Larian Studios Forums Beyond Divinity (English) Technical Problems Inventory graphic placement bug

I just got Vista and wanted to try out the game. I installed the game, then applied the 1.49 before ever loading the game up. After starting the game, everything seemed to be working ok, but I'm noticing 2 inventory problems now as I am going through Battlefield 1. All then equipped inventory pictures on the horizontal line of the belt, rings, and shield are being displayed way to the right of where they are supposed to be (ie. the shield is being displayed in the 2nd arrow slot, and the right most ring doesn't even show up at all). Also, I have my normal arrows (in the top arrow slot) selected but it continues to fire the water arrows that are in the bottom arrow slot. Any suggestions?

[color:"orange"]equipped inventory pictures on the horizontal line of the belt, rings, and shield are being displayed way to the right of where they are supposed to be[/color]

It is the same for both characters and the summoning dolls (if you have the first one)?


[color:"orange"]I have my normal arrows (in the top arrow slot) selected but it continues to fire the water arrows that are in the bottom arrow slot.[/color]

If you have not done so already, try removing the arrows from all 3 slots and re-set them (perhaps equip the normal arrows first and fire a few shots before filling the other 2 slots).


Welcome to the forum. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wave.gif" alt="" />

It is the same for both the Death Knight and my character...Haven't gotten any summoning dolls to see about them.

I'll try the arrow switch when I get home tonight.

Thanks for the reply.

Ok, the switching out of the arrows seemed to work, but I've noticed something else with regards to the images being displaced. It seems as if certain items are not being classified correctly. For example, while playing around with my inventory, I noticed that the leather armor I put on appeared in the belt slot. It actually REMOVED my sash I had. The leather leggings appeared in the boots slot, removing the boots, and the shield appeared in the arrows slot, removing the arrows. It looks like the classification flags of these items are all out of whack. So far the weapons and helmets seem ok, as do the gloves.

Am I going to have to re-install?

[color:"orange"]It seems as if certain items are not being classified correctly.[/color]

That is very strange. Since equipment was going into the correct slots to start with, something in the save or with the game itself may have become corrupt.

Try deleting the files within the dynamic folders (not the folders themselves, though);
'..\Beyond Divinity\Acts\Act1\Dynamic', '..\Beyond Divinity\Acts\Act2\Dynamic', etc.
These folders are used as a cache for the game. Files are created / copied there from the save game folder when you load, and written / copied to those folders when you save a game. The files will be re-created as required the next time you start Beyond Divinity. If there was a corrupt file in those folders, deleting the files should fix the problem.

After this, you may want to start a new game and play long enough to get one of the equipment types you are having problems with (shouldn't take too long). If the problem exists in a new game, then the source may be with the game itself; if not, it is more likely something in your latest save.


[color:"orange"]Am I going to have to re-install?[/color]

There is a file verification procedure to check for missing or corrupt files, but I have not updated it since the latest patch. I'll do a clean re-install of the game (hopefully tonight), and update the procedure.

Until then, if a new game works fine, then a re-install probably isn't going to help. If a new game does display the same problem, then that may fix it.

Thanks Raze. I'll try it tonight and let you know what I find out. I appreciate the help.

I have the same problem using Vista Business Edition. I have tried deleting the dynamic files and starting a new game, but I still end up with the same bug. It's weird. The first thing it did was that it equipped a second pair of shoes, but placed them in the arrow slots. After that, everything is just going in the wrong slots (and allowing weird combinations of the same types of items in different slots). If you find a solution, please post it <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Hmmm...I'm using Vista Ultimate which has the same base internal workings as the Business Edition. I wonder if there is a connection. I know I had to upgrade to Ultimate because Home Premium didn't have a lot of the stuff included in it that I needed. Is there anyone else using Business or Ultimate that has this problem, or that you don't have this problem?

I deleted those files in the dynamic directory (though the only file in those directories was the dontremove.txt file). That did not fix the problem. I just started a new game but haven't had a chance to get far enough to check the bug again. I'll let you know what happens.

On a slightly different note, I did notice that when I loaded a game, that it says the versions of my saved games are 1.47...not 1.49 which is the patch I installed. I know that patch is installed since I can now play without the CD being in the drive. Is this normal?

