Dragon Age Crash

[cabius]

Ok whenever I try to load a save in Denerim the game crashes and I get "Dragon Age: Origins has stopped working". Earlier while playing I was just walking around Denerim when suddenly that crash happened, when I tried to reload it crashed before getting into the game. I figured since I am using mods this would be the best place to ask for help. The mods I currently have are:

 

Alley of Murders

 

FtG UI Mod

 

Improved Atmosphere

 

JB3 Textures (Armor and Textures)

 

Map Textures

 

More Hairstyles

 

Pixelated Shaders Begone

 

The Phoenix Armory

 

Dragon Age- Lighting Enhanced ENB

 

Dragon Age Redesigned

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Has anyone had a similar problem?

 

PC Specs:
8GB RAM

Intel i5 2.65 ghz Quadcore

AMD Radeon HD 6970 2GB

 

Game Version: 1.5

Edited January 10, 2014 by cabius

[Thandal]

<snip>

 

Improved Atmosphere

 

JB3 Textures (Armor and Textures)

 

Map Textures

 

Pixelated Shaders Begone

 

Dragon Age- Lighting Enhanced ENB

 

<snip>

 

AMD Radeon HD 6970 2GB

 

Any or all of the above could be the source of your CtDs. With the first one being the most likely.

 

Denerim is the most crash-prone area of the game. It actually uses a method of handling where the Party is and how they interact with the environment that's significantly different from all other areas.

 

On top of that, IA makes the most changes to the surrounding environments, and the actions going on there.

 

For example; in the Nov 2012 update to IA, the author of IA said:

 

- A temporary fix for the crash people are experiencing in Denerim and the Mage Tower during the Mage Origin section is available. All it does is unequip one of the new mage robes (found in the Apostate Clothes folder) from female mages. The game may still crash if either Morrigan or Wynne have one of the three new robes (Mage Tutor Robe, Dark Robe, or Apostate Clothes) equipped and are not being controlled by the player. Indeed, it seems the models for the new robes are incompatible with one or several of the female gesture animations, thus the game crashes when a character attempts to use the conflicting animation.

 

This is just one example of the kind of thing that can happen with IA.

 

Worse, once installed it can be impossible to uninstall IA (for a particular character's set of saves) because certain elements get "baked-in" to every save. Once this happens, saves made with IA cannot be loaded without it. Even "Force Load" won't work.

 

I think IA is an amazing piece of work. I've also found that "it doesn't work and play well with others", so I choose not to use it at all. :unsure:

 

(Oh, and I've seen some reports of more problems with newer AMD gpus compared with nVidia's. Might check drivers and/or google "AMD Dragon-Age".)

[cabius]

That sucks, I really can't start a 30 hour save over again, it would be my 3rd time doing so with this game, as the time before I ended up losing the save file. The first time I had it on Xbox and ended up having to sell the game before I beat it. I wouldn't think it would be my GPU seeing as the crash only happens in Denerim and nowhere else in the game. I'd think the odds of the GPU being the cause of just one single isolated problem is highly unlikely. I'll look into that temporary fix.

[mcgoy]

SIGH - this is one of the reasons that the advice is typically to play though without mods the first time.

 

Hopefully you can minimize the number of Companions that you have with you in Denerim, the number of mods that you have installed, and make it through Denerim. I would suggest starting from a Save right before Denerim and save frequently within Denerim. make sure that you have the 1.05 patch installed. It did resolve some lag issues.

 

Denerim is known to have resource intensive even without having mods installed that have been known to cause issues with the game. Close as many quests as you can before entering Denerim (i.e. go to Redcliffe to complete Chantry and Mage Collective quests).

 

good luck

[cabius]

Ok the Patch fixed Denerim. I managed to get all the way up to the landsmeet. It now crashes upon trying to go to the castle for the landsmeet. Just thought I'd share.

[Thandal]

Yeah, well... That's why all mods come with the implied disclaimer: "Caveat Lusor."

The vanilla game does not have this problem.

[cabius]

Why does everyone here seem like they have their head up their ass? Don't speak to me like I don't already know that every single mod you put on any game runs the risk of making it unplayable. I know this, I came here to see if anyone has a possible solution, not to be told the consequences of using mods over playing Vanilla.

