Buffy: The Vampire Slayer [EA-018] [1.02]

[PatrickvL]

From @kanelakis on March 16, 2017 11:49

Hi, I want to play but Buffy gets an error message, how can I fix it?

Copied from original issue: Cxbx-Reloaded/Cxbx-Reloaded#241

[PatrickvL]

From @LukeUsher on March 16, 2017 11:53

The emulator is not developed enough to play this game yet. In a previous commit, a long time ago, it was possible to get the intro to play, but even this was unstable and didn't happen 100% of the time.

In the current state, most games do nothing, some show menus and a tiny handful get in-game, despite years of development, this emulator is still in the beginning stages.

This is a game I want to get working myself, but it is likely to be a long time away from now before it is playable.

[PatrickvL]

From @kanelakis on March 16, 2017 12:30

Ok, thanks for the reply. I hope with all my heart that this emulator functions soon. Keep working to make this possible.

[PatrickvL]

From @BenNottelling on March 16, 2017 16:22

@kanelakis You can help by testing the game with every new build and reporting on errors you get :D

[PatrickvL]

From @kanelakis on March 16, 2017 20:7

I do not play to test the emulator, I would serve the sources where obtain them and test them.

[PatrickvL]

From @BenNottelling on March 16, 2017 21:11

@kanelakis to obtain and test what?

[PatrickvL]

From @kanelakis on March 16, 2017 21:21

Sorry, I misunderstood the answer.

[PatrickvL]

From @BenNottelling on March 18, 2017 21:18

@kanelakis Ah, OK

[PatrickvL]

@kanelakis Please add more details to this report, like log files and screenshots (if anything is shown)

[PatrickvL]

From @kanelakis on March 31, 2017 14:20

Ok, I will send the error as soon as I can and image. Before the error, I appeared a triangle yellow the message telling me something about Dashboard.xbe, I can not remember well because I did not reappeared.

[PatrickvL]

From @kanelakis on March 31, 2017 15:21

http://www.imagebam.com/image/a48ab3541110252 This is a error.

[PatrickvL]

From @BiatuAutMiahn on March 31, 2017 15:25

@kanelakis, That's a pretty old version, a lot of changes have been made since then

[PatrickvL]

From @kanelakis on March 31, 2017 15:26

Please send me a new version of emulator.

[PatrickvL]

That looks like an old build, recently there have been some improvements, your could try the latest

[PatrickvL]

From @kanelakis on March 31, 2017 15:30

Even for the game Gladius? Please send me e new version of emulator.

[PatrickvL]

From @kanelakis on April 1, 2017 13:32

I downloaded your version Reloaded master, but it appears the same mistake. however, if the emulator and still in the works, expect a release that you can test with the game.

[PatrickvL]

From @ObiKKa on April 13, 2017 12:4

In Hardware Video the intro logo movie (Fox Studios) was flickering on a white screen, but can see it even less than in Battlestar Galactica (Also harder to see in non-Hardware Video mode). There's a KeBugCheck error message to get past with either Hardware Video mode on or off. Then (With Hardware Video mode turned off) you enter the main menu.

• One problem: After my first time entering a start game screen or getting into the game on later retries the emulator would remember the save file(s) for the game so I cannot 'Start' a new game. Instead I have to go to the Load game screen. Where are the files that need to be deleted in order to enable a fresh start on later boots?
• I also struggled really hard to force selection in the main menu to move down below the top-most 'Start Game' option as it'd just return back there quickly. So I had to hold down the down key for the left analog nub (D-Pad buttons do not even work in this game) and then press on the Load Game option to start a game. On the first boot or first few tries I could move up and down the main menu's options just fine. But no longer.
• Also if you linger around in the menus for a bit too long then a different error message cautioning too many active threads going on will appear and stop the game.
• Addendum: I also tested this game on the old POC 0.0.1 Release version and the screen was black for a short while and then an error message popped up. So this current state here is MUCH IMPROVED over last year!