[color:"orange"](though the only file in those directories was the dontremove.txt file).[/color]

There should have been files in the act 1 dynamic folder, at least. The folders for the other acts would be empty if you had not gotten to that point in the game yet.


[color:"orange"]I just started a new game but haven't had a chance to get far enough to check the bug again.[/color]

Since the same thing is happening on two different systems, an issue with a corrupt or missing file is unlikely. However, I am still planning to update the file verification procedure, and should get to that tomorrow (sorry for the delay <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shame.gif" alt="" /> ).

Have you tried running the game in compatibility mode, assuming Vista includes this feature? Try right clicking on the div.exe program file, select Properties and look for a 'compatibility mode' tab, or something.

Have you checked for Windows updates? Vista drivers are not very mature, so updates or patches may address compatibility issues.


[color:"orange"]when I loaded a game, that it says the versions of my saved games are 1.47...not 1.49 which is the patch I installed.[/color]

I think Larian just didn't change the game/save version numbers from 1.47 because the 1.49 patch did not effect anything except the copy protection.

Even Act 1 only had that file in it.

My Vista is completely up-to-date, though your point about the drivers are valid, especially since vista no longer has native hardware support for sound cards. As for the compatibility mode, I run the game using Administrative privileges. I'll see about possibly trying to run it with XP compatibility.

[color:"orange"]There should have been files in the act 1 dynamic folder, at least. The folders for the other acts would be empty if you had not gotten to that point in the game yet.[/color]

There were files in the dynamic folder when I deleted it.


[color:"orange"]Have you tried running the game in compatibility mode, assuming Vista includes this feature? Try right clicking on the div.exe program file, select Properties and look for a 'compatibility mode' tab, or something.[/color]

I tried it under different 'compatibility modes', and it still has the same problems for me.


[color:"orange"]
Have you checked for Windows updates? Vista drivers are not very mature, so updates or patches may address compatibility issues.[/color]

Fully up-to-date here. Updated graphics drivers and such to.

If either of you would like to email me a ziped save folder (divineone at shaw dot ca) where this problem exists, I can try removing / changing / re-equipping stuff to see if the problem is just with the game, or if it gets written into the save files as well. This may help narrow down the problem, but probably will not help with a solution.

If it is a Vista problem, hopefully a future DirectX or Windows update will improve backward compatibility.



