Kotor Problems

[Darth GSJ]

Hello I am new to this forum and was wondering if someone could help me with some technical issues on my PC Kotor game.

 

Basically I have two problems.

 

1. Constant freezing that seems to happen more frequently with higher graphics settings, yet still happens with some regularity on the lowest possible settings. This problem is so prevalent that I am forced to save every 5 minutes and typically have to restart the game several times during a gaming session. The freezes can occur at anytime but seem to occur more frequently during interaction with PC's cutscenes leveling characters up and at the resolution of battles... More specifically I know that whenever I kill a terrentatek the green cloud of gas it dissolves into will cause Kotor to crash. I have read that this could be an issue with kotor and the newer graphics drivers.

 

2. Current problem at the Star Forge level. After defeating Bastila on the Rakata Temple mount, and then repairing the hyperdrive and departing for the Star Forge itself, the game inexplicably goes black just after the cutscene of the departing Ebon Hawk. After going black I only have a cursor, the sound of footsteps when I click on my mouse the sound of the backround music and nothing else. Technically it doesn't freeze because the games still running, and I have to launch task manager to exit the locked up game. I have tried numerous options to fix this problem, including uninstalling and reinstalling Kotor. Could this be a mod conflict? I can't tell because removing the mods prevents the save games from loading.

 

Currently my system is running XP on SLI with a geforce 9800GT card, using SoundBlaster audio, and is quad core with about 3 gigs in ram. I am using Kotor update 1.03b and several different mods including Kotor weapons mod, freckled mission, a Revan items mod, Bastila unchained mod, ultimate sound mod, and dark Jedi mod. Maybe one or two others as well, however these mods have not been a problem so far.

 

If anyone can help me I would greatly appreciate it.

[DarthParametric]

Try turning off frame buffer effects. Open swkotor.ini in Notepad/Wordpad (you need to make sure it is not set to read only first - right click on it, select Properties and uncheck the read only box) and under the [Graphics Options] section change

 

Frame Buffer=1

 

to

 

Frame Buffer=0

 

Save the file and then try running the game. You probably also want to turn off AA and AF in the game settings. If you want those, force them via your driver's global settings.

[Darth GSJ]

Try turning off frame buffer effects. Open swkotor.ini in Notepad/Wordpad (you need to make sure it is not set to read only first - right click on it, select Properties and uncheck the read only box) and under the [Graphics Options] section change

 

Frame Buffer=1

 

to

 

Frame Buffer=0

 

Save the file and then try running the game. You probably also want to turn off AA and AF in the game settings. If you want those, force them via your driver's global settings.

 

 

Thanks for the suggestion but apparently my ini file already lists the Frame buffer as =0

 

I do have an update for my problem transitioning from the Unknown planet to the Star Forge assault. Evidently I am able to click on invisible icons on the black screen, as I can bring up character data and options by clicking on the top right. Furthermore I can choose return to the Ebon Hawk and it will return me to the beach on the Unknown planet, which really doesn't fix the problem as it just resets me back on to the planet surface and the whole problem occurs all over again.

 

What is extremely weird is when I alter my screen resolution during the "black screen", after resetting my resolution using the 'invisible' options icon, a very weird looking Ebon Hawk interrior with missing walls and a strange lay out appears. Not only that but I have Bastila (who is supposed to have fled to the Star Forge) Carth and the holographic immage of Vandarr standing around! What the heck? At least I have immages again, but then I can only choose to return to the Ebon Hawk and I'm back where I started.

 

Anyone have the feintest idea what the heck is going on?

[Darth GSJ]

I have an update for anyone else having a similar problem. Apparently the problem with crashing resides with the INI file. Best thing to do is take the advice of Darthparametric and edit the dang thing.

 

From what I've reserached this is most likely a problem that occurs with some of the newer video cards. It seems that Kotor likes to fight with these newer cards over many of the advanced graphics options. This of course causes conflicts and causes the game to lock up and crash at a frustrating rate, during specific character interactions,cut-sceenes leveling up, certain frame effects etc...