The title screen and main menu have kinda garbled rendering. Ingame GFX corruption is very bad. But you can see the in-game menus fine. Another KeBugCheck error message also popped up during the loading screen with a movie leading to the in-game world - got past it too.

Had a huge problem trimming down the fat in the Kernel document from 45MB to 5MB because the intros and controlling the menu and then entering the game took so long! Xbe_(2017-04-13).txt KrnlDebug_(2017-04-13)_Trimmed.txt

[PatrickvL]

From @kanelakis on April 13, 2017 16:45

Which settings you used to do to start? I like the characteristics of the PC: OS: Windows 10 Pro 64 bit Intel Core i7 3770 3.40 GHz Ram: 16 gb Nvidia Geforce GTX 1060 6 gb

[PatrickvL]

From @ObiKKa on April 13, 2017 17:24

First two screenshots above are from Hardware Video mode. All the rest are with that mode turned off because you cannot continue in Video mode after that KeBugCheck error message pops up. The secondary screen just freezes in black only. My specs: OS: Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit CPU: Intel Core i5-2500k @3.3GHz (3.60GHz Turbo) RAM: 8 GB GPU: GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2 GB

[PatrickvL]

From @kanelakis on April 13, 2017 17:57

I only get the error message in the previous post. I should know which configurations to set up.

[PatrickvL]

From @blueshogun96 on April 13, 2017 19:17

I have Buffy but it never shows any of this for me. I'll grab the latest build and try again.

Shogun

[PatrickvL]

From @kanelakis on April 13, 2017 19:55

http://www.imagebam.com/image/7d635a543294484 I took the latest version, as you see it does the same thing. Whether it's hardwere or software.

[NathanJPlummer]

I've kept my X360 around for about 10 years longer than I would have if not for this game, so every few months I give it a shot. Thought I'd report my current findings:

Corrupted graphics identical to those shown above. I can now go in game, and move around, but again the graphic corruption makes it difficult to see what I'm doing.

Finally, I receive this message right before the first level loads.

I'm just reporting my findings- not looking for support or a response. However, if there's any further information that would be helpful, I'm happy to oblige.

[slayerbot90]

Was having issues but i just needed to delete the folder in AppData. The game is running much smoother in the last 2-3 weeks

Missing character and items mesh as well as some doors and gates, but the levels seem perfect. I was able to complete the first part of the level despite not being able to see the enemy's or my character haha. The sounds tend to cut out and loop but the cut scenes don't seem to have the issue. The game play lags but being on an older computer is probably not helping with that. Keep up the good work everyone XD

[slayerbot90]

Playing around today trying to get some debug info that might help, I don't know how to export the full information from the debugger so i will just put in errors.

Cxbx-Reloaded Cxbx-Reloaded/Cxbx-Reloaded@3ce9b5bc Release

The debug stated these files failed to open -default.ses x8 -850b510ca783\tempfile_deleteme.ses x2 -dialogue\gen_dialogue.rpe x2 -gameinfo\screne.tpr -Sound\dsstdfx.bin -simerror.txt

Debug Output

-onecoreuap\inetcore\urlmon\zones\zoneidentifier.cxx(359)\urlmon.dll!6DB46017: (caller: 6DB46F48) ReturnHr(1) tid(2c4c) 80070002 The system cannot fond the files specified.
-onecoreuap\shell\windows.storage\sharedstorageresources\util.cpp(6571)\windows.storage.dll!75ED0D0D: (caller: 75ED0BE40 ReturnHr(1) tid(2c4c) 80004002 No such interface supported
-onecore\com\combase\abjact\abjact.cxx(812)\combase.dll!77671B90: (caller: 7767093B) ReturnHr(1) tid(2c4c) 800401F0 Co Initialize has not been called

Once I load up a save file or start a new game Cxbx seems to create a new process and the debugger ends tracking, it also get stuck at that point if I select it to run on all cores. Hopefully there is some information in there to help out and if i am doing something wrong or could get more helpful information from play testing let me know how. KrnlDebug.txt

[NathanJPlummer]

As slayerbot90 said I'm happy to do any testing too if it will help.

