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Post by Basil on Mar 25, 2010 11:34:49 GMT -5
I got CoP when it first came out in France, from Amazon, and when I installed it it worked absolutely fine except for the occasional (and avoidable) lag. But since then, I uninstalled it to make room for some other stuff that I subsequently got rid of.
Feeling bored, I installed CoP once again...and surprise, surprise! Not a single NPC to be seen in Zaton! No mutants, no random stalkers, no important characters, all in all, absolute fuck all. I reinstalled the game five times and it always has the same problem, only sometimes the NPCs spawn too late. This doesn't only apply to NPCs as artefacts, weapons and loot won't spawn either in some cases.
I sought information on the interwebz, and this is the solution I came up with: install a no-CD or no-DVD crack. Thing is, what the hell is a crack? How does it work? Where can I find one (yes I Googled it and found nothing)?
Ironically, the total absence of NPCs considerably reduced lag...and I was able to run the game on very high settings, but that's useless when there's nothing to shoot at or talk to!
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Post by Carnageman on Mar 25, 2010 13:17:08 GMT -5
Basically, a no-CD or no-DVD crack is a program that can enable you to play a game without the need to insert the game's disc. It also tends to screw over DRM systems. I have no idea why it would help, but if it helps, you should find one here. I don't know much about programming, but perhaps you should remove the -noprefetch switch (if you've added it) from the game's shortcut's target line and see if that helps.
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Post by jeniskunk on Mar 25, 2010 17:42:19 GMT -5
You also need to make sure that the no-DVD precisely matches the version of CoP that you have. example: A no-DVD for 1.6.0.0 Russian will not work on 1.6.0.2 international English.
Jenifur Charne
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Post by Basil on Mar 29, 2010 15:59:24 GMT -5
Downloaded and installed the crack, and so far, it seems to be working. Nice to see the Skadovsk crowd actually be there instead of an empty old tanker!
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Post by Basil on Mar 31, 2010 11:56:40 GMT -5
Herp derp, the crack stopped working...
I should have known it wouldn't work, nothing ever works for me *wallows in self-pity*
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Post by Afterburner on Mar 31, 2010 12:53:32 GMT -5
Not working? What do you mean? CTD? BSOD? Random message? Post info pl0x.
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Post by jeniskunk on Mar 31, 2010 15:44:08 GMT -5
You did remember to set an exception for the crack in your anti virus app, didn't you? AV apps regularly ID cracks as carrying malware and as a consequence prevent the crack from working.
Jenifur Charne
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Post by Afterburner on Apr 1, 2010 1:58:25 GMT -5
You sure about that? Either it's a specific anti-virus or they're actually carrying malware.
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Post by Basil on Apr 1, 2010 8:15:59 GMT -5
No error messages, it just...stopped working. I noticed something wrong when I didn't earn the "One of the Lads" achievement after shooting the bandits and Dutiers up at the Ranger Station, then I got the nerve gas and documents from the old bridge and headed off to the bloodsucker lair to gas them. Nothing happened, the timer appeared and I heard a bloodsucker roar, but none appeared (two are supposed to attack you), and the timer counted all the way down to zero, and nothing happened.
I reloaded and went to the Skadovsk, and it was empty, the whole map was empty, as it was before I installed the crack. I have no idea how it could just stop working like that.
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Post by Carnageman on Apr 1, 2010 12:04:47 GMT -5
Well, look on the bright side: this is how the Zone was in its glory days. It must be what the first stalker in the Zone felt like.
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Post by natvac on Apr 1, 2010 18:04:06 GMT -5
By "working" you mean "fixes the delayed-spawn problem".
My theory is that the crack does nothing to "fix" the problem beyond changing the system processing load. As your system changes (OS updates, level change, more textures loaded => video RAM swapping, etc.), you run the risk of the problem reappearing -- or the benefit of it disappearing.
I think it is a race condition on the thread support when using multi-core processors.
Consider this: While going to the spawn bus stop, you are on your cell phone talking to the DRM guy (or any other background task, or operating system operation like swap-file processing). You get into an argument with him, or just spend too long dealing with the conversation.
Whoops. Missed the spawn bus.* Oh, well, there's another one in an hour.
Welcome to XRay legacy code. This bug was introduced in patch 1.0004 for STALKER-SoC when they deferred spawning to a separate thread for "better" use of multiple CPU cores. Before then, "you" had your own dedicated spawn "car". No deferred spawning.
I think it is a strange queue-processing bug in synchronizing tasks across processor cores, but changes in processing load can affect whether the bug appears.
Using a different rendering mode like static lighting -- does CoP still support that? -- or turning off a lot of background tasks or running another always-running application like Fraps -- anything that changes the load can either fix or introduce the problem.
Some have suggested using -nocpubinding or something like that, but that command-line option might not be supported in CoP. Others have tried processor control software or simply forced the game to use just one core.
I don't have CoP. I just wanted to challenge the perception that the third-party application "fixes" that delayed-spawn problem.
__________ *Or perhaps you were at the bus stop in time, but the bus driver didn't think that wildly-gesturing dude with the Bluetooth appendage really wanted to take his bus.
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Post by Afterburner on Apr 1, 2010 18:29:16 GMT -5
By default, Call of Pripyat has - Static lighting - Objects dynamic lighting - Full dynamic lighting - Enhanced dynamic lighting
So, to answer your question, yes, it does. NatVac, since you're definitely one of the gods of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. modding, mind explaining will enabling -noprefetch help much? What is the actual purpose of -noprefetch
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Post by Basil on Apr 2, 2010 15:24:56 GMT -5
I haven't understood a word you said, NatVac, and herp derp, Carnage, wandering around a Zone as empty as a village hit by the Black Death is kind of boring.
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Post by jeniskunk on Apr 2, 2010 16:31:58 GMT -5
I haven't understood a word you said, NatVac, and herp derp, Carnage, wandering around a Zone as empty as a village hit by the Black Death is kind of boring. I understood it easily. Problems with sequencing events for single core processor load balancing, and how things were changed for the worse in SoC patch 1.0004 to account for multi-core processors. Jenifur Charne
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Post by Basil on Apr 2, 2010 17:07:23 GMT -5
Didn't understand what you said either, Jen.
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