OK, I know a lot of people konw this trick, but I find myself writing it over and over again so I thought I would commit it to paper umm... web...? :D for all to see so I can link to it.
This is the Divide and Conquer trick.
If you have a problem with your plugins folder, but no idea what it is this is the best way to find it. The first step varies depending on what the problem is so I will break it down a little:
Step 1:
If you are having crashes empty the plugins folder and run the game to see if it works OK. if so then the problem is something in the plugins.
If you are having a conflict with a plugin remove all of the plugins except the one that the problem is with. Run the game and see if the problem is still there. If so then it's a conflict with something in your plugins folder. If not, it's a problem with the plugin still in there.
Step 2:
Put back in half your plugins into the folder. (or near enough to half. My BSC folder is approx half anyway so I start with that)
Run the game and see if the problem still occurs. If it does then go to step 4a, if not go to step 3.
Step 3:
Move the folder tested into another location for safe keeping and put the other portion in and run the game to see if the problem still occurs. If so then the issue is with something in this portion of the plugins. Go to step 4a.
If not then the issue is most likely a conflict between something in the 2 halves and go to step 4b.
Step 4a:
With the half that the problem is in still in the game folder begin removing folders from the plugins, checking ingame every time you remove something untill the problem dissapears. The folder last removed contains part of the issue. If it is a conflict with another know file you will need to contact one of the creators to trouble shoot the reason. If it is an issue with 2 unknown files then proceed to step 5.
Step 4b:
If the problem is a conflict between the two halves then leave one half in there and add in files from the second half until the problem reappears. The file causing the issue is in the last folder added into the plugins folder.
Step 5:
Using the same process above on the folder contianing the issue work through the levels untill you find the file containing the issue. Leave this file in the plugins and repeat steps 4 and 5 until you find the second file. You now know what files are causing the conflict and have more information to give when asking online about the problem.
Hopefully this is clear enough, it's the first time I've written a tutorial so if anyone has any comments please feel free.
Excellent tutorial, Diggis, thank you. It just requires the patience to find the problem to be able to give as much information as possible when asking questions.
Nice and useful tutorial Diggis :thumbsup:
Thanks for sharing it here ;)
I took everything out of my plugins folder the game still crashes.
while loading city, during gameplay, or loading game?
Couple of quick questions mate. When you have the empty plugins are you trying to load an existing city or a new one? If it's an existing one did it have any custom airports or seaports in it?
Try running the game on an new city and see if that works, and don't forget to check your programme folder plugins.
Shaun excelent tut here for trouble shooting indeed!!!! I think this is pin worhty :thumbsup: