Sam & Max 303: Game breaking glitch

[Wackoweasel]

*SPOILER ALERT*

At the part where Sam is battling Skunkape, the game gets stuck in a loop. Every now and then, the speech choice thing comes up, but I never get enough time to click on any of the speech options before it plays the same scene like 20 more times. Eventually, after looping itself enough, the game crashed. I have no idea what caused this to happen, but it is preventing me from completing this episode.

[Shelltoon]

I'm getting the same problem too. Don't know what's wrong, I'd like to FINISH this game if possible...

[Darth Z]

Weird, I just finished it and didn't have this problem. Could it have been some option you chose that was incorrect?

What exactly are you picking that starts this glitch.

[Wackoweasel]

Weird, I just finished it and didn't have this problem. Could it have been some option you chose that was incorrect?

What exactly are you picking that starts this glitch.

I give the brain remover to Sammun-Mak, then the fight scene initiates, then it keeps repeating the same scene of the fight over and over again up until the game crashes. I'm gonna try playing the game again from the top and not using Max's teleportation before the fight scene to see if it doesn't happen again. I did use Max's teleportation and rhinoplasty powers A LOT after the reality altered, and that could be the cause of it(I noticed Credit Card Max laying around at one point even though Max was in his brain form strapped to Sam's back, which was weird but also hilarious). I could even talk to this Credit Card Max as if he were normal Max.

[FunkyCris]

I also have this glitch. It seems to be only with the Steam version, as people on the Telltale forums using steam are reporting the same bug. Some are saying they managed to complete the steam version but I don't see how this glitch can only happen with some and not others.

What makes it worse is that after the scene glitch-loops everal times, the action selector MIGHT pop up, but before I can actually pick anything it carries on with the loop!

So far this seems to be the most buggy Sam & Max episode to date. :(

[in.meinem.turm.]

no problems here (steam version)

[Doc Baconlegs]

I have experienced this bug as well, and it seems most likely we will have to wait for a patch. I doubt there is any way around this. Untested methods that might circumvent this loop could be:

1. Turning up the Hint Level - Hints might add some quip mid-fight that could break the cycle or give you enough time to respond.

2. Re-installing the Episode - I belive your save-games will not be harmed during reinstall. Verifying the game cache could do the same.

3. Starting a new game - The last resort.

[ShadeFawks]

Hint level did squat for me, along with Verifying Cache as well.
I will try reinstalling it fully later I guess.

[Doc Baconlegs]

Hint level did squat for me, along with Verifying Cache as well.
I will try reinstalling it fully later I guess.

I figured those wouldn't work, but it's all I've got.
I belive the save-games are saved in the My Documents folder, but it might be a good idea to back it up just in case: We don't know if the glitch is from the save-game or from the game itself.

[FunkyCris]

I figured those wouldn't work, but it's all I've got.
I belive the save-games are saved in the My Documents folder, but it might be a good idea to back it up just in case: We don't know if the glitch is from the save-game or from the game itself.

I just backed up my saves, deleted local game files for 303, and re-downloaded/re-installed the game, and played from the backed up save.

Still no progress :(
Another possibility would be deleting your saves, starting from scratch and NEVER leaving the De Soto at the Museum and using Max's powers to teleport to the C.O.P.S/Museum, ALWAYS driving there? Really can't be bothered to play though again right now though :mad:

[Doc Baconlegs]

Another possibility would be deleting your saves, starting from scratch and NEVER leaving the De Soto at the Museum and using Max's powers to teleport to the C.O.P.S/Museum, ALWAYS driving there?

That is an interesting theory. Bizzare, but it could bring out a different result. I'll give this a try.

[in.meinem.turm.]

the deSoto was at museum for me 90% of the time (I traveled to the other places via Max) and I did not run into the problem.

[Doc Baconlegs]

According to a thread at the Telltale forums, leaving the DeSoto at the Museum is the most likely cause. However, once you've got all three requirements met to meet Sammun-Mak, you can't get Sam to leave the Museum by car.

I'm playing it from the beginning to test it, but THEROY: Don't teleport away from the Museum if you can help it; Use the DeSoto. This is the only factor I think we can control.

[Darth Postal]

Same problem here.
Tried all kind of stuff to get past it. Only managed to get some desktop crashes. Deffinately the most bugged episode ever. :(

[in.meinem.turm.]

According to a thread at the Telltale forums, leaving the DeSoto at the Museum is the most likely cause.

what thread and who was assuming that?
If it was not one of the developers that's just an assumption by a user and not any kind of proof.
I left the DeSoto there almost all the time and had no problems.

[FunkyCris]

What type of hardware is everyone