Problems with OFF

[kananesgi 0]

I just got my copy of OFF last night and been having a blast with it all day, but I've had a few problems. Mostly I just need to learn how to fly these darn planes. However, I keep having a very annoying technical problem that is driving me crazy. I just finished an hour and a half long dog fight, got myself three kills that should have been confirmed (my first 3 confirmed kills, got one unconfirmed claim already), and then crashed into a tree while trying to get the fourth. Was having an incredible flight, as I haven't done that nearly that good before, especially against 6 enemy planes. Well, after the crash, which should have been completely survivable as it was a slow speed crash that took a wing off and the fuse rather gently settled to the ground below.

 

Well, after the crash, the simulator exited to the desktop. It's done this several times, but this was the most aggrivating. It acts like a CTD, but the game hasn't actually crashed, just it's interface or something has crashed. OFFManager is still running in the background according to Task Manager, but I cannot access it. All I can do is tell it to end the process and loose the mission results.

 

Anyone have any ideas what could be causing this? I'm running Windows 7, which I don't think OFF officially supports, so that may be part (or all) of the problem. Are there any patches available to upgrade the DVD version of OFF? Sorry if these questions have been asked and answered before. I did a search but didn't turn up anything. Then again, I'm not finding anything with the search, so I don't think it's working right anyway.

 

The sim looks incredible, but it's going to be more aggrivating than enjoyable if I cannot get the CTD problem fixed.

[Von Paulus 8]

With windows 7 you've to change the compatibility mode in both files "offmanager.exe" and "cfs3.exe". These files are located in the main OFF folder. Once you've selected the file, left click on Properties, Compatibility, set it to Run as Administrator, for each file.

 

As for the patches, here is a guide written by uncleal one of our dearest community members, a sort of OFF Comunity PR.

 

Install Order:

 

1. If you have older CFS3 CDs, assume that they are version 3.0. If so, install CFS3, and patch it to 3.1 (obtain patch here: http://www.microsoft.../downloads.aspx). Then run the game briefly.

Note: Many newer CFS3 CDs (e.g., bargain version recently offered by Best Buy) are already 3.1. If you own one of these, you DO NOT have to install CFS3 first, but need to have the CDs

ready when you install BHAH.

2. Install BHaH from DVD. Insert CFS3 CDs when asked (if using CFS3 v3.1). Note: BHaH is only available on DVD, no downloads.

3. Download and install BHaH SuperPatch v1.32, followed by MiniPatch v1.32g (found here: http://www.overfland...wnloadsBH&H.htm)

4. Download and install HiTR (purchase info here: http://www.overfland....com/Addon1.htm) Note: available only by download.

5. Download and install HiTR MiniPatch v1.47 (available here: http://www.overfland...m/Downloads.htm)

 

After you install as per out lined, you should set up as per the FAQ http://www.overfland...on_and_settings

 

And of course the video card http://www.overfland...ds.com/Tips.htm

 

Answers to most Newbie questions are featured in

 

OFF Tips & Cheats STICKY in the Knowledge Base

 

This Simulation has rather steep learning curve

 

If you can't find an answer in one of the many Stickies

 

It's sure as heck going to be in the official FAQ

 

http://www.overfland...lds.com/FAQ.htm

 

Everything is written down Somewhere

 

If you have what you think is a screwy question, ask it

 

The only stupid question, is the one that's never asked

 

 

Just a word to the wise, even with all the bells and whistles. MAX setting on the Terrian Slider is 4, to prevent any possible future problems

 

© uncleal

Edited March 24, 2010 by Von Paulus

[tranquillo 10]

I just got my copy of OFF last night and been having a blast with it all day, but I've had a few problems. Mostly I just need to learn how to fly these darn planes. However, I keep having a very annoying technical problem that is driving me crazy. I just finished an hour and a half long dog fight, got myself three kills that should have been confirmed (my first 3 confirmed kills, got one unconfirmed claim already), and then crashed into a tree while trying to get the fourth. Was having an incredible flight, as I haven't done that nearly that good before, especially against 6 enemy planes. Well, after the crash, which should have been completely survivable as it was a slow speed crash that took a wing off and the fuse rather gently settled to the ground below.

 

Well, after the crash, the simulator exited to the desktop. It's done this several times, but this was the most aggrivating. It acts like a CTD, but the game hasn't actually crashed, just it's interface or something has crashed. OFFManager is still running in the background according to Task Manager, but I cannot access it. All I can do is tell it to end the process and loose the mission results.

 

Anyone have any ideas what could be causing this? I'm running Windows 7, which I don't think OFF officially supports, so that may be part (or all) of the problem. Are there any patches available to upgrade the DVD version of OFF? Sorry if these questions have been asked and answered before. I did a search but didn't turn up anything. Then again, I'm not finding anything with the search, so I don't think it's working right anyway.

 

The sim looks incredible, but it's going to be more aggrivating than enjoyable if I cannot get the CTD problem fixed.

 

I had a similar problem initially. Do what Von Paulus suggests - worked for me:good:

[kananesgi 0]

Thanks Von Paulus, that looks like it'll help for me. I'm downloading the patches now.