The updated file verification procedure is below.

~~~~~

The install program should report any problems, such as CRC errors, during install. However, if it fails to do so, or a file becomes corrupt after installation, the integrity of the files can still be verified using a program such as FileCheck (194KB download) or DVDsig (10KB, included with the md5 files below).

FileCheck is a small freeware program (no install required) to calculate the CRC-32 values (the cyclic redundancy check used in zip files) of a number of files. It can also compare a previously calculated CRC file with a set of files/folders.
DVDsig is a very small freeware program (also no install required) to calculate or verify the MD5 values (similar to CRC-32, but more accurate) of files. The program is not as flexible as FileCheck, given its specific purpose design, but it works fine for this, and is simpler to use.


After doing a clean install of BD and rebooting, I deleted the files in the '..\Beyond Divinity\DirectX9' folder (since they are not needed if/once DirectX 9 is installed). Then I used FileCheck to create a crc file of the game folders, installed the 1.45 patch and did so again, both before starting the game (I repeated this procedure with the 1.47 patch).
With the 1.49 patch I did a clean install as above, but also deleted the '..\Beyond Divinity\protect.dll' file and the 'StarForce Driver Installation' folder, before using both DVDsig and FileCheck to create md5 and crc files, respectively.


If you compare the appropriate CRC/MD5 file to your install, it should tell you if there are any corrupt files. You do not need to worry about moving any saved games out of the savegames folder or deleting the files in the dynamic folders, since new files will not be tested by either program, just those listed in the verification files.
If you have started the game and changed any options, there will be differences reported in the config.div and keylist.txt files. The '..\Beyond Divinity\Editor\dgen_themes.000' file is also changed once the game is started.
Some time after the initial release for the game, the intro video was updated, so there may be a difference reported in the '..\Beyond Divinity\Static\intro.mpg' file, if you have CDs produced after that point. If you can see and get past the intro video, you can safely ignore any 'errors' reported for the this file.

There are several files in the Beyond Divinity folder created when the game is started or options are changed, including init.cfg, mapids.000, persist.dat, sinfo.000, slashed-d3d6.cfg, slashed.cfg, sound.cfg and starlog.txt. A couple other files are also added, but another crc/md5 file including these wouldn't help much, since most or all are system or option dependent, so these files would usually be reported as different regardless of being valid or corrupt.
At least the config.div, slashed.cfg and slashed-d3d6.cfg files in the Beyond Divinity folder can be deleted, and the configuration program / game will recreate them the next time it is started.


The crc and md5 files below are based on the original release UK English version; the North American version should be the same, but the Australian version will have differences (it uses a different copy protection).

Beyond Divinity DVDsig (293 KB) - program and md5 files

[*] Extract the zip to a temporary location, then copy/move the DVDsig.exe file and the dvdsig.md5 file from the appropriate folder to the 'Beyond Divinity' folder. The filename for the md5 file is set, so each version included in the zip file (the 1.1 original release and 1.49 patched game, as well as one for the 1.49 patch file itself) is in a separate subfolder.
[*] Run the DVDsig.exe file, then click on 'Verify' in the toolbar.

OR;

Beyond Divinity CRC files (192 KB) - patch versions 1.1 and 1.49
old CRC files (190 KB) - older patches, 1.45 and 1.47

[*] FileCheck expects the files to be in the original locations to verify, so if you installed BD to a location other than the default (C:\Program Files\Larian Studios\Beyond Divinity), open the CRC file in Wordpad (for example), and do a search-and-replace so the file/folder paths match your install.


If your CRC/MD5 values match, it is not the game itself, but likely a conflict with something else in your system or a problem in the saved game folder. When examining the list of 'errors' either program produces, potential problem files would be those with an error trying to read, or with a large size difference (especially zero byte files) from the known good install.

I'll send you my save game folder on Sunday when I get home (on a trip right now). I'll also run the DVDsig and let you know the results. Thanks.

Ok. Raze, I've sent you the zip of my savegame folder. I've also run the dvdsig check. This is what it came up with:

The data is invalid. Static\intro.mpg
The data is invalid. Acts\Act1\Map\game.sav
The data is invalid. config.div
The data is invalid. Editor\dgen_themes.000
The data is invalid. keylist.txt
Total:6329 OK:6323 Bad:6 Missing:0
The operation completed successfully. 6329 files, 1476MB, 70s

Looking at the list, I'm believing that I need to re-install the game and see if that works. Do you see anything?

Actually, Raze, I couldn't send you the zipped folder...it exceeded the size your email would allow to be sent to it.

24.71.223.11 failed after I sent the message.
Remote host said: 552 5.3.4 a message size of 10242 kilobytes exceeds the size limit of 10240 kilobytes computed for this transaction.

I had tried compressing the entire folder. I'm going to now send just the Bd_act1_start directory compressed. Hopefully that will be enough.

