Windows 7 "The Movies" PC Game Crashing When Saving (Windows 7 64-Bit)

[Nicholas Proto]

Hello!

I recently installed the computer game The Movies (2005) made by Lionhead Studios, and its expansions The Movies: Stunts and Effects (2006) on my Windows 7 Prof. 64-bit computer (I have owned the game for years, and played on my Vista and XP PC earlier). The install was okay, though I had to do a well known-fix by going on to the fix and running the install as an admin as the autorun does not work on Win7. I'm also running the shortcut with "Run as Admin" on.

After I installed the first game, I played it, but quit soon after as I knew I was installing the expansion next. I installed Stunts and Effects next by doing the same setup procedure as before, and it installed correctly. I ran the game, and it worked perfectly as expected, on "Best settings".

It is an older game, so I did use the resolution command change in the shortcut (-width 1920 -height 1080) to make the game crisper. I also went on ATI CCC for my HD 4870 card and for the game's profile, I made the settings as such:

SMOOTHVISION HD: Anti-Aliasing
Level: 8x
Filter: Box

SMOOTHVISION HD: Anisotropic Filtering
Per-pixel samples: 16x

Catalyst A.I. (I know this setting can be problematic in games, testing it soon)
Level: Advanced

Mipmap Detail Level:
Level: High Quality

Wait for vertical refresh:
Always On (Quality)

Adaptive Anti-Aliasing:
Level: Quality

OpenGL Settings:
Triple buffering: OFF

Besides the A.I. setting, I believe all these are not making a difference besides making the game look stunning for its age.

The game runs fine on startup and I'm able to play the game smoothly. I have a saved game which I am playing on too, and I have played many hours on it. However, since starting it, after about 10-20 minutes in, if I save either with a quicksave, an autosave, or through different, full save, the game crashes to the desktop. It's usually always the 3rd-5th save I do in-game, and I lose all progress since last saving obviously.

I do have a few mods, some of which increase the movie studio lot size, increase the actors/director's happiness, etc. I've played with said mods, and without them, and the game still will crash when saving after the first few saves.

I've found no support on this issue; Lionhead Studios and Activion do not support the game anymore through tech help, so I came here. I tried all the different compatibility modes with the game as well, but no luck. Link Removed

I really don't want to play the game w/o the expansion, so if it is causing the issue, I'd be pretty sad. Also, the game has the 1.1 retail patch (the original game, not the expansion as there are no patches for the 2nd game).

Anyone have an idea what's going on? Link RemovedCOMPUTER SPECS:

CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 920 @ 2.67GHz
Motherboard: DELL Inc. 0X501H
BIOS: Default System BIOS
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
Total Memory: 9.00 GB
Usable: 5.99 GB
HDD: Volume0
Sound Card: (1) Realtek High Definition Audio (2) High Definition Audio Device (3) ATI HDMI Audio
GPU: ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series (Driver: 8.970.100.3000 7/3/2012 )

 

[ChatGPT]

It seems like you're having trouble with crashes in "The Movies" game when saving after playing for some time. This issue can be frustrating, especially when you lose progress due to frequent crashes. Here are some steps you can take to troubleshoot and potentially resolve the crashing issue:

Troubleshooting Steps for "The Movies" Game Crashes:​

1. Compatibility Settings:
   • Ensure that you have set the compatibility mode correctly for the game. Try running the game in different compatibility modes like Windows XP or Vista to see if it resolves the crashing issue.
   []Remove Mods:
   • Since you mentioned that the crashing persists with and without mods, try removing all mods temporarily to see if any of them are causing conflicts. Mods can sometimes cause instability in games, especially if they are not compatible with certain configurations.
   []Patch Update:
   • Make sure you have the latest patch installed for the game. Check if there are any unofficial patches or community fixes available that address known issues and improve stability.
   []Graphics Settings:
   • Lower the graphics settings within the game to reduce the strain on your system. Sometimes, certain combinations of settings can lead to crashes, especially with older games on newer systems.
   []Driver Update:
   • Update your graphics card drivers to the latest version compatible with your ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series. Newer drivers may contain fixes for known issues and improve compatibility with games.
   []Monitoring System Resources:
   • Monitor your system resources (CPU, RAM, GPU) while playing the game to see if any resource is hitting maximum capacity before the game crashes. This can help identify if there are any resource-related issues causing the crashes.
   []DirectX and Visual C++ Redistributable:
   • Make sure you have the latest version of DirectX and Visual C++ Redistributable packages installed. Games often require these components to run smoothly.
   []Run as Administrator:
   • Ensure that you are running the game executable as an administrator to avoid any permission issues that might lead to crashes during saving.
   []Virtual Memory:
   • Check your virtual memory (pagefile) settings. If you are running low on virtual memory, it can cause crashes. You can adjust the virtual memory settings in the System Properties.
2. Check Event Viewer:
   • Check the Windows Event Viewer for any specific error messages related to the game crashes. This can provide more information on what might be causing the issue. By following these steps and systematically troubleshooting the game, you may be able to identify the root cause of the crashes and find a solution to enjoy "The Movies" without interruptions.