 

I do have a couple other questions while I'm here. I might be able to find the info elsewhere and I'll go looking in a moment. Just curious though.

 

First, how do I actually get a kill credit? I've now managed to shoot down multiple enemy aircraft and register each claim, but I never get credited with any kills. I'm thinking part of the problem is the lack of witnesses, which leads to my next question.

 

Do I have to set myself as the wing leader in order to actually have any support in the air? Every single mission I have tried to follow my other pilots and they just seem to fly around blindly and not follow the mission plan. If I use the warp function, then the flight comes with me, but if we encounter enemy planes, my other pilots simply ignore them and keep on flying. It's like there is no friendly AI. In one mission, I had some support from other friendlies, but not my own squadron. It was actually a dogfight that was already going on that I joined in as my squadron was flying over. We were even on a patrol mission and it was in the area that we were supposed to be patrolling but I was the only one to attack. My squadron (wingman included) don't seem to do anything at all. And, as I said, if I don't use the warp, my squadron seems to just fly blindly around the airbase.

 

As a result of this lack of any friendly support, all of my kills have been solo with no one but ground forces to witness. Even if I do have any friendly support, how am I supposed to know what their names and ranks are for the claim form?

[kananesgi 0]

Okay, I found a rather lengthy discussion about the kill claims, so ignore that part of the question. However, I've found nothing about my lack of AI support. Any ideas what's going on here?

[kananesgi 0]

With windows 7 you've to change the compatibility mode in both files "offmanager.exe" and "cfs3.exe". These files are located in the main OFF folder. Once you've selected the file, left click on Properties, Compatibility, set it to Run as Administrator, for each file.

 

 

Didn't help afterall. My very first mission after setting the files to run as admin and the game crashed again. I crashed my plane, almost certainly killed my pilot. As soon as the sim exited (to go to the debrief screen), it sent me back to the desktop. Ctrl-Alt-Del finds that the OFFManager is still running as a process, but I can't do anything with it.

 

I disabled User Account Control on this computer as soon as I got it, so I wasn't expecting this to actually do anything. I believe all "Run as Admin" does is tell Windows to bypass those annoying "do you want this program to access these files" dialogs that crash a lot of programs. Disabling UAC accomplishes the same thing as a blanket over the entire computer rather than on a program by program basis.

 

I'm gonna try setting those files to run in WinXP compatability mode to see if that seems to help.

 

[EDIT] Sorry about having 3 posts in a row here. I know some forums don't like that. I couldn't edit the old posts, so I had to make new ones.

Edited March 25, 2010 by kananesgi

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

Random CTD's may be the hardest glitch in OFF to track down, IMO. When I first bought OFF, I also had random CTD's--usually in the middle of a mission--but sometimes after going to the debrief screen, as in your case. Although the CTD's eventually went away, I could not trace it to anything specific I had done to my computer. My best guess is that my computer was overclocked a bit too much, along with the PCI settings in my BIOS. My video card may also be to blame, as it only has 256 MB of memory. You might also try backing off a little on your graphics settings.

 

In regard to the wingman AI, most players prefer to fly as "always lead" because the decision making of the AI squad leaders is questionable, to say the least. Fortunately, the AI are much better followers than leaders.

 

And don't worry about answering your own posts. We are all fairly informal around here and not stuffy about "thread etiquette," etc. Most of us are pretty nice, too, with the exception of UncleAl , and you've already met him!

[kananesgi 0]

I'll take a look at those ATI settings tomorrow. Forgot that this laptop had a lousey ATI card installed. It's possible that setting the two exe files to run in WinXP compatibility mode might have helped. I managed to fly four missions in a row without it crashing. Not much of a test, but it's better than I had the rest of today. Before I was unable to get two flights without a CTD.

 

Here's a real stupid question for ya, lol. Where do I find these "sliders" I keep seeing in graphics discussions? I looked in the workshops area and there are no sliders. I haven't yet figured out how to adjust things like scenery complexity or levels of detail, short of the aircraft texture resolution button in the workshop.

 

I guess I'll try a few missions as flight leader. I don't particularly like having to command everyone, but if that's what's needed to make it work better, I guess I'll do it.

[BirdDogICT 3]

I'll take a look at those ATI settings tomorrow. Forgot that this laptop had a lousey ATI card installed. It's possible that setting the two exe files to run in WinXP compatibility mode might have helped. I managed to fly four missions in a row without it crashing. Not much of a test, but it's better than I had the rest of today. Before I was unable to get two flights without a CTD.

 

Here's a real stupid question for ya, lol. Where do I find these "sliders" I keep seeing in graphics discussions? I looked in the workshops area and there are no sliders. I haven't yet figured out how to adjust things like scenery complexity or levels of detail, short of the aircraft texture resolution button in the workshop.

 

I guess I'll try a few missions as flight leader. I don't particularly like having to command everyone, but if that's what's needed to make it work better, I guess I'll do it.

There are no stupid questions here.

