simple machines forum
Sword of Moonlight => Archive (pre 2023) => Beginner and other Nonsense => Topic started by: FlameScion on January 10, 2021, 04:46:21 AM
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So, it seems that I found a weird problem in which Sword of Moonlight launches this message several times when I try to enter the map editor or preview a 3D model:
Debugging: inside GetFileAttributesA
C:\windows\system32\atipblag.dat
I have to dismiss the message several times and then the program will continue, but it won't allow me to start the engine from the main menu, nor to test the map. Still not sure how I could proceed, I can't seem to find anything in regards to that file, but it could be related to something about 3D models, since the message is triggered whenever something related to the models is open?
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I can add a fix for this (I could even disable this test in "release" builds) but FWIW it wouldn't happen if that file existed at that location, unless you have some kind of "sandbox" system that makes it inaccessible.
It's not a file SOM is interested in. Something is injecting itself into every program (probably AMD software) you run and it tries to read this file. I'd appreciate if you can confirm (somehow) it's normal for this file to be completely absent and I will add a a filter tomorrow and upload a patch.
To be clear I'm not suggesting you just make a 0 sized file there. That wouldn't keep others from having your bad experience and making posts here (don't want that) but I would like to know if your system isn't an exception. I understand if you have no idea. Thanks for reporting! It's always quiet around here.
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As an update should someone else run into this problem, it appears it's caused due to AMD's ATI Graphics Driver for certain graphics cards.
Also as an extra note, I decided to test some other things. Apparently I can't even run the King's Field 25th Anniversary project, which leads me to believe that my PC really just hates me and, most likely, the engine. What is weird is that before this I had no problems with the version of Sword of Moonlight launched back in 2011 at the time of Playtesting and such (Including the sample of KF1 Remake)
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There's just not a lot of people testing it. Please try to figure out what's going wrong for you so it can be fixed.
There's two versions of SOM. There's the one From Software published in 2000 and this one that's updated. The former was developed for Windows 95. (And has hundreds of bugs and generally isn't worth using for anything today.)
If you have no clue what's happening you can turn on do_log and db_log_bardb_log_debug_bar=7 in the Ex.ini file and look at the log to get an idea of how far it gets. If your computer isn't like 15 years old whatever is wrong is probably minor like this problem you had.
EDITED: Can you see the model previews in the SOM_PRM tool? You seem to have everything working, so if not that can suggest you have an issue with Direct3D 9. (You said you can see models in SOM_MAP. Or did I mishear?)
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BTW: You can look in %TEMP%\Swordofmoonlight.net for a DMP file after a crash and attach it here. It might tell me something about what's happening on your end. I can make a debug mode build for you to retry to get more information.
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I can see the models in the map editor, as well as the parameter editor and now it doesn't have that annoying message anymore so I assume it's not a Direct3D 9 error. There's no DMP file, I guess because the app itself doesn't crash, I just press the Playtest option and nothing happens. The application will still run and all the options would continue working except for the playtest.
EDIT: If the .exe that makes the engine start is SOM_RUN.exe, could it be related to that? I'm gonna try maybe permissions and such with it
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Well that's probably because you haven't prepared your map. You're skipping the compile step (most likely, everyone seems to do this.)
But you said my itch.io demo didn't work for you? If it crashes there should be a DMP file. If there isn't then it's not even starting, but I can't think of any reason why it wouldn't work if you have a visual in SOM_PRM. Probably antivirus. I want to help but I can't really help with antivirus, it's a third party hosing your computer, not my problem. (I'm not saying it is, but that's my guess.)
Just unzip the ZIP into a folder in your user account's desktop to be sure you have access rights, and make sure you're double clicking the EXE and not the SOM file.
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Oh no, I'm compiling the map before I start the playtest and it's succesful at it, still scratching my head as of why it won't start. I'll try disabling the antivirus for a few minutes and see if that makes it start correctly, and no, I don't mean double-clicking the executable, just giving it admin permitions, though it didn't work either.
EDIT: I realized that I'm just being vague and horrible at expressing myself a bit (sorry, not native english speaker) so more or less I'll try to re-arrenge the events a bit:
- SOM_Main loads normally, I can select my project or start a new one without any problem. In the map editor and the parameter editor I can preview the 3D models of weapons, items, NPCs, etc correctly (thanks to the patch you sent me, the message about atipblag.dat no longer shows up). The map editor also compiles correctly.