All the files listed as invalid (ie different from my versions) were either updated after the initial release (intro.mpg), are changed after the game is started for the first time (dgen_themes.000 and game.sav) or are dependent on your game settings and options (config.div and keylist.txt).

It does not appear that anything with the game itself is corrupt, so I doubt re-installing the game would help.



[color:"orange"]I'm going to now send just the Bd_act1_start directory compressed.[/color]

Each save is a separate subfolder in the '..\Beyond Divinity\savegames' folder. There should be folder names corresponding to what you named your saves, and numbered quicksave folders if you use quick saves; either of these (made after the problem started) would work to test if the same thing happens on a non-Vista system. The 5 'bd_act#_start' folders are created/updated by the game/patch, and are just used to update data during act transition (your Bd_act1_start folder would be identical to mine).

Ok, now I am confused. First, there are no files in the dynamic folders for me to delete, and now the save game folders aren't there either. Where are they being stored, since I definitely have quick saves and 2 regular saves? Something is really screwy here.

I have a save game called 'test'. I did a search of my hard drive and the only test folders I have on my system are in the hp/bin/Python directory.

[color:"orange"]First, there are no files in the dynamic folders for me to delete, and now the save game folders aren't there either.[/color]

Vista must have made alternate folders, which it maps to the dynamic and savegames folders when the game is started. This may be the default behaviour if you have more than one user account set up on your system, or it may be due to your security settings.

Are you playing the game from the same account as you installed it?


[color:"orange"]I did a search of my hard drive and the only test folders I have on my system are in the hp/bin/Python directory.[/color]

Try searching for data.000 files. Check the advanced options for the search; it may be set to not search 'system' folders by default, which might skip wherever Vista stores its user account data (I would think the search function should have an option to search within 'my files' or 'my games', or something).

Ok. I found the files. You have to do an advanced search and tell it to look in hidden and system folders. For those that have Vista and are using multiple accounts (possibly with a network), this is where Vista puts the files (at least in my case).

Savegames are located at:

C:\Users\{account name}\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files\Larian Studios\Beyond Divinity\savegames

The dynamic files are located at:

C:\Users\{account name}\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files\Larian Studios\Beyond Divinity\Acts\{Act Number}\Dynamic\

With my installation on Vista, the files are located in the directory with the game program itself. However, I installed it in a different location (instead of 'Program Files', I use C:\Games\Larian...). I think the problem here (as far as the file locations are concerned) is that Vista virtualizes the 'Program Files' folder so that each user effectively has their own version of programs when they modify things. I believe the VirtualStore directories are where these user-specific changes are stored since they aren't technically allowed to modify the 'Program Files' folder.

On another note: I emailed a test savegame that is currently having problems.
-xalif

Ahh...That makes sense. Thanks for the clarification.

The problem items retain their incorrect properties in my game, so it is not just a display issue with Vista. I tried copying a set of inventory files from one of my saves at the arena to both of your saves, and there were no problems (other than the normal item corruption that can happen transferring inventory files between saves, where the description can change, but the item still goes in the same slot) with the equipment I had. Copying your inventory files into my save, the problem items were still a problem.


How often are you finding these corrupt items?
Does it seem to matter if you are in the main game or battle fields? How about found or dropped items vs purchased?
Have you had items work fine for awhile and then become corrupt, or do they go into the wrong slot as soon as you get the item?


I tried buying a few more things in your saves and didn't have any problems, but that may be due to luck with the small selection of equipment I could afford. Later tonight or tomorrow I'll get rid of the problem items and see if I can acquire enough new equipment to determine if I run into the same issue, or not.
If the problem is how the game generates new items in Vista, then I shouldn't encounter any new items being equipped to the wrong slot; if the corruption can happen when equipping or moving and item around, then I may (but probably won't) encounter it; if there is something wrong in the inventory file structure, rather than just specific data entries for certain items, then I should probably see this as well.

If I remember correctly, it seemed as if most of the new items I was finding were corrupt. I could be wrong since I really haven't had a chance to play in the past 2 weeks. I hope to get some time in this weekend and come up with some more answers for you. I do know that I didn't purchase any of those items so they were all dropped. The items did go into the wrong slot from the moment I tried to equip them.

