Sonic 2 freezes in same place every time

[NMan]

CPU: Core 2 Duo - 2ghz
Video: ATi Mobility Radeon X1400
Sound: SigmaTel High Definition Audio CODEC
OS: Windows Vista 32-bit

Using the chankast driver on hle boot:


Using the chankast driver on normal boot:


Using the nullDC driver on normal boot:


Using the nullDC driver on hle boot:


The sound still runs but i'm unable to move at all.

[Pulsar_t]

Is this the NTSC version? I have the PAL one and during my playtest I got past that point without any problems. I was running default config on WinXP.

[JJXB]

it worked fine for me. i managed to play all through the level without any problems (albeit at 20fps on average)

[NMan]

It's the NTSC version. It runs at a constant 60, and then just stops

[ZeZu]

The emulator hasn't been tested much on Vista, I can't say whether or not this will have any effect at this time. Although most of the drivers are fairly stable now, that could be one cause. Can you check in task manager and see if :
A: Cpu is still in use by nullDC.exe ?
B: Memory useage is going up ?

You dont have to report anything in HLE boot mode, either video plugin is fine, as long as both have the same behavious.

[F-Man]

This happens to me with a complete rip I have (1.08 GB) but not with ECHELON'S rip for CD-R (766 MB).

EDIT: This patch is supposed to fix a crash issue in City Escape with ECHELON's rip. I guess the one I have was already fixed.

[PsyMan]

Sonic Adventure 2 has some kind of copy protection and needs to be patched or else the game will freeze on the same spot every time you run it. This happens on a real Dreamcast too.

[Link0x]

@F-Man: Yes, the Echelon version has this issue. Does your Echelon version show an Echelon boot logo before the actual Sega logo? If not, then yes, you have a fixed version! The unfixed version also has this crash in City Escape.

I am currently working with the debugger of NullDC to work around this issue (mainly because the Echelon version sucks because of crippled mono ADX files down-rendered SFD files, removed menu themes and totally removed Japanese audio files (which I prefer)). However, it seems to me that one game thread (the one responsible for "playing" absolutely crashes) while only the audio thread seems to be running on.. I was trying to skip any branch command during such a stop but whatever I do, the game doesn't continue running (I was able to fix Sonic Shuffle that way).

[Makenshi]

I havent had any problems with crashing on Sonic Adventure 2. I just got to level 4.

My pc is
Abitnv8
Amd64 3000+ 2.0 Ghz 1.6 ghz fsb
1 gig ram
Ati 850xt 256mb Pci Express
Win xp home sp2

[spaffy]

i have an echelon rip of the game that does work perfectly on the dreamcast itself. i ran it up to level 10 before i decided sleep was more important.. yet i also have the crash issue in null dc. it crashes at roughly the same place everytime regardless of plugins as per the first post. so i'm rather confused..

based on whats been said above.. a patched version is required to play correctly on the DC itself... which mine does. (suggesting a patched version) yet... a conflicting explanation above states that the version with the old skool amiga style echelon intro is the unpatched version... yet mine also has this.

if it helps i'm using a european bios and european DC. oh and i'm using sp2 xp

[Loginer]

I didn't want to make a new topic for this, so i'll just post it in here, as it's related to Sonic Adventure 2: I've been playing this on nullDC for a while now, and i'm at the bossfight against King Boom Boo. As far as i've understanded, i'm supposed to look for his shadow when he's underground. The problem: No shadows show up in the game, probably an emulator-related problem. So, is there any other way to know where he is, except listening really carefully when he passes?

[BraiNz]

Just use the patch suggested by F-Man.

[seam]

i too have the freeze issue. mine IS the patched version and it DOES have the echelon intro. never had it freeze on the dreamcast, but it does at the same spot every time when using NULL.

[aw93053]

I can only get to level 4 (the harbor) to the first loop after which the game puts up a "invisible wall" that you can't get through.

The graphics are emulated about 98% and run at a constant 60fps. The sound is sometimes off a few seconds.

I also have the problem with sonic running slightly to the left if I hold down a direction key.

[chane2k1]

Since my JAP rip doesnt boot yet i went ahead and tried the USA echelon version, and also ran into the freezing problem at about 35 seconds into the City Escape level. I tried playing through with dynarec 4 times and it froze everytime, but once i switched over to interpreter mode the game played through the level fine. I tested the level a few more times with interpreter enabled and it never froze once. So... maybe instead of this being a copy protection problem, it could just be a dynarec problem. I'll try playing through the rest of the game using dynarec now that ive passed the first level using the interpreter and post an update.

UPDATE:
Dynarec seems to be working fine except for the known Metal Harbor infinite loop problem (some skilled jumping gets the job done :>).
King Boom Boo's shadow doesn't appear (using the default config for both video plugins aswell as there various adjustments)

Well i haven't been able to get passed that boss fight due to the lack of shadows, but i'm sure that'll be fixed soon. In the mean time i'll just play another game.

[Wartogh]

I have the echelon version too, and it crashes on the same screen that of NMan... Always between the part of the tram and the grating. But only with the Hero Side. With the Dark Side, i'm playing just normal, i'm almost on the end of the game, with they.

My PC spec is:

Pentium 4 Hyper Thrading 2.8 GHz
1024 RAM DDR 400
GeForce FX 5600XT 256 MB 128 bit
Windows XP Professional SP2 BR

If i use the Chankast video plugin the screen in game just stay gray all the time... I know it's a Chankast bug because of an incompatibility with GeForce FX VGAs...

[chane2k1]

Originally Posted by Wartogh

I have the echelon version too, and it crashes on the same screen that of NMan... Always between the part of the tram and the grating. But only with the Hero Side. With the Dark Side, i'm playing just normal, i'm almost on the end of the game, with they.

Use the patch that F-Man posted in this thread or use the Interpreter core for City Escape. PsyMan has stated that the Interpreter core may have a bug, instead of the game freezing due to the copy protection, it continues to play through till the end of the level. Although that bug allows you to play through the level on this version of the emu, it'll most likely be fixed in the next version. So... you'll probably need to run the patch sooner or later anyway.

[aw93053]

I've found another place where Sonic Adventure crashes on nullDC: in Pumpkin Hill Zone when you are more at the top of the stage and you climb on the wall it crashes with a error code. Unfortunately I clicked the error message away. If it happens again I'll post the error.

[clerick]

Is anyone else getting screen polygon stretching in certain areas with both plugins?