 

The best way to fix this is to turn off anti-aliasing and antisotropic filtering, frame buffer effects... etc, then use your drivers global settings turn em on and tweak Kotor's graphics through that.

 

The problem is, Kotor for some reason wasn't registering some of the changes I made to my graphic settings. For example I had all the aa and af stuff turned off only to see AF with a value of 1 in the INI file.

 

What you need to do is open your INI file go to graphics settings and change all the values listed as 1 to 0. You might also want to consider adding the following line at the bottom of your graphics options section of the INI file.

 

DISABLE VERTEX BUFFER EFFECTS =0

 

Not sure what this line does but a couple people with a similar problem swear by it.

 

After doing all these things, after a ton of researching, I can honestly say Kotor is finely running as it should without crashing and still using the full processing power of my SLI gaming rig. Well so far anyway....

 

As for my problem with Kotor going all freaky during the transition between the unknown planet and the Star Forge, I have all but deduced it to a Mod problem. Most likely a conflict between several mods or the result of removing a mod midway through the game.

 

Hope this helps anyone who may be as frustrated as I was.

[Geoff_318]

hi guys im suffering a similar issue on dantoonine it is exactly the same issue. i have tried the fixes you suggested but no luck. do you guys have any ideas

[sam87]

All you need to do is temporarily remove any .utc files involving Bastila or Carth from your override folder. Then, after you reach the Star Forge, put them back. I had the same exact problem and fixed it this way.

[Darth GSJ]

Well its been awhile since I first posted my KOTOR problems. Here's what's been going on since.

 

1. After tweaking with my graphics settings in KOTOR and in my Nvidia control panel I've greatly reduced and basically eliminated random crashes and freezes. However these can still occur occasionaly when I use some of my higher settings.

 

2. Nvidia blows for not better supporting this game and not making patches for the compatibility problems with their 9 series graphics cards. Something that Lucasarts and Bioware really can't control.

 

3. I have literally tried over 13 different ways of fixing the crashing/freezing issues. Some work better than others, but I have yet to find something that completely fixes the problem, that all depends on whether Nvidia will get off their rear-ends and devote some time to patching their drivers for this popular game.

 

4. Since aquiring my quad core, SLI, gaming rig with my Nvidia GeForce 9800 GT card, I have successfully played through KOTOR 0 times! I've tried three run throughs with the game only to get no further than 4/5's of the way through. This current run through I've only managed to get half way through before I reached a point where the game would consistantly freeze and I couldn't progress beyond Kashyyyk.

 

5. This current problem resides around cut scenes on Kashyyyk. My second time through I kept freezing when I ran into Darth Bandon in the Shadowlands. I thought I could avoid this by using an old save so I could face Bandon elsewhere, however the game still freezes shortly after running into Jolee.

 

6. This problem persists despite the numerous suggestions and fixes suggested, and despite extensive graphics and video tweaking. Could this be a mod problem? I am running various mods but I've been careful about the ones I'm running and haven't had any problems prior.

 

If anyone has any suggestions or new recommendations I would appreciate it and it would keep me from drop kicking my 1500 dollar rig out my front door.

[Q]

1) Actually, it's "Disable Vertex Buffer Objects=1", not "0" under "Graphics Options". Setting it to "0" will do nothing.

 

2) You're going to want to set "SLI Performance Mode" to "Single-GPU" for both KotOR and KotOR 2 in your nVidia control panel. I know that both games support SLI, but they run better on a single GPU, and since a lone 9800GT will eat either game for breakfast at any resolution, SLI is completely unnecessary.

 

3) You'll need to set CPU affinity to a single core every time you launch the game:

After starting the game, press Ctrl-Shift-Esc to bring up the task manager. Right-click "Knights of the Old Republic" under the applications list and select "Go to process." Right click on the highlighted process (probably something like kotor.exe) and select "Set Affinity..." In the dialog box that comes up, deselect all but one core. Then return to the game and see what happens ^/_\^

 

Just remember that you'll need to do this every time you start the game.

