Common Darwinia Bugs! --with-solutions

Problems with the Windows version of Darwinia

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Common Darwinia Bugs! --with-solutions

Postby NeoThermic » Sun Dec 25, 2005 5:52 pm

Ok, here's the collection of recent Darwinia bugs that you might have. If you have a bug that isn't answerd here, check the Read me first before submitting a bug report! thread and then post about your apprent new bug.


Here we go!

Memory Problems

Forgetting who you are? Well, we can't help, but if Darwinia is crashing due to memory related problems on the latter levels of Darwinia (Patten_buffer, Biosphere and Temple), then there's a simple solution.

In Darwinia, press escape, go to options, sound options, and disable realtime and hardware sound:

Image
(Click for bigger)

Patch Status:

As far as we know, its in the works. The developers are aware of the situation and are working to track it down and fix it. This post will update to let you know.


Oh good god Darwinia just crashes!

This is an odd bug at first look, you'll have this bug if when you start darwinia, the menu loads fine, but the levels die on you rather quickly (some people don't make it as far as the menu though).

The solution is simple.

Open your prefrences.txt file, and add this line:

Code: Select all

RenderLandscapeMode = 1


The reason you are doing this is simple:

In Darwinia, there's three ways it renders the terrain. The setting of RenderLandscapeMode allows you to switch between the three. The outline of the effects is this:

  • 0 - uses Vertex Arrays. This was found to be slightly faster on some ATi hardware, and thus should be considered when testing out which setting to use
  • 1 - uses Display Lists. This setting emulates the way Darwinia rendered in 1.0
  • 2 - uses Vertex Buffer Objects. This is the default setting that Darwinia uses in v1.2 onward.



Basically it appears that Intel cards (that are not Extreme Grahpics) have a problem with VBO's, which is the default mode in 1.2 onwards (thus including the steam version). Setting it to use 1 emulates the original behaviour, and setting it to 0 is an alternative mode using Vertex Arrays.

This can also apply to other cards than just Intel cards. Some laptop computers use ATi's IGP or S3, SiS, or other graphics cards which just can't cope with VBO's. If you have this card type, you'll want to fix it ASAP by using the above line :)

Patch Status:

The RenderLandscapeMode option has been in Darwinia since 1.2, so the status is complete; you just need to set the option. :)


It was working before I left, honest!

Darwinia has an odd problem that affects some computers (a random effect that doesn't affect everyone) with relation to Darwinia running the 1.3 patch or later (this includes the steam release, and the linux 1.3 patch)

The problem is due to the fact that Darwinia is saving Squads in your mission files without setting an important parameter of the unit, the 'inunit' setting. This only happens when you send a squad via radar, and leave the level before they all arrive at the end. If you can, please avoid doing this, as it will damage your savegame file.

There's a few ways to fix this. If you're on windows, grab the 1.4 patch from the Darwinia support page. This fixes the issue, and you'll be able to continue. If you're on linux, there's a beta patch of 1.4 in the linux forum (see the forum index, just below the windows forum).

If else:
Assuming you're good at technical things, search the forums for 'Redshirt2', download the associated program and run it on your profile file that relates to the crashing level.

I won't go into the fix procedure here, but read this thread on the cause, and guidance on how it can be fixed.

If you are not too technical, you can either delete the mission file for your level, or you can read the same thread as above and see if The_Goldfish would be kind enough to help you - but remember he has a life (one hopes!), so he may not be on it right away ;)

Patch Status:
For Windows: This is fixed in the 1.4 patch for windows, which has been released. See the Darwinia Support page to obtain the patch.
For Linux: the current Linux 1.4 beta (beta9) fixes this issue, but please test it.
For Mac: This will be fixed in a future patch for the Mac Darwinia copies, but again, no public ETA's.
I'll update this topic with info as and when I find out :)

Rockets go boom!

You just got Darwinia from steam, and in the game you try out rockets. Darwinia then just crashes. The solution? UPDATE! There's a patch for this already set on steam, so just restart your steam client and you'll be solved. (Although if you've had steam open this long without restarting it, you might want to restart the system too!)

Patch Status:
Complete! Just allow Steam to update Darwinia ;)

I've got a dual core AMD...

Darwinia apprently doesn't like two physical processors, and will judder and shudder when running them. To fix, for now, you'll need to do this every time you run Darwinia (sorry!):

What you'll need to do is run darwinia in a window (for now). Once darwinia is running, press the window key to select out of darwinia, then press ctrl+alt+del (or ctrl+alt+esc) to bring up the task manager.

In the process tab, find the Darwinia process under Image name, and right click it. Select 'Set Affinity', and move Darwinia to CPU 0. Then close the task manager and see if darwinia runs faster. If not, try set Darwinia over to CPU 1 and try again.

Patch Status:
This is a new issue (spotted/solved in Dec. 2005), so it is unkown, but rest assured, as with the above bugs, I'll update you as soon as.


I've got an ATi IGP card in my laptop...

ATi never really supported their early IGP range of cards. Sadly thsi also means that the cards themselves are not up to the decent quality of ATi cards. What this means is that there's a problem with ATi and the world map, resulting in Darwinia crashing upon startup.


You'll need to modifiy your prefrences.txt and use the Startmap line. First set Bootloader to none, and then add this line:

Code: Select all

Startmap=garden


You'll need to change that value each time you finish a level. The Dr should tell you the name of the next level, hopefully, but if you get stuck, you're welcome to ask.

Every time you hit the world map, darwinia will probibaly crash; this is a limitation of the card. If you want to be able to use the world map, then there's another hack, called 3DAnalyse.

You can get it from this site. You'll need to run it, and set textures to a max of 32x32, or turn them off. Then the world map should work, but it won't look great.

