CTD without any error message Options

[Marvin]

Hi there,

I've already encountered this problem quite a lot of times, and now I'm going to report it finally.
When My char casts spells, everything works just fine, but when some enemies start to fire a lot of spells at the same time, tzhen the game crashes to desktop without giving any error message. Also baldur.err is empty.

I play the mod within a BWP install. One occation where it crashes for sure is during the fight against rihalto the marvelous from wildmage additions.
I don't know if it is an incompatibility with another mod, maybe spell revisions, but when I uninstall spellpack then the game doesn't crash anymore.
Could it be that the large amount of performance that spellpack needs kills the game? But I have quite new notebook, so performance should not be a problem.

If anyone can help, I'd be very happy, thanks!


Marvin

[Leomar]

Hi there,

I've already encountered this problem quite a lot of times, and now I'm going to report it finally.
When My char casts spells, everything works just fine, but when some enemies start to fire a lot of spells at the same time, tzhen the game crashes to desktop without giving any error message. Also baldur.err is empty.

I play the mod within a BWP install. One occation where it crashes for sure is during the fight against rihalto the marvelous from wildmage additions.
I don't know if it is an incompatibility with another mod, maybe spell revisions, but when I uninstall spellpack then the game doesn't crash anymore.
Could it be that the large amount of performance that spellpack needs kills the game? But I have quite new notebook, so performance should not be a problem.

If anyone can help, I'd be very happy, thanks!


Marvin

You can try and see if it is a compatibilty problem with other mods or a performance problem only.
Make an additional installation with BG2 only and install SpellPack without other mods. Start a BG2 game and test it. Is the game crashing again, then you have a performance problem or anything else in SpellPack causes this. When the game is running fine, then it could be a compatibility problem with another mod/mods and you should report your problem in the Mega Mod Help Forum at SHS.

Greetings Leomar

This post has been edited by Leomar: Apr 21 2009, 11:46 AM

[Marvin]

Yes, I'll try that. I will install BG2 + Spellpack + Wildmage addition!

Marvin

[Marvin]

Hi there, I tested it.

I did the folowing:
Installed BGT and then tested Spellpack together with spell_rev and wildmage additions, because that wizard guy at the beginning casts a whole lot of spells
I've tried altering the order of the mods, tried leaving out some mods and components. I also tried turning "use-3d" option off.

These are the results:
Wildmage additions are incompatible with Spellpack. It seems to work with spell_rev, but this Rihalto wildmage guy makes the game crass all the time if Spellpack is installed. Without Spellpack, the game doesn't crash. The spell that causes the crash calls "glyphe of untameable magic" or something like that. There is no error massage and no errorlog whatsoever.

This raises the following questions:

1. Is Spellpack totally incompatible with wildmage addiions or is it just the Rihalto guy or even just this one spell?

2. Where else in the game could Spellpack cause problems?

3. In what Order should one install Spellpack using a megamod? At the very beginning, so all additional spells remain untouched? At the very end, so all additional spells get patched, too?
I tried both. Whenn you install Spellpack only, the it sais at one point something like "patching 2500 files". The installations dures more or less 5 minutes. When you install Spellpack at the very End of a megamod however, it sais at the same point "Patching 8400 files" and the installation dures much more, like 20 min or so.


I hope someone can answer to these questions, It would be very sad, I players had to refuse SPellpack because of stupid crashes. It is one of my favourite mods and therefore I am really concerned about getting it to work within a megamod.
Thanks for everything,

Marvin

[Leomar]

3.)
You really can not install SpellPack at the beginning or at the end of a megamod. There are some compatibility issues you should hold in mind. Including SpellPack in a megamod is not easy and I think Leonardo had much to do with this mod, to get it in the BWP. For better understanding, I'll list the content of the informations about SpellPack from our guide, which we have mostly from the SpellPack readme.

• It is strongly recommended to install trap adding mods (usually quest mods) before SpellPack, so then SpellPack can patch their trap scripts.
• It is also advised (for maximum effect) to install Cleric Remix after Spell Pack.
• Because Sword Coast Stratagames II makes duplicates of existing spells for the AI, it is recommended you install it after SpellPack.
• Because both SpellPack and SpellRevisions aim for conceptually different fixes, installing both will cause one to override the other.

And here you see, that Leonardo must find a way to get the components installed together and that is the order you should install the components for a megamod:


Install Component 0 [Spell Pack (Core Files and Graphics)]? [I]nstall
Install Component [Casting sounds change]? [I]nstall
1 1] IWD Style Casting Graphics
21 2] Improved BGII Casting Sounds [2]
22 3] BGI Casting Sounds
Install Component 2 [Entangle, Magical Stone, Sanctuary, Sunscorch]? [I]nstall
Install Component 23 [Battlefate, Call Upon Faith, Faerie Fire]? [I]nstall
Install Component 3 [Chant, Flame Blade, Spiritual Hammer, Alicorn Lance, Beast Claw, Produce Flame, Moon Motes]? [I]nstall
Install Component 24 [Moment, Seeking]? [I]nstall
Install Component 4 [Call Lightning, Invisibility Purge, Miscast Magic, Spike Growth, Random Casualty, Prayer, Moonblade, Stormshell, Elysium's Tears]? [I]nstall
Install Component 25 [Circle of Bones, Holy Smite, Mold Touch, Unholy Blight]? [I]nstall
Install Component 5 [Thorn Spray, Recitation, Cloud of Pestilence, Static Charge, Adamantite Mace]? [I]nstall
Install Component 6 [Produce Fire (replaces Poison!)]? [N]ot Install
Install Component 26 [Blood Rage, Mental Domination]? [I]nstall
Install Component 7 [Flame Strike, Undead Ward, Animal Rage, Produce Ice, Spike Stones]?
Install Component 27 [Insect Plague, Iron Skins, Smashing Wave (replaces Greater Command!), Wall Of Fire]? [I]nstall
Install Component 8 [Entropy Shield, Whirlwind]? [I]nstall
Install Component 28 [Blade Barrier, Hammer of Retribution, Seclusion, Sol's Searing Orb]? [I]nstall
Install Component 29 [Earthquake, Fire Storm, Mist of Eldath, Spacewarp]? [I]nstall
Install Component 9 [Implosion]? [I]nstall
Install Component 10 [Charm Person]? [I]nstall
Install Component 30 [Armour, Burning Hands, Color Spray, Friends, Spook]? [I]nstall
Install Component 31 [Agannazar's Scorcher, Detect Invisibility, Glitterdust, Hypnotic Pattern, Stinking Cloud, Melf's Acid Arrow, Vocalize, Web]? [I]nstall
Install Component 32 [Fireball, Ghost Armour, Invisibility 10-foot radius, Lightning Bolt, Wraithform]? [I]nstall
Install Component 33 [Larloch's Minor Drain, Vampiric Touch]? [I]nstall
Install Component 34 [Confusion (priest and wizard)]? [I]nstall
Install Component 11 [Dimension Door (replaces Teleport Field!)]? [I]nstall
Install Component 12 [Flame Arrow, Ice Storm, Improved Invisibility, Otiluke's Resilient Sphere, Wizard Eye]? [I]nstall
Install Component 35 [Finger of Death, Animate Dead (wizard and priest for both spells)]? [I]nstall
Install Component 13 [Cloudkill, Cone of Cold, Shadow Door, Domination, Chaos, Invulnerability to Normal Weapons, Lower Resistance]? [I]nstall
Install Component 14 [Shroud of Flame (replaces Oracle!)]? [N]ot Install
Not together with the Sword Coast Strategems II's Smarter Mages component
Install Component 15 [Death Spell, Mislead, Invulnerability to Magical Weapons, Death Fog, Disintegrate]? [I]nstall
Install Component 16 [Chain Lightning]? [I]nstall
Install Component 17 [Prismatic Spray, Mordenkainen's Sword, Mass Invisibility]? [I]nstall
Install Component 36 [Charm Plants (replaces Sphere of Chaos), Guardian Mantle (replaces Mantle), Persistence (replaces Spell Sequencer)]? [N]ot Install
Not advised together with the Sword Coast Strategems II's Smarter Mages component
Install Component 18 [Deathbolt (replaces Simulacrum!]? [N]ot Install
Not together with Sword Coast Strategems II and Ascension
Install Component 19 [Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting, Incendiary Cloud]? [N]ot Install
This can lead to AI problems in the Chosen of Cyric encounter component of Rogue Rebalancing
Install Component 20 [Black Blade of Disaster, Power Word Kill]? [I]nstall
Install Component 37 [Meteor Swarm, Time Stop, Wail of the Banshee]? [I]nstall
Successfully installed Press ENTER to exit

I tried both. Whenn you install Spellpack only, the it sais at one point something like "patching 2500 files". The installations dures more or less 5 minutes. When you install Spellpack at the very End of a megamod however, it sais at the same point "Patching 8400 files" and the installation dures much more, like 20 min or so.

I don't know, what is happening here. Perhaps someone else could give you an answer.



2.)

Where else in the game could Spellpack cause problems?

That is a question we can't answered, because it depends on gamer reports like you have done with "Wild Mage Additions". If we want to know more about incompatibilities, we must test it for our own. Everytime an CTD occurs one must find out, which mod could be causing this or which spell component of SpellPack. If we get reports about it, then is the possibility given to try to fix this.



1.)

Is Spellpack totally incompatible with wildmage addiions or is it just the Rihalto guy or even just this one spell?

Thanks, that you have tested it. But you could test it a little bit more. If you suggest it could be the spell, then try do install Wild Mage Additions with SpellPack, but without the component which changes this spell.



I hope someone can answers your questions better as my little advises, but like you see, if you want to use SpellPack in a hugh megamod, you could be a great help of trying and testing it. And with your reports we all can try to solve the issues with SpellPack and the other mods.

But hold in mind, that not everytime SpellPack is the culprit. e.g., if SpellPack is fine working with your mentioned spell in the whole megamod, but not with Wild Mage Additions, then could causes Wild Mage Additions that (or the combination of the both), we'll advice then, not to install SpellPack's spell component with Wild Mage together, until Wild Mage or SpellPack get fixed or another arrangement of the installation order could solve the problem...

By the way, have you tried to install Wild Mage Additions before SpellPack, too?


Galactygon, I hope this discussion of SpellPack in a megamod is fine for you. If not, please let us know and we use the megamod forum for that.

Greetings Leomar

This post has been edited by Leomar: May 11 2009, 12:53 AM

[Galactygon]

The most I could say in this regard, I haven't tried SpellPack and WildMage additions at once. It would probabbly be better to install SpellPack after all spell enhancing mods, but that's just my estimate.

Leomar: Sure, you are more than welcome to discuss SpellPack and BWP.

-Galactygon

[Galactygon]

I've tried all of the spells from Wild Magic additions with SpellPack B5 installed before the latter, and I was unable to replicate the error.

Wild Magic additions is a fun mod, and mixes well SpellPack.

-Galactygon