-After compiling, wether I hit playtest in the map editor or the main menu, I get no response. Nothing never opens. With the Itch.io project you made something similar happens, because when I double-click KINGS FIELD II.exe nothing happens, despite them being in my desktop.
-I tried some things which I reverted after they didn't work, like right-clicking into SOM_RUN.exe properties and giving it admin rights or disabling Windows Defender and my Firewall shortly.
-There is a project from this forum I downloaded to see if it would work, "Moratheia". Not sure if it was from a previous version of SOM but that one did work without any problems.
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1) SOM_RUN isn't what you think. Just leave that alone.
2) If Moratheia worked, are you using GAME.EXE because if so, that's using 2000 SOM like we discussed. If not, you should copy your latest SomEx.dll file into its EX/SYSTEM folder to get the best experience, since it's is quite old.
I can only say, do what I said about do_log/db_log_bardb_log_debug_bar and see if it makes a db.log file. I can't think of a reason you wouldn't have DMP files if it is crashing, assuming you're in the right folder.
You seem to have an issue just with the game playing component. Its log is db.log. And you should turn off do_log/db_log_bardb_log_debug_bar when you're done because the debug log on it will generate huge log files.
It doesn't do anything special that the tools don't do, so I'm drawing a blank. I would think it's your project, but since you say my project (KFII) isn't working either, it's very perplexing.
So, please keep trying to see what you can find out. Also tell me if Moratheia.exe works for you. And then tell me if it works with the current SomEx.dll. Thanks for helping.
BTW: The Moratheia project is really cool (it's a full length game) but it's not balanced for SomEx and it wasn't made for the do_aa extension, so if you don't like the cracks that appear because of that you should turn it off and use your GPU Control Panel's AA options. And I don't know what it's like with the GAME.EXE balance wise, but without you just have to kind of accept that it's basically a demo. The F3 function will keep you alive. The equipment stats don't matter very much since I faked some damage formulas to make it basically playable. It feels pretty good, especially the last dungeon, but I wish its monsters had more limited hit range on their attacks. Then it would feel like a really good/fair game with SomEx.
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Double-reply:
-I tried some things which I reverted after they didn't work, like right-clicking into SOM_RUN.exe properties and giving it admin rights or disabling Windows Defender and my Firewall shortly.
Don't do anything like that :eek: it's just adding weird variables that can only cause complications. (Edited: You can do it with the GAME.EXE file if you have one, but it's not worth trying to keep a new project backward compatible with it.)
One thing I'm wondering is since you're playing with SOM_RUN you're going into the TOOL folder where you really shouldn't be poking around, so I'm wondering if you're starting the tools up correctly, but I think you must be.
When you "give admin rights" you're changing the user. It doesn't really give anything. And don't mess with any of the "compatibility" stuff either, that's for old, abandoned software, which you're clearly not using :)
Still, your case makes no sense to me, especially if you can't even get to a DMP file, and I expect you can log it, but that would mean it is starting and crashing if so. So I await feedback...
But fundamentally all of the programs are alike. So there's very little that can be happening, and nothing that would preclude starting (getting to the very first line of code in the program.) Evey program has the same dependencies, so if one crashed before starting they most likely all would. (It's possible it's crashing very early before the DMP system is set up.)
Check your Event Viewer logs for antivirus logs maybe I don't know. There might be something in there. It uses audio and stuff but that wouldn't kick in until well after the program has started and it wouldn't silently close itself.
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-Understood, will leave SOM_RUN alone and will never touch it again.
-Moratheia worked correctly using Moratheia.exe rather than GAME.EXE, and it worked quite well without any kind of problems. However after switching the SomEx.dll guess what? That's right, it didn't start up anymore, just like the previous 2 cases (a hint, or something that adds more confusion).
-Did the do_log/db_log_bar thing and I'm unable to get a db.log (perhaps i'm doing it wrong? I'll keep trying). As for SOM_RUN, I only entered the TOOL folder to switch the SomEx.dll you sent me and after that I did the compatibility stuff but I'm starting from the shortcuts made by the .bat files during the install.
