WBC2 is a classic game i used to play already during the times of Windows XP.

Already back then it suffered from crashing, even in a patched, uncracked state, randomly. Be it upon starting a mission/skirmish, when a round ends (victory/defeat) or even when just switching the screen pages in the post-screen in case your Hero leveled.

I purchased it on GOG in the hope for those random crash to Desktop [to not exist], be it with or without remark in the Windows Error Logs

So after long time i decided to give it a shot again tonight, just to be thrown off the game right in the middle of a Skirmish.

Remark from Logs:
Faulting application name: Battlecry II.exe, version: 1.0.3.0, time stamp: 0x3ee3f791
Faulting module name: Battlecry II.exe, version: 1.0.3.0, time stamp: 0x3ee3f791
Exception code: 0xc0000005
Fault offset: 0x00129e66
Faulting process id: 0x44f4
Faulting application start time: 0x01d43f1714835698
Faulting application path: H:\GOG\Warlords Battlecry 2\Battlecry II.exe
Faulting module path: H:\GOG\Warlords Battlecry 2\Battlecry II.exe
Report Id: 86ca0f8d-ab0d-11e8-902a-40e23098d74f

Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
Hardware:
i7 5820k, no overclocking done.
Asus X99 Deluxe
28GB DDR4 RAM (7x Corsair Vengeance LPX CMK16GX4M4A2400C14), no overclocking done.
GTX 970 4GB (Gigabyte Windforce)

Its probably not my machine, but rather WBC2 since the error prevailed over the years, but anybody got any tips? Running the game in 1280x1024 resolution atm, havent touched compatibility, started from Galaxy on demand.

Hope anybody can help.

Edit 1:
Installed Microsoft Visual C++ 64 and 32bit from 2005 - 2008 - 2010 - turned on Compatibility Mode for XP SP2 and run as Administrator - Crashed within 5 minutes - same remark in logs.

Edit 2:
In the Options, it only displays 1024mb RAM, any way to up this? Already tried adding a Large Address Aware, didnt work.

Edit 3:
I am kinda close/tempted into setting up a VM with Windows XP Home Edition 32bit, just to test if the crashes/low RAM prevail.

Edit 4:
Set up a VM (VMware Workstation), using XP Professional 32bit, drag n dropped WBC2 main and documents (save) folder over, installed Visual C++ and DirectX 9.0 (Aug 2009), now suffering the error of missing Sprites. Been whacking this around now for roughly... 8hours. Probably the VM's 3D acceleration isnt made for this. Guess its time to call for a ceasefire and see if anyone here has any further ideas.

It happens to me too. I have just been saving the game a lot...At least you don't completely lose the game...Hope it (and the sound problem) get fixed cuz the game's really fun.

Cheers!

the time frame to get these crashes fixed has got to be hopeless.

Guess the problem is still prevailing? havent touched it ever since again.

bump. Anything new here?

+1

Sorry, to necro my own Thread this badly.

Just* tried it once upon a Time again. The first 2 Matches went fine, and i was really surprised.

The third match it happened ~10 Minutes into the Skirmish. Just a Crash to Desktop. It just closes, no Error pop-up.

The Windows Logs show this Log entry for WBC2, but i still cant make anything out of it.

Name des fehlerhaften Moduls: Battlecry II.exe, Version: 1.0.3.0, Zeitstempel: 0x3ee3f791
Ausnahmecode: 0xc0000005
Fehleroffset: 0x00129e66
ID des fehlerhaften Prozesses: 0x53d4
Startzeit der fehlerhaften Anwendung: 0x01dac40712dfd694
Pfad der fehlerhaften Anwendung: E:\GOG Library\Warlords Battlecry 2\Battlecry II.exe
Pfad des fehlerhaften Moduls: E:\GOG Library\Warlords Battlecry 2\Battlecry II.exe
Berichtskennung: 54b5948d-e5da-4e0a-9ec7-33e2db478e8b
Vollständiger Name des fehlerhaften Pakets:
Anwendungs-ID, die relativ zum fehlerhaften Paket ist:

I'll try 2-3 more times to see if i can replicate it, and if the Error wording persists or changes.