[Thandal]

Why does everyone here seem like they have their head up their ass? Don't speak to me like I don't already know that every single mod you put on any game runs the risk of making it unplayable. I know this, I came here to see if anyone has a possible solution, not to be told the consequences of using mods over playing Vanilla.

 

Because you seem to be under the misapprehension that it is our job to make your game work.

 

Which mods have your removed? (You don't say you've removed any.) What research/steps have you taken on your own? (You mention none.)

 

Different players have provide sound advice as to the possible causes and potential solutions for your problems. You continue to question why a collection of independent, fan-made modifications to the game don't work seamlessly together, instead of simply recognizing that they don't and removing the ones that prevent your continuing the game.

 

Result; unable to play and minimal-to-zero sympathy from the Community. :armscrossed:

[cabius]

 

Why does everyone here seem like they have their head up their ass? Don't speak to me like I don't already know that every single mod you put on any game runs the risk of making it unplayable. I know this, I came here to see if anyone has a possible solution, not to be told the consequences of using mods over playing Vanilla.

 

Because you seem to be under the misapprehension that it is our job to make your game work.

 

Which mods have your removed? (You don't say you've removed any.) What research/steps have you taken on your own? (You mention none.)

 

Different players have provide sound advice as to the possible causes and potential solutions for your problems. You continue to question why a collection of independent, fan-made modifications to the game don't work seamlessly together, instead of simply recognizing that they don't and removing the ones that prevent your continuing the game.

 

Result; unable to play and minimal-to-zero sympathy from the Community. :armscrossed:

 

 

I never once even came close to insinuating that it was anyone's "job" to fix my problems. Refer to my first post where I ASK for help not DEMAND it.I came here for help. Have you ever heard of the word "advice"? I came here for advice for a possible fix, how am I to know that a fix has not been found if I do not ask? I researched plenty about problems with Denerim and mods, only to find the same thing you incessantly tell me. In my third post I did not "question why a collection of independent, fan-made modifications to the game don't work seamlessly together, instead of simply recognizing that they don't and removing the ones that prevent your continuing the game" If you would refer to that post you will see I simply shared more information, perhaps someone else has a similar problem, perhaps they found a fix to the specific problem. Maybe someone who is not as thick skulled and closed minded as yourself will come in here and offer me some real options for fixing the problem without having to start a whole new game. I have not removed any mods because that plug in on the site fixed my problem, or so I thought. Hence the reason I am came to share more information on my problem. The other person offered me much more explanation of the problem and what causes it and how I could possibly limit the chances of it occurring. You have done nothing be be completely unhelpful while seemingly slapping me on the wrist for using mods in the first place. You are being completely intolerable for no reason. Maybe it is because you are a moderator? You feel you have to swing your weight around and be a complete ass for no reason? These are Discussion forums after all, I wish to discuss the problem with someone other than you, because you clearly do not see why I am here. Goodbye.

Edited January 20, 2014 by cabius

[Thandal]

Re-read my first response. It identified the likely causes of your issue, gave some possibilities for resolving it, suggested a general approach for doing so, and was both polite and respectful. Another player added the observation that too many complex mods often cause this sort of trouble.

 

Your next post said that you were able to get past the point at which you had been stuck, but were "stuck" again. No indication of whether the advice previously provided had been tried, and if so, with what results. Simply said "Help me. Again."

 

I pointed out that no one is under any obligation to do so, and you said, "Everyone here [has] their head up their ass."

 

Who's got their head up their ass?

 

[EDIT: A review of your system specs as provided in your profile indicates that your rig is at-or-below the minimums for this game:

• RAM:
  776 MB (game states it requires twice this)
• Graphics Card:
  Nvidia GeForce 8300GS

And from the nVidia Wiki article:

GeForce 8300 and 8400 Series

In the summer of 2007 NVIDIA released the entry-level GeForce 8300GS and 8400GS graphics cards, based on the G86 core. The GeForce 8300 was only available in the OEM market, and as the GeForce 8300 mGPU motherboard GPU. These graphics cards were not intended for intense 3D applications such as fast, high-resolution video games. They were originally designed to replace the 7200 and 7300 models, but could not due to their poor game performance. It was able to play modern games at playable framerates at low settings and low resolutions making it popular among casual gamers and HTPC (Media Center) builders without a PCI Express or AGP motherboard.

These factors might be contributing to your problems as well.]