Atomic Systems

All of a sudden i am getting a crash/dump file error when starting up TS.I have done a verify cache(only 6 Missing files) so i guess i need to reinstall TS2015.My BIG question is,will i have to redownload my routes and all my DLC from the UKTS library that i installed with RWTools?Also,i have been building a route,i guess if i have a new install of TS 2015 i will lose it all/If so how do i go about "saving" all the work i have already done?I dont want to go and do a new install of TS2015 then find out its too late to retrieve all the work i have done on my Route.

I find the easiest thing to do is to create a new folder on your desktop (name it as you wish) and identify all the non-Steam items and routes you want to keep in your Railworks folder and manually copy and paste them all into the new folder on the desktop. **edit** You may find it easier if you set up the new folder on your desktop to mirror the Railworks folder structure by creating 2 folder within called 'Routes' and 'Assets'.**

Once you've reinstalled, copy them back into the Railworks folder again.

As I found a week ago. When you ask Steam to delete local content, it deletes the whole Railworks folder, not just Steam only content.

Another way is packaging up everything using the utilities program although you may find some items are protected and it won't allow you to package them.

Installing a fresh version.Fingers crossed!

May be worth a look at for future events like this..... Theres a two click reinstall program on RWAmerica which people are testing with some success.. Seems to compare your copy (all the third party etc etc) to your blank unaldulterated steam copy - file away all the differences - so if you ever need to reinstall its a simple matter of running it to put all your non steam extras back in place.

Simple is no good if the file causing the error blithely gets copied back into the new install.
What changes/additions to the game had been made immediately prior to the issue arising?

Ightenhill
If you are referring to Doc "Machinist" Lisboa's app on RWA http://railworksamerica.com/forum/viewt ... f=6&t=5383 (I collaborated with Doc and wrote the manual) you are actually carrying out 2 installs of any added 3rd party DLC, etc, - One to TS2015 and one to a created "#REINSTALL" folder.

If you then need to reinstall TS2015 or verify the integrity of the game cache you then run Doc's app via a .bat file which in essence copies and merges the contents of the #reinstall folder (mainly Assets and Content) into your newly installed or verified TS2015 installation. The only comparison of files and folders is by the Windows OS.

Doc and I had many discussions about how up to date you needed to keep the #REINSTALL folder especially if things change drastically in TS. It does need constant revision and I know that my #Reinstall folder from TS 2012/3 would probably not work in TS2015. So for every variant of TS you may need a modified/new version of the #reinstall folder quite a daunting process.

As Gary says, you need to make sure that any backup folder is pristine and not corrupted.

pH

I probably sound like a salesman for this company BUT I'm NOT, just a happy user.
Foldermatch will get you out of a hole http://www.foldermatch.com/

My way of getting over this re-instal hassle is to keep two versions of RW on my pc
My working (everything included version) and a Virgin (DTG / Steam purchases ONLY) version

To do this the FIRST thing you need to do is rename your working version directory
Program Files/Steam1/ or wherever you have it.
Then do a clean install of all you Steam/Valve purchases, once that is done (you could always run it now to make sure it's ok)
Rename that to program files/Steam2/ or wherever you have it.
and rename the original Steam1 back to how it was.
Run Foldermatch and see a comparison between the two installs (you can set Foldermatch to ONLY show you the differences)
Then copy across ONLY any missing files from the virgin version to the full version
Simples.

gptech wrote:Simple is no good if the file causing the error blithely gets copied back into the new install.
What changes/additions to the game had been made immediately prior to the issue arising?

No changes were made by me at all,so i surmise it must have been something from steam.I havent made any changes to TS since i bought the Weardale Route on the day it came out.

bigmull wrote:

gptech wrote:Simple is no good if the file causing the error blithely gets copied back into the new install.
What changes/additions to the game had been made immediately prior to the issue arising?

No changes were made by me at all,so i surmise it must have been something from steam.I havent made any changes to TS since i bought the Weardale Route on the day it came out.

Hi,
I had a similar prob when Steam did an update without my knowledge and messed up my TS install.
I have all my installs backed up so it was just a matter of deleting TS and copying in my back up.
All working fine now.
I WISH STEAM WOULD GIVE THE USER THE OPTION WHETHER YOU WISH TO UPDATE OR NOT INSTEAD OF AUTOMATIC UPDATES.
If anyone suggests just keep offline, what about obtaining new DLC ?

Regards,
Pete.

Bradforth wrote:I WISH STEAM WOULD GIVE THE USER THE OPTION WHETHER YOU WISH TO UPDATE OR NOT INSTEAD OF AUTOMATIC UPDATES.

I wouldn't have complete confidence in it, but there is an option to only update the game when it's launched, rather than as and when updates are available.

Bradforth wrote:If anyone suggests just keep offline, what about obtaining new DLC ?

Two copies of Steam deals with that---if you have the disc space of course---let one update, keep one off-line until you're absolutely sure nothing untoward has happened.

bigmull wrote:No changes were made by me at all,so i surmise it must have been something from steam.

No changes were knowingly made by you, but it's a little premature to 'blame' Steam for any ills. A Microsoft update could just as easily altered a file that now doesn't 'play nicely' with Steam; an update to your AV could now see game/Steam files as suspect and remove/quarantine/block them; a crash when playing the game could corrupt files; it's very easy to delete/move files using Windows Explorer, no matter how careful you think you've been (been there, done that etc...)

bigmull wrote:I dont want to go and do a new install of TS2015 then find out its too late to retrieve all the work i have done on my Route.

If you've made no changes to anything since the acquisition of Weardale does that mean you've done no further work on the route since then?

Did everything work properly immediately after Weardale was installed?

gptech wrote: If you've made no changes to anything since the acquisition of Weardale does that mean you've done no further work on the route since then?

Did everything work properly immediately after Weardale was installed?

No further work on the route since installing Weardale.TS2015 was working fine after Weardale was installed,i have been playing scenarios on that Route without problems untill the "Big Crash",no Workshop items added,no other Updates from 3rd Party Companies or content added.No Microsoft updates either.

bigmull wrote:No further work on the route since installing Weardale.TS2015 was working fine after..........

OK, I'll take your word for it (eventually) that there have been no changes to the contents of the game so that only leaves the core software having been changed in some way---programs don't just 'go wrong', there's always a reason---granted we don't always suss out what that reason is and label it as a random event to try and give it an explanation. The upside to this is that your assets and contents folders should contain 'good' files, which if push comes to shove and a fresh, completely separate, install is required those folders will become a nice backup copy of your 'goodies'

Weardale was released in June, did the update to 52.2a come after that, and have you that update successfully installed?
Do you have Steam in the default location of C:\Program Files (or it's (x86) denoted sibling) ?

Neither Steam nor DTG are in the habit of pushing out 'stealth' updates, so it's very unlikely that you've had an update of any description that hasn't been announced or documented, which then suggests that you have a failed or partial update---it's possible that any fault in the core files is so small that it escapes detection by the verifying routine so you're always left with the 'dodgy' file(s)
An update to the Steam client is also extremely unlikely to change how games behave, which again points to a core problem.

Have you tried loading Steam but not launching the game through the client, instead simply double-clicking on Railworks.exe?

bigmull wrote:Installing a fresh version.Fingers crossed!

Just out of interest, did you complete the fresh install?

Andy

Eventually i got a Clean install.I then copied over the assets folder i saved,then the Routes one.Started up TS and ..................same result Dump file issue.So reinstalled a clean core version.Thats running,so i am going to add my 3rd party Routes one by one,checking that TS works.Then i will do the same for my SSS stuff and the other assets from the UKTS library.Its going to be a long process but at present i have a running TS.

That's a shame.

Thinking about it, the dump does sound like a corrupted Route Properties.xml or a corrupted scenario properties.xml. TS2015 seems to check these on start up and kick you out if it finds one that's defective. I just never thought of it before when you were asking about a clean install.

The main reason I found for route and scenario corruption is the products and providers list. If you go to unselect a product/provider in the editor, it seems if you don't untick the visibility box first it causes confusion to the game and it saves incorrectly. You'd probably find blank spaces in the properties.xml where a product and provider's name should be.