Problems

Hello everybody, good to be onboard the forums.

I'm wondering if anyone in the community can help diagnose some issues I'm having with GP3 in Vista...

I had installed GP3 v1.0 some time ago and all went well, had no issues what so ever and the game was running in software mode with PO at a constant 20-30%. Then I decided to update it to v1.13. This process seemed to work and I could run the game without the CD. Then, naturally I took the GPxPatch installation file I already had for GP4 and installed GPxPatch 4.43 to my GP3 folder. GP3 would launch however none of the GPxPatch functions were there, it was just the stock game.

I continued fiddling with GPxPatch until I reached the decision to un-install GP3 and re install everything again and do it fresh. Now after installing GP3 the game wont run at all, I get a message saying GP3.exe stopped working. I have repeated this process a few times and the game wont run. It worked perfectly the first time I installed it so I'm not sure what happened. Any help would be appreciated.

Kind Regards
GP2tifoso

Probably administrative rights blocking the game or some process. Try to install the game somewhere else than Program Files. Maybe run CCleaner before, especially the registry tab, to have a clean install again.

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Bizarrely, I replaced my GP3.exe with the 1.13 no cd exe and the game booted. But Its doing strange things.. frequently crashing, forcing me to manually load the drivers names each time (the teams and drivers are blank), and once again gpxpatch boots the game but literally seems to do nothing.

Thanks Moinet, I'll follow your suggestions and post back here.

Tried reinstalling to a different location after a CClean, same problems. Looks like I may be out of luck here

Did you set the .exe on Compatibility Mode to XP and Run As... Administrator ? (Right click on the exe, Compatibility tab for both)
You didn't tell about it.

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EricMoinet Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Did you set the .exe on Compatibility Mode to XP
> and Run As... Administrator ? (Right click on the
> exe, Compatibility tab for both)
> You didn't tell about it.


Yes I tried these. I gave the exe full permissions and attempted to run it in compatibility mode for XP SP2 and Win98. No luck, the game wont boot. Something really strange has happened here, as the game ran fine on the first install on this system until I tried patching it.

I downloaded the patch and nocd from here [www.grandprixgames.org]

and I'm not sure if it has any significance but according to the last poster here [www.grandprixgames.org] once the patch is applied the game wont run without it. Makes no sense that it wont work on a clean install.

update

I have reinstalled the 1.13 patch and no cd exe and the game now runs nicely in software mode, as before. Hardware mode runs but causes the game to crash. Whats the difference between these 2 modes?

I think turkey_machine might have been on to something when he said "The generally accepted way is to install GP3 1.13, because it fixes loads of bugs, and the No-CD is needed for several utils, plus after you install the patch, you can't actually run the game without it. Go figure." in this thread [www.grandprixgames.org]

GPxPatch 4.43 seems to be a different story though. It launches the game but the only thing it seems to affect is the sound. No SAT functions or ATL or anything. Also, its causing a strange distortion of blues and greens, particularly noticed on the steering wheel, in the sky, and on the Benetton and Saubers. Game works nicely without GPxPatch. Anyone experienced these problems before?

Quote
GP2tifoso28
I have reinstalled the 1.13 patch and no cd exe and the game now runs nicely in software mode, as before. Hardware mode runs but causes the game to crash. Whats the difference between these 2 modes?

It's graphic card related : software mode uses internal GC (motherboard's one), hardware mode uses a plugged GC, if any.

Quote
GP2tifoso28
I think turkey_machine might have been on to something when he said "The generally accepted way is to install GP3 1.13, because it fixes loads of bugs, and the No-CD is needed for several utils, plus after you install the patch, you can't actually run the game without it.

There is a common misconception of it. The 1.13 patch is an official patch made by the editor of the game (Microprose) to fix some bugs. As Turkey said once you've patched the game with it, you run the game with it. The no-cd is a non official patch who does what it says it is : you can run the game without the CD. Same here, when you've patched the game with it you run the game with it.

As for GPxPatch it enhances the functionality of the game and is the best add-on for GP3. What you said about it is bit of strange, but maybe you didn't check the boxes on first tab (left part) to activate the functions, and also be sure the game is using one core (up-right part). It seems you also have an issue with your graphic card, hence the problems you have with some colours and the game crashing in HW mode.

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..maybe an Antivirus-app is blocking the game/gpxpatch now?
+switch-off all your videocard-3D-features in Nvidias/ATIs-systemtray!
+be carefull with gpxpatch-installation-path if you have more then one GP-versions installed



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/31/2016 02:20PM by pirx.

Hey Eric, I think that was the problem I had. Either way the stock game is running nicely now. The hardware mode thing isn't a big deal to me because as I understand it makes no difference to the graphics or anything... I never seem to get above 30% PO so performance is hardly an issue in software mode

The annoying thing is with GPxPatch. I have checked all the boxes and everything... It's strange.. It's definitely patching the sound but nothing else. I don't get the colour distortion when running the game without GPxPatch... Maybe I should get onto Rene Schmidt on his website and see if he's heard of this before. I never experienced issues with GPxPatch before but I've only ever used it in gp4.

Hi pirx, I've given GPxPatch full rights but I'll double check everything when I can get back to my pc again. I'll check out the settings in nvidia thanks for the suggestion.

Happy you've sorted your main issue.

As said pirx video settings can be your problem for colours. Switch off Anti Aliasing and things like that which are too recent for such an old game.

Maybe try to download and install the latest GPxPatch. Did you try to add and select a mod or track with it to check if it is working ?

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thanks Eric. At least now I can play the game.

I have deactivated anti-aliasing, but the same issue is still active.

I'm using the previous version of GPxPatch because my computer believes v4.44 is a virus and won't allow me to download it. I haven't modded anything on the game, I need to do some research because as you may tell from my user name I'm predominantly a GP2 player, I have never modded any of the other GP games before. I need to learn what utilities and tools are required, and unlike GP2 where all these things are in one easy to find place, they seem to be scattered all over the internet for GP3/4. I will definitely do some research regarding this.

There's a little trick I do with GP2 where I copy and paste my GP2 folder so that I can easily reverse any modding I do and go back to the original game at any time, do you know if this is possible in GP3 (and even GP4)?

most of the tools,tracks, season packs etc...can be found in the download area

Once you have installed gp3, you can copy paste your gp3 folder without a problem, no issues here
In fact, i made a clean gp3 folder with only the necessary files, without the trackjam folders, wich i use for my seasons/test environment.

Sorry mate, this is probably a really stupid question, but how do I navigate to it? I could swear I was on there at one point but can't seem to find that section anywhere now?

EDIT
I can get there from a google search. I feel like an idiot now because I must have spent at least 30 minutes clicking around this site trying to find it. Thanks... and that is good news on the copy/paste, I find it works a treat with GP2 as I can get adventurous without being paranoid



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/02/2016 07:08AM by GP2tifoso28.

use the 'jump to forum' button , below the header image, on the right side.
here's the quick link anyway [www.grandprixgames.org]

Hi everyone

Holemad, that jump to forum button is very inconspicuous, thanks for pointing it out!

I have posted the issue on Rene Schmidt's forum and if he's able to assist I will post the resolution over here just in case anyone runs into the same problem in the future.

regards
GP2tifoso

you're welcome

Just an update guys...

Colour issue solved itself by upgrading to GPxPatch 4.44...


Regarding the other issue of not having the gpxSAT, gpxLAP, ATL etc functions working...
I suspect because I'm running the game in software mode that GPxPatch is unable to utilise the graphical elements of the program. That would be the reason why only the sound appeared to have an effect. I think hardware mode was causing my laptop to CTD which was why I didn't use it.

Rene Schmidt has been kind enough to investigate the issue so I will post his knowledge back onto here for future reference.

Hi all, just an update for anyone out there experiencing similar issues.

Rene Schmidt was kind enough to advise me that the gpxsat functions only work when operating GP3 in hardware mode. That was the root of the issue as to why all the functions of gpxpatch didn't seem to work for me. Unfortunately in my case hardware mode causes my game to crash.

Kind Regards
GP2tifoso