I'll let you know some more specifics as I find them. I'm starting a new game now and will keep track of when things start to go wrong.

Sorry it took so long...real life has a tendency to hijack you. Anyway, I started a new game and noticed the first "bad" item was in the first dungeon, dropped by one of the 3 arena guards right before the arena with the 2 spiders. It was a sash. I then picked up some leather armor (in the arena) and it was ok, but the leather leggings found in the chest with the battlefield key was bad.

Hopefully, this helps out some...it isn't a battlefield thing, and it does seem that some "placed" items and "random" items are affected.

[color:"orange"]Sorry it took so long...real life has a tendency to hijack you.[/color]

That's ok, I have not had any time to play myself (if not tomorrow, hopefully tuesday).


[color:"orange"]Hopefully, this helps out some[/color]

It does. For the quick tests I did before I just exited and entered the BF to have the merchants generate new equipment, and bought a random selection. Unless you report buying corrupt items as well, though, I should concentrate on dropped and found equipment.
If I continue with your save for at least a couple hours and don't find any corrupt equipment, then the problem is probably with the item generation in Vista. If I find such items the problem may be with the item index file in the save folder.



In the category of randomly trying things to see if they will help...

While the problem is most likely related to Vista (compatibility or immature drivers), it could (in theory) be hardware related (Vista systems being newer and more likely to have multi-core CPUs, etc). Programs written and tested on single core CPUs which work fine can have bugs when run on multi-core CPUs, though I don't know if anyone is playing BD on an XP multi-core CPU system, so I have no information to support or disprove this wild speculation.

A few people had sound problems with Divine Divinity on multi-core systems which in a couple cases could be fixed by setting the game to run on a single core. It can't hurt to try this for BD.

see; Sound errors with static - maybe fix found!

[color:"orange"] Vista systems being newer and more likely to have multi-core CPUs [/color]

I do have a multi-core athlon system. I'll try setting it to a single core to see if that fixes any future item corruption. Did you want me to send you my current save file? It is right before the arena and the 1st battlefield.

You can email me the current save if you wish. It probably will not behave any differently than the previous one, but comparing results starting from the same save would be (slightly) better.

Actually, do you have a save just before encountering (or hitting the alt key nearby) the 3 arena guards? If you reload that save, do you get another corrupt item there? The equipment generation problem is probably random, but could be related to the NPC or location (don't bother checking if your previous save is more than a few minutes before that). If you moved or moused over the chest with the BF key the contents would be set, so that corrupt item would be there in any saves since that point.

To bypass any problems that might arise from vista's cpu handling for dual core cpu's....

Start the game.... then alt-tab out of it.... Right click on the startbar and select task manager.... go to the processes tab... find in the list. div.exe

right click on div.exe and and select "set afinity".... then make sure that only 1 cpu is selected (not both).

click ok...

click on the game. EXIT immediately. Playing now, will probably cause your machine to behave insane....

Start the game again (now it will use its new 1-cpu setting) and see if it the game still generates bugged items.

If setting Beyond Divinity to run on a single CPU was going to have any effect (I assume it didn't help), a new game would have to be started. The problem is either in the save files from the start of the game, or gets written in at some point later (ie with the first generated corrupt item).

With Ruskicowboy's save (before the arena guards) I did not get any corrupt items (other than the one already generated in the BF key chest) from the guards, ghosts or the spiders.
After jumping down the pit, I cleared the half dozen rooms to the north and west, and at some point the DK picked up some 'shoes darkbrown' which went into a ring slot. I didn't get much equipment in any of the chests, so I'm pretty sure they were dropped by one of the skeletons. I bought a few things after that from the imp in the kitchen, but none were corrupt.

I was going to play a bit more with this save, and do some other stuff, but have not had time.


BTW Lady Rain, I know you've mentioned more than enough RL stuff to keep yourself busy, but have you played BD at all under Vista?

I have played BD under vista....

And i am playing it again now.... OK so i am cheating it profusely....

After numerous hours of studying, and crisis servers at work, the only thing that seems to unwind me (so i dont DREAM of work / studies) is to go monster slaying for a while.... So i run around the dungeons in near-god-mode and just bash a few moving targets to a pulp...

So far i havnt run into a single problem yet.... and i am running dual core(no cpu afinity is set , though i did alocate a seperate memory block for BD, since it makes one of my VPN programs go insane - so i just changed the memory block to a different block on both the programs - not sure if it was BD causing, or the VPN causing the issue they just always happened together). I have a 64 bit machine with vista and BD on, but i havnt played on that one yet, so my experience at the moment is solely based on 32 bit dual core.

