1.3.1 BETA patch to address freeze and audio issues

[BaronDeKalb]

update : No Freezes since update.

Micro-Glitches only seem to last for the first 15-20 minutes after instalization,
most likely dynamic updates getting done.

I did have some major fps loss during a xenon invasion mission in Black
Hole Sun with psg toting baddies, but it was better than normal went to
5fps at one point then back up to 20+. The PSG effect is better defined
as now you can see it better and can at least take some evasive action,
it looks like it's been beffed up a bit to make it even more deadly in response though but it's a good balance. Also i had race response running
so i had a ton of destroyers jumping also, so i imagine if i set the af a bit
lower i can furthur improve performance.

Now if i could just find that Tractor (oh i found the clues) but the trail has
gone cold......(Someone PM me........)

[tarmorn]

I'm still having the minimizing to my desktop issue in full screen mode with looping sound after applying the 1.3.1 beta patch.

Is it possible that a screensaver in windows could do this ? One of my freeze was while I had the game paused ...

[CBJ]

Minimising to desktop is not the game; it is something else taking the focus. It could well be your screensaver.

[X-it]

Minimising to desktop is not the game; it is something else taking the focus. It could well be your screensaver.

Are you saying that X3 should actually support Alt-Tabbing in full-screen mode with this patch? Currently I have to press the 'reset'-button on my PC to get things right if I try to Alt-tab.

[CBJ]

No, I am not saying that. As far as I know the Alt-Tab problem has not be fixed. What I am saying is that the game will not minimise of its own accord, and that this is caused by some other application such as a screensaver.

[Wedge_]

I don't think that's what he meant, as far as I know it still dies horribly if you dare to Alt-Tab in fullscreen mode. Assuming you're running Win2K/XP, you should try hitting Ctrl-Alt-Del when you get stuck like that, then select "Log off", which should kill the X3 process along with everything else - it's not an ideal solution but it's better than a forced reset.

[X-it]

No, I am not saying that. As far as I know the Alt-Tab problem has not be fixed. What I am saying is that the game will not minimise of its own accord, and that this is caused by some other application such as a screensaver.

Ah I see, thank you. I had this happening to me as well. It was my virus scanner (Norton). I disabled auto-scan to correct this.

tarmorn, are you sure you don't have a virus scanner active?

[X-it]

I don't think that's what he meant, as far as I know it still dies horribly if you dare to Alt-Tab in fullscreen mode. Assuming you're running Win2K/XP, you should try hitting Ctrl-Alt-Del when you get stuck like that, then select "Log off", which should kill the X3 process along with everything else - it's not an ideal solution but it's better than a forced reset.

Thanks for the tip, but doing as you say doesn't work for me. Pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del brings up a menu, but since it's all black I can't do anything with it, so I have to reboot.

[KarlHemmings]

1 day and circa 30 mins into new game - no problems to date. Oh the high - er forgot the rest - factoy in Herrons Nebula has a roid in the docking lane so you can not auto dock.
A little more jerky, not too bad though - but and this is good - the AI are building factories all over the place. Had to change my pants when a TL came through the gate I was abot to pass.

[Misinformed]

Ive only been playing for about 10 mins in real time when i noticed a bit of an anomaly.

[ external image ]

Literally hundreds of mainly yaki M5's migrating from ocracokes storm. I moved into ocracokes storm and there was the normal number of yaki patrolling the sector. I followed the migrating flock of M5's as far as presidents end. At that time a military centuar jumped in and blew up my centuar as i was moving away from the gate. So i dont know their destination.

[MadBoris]

Ive only been playing for about 10 mins in real time when i noticed a bit of an anomaly.

Maybe the 'anamoly', as you put it, was that they were ammassing long before this patch.
But yeah on first run, small ships take off in many systems from many stations.

[Misinformed]

Ive only been playing for about 10 mins in real time when i noticed a bit of an anomaly.

Maybe the 'anamoly', as you put it, was that they were ammassing long before this patch.
But yeah on first run, small ships take off in many systems from many stations.

Thats not possible, for one because there are no stations from where they origionate.

Its highly unlikely to see that huge number of potentially enemy ships all moving in the same direction within miniutes of playing the 1.31 patch. This is the same patch which aimed at reducing the number of Xenon ships around, there not about to spawn a massive yaki fleet to make up for that.

And they seem to have a set destination or target to which they are moving to, if they existed earlier they woud not have been so close to Ocracokes storm (many were still entering paranid prime).

Edit: The distribution of the yaki ships at the end furthest from my ship, seems to point towards the yaki having spawned in Paranid Prime. If the yaki came through the gate they would be in a perfectly stiaght line moving towards my current position and the west gate. Instead they are more spread out at the end, suggesting they spawned as a blob of ships over a wider area.

