well, I seem to have narrowed the problem WAY down and I'm not too thrilled about it. The first two weeks or so that I was playing, I was still studying the rules and never got around to getting the second monitor out of the basement and hooking it up. The problems probably started shortly after I did. I've deactivated the second monitor in Windows and just now managed to get to the Italian setup with no trouble. I had all the juicy optional rules enabled and had no problems with the US or USSR.

Now I'll check the forum for multiple monitor related problems and hope that there's a fix. Having the map on the main screen and forms on the second is one of the great things about the (PC) game. Thanks all for trying to help. Off to do some reading.

Edit: I don't see any multiple monitor bug threads.

The second monitor is smaller, with a lesser resolution, if that matters. I also seem to recall the main form disappearing, or maybe never even having been visible a couple of times when the second monitor was still in use and the game was freezing.



AxelNL -> RE: Game freezes when setting up US in new game (11/30/2013 3:41:46 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Ubercat

I have 6 Gig of RAM. I don't often leave other things open when I play a game; maybe a browser window if I'm consulting something in the middle of a game and want the info to stay handy.

UPDATE*UPDATE*UPDATE

Well, I seem to have narrowed the problem WAY down and I'm not too thrilled about it. The first two weeks or so that I was playing, I was still studying the rules and never got around to getting the second monitor out of the basement and hooking it up. The problems probably started shortly after I did. I've deactivated the second monitor in Windows and just now managed to get to the Italian setup with no trouble. I had all the juicy optional rules enabled and had no problems with the US or USSR.

Now I'll check the forum for multiple monitor related problems and hope that there's a fix. Having the map on the main screen and forms on the second is one of the great things about the (PC) game. Thanks all for trying to help. Off to do some reading.

Edit: I don't see any multiple monitor bug threads.

The second monitor is smaller, with a lesser resolution, if that matters. I also seem to recall the main form disappearing, or maybe never even having been visible a couple of times when the second monitor was still in use and the game was freezing.


Wow, there are indeed issues with multiple monitors, but this is a new one. I have a 24" and a 19", the latter on the right for the varous forms, and until now I have been spared any serious issues I can relate to this setup. Perhaps you should experiment further with this setup.

Best of luck.



paulderynck -> RE: Game freezes when setting up US in new game (11/30/2013 4:47:09 PM)

The only issue I've seen with multiple monitors is having them set-up and then disconnecting one of them without first going into Display Properties and telling Windows that monitor is gone. Likely that is also associated to the type of graphics card a person has.

But if you start using them here are two things you should do to avoid potential problems that can give you a sense the game has crashed (when it hasn't) because the form you need to interact with is off-screen.

1. Your left hand monitor should have the 0,0 coordinate (i.e. it should be the "primary") - avoid negative number coordinates.

2. Keep the Main Form above the Detailed Map. People often try to totally max out the Detailed Map to a full monitor screen but in this case you are better to give up some space at the top, even if you have to resize the Detailed Map slightly so there's no overlap between it and the Main Form. I recommend no overlap because which one stays on top is usually the one you don't want to stay on top. [:)]




Numdydar -> RE: Game freezes when setting up US in new game (11/30/2013 7:39:55 PM)

I REALLY hope at some point the main form and the primary detailed map are intergrated somehow. I know it is stupid, but I hate not having the map take up the full screen [:@]

Or if they cannot be intergrated, allow the main form to be on a second monitor so the map can be fully displayed on another.



Shannon V. OKeets -> RE: Game freezes when setting up US in new game (11/30/2013 9:03:17 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Numdydar

I REALLY hope at some point the main form and the primary detailed map are intergrated somehow. I know it is stupid, but I hate not having the map take up the full screen [:@]

Or if they cannot be intergrated, allow the main form to be on a second monitor so the map can be fully displayed on another.

Your second choice is the way the code should work.

I fixed the bug with using 3 monitors today (that correction will be available in version 1.0.5.0 early next week).

Fixing the two monitor problem is on my list but it is not a top priority since there's a workaround.



Ubercat -> RE: Game freezes when setting up US in new game (12/1/2013 1:01:44 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: paulderynck

The only issue I've seen with multiple monitors is having them set-up and then disconnecting one of them without first going into Display Properties and telling Windows that monitor is gone. Likely that is also associated to the type of graphics card a person has.

But if you start using them here are two things you should do to avoid potential problems that can give you a sense the game has crashed (when it hasn't) because the form you need to interact with is off-screen.


The game was definitely frozen. Moving the mouse over a unit and clicking had absolutely no result. L/C or R/C made no difference. Forms couldn't be closed or moved. Nothing.

quote:

1. Your left hand monitor should have the 0,0 coordinate (i.e. it should be the "primary") - avoid negative number coordinates.