I have a meeting with one of the Microsoft engineers on thursday for one of our servers.... .so i will at the same time ask him what can be the possible causes of this.

I started a new game, using only a single CPU. I didn't get out of the first area (with the cells) before I found my first corrupt item. It was a round shield that thought it was some boots. I found it in the rack in the cell with the mad man who thought we were demons and would eventually run out of the cell only to be killed...If anything, the single CPU made the corruption appear faster.

Sigh. Looks like I am going to have to play this on my laptop with XP.

Has anything worked so far in preventing this bug from occuring? Or are there any updates concerning it? I'm on vista with an intel quad core machine and so far I find non-glitched items about as often as I find charms (for glitched items this includes all shop keepers) (for the charm comparison this discludes those aquired from shops). The exception for items that are never glitched are weapons and specific quest items (such as the unique lucky hat the skull gives you for killing the torture guy near the beginning) and possibly arrows.

It wouldn't bother me if the fix was a program that just edited the save games to make glitched items properly classified. Although the program might have to unequip the items for us as some such as glitched rings and amulets tend to vanish entirly and I can't switch it with another glitched amulet or ring but instead end up equipping more than the logical max (although more are equipped, I don't get the benefits so it's not even a benefical bug). I've only had success in unequipping such items by selling them from the trade screen.

Meh...

I don't know if anything else has been tried since the previous posts in this topic (there is not much else I can do without access to Vista). You could try emailing Larian (suport@larian.com).


Xanlosch wrote a guide about getting the BD demo working under Linux (see here). With the latest English patch removing the copy protection, this may also work with the full game. If you are familiar with Linux, you could give it a try (AFAIK nobody with an English version of BD has tested this).

Is it possibly to create a program that scans the save game files for corrupted items and fixes them or just simply resets all the classifications for all the items that could possibly be glitched?

I am not familiar with the format of equipment data, but I would think it should be possible to make such a program. It would need to be used periodically, since this probably wouldn't prevent new corrupt items from being generated.

A patch would be a better solution, though, assuming Larian looks at this problem, is able to reproduce it, and identifies the cause, and it is an issue within their control that wouldn't take an unreasonable amount of resources to fix.


I still have the saves started on Vista systems with corrupt items. Maybe I'll take a look at a specific item and see if its slot value can be reset....

I recently put <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beyond.gif" alt="" /> on vista I had the same problem with the currupted items.
I got one of my saved games from my old computer and the equipment I already had worked fine but new ones were all currupted. So I reinstalled the game, no luck. So i was looking at the FAQS on the <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beyond.gif" alt="" /> website and saw the game runs on windows 98 ane ME so i decided to change the compatibility mode to Windows 98/ME. Than i went to the battlefield to check if it worked. It did, the new items went where they were supposed to go. I put the compatibility mode back to XP, i got more new corrupted items, so I switched it back to 98/ME and got no corrupted items from the battlefield. I hope this fixes the problem for everybody else.

Thanks for that info. Hopefully it will help others as well.


Welcome to the forum. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wave.gif" alt="" />

Just thought I'd drop in and see if there was any progress after putting the game away for a few months <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

The Windows 98/ME compatibility mode seems to do the trick! I haven't had any problems since I ran it this way (no corrupt items)

Thanks for the tip.

[color:"orange"]The Windows 98/ME compatibility mode seems to do the trick![/color]

Good to know it helps on different systems.

When you tried different compatibility modes before, did you miss 98/ME? If not, maybe the game had already generated some corrupt items before then, which you did not find until after switching modes.
If you started a new game this time after trying the 98/ME compatibility mode, that may have made a difference. It's been almost 4 months, so Windows or driver updates may have helped, also.

Because I can now run Beyond Divinity on my computer in Vista without framerate problems, I have only just come across this one, and it is quite a show-stopper unless you know how to fix it before you start a new game.

Yes, I did get the corrupt items and switching to Win98 / ME still kept generating corrupt items with my save game until I started a new one. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" />

I have windows Vista and I changed the compatability mode to windows 98/ME however, the game will not load. Do you happen to know how to make it load properly??

