SS2 freezes when starting

jormungandr on 13/3/2011 at 19:38

I just installed system shock 2 on Windows 7 ult 64bit.

I started by installing system shock 2 from the cd (used -lgntforce to get around directx error). I then ran ss2tool version 3.5 with all options enabled.

When I attempt to run the game by double clicking the shock2.exe in the sshock2 folder. The screen blanks... then I see my windows again and can see that aero has been switched off... then the screen blanks again and then returns to the windows again. This repeats several times, not always the same number of times. It will finally stop blanking and leave me with a view of my windows, each partially rendered. No matter how long I leave it nothing else happens. I think CTRL-ALT-Delete and end-task shock2.exe. The screen blanks and returns two more times before dropping me back to windows with aero back on.

I've tried running as administrator and reinstalling... same problem every single time. Screen blanks a few times then everything just stops.

I've never played system shock 2 (or the original) before and wanted to try it out... but I'd like to avoid installing windows xp on a separate partition and windows 98/me is out of the question (my hardware wouldn't be supported).

Any ideas?

voodoo47 on 13/3/2011 at 20:20

generally,you should not install the game by using the installer (you just (http://www.systemshock.org/index.php/topic,106.0.html) copy the shock folder from the cd and let the ss2tool do it's magic),but as long as the installer actually successfully completes the installation,it shouldn't really matter.make 100% sure:

-that you are NOT installing the game to program files or some other protected location (C:\games\shock is the safest thing)
-that you are running the game as admin (rightclick on the exe and run as admin)
-that aero is disabled
-that you are NOT using any compatibility modes (like win9x/me etc)

next thing you should try is getting the movies out the equation (they tend to be quite problematic)-go to your data folder,and either remove or rename the cutscenes folder.

see what happens.and btw,posting more details about your system is always a good idea.

jormungandr on 13/3/2011 at 20:50

thank you... you nailed the problem... but ugh... I wish it was anything else.

The cut scenes are the problem. Everything else you mentioned I had already tried but... renamed the cut scenes folder to cutscenes.bak and next time I ran it I ended up at the main menu.

oh... and yes the installation completed fine...

This is the worst possible outcome for me. I play games primarily for the atmosphere and story... losing the cutscenes means playing system shock 2 is pointless for me.

What is odd is that the included LGVID.AX and the indeo 4 codec provided with windows 7 is enough to make the cut scenes play fine on my system (in zoom player). I'm gonna try converting them to another format (probably mpeg4) but seeing as they already play on my system I don't have high hopes.

Any other ideas on how I could get cutscenes working?

EDIT: oops... meant to include system info.

Hear you go... from Steam:

Code:

Processor Information:
Vendor: GenuineIntel
Speed: 2133 Mhz
2 logical processors
2 physical processors
HyperThreading: Unsupported
FCMOV: Supported
SSE2: Supported
SSE3: Supported
SSSE3: Supported
SSE4a: Unsupported
SSE41: Unsupported
SSE42: Unsupported

Network Information:
Network Speed:

Operating System Version:
Windows 7 (64 bit)
NTFS: Supported
Crypto Provider Codes: Supported 323 0x0 0x0 0x0

Video Card:
Driver: ATI Radeon HD 5800 Series

DirectX Driver Name: aticfx32.dll
Driver Version: 8.821.0.0
DirectX Driver Version: 8.17.10.1065
Driver Date: 26 Jan 2011
Desktop Color Depth: 32 bits per pixel
Monitor Refresh Rate: 60 Hz
DirectX Card: ATI Radeon HD 5800 Series
VendorID: 0x1002
DeviceID: 0x6899
Number of Monitors: 1
Number of Logical Video Cards: 1
No SLI or Crossfire Detected
Primary Display Resolution: 1280 x 720
Desktop Resolution: 1280 x 720
Primary Display Size: 17.80" x 10.00" (20.39" diag)
45.2cm x 25.4cm (51.8cm diag)
Primary Bus Type Not Detected
Primary VRAM: 1024 MB
Supported MSAA Modes: 2x 4x 8x

Sound card:
Audio device: Speakers (Razer Barracuda AC-1

Memory:
RAM: 2046 Mb

Miscellaneous:
UI Language: English
Microphone: Not set
Media Type: DVD
Total Hard Disk Space Available: 1137964 Mb
Largest Free Hard Disk Block: 419463 Mb
Steam Hard Disk Usage: 27830 Mb
OS Install Date: Dec 31 1969
Game Controller: Microsoft PC-joystick driver detected

