Has anyone got save states to work in Castlevania Chronicles?

[Nupraptor]

I've tried playing Castlevania Chronicles on two completely different computers, with both ePSXe, AdriPSX, and PSXeven. I've tried using every one of Pete's GPU plugins with every possible combination of settings I could try. I've also tried every sound plugin I can find, including Eternal, P.E.Op.S. and the ePSXe core one. Yet this problem persists:

The game plays 100% perfectly. It will even allow me to save my current state just fine. However, I can't load the previously saved state. When I press F3 to load my state, it will put me back where I was. The music will be mysteriously absent and, after about 3-5 seconds, the game will outright lock up on me. I've even tried disabling sound entirely, but it still happens.

I remember having a similar problem with Metal Gear Solid, which I don't think I ever solved. For that game, I simply continued to use the in-game save function. But the infrequent opportunities to save in Chornicles makes the game downright difficult to enjoy without save states. Anyone know of a way to get them working properly?

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Last edited by Nupraptor; February 2nd, 2005 at 03:35..

[I-Chan]

have you the latest versions of all drivers? Check it here. Anyway, just use memcard saves, they are way more reliable than savestates.

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[a_en]

try this:
load yours save state then press esc then resume/continue your game again.

[Nupraptor]

Originally Posted by I-Chan

have you the latest versions of all drivers?

Yes, I do.

Anyway, just use memcard saves, they are way more reliable than savestates.

The opportunities to save in the game are incredibly infrequent. Even after finishing the first level, you're still not given the chance to save.

Originally Posted by a_en

try this:
load yours save state then press esc then resume/continue your game again.

Thanks for the suggestion, but it doesn't help.

[Dark Watcher]

We also ran into this some time ago. It happens on all emus..We recall trying to explain it to Xeven, but what made it difficult was that there was no way for him to reproduce the effect (He needed the game or a working save state.. We just figured what the hell and just used memcards, but we can see how save states come in handy in this game .
We figure it has to do with how the game is read off the disc. Usually the save state is captured off of cached portions of the game, and usually should not occur when the disc is being accessed (Hmm..are we wrong on this last statement?). Out of over 200 games tested this is the only game that this appear to occur

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[skyish]

there are many games with issues with savestates

the FF games
the MGS game

the xenogear game (rare)
the lunar game (rare)

And I'm sure there's more

[Nupraptor]

Originally Posted by Dark Watcher

We also ran into this some time ago. It happens on all emus..We recall trying to explain it to Xeven, but what made it difficult was that there was no way for him to reproduce the effect (He needed the game or a working save state.. We just figured what the hell and just used memcards, but we can see how save states come in handy in this game .

Thanks for the explanation. I finally figured out that you can make a memory card save after you've lost all of your lives. Which, while inconvenient, is still useable. Up until now, I just couldn't figure out how to save at all.

If this is a problem with saving while the disc is being accessed, how come the problem doesn't manifest in other games that are constantly streaming data off the disc, such as Soul Reaver?

EDIT: UPDATE

I've found out that I can safely save when there is no music playing, such as the map screens in-between levels. This removes much of the frustration and tedium out of the in-game save system, so I'm pretty happy with this compromise.

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Last edited by Nupraptor; February 2nd, 2005 at 23:27..