If you don't, sooner or later the game will crash.

 

 

Hope this helps.

[Darth GSJ]

1) Actually, it's "Disable Vertex Buffer Objects=1", not "0" under "Graphics Options". Setting it to "0" will do nothing.

 

2) You're going to want to set "SLI Performance Mode" to "Single-GPU" for both KotOR and KotOR 2 in your nVidia control panel. I know that both games support SLI, but they run better on a single GPU, and since a lone 9800GT will eat either game for breakfast at any resolution, SLI is completely unnecessary.

 

3) You'll need to set CPU affinity to a single core every time you launch the game:

 

If you don't, sooner or later the game will crash.

 

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

Thanks, I've already set the affinity and I did set the Vertex Buffer thingy to 1, I just mis-spoke in my earlier post.

 

Only thing is I can't seem to find the SLI Configuration tab anywhere. In the help section of my control panel it tells me it should be under 3D settings. However the only option under 3D settings is something about PhysicX.

 

Though I have SLI on my rig, I am currently only using one card. Will I still have to set it to Single GPU? And if I have to, where is the SLI configuration tab at? I'm starting to get a little concerned that my SLI may not be set up properly.

 

Thanks

[Q]

No. SLI options won't even show up on the control panel if you've only got one card installed.

[Darth GSJ]

No. SLI options won't even show up on the control panel if you've only got one card installed.

 

 

Okay thanks. What you posted makes sense, and I did as you suggested, but I am still unable to proceed past any cut scenes on Kashyyyk. I'm beginning to suspect this may be a mod problem, which kinda blows. I'm not sure of your level of expertise on such matters, but if I were to post some system specs along with the error crash code from KOTOR would you be willing to take a look?

[Q]

You never mentioned anything about mods. My bad for not reading through the whole thread, though. Had I done so, it woud have registered immediately.

 

About the Darth Bandon/Shadowlands problem: do you have WotOR installed? Check out the WotOR thread in the Taris Upper City Emporium and you'll find a good explanation for how to fix the problem.

 

And the crash en route to the Star Forge is an easy fix. Just remove any .utc files having to do with Bastila (pbastilaxxx.utc) from the override folder until after you've reached the Star Forge. Then you can replace them.

[Darth GSJ]

Thanks! WotOR does happen to be one of the mods I'm currently running. I'll go check out the thread.

 

BTW I'm having nightmares about Mr. Bean now. Cool avatar...

[Darth GSJ]

Just an update.

 

Found the thread about WotOR. Followed the recomendations. Fixed the problem, game no longer freezes in the Shadowlands.

 

HOWEVER...

 

After setting affinity and following every suggestion I've run across, the game still freezes and crashes at IRregular intervals. Sometimes the game will freeze after a few minutes, other times it will go steady for an hour or two before freezing. The problem seems to revolve mostly around gas, by that I mean when mist or gas is presented within the screen I can expect the game to have a fair chance of freezing. Such as when I kill a Terrentetek or throwing a gas grenade or when there is mist on the ground etc... This occurs even with effects turned off in KOTOR and forced through my video controller and affinity set during each session.

 

AND...

 

Lower graphic settings seem to help this problem, if I reach a point where the game regularly freezes, I can usually restart and get past the point by lowering graphic settings in KOTOR and/or changing the position of the screen away from the gas/mist. The problem is that I can't seem to force high graphic settings through my video controller, so I must use the KOTOR graphic settings.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Thanks again for your time.

[Q]

Yes, fog and smoke have been a perpetual problem with these games, and even today's cards, which are several times more powerful than those that were available when KotOR was released, have trouble with it. This is an inherent flaw with the engine and to my knowledge it can't really be helped, other than to avoid walking through the smoke as much as possible.

[Darth GSJ]

Yes, fog and smoke have been a perpetual problem with these games, and even today's cards, which are several times more powerful than those that were available when KotOR was released, have trouble with it. This is an inherent flaw with the engine and to my knowledge it can't really be helped, other than to avoid walking through the smoke as much as possible.

 

Gotcha, thanks.