Installed software:
µTorrent
7-Zip 4.65
AC3Filter 1.63b
Adobe AIR
Adobe Flash Player 10 Plugin
AMD Drag and Drop Transcoding
Ask Toolbar
Aspell English Dictionary-0.50-2
ATI AVIVO64 Codecs
ATI Catalyst Install Manager
ATI Stream SDK v2 Developer
avast! Free Antivirus
Bass Audio Decoder (remove only)
Brother MFL-Pro Suite MFC-6490CW
C-Media Card Reader Driver USB2.0
Catalyst Control Center - Branding
Catalyst Control Center Graphics Previews Common
CCC Help English
ccc-core-static
ccc-utility64
CD Audio Reader Filter (remove only)
CDBurnerXP
ClassicPro© v1.15
ConvertHelper 2.2
DCoder Image Source (remove only)
DirectVobSub (remove only)
Download Manager 2.3.10
DScaler 5 Mpeg Decoders
Electric Sheep 2.7b28
F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin
Fallout 3
ffdshow [rev 3124] [2009-11-03]
FFMPEG Core Files (remove only)
FileZilla Client 3.4.0-beta1
Foxit Reader
Gabest MPEG Splitter (remove only)
GNU Aspell 0.50-3
Haali Media Splitter
Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2: Episode One
Half-Life 2: Episode Two
Java Auto Updater
Java(TM) 6 Update 23
Java(TM) 6 Update 23 (64-bit)
Link Shell Extension
Logitech Gaming Software 7.00
MediaInfo 0.7.37
Microsoft Games for Windows - LIVE Redistributable
Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable - x64 9.0.30729.4148
Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable - x86 9.0.30729.4148
Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 x64 Redistributable - 10.0.30319
MONOGRAM AMR Splitter/Decoder (remove only)
Mozilla Firefox 4.0 (x86 en-US)
Notepad++
NVIDIA Drivers
NVIDIA ForceWare Network Access Manager
OpenAL
OpenOffice.org 3.3
OpenSource AVI Splitter (remove only)
OpenSource DTS/AC3/DD+ Source Filter (remove only)
OpenSource Flash Video Splitter (remove only)
Oracle VM VirtualBox 4.0.0
Pandora
Portal
Razer Barracuda AC-1 Gaming Audio Card
RealMedia (remove only)
SHOUTcast Source (remove only)
Smart Technology Programming Software 7.0.1.12
Steam
System Shock2
UltraVNC 1.0.8.2
Winamp
WinRAR 4.00 beta 3 (64-bit)
WMV9/VC-1 Video Playback
Zoom Player (remove only)

voodoo47 on 13/3/2011 at 21:48

the issue with videos can be solved by installing a codec pack,but the opinions on which one should be installed differ quite a bit.seems like k-lite or cccp are a good choice.

as for converting the videos,some people claim that it helps,but many dismiss this as very improbable.

note that only three video cutscenes are important-Cs1.avi+Cs2.avi (intro) and Cs3.avi (outtro).no (video) cutscenes are used during the game.so as long as you play Cs1.avi+Cs2.avi before starting a new game,and Cs3.avi once you finish it,you are not missing anything,story-wise.

jormungandr on 13/3/2011 at 22:46

thanx for the info.

Didn't realize there were no cutscenes during the game... that's very useful info. That way I can watch them without fear of spoilers. Thanx.

As far as codecs... it seems I have that covered already. The cutscenes play in all media players on my computer (which is just zoom player and windows media player). Besides... when I install Zoom Player (which is one of the first things I do when I install windows) it installs ffdshow and various splitters which have, historically, allowed me to play anything. And as I understand it Indeo 4 codec (which the cutscenes use) is included with Windows Vista/7 (but not XP). SS2Tool also installed and registered LGVID.AX.

Both CCCP and k-lite have given me tremendous headaches in the past. And since I already have several splitters and codecs installed I would almost certainly end up with a conflict (or twelve). I might try that next time I built a test machine to play around with something or other.

I tried a few things:

Cs1.avi Cs2.avi Cs3.avi and intro.avi all produce a minor error when playing them with a windows player ("This AVI file was not prepared for sequential reading") even though they still play fine.

I remuxed all 4 files into new AVI files using VirtualDubMod without changing the video or audio streams. This fixed the error message in zoom player but did not fix the problem in game (tested by trying to play the intro and credits movies from the menu).

Then tried transcoding the video stream in all files to MPEG4 and remuxing them into AVIs with ffmpeg and SUPER. Same result. Didn't think it would help but I was 15 minutes worth of effort so why not try?

So... yeah... tldr version: my system isn't the problem... the game is... or the game configuration... ether way I've got no more ideas.

Any way... thanx again for the help and info. Ima go watch cs1 and cs2 and try playing... powers that be willing i'll have no more problems.

voodoo47 on 14/3/2011 at 07:46

yeah,the good old codec hell.can't help you much there,I have almost no experience with 64bit version of win7 (the 32bit version seems to play the videos just fine with only cccp installed).

one little correction here-forgot about the training part,so technically,it should go like this: watch Cs1.avi,start a new game,make it through the training,watch Cs2.avi,play the game itself,watch Cs3.avi once you are done.