Mechassault: Misson 3 fails to load

[heliophane]

Title

https://xemu.app/titles/4d530017/#MechAssault

Bug Description

Campaign Mission 3 does not load from the main menu.

Steps to reproduce

1. Launch the Game
2. Complete up to mission 3
3. From the main menu choose mission 3 in mission select
   Video demonstration

Expected Behavior

When in main menu, using the campaign menu will load the mission selected

xemu Version

0.7.71 flatpak

System Information

OS: Arch Linux
CPU: AMD RYZEN 5 5600x
GPU: Nvidia GTX 1060 6GB
GPU Driver: 525.60.11-2

Additional Context

No response

[mariaWitch]

Given that MA2's menu is "in-game" and both games run on a similar if not same game engine, it's highly likely whatever solves this issue or #1022 will fix both.

[LaserAntlerss]

Hi, the folks over at the xemu discord's help channel asked me to recount my experience here. I'm not used to giving feedback through github, so you might find this is a little overly redundant or anecdotal than you prefer. I will recount my entire experience from front to back.

I've broken this up into numbered parts, parts 1a through d describe the problem, while parts 2a through c describe the pursuit of a solution and outcome.

Problem

1a. I played the game right from the beginning, and other than some lockups, audio tearing, and crashes it was more or less a playable experience.

1b. The real trouble began when I started mission 17, "Payback". The first play was fine; I took the Thor as recommended by the briefing. When I realized how the mission actually played, I decided to go back to mission select and pick a Prometheus instead.

1c. I did that, and the mission loaded, began fine. It wasn't until I engaged the mechs in the first convoy that the game locked up, then crashed (whole emulator, to desktop). When I tried again to play the mission (again, as a Prometheus), the loading screen would appear, displaying no progress, and then the game would simply dump me back into the mission selection screen.

1d. I tried several more times, restarting the emulator, trying different mechs, all to the same result: The loading screen would appear, show no progress, then the game would dump me back into the mission select. Prior missions still seemed to load and play normally as they had before.

Solving

2a. I went to the xemu discord for help, described my problem (roughly as in part 1), and a moderator named Dracc suggested that I try clearing my xemu cache partitions using a tool by nrgst183 pinned in the help channel.

2b. I backed up the HDD image as instructed by nrgst's pinned post, then ran the tool. I started Mechassault again, and tried mission 17 as a Prometheus.

2c. The loading screen showed progress, loaded fully, and I was put into the start of the mission as expected. I was able to fully complete the mission with no problems (even dying and restarting the mission once).

I am not aware how permanent this solution is, but I have been able to play right up to the last mission, which I as of present have not completed (not because of any technical difficulties from the emulation, but rather failings on my part as a player).

I'm not sure if this is related to your problem or not, but in the interest of finding parallels I suggest you head over to the help channel of the xemu discord and try the mentioned tool to clear your xemu cache partitions and see if you are able to load into mission 3.

Below are links to two screenshots of my build/system information and boot/bios configurations.

Build/System Info

Boot and Bios Configs

[voltysquirrel]

I was able to start mission 3 and complete it on 0.7.86. I was also able to start it after a console reset. I'm using the same Boot ROM and Flash ROM as you did (mcpx_1.0 and Complex_4627v1.03)