Runtime error and awful textures?!

[Legacy_Master Jax]

               I noticed today the quality of my graphics was beyond horrible, beyond crap... and decided to check what was going on. I used NWNExplorer to check my haks and overrides, but everything was ok on that front. "What other resource has anything to do with the quality of my graphics?" I asked myself, dumbfounded by the fact I hadn't done any changes to my NWN or VideoCard drivers in the last couple of days. So, I tried opening the Texture Packs through the previously mentioned app, but they didn't show up. The +symbol in the directory tree never displayed the different texture packs as it always does. Huh... strange. I went and tried to open the same options in NWN Explorer 1.69, only to find an error window with the legend: Runtime c++ error everytime I tried to access the app.

So, I went in-game and kept seeing the disgusting quality of the textures, and did some troubleshooting. The only thing that helped was diminishing the texture quality from 64 or more, to 32, which at least seems decent.

Some time later I remembered there was a microsoft visual c++ security update for 64 bits systems released earlier in the week. Question is: Am I the only one getting this issue in Windows 7 64 bits, Service Pack 1, or is anyone else suffering the same thing? Maybe it has nothing to do with the update, but...

I mean, been playing the game all the time at top specs, and never had any problem regarding textures... '>
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Master Jax]

               As an update, Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition is also crashing to desktop after some time playing. The issue started the same day I noticed the texture thing in NWN. Same with TVTrigger, which is showing a "mscorlib" error shortly after opening.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Master Jax, 02 octobre 2011 - 10:02 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_HipMaestro]

               How long have you been using the current vcard?  Seems like it may have developed hotspots at least.  Try blowing the card clean with nitrogen and see if that helps.  If not, you may be experiencing a failing card for whatever reason (still under warranty?).
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Master Jax]

               Err, nope, the card is functioning correctly. TV Trigger requires no videocard input, Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition is working again after the latest update, and any other app is also performing perfectly regardless of videocard input. I uninstalled the security update to Microsoft Visual C++ and the software itself. I re-installed and made some troubleshooting but the issue persists. I googled the "mscorlib" error for TV Trigger and found out it may be due to a .NET Framework failure. However, I haven't uninstalled the security update or re-installed the framework because I'm not sure it is the cause of the NWN issue too. Does anyone know if .NET Framework is actively used by NWN and/or the related Explorer apps? Something to do with the Texture Packs, maybe?
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Lord Sullivan]

               Normally in NWN Explorer, if you can't get the texture packs, it means you did not install them the last time you installed NWN. Are you trying to say that nothing has changed for months on your system, but all of a sudden lately, you start up NWN and have this texture issue?
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Master Jax]

               Exactly. As the opening post says, it started about a week ago, and the only major changes were Windows Ultimate 64 bits Service Pack 1 security updates. Out of the programs giving me trouble since, only Street Fighter Arcade Edition got fixed by installing the latest update. However, TV Trigger, NWN and both Explorer versions are still having problems. Since I uninstalled-reinstalled TV Trigger and it didn't fix the issue, I'm trying to determine what they have in common, and since the only other update besides Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 was for the.NET Framework 4, I wanted to know if anybody else is experiencing bugs or issues related to it.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Lord Sullivan]

               Ok then, if you look in your NWN install directory in the Folder...

--> NeverwinterNights\\NWN\\texturepacks <--

What files do you have in there?
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Master Jax]

               The same ones I've always had. The 14 texture packs for the original game and its expansions. You know, the tpa, tpb, tpc and gui files. The files themselves are there, what happened is somehow the game lost the ability to display texture quality beyond 32 bits, and it somehow messed up even the NWN Explorer apps, which now are also unable to open such packs. Since TV Trigger and Street Figther IV Arcade Edition are also malfunctioning, I'm guessing it has something to do with a windows security update. Thing is, I don't know if I'm right about it being the .NET Framework, as I don't have a clue if all of these programs use it. Given that uninstalling-reinstalling TV Trigger didn't fix the crash in that application, I'm guessing uninstalling-reinstalling NWN won't work either. Is anyone else experiencing this?
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Lord Sullivan]

               I really don't have a clue what could possibly be wrong except that I remember a while back when I had updated my Windows XP and had included .NET 4.0 with the updates and afterward my whole system had a bunch of issues... I uninstalled it and everything came back to normal.

You should consider trying that. Just go in the Add/Remove Programs and uninstall .NET 4.0
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Master Jax]

               You know what's even more baffling? Just yesterday I opened TV Trigger, and it downloaded show updates (not software updates) automatically. After that, the app has been working again. I'm starting to think all the issues have different causes, and in an extraordinary show of fate being a douchebag, they all hit around the same time. The NWN issue, however, pervades, so I'm gonna go and uninstall-reinstall the .NET Framework 4... I was hoping to avoid it, but there's not much else to do...
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Master Jax]

               I haven't gotten around to uninstalling the .NET Framework 4, but noticed something that may be important: Once again, TV Trigger ain't working properly, same error message, and the Dire Rats in NWN looked horrible, so I went and re-activated the 64 textures which made my Crypt tileset look horrible in the first place. Lo and behold, the Dire Rats looked great again, but the Sewers tileset looks horrible. That's when it hit me... the texture packs deal on DDS files rather than TGA's which means the issue may be those. My override files are TGA's and they look perfect, but both the game and the Explorer apps seem unable to display the DDS files contained in the texture packs. I searched the vault for TGA only versions of the texture packs, to see if such could fix the issue, but couldn't find any. Hope anyone may offer some insight. And no, this is recent, it didn't happen EVER before.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Shia Luck]

               Hi Jax, .. this topic is a bit beyond me but maybe this vault entry might be useful... at least in testing.

Good Luck '>
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Master Jax]

               I actually found what the issue was! I used a little deduction and logic and thought to myself: Myself, the issue is clearly centered in the texture packs, and since the quality beyond 32 is failing, reason tells us it has to be the tpa files (the ones with the higher resolution textures). I then noticed they have the erf extension, so I copied them to the erf folder in order to take a look inside. Long story short, I discovered the tileset tpa was corrupted and was actually the one causing all the issues in both NWN and the NWN Explorer versions. Thankfully, I have a complete backup of my NWN folder dating back a year, and simply replaced the file. Problem solved! How it got to be corrupted in the first place a few weeks ago is a complete mystery, but at least my favorite game has one less problem to worry about! Yet again, thanks to the guys (and girl) who took the time to post! Now, just what the frak is wrong with my TV Trigger and Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition?...