-The Antivirus logs mention nothing of SoM's components either, so maybe we can scratch that out.
UPDATE: Finally got a db.log created! I was being dumb and still checking at %TEMP% but that was for the DMP file (which still hasn't appeared). Attaching it now
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Thanks, this is something to work with. The log is empty. Did you turn on
db_log_bardb_log_debug_bar at the bottom of the file? If so, it's something happening nearly as soon as the program begins, probably before the crash dump system is installed. If not Are you on Windows 10?
Strikeout: The crash system is in place for those messages.
For the record, I tested this, and something I forgot is the log will be called rt.log if you do it with a standalone game like my itch.io demo. A db.log is for the game when using SOM or running a game through it (which also works, i.e. without an EXE.)
I've added LOG to the attachment whitelist, but so short a log you could have quoted it :)
I'll probably need your help to proceed. It looks like maybe there's a problem with shaders, since your log doesn't show that, but it could be something else if you didn't turn on debug logging. (You're not getting to the point where shaders are compiled.)
Routing logs to
C:\Users\Michael\Saved Games\Playing\KING'S FIELD II\rt.log
01/11/21 18:54:32
"C:\Users\Michael\Saved Games\Playing\KING'S FIELD II\KING'S FIELD II.exe"
SomEx.dll 1.2.3.4 attached
Launcher closing log; anticipating next launch date...
NG'S FIELD II\rt.log
01/11/21 18:54:32
"EX\KING'S FIELD II -- som_db.bin" "B:\>" "A:\>"
SomEx.dll 1.2.3.4 attached
Initializing off back of launcher
Exiting DllMain entrypoint
SomEx initialized
Direct3D9 initialized
DirectDraw initialized
PADDING(blit)
//
// Generated by Microsoft (R) HLSL Shader Compiler 9.29.952.3111
//
// Parameters:
//
// float4 colFactors;
// float4 rcpViewport;
//
//
// Registers:
//
// Name Reg Size
// ------------ ----- ----
// rcpViewport c1 1
// colFactors c2 1
//
vs_3_0
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~omitted~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
mul r1.xyz, r0, c2.z
add r0.xyz, -r0, c2.w
cmp oC0.xyz, r0, c3.x, r1
// approximately 30 instruction slots used (3 texture, 27 arithmetic)
#####
DirectSound initialized
DirectInput initialized
SomEx.dll detached
Have a nice day...
Can you open SOM_PRM (Manage Project) and open the model preview screen, and take a small screenshot of the window (with Alt+PrtSc) and then look for a ws.log file, and see if it has a shader log section.
Then tell me if it has "DirectSound initialized" and "DirectInput initialized" on the following lines. The dump system should be operating. (SomEx-1,2,3,4-SOM_DB_crash_2021-1-06_15-25.dmp is what a file may be named.) Let me see...
Strikeout: Actually, I guess that program doesn't need sound or input :doh: (but db.log and rt.log do.)
I've put some log output at the places where a critical error causes termination (should've done this already) and uploaded a debug build in case we need it:
http://csv.swordofmoonlight.net/SomEx.dll/1.2.3.4.zip
http://csv.swordofmoonlight.net/SomEx.dll/1.2.3.4d.zip
Don't worry about the debug build. It will be more useful for a crash dump, but since you're not getting a dump, it may not be crashing. If you do swap in the debug build, you must remember to swap back the normal build when finished. Although it's probably harmless. Anyway, please try again with this DLL. And know that the DLL goes in the TOOL folder for SOM and in the EX/SYSTEM folder for standalone EXE games.
P.S. You're probably not the only one in this boat, so please stick with it :smile:
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I'll go for two different reply so we can get a better comparison. This one will be without the debug build and the next one will be with it.
Yes, I'm on Windows 10 right now, and I enabled the do_log/do_log_bar line, sadly that's all the db.log can show me. On the other hand, I'm attaching rs.log so you can check it for yourself as well in case something comes to your atention. For now that's all I could get from this
Also, even by enabling do_log_bar in your project, I can't get any log from it
EDIT: Sorry, forgot to attach the Screenshot lol
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Now, on to the debugger version.
