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\