crashes in middle of game

[markices80]

Got the platinum version, downloaded shyguys mainstreet scenery but when we use it in the game it shuts the game off and brings us back to our desktop. Is there something i need to download, i have vista. thanks for all the help.

[wabigbear]

Are you getting and error message about 'no sid for sid'? Mosst likely there was an error made when installing that set. The game is very particular as to how and where CS is installed. Read this, it's written for XP, but Vista is the same other than a couple of file names, and you can check to see if the set is installed correctly. If it is, then post again here and we'll try to help.

The thing to remember is that the game engine is designed so it follows a specific path to access each scenery file. If that path is altered - by placing the file in the wrong spot or extra files being created - the game is unable to access the file.

The most common error is where an extra folder holding the CS files is created. The way to check for this is to navigate to where Scenery folders are stored. Most people will know how to access this, but I'll lay out the steps for those who may not be sure:

If you are running XP, you probably have an icon on your desktop called "MyComputer", double-click that icon to open.

Most people have the game installed on it's default position, so find where it lists your hard drives and find "(C: )", double-click on that entry to open.

Now you need to find a folder named "Program Files", again double-click to open.

Among the individual folders should be one labeled "Atari", go ahead and double-click to open.

Inside you'll find the folder for "RollerCoaster Tycoon 3", open that.

Inside are lot's of files and folders required in the game, scroll down and find the one labeled "Style", double-click to open it.

Customs Scenery goes in the folder entitled "Themed", yep, go ahead and open that one too.

Here you will see all the different scenery folders - in-game and custom. This is where you place your custom scenery folders. Find the folder for the set you are having problems with and open it.

This is the important part, as soon as you open that folder you will see one or more files or folders that are the actual individual object files PLUS there should be two OVL files...one named Style.common and the other Style.unique.

Those two OVL files MUST be there for your CS to function properly. That's where the path the game follows to access them says they must be. If they aren't, then usually an extra folder has been created during the zip process.

If the two OVL files are missing, is there instead just a folder with the name of the scenery set on it present?

I thought so. Go ahead and open that folder. Chances are when you open it you'll find those two missing OVL files plus the actual scenery files/folders.

What's this mean? Well, the path the game is looking for when you see those two OVL files is C:\Program Files\Atari\RollerCoaster Tycoon 3\Style\Themed\Set (you can see the path up at the top of your screen).

The path if there's an extra folder will show C:\Program Files\Atari\RollerCoaster Tycoon 3\Style\Themed\Set\Set. Note how that folder at the end appears twice? We need to get rid of that extra layer. It's simple to do...

Find the folder that holds the two OVL files (along with the actual object files/folders that were there with them.) and drag that entire folder to your desktop.

Now in Style\Themed you should have a folder with the name of the set that is empty. Delete that extra folder.

Now you can drag the correct folder (the one with the two OVL files) from your desktop back into Style\Themed. That should make the path correct for the game to access the objects and the set should now work.

How does an extra layer get formed by mistake? Well, there's several ways but one way to make sure it doesn't occur is to always unzip new CS set's to your desktop FIRST, and then find the correct folder (with the two OVL files) and drag it to your Style\Themed folder yourself. If the CS set comes with an .exe file, I always change the destination to have it go to my desktop as well.

[markices80]

Thanks for the info, there were only 2 outta the 5 that had an additional shared folder. I deleted those so now im gonna play the game and i'll let you know if that works. If not I'll be back for more help