I'm constantly getting this message after replacing the SomEx.dll:
"SomEx.dll - AssertingIsDebuggerPresent
You may attach a debugger now or Retry to run vsjitdebugger
Cancel Retry Skip "
(Translated the options because my PC is in spanish)
And once again, after starting the Project Manager to preview models, as well as for the map, I get that atipblag.dat is missing once more. Still no crashes, the program is continuing to function. At this point my conclusion (A terrible and non-expert, of course) is that this is indeed related to the Shaders. Maybe the integrated graphics from my CPU, since I don't have a graphics card, is provoking the malfunction of the program, and that could be why the older version works and the newer one doesn't.
In a few days my brother is going to bring his PC (with an Intel CPU) and allowed me to test SoM there, so if that does something for you I can report how that goes.
Yet again, this is my untrained and guessing opinion, should you need me for anything else and to try to find a workarround, I'll still be here :thumbsup:
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AssertingIsDebuggerPresent is normal, I guess it will remind you to replace it eventually.
Sorry this is so difficult for you.
The original (GetFileAttributesA) can't be reporting "atipblag.dat" now, so it must be something else that's touching it. What is the full report about it? (At least it's very unlikely, sometimes the compiler system doesn't notice when files have changed, god knows why.)
I don't think it's shaders.
Okay, here's something! I meant to say db_log_debug_bar = 7 :redface:
EDITED: Also you wrote "do_log_bar" so maybe you're in the wrong section... you need to go to the bottom, to the [Output] section.
Sorry about this again :(
Please see what this tells you. It seems very strange that it's not self-terminating and yet you don't have a crash event. But this should tell where the program is terminating better.
P.S. I may have hoped the debug version would produce system error boxes or something. I don't suppose you have Visual Studio (programming stuff)? Don't worry about it, but if you do you can attach a debugger to it and see if it generates something helpful.
Please hang in there... troubleshooting other people's computers is the damnedest thing programmers have to do.
Edited: I have a feeling the original program (som_db.exe) is ending abruptly in response to an error condition, but I'm surprised it doesn't generate a message box if so. The tools are usually good about error messages, but I don't know if the player produces them.
Below is what my log looks like between what yours has and what I know it doesn't have. If you set db_log_debug_bar = 8 you can get a bit more detailed info that might be useful.
dx_ddraw_DirectDrawEnumerateExA()
som_game_CloseHandle()
som_game_CloseHandle()
dx_ddraw_DirectDrawCreateEx()
{15E65EC0-3B9C-11D2-B92F-00609797EA5B}
(IDirectDraw7)
058587D0
D3D9C::IDirectDraw7::AddRef()
D3D9C::IDirectDraw7::GetCaps()
D3D9C::IDirectDraw7::EnumDisplayModes()
D3D9C::IDirectDraw7::QueryInterface()
{F5049E77-4861-11D2-A407-00A0C90629A8}
(IDirect3D7)
05858890
D3D9C::IDirect3D7::EnumDevices()
D3D9C::IDirect3D7::Release()
~IDirect3D7()
D3D9C::IDirectDraw7::Release()
D3D9C::IDirectDraw7::Release()
Deleting swap chain surfaces...
~IDirectDraw7()
dx_ddraw_DirectDrawCreateEx()
{64657669-6365-0030-6478-5F6433643963}
{15E65EC0-3B9C-11D2-B92F-00609797EA5B}
(IDirectDraw7)
058587D0
D3D9C::IDirectDraw7::AddRef()
D3D9C::IDirectDraw7::GetCaps()
D3D9C::IDirectDraw7::EnumDisplayModes()
D3D9C::IDirectDraw7::QueryInterface()
{F5049E77-4861-11D2-A407-00A0C90629A8}
(IDirect3D7)
05858890
D3D9C::IDirect3D7::EnumDevices()
D3D9C::IDirect3D7::Release()
~IDirect3D7()
D3D9C::IDirectDraw7::Release()
D3D9C::IDirectDraw7::Release()
Deleting swap chain surfaces...
