RRT2 crashes back to desktop after some time

[SCUD]

Hi all,

i've a problem with RRT2. The game starts and runs great, but after some time ingame (20-30 minutes) the game crashes back to desktop. I get an error from Windows XP "Rt2.exe musste beendet werden" (rt2.exe has to be shutdown...)

i didn't tried to run the game in compatiblitymode (or so).

Version: RRT2 Platinum V.1.56

System:

Core2Quad 4x2,66 GHz

2 GB DDR2 RAM

GeForce 8800Ultra 768 MB

Windows XP Home Edition SP2 all Updates

i think that my System can run this game...so why i get this error and the crash-to-desktop?

all drivers are the newest availible drivers.

i hope someone can help me

SCUD

(PS i'm from germany, so my english isn't so good at all. sorry for that ;-) )

[Hawk]

With this post and your other post in the RRT3 forum my guess is there something that needs tweaking in your system, although I can't say for sure what.

[SCUD]

i don't think so hawk.

games like Crysis or Call of duty 4 runs great on maximum graphics. only these two games, the old games, have problems. RRT2 runs great too, but crashes sometimes. i don't think thats a hardwareproblem, more a softwareproblem.

[Hawk]

I only said that because I have RRT2 Platinum and RRT3 with the C to C, and 1.06 patch and I'm not experiencing the problems you are.

I'm at a loss as to why you're having these problems.  ???

After reading your post in the RRT3 forum I guess you would know if you were having system problems, which makes it even more confusing.

Maybe you could ask some of the more knowledgeable folks over at my forum. Maybe someone there can help you.

[SCUD]

i've installed an Process analytics manager to see waht RRT3 does, when it's slow down...

my processor had to calculate much more as i thought.

theoreticly it must calculate 1.000.000.000 MFLOPS...thats somekind of CPU Power that some of the biggest supercomputers have...

but hawk, maybe you can help me even more as you think...

can you please list your system specs and the backgroundprocesses/programs that run at your machine?

how many trains you can run, before the game slows down...

i was forced to patch my rrt3.exe with an nocd crack, because the copyprotection didn't want to start the game "wrong disc inserted"...maybe a result of my virtual drives, which i need for working in serverapplications...

can this be the reason for my troubles?

i was also forced to nocd crack my rrt2.exe...same problems here...

[Hawk]

Here's my system specs.

Motherboared - Gigabyte GA-M57SLI-S4

Processor - AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ AM2

Video Cards - Nvidea GeForce 7600 GT KO 256 MB

Hard Drives (2) - WD 320 GB SATA II 7200 RPM, WD 160 GB SATA II 7200 RPM

Optical Drives (2) - Sony DVD+RW/-RW 18x Dual Layer, Sony DVD 16 X 40

Operating System - Windows XP Pro SP2

Case - Antec P-180 ATX

Power Supply - Sparkle 650-W ATX

Memory - (2) 1 GB DDR2 PC2-5300 667mhz

Case Fans (5) 120mm

USB Ports (8) 2-Front, 6-Back

Sound Card - Audigy SB Pro 24 bit

Speakers - Altec-Lansing 5:1 w/sub woofer

Floppy Drive - Sony 1.44 MB

I generally have AVG Anti-Virus, Zone Alarm Firewall, Cacheman, Win Patrol, Web Shots, and my Logitech mouse software running in the background whenever I run RRT 2 or 3. I usually don't have any slow downs until I get over 100 trains. Of course that also depends on the map, especially in RRT3.

You have a PM also.

[SCUD]

i'll try it out with your systemspecs...maybe the simulation bring some information which i can compare with my specs...i hope so

i often played the germany map...I've killed all events & set the growrate to 15% on each an the cityrate to 250% for more fun...i like games with no ends...

can you explain why it depends on the map? cause of the size?

[Hawk]

The size and the detail of a map can have an affect on the processor.

In RRT3 the events written for the scenario can also have an affect. The more events and the more often they're checked can drag a system down.

[SCUD]

i've killed all events with the editor of the maps i play...but my machine have to get that game run more faster

[steve39]

Scud, you are not alone with this problem.  

If we set aside the problem of play slowing on a full-size scenario and around 100 trains (that many is never necessary!), I too have always encountered random crashes in modest games, and on two PCs using Win98 and WinXP.  It's been commented on before.

Let me begin by saying that while setting up the Israel scenario, one of the events was complex but technically correct and in one outcome, it always crashed the game.  Several friends on this Forum had a look and we all went away puzzled.  My only solution was to find a different way of dealing with the event I wanted.  In short, software events in RT2 can trigger a crash.    

The other day I came back to RT2 and have been playing Wooden Limbs and Iron Muscles.  I hadn't played it before and it has surprised me by crashing once or twice in each session.

Crashing has been an intermittent problem with RT2 from way back (no other game does it on my PC either, and my spec is pretty high too).  I learned to live with it by accepting that anything man-made is likely to break down and began saving at each year's end.  With the disc in the drive it only takes a few seconds to get back, but alas rather longer to back-track!  It's still annoying, but it is a practical solution (of sorts).

One thing I've heard from professionals in computing is that even XP corrupts gradually over a period of time and, wishing to keep their PC in tip-top condition, presumably for "heavy" games, they reinstall XP every 6 months.  I don't suppose that is music to your ears either!  