I can confirm the info above, and will add the lag he mentions is likely not due to his older machine.

Now that the textures are mostly working, I'm getting the same lag on a i7-7700HQ with a GTX1060.

Regardless, I've been waiting a while for this one- I'm just thrilled to see anything running at all!

[kanelakis]

As soon as I can make new tests, I left a bit pending to wait for new versions of the emulator.

[slayerbot90]

Tested with Cxbx-Reloaded/Cxbx-Reloaded@b5db6492

• Using the LLE with nothing else the game won't load.
  • Using the LLE with run xbox threas on all cores the intros play with the usual issues but then it frezes before the press start screen or the start screen is bugged bugged and you can't get any further KrnlDebug.txt
• Using the HLE same as last test
• Using the HlE with run xbox threads on all cores all is good until you load or start a new game. You get stuck on the summoning screen but it never loads. KrnlDebug.txt

[kanelakis]

KrnlDebug.txt I send a video of my emulator test and debug file, I hope it's not a problem. The settings are basic settings without touching anything. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_HVFI-MqPE The game is Pal My System is: Os: Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit Ram: 16 gb Processor: Intel core i7 3770 3,40 ghz Videocard: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1060 6gb

[medievil1]

-dialogue\gen_dialogue.rpe x2 -Sound\dsstdfx.bin are on partition 5, however they MAY also be in the level pak file, which as I understand it, is loaded into a block of memory and read from the game like a ram disk. As far as I can see each level has a corresponding pak file that contains everything needed to run that level.. if you extract all the pack files into their folders you get lots and lots of repeated files cause textures, meshs, etc get reused -gameinfo\scene.tpr is in a pak, likely res_null.pak... I can extract it to see if need be... all scene.tpr is, is an a-z list of Item material properties.. like: crateA m(wood) vehicleB1 m(MetalSolid) it so the engine can identify what the item/wall/window, etc is made of so it can determine what kind of interaction is possible (wood can be busted for example - solid metal, not so much)

oh and yes Buffy no likey more than one cpu.. it also has(or had since wolfies fixes) a nasty habit of an instance crashing when it reloads while the other instance plays normally, causing the stop option to be gray because it thinks it is not running

lots of stuff not supported

[0x0F8C] WARN: D3D8: D3DDevice_SetRenderState_LineWidth not supported!
[0x0F8C] WARN: D3D8: D3DDevice_SetRenderState_Dxt1NoiseEnable unimplemented!
[0x0F8C] WARN: Locking host Surface failed!
[0x0F8C] WARN: RenderState_Simple(0x0004034C, 0x00000000) is unsupported!
[0x0F8C] WARN: RenderState_Simple(0x000409F8, 0x00000004) is unsupported!
[0x0F8C] WARN: RenderState_Simple(0x00040384, 0x00000000) is unsupported!
[0x0F8C] WARN: RenderState_Simple(0x00040388, 0x00000000) is unsupported!
[0x0F8C] WARN: RenderState_Simple(0x00040330, 0x00000000) is unsupported!
[0x0F8C] WARN: RenderState_Simple(0x00040334, 0x00000000) is unsupported!
[0x0F8C] WARN: RenderState_Simple(0x00040338, 0x00000000) is unsupported!
[0x0F8C] WARN: RenderState_Simple(0x00041D78, 0x00000001) is unsupported!
[0x0F8C] WARN: D3D8: D3DDevice_SetRenderState_PSTextureModes unimplemented!
[0x0F8C] WARN: D3D8: D3DDevice_SetRenderState_BackFillMode not supported!
[0x0F8C] WARN: D3D8: D3DDevice_SetRenderState_TwoSidedLighting not supported!
[0x0F8C] WARN: D3D8: D3DDevice_SetRenderState_FrontFace not supported!
[0x0F8C] WARN: D3D8: D3DDevice_SetRenderState_LogicOp not supported!
[0x0F8C] WARN: D3D8: D3DDevice_SetRenderState_EdgeAntiAlias unimplemented!
[0x0F8C] WARN: D3D8: D3DDevice_SetRenderState_MultiSampleRenderTargetMode not supported!
[0x0F8C] WARN: D3D8: D3DDevice_SetRenderState_OcclusionCullEnable not supported!
[0x0F8C] WARN: D3D8: D3DDevice_SetRenderState_StencilCullEnable not supported!
[0x0F8C] WARN: D3D8: D3DDevice_SetRenderState_RopZCmpAlwaysRead not supported!
[0x0F8C] WARN: D3D8: D3DDevice_SetRenderState_RopZRead not supported!
[0x0F8C] WARN: D3D8: D3DDevice_SetRenderState_DoNotCullUncompressed not supported!
[0x0F8C] WARN: D3D8: D3DDevice_SetTextureState_ColorKeyColor not supported!
[0x0F8C] WARN: EmuD3DDevice_SetScreenSpaceOffset ignored
[0x0F8C] WARN: D3D8: D3DDevice_SetFlickerFilter ignored!
[0x0F8C] WARN: D3D8: D3DDevice_SetSoftDisplayFilter ignored!
[0x0F8C] WARN: D3D8: D3D_BlockOnResource unimplemented!