~IDirectDraw7()
som_game_CloseHandle()
som_game_CloseHandle()
som_game_CloseHandle()
som_game_CloseHandle()
som_game_CloseHandle()
dx_ddraw_DirectDrawCreateEx()
{15E65EC0-3B9C-11D2-B92F-00609797EA5B}
(IDirectDraw7)
058587D0
D3D9C::IDirectDraw7::AddRef()
D3D9C::IDirectDraw7::SetCooperativeLevel()
Ex_detours_SetWindowPos()
Ex_detours_SelectObject()
Ex_detours_SelectObject()
Ex_detours_SelectObject()
Ex_detours_SelectObject()
Ex_detours_SelectObject()
Ex_detours_SelectObject()
Ex_detours_DeleteObject()
DeleteObject: hdi object is F205291A(Bitmap)
Ex_detours_SelectObject()
Ex_detours_SelectObject()
Ex_detours_DeleteObject()
DeleteObject: hdi object is E20531CD(Bitmap)
Ex_detours_DeleteObject()
DeleteObject: hdi object is C0052A2A(Bitmap)
HWND is f0994
Ex_detours_SetWindowPos()
D3D9C::IDirectDraw7::SetDisplayMode()
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Don't worry, this is a nice interesting journey into troubleshooting and I might get to learn something neat about it .
So, the message that prompts about atipblag.dat is:
"A file appears to be missing
C:\Windows\system32\atipblag.dat
Press CANCEL to disable this message box"
Tried changing the "db_log_debug_bar = 7" into Output and finally got something less empty, but quite repetitive and with our stellar guest, Mr atipblag.dat.
Sadly I don't have Visual Studio, sorry. And I should be the one apologizing for bringing such a weird problem into this, I tend to have terrible luck with most of PC related things :sick:
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This is part of software development, commercial software firms just have means of doing this before it gets to the customer.
Can you do this with the SOM_PRM model viewer (ws.log) so we can see what a successful log looks like?
This atipblag.dat is part of the driver system or some kind of injected DLL that runs in user space. I'm not sure which. Did you try making a 0 sized file with that name in the system32 folder?
Everything before atipblag.dat looks normal, but after it seems to go downhill. I'd like to think of way to determine if the ATI code is actually killing our program (seems really rude if so) or if som_db.exe is killing itself. But I don't see anything here that would give it a reason to kill itself (like an error that it considers a showstopper.)
The only thing I can think to do is track down where som_db.exe calls FindClose and CloseHandle and mark those and see if I can find code where it exits prematurely. Normally it calls dx_ddraw_DirectDrawCreateEx after and starts using Direct3D.
P.S. That missing file prompt is normal for debug builds. I've added some code to just log it. Please let me see what I can set up to get to the bottom of who's responsible.
EDITED: I think you should've tried my suggestion to set it 8. I have a feeling all of this happens inside dx_ddraw_DirectDrawEnumerateExA and it fails to show any display devices. I see som_db.exe uses OutputDebugStringA so I think I will route it to the log so we can see its output. I may try to add a console feature when I have some free time. 8 should get some useful info in this context.
Strikeout: The new debug build in Reply #17 should output near equivalent info to 8 because som_db outputs that information.
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Log this (http://csv.swordofmoonlight.net/SomEx.dll/1.2.3.4d.zip) please.
It's just a debug version. It looks like if som_db.exe doesn't get a D3D device it will pop up a message box with a Direct3D error.
I've added some output for things that might come up and routed its debug output to the log. Those start with > in the log.
There is a check that the D3D enumeration callback needs to originate in the EXE. If ATI/AMD has some kind of wrapper callback that might be what's happening. I've added output for if that happens.
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Wonderful news! after finally creating the 0 sized file the engine started! Since I did a a lot of adjustments i didn't have to, I deleted and redownloaded everything just to be safe. I'll attach the db.log and ws.log just so you can make sure it's okay.
I can really see the difference graphically between the old engine and the update, and I think my poor PC does as well :xd:
Thank you for having so much patience with me these days!
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Okay? So I wonder, does this crummy software that needs that file kill every program when it doesn't get its file? How funny, and poor quality. Normally I'm very displeased with outside software that interferes, but I don't know if it's part of AMD's graphics drivers or not. If not it's part of the company's GPU Control Panel solutions.
Thanks for this screenshot, it looks like I need to disable do_stipple in those language packs! Making a note. It used to look very good on a monitor I had, but it depends a lot on the DPI and generally probably the graphics have come a long way since then, with do_aa. (Note, do_stipple only applies to dithered, 16-bit color modes.)
