Dead Men's Respite Crash, 2014

[manlyMAN0890]

Something in or around Dead Men's Respite causes my game to crash when I approach with a radius of the location. I have already traveled to Dead Men's Respite and discovered the location. I have never entered the dungeon. I had never activated "Tending the Flames".

 

"Listen to my story. This...may be my last chance."

--an annoying "main" character from a different game

 

I've been googling and searching these forums for solutions, and all I can turn up are threads with "I have the same problem" chains, no one offers any solutions.

 

I have a Steam installation. Auto-updates have been enabled. I have verified the Steam cache. It keeps telling me that one file failed to validate and will be reacquired, but as far as I can tell it has yet to reacquire said file, which may be entirely unrelated.

 

I've completed the main quest, and have largely paid no attention to quests that just get stacked on me via leveling and as a result of mandatory/forced NPC interactions. If talking to the Orc recruiting Dawnguard members counts as starting the Dawnguard quest, well I guess there's that to think about. I have started to whittle away at these side quests before launching into a DLC campaign, and set my sights on the miscellaneous quest "Word of Power" in Dead Men's Respite.

 

Having already discovered the location, I wanted to fast travel to speed up my quest-tackling. After exiting the loading screen, my game crashed before it even showed me where I was. Not to be defeated, I decided I would travel there on foot. Thankfully I was loading from Rorikstead. I got as far as the bandit camp on the other side of the river north, and before long the game crashed again, with Dead Men's Respite over the hills and out of sight.

 

I tried again from Morthal, thinking perhaps the problem was much closer than I presumed. The game crashed again, and I found that there was a radius beyond which my game would crash if I attempted to cross. This was the point at which I started looking online for solutions, and discovered that people who had been following "Tending the Flames" had this problem after-the-fact. Thinking I might stand a chance to take the quest and complete it and the "Word of Power" miscellany and never look back, I went to Solitude and joined the Bards' college to do just that. My plan was doomed from the start, and I crashed when I fast traveled to Dead Men's Respite.

 

Since then, I haven't been able to find the spirit to keep playing, knowing that part of the game was basically forbidden land and would pose a problem should I ever happen to cross it in my travels. The fact that it exists and that I have to avoid it in order to keep the game running is disheartening.

 

This is an SOS. This is my last option before tearing the whole thing down and building it all back up from scratch, fresh install, fresh mods, new game and everything, which I am loathe to do. If that happens to be the case, I probably won't return to Skyrim for quite a while, there are other awesome games out there.

 

Sorry if I sound dramatic, I tend to get that way when I'm angry or frustrated with something I can't find a solution for.

 

This is my load order, listed for you. Read this, in remembrance of me.

IE In case you haven't scrolled yet, this is VERY long. My game is mod-heavy.

 