[kanelakis]

This is the result with the version Jun 14 2018, the result of the video is the same as Jun 13 2018. KrnlDebug.txt

[kanelakis]

Test with version Jun 22 2018, the game run like the video, no graphics improvements. As you can see in the video, and in previous posts, the question of rescues that are not eliminated, and the fact of insufficient space, is to be improved. KrnlDebug.txt

[medievil1]

I've found it, for the last week or so of releases, runs much slower on 2d (menus, effects, etc, not 3d)..cpu usage, for this game, jumps to 80% or more

[medievil1]

[0x18AC] WARN: PMEM Out of physical memory! [0x18AC] WARN: PMEM Out of physical memory!

and freeze....this is just in, when giles is giving his speech after the spanish mission starts or sometimes you get almost to the mission and it will freeze, same message

edit just to clarify, cxbx mem usage at time of freeze when I checked was 300mb, free system ram was 13gb so I know it's not a windows system issue.. cpu usage is really high, 90%+ when it freezes. KrnlDebug.txt ok that debug file is just starting the game and letting it run on it's own.. ended in a crash, too many threads and looking at the file it is obvious why, it create new threads for the same two files over and over..it doesn't have the pmem entries since I never started the game

[kanelakis]

medievil1 What are your PC specifications? These are my specifications while the game is running, if you have a CPU with a few cores and normal that you get to 80/90%, because it has to process more information.

[medievil1]

i5 4670 (3.5ghz) 16mb ram, gtx 950... it runs about 50-60% UNTIL the freeze then it goes to 90%+ and I get the pmem errors in the log..lats time I pulled it up when the freeze happened, I had 13gm ram free and the gtx video memory was only using about 200mb (was listed as .2 and the card has 2 gb)

[kanelakis]

Your CPU and OC (Overclock)?

[medievil1]

no overclock, it is non k i5 4670

[kanelakis]

Check if it is not some virus, or try to test it, if it is, on another PC to verify the CPU. Some viruses are invisible and are installed in system files. With the emulator started, check the processes started, if and only the emulator to bring you to 80% on the CPU then it should be optimized for your CPU if no viruses are found. I'll show you the percentage of my CPU usage when it's working with the game. If they are other processes that interfere, and are viruses or otherwise, close them if they are not important.

[medievil1]

not a virus... went back to an April build and cpu usage was about 50% in game (less on black screen or videos) and no pmem error or crash... gonna go back and see if I can find which build caused the change

[kanelakis]

If with the previous versions did not give you the problem, for now stay with those, at most signal the problem, and in the new version will solve.

[kanelakis]

I tested the game with the version Jun 25 2018, at some point in the game crashes. KrnlDebug.txt

[medievil1]

yup from your krnldebug:

[0x0D3C] WARN: PMEM Out of physical memory!
[0x0D3C] WARN: PMEM Out of physical memory!
[0x18F8] MAIN: Terminating Process

same issue I was having... bet you look adn cpu usage is higher now too

[kanelakis]

Compared to the previous photo and 20% more, but does not reach 80/90% as happened to you, is about 50%.

