Turning on SSAO and Shadow also made my CTDs disappear.

Listen to your logic here...SSAO and shadows on/off is not what is causing the CTDs. I've had mine off and on both resulting in crashes. I'm calling coincidence on your results. If SSAO does have anything to do with a crash it's related to a memory issue most likely, in which case SSAO and other resource eating features just makes it happen quicker because you only have so much memory.

It has something to do with multiplayer, not client side video settings, as I've never gotten any SP crashes, nor has anyone that was testing with me.

Yous guys gotta start using some science while coming to these conclusions. It's getting ridiculous reading the stuff that people are coming up with. It's starting to sound like that Monty Python and the Holy Grail scene where the villagers are trying to figure out if that lady is a witch or not, good god.

C'mon, that's no worse that the every sortie delete your cache, spin your monitor all the way around to the right, and shake your mouse 3x routines being given pre-patch! ;)

I agree its very strange and does not make sense but currently the evidence points to SSAO fixing crashes, which ironically kind of underminds the point of the alpha patch :lol:

Perhaps a bug with the settings actually means turning it on turns it off ;) that's the only logical thing I can think of.

There might be more than one reason for the CTDs. This one seems different than the memory leak. (i.e., object null errors)

Here's the evidence so far.


I have never managed more than a few minutes before freeze and LE crash on ATAG. This has repeated in excess of 40 attempts using all the variables that can be changed by the user and carrying out all the recommeded procedures other than I never enabled SSAO.

I have the same CTD problms with this alpha when using Kampfverband13 No2 server.

I have no CTD problms with this alpha when testing on Kampfverband13 No1 server.


One difference I noticed, between the servers that cause problems and the one that doesn't, is that 'clouds' are enabled. Now there are more than likely other differences, possibly scripts, objects, etc.

Suddenly, without doing anything other than enabling SSAO and Shadows, I am able to test the alpha on ATAG without the CTD in the first 5 - 10 minutes that I have been experiencing.

The simple fact is that enabling these Video options has worked for me - whatever the reasons or why is arguable, but that is the evidence. I am now able to log in and try the patch untill the next bug rears its ugly head and I CTD.

There are probably a number of causes for CTD in MP but, enabling SSAO and Shadows, have enabled me to test and use the alpha on ATAG which was impossible before.

The devs made it clear that the CTD bugs are proving difficult to identify and have asked the community to help - there are still going to be CTD's and there are still bugs in the engine that will cause them for sure!

MMM I agree with all the statements here...

Your own PC is like an image of a puzzle which you cant see and you have the pieces in your hand of the puzzle and are tasked with making the same puzzle even though you cant see it...

Its wierd. What works for some is a disaster for others and vice versus. However this fix for me has been golden!

speculation/summary

- IIRC, in multi-player, the server is generating the cloud data, not the client, to ensure fair gameplay.

- maybe there is linkage between the client ssao code and server stream-in data w/ to clouds.

- Maybe the "clouds" are the null objects causing the errors. In other words, the stream in data from the server is calling object methods on clouds that have not initialized because client ssao is off and it needs to be on for some reason to create/intialize the server cloud objects (not a client/default cloud when ssao is off and would be irrelevant to the server data).

Reading BS's opening post announcing the beta, the release version (compared to what the devs were working with) had a number of changes and it may well be that these have created unexpected 'issues'. I don't know if that correct or not, but they will be back at work tomorrow and hopefully give us some feedback.

There is a lot of good work in this patch - never been able to have shadows on before without a massive FPS hit and stutters.

I also got embroiled with two 109's low over Hawkinge on ATAG, prior to this patch my system would have gone into a slide show. Performance was pretty good for a change.

No CTD for me so far with the patch. SSAO OFF, Grass OFF, VSYNCH ON, AA 2X

WIN7 64, GTX 580, 6Gb RAM