Hello,
Two days ago I bought the Steam version of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and the full version of CrossOver for Mac.
I can't launch a save without the game stopping instantly.
I installed CrossOver without any problem and then started the installation of TES IV: Oblivion. It suggests an installation via Steam (which is my case). First setting: the bottle. It suggests me Windows XP. I validate and launch the installation. Everything works until the installation of Steam: Error, steam does not work under XP.
So I uninstalled everything, and I started again with a bottle integrating Windows 7 this time. I installed steam without any problem and then continued the installation in Steam for TES Oblivion. Fast download, installation without any problem.
I launch the game, I start a game, everything works perfectly. I play about 15-20 minutes, regular saves, full or automatic. I change settings in game, keyboard shortcuts etc..
I leave my game, happy with the installation and the success. I launch my game two hours later and when I click on "continue": instant black screen, back to the steam page, no error message. I try again with a manual save: same problem. I can start a new game and play, but no savegame wants to run.
Since then I have tried a lot of things:
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I uninstalled Steam and then Oblivion from the bottle and then reinstalled everything. Same problem.
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I installed Steam then Oblivion with Windows 7 / 8 / Vista / 10 bottles: installation without difficulty, the game launches, black screen when loading a save.
I have to be at about 13 - 15 installations with different bottle settings..
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I read exactly the problem on your forum from a man in 2010. It was suggested to uninstall Steam after Oblivion to remove the steam presets on the bottle.
Can't do it: error message when launching Oblivion: it needs steam. The person in question solved his problem by using the .exe of a friend's game which he replaced.. -
I ended up downloading a .ISO of Oblivion. I created a bottle to install the game on Windows XP as advised, run a game and then after quitting the game, my save launches! No black screen!
I play but systematically 30 seconds to a minute of play : the game freezes and crashes. -
I installed Oblivion via my .ISO on several different bottles: Windows 7 / 8 / 10. No black screen when launching the save but the game crashes after one minute max..
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I installed Steam then Oblivion via Steam on a new bottle, I replaced the .exe of the steam installation by the .ISO installation: the game launches, but black screen and the game quits when saving. Back to the start.
I confess that I have no more ideas..
At this stage there are several problems:
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The steam installation seems to be more stable but the saves crash the game: whether it's a save at 10 minutes of play or 30 seconds of play. The saves are in the folder Document > My Games > Oblivion. I tried to delete them and recreate them in game. I tried the trick of renaming "quicksave.bak" to "quicksave.ess". This does not work.
Surprisingly, when I'm in game, if I save and 20 seconds later I load my save, the game doesn't crash and takes me back 20 seconds.
On the internet, most people describe concerns about "corrupted" backups. I don't think that's the problem here, I've never managed to restart a game after creating it. People describe the problem after 40 hours of play.
Instant black screen, then quit the game, back on steam with no error message. -
Is the problem with the XP installer? With the ISO installation the game installs and launches perfectly under Windows 7 / 10 ..
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Is there a conflict with steam's cloud backups? I have disabled everything and do ask to load manual saves from the Oblivion saves folder: this doesn't work anymore: instant black screen and the game quits.
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It's been years since I've had to deal with this type of problem but this instantaneous game crash at launch makes me think of a RAM/graphic card problem etc.. Items / Drivers etc that I don't argue with as Cross Over does everything itself.
But then I don't understand why I was able to play in perfect conditions the very first time for at least 15 to 20 minutes if there was a problem with the CrossOver hardware
Also, by installing multiple times on multiple different bottles, the problem should have disappeared I think. -
On the steam forum someone seems to be describing the same problem as me:
A user replies that his problem seems to be related to this :- a user rights error, usually solvable by using an admin account or enabling/disabling DEP.
- Your hard drive or Ram may be failing, only fix i know of for these is buy new.
- an incorrect/corrupt device driver, or under Windows XP Service pack 2, malware/adware installations.
I don't know if there is a CrossOver parameter that can be modified to adjust point 1 in particular, but I haven't found... But there are a few leads.
I should point out that every time CrossOver asks me for access to my documents (i.e. the path to the savegame folder of Oblivion) I give it access and revise it manually. Although I don't believe there is a technical fault on my side: all these tests were done via a MacBook Pro 2020 :
MacOS BigSur 11.5.2 version
2.3 GHz Intel Core i7
16GB RAM 3733 DDR4
Intel Iris Plus Graphics 1536
Thank you in advance if you have any new elements to propose to me to try to solve the problem.
Clément