There's more talk about this issue in this topic.


Patch Status:
This is an issue with ATi's IGP cards, although it might be fixable with a future patch from Introversion. The fan base has come up with two work arounds, but either ATi or IV will have to solve this. As always, this topic will be updated to let you know.

nVidia dual monitor Problems

You're running a dual monitor system with nVidia cards. When you start up Darwinia, most of the lights are huge boxes, rather than little lights.

The solutions to this are a few. The first and most obvious is to disable the second monitor. The second one is to change the z-buffer from the options menu, this apprently fixes the issue as well. The third is to use the nVidia drivers to set an application profile for Darwinia, and set it to "Compatibility Performance Mode". (Thanks to phuzz for the z-buffer fix, and thanks to brandorf for the nVidia options)

Patch Status:
This is generally an issue with nVidia's dual montior handling in their drivers (the problem doesn't appear on ATi cards). Although this is nVidia's fix, there are things that can be done to speed the progress up, but nothing has yet happend. As always, I'll update this topic to let you know.


You missed my problem! (or I spotted a spelling mistake..)

I probibally did, yes. What you'll need to do in this case is Read me first before submitting a bug report!, then post about it in this very form. Once you've done that, we can help you solve it, and the answer should appear here. If you've already created a topic about it and it has been solved, PM me to add it and I'll get on to it right away.


Hope this helps you!

NeoThermic
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Postby KingAl » Tue Jul 17, 2007 12:46 pm

I'm not clear on the status of the AMD dual core issue - since it has always worked perfectly well on my dual core machine regardless of the version, and it isn't mentioned in the patch changelog - but a less awkward fix than using task manager is placing a bat file containing:

Code: Select all

imagecfg -u darwinia.exe
imagecfg -a 0x1 darwinia.exe
pause


in the Darwinia directory and running it - it has exactly the same effect without requiring repetition.

EDIT: It seems that some don't have imagecfg in their system32 folder by default (as has been the case for me in the past). If you're in such a situation, download it from over here and place it in "C:\Windows\System32" before running the batch file.
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Postby Shwart!! » Wed Jul 18, 2007 10:40 pm

I've never had any problems with my dual core Intel. It works like a dream.

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Postby Atrac » Thu Oct 25, 2007 2:02 am

Grrr. I have the full game, but when I install the patch it turns it into the demo! :(
I really want to play this game. Doesn't anyone use this forum anymore?
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Postby martin » Thu Oct 25, 2007 11:22 am

Atrac wrote:Grrr. I have the full game, but when I install the patch it turns it into the demo! :(
I really want to play this game. Doesn't anyone use this forum anymore?


no one uses this forum any more - I'm just a figment of your imagination ;)

If you look 2 topics down I believe you'll find your answer:

http://forums.introversion.co.uk/darwin ... php?t=3947
GENERATION 22:The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation. Social experiment.
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Postby Atrac » Fri Oct 26, 2007 7:02 am

martin wrote:
Atrac wrote:Grrr. I have the full game, but when I install the patch it turns it into the demo! :(
I really want to play this game. Doesn't anyone use this forum anymore?


no one uses this forum any more - I'm just a figment of your imagination ;)

If you look 2 topics down I believe you'll find your answer:

http://forums.introversion.co.uk/darwin ... php?t=3947

Still won't work :[ posted my problem in there too. Everyone else says it works now, but why doesnt mine?

How can I completely delete this game from my harddrive and clear out my browser cache?

I loved the demo, seeing how I played it about 12 times now, but now I really want the full game.

Any help would be great.
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Postby martin » Fri Oct 26, 2007 11:24 am

Atrac wrote:
martin wrote:
Atrac wrote:Grrr. I have the full game, but when I install the patch it turns it into the demo! :(
I really want to play this game. Doesn't anyone use this forum anymore?


no one uses this forum any more - I'm just a figment of your imagination ;)

If you look 2 topics down I believe you'll find your answer:

http://forums.introversion.co.uk/darwin ... php?t=3947

Still won't work :[ posted my problem in there too. Everyone else says it works now, but why doesnt mine?

How can I completely delete this game from my harddrive and clear out my browser cache?

I loved the demo, seeing how I played it about 12 times now, but now I really want the full game.

Any help would be great.


lets continue this conversation in the other thread :)
GENERATION 22:The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation. Social experiment.
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Postby necrocytosis » Sat Mar 28, 2009 1:34 pm

AMD dual core issue:

If you are having the processor affinity issue mentioned above then I found an easy permanent fix for you:

get imagecfg from here: http://www.robpol86.com/files/imagecfg.exe

put it in your darwinia directory (along with darwinia.exe)

open a command prompt and change your working directory to your darwinia directory. Generally, it's like this:
cd c:\program files\darwinia

then, use imagecfg to alter the affinity mask of darwinia.exe:

imagecfg -a 0x1 darwinia.exe

this sets the affinity to the first processor (processor 0)

use 0x2 to set the affinity to the second processor (processor 1) if you wish.

This is a convenient way to permanently solve your affinity problem!

Enjoy!
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Postby NeatNit » Sat Mar 28, 2009 2:15 pm

Wow. 2 years 'bump'. I'm impressed.


Have no idea if this works, nor if it was ever mentioned before, but if it does and wasn't - good job ;)
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Postby xander » Sat Mar 28, 2009 5:19 pm

NeatNit wrote:Wow. 2 years 'bump'. I'm impressed.


Have no idea if this works, nor if it was ever mentioned before, but if it does and wasn't - good job ;)

It is a stickied thread. Why don't you take a hint and stop posting useless garbage, hrm?

xander

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