Space Hulk problem

[Leatherface]

The first 2 missions in the Deathwing campaign are so easy ! Just go from a point A to a point B ! Maybe you will be attacked by an ambush, if so... try again. Just do these 2 missions (again) in 30 seconds to be sure that there's no save

See how it's easy (Longplay PC version) :

[ Show youtube player ]

[jotd]

how do you "close" the game ? quitkey? or reboot?

[Leatherface]

Close the emulator

[jotd]

awww but no. You have to quit the game using quit key (F10) so whdload saves the games when quitting. Very common problem discussed here a lot of times.

Or use option to save to disk immediately.

[Leatherface]

"Or use option to save to disk immediately"

How doing this?

Hope it's not like Space Crusade. Will never made with success a save game, with different quit game. If someone know how to save with Space Crusade, please tell me!

Will try tomorrow with "*" for Space Hulk

[jotd]

https://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=43845
http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=98375
http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=64818
...

as I said, reported many times. Saving works.

[Leatherface]

If I understand for Space Crusade. Go to format disk, format the disk then save a game. And after that, use the quit key. Am I right? Sorry to be a noob, but for example, with Space Hulk on real disks, the save is done immediately after a completed mission.

Will save mission 3 tomorrow and will send the file so happy to learn this about Whdload ! Can now play the full campaign in Space Crusade with friends!

[jotd]

yes, use the quit key or NOWRITECACHE setting.

Will be happy to check the bug. I hacked some stuff so the game runs in fastmem it's probably that.

[Leatherface]

Well... I'm playing the game, go to level 3, and exit the game with the quit key "*" and back to the workbench.
Then... I'm launching the game, and still mission 1. What am I doing wrong?
Have to try NOWRITECACHE now, last hope.

Argh! Add NOWRITECACHE, and still the same! I check the save file inside the data folder and it has been modified by the game (date of modification has changed) but... Still mission 1. So weird...

[Leatherface]

Well... i understand nothing.

Are we OK to say that file SQUADINF.nn3 is the save file ? If yes... Why after importing this file from my disk game (launching from disk=mission 3) inside the data folder of the whdload version (replace file), why still mission 1 (and not 3 !) when launching the Whdload version ? It's insane.

[Galahad/FLT]

Originally Posted by Leatherface

Well... i understand nothing.

Are we OK to say that file SQUADINF.nn3 is the save file ? If yes... Why after importing this file from my disk game (launching from disk=mission 3) inside the data folder of the whdload version (replace file), why still mission 1 (and not 3 !) when launching the Whdload version ? It's insane.

Try copying the entire WHDLoad install to RAM:

then CD to RAM:

Then run the install from RAM: and see if that works.

What you could also do is use the option FILELOG before PRELOAD, this will record all file READS and WRITES in a file in your C directory.

[Leatherface]

Hi Galahad,

Run the game from RAM:, exit with quit key, launch again :

No saves

Run the game with FILELOG, exit with quit key, launch again :

No saves

Desperate...

Check the file SQUADINF.nn3 and it has been modified by the game ! But still Mission 1...

Will try this week on a real AMIGA 1200.

For Space Crusade, i have a new created file on my hard drive inside the game folder : spcrus.sav ! But no saves when launching the game again, so weird !

Trying also under Retroarch and PUAE. And you know what ? In the folder SAVES, i have two files : SQUADINF.nn3 & spcrus.sav !!!

Then... it saves when exiting with quitkey, no problem ! But the files don’t seem to be taken into account when restarting the games.

[Galahad/FLT]

Originally Posted by Leatherface

Hi Galahad,

Run the game from RAM:, exit with quit key, launch again :

No saves

Run the game with FILELOG, exit with quit key, launch again :

No saves

Desperate...

Check the file SQUADINF.nn3 and it has been modified by the game ! But still Mission 1...

Will try this week on a real AMIGA 1200.

For Space Crusade, i have a new created file on my hard drive inside the game folder : spcrus.sav ! But no saves when launching the game again, so weird !

Trying also under Retroarch and PUAE. And you know what ? In the folder SAVES, i have two files : SQUADINF.nn3 & spcrus.sav !!!

Then... it saves when exiting with quitkey, no problem ! But the files don’t seem to be taken into account when restarting the games.

But what does the filelog say? If the SQUADINF.NN3 file has been modified, then WHDLoad should be picking up on that and it should say in the FILELOG what its done to that file.

[Leatherface]

Guys, can you test this file ?

It's a save after quitkey for the mission 3.

Can you tell me if with this file you're like me, still mission 1 ? Mission 1 name is Menacing Images.

Choose Deathwing, continue campaign.

Thanks.

[Leatherface]

Originally Posted by Galahad/FLT

But what does the filelog say? If the SQUADINF.NN3 file has been modified, then WHDLoad should be picking up on that and it should say in the FILELOG what its done to that file.

Galahad, the use of filelog is like this ?

https://i64.servimg.com/u/f64/12/68/25/54/00912.jpg

Then, back to workbench where will i see the file ?

[Leatherface]

Is this the filelog ?

https://i64.servimg.com/u/f64/12/68/25/54/01010.jpg

[Galahad/FLT]

File has definitely been modified, but for some reason even if you continue a campaign, it resets to Menacing Images instead of playing the next one.

[Galahad/FLT]

Originally Posted by Leatherface

Is this the filelog ?

https://i64.servimg.com/u/f64/12/68/25/54/01010.jpg

That is the filelog, but at the end there should be another reference to SQUADINF.NN3 and it should say it WRITE instead of READ.

Is this correct?

Because if it doesn't say this, it means somehow Space Hulk is writing to the file and its avoiding WHDLoad which is impossible.

Space Hulk uses Rob Northens DMA fileloader, it doesn't use AmigaDOS for loading files once the game starts, and his fileloader handles load and saves.

[Leatherface]

Well...

Try a new game, go to mission 3, exit with quitkey. Go to workbench, to C and open the WHD_log. Have this :

https://i64.servimg.com/u/f64/12/68/25/54/01011.jpg

Helps you ? No write !

Is it possible to fix ?

[Galahad/FLT]

Originally Posted by Leatherface

Well...

Try a new game, go to mission 3, exit with quitkey. Go to workbench, to C and open the WHD_log. Have this :

https://i64.servimg.com/u/f64/12/68/25/54/01011.jpg

Helps you ? No write !

Is it possible to fix ?

Right I think I know what the issue is.

Space Hulk is saving the game in memory, but its not actually then writing it to disk.

I have no idea when the appropriate time for it to write it to disk should be, but if Jeff is going to continue with this, I think he is going to have to force the game to do a save.

Unless he knows where to patch, my suggestion would be the first time SQUADINF.NN3 is loaded is to do a checksum on the 150bytes in the loaded file.

Then every time the game loads up a STORY_X.YN2 (X being the Deathwing campaign number), check if the checksum has changed (which it likely will at this point), and then resave the SQUADINF.NN3 file again, that way the progress will actually be saved, and next time you load up it should work.

I don't know how that file is being modified and saved yet the FILELOG shows no record of it being written back.

One other way to check, is run SNOOPDOS (the program) before you run the game in wHDLoad, when you exit with the quit key, any cached files WHDLOAd wants to save, SNOOPDOS will show you onscreen.