Military AI Works

Ok,

So I posted this issue a few months ago when the AMC packages came out, but it seems to be growing. The issue first started with KDOV (Dover AFB). Anytime I spawned at the base, or flew anywhere near it, my FS9 would just quit to the desktop without warning or error messages. Somehow, the issue stopped with KDOV and migrated to KSWF (Stewart ANGB). Same issue, I could not fly anywhere near NY city or KSWF without FS9 exiting to the desktop. I lived with this, because it seemed isolated and with the amount of add-ons and work I've done customizing FS9 a re-install is an incredibly daunting task. So I just stayed away from NY city and the area.

Now however, the issue is migrating to (at least) the other airfields in the AMC package to include Charleston (which was working fine until last week) and back to Dover. I find it strange because I haven't done any customizations/add-ons since this issue first arose months ago, (hence my absence from the forums lol) but now it's growing. I suspect some kind of scenery files is corrupted and corrupting others around it, but I don't know how to track down and/or repair the damaged file.

If anyone has any ideas I'd greatly appreciate it, as like I said a complete re-install would literally be weeks long to get back to my current "customized" state and I just don't have the personal time to do it

SOS!!!!

Whilst this is obviously unconfirmed the pattern appears to be scheme related rather than location related.
I would check for a 32bit texture in your aircraft folders.

Now I know that this may be a big task so I would use a tool like ACA2005 to check out movements to and from a location at the particular time that you are getting crashes to see if you can narrow it down. This is not going to be exact though, as the aircraft causing the crash could be up to 100nm away and not landing there but its a start.
Of course you could just check your C17s to start with if you feel that

If you find it/them then use DXTBmp to convert to DXT3 and that will fix the issue.

Check to see which aircraft effects are used in the AMC package. Then make sure you have those effects AND any associated texture files that they may require.

The reason I thought it was scenery related was because it happens seemingly ANY time I fly in or near any one of those airports. I haven't edited anything that comes from MAIW which is why I thought it was weird since I'm the only one with this issue. That being said the only connection I can think of is that I was the one who did the groundwork for those AFCADs included in the package....could that have something to do with it????

If you are using the same afcads that are in the package then i would say no. What Mike says stands which is either its a texture or effects thing. The texture could either be a missing/corrupt texture from scenery or an effect, an 32 bit AI texture, or a non-ai compatible effect.

We have all heard peoples issues here with the CTDs on load up with missing textures. My person example of effects issues was that when I was testing our Lakenheath package it was crashing due to my test version of the Jaguar burner taking off from Coltishall. Took a lot of tracking down that one. I also experienced problems in the US with AI ships that I installed for Freeflow Florida.

My hypothesis is based on it moving around. So either its an aircraft 32 bit texture issue or its an effect issue, but you could have multiple scenery issues and I hope that its not the case. As no scenery was supplied with the AMC East packages. It can't be scenery introduced by those packs.
Thinking logically I would move all AI aircraft folders to a different location and start up the sim. Do you get the crash if so then its a scenery/scenery effect thing. If not then its an aircraft/aircraft effect thing.
Then you could start moving your AI aircraft folders back piecemeal until it crashes, you choose the methodology that suits you how you break it up, and then retry. Probably a good idea is to move the first 50% back, alphabetically. If it crashes its in that half and you reduce that percentage to 25% and retry. If it doesn't crash then move another 25% and retry. You get the idea.

Sounds good thanks firebird. Ill report back

Joe,
As luck would have it I just made an upgrade to a JASDF bgl I had and tried it out and wouldn't you know it FS9 blew out at 94% loading the traffic.
So I actually followed the advice that I so freely gave above, moved all the traffic files into a separate folder anf loaded fs9. All OK. So it was a traffic file. I decided to put back the Japanese mil files first and no problem. Then the AIG civvie stuff still no problem.

Eventually got to the Government stuff and found a problem with my Japanese Coast Guard bgl. Checked all the paints and all were DXT3. Confused, so tried it again. Still crashed the same.
I checked the bgl in AIFP but it found no errors. I re-compiled anyway and tried again. It loaded fine. Put back all of my bgls and it was still ok.

So in short, when you narrow down the problem bgl and the paint schemes are all DXT3 then check the bgl in AIFP. If it passes OK then re-compile from the source again anyway. It may just work.