Did the game start before you switched it to Win 98/ME compatibility mode?

Have you installed the 1.49 patch?

Do you get an error message or does the game simply fail to load (or crash)?
There may be files called debug.lst or error.txt in the Beyond Divinity folder, containing error messages.


If the above doesn't help, more detail on your situation could narrow down the problem. Until then, there are some general troubleshooting tips in the following topics. Some of the problems are similar, though not specifically for Vista (you can ignore copy protection issues, since the 1.49 patch removes the Starforce copy protection).

yet another "Game simply won't start!"-thread and BattleFields N00b ?

yes the game started before switching to windows 98/ME.

The game just does not load. I get to the opening screen where the game loads about half way and then just sits there and does not load.

I did not find any files in the beyond divinity folder.

The additional troubleshooting tips did not work.

any other ideas??

If you switch off the compatibility more, does it load again?

What about running the configuration program and hitting the reset button?

Had you run into this corrupt item bug, or were you just switching to 98/ME mode to be safe?


Try deleting the files within the dynamic folders (not the folders themselves, though);
'..\Beyond Divinity\Acts\Act1\Dynamic', '..\Beyond Divinity\Acts\Act2\Dynamic', etc.
These folders are used as a cache for the game. Files are created / copied there from the save game folder when you load, and written / copied to those folders when you save a game. The files will be re-created as required the next time you start Beyond Divinity. If there was a corrupt file in those folders, deleting the files should fix the problem.

Depending on where you installed the game and how user profiles are setup under Vista, the dynamic folder may be mapped to:
C:\Users\{account name}\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files\Larian Studios\Beyond Divinity\Acts\{Act Number}\Dynamic\

The saved game folder is similarly mapped. I assume this path is where you checked for the error.txt file; one may have been created in the Program Files folder (default install path is 'C:\Program Files\Larian Studios\Beyond Divinity'), but since the game is freezing rather than crashing, an error message may not get generated.

Yes when i take off the compatability mode it runs again. The reason why i switched the compatability was because i got the corrupt inventory screen as mentioned in the above string of messages.

I am going to reinstall the game and see what happens.

I will let you know if it works.

I reinstalled the game and changed the compatibility to windows 98/me and the same thing happened. The intro would work but the game would not load. I tried loading it without the compatibility changed and it did load. However, i dont want the same inventory error to occur if i play the game in vista and not in windows 98/ME.

Do you have any other suggestions??

Has larian come up with a patch for this inventory error??

Do you have any other DirectX games you can switch to 98/ME mode, to see if Vista itself has an issue with this?

Did you go directly to the div.exe file in the 'Beyond Divinity' folder to set the compatibility mode, or from the desktop shortcut? If the latter, try the former. It shouldn't make a difference, AFAIK, but it can't hurt to try it.

Did you try checking the option to run the program as an administrator? You must be logged in as an administrator to get that option.

Did you check off the boxes to disable visual themes and desktop composition, assuming they are not disabled by default?


Larian has not been able to reproduce this bug, so there is no fix or patch for it.

No i dont have any other games to try this on.

Yes i tried it both ways and the same thing happend.

Yes i am an administrator and i did check the disable visual themes and desktop composition boxes.

I did find a text file in the beyond divinity folder labeled error that said:
LCDebug.Error at Tue Oct 09 22:45:10.646 2007

Bad Version :  instead of MagicV1.0 16-03-2004

But I dont think this has anything to do with why it does not load.

Any other suggestions???

Can you try different compatibility modes, to see if the game will start?


Maybe ask about this in a Vista related forum or newsgroup. Someone else may have run into a similar problem and have some suggestions. I haven't used Vista at all and have not needed to do any troubleshooting with compatibility modes in XP (my home system is still running Win98).

The game did load in windows 2000, however I came accross the same inventory problem in the first dungeon when I killed the 3 guards. I picked up a sash and it was corrupt. when i place the sash it gets put in the wrong area of the inventory (goes where the arrows should go).

Can you borrow another game to see if it will run in 98/ME compatibility mode? There are lots of lists online of what older game will run on Vista. If another game that is known to work in Vista locks up in 98/ME compatibility mode, then that would likely be the problem. If not, then there is either a problem with your game (though re-installing should have fixed that), or it is experiencing some kind of conflict with your system.

You could try downloading a freeware Win 9x / DirectX game, but it wouldn't be as resource intensive, so even if the issue is with 98/ME compatibility mode on your system, it might not lock up. Also, at least with a quick search at gamehippo.com, the highest requirement I could find was DirectX 8 (the problem may be with a specific DirectX 9 function, for example).