2. Keep the Main Form above the Detailed Map. People often try to totally max out the Detailed Map to a full monitor screen but in this case you are better to give up some space at the top, even if you have to resize the Detailed Map slightly so there's no overlap between it and the Main Form. I recommend no overlap because which one stays on top is usually the one you don't want to stay on top. [:)]



Is this the 2 monitor problem that Steve mentioned after your post, and the fix is to make sure that the secondary monitor is on the right, not the left of the main?

That's too bad but far from intolerable. I put the secondary monitor to the left because on the right it got in the way of my mousing. (right hander) I'll reactivate it and move it to the right and see if I have any trouble.

Thanks guys!



paulderynck -> RE: Game freezes when setting up US in new game (12/1/2013 4:52:36 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Ubercat


quote:

ORIGINAL: paulderynck

The only issue I've seen with multiple monitors is having them set-up and then disconnecting one of them without first going into Display Properties and telling Windows that monitor is gone. Likely that is also associated to the type of graphics card a person has.

But if you start using them here are two things you should do to avoid potential problems that can give you a sense the game has crashed (when it hasn't) because the form you need to interact with is off-screen.


The game was definitely frozen. Moving the mouse over a unit and clicking had absolutely no result. L/C or R/C made no difference. Forms couldn't be closed or moved. Nothing.

That does coincide with the symptoms you'd get from having a form off screen that is waiting for your input.



paulderynck -> RE: Game freezes when setting up US in new game (12/1/2013 5:03:13 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Ubercat

quote:

1. Your left hand monitor should have the 0,0 coordinate (i.e. it should be the "primary") - avoid negative number coordinates.

2. Keep the Main Form above the Detailed Map. People often try to totally max out the Detailed Map to a full monitor screen but in this case you are better to give up some space at the top, even if you have to resize the Detailed Map slightly so there's no overlap between it and the Main Form. I recommend no overlap because which one stays on top is usually the one you don't want to stay on top. [:)]



Is this the 2 monitor problem that Steve mentioned after your post, and the fix is to make sure that the secondary monitor is on the right, not the left of the main?


My understanding is that whether you have 2 or 3 monitors, if the Primary one is not on the left, you'll have negative coordinates on the left, and you want to avoid that. I ran into it when testing with a laptop and I wanted the detailed map on my left on a bigger screen and most of the forms on the laptop screen on my right. But it gets to be a PITA to have to switch the laptop back and forth from being the Primary, so I compromised and put the monitor on the right and made it the secondary. Then the Detailed Map goes on the right and thus the Main Form must also be on the right at the top of the screen.

As Steve gets time to fix these issues, I think the configurations will grow more flexible, but for now what I'm describing avoids frustrations.

Edited to add: The 3 monitor problem Steve spoke of is not the same issue as discussed here.



Ubercat -> RE: Game freezes when setting up US in new game (12/1/2013 1:25:43 PM)

Considering that most monitors are far wider than they are tall, if we have to keep the main form on the main monitor it would be great to be able to have a more vertically inclined main form. An option to have the main form to the left or right of the map, rather than bottom or top would make for more efficient use of screen real estate. Most of us can spare much more space on the sides than the way it is now. I guess that a tech support thread may not be the best place to make a UI improvement suggestion.

Anyway Steve, I love this game and if I ever get the chance I'll buy your dinner or at least a couple of rounds.



paulderynck -> RE: Game freezes when setting up US in new game (12/1/2013 9:40:13 PM)

I don't think this will be a permanent issue. Steve has this working far, far better then when I first beta tested multiple monitors a few years back.

I only mention the stuff that I'm aware may cause you grief. It seems almost all other forms needed when playing appear relative to the Main Form - which is why its placement is so important.



Shannon V. OKeets -> RE: Game freezes when setting up US in new game (12/2/2013 1:20:21 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: paulderynck

I don't think this will be a permanent issue. Steve has this working far, far better then when I first beta tested multiple monitors a few years back.

I only mention the stuff that I'm aware may cause you grief. It seems almost all other forms needed when playing appear relative to the Main Form - which is why its placement is so important.

Yes.



76mm -> RE: Game freezes when setting up US in new game (12/2/2013 4:02:49 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: paulderynck
...seems almost all other forms needed when playing appear relative to the Main Form - which is why its placement is so important.


Steve, I tried putting the main form on the same monitor as the map, but with one possibly fatal deviation--I put the main form below the map rather than above...I guess that could cause problems? Also, does it matter if the main form is kept centered on the primary monitor, or should it be closer to the second monitor?

When you get around to working on a fix, while you've probably already thought about this, it might be helpful to have a command that will center the active form on the main form (or something). hmmm, but maybe that won't work either since many of the forms are modal and thus you might not be able to give the command?



paulderynck -> RE: Game freezes when setting up US in new game (12/2/2013 7:30:01 AM)

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