Ok, I checked all the C-5 and C-17 textures and they're all .BMP so those are ok. Only thing I can do now is what Firebird said and move all AI out and slowly reintroduce them to the folder. I'll report back when that's done, now all I need is the time to do it lol.

Thanks guys, stay tuned....

Ok, you guys were right it seems (not suprising lol). I removed ALL my AI folders and started FS, was able to fly at Chalreston and Stewart just fine. I'm now in the process of slowly re-introducing my AI aircraft and so far so good. I'll report back when I've narrowed it down.

Thanks guys!!

Its a laborius process but at least you are starting from solid ground, i.e. it works. Sometimes that can be the trickiest part.

Ok, I've narrowed it down to one of the following folders (so far, still a lot more to re-introduce)

WoA_HTAI_C-130E
WoA_HTAI_C-130H
WoA_HTAI_C-130H-30

This crash occured at stewart so I'm wondering if it's a C-130 from the Marine Reserves there.........

Ok, so far my hypothesis from above is correct. Both of these crash my sim at Newburgh (KSWF) and/or Charleston (KCHS) at least.

WoA_HTAI_C-130H-30
WoA_HTAI_C-130H

So how exactly do I fix this/find the real underlying issue? I haven't made any modifications to MAIW aircraft so I don't know what started this issue. As I said before, the issue started after installing the C-5 East package.

Thoughts??

So have you added all your other traffic bgls back and the sim works fine, or have you stopped when you got the error?
It would just be nice to prove that the rest works before you carry on with this.

Would I be correct in thinking that you combine all your Herk schemes into single type folders? Nothing wrong with that just gaining facts.

I presume that you get the problem with both bgls so I would work on one at a time. Take one and the simple thing I would do is look in the first folder and see the texture(s) there. The main texture should be either 1mb or 1.33 mb. This would be the size for a dxt3 1024x1024 texture , the second size if you have mipmaps enabled on the texture.

The obvious problem could be, if you are lucky, that a texture is 4mb in size. That will be a 32bit texture, then use dxtbmp and alter it to dxt3. Now if you are lucky and all the schemes contain the same textures then after checking the first one you can hover your mouse over the folder that holds the bmps and that will tell you the combined size of the texture(s) inside. Once you know that you can hove over each other one to spot any differences. Any folder over 4mb is a warning sign.

Once you have done both aircraft folders you will have found the culprit(s) and altered them. If not, then I think we are into recompiling flightplans like I had to do.

So this is confirmed down to texture issue? I just remember the WOAI Installer screwing around with the aircraft.cfg file for that package and one has to manually go in and fix it.

I would say that it is the most likely, but like I said my personal recent experience, in which I followed the same strategy there were no texture errors and a flightplan re-compile fixed the issue.
If you wanted to try that option first, as potentially, the least painful. That's fine. It really depends if you have the original text files or not. It depends how many bgls are connected with those two folders.
I would say that if you are going that way then get AIFP installed, if you haven't, it does a very good validation and point out errors. I should point out that my problem bgl validated fine, but there must have been something screwey with it. AIFP will create txt files from the bgl, if you don't have them, and I would say that there are less issues with doing this with AIFP than with ttools.

It makes you glad that you don't compile everything into one giant bgl doesn't it?

Ok, everything is back and functioning with the exception of those 2 C-130 folders, so it would seem they're the culprit(s).

Would I be correct in thinking that you combine all your Herk schemes into single type folders? Nothing wrong with that just gaining facts.

I don't edit/move anything when I install packages so I have a few Herc folders but these are the only ones giving me an issue



The weird part is that I've had these a/c for a long time, used to even fly with them in a user a/c of similar markings. I don't know what changed all of a sudden that they cause errors, like I said I haven't touched/altered them at all. I'm going to do what Firebird said and dive intol the texture folders, I'll report back. Thanks so much guys!!

Jumpshot, if there is a problem with a texture as said by Steve, you can easily found it using the search function. Select the directory of your aircraft, right button, select search and type the name of the texture. (i.e. c130h.bmp). Then you can see if there is one bigger then normal. In my C-130 H HTAI directory all of there are 1.025 Kb or 1.366Kb.

When I merged all my Hercs in one directory per model, I remember I've found something wrong in one of the Hercs coming from the Exotic Albert packages. May be the Indonesian, or someone coming from South America... can't remember.

Hope this help, Giorgio