What would Cause CTD on an Intercept mission?

[+daddyairplanes]

so this is happening..... using the new Italy 93-06 terrain in my R&D install. try to load F-16 for intercept. CTDs when i click accept. i try it with the F-15C. same result

same install, i try intercept in Germany. it works both aircraft.

try same terrain (literally, copy and paste folder) to a different install. both aircraft work in Italy.

soooooo, what exactly would be causing intercepts to crash the game?

note: this is not a big emergency thing. just a bit of curiousity.

[EricJ]

I fly the same terrain but I don't do Intercept, and so far it's working fine. Some bases might be glitchy and causing issues. One player reported a jacked up airbase on  the map, so that could  be the issue, or userlist, etc.

Edited September 24, 2022 by EricJ

[+allenjb42]

Try adding this to the ItalySE_93.ini (or edit to your taste)

[AllowedMissionTypes]
FriendlyMissionTypes=SWEEP,CAP,ESCORT,INTERCEPT,STRIKE,CAS,SEAD,RECON,ARMED_RECON,ANTI_SHIP,FAC
EnemyMissionTypes=SWEEP,CAP,ESCORT,INTERCEPT,STRIKE,CAS,SEAD,RECON,ARMED_RECON,ANTI_SHIP,CRUISE_MISSILE

[+Menrva]

Crashes to desktop happen with Intercept if the enemy side doesn't spawn with any aircraft either because it doesn't have a proper runway size to spawn on (heavy bombers require at least one LARGE_AIRBASE defined on the terrain), or it simply does not have any aircraft to spawn with. On SF2 Complete Edition I have no such issues with the Italy terrain I released, all runway types exist in it and I get stock MiGs to intercept. Modded nations.ini or userlist.ini files are the main causes of such unwanted behavior. Nothing's wrong with the terrain data. If the enemy nations have no aircraft to spawn with, it's no wonder you get a CTD. In that case, Allen's solution is correct, you'd have to add AllowedMissionTypes and remove Intercept from it.

@EricJ That airbase issue was fixed the day after. I'm not aware of additional heightmap bugs with airfields, but those would never cause a crash to desktop.

Edited September 24, 2022 by Menrva

[EricJ]

Okay cool

[+daddyairplanes]

2 hours ago, Menrva said:

 Modded nations.ini or userlist.ini files are the main causes of such unwanted behavior.

whats interesting about that is the install that is crashing is clean on those. in fact clean except the aircraft i am skinning at the given moment. more than clean actually, only three stock aircraft in there

the one i copied it to is heavily modded including teh nations. exact same folder pasted in. no crashing.

but the only enemy aircraft i have in are a Badger model and a MiG-17.  will set up an intercept in editor later making sure there is an target. as per my observation its straight CTD after hitting accept, hadnt forced the enemy issue yet

 

new notice: one other thing noticed is that the test install exe is Israel. the install that works is an Europe exe. full 5+2 installs all of them, just talking what pops up when you start the game

Edited September 25, 2022 by daddyairplanes

[+Menrva]

32 minutes ago, daddyairplanes said:

as per my observation its straight CTD after hitting accept, hadnt forced the enemy issue yet

You did. Once you click, the game generates the mission data and finds no aircraft for the enemy, that is an instant crash. Seriously, let's not reinvent the wheel, trust what I know about the game. The MiG-17 and Badger are not enough. The stock nations called by that terrain require stock MiG-21s. Without those, it's no surprise it crashes as I've explained above. Again, it's not a bug of the terrain but a consequence of your install being too clean than it should. Terrain add-ons rely heavily on stock game objects for various missions types.

Edited September 24, 2022 by Menrva

[+daddyairplanes]

Ok, so answering my question, it's a lack of 21s that causes the crash.

Not trying to reinvent the wheel. Just curious about some of the mechanics of its rolling.

Consider it literally this

[+daddyairplanes]

and Allen, tried your entry on a lark. no joy.

but again, teh exact same files work (incuding ItalySE.ini) in a different install, allowing editor to work, and allowing missions to go forward.

the problem child wont even let me run the mission editor. select intercept then click the pencil and ctd

added stock MiG-21bis and F-14A from another install. no joy.  accept crashes and "edit mission" (the pencil) crashes. its interesting

all other mission types work in the wonky install

Menrva, its not an attack on your terrain. you terrain works fine in the other install. its trying to find out what is different between the installs to cause this.

like i said just a bit ago, its trying to understand whats going on under the hood. the knowledge probably wont do me much in the end. but somebody else a month or a couple years from now might get started on a project that this is relevant to.

[+Gepard]

CTD with intercept missions means, that the enemy has no strike aircraft. You should check wheter the timeframe of plane availability and the date of your mission fit.

[Gunrunner]

Also, check the mission ranges. If there is a valid base, a valid plane, but the range of the plane can't put it in a mission interceptable at compatible range with the plane you chose, it will crash too.

Once had that on an install, launching from a carrier, and crashed, because in the era I played, the closest enemy base supporting compatible target aircraft was too far for my flight and the enemy flight to ever meet due to the max mission ranges.

[+daddyairplanes]

something to look into. it crashes immediately on choosing Accept or edit, so couldnt say anything about the ranges involved cause i dont know what its picking.

but pretty sure none of the parties had Tu-16s, and the MiG-21bis only shows Syrian camo in the basic ini

will try to look into it in the next couple days. closing my desktop down this week prepping for a move, so no more modding or checking for  a bit