Crash Error on Windows 8.1

[JC Bailey]

So I'm using Windows 8 now (not that I'm happy about it), and whenever I open up SOM's map editor it'll frequently crash on me at random and an error message will pop up. It looks like a Direct 3D problem, anybody know how to fix it?

[dmpdesign]

Direct 3d has been the culprit of many problems from way back.. the laptop I built DD on used xp and i had to disable direct 3d while in the editor.

For windows 8 try something like this:

http://superuser.com/questions/495303/how-do-i-disable-directdraw-and-direct3d-acceleration-on-windows-8

[TheStolenBattenberg]

Because of the age, I'm honestly surprised that it even bothers to start on Windows 8.1...

[JC Bailey]

I still haven't found a fix yet, but running it in compatibility mode for Windows XP seems to reduce how often it crashes.

[Verdite]

Did you try disabling directx? I used to have to do that on my old machine.

[JC Bailey]

I have looked everywhere and there doesn't seem to be any possible way to disable directx on windows 8. I managed to get the map editor working correctly, but I still can't do stuff like set up keys for doors, as the engine always crashes.

If anybody knows how to disable directx on Windows 8, please let me know! I won't be able to continue working on and of my projects until I figure this out.

[HwitVlf]

It sounds like the problem you're experiencing is the classic "Map Editor" crash that happens when the map editor or parameter editor try to display anything in 3D. I don't think it's DirectX that needs disabled, it's a Diret3D Acceleration. Microsoft removed the ability to do that in win7 onward.

The fix I prefer is to use VirtualPC which emulates a entire computer using software so there's no acceleration. It runs as a window on your normal desktop and you can drag/drop files from/to it like a normal window. The only downside is when it comes time to playtest, the lack of 3D acceleration can cause lag.

[JC Bailey]

Dmpdesign actually recommended that, I may have to give it a try.

[Verdite]

I have had this problem, and I found a solution here.

However, disabling hardware acceleration makes the test map function unusable. Just turn it back on to test.