SH3 runs very stable unless you screw it up. The only major thing are game crashes: CTDs due to defective/flawed SAVEGAMEs.
Yes, SH3 has issues handling savegames. This is a known bug in SH3! The developers never cared about fixing this, so blame them.
All you can do is avoid to create a mess by keeping a few basic rules.
Here are the collected guidelines, rules of engagement
, of 15+ years of SH3 experience and do not whine that it does not work when you have once again ignored what I wrote!
ALWAYS SAVE- ...with a new filename for each save, i.e. do NOT attempt to overwrite existing saves!
- ...when there are no other vessels detected either by sight/hydrophones/radar. If there are no radar-contacts, DO NOT switch on radar now. Submerge to check the hydrophones manually with a full 360 degree sweep then surface again.
- ...when surfaced.
- ...at least 50km off shore/last sunk ship/contact
- ...when TC(Time Compression) is at 1. Always give the game a little time at TCx1 after being on high TC before you save.
- Give the game a little time before you exit, just a couple of seconds of your time...
- ...when in command room view (the F2 Control Room Screen).
- ...give the game engine a little time to sync down/slow down before you save, especially at TC=1 after being on high TC!
NEVER- Never in battle!
- Never too close to harbors
- Never rewrite a save file (Rather name your saves like patrol1a, patrol1b, patrol2a ...)
NEVER save a game over the top of a previous save. That is, when you reuse a save name.Example for lazy fools who are not capable of thinking: If you have a save called "MySave1940", do not just select that name and save again. DO NOT DO IT, IDIOT! I am fed up having to say this for 15+ years now and now being listened to! RTFM! - Never save if there are contacts present, NO contacts on map, NO sight contacts, NO sonar contacts!
- Do not save close to land
- NOT dived. Always save when surfaced!
- Do not mix savegames in same folder of different mod-setups, starting with wrong mod will very likely corrupt the savegame-data
Before saving, dive, turn your engines off, go to the hydrophones station, turn up the ambience volume knob and listen. If you hear a ship, do not save.
The sound of broken glass at loading is the game setting your damage status from your last save point. Even if you have 99% hull integrity you will hear glass breaking. Is normal.
If chasing a convoy or single target, it is possible to mark the position(s) of the target(s) on the chart, sneak away to a safe distance (where the target cannot be detected) and save the game. The mark(s) will still be there when the game is re-loaded.
Files saved:
.clg = captain log
.crp = crew report panel or console report panel
.isf = ??
.map = drawings on map
.psc = player submarine control or cfg or something
.rmr = radio messages received
.rms = radio messages sent
.rsf = ?? probably something for replays, function that is not finished , and don't work.
.sav = ?? save
.clg, .crp, .map, .psc, .rmr, .rms - are text files, you can open and edit these with notepad.
.sav was somehow encrypted, however, you can still open it with hex editor
If two convoys spawn close to your U-Boot at about the same time, then any game save made afterwards, wherever saved, will be corrupt.
Any game-save made after a convoy has spawned with Sergbuto's AI U-Boots attached, will also be corrupt.
Give the game a little time before you exit, just a couple of seconds of your time...
Before saving, dive, turn your engines off, go to the hydrophones station, turn up the ambience volume knob and listen. If you hear a ship, don't save. Also, don't save if you're less than 50km away from land.
The sound of broken glass at loading is the game setting your damage status from your last save point. Even if you have 99% hull integrity you will hear glass breaking. Is normal.
When you want to save, enter your save "convoy' , "Heavy cargo" or whatever and then RETURN to the game for a short time and then SAVE a "THRASH SAVE" like XXXX to exit the game.
When you want to return to the game start the game save ABOVE the trash save of XXXX and in ALL OF MY RESTARTS it WORKS!!!
A way to fix save corruptionCrashes Loading Save Games: 2 Solutionscorrupted save game issue1. Do not save too often!
Crashes occured when the number of savegames in 1 folder exceeds 16.
2. When you quit in the middle of a patrol using "save and exit patrol", that save is often corrupted somehow. So for every patrol, I always have 3 normal saves and one called "dump" that I do "save and exit" on. So next time I reload my patrol, I always load the one above "dump"
Stabilize your simulation (30 seconds or so) at time compression 1x before hitting the ESC key and saving. Jumping to the save menu at time compressions greater than 1x is dangerous.
You NEVER want to make MODS to the program (with JSGME or direct file editing) UNLESS your U-Boot is in its home port. Modifying game files in the middle of a patrol can corrupt your SAVE file. Even with your U-Boot in port, once you made modifications, your old SAVE file probably will not work -- you can only advance to the next patrol.