I know you said the other troubleshooting tips didn't help, but in case you skipped some...
Have you check the Windows update site for drivers or patches? Do you have the latest version of DirectX? Are you shutting down all non-essential programs before trying to start the program, etc?


You could try moving, or re-installing, the game to c:\games (or something) rather than the default program files install path. AFAIK Vista doesn't re-map the saved game or dynamic folders if the game isn't installed in the program files folder; perhaps if Vista is doing less stuff in the background with the game it could possibly avoid the problem with the compatibility mode.


I tried a quick search for Vista compatibility mode problems, but that just turns up pages of results about solving problems using compatibility mode...



EDIT
Maybe if you install the program to start with in compatibility mode it may help:
How to troubleshoot issues that may...rectly on a Windows Vista-based computer


How to troubleshoot a program that does not run as expected after it is installed on Windows Vista


There are a couple of updates that, at least a month ago, someone said in a post online were not installed by Windows Update:

An update is available that improves the compatibility and reliability of Windows Vista

An update is available that improves the performance and reliability of Windows Vista (compatibility mode lockups are not listed in the problems this addresses, though)

I am having this same issue with Beyond Divinity, patched to 1.49, and Windows Vista Ultimate. Inventory displays just as described. Items are in the wrong places. At one point I had two sets of armor, one where it belonged and one underneath where leggings are supposed to go. when I removed both, the armor will now only go where the leggings are supposed to go. I tried compatibility mode as well, but it didn't fix this.

Anyone know of a fix?


Bunni

Did you switch to 98/ME compatibility mode? Did you start a new game after that?
Switching to compatibility mode should prevent the problem from occurring in a new game, but unfortunately once items start becoming corrupt they will continue to do so in that save.

I uninstalled, reinstalled, applied patch, and am now running it again in win 98/me compatibility mode. So far I'm just in the act 1 dungeons, and inventory is ok. There is some graphic degredation at the bottom of the screen though, but it's not too annoying. I'll let you know if the inventory corrupts again. Thanks.

Bunni

What kind of graphic degradation? Have you tried playing at a different resolution, to see if that would make a difference?


A belated welcome to the forum.

In view of Divinity II, I recently started over to play DD & BD. But unfortunatly with the latter I discovered the problem stated above. I tried out to resolve the problem with all suggestions made in the forum, but alas.

Any more ideas?

Did you start a new game after switching to 98/ME compatibility mode? That should prevent the problem from happening again, but will not correct it once it happens in a save.

Yes Raze, but on my first equipment it started over again

Did you set the compatibility mode on the div.exe file in the BD folder or from a shortcut? AFAIK that shouldn't make a difference, though...

Do you have access to another computer, that you could use to start a new game, and then try moving the save to your Vista system to play?

I have this same graphic problem. In my case, I have a sash that places itself into the arrow slot and a shield that puts itself into the leggings slot. I have tried replacing both with new different items but the new ones go right into the wrong spot too. I have tried all of the suggestions mentioned in this thread with the exception of starting completely over.

My system is Vista64 and I am using the version from Gamer's Gate. I had installed the latest patch after reading this thread but it didnt help.

Very dissapointing problem as I was just getting going in the game and having a good time.

Unfortunately, switching to compatibility mode will not fix the problem once it starts (just prevent it from happening), so you will need to start over.


Welcome to the forum.

Does compatibility mode ensure the problem wont recur?

Most people who have run into this problem have not had it reoccur starting a new game after switching to 98/ME compatibility mode. A couple people have still reported problems, though (one just above your first post... don't know if that got resolved, or not).

Raze, I am now attempting a new run using the Win98-compatibility mode, and already I see improvement, and I wanted to tell you how awestruck I am by your gracious assistance on this board. I doubt many players such as myself would be able to work out the problems with BD if you weren't here to help with so many different situations to adapt to.

A sincere thank you,

trog69

Thank you, and welcome to the forum.

REOCCURS! (win7)

I've even caught the exact moment and reproduced a save just before (where all is good) and the step that turns it to crap 100% of the time (regardless of compatibility choice, etc.)!

...unfortunately, that step is walking to the next level in Act 1, from the first imp merchant floor to the next floor where you're greeted by another imp merchant.

Do you have access to an XP system you could use to try getting past that point? It is possible the corruption occurred earlier and is only showing up there, though.


Check your messages (click 'My Stuff' in the top menu bar, then 'Messages').