CoP keeps crashing at Lab X8

Dia on 6/7/2011 at 18:50

I did a search in this forum but didn't find any info on CoP crashes that relates to my current issue. The trouble started when I got down into the lab (X8), saved, then tried to reload. Now, after deleting what I perceived to be the defective saves, I can only enter the elevator (to go down to the lab), but the game crashes to desktop the minute I hit 'F' to activate the elevator (as the initial screen starts to show when the game tries to transfer me to Lab X8). The error messages I get are basically the same, but vary at the end with what I think is the save file number (???).

Example:

The following files will be included in this error report:
D:\DOCUME~1\ADMINI~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\f51e_appcompat.txt

or

The following files will be included in this error report:
D:\DOCUME~1\ADMINI~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\c998_appcompat.txt

I've considered loading from the point where I intend to head to the elevator, but instead of going to the elevator, head back to the laundromat, save, and then try to do the whole Lab X8 thing over again, but at this point I'm kind of scared that whatever's affecting my saves is just going to keep screwing up to the point where I won't be able to play, period.

If I have to reinstall CoP, can I keep my current saves, or am I going to have to start all over again from scratch?

Thanks for any advice/help.

EDIT: Finally found the error logs (located in a totally different place from everything else, of course) and they all pretty much say the same thing:

Error Reason:
----------------------------------------
xrEngine.exe caused BREAKPOINT in module "D:\Program Files (x86)\bitComposer Games\S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Call of Pripyat\bin\xrCore.dll" at 0023:014CE12E, xrDebug::backend()+174 byte(s)

User Message:
----------------------------------------
Expression : !m_error_code
Function : raii_guard::~raii_guard
File : D:\prog_repository\sources\trunk\xrServerEntities\script_storage.cpp
Line : 748
Description : ...call of pripyat\gamedata\scripts\bind_stalker.script:442: attempt to concatenate field '?' (a nil value)

System Error:
----------------------------------------
0x00000012 - There are no more files.

Dia on 8/7/2011 at 12:58

Update: (Not that anyone's especially interested) ;) Turned out to be an error in my savegame files. I uninstalled/reinstalled CoP and it worked fine until I pasted the affected files into the savedgames folder. Once I realized that my saves were corrupted I deleted them. Had to start all over, which kinda pissed me off since by the time I reached Lab X8 I had a personal best going on.

242 on 10/7/2011 at 11:30

Quote Posted by Dia

Have you patched the game? It's nearly obligatory for "problem-less" play.

Dia on 10/7/2011 at 12:02

I've already got the 1.6.0.2 version and haven't found any newer patches.

242 on 10/7/2011 at 12:29

Quote Posted by Dia

I've already got the 1.6.0.2 version and haven't found any newer patches.

1.6 should be ok, I played on 1.4

Dia on 11/7/2011 at 12:46

Yeah, so far (third time around) it's playing just fine. But since I had to start over it's gonna be awhile til I get to the Lab X8 part. The first time around it kept crashing at the part where I had to lead Strelok to the helicopter; I was in the middle of playing that part during a thunderstorm when suddenly the power went out. After that the game just kept crashing at that point, so I had to start over a second time.

Third time's a charm, right? ;)

242 on 11/7/2011 at 14:12

Bad luck then, I never had to start CoP over because of a bug, and I played it a lot.

Dia on 12/7/2011 at 13:43

Actually, I really didn't mind starting over the 2nd time since by then I knew what I needed to do to attain more achievements, where stashes were located, what factions I wanted to back, etc. I noticed that every time you reload to a previous save, the game changes: conditions upon a reload are never the same twice in a row. I'm liking that.

Curiously, the 3rd time around I'm also noticing that since attaining the Friend of Stalkers and Friend of Freedom achievements, whenever I'm in trouble and/or start shooting (especially at mutants), other Stalkers & Freedom guys come rushing to my aid, which didn't happen the first 2 times I played. At first I thought I was imagining it, but then going between Zaton & Jupiter, I put it to the test and sure enough! My fellow Stalkers/Freedom guys would come running over with their guns blazing.

I love this game.

I just wish I knew what they were saying to me when the shooting's over. :weird:

242 on 12/7/2011 at 15:22

Funny, all this time I thought you were playing the original game, only now I realize it's actually the latest game/addon.

I indeed had to restart it over too. In my case I encountered a bug that prevented to continue the game after lab in Pripyat because I already managed to enter the powerplant basement in the very beginning of the game and steal the weapon, even without appropriate quest, the door was somehow open. But I never finished it, too much time invested in the first unfinished playthrough and critical error made in the beginning showed in the very end made me angry :(

Dia on 13/7/2011 at 14:08

Afaik, the Call of Pripyat that I'm playing is the original game (3rd in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series, right?). I got impatient and decided to play CoP instead of Clear Skies, since from everything I've read, CS got rather negative reviews and was really buggy. I still may go back & try Clear Skies out, but I've become rather obsessed with CoP. Odd, really; I never was a fan of FPS games before I played Shadow of Chernobyl. Go figure.

I experienced a similar bug to your Pripyat Lab bug, but mine was in Jupiter the 2nd time playing thru (after my first crash in Pripyat). I wandered over to the Eastern Tunnel when I first arrived in Jupiter, killed the two burers, then when I spoke with the Trapper for the first time the game crashed. Had to reload from a previous save and do the mutant quests in order, i.e., get the quests first before I went hunting.

Tot: I've wondered if at any time during SoC or CoP whether you could actually see the Chernobyl plant - even at a distance? It's one of those bits of trivia that just had me wondering. It's hard to get my bearings in Pripyat (CoP, that is), so I keep scanning the distant landscapes but haven't seen anything resembling the Chernobyl plant as yet.