The text based gauges are part of do_st. My thinking at the time is they look better than the image based ones out of the box. My project has a new mode based on KF, but the compass tends to not be lit well in normal projects, and I haven't figured out how to solve that, but I have a plan. (KF2 uses a complicated color formula that just happens to look good with the compass, the best bet would be to see what happens if you brightened its texture image.)
Your maps can have multiple layers and the clipping is a lot more sophisticated than originally so you can do many things that would glitch crazily otherwise.
I haven't had time to doctor most of the art. I've worked mostly on the map geometry. The other things have lots of holes and seams in their textures. If you want to help patch them over I can facilitate that. If you have better art from your past experience you can copy it into your project's DATA folder and set up additional DATA folders if you need them.
The outdoor set should generally blend the lighting between the titles. Some might be too sharp to, but if you think something isn't blending let me know.
P.S. I'm going to continue to investigate this. I wonder why you were able to get it to work with the Moratheia 2.1 demo for instance. And the other tools for that matter :thumbsup:
BTW: Your last logs.zip file doesn't really help, but it's probably too much to ask to make more since I'd need you to use ws_log_debug_bar=7, and use the new 1.2.3.4d.zip file, AND go back and delete your atipblag.dat file. If you want to do all of that it can help, but if not we can put it behind us, and just assume the atipblag.dat programmers are amateurs. I will add a pop-up box to tell people to make a 0 sized file.
EDITED: I've changed the New Project [Options] to remove do_stipple mainly. You can see them here (http://svn.swordofmoonlight.net/data/my/prof/Ex.ini) but to truly fix them the same file needs to be changed in the text/English/Default.zip data pack. (Note, the linked to file is Japanese, so only change your [Option] section if you want to do that. I would change it in your project at least.) There's a whole lot of these settings, my KF2 project uses a lot more of them. I maintain an unofficial list here (http://en.swordofmoonlight.org/wiki/SomEx/list_of_extensions) that's usually not very up-to-date.
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I don't have any previous experience, I always wanted to create some models and try to create landscapes in game engines, and Sword of Moonlight is one that caught my atention the most since I always liked the KF style, so not sure I could help you with that.
As for the rest, no problem!, you put up a lot with me these days, the least I can do is try to help with that as well
Where would i need to use the ws_log_debug_bar=7 line, any specific part of the Ex.ini file?
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I don't have any previous experience, I always wanted to create some models and try to create landscapes in game engines, and Sword of Moonlight is one that caught my attention the most since I always liked the KF style, so not sure I could help you with that.
By that I mean if you have/had an old project since you said you used SOM in the past. You might be upset if your old project had better (doctored) versions of SOM's files.
Where would i need to use the ws_log_debug_bar=7 line, any specific part of the Ex.ini file?
Sorry, my KF2 project already has this at the bottom of the file (disabled) but I guess your New Project doesn't. Those go in the [Output] section. If you don't have one, you can add it.
Unless you're making new models (it's a lot of work) for everything you'll probably run into blemishes in SOM's built-in models. No one really uses SOM (no one sticks with it) so unless you're fine with glaring defects that would be a good place to learn how to work with the models (I have a full editing software for this just as of recently, published here) and now would be a good time to fix them up if you find yourself doing it anyway. I will help you to add you work to the files, and figure how to do things, if you stick with it.
I just have one word of warning, you should make regular backups of your MAP files that you save with SOM_MAP because I think there's probably a chance it will corrupt your file when you save it. It may still have some kinks in it. Even if you save a hundred times successfully, still make backups when you're done with work you want to be sure you can keep. Do this for your whole project from time to time, and don't be discouraged if you lose something, usually if you remake something it will be better than what you lost.
If you want to do something you can't, ask, there might be a way to do it already. Generally speaking guides don't exist. Also from time to time SOM_PRM seems to lose track of its profile assignments. I don't know why, you just have to go down the list and set them back. And if you assign the same profile to two things, there's a bug (I need to work on) that will prevent you from editing that profile with the PRF editor... well you can edit it, but when you save in SOM_PRM it will keep the old settings stored in its PRM files. The only current fix for this is to unset all of them, and then reassign the profile. (Remember this, every time it happens to me I spend about 5 or 10 minutes bewildered until I remember about this bug. Then I want to fix it, then I think about a strategy to pinpoint the code and realize it's probably a tough one to crack. But from time to time I swell up with pride and start hammering these isolated problems down like a round of whack-a-mole.)