[medievil1]

running process monitor, seeing a lot of these buffer overflows

1:29:42.0472010 AM Cxbx.exe 9872 RegQueryValue HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SystemCertificates\AuthRoot\Certificates\4EB6D578499B1CCF5F581EAD56BE3D9B6744A5E5\Blob BUFFER OVERFLOW Length: 12

[slayerbot90]

Been test playing to see where the break occurred. Cxbx-Reloaded/Cxbx-Reloaded@56f1c4f7668e08752b312b73239c01040728870c was the last version I was able to complete through to the first check point. feaea08ccd6c44197bdfffadd7553ad5a0ca5a2a was the version the freezing first started to to appear and has not yet been fixed in new versions

Strange that this build would break the game as it's labeled lle_overlay_finetuning as it its happening with the HLE. Hope that pinpointing where the regression has happened will aid in getting it fixed.

[medievil1]

Cxbx-Reloaded/Cxbx-Reloaded@56f1c4f7668e08752b312b73239c01040728870c is master not v01 # I have the 2 functions (code and all) for the kick function in buffy that you(Luke) said must be missing detection

?KickOff@CDevice@D3D@@QAEXXZ 00986120 f   d3d8:pusher.obj  (push ecx is start)
is
D3D:00596CC0 sub_596CC0      proc near               ; CODE XREF: sub_596DB0+A1↓p
D3D:00596CC0                                         ; sub_596F50+14C↓p ...
D3D:00596CC0
D3D:00596CC0 var_4           = dword ptr -4
D3D:00596CC0
D3D:00596CC0                 push    ecx
D3D:00596CC1                 mov     [esp+4+var_4], ecx
D3D:00596CC5                 mov     eax, [ecx+8]
D3D:00596CC8                 test    ah, 20h
D3D:00596CCB                 jnz     short loc_596D47
D3D:00596CCD                 test    al, 4
D3D:00596CCF                 jz      short loc_596CD9
D3D:00596CD1                 mov     ecx, [ecx+35Ch]
D3D:00596CD7                 jmp     short loc_596CDB

the other in the game

00005d90       ?KickOffAndWaitForIdle@D3D@@YGXXZ 00986590 f   d3d8:pusher.obj
IS
D3D:00597130 sub_597130      proc near               ; CODE XREF: sub_593A80+C3↑p
D3D:00597130                                         ; sub_5954B0+2A↑p ...
D3D:00597130                 mov     eax, ds:dword_5A29A0
D3D:00597135                 mov     ecx, [eax+30h]
D3D:00597138                 push    0
D3D:0059713A                 push    ecx
D3D:0059713B                 call    sub_596E60
D3D:00597140                 retn
D3D:00597140 sub_597130      endp

# and just an FYI the first one IS longer.. it has a few sections that jump over a few bytes and continues on till it finally gets it's retn ..I assume other functions must use parts of the code there are subroutine entry points lists too along the way - a small continuation of the first one from the jump)

D3D:00596CD7                 jmp     short loc_596CDB
D3D:00596CD9 ; ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
D3D:00596CD9
D3D:00596CD9 loc_596CD9:                             ; CODE XREF: sub_596CC0+F↑j
D3D:00596CD9                 mov     ecx, [ecx]
D3D:00596CDB
D3D:00596CDB loc_596CDB:                             ; CODE XREF: sub_596CC0+17↑j
D3D:00596CDB                 mov     eax, ds:dword_5A29A0
D3D:00596CE0                 mov     eax, [eax+227Ch]
D3D:00596CE6                 sfence

[kanelakis]

Tested with version Jul 1 2018, same as the previous post, the game crashes. KrnlDebug.txt

[medievil1]

Latest july 5th build v0.1, pmem error is gone.

[kanelakis]

I'm a bit confused, with which version should I test the game? I've always used the Development Builds version.

[medievil1]

I use v0.1 since in about 2 weeks it will BE development version when it goes live