It never fails!

[Polslad]

We may be onto something here.
Followed terrys advice a little so far, but the architect isn't crashing now when I run the repair tool.
It still isn't telling me how many points it repaired, but at least im still on the pitch!

[bryce]

Good to hear David. I'm anxious to see the final result of this beauty!

Doron

[BrianZ111]

If it doesn't tell you anything then it found nothing to repair. That doesn't mean you don't still have issues though. I've found whenever I've had crashing issues or a shattering mesh it is usually when I tried to get two shapes dropped as close as I could without having them cross. I think doing terrain work with shapes dropped like that somehow can cause them to cross while they are already dropped and that blows everything up. I think any process that gets you to pick up the problem shapes will work. If you don't know which ones they are, you'll just have to keep doing it until you are OK again. A lot of times I'll hit a shape that won't even let me re-drop in the original position, it will say it crosses another now, and I pretty much know that was the problem. Just give it a little more room to drop and you'll be fine. I don't know if it's needed but I always optimize on the lowest setting and run a repair before I re-drop the shapes, can't hurt anyway. I haven't designed much since I discovered this as being almost always the cause but I have a feeling as a preventive measure if you make sure you're always giving at least a couple of inches of room from other shapes all the way around you won't have issues.

[bryce]

If it doesn't tell you anything then it found nothing to repair. That doesn't mean you don't still have issues though. I've found whenever I've had crashing issues or a shattering mesh it is usually when I tried to get two shapes dropped as close as I could without having them cross. I think doing terrain work with shapes dropped like that somehow can cause them to cross while they are already dropped and that blows everything up. I think any process that gets you to pick up the problem shapes will work. If you don't know which ones they are, you'll just have to keep doing it until you are OK again. A lot of times I'll hit a shape that won't even let me re-drop in the original position, it will say it crosses another now, and I pretty much know that was the problem. Just give it a little more room to drop and you'll be fine. I don't know if it's needed but I always optimize on the lowest setting and run a repair before I re-drop the shapes, can't hurt anyway. I haven't designed much since I discovered this as being almost always the cause but I have a feeling as a preventive measure if you make sure you're always giving at least a couple of inches of room from other shapes all the way around you won't have issues.

I agree 100% with you Brian. Almost every time I have a problem, it's because of a bunker and/or lip texture.

[Indy Anna Jones]

In my later design work, I used Terry's "circle"... um, religiously. Once I surveyed the max number of libraries used and it was 17, but I couldn't tell you now what course it was. I think I used 13 on one of mine, so unless you go above that, extra libes shouldn't be a problem. I haven't used the designer in a couple of years, and I don't have all the new libes, but the only libes my cloaker wouldn't conceal were the stocks that came with the game.

I found that the biggest cause of "shattering" (the broken glass look) was too much complexity around a green-hazard complex. Traps, especially if you do 3-4 layers eat up an awful lot of points, as do water (esp. creeks, rivers, etc.) and greens. You might take a look at your course using the "net" (cntl+r IIRC, if not please someone correct me.) If an area is almost totally black it's too complex and is going to need some work. Libraries will corrupt, usually one stupid little object; you might delete those in use and re-download new ones. (Stocks will corrupt too, as I sadly found out after searching for a bad libe for about 5 hours.) They're also available here. Sigh, so many things I've forgotten in so short a space of time. But there's an awful lot of complexity in Arcadia Bluffs, Bali Shandra and Cougill's Keep, well over 1M points in the last one, and with slow careful work I never had any serious problem with the latter two (hubby did the work on AB.)

Someone above suggested saving your work every 30-60 minutes. I recommend saving with a new name after every piece of work that you do. It only takes a second, and it's easy to go back and delete them later, much easier than losing 10-20 hours of work.

I should also add that all my work was with XP. I have no idea how the designer works with 7 or 8.

[Polslad]

I swear to god, enough is enough!
I did what Terry suggested, lifted every texture, optimised and repaired and got the course back and architect working.
Did a bit more work and BOOM, the course was that shattered I thought the glass in my windows was going to crack also.
Fixed that, and dropped some texture shapes over what I think is the problem area. This seemed to contain it.
So, I thought I'd have a break from designing and play a little. I have been working my way through Dars A listed courses, combined with a season play. (still only on the C's).
Left everything that wasn't needed cloaked and played a few rounds.
Fired up the PC today after work and BOOM (again).
Cloaking tool refusing to open, course manager has big gaps in it where all the installed but cloaked stuff is. Architect only recognising anything that wasn't cloaked before the crash, etc.
System restore not even touching it.
Do I really need this grief every 6 months or do I just walk away from it.
I know last time I had to create a new user and install everything again on that desktop. Think I have done that twice now, this would be 3.
Can't DL and install the cloaker again at the moment, won't recognise me as an administrator.
I don't know if I have the heart for all this again

[Polslad]

Just gone back to my original user account, where the game first crashed 6 months ago, and everything seems to be working fine now!

[Indy Anna Jones]

Lol, sounds like the computer!

I know bro, it's frustrating as all hell especially when you've done a lot of work and are really satisfied with how it looks.

Everytime I think about doing another course, like Simon & Garfunkel sang in one of their oldies... "I stop... and think it over." I can't get up the strength to even start looking at textures and libraries, though I've had a particular course in mind for about 4 years.

Take a break, maybe? Come back in a few weeks with a clearer head and a refreshed body?

[Polslad]

False dawn.
It's all still corrupt.
The lot of it.

[Terry Grayson]

David

Send me the architect file, let me look it over and make sure its not the file itself, or send it to someone.... Then if it crashes on my or their computer its the file, at least we could narrow down the issue to
the file itself or something wrong with the install on your computer or the computer itself...

Just let me, know, would be happy to look at it for you and try and fix any issues....