Skyrim.esm

Update.esm

USKP.esp

Dawnguard.esm

Unofficial Dawnguard Patch.esp

Hearthfires.esm

Unoficial Hearthfire Patch.esp

Dragonborn.esm

Unoficial Dragonborn Patch.esp

SPERG.esm

TKChildren.esm

Fantasy Soundtrack Project.esp

HiResTexturePack01.esp

HiResTexturePack02.esp

HiResTexturePack03.esp

Brawl Bugs CE.esp

Marked For Death Voice Fix.esp

Unofficial High Resolution Patch.esp

AOS.esp

04CombatMusicStop.esp

FantasySoundtrackProjectCombatMusic.esp

TouringCarriages.esp

Cutting Room Floor.esp

AK-Boethiah Alternate.esp

Prometheus_BeastSkeletons.esp

Chesko_WearableLantern.esp

GuessDistance.esp

HARODATH_ImmersiveSoulgems.esp

hdplants+herbs.esp

HigherLevelEnemies.esp

HoldBorderBanners.esp

leavemealonebryjolf.esp

MenuShoutsInDragonsAndEnglishLanguage.esp

skyBirds - Airborn Perching Birds.esp

Skyrim Immersive Creatures.esp

Skyrim Immersive Creatuers - DLC2.esp

Traps Make Noise.esp

Traps Are Dangerous.esp

Destructible_bottles.esp

Character Creation Overhaul.esp

RaceMenu.esp

RaceMenuPlugin.esp

SkyUI.esp

Headtrack Crosshair.esp

College_of_Winterhold_Shop_Fixes.esp

FA Hide Armor.esp

Hothtrooper44_Armor_Ecksstra.esp

hothtrooper44_ArmorCompilation.esp

Immersive Weapons.esp

LeftHandRings.esp

LeftHandRings - Dawnguard.esp

lightdaedric.esp

Lore Weapon Expansion.esp

NobleFemaleClothes.esp

OMageReplacerPack.esp

Dr_Bandolier.esp

Erso 09 - RUS-Npcs overhaul USKP compatible.esp

Erso 09.1 - Essential Children.esp

Erso 30 - Better Enemy AI Dawnguard&Dragonborn.esp

ERSO 30.1 - Better Expert Level.esp

AdalMater.esp

ArmorDisguises.esp

boethia_fix.esp

DragonmournInn.esp

HouseOfHorrorsAlternateEnding.esp

Hroldan VillageV1_2.esp

Run For Your Lives.esp

When Vampires Attack.esp

TheDomain.esp

TheFrontier.esp

ArmorCap90.esp

BarbasLessAnnoying.esp

Default Temmate Weapon Draw Distance.esp

faster arrows.esp

Guard Dialogue Overhaul.esp

Headtracking.esp

HoodsAndCirclets.esp

dD-NO Twitching Dragon Death Animation.esp

norecruitment.esp

NpcHavokHit.esp

PalistovSpinningArrows.esp

RealisticHumanoidMovementSpeed.esp

SkyTEST-REalisticAnimals&Predators.esp

Convenient Horses.esp

dD - Enhanced Blood Main.esp

dD-Dragonborn-Dawnguard-EBT Patch.esp

Thieves Guild Requirements.esp

HelgenReborn.esp

Realistic Lighting Overhaul - Dungeons.esp

Realistic Lighting Overhaul - Dawnguard Interiors.esp

Realistic Lighting Overhaul - Major City Exteriors.esp

Realistic Lighting Overhaul - Major City Interiors.esp

Realistic Lighting Overhaul - Minor Cities and Town Interiors.esp

abotFiresHurt.esp

GetSomeRest.esp

RealisticNeedsandDiseases.esp

RND_Dawnguard-Patch.esp

RND_Hearthfires-Patch.esp

RND_Dragonborn-Patch.esp

RND_USKP-Patch.esp

SkyrimHeartRate.esp

DVA - Dynamic Vampire Appearance.esp

Better Vampires.esp

Brevi_MoonlightTales.esp

SmartCast_1_0.esp

BFSEffects.esp

FNISspells.esp

Artifact Disenchanting.esp

EnchantingAwakened.esp

The Dance of Death - Ultimate Edition

CCO - Dynamic Skill Progression.esp

Character_Generation.esp

SkyXP.esp

Sneak Tools.esp

Sneak Tools Vanilla Hoods.esp

Sneak Tools Vanilla Masks.esp

SPERG.esp
SPERG-DG.esp

SPERG-DB.esp

EnchantingAwakenedSPERG.esp

dD-No Spinning Death Animation.esp

Dovahkiin prayer.esp

AzarHairPonyTail 03 - Havok.esp

reduced distance npc greetings.esp

Odvar.esp

BVFE_Serana.esp

marriagemod - alpha v3.esp

Get Out of my Bedroom with Chair.esp

amazingfollowertweaks.esp

CCO - Diverse Races And Genders.esp

dD - Realistic Ragdoll Force - Medium.esp

Undead vampire player and npcs with harkon eyes.esp

ethereal_elven_overhaul.esp

Dynamic TimeScale.esp

GreenWaterFix_v2withDawnguard.esp

TKChildren_HF.esp

TKChildren_V.esp

TKChildren_DB.esp

childskeletonfix.esp

RND_AnimalLoot.esp

DA_SkyrimUncut.esp

DA_SkyrimUncutDG.esp

AOS2_EBT Patch.esp

AOS2_GDO Patch.esp

AOS_TAD Patch.esp

FSP - Dawnguard Edition.esp

FSP - Unique Towns & Locations.esp

WEBS extended.esp

SkyFalls + SkyMills + DG + DB.esp

SkyFalls Dragonborn Small waterfalls.esp

CompanionArissa.esp

Loraine.esp

WM Trap Fixes.esp

Bashed Patch, 0.esp

Difficult Archery_30.esp

[manlyMAN0890]

Well, a reinstall and a new everything did not work. And apparently nobody wants to acknowledge this crash problem or even talk about it. For a while now, I've been embarrassed by my own post. Just...read it, read it, ugh! But I'm glad I did post something, because it provides me my own problem thread I can follow up on. Because my encounter of the problem again with my new character and new install+mods led to some troubleshooting and an unexpected though unreliable workaround, possibly a one-time occurrence in which the awoken sentience composed of my computer with all its data and the data of the game.

 

I thought back to a time when I wondered if perhaps Skyrim Immersive Creatures(SIC) might have been the culprit, as I have crashed while strolling about with the random encounters toggled on. At the time, I toggled off all of the extra encounters, which seemed to work after crashing at a particular spot somewhere near or in the hot springs of Eastmarch. Except it had no effect when I was tromping along the main road from Morthal to Dragon Bridge. This is where my crash and troubleshooting starts.

 

I reloaded and approached from Tall Mast Tavern(I nearly went on a rant, but I'll save that for when I post on the mod page) and crashed after discovering Fort Snowhawk, just standing there. Then I reloaded and waited halfway between the two locations for two minutes, then shot mages and skeletons from that spot with magic, and finally jumped the western fence of Fort Snowhawk and killed everyone there(a follower did most of the work), so it's not an issue with that cell. I then created a new save and used console command "tfc 1" to pause the game while flying to Dead Men's Respite. I then did it again without pausing, opened the console again and clicked on a stone platform on the ground leading to the ruin doors, and(basically) teleported my character to that spot. After the loading screen, to my surprise, the game didn't crash. So I toggled off "tfc" and avoided "discovering" the place for the moment, killed a pygmy hill trol(SIC) that had spawned as well as the dragon spawn.

 

I then traveled to the locations in the area to see if they might give me the crash I desperately yearned for. I visited Crabber's Shanty, Orotheim, and Brood Cavern in that order without crashing. So, deciding against pushing my luck and because I was lazy, I fast-traveled to Dragon Bridge and saved there.

 

So I'm not quite sure what was the solution or the workaround. Since the first and consecutive crashes involving the spawning of a troll in the distance, I have begun to suspect the troll spawns added by SIC. How telling. But, in addition to the "player.moveto" command working, this also happened at night. I was a vampire in need of my vitamin blood, so I waited until 7pm and then flew to the location, and "flying" is slow, and the location is some distance from Snowhawk, but perhaps not coming up with a way to do it while moving faster worked to my benefit. Every other time it happened, there was daylight.

 

Until I get the quest "Tending the Flames", I will leave the location undiscovered until the proper time, just to be sure. I'm not going to "guinea pig it" and go through the dungeon, leave, then come back just to see if it will crash. I've lost almost all of my patience for this particular problem, thank you very much, so I will simply find the dungeon while on the quest proper so that I don't have to return later only to discover that I can't approach without crashing as in the first time. At that point, I will troubleshoot one more time to see just what worked and, if applicable, at what time of day. But for now, I'm having fun(what a concept!), and so I can't be bothered.

[DemongelRex]

Quick questions:

Do you use Hi-res textures?

Do you use an ENB? If so, what ENB?

Do you have the skse memory patch enabled?

Did you clean all of your mods, including DLC, except mods which specifically forbid cleaning them?

[manlyMAN0890]

Okay.

 

1. yes.

2. enb .0246, all disabled except for ENBoost(speedhack). My bad, I meant 0.246

3. no.

4. no.

Edited December 4, 2014 by manlyMAN0890

[manlyMAN0890]

Well, the problem seems to have solved itself. Fast traveling definitely did not work in my previous game. when I finally tackled the quest, I fast-traveled to Dead Men's Respite and arrived at about 10 til 6am in game time, completed the dungeon, left the way I came, and returned to Solitude without encountering the crash. In any subsequent playthroughs, I'll just repeat the scenario if necessary.

 

As for cleaning mods, it seems complicated and above me. Besides, I don't believe that making sure a mod works properly beyond reporting problems and conflicts is my responsibility. I believe that if you have the patience and the innovative mind to create your own mods and make them publicly available, then it should be your responsibility to make sure they work correctly, including ironing out problems and conflicts caused by dirty editing.

[Lord Garon]

As for cleaning mods, it seems complicated and above me. Besides, I don't believe that making sure a mod works properly beyond reporting problems and conflicts is my responsibility. I believe that if you have the patience and the innovative mind to create your own mods and make them publicly available, then it should be your responsibility to make sure they work correctly, including ironing out problems and conflicts caused by dirty editing.

 

Lol. Well, good luck with that. Major studios which charge big bucks for AAA games can't even do that, let alone poor modders working with what little they have available to them while giving their stuff away for free.

 

If you think cleaning mods is too difficult... well, I won't say it. Cleaning esm's takes all of 10 minutes and a couple button clicks.

 

You might need a new hobby.

Edited December 4, 2014 by Lord Garon

[manlyMAN0890]

Nah, personally can't be bothered with work encouraged to be pushed onto users that is apparently easier than eggs and toast, and modding in general. Sorry if that affects what you think of me. I'll come up with a way to compensate you, but I think I'll keep my current hobby thank you.

 

Only one person has to do it and then no one else ever again. If it takes 10 minutes and a few mouse clicks, there is just no excuse.

[Lord Garon]

Well, whining about random game glitches seems pointless if you're not willing to take the steps to fix them. You're missing the two biggest stability fixes in the known Skyrim universe. But, like cleaning mods, they require effort on your part, so you're probably not interested in dealing with them, either.

 

C ya.