Current System Configuration:

Asus X99-Deluxe
Xeon 2697Av4 - no overclocking
128GB DDR4-2133
Intel Arc A770 16GB - Sparkle Titan
Windows 10 x64 Pro - Build 19045.4529

Update 1 - 22nd of June 2024
Error persists in same wording and appearance. WBC2 just closes out mid game without any Error Pop-Up
Sad. So sad. Nothing changed since Windows XP.

Update 2 - 23rd of June 2024
I've tried to limit the CPU Core Affinity using the Software System Explorer. Running on only 1 Core i was able to play 4-5 Games without a crash. After adding 2-Core Affinity, it crashed within 5-10 Minutes. I'll try single-Core Affinity once more and see if that flips it. - Edit: Single Core Affinity is not the Cure. Error persist as in OP and this Post.

Update 3 - 25th of June 2024
Done a bit of effort and scooped around on google. Found a suggestion to add the executable to the exception List of Windows Defender. My Character is at the moment level 11 - 10 won 15 played - would say not bad, not terrible. The fear of the looming crash is persistent whenever i play, and it really kills the joy of playing WBC2
Edit: Also doesnt help. I cant pin to what causes it. I cant pin to what i could do to solve it. I want to play, but i crash every other Game, or ~10 minutes into the Game. :(

Conclusion 2024:
The random crashing persists for me. I have no idea what i could do about it, what causes it, where it emerges from or what it roots into. All i have is this ominous Windows Crash Log that also doesnt give away much. the Exception Code 0xc0000005 points to an Access violation. I have tried all i could think of to narrow it down further, but thats all i have. If anybody got an idea, i'm open to suggestions as before.

The game is very vulnerable to random crashes. I tried to lower several visual settings, but nothing does the trick to make the game run stable. I think particles and lighting effects are causing the most trouble - at least my machine gets much louder during thunder storms and when there are a lot ranged units in battle. Thunder storms are such a big issue, that I make all heros learn a way to end storms asap (sunshine or change weather). I think these storms even tend to get stuck - sometimes not even spells can stop a storm, but if I save and reload it stops instantly.

One thing that could help your stability is dxwnd.exe (Direct X to window). You can use this tool to launch games and I needed it for other games to solve performance issues. Warlords still crashes using this tool, but I'd say it still runs much more stable.

The Situation in which it happens for me:

Skirmish - 6 Player Map

I made a XP Map where i start in a corner of the Map, isolated from 5 allied Emperor AIs.
When you setup a Skirmish and right-click on the AI, you can force a Level 50 Hero on them. i do that.

The Map is built so that they have all the need - Mines, Space, a tight approach plastered with Towers, no Dragons.
As the Game goes, more and more stuff keeps approaching to make the passage, but the Towers keep up well at eradicating all the smaller Units. Theres sometimes a bit of Unit buildup, but not too much.
The 5 AIs expand their Bases fast, and produce probably a lot of Units simultanously, fast.
As it goes, i watch the Towers Mow down Wave after Wave, and suddenly, for example, one of my Fey Towers crystalizes an Enemy, it plays the sound of it, and mid Sound blacks out and disappears.
Thats when the Event Viewers produces that Log.

Its a bit like that thing with Supreme Commander where it kills itself when it reaches ~3.4GB RAM usage due to being written in 32bit Code. Some kind of Address space problem i think. Like too much is going on for the Game to handle/proccess and it terminates itself.

My guesses go in a similar direction, the game just seems to terminate itself, when too much is happening at once.

Is it just that custom map with that specific scenario causing crashes? What about "normal" gameplay with less chances to cause some kind of overload? I came to acceptance, that some specific things just break the game. Like that Hero bug in Mounts of Ragnar, where a bugged Elven Hero always crashes the game, when the cursor hovers on her (not to mention she seems to be level 99 and therefor totally overpowered). Or the thunderstorms which at least for me always cause some perfomance problems (I had also some crashes after the game on the result screen, when the game ende during a thunderstorm).

Maybe your crash is also weather related: It may well be, that everytime your game crashes, it's about to rain/storm. If you have random weather enabled for your map, you could try to disable it.

Apart from that you could try Dxwnd to launch the game. As said it still crashes, but at least it feels a bit more stable to me.