Unconfirmed Bug Crash in La Tortue "A Famous Pirate" Quest

[Nenketsu]

Game crashes when attempting to leave the area after defeating Christopher Backer during the "A Famous Pirate" quest. This happens both when attempting to leave through the gate or fast travelling to ship deck.

Build Version: Wednesday 19th May 2021
Build 14

 

[Pieter Boelen]

@Grey Roger or @Bartolomeu o Portugues, do you have any clues on this one?

 

[Grey Roger]

The end of "compile.log" looks a bit suspicious:

ItemLogic: On load location Tortuga_town_exit
ItemLogic: found 0 buttons
ItemLogic: Loaded model ammo\\Sapphire
ItemLogic: Loaded model ammo\\BuildingItemsJRH\watchtower
==> BuildSettings: New settings applied
==> BuildSettings: New settings applied
SETTING MUSIC: music_jungle
SETTING MUSIC: music_jungle
Reload: Process started for locator_name = reload1_back and lockedReloadLocator = reload3
Can't reload...
Location not found: id =
Reload: Process started for locator_name = reload3 and lockedReloadLocator =
reload_cur_island_index = -1
reload_cur_location_index = 370
reload_island_index = -1
reload_location_index = 360
Start reload
PauseAllSounds
ReloadStartFade
ItemLogic: On unload location

I'll try loading that savegame some time and see if I get the same problem. What I can say is that I've completed the "Bartolomeu" storyline more than once, which means I must have got past this part.

 

[Grey Roger]

OK, this is weird. After loading that savegame, the game does reliably crash when I try to go back to town. So I tried starting a new game of "Bartolomeu" with cheatmode enabled so I could use the jumpstart to go straight to the "A Famous Pirate" quest. Now I have a savegame where I'm standing in front of Christopher Backer. If I don't talk to him, I can go to the exit and walk up and down the stairs, from port to outskirts and back again, repeatedly. If I talk to Christopher Backer and trigger the next part of the quest, the game again reliably crashes when I try to return to town. That would indicate a problem with the quest code. But I can't see anything in the quest code dealing with this part that could cause trouble.

This is going to take some time...

Anyone else wanting to have a try can do the same. Enable cheatmode in "InternalSettings.h", start the story, and tell Pierre Delacroix that you want to work for Portugal. That should zap you to the start of the quest. Then you just talk to the governor of Sao Jorge, visit Speightstown and Bridgetown shipyards, and head for Tortuga.

 

[Grey Roger]

Update: I tried creating a new install using the May 2018 installer and not using any updates, and it did the same - crashed after the scene with Christopher Backer in the Tortuga outskirts. And I know I've played "Bartolomeu" to conclusion more recently than May 2018.

There are a few other places where I've noticed the game has a tendency to crash. Port Royale town hall during "Tales of a Sea Hawk", Havana vice-admiral's residence during "Assassin", and Port Royale church when reporting back after a quest. If I remember, I always save game if I'm in one of these places on quest business. Though I don't remember doing so, I probably did the same at Tortuga town outskirts when I last successfully played "Bartolomeu". If the game crashes, I reload the savegame and try again.

So then I tried the current install again, loaded @Nenketsu's savegame, tried to go back into town - and this time it worked.

I've no idea what causes these crashes - perhaps the memory leaks contribute, but that's just a guess based on a lack of evidence for anything else. In any case, @Nenketsu, try resetting the PC, start PoTC again, load up the savegame - and keep trying until you make it back to town.