Strange Mini loading problem - help!

[Marc Collins]

I am sure I have done something to cause this to myself because my mod-free beta version works perfectly, but my mainstream AMS has not loaded the Mini for a Single Race for quite a while. It will load in Test Day!?!?!

If I try to do a race, I get texture errors related to MSC_BODY, including SRPL_ENVMAP01 and "global" errors.

I might be able to figure out what other mod or issue could be causing this if I had a clue what is different about loading the exact same track with the same number of AI in Single Race versus Test Day!! Is it safety car related? What is happening that is different and could some other mod affect the Mini? I am using only the stock skins (I don't even know if other ones are available). When I look at the Mini folders in Windows, the Beta and regular build look identical!?!?!

 

[quicksilver384]

have you tried to verify the game??

 

[Marc Collins]

have you tried to verify the game??

Sorry, should have noted that I have done that multiple times to no avail, including completely deleting the Mini's folder in Vehicles.

Looking for some advice as to what those texture files refer to. Then I might be able to look and figure-out what could be different.

 

[alexSchmurtz]

@Marc Collins Have a look in ...\Automobilista\GameData\Shared and make sure you only have coreshaders.mas in there. Some mods put files in there and it can bring problem with the original content.

 

[hummer444]

SRPL_ENVMAP01...this is the texture used for the shader of the bodywork for all cars (incl my mods) in AMS. This texture is located in CMAPS.MAS in Vehicles folder. Perhaps you have another CMAPS.MAS in there, by accident installed from a mod?

 

[Marc Collins]

@Marc Collins Have a look in ...\Automobilista\GameData\Shared and make sure you only have coreshaders.mas in there. Some mods put files in there and it can bring problem with the original content.

BINGO!! Thanks!!

I have a ton of stuff in there, unbeknownst to me. If I delete everything from there, I suppose some mod cars will stop working? Or is it completely harmless to get rid of it all because the core shaders will always work?

 

[alexSchmurtz]

Nope, one or several mods will stop working unfortunately… Some modders (like Hummer right above…) use AMS original shaders; but many don't update the materials.
What you can do is move those files rather than deleting them to first check the Minis are working properly! Then try your mod and see which one is causing problems. Either the mod is not important and you can forget about it; or you need to move those files in and out, I don't see an another solution...

 

[hummer444]

Yes, Alex is right here
Never allow loose files into the Shared folder, as they will overwrite the original Coreshaders.Mas when loading a track and/or car.

 

[Marc Collins]

Nope, one or several mods will stop working unfortunately… Some modders (like Hummer right above…) use AMS original shaders; but many don't update the materials.
What you can do is move those files rather than deleting them to first check the Minis are working properly! Then try your mod and see which one is causing problems. Either the mod is not important and you can forget about it; or you need to move those files in and out, I don't see an another solution...

Thank you so much--this is exactly the info I needed. Will do as you suggest! I'll report back here as to which mod is conflicting with the Mini (and maybe other cars, too, that I just haven't encountered yet).

Can you explain why it only happens in Race mode and not Test Day?

 

[Marc Collins]

I also noticed that I have two subfolders that are for particular mods. They have all their loose files in there and a copy of the coreshaders.mas. I assume if the car file is pointing specifically to the particular subfolder, those should not interfere with stock content?

 

[hummer444]

Probably the Mini SC (safety car) is not loaded when doing a Test Day.

 

[hummer444]

I also noticed that I have two subfolders that are for particular mods. They have all their loose files in there and a copy of the coreshaders.mas. I assume if the car file is pointing specifically to the particular subfolder, those should not interfere with stock content?

No, this will not work...i tried myself to do this in the past and encountered the problem that the wrong shaders were loaded when switching to another car ingame.

 

[Marc Collins]

Oooops, I bingo'd too soon. Removing all the clutter from the \Automobilista\GameData\Shared folder did not fix the problem (but I did discover a folder that was no longer needed, even for a mod in use).

Next, to @hummer444's suggestion. Unfortunately I have a few of those CMAPS.MAS files, too. Of different vintages. I guess I will try removing them one by one and see if it a) fixes the Mini loading issue, or, b) breaks the mod.

Since almost everything works perfectly, I suspect it must be a mod that is using the Mini as a safety car, as you implied above.

The quest continues!!!

 

[hummer444]

@Marc Collins
Here is a piccie of my Vehicles folder, it's an almost clean install of AMS except for the Porsche 911 RSR mod.
You can see which files are there and the date of creation by Reiza.

 

[Marc Collins]

Found it. Yes, it was a mod that was using the Mini as a safety car. Not a mod worth keeping anyway, so I deleted it. I wish now I had tried just deleting the safety car folder of that mod to test, but too late now.

All is working again. I will slowly re-try remaining mods to see if the files I removed from the Shared directory have any debilitating effect.

Thanks for your help @hummer444 and @alexSchmurtz.

 

[CMGARAGE]

Found it. Yes, it was a mod that was using the Mini as a safety car. Not a mod worth keeping anyway, so I deleted it. I wish now I had tried just deleting the safety car folder of that mod to test, but too late now.

All is working again. I will slowly re-try remaining mods to see if the files I removed from the Shared directory have any debilitating effect.

Thanks for your help @hummer444 and @alexSchmurtz.

Was it a mod available here?

Had a similar problem myself and it only fixed it when I deleted a bunch of mods. Was losing patience deleting one by one so deleted all mod folders in front of the Mini. Fixed the issue but would be good to know if it's a specific mod to avoid reinstalling or get the author to look at adapting it.

 

[Marc Collins]

Was it a mod available here?

Had a similar problem myself and it only fixed it when I deleted a bunch of mods. Was losing patience deleting one by one so deleted all mod folders in front of the Mini. Fixed the issue but would be good to know if it's a specific mod to avoid reinstalling or get the author to look at adapting it.

I don't want to slag a particular mod, but it had a subfolder for Mini pace car. If I had trawled all my folders I could have surmised that was the offender, but I thought someone would have a clue due to the texture files (nope, because they were generic). Not sure if it's on RD or not.