Strikeout: I happened to fix this problem today (1mo later to the day) :cool:
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So, I ran the debug version without the atipblag.dat now and it worked fine (no error prompts whatsoever) which is just weird and doesn't make much sense to me (although i'm no expert here) I'm sending the ws and db logs in case you can find something interesting about them that might help you (or further sends us into this rabbit hole).
Meanwhile i'll just keep focusing into trying out modelling some stuff and try to pull off what I can, so you most likely will see me askingw eird noobish questions.
If you need anything, you know where to ask.
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The ws.log doesn't show the atipblag.dat file. I wonder why it would be any different. The game uses AvSetMmThreadCharacteristicsA to change its category to "Games" which was one of the crazy secrets you have to learn of to get a game to run at a consistent framerate on Windows. Maybe that makes it to try to find a game profile for it.
Since the behavior was so bad I'm guessing it's an amateur bug in those drivers. Maybe after it didn't crash itself it was able to change its behavior. I wonder why that wasn't on your system. Maybe it's normally in a 64-bit folder? Maybe system32 was the wrong place to be looking for it.
Meanwhile i'll just keep focusing into trying out modelling some stuff and try to pull off what I can, so you most likely will see me asking weird noobish questions.
It's always baffled me that I'm all alone here doing this, it makes me to have a dim view of everyone out there. Please use this sub-board for questions. It's for disposable posts. The main board is for agenda setting, technical topics. If you feel a feature is missing, don't be afraid to ask, but I would still ask on this board, and if something seems feasible in the near term or I have an idea I will put it onto the main board.
I'm excited for new projects. I'd like more varied project spaces to work with. I have hardly any. Don't hesitate to share early results. If you run into a problem (bug/glitch) you'll need to share your files somehow (over link if large) or make a test project that reproduces the problem and link to it.
EDITED: Does the non-debug version NOW work without atipblag.dat?
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I'm excited for new projects. I'd like more varied project spaces to work with. I have hardly any. Don't hesitate to share early results. If you run into a problem (bug/glitch) you'll need to share your files somehow (over link if large) or make a test project that reproduces the problem and link to it.
Thanks, I'll try my best and see if my PC doesn't explode whiel trying it but will keep you informed of what I can pull off. SoM is one of those things I've wanted to try for quite some time but just didn't have the time for. I'll keep you updated of what I can do
EDITED: Does the non-debug version NOW work without atipblag.dat?
Yup, works like a charm
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Hey if you're still reading this I broke something (http://www.swordofmoonlight.net/bbs2/index.php?topic=316.msg3039#msg3039) when I hastily uploaded those patches the other day. It's about rotating with SOM_MAP. (Edited: Although the view is incorrect in the game, not SOM_MAP.)
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I don't see shadows on your screenshot. Since you seem to have an older GPU (I hope) how do the shadows (round blobs underfoot) look for you? I ask because it's been suggested to me sometimes they don't look right. (I think it may have something to do with how some GPUs implement ddx/ddy instructions.)
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I'd say they look okay. My PC may be a potato but the shadows seem to be generated correctly
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You've still not turned off do_stipple in your screenshots!! :Nemo_death:
(Games shouldn't turn on do_stipple. I should've disabled it a long time ago. It can help with aliasing and filter biasing, and alpha blending on things like grass, but it looks awful on displays with large pixels and televisions. If you can see pixels with your naked eye it looks worse than it helps.)
Edited: Also, in case you haven't noticed, the shadows now fit to irregular surfaces (like the grass mounds or ledges) in case you have past memories of having to turn them off.
Flying monsters tend to have their shadows permanently disabled, but I'm going to edit their PRF files to change that at some point. It does make sense to force off the wall monster's shadow (stoneface) I suppose.
Edited: BTW in your earlier screenshot, you can use the layer system to build a seamless transition from the exterior/castle set into an interior set. Just put them on different layers, and use the ramparts, etc. to build a canopy over the entrance.