[gober]

I had posted earlier that the game seemed better with minor stutters with MD and PSG's but after hours of game play I am still getting a freeze I believe are the UT's I restarted them after the patch but after 3-4 hours of play they are traveling without jumping even though they have energy and they do not empty cargo bay or if empty they do not fill bay then in a short while a freeze. Nothing seems to stop the freeze after restarting the game it will repaet after the same amount of game time everytime, restarting all UT's and no freeze. I have tried everything but only restart of UT's seems to clear this out. I have only 5 UT's and 1 ST .
I am not sure if UT's are fixed. It happen in 1.21 and 1.3 now in 1.31.
All other issues seem to be corrected however where is the tractor beam?

[CBJ]

Do you have any third party scripts running? If so then it is more likely that these are the cause of your continued freezes.

The tractor beam probably won't have been added to any Equipment Docks in this BETA patch so it may only be available through scripting.

[techno-mole]

ok, i downloaded the beta patch and installed it ok, and i have been playing the game for roughly 6 hours (no seta) and the only difference ive noticed is the massive slow down i got with firing the mass driver is gone, which is fantastic, oh how i love the md
but i havent noticed any change with the lag problem i had in sectors with loads of asteroids, theres no difference there, and the odd little problem i had when i had 2 ion disruptors installed in the front bay is still there, when i had the 2 ions installed and fired them together then i dont get any graphics, i get the sound though ? but i can live with using one at a time. on leaving a sector i now get a short warp tunnel scene, then the screen goes blank. i hope that the finished patch can sort my asteroid troubles out, i dont want to get rid of them, it adds to the game, just wish it didnt slow things down so much, but its good that the mass driver works now, along with the psg's.

[MadBoris]

Thats not possible, for one because there are no stations from where they origionate.

Not possible he says... Ok not to spoil anything I'll tag it, but I really don't know whether it is a bug or not but it's not new:

Spoiler

Show

In 1.3 I have 880 Yaki ships in Savage Spur. That is 880 and they are so densely massed they look like one shi[p basically. That's in 1.3, found them weeks ago. Just haven't had a force big enough to wake a sleeping giant I have left them alone until I own a large part of the universe. Maybe it's a bug but they have been there a very long time in my game. 880 of them.

[Misinformed]

880 yaki ships in one sector? If that isnt an omission i dont know what is.

And its new to me, did it occur to you that 1.31 changed something which triggers these ships to spawn?

It may be in your game because you have differing statistics than myself, but them spawing miniutes after the patch whilst ive been playing since 28th October its rather improbable that the patch didnt have anything to do with it.

[tarmorn]

X-it,

I do have Norton Anti-Virus but I disable Auto-Protect before playing X3 each time ...

I will try shutting down Norton AV completely (from the task manager , turning off my screensaver and see if it does it.

By the way, if anyone gets this problem of minimising on the desktop, try pressing CTRL-ALT-Space Bar-Del which will bring up the Task Manager and from there you can kill the X3 process, which avoids pressing your reset button.

[SnowGhost]

It didn't do anything for me. I still can't get past the mission 2 section where you fly through the city. It either CTDs as it starts, or, once, it ran through that segment, but with graphical corruption the whole way and the crashed anyway.

[yoshida]

FREEZE w/ extremely short sound loop continued....

Ok, my situ was the game was choppy in SETAx10 (time comes to hault then continues), observed very large number of yaki in Ore Belt (congregated together), and then freeze.

NEW: I sent 60 argon nova vanguards to Ore Belt sector immediately and wiped out the yaki infestation. I noticed soul star (ship used by Noah Gaffelt) in the center of where the cloud of yaki originated. His shields were gone but his hull was 100%. I tried him on the "c"om. The window came up but no graphics or sound and shut down promptly. I repeated this several times. No change. I figured that the story line has been modified or increased and went to Argon Prime to see if it could be initiated there. Soul Star was present in Argon Prime. I "c"om Soul Star and Noah thanked me for my help and said he would be in touch shortly. No one on board Argon One could initiate any mission. I was tired so I hit SETAx10. I watched for a minute and the stuttering seemed to have disappeared (or at least it lessened). I woke up this morning to a freeze. I then cut the power to the PC and went to play with my son.

Other Observations:

*Yaki appear friendly, even after changing pirates to "foe" in global properties. I had to initiate the battle by flying the ships into the center of the yaki cloud and issuing an ordering to strike one down. The yaki began to turn red until they had all been destroyed.

*Soul Star was simultaneously seen in sector Argon Prime while being observed in the galaxy/sector map in the Ore Belt. Perhaps Noah "Ubiquitous" Gaffelt is actually Lord of the Goners.