 

The sliders can be found in Workshops, Graphics Config. Herr Prop-Wasche is correct that random CTDs can be caused by overclocking or pushing your system components too hard. From my own experience, I experienced CTD when overclocking my memory...turned out that the memory was 2D stable, but not 3D stable. If you set sliders too high, especially terrain or scenery sliders, CTD can occur after playing for a while.

 

As noted above, graphics card tweaks are outlined in the graphics/installation FAQ. The CFS3config interface is a bit clunky: be sure to exit the configuration routine using File, Exit. If you exit by clicking the top right hand X, your settings won't be saved (due to Microsoft bug).

 

For older, less powerful ATI cards, the overrides and texture info tweaks can help performance, and you can also benefit greatly by using the latest Catalyst drivers. Your best bet is to start with default settings, set your display resolution to maximum, and then slowly adjust sliders, testing each time you make a change. It's tedious, but worth it.

 

If you get stumped ask more questions...someone here can help.

[kananesgi 0]

Okay, I don't think my problem was actually a CTD issue. Rather, it appears that OFFManager does not like task switching very much. If I Alt-Tab to another program, I cannot get back to the manager again. It's still running as a process, but there is no taskbar window to get back to it. This is exactly the same thing that was happening when it would crash (which it hasn't done since I set the programs to run in WinXP compatibility mode). I think what was happening was the computer was, for some unknown reason, not switching back to the manager after the simulator engine exited, and since there is no way to manually switch to the editor, I was screwed. All I can do is kill the process and start over.

 

This might could be solved if OFFManager was running in windowed mode, but I'm not finding an option for that. Is that possible?

 

Also, OT @BirdDogICT: Are your a Wichitan?

Edited March 25, 2010 by kananesgi

[BirdDogICT 3]

Okay, I don't think my problem was actually a CTD issue. Rather, it appears that OFFManager does not like task switching very much. If I Alt-Tab to another program, I cannot get back to the manager again. It's still running as a process, but there is no taskbar window to get back to it. This is exactly the same thing that was happening when it would crash (which it hasn't done since I set the programs to run in WinXP compatibility mode). I think what was happening was the computer was, for some unknown reason, not switching back to the manager after the simulator engine exited, and since there is no way to manually switch to the editor, I was screwed. All I can do is kill the process and start over.

 

This might could be solved if OFFManager was running in windowed mode, but I'm not finding an option for that. Is that possible?

 

Also, OT @BirdDogICT: Are your a Wichitan?

Used to be ICT, now live north of there in EWT.

 

You're right about the task switching...best to run TrackIR, Fraps, etc before starting BHaH.

[peterjh 0]

What's a CTD please?

 

I've just taken a wild guess. Is it CRASH TO DESKTOP???

[Barkhorn1x 9]

What's a CTD please?

 

I've just taken a wild guess. Is it CRASH TO DESKTOP???

 

Yes - that is it.

[kananesgi 0]

Yes - that is it.

 

 

Hmm, small world. I just bought a pickup truck from a dealer in Davie, FL, hehe.

 

 

 

@ peterjh: Yeah, a CTD is basically any crash where the program exits out to the desktop with no warnings or error messages.

[+Polovski 425]

OFF Manager hasn't crashed, and has no icon on the taskbar - it's not a bug or crashed. It is as designed. It sits as IDLE / inactive waiting for CFS3 to "return". However CFS3 may have crashed (texture overload whatever, especially with an lower spec laptop video card).

 

Lower your terrain and scenery sliders, you are likely killing the machine via Workshop graphics configs, see the FAQ near the top sections.

 

If you want to get OFF Manager back on screen simply open a window or other program from the taskbar and it should pop back. If it doesn't appear then maybe CFS3 hung. See Task manager, and see if CFS3 is still running. If so you may need to kill it.

[kananesgi 0]

OFF Manager hasn't crashed, and has no icon on the taskbar - it's not a bug or crashed. It is as designed. It sits as IDLE / inactive waiting for CFS3 to "return". However CFS3 may have crashed (texture overload whatever, especially with an lower spec laptop video card).

 

Lower your terrain and scenery sliders, you are likely killing the machine via Workshop graphics configs, see the FAQ near the top sections.

 

If you want to get OFF Manager back on screen simply open a window or other program from the taskbar and it should pop back. If it doesn't appear then maybe CFS3 hung. See Task manager, and see if CFS3 is still running. If so you may need to kill it.

 

 

I have found that since setting both programs to run in WinXP compat. mode, I have not had a single problem with this. CFS3 has crashed a couple times, but when it does, the manager has always come back up in the background. Even if I switch tasks, the manager remains visible in the background. Before setting compatibility mode, the manager would dissappear if I switched tasks and I could not get it to come back. Even if I opened other programs, the manager would not return. Maybe something to do with Win7 or maybe something in the crapware Toshiba installed on this laptop is conflicting with the manager. Like I said, XP compatibility seems to be working, though.

[+Polovski 425]

Yes XP mode or run as admin, or both, sometimes helps Vista and Win7, but as always it seems to vary from machine to machine.

Laptops aren't the greatest for games but glad it works for you anyway kananesgi - have fun and thanks for reporting back it may help someone else.