3DP Files Error Crashes

[mukpile123]

Recently, RT3 has been crashing whenever I've attempted to play on any modern map (>=1950), specifically when a train would pull into a station and pick-up new cargo. My only clue was a pop-up box displaying an error with the 3DP files ("Invalid 3DP File Header"), which seems to indicate that something is wrong with the files for locomotives and railcars.

After running some tests in a sandbox map, I found that only a select few types of cargo would trigger a crash (Aluminum, Goods, Logs, Lumber, Rubber, & Steel). All other types of Freight cars, Express cars, Dinning cars, & Cabooses didn't trigger a crash, nor did any type of pre-1950s railcar.

I figured RT3 might have accidentally deleted some of the files for the post-1950 freight cars when I installed the Coast to Coast & 1.05 Patches (as well as a few custom maps and locomotives). So I reinstalled the game from the disk, booted it up without any mods, and ran a test in a sandbox map.

And...it crashed, again.

Anyone have a solution to my problem?

[Gumboots]

Offhand, no. I have a vague suspicion that Windows has been screwing with things over the last year or so, since I noticed my installations were becoming unstable too. In my case RT3 has decided to crash whenever goals for a medal are met, which makes things awkward. I am beginning to think the best way to play RT3 these days is via W7 on a VM, so Microsoft can't screw with things.

Anyway, as you said, .3dp errors are usually due to missing assets, but those error messages usually give the name of the missing asset. A generic message about file headers implies that no assets are missing, but at least one file is corrupted. All the cargoes you list are flatcar cargoes by default, so the problem is specifically with D era flatcars.

The obvious thing would be to check .3dp files related to those, and see if the file headers match files that are known to work. This is a nuisance, and involves pigging around in hex editor, as well as extracting the relevant files from the game's default PK4's, but the number of files involved is not that great.

I can't think of any reason why the default files should be corrupted. I've never known them to be before, but at the moment I can't see what else would cause the issue.

Another possibility is to try overriding the default files in the default PK4 by using loose files in PopTopExtraContent or UserExtraContent. If the game ignores the (supposedly corrupt) files in the default PK4 and goes straight to the (known to be good) loose files that should fix the issue. But, if the game still reads the default files first and doesn't like what it sees in them, it may still want to sulk.

[RulerofRails]

I am a bit surprised that a bone-stock install from the disk works mostly. Not even blurry textures? How much ram does your graphics card have?

Normally, dgVoodoo is needed to get the game running acceptably.

The other thing I will mention is, where did you install it? I would install it somewhere other than the default folders that windows and/or antivirus keep a tight grip on.

I would suggest trying dgVoodoo and a different install location.

[mukpile123]

Good news! I think I solved the problem.

I reinstalled the game to a Desktop folder instead of the default location (C-Drive/Program Files (x86)). Then I reinstalled the official patches (1.03, 1.04, & 1.05), and installed the No_CD patch. Finally, I booted-up the game, loaded a sandbox map, and set-up a train to collect 8 cars of Rubber.

And...it worked!

Sure, the game graphics looked like crap, but none of the freight cars triggered a crash! And I was even able to resolve that issue just by reinstalling a blurry textures patch that I found on the forums a while back (I think it was from TruePikachu).

I can't wait to finally play some modern scenarios! Thanks for your advice, guys!

Oh, and to answer your question, RulerofRails, my computer has 8 GB of RAM.

[Gumboots]

Ah, I'd forgotten about the default install path. Using a desktop folder (or any folder except Program Files) is always much better.

dgVoodoo is the best way to fix textures and other issues. The old "Vista fix" should really not be used anymore.

[RulerofRails]

Oh, and to answer your question, RulerofRails, my computer has 8 GB of RAM.

I think if you have more than 1GB video RAM, the game will have blurry textures, unless you patch it or use dgVoodoo. Glad you found the patch.

The funny thing with the game is that if you have an AMD product the game is more likely to run straight out of the box (not guaranteed, of course). I have an AMD CPU, with Nvidia graphics. I lost my cd years ago, but I can install the game from steam and it will run fine, just with blurry textures. An Intel CPU with Nvidia graphics can often result in problems where the game wont boot fully at all, and that's where dgVoodoo will get the game running properly.

Just a note to say that starting the game and then a new map wont give you a properly random seed. This is a poorly documented bug. All you need to do is return to the main menu and start the map a second time. Have fun!