Grand Prix 4 intermittently crashing to desktop (CTD) resolved and getting GP4 running just right

19/Jan/2017:-

I can say without a doubt that this has resolved the issue.
No crash to desktop after more than 10 straight runs...woohoooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

Testing:-
I have run the game on two PC's in multiplayer mode.
Enabled the AI to control both cars by pressing the P key ingame. (this is if your using keyboard for controller, if your using wheel it will be space bar)
Then stepped away and let the race run on it's own.
Regarding the multiplayer, In gpxpatch select:- Use CPU 0 for the Host PC
and for the Join PC select:- Use CPU 1.
I observed that if you select Use CPU 0 for both PC's the gameplay will lag and game will be unplayable.

Resolution, 4 steps:-

Step 1:-

-Disable the antivirus to stop it running in the background, affects gameplay, causes lag.
-Right click on GP4.exe, then properties and on compatibility tab set it to winxpsp2, and select:- Run this program as Administrator
-Right click on gpxpatch.exe then properties and select:- Run this program as Administrator, don't select Run this program in compatibility mode for
-In gpxpatch as mentioned select Use CPU 0 from drop down.


Step 2:-

Adjusting windows to use the highest CPU clock rate for the game
reference this article:-
[smallbusiness.chron.com]

#Enable Maximum Performance Power Settings
Click Start, "Control Panel" and then "Power Options."
Click the "Show Additional Plans" drop-down arrow. Enable the "High Performance" option then click "Change Plan Settings."
Click the "Change Advanced Power Settings" link in the new window. The Power Options window appears.
Click the "+" symbol next to the "Processor Power Management" value, then "Minimum Processor State." Click the "Setting %" label, then change the value in the box field to "100."
Click "System Cooling Policy" then the "Setting" label. Change the value to "Active."
Click "Maximum Processor State" then "Setting." Change the value to "100."
Click the "Apply" button then "OK." Click the "back" arrow button in the Edit Plan Settings window. Close the Select a Power Plan window. Windows applies the changes to the power settings and utilizes 100 percent of the processor available power for the active application on the screen.

Step 3:-

Then To optimize gameplay, especially for multiplayer:-

This needs to be done just once:-
-Delete this file from your GP4 folder:- f1graphics.cfg
-Start the game using:- gpxpatch.exe, and in the 'Games' menu, click on exit, don't save on your way out
-You will notice a new f1graphics.cfg file created
-Open the f1graphics.cfg file in notepad and change the following values on the left for these options:-

1 ; f1graphics.cfg controls all settings (default 0)
1920 ; [RELEASE] Game 3D Horizontal Resolution
1080 ; [RELEASE] Game 3D Vertical Resolution
1920 ; [DEBUG] Game 3D Horizontal Resolution
1080 ; [DEBUG] Game 3D Vertical Resolution
0 ; Full dynamic video walls v2
0 ; TV style overlays on track cameras.
1 ; [DEBUG] Enable hardware T&L if available
1 ; [RELEASE] Enable hardware T&L if available
1 ; Low track geometry (1 on, 0 off)
1 ; Low res geometry track (1 low res, 0 normal)

-Start the game again:-gpxpatch.exe
-In the Games menu, goto Options---> Graphics
-click on Advanced
-Grab the 'frame rate' slider bar and adjust it 30fps
-Save the game when you exit i.e finished playing

note:-
Playing with the fps slider bar and starting the race, you will notice something when pressing the 'O' key
which is test of the processor utilisation, it will vary depending on what fps you choose.
keeping it less than 100% processor occupancy is where you want it to be.
on my FX6300 6 core cpu running at 3.5ghz at 30fps starting at the back of the race I get 45% processor occupancy
the race runs smooth.


Step 4:-

download this utility:-
[www.smartpcutilities.com]

It is free to download it has Gaming mode, explanation:-

Games Optimization
PC Services Optimizer comes with Gaming Mode that effectively boosts your computer gaming performance. Gaming Mode gives your system an immediate performance boost by temporary suspending unnecessary Windows features to free up computer resources and focus processing power on games you play.

This is pretty much it

Information about the above options found here:-
[gp4forever.com]

Example:-

-f1graphics.cfg controls all settings (default 0)
The f1graphics.cfg will take control of your graphics instead of the game graphics menu.

-Full dynamic video walls v2:-
Giant screen completely dynamic. This enabled to view real-time images on the video screens found along the track while the race is being held. This option is one of the most
demanding in regard to the hardware and if there is not a very powerful PC will have decelerations are each time it goes near a video screen. It is recommended to disable this
option.

-TV style overlays on track cameras:-
Style TV cameras at the edge of the track. Is the style "GP4 television." Very old and of poor quality. Definitely off.

-Low track geometry (1 on, 0 off):-
Lower track geometry. "Decreases" level geometry chart tracks. Inserting the value "1" will decrease the graphics quality of the track. Inserting the value "0" increase the
graphic quality of the track.

-Low res geometry track (1 low res, 0 normal):-
Geometry of the track in low or high resolution. If set to "0", the tracks are loaded into "low resolution". If set to "1" tracks are uploaded to the "high resolution" and
allow the formulation of the other graphics settings you have previously seteado.



Edited 27 time(s). Last edit at 01/18/2017 11:23PM by gp4wonder.

refer above post from me



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/2017 12:38PM by gp4wonder.

2 other ideas :
- In GPxpath main tab, set CPU mode to 0
- Are you sure there is no space char in any of the driver names ?

Thanks Lo2k , after along absence I have come back to GP4, I'll be updating my initial post here , check it out again
as I'm testing this month, on this particular comment you made:- - Are you sure there is no space char in any of the driver names ?

where do you check that?

currently I'm testing with USE CPU 0 set in gpxpatch with all the power reduction on CPU core disabled in the bios
the game is screaming along woohoo if it don't crash in next few days on continous testing i'll be real happy
watch for an update above, but this where I am at the moment..

Refer top post



Edited 7 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/2017 05:10AM by gp4wonder.

Just for information, what's your CPU and motherboard ?
I can see a lot of specific hardware tweaks in your list and I never had to deal with that (mostly all the changes from your step 1)

Hi Lo2k

The motherboards are both different, it is irrelevant what types they are, because those bios CPU options will be common in most boards these days.
Disabling them made the difference and is key in making this work properly, the other part was to use one processor selection and not:- 'ALL' for the Use CPU compatibility setting in gpxpatch

It pounced on me, as I read someone mention about 32bit program they had issue running smoothly.
They turned all those CPU options in the bios's motheboard, and it resolved the issue, how right they were.
Trust me on this, it used to annoy me when selecting 1 cpu in gpxpatch only to findout that it ran badly, it never occurred to me then
and I just accepted that it must be just how one processor works in a multi processor system.

I've modified my initial post again, tried to simplify the explanation.
If more people try this they won't believe what they are seeing, finally the game runs smoothly and stable...
no CTD.

I can't believe it myself.



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 01/12/2017 04:26AM by gp4wonder.

Initial post updated, refer top of page

15/1/2017 initial post updated

removed



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2017 12:11PM by gp4wonder.