All the best,

Steve 

[Hawk]

Now that you mention it Steve, I do a complete format of my hard drive and a reinstall of the OS about every 6 months or so.

I wonder if that has something to do with me not having the same problems.

Luckily I have a second hard drive that I store all the important stuff on so all I have to do is reinstall the software.

[SCUD]

problem seems to be fixed...the nocd patch make the trouble and crashes the game

now i play with CD...that's only make sometimes trouble starting the game...but when it runs, then it runs

thx to everyone...especialy to hawk  ;)

[thomasjordan]

I run a stock Dell XPS Gen 3 with XP Pro (it's about 3 years old).  I'm currently playing one of my Swiss scenarios with 283 trains and around 175 stations (some are just for fuel and water).  The game has never crashed on this machine.  Nor has it ever crashed on my wife's 7-year old Gateway running ME, or the older Gateway we had before that running 95.  I have never reformatted the hard disk and reinstalled all of my programs since the days of DOS.

This is an old game, and was written for 95 or maybe ME.  My bet is you have some background process running that is conflicting with RRT2.

Good luck.  I do have an older game that I'd love to play, but it won't even install on this XP machine, so I know how frustrating this can be.

[SCUD]

thx thomasjordan for this advice...

my quadcore has a special support for VMware and other virtual machine Software. in case of a game thats not running under XP (e.g. duke nukem 3d) i've installed in VMware windows 98...it works perfect for playing old games...working under win98 is really frustrating...new devices are unknown and no driver can be found or downloaded somewhere in the internet... the systemstability is very poor...for rrt2 gamers (e.g. reliability = very poor (that means you have a breakdown every minute with win98)) *lol*

the problem is allready fixed up...ok it's more a workaround, but it works...sometimes xD

if someone has a final solution for this problem...maybe a better noCD patch or fixed exe...I'll be very thankfull...otherwise i can live with the situation...10 to 15 attemps, then the game run's...

Anybody knows a good scenario for rrt2? i play map's of germany without events...some kind of endles game. now i would like to play a good scenario. are there some in the game? or some for download?

[Gwizz]

There are 460 on our map pages.

Most player made maps are better than the Poptop maps.

http://theterminal.dune2k.com/?p=rrt2-files-maps

[SCUD]

thx,

another question...can i add additional trains for rrt2? if yes, where can i get them?

if not...why? maybe i can design some on my own...does someone know anything about making trains for rrt2?

i would like to have the ICE and some other german trains...the german fast express ^^

[Hawk]

There's also a lot of maps for RRT2 at this link  http://hawkdawg.com/rrt/rrt2/mp_arch/rt2_map_index.htm

Some are duplicates of what's available here but some are not. 'Course there's also some available here that aren't at the above link too.  ;)

As for making new trains for RRT2, I don't believe anyone has figured out how to do that yet.

[SCUD]

thx hawk...for the maps

i've tried to open the rt2.pk2 file, where everything must be inside...but winrar can't open it. i think it's a database but i don't know which kind of...

today...i leave my flat...and everywhere snow...everything is white *shocked*

it's march...why are here snow???

what kind of weather is at you?

[Hawk]

A pk2 file is a game file and doesn't need to be opened unless you're going to be editing an engine, wagon, or building.

We're having typical early Spring whether here in Georgia. 50's and 60's with the occasional 40's and rain.

We rarely get any snow in Georgia. Even when we get snow it doesn't last long. Maybe a day, or two at the most.

[SCUD]

this is what i want to do...editing, especialy adding an engine

some way to open them ?

[Gwizz]

Here in Seattle we have record snows in the mountains.  But seldon get that much at sea level.

We have been getting lots of rain that makes for the extra snow up high.

If you have the RT2 demo, it is easier to work with and changed files can be put in the regular game file.  Alway back up as I locked up the game more than once changing things.  I locked up a game map so tight that Poptop had to fix it. I wish I had the source code to make it easier.

[Hawk]

As for unpacking RT2 game files, check out this site.

http://www.watto.org/extract/games.html

[SCUD]

this extractor can unpack the files of rrt2 gold, but not the files of the platinum edition.

in the rrt2 gold, there are many file in this archive. i think i understand the logic behind all this. But how can i get the modded files to the platinum edition?

[thomasjordan]

Here in Seattle we have record snows in the mountains.  But seldon get that much at sea level.

We have been getting lots of rain that makes for the extra snow up high.

If you have the RT2 demo, it is easier to work with and changed files can be put in the regular game file.  Alway back up as I locked up the game more than once changing things.  I locked up a game map so tight that Poptop had to fix it. I wish I had the source code to make it easier.

I worked at Fort Lewis from 1981 to 1989.  I still remember that February day (forget the year) when we had two feet of snow in Tacoma.  I was one of the few people who went to work that day.

[thomasjordan]

I also wish there was an editor that would let me add engines, or at least let me change the years of availability.  I play Second Century almost exclusively, and I know I can edit a scenario to make engines appear earlier, but I don't know a way to make them last longer than their programmed obselance within the game.  Nor can I add other engines not included in the game.

While RRT2 (and specially Second Century) has a good selection of engines, it doesn't have all of the engines that I like to play with in some of the other railroad simulations.  Nor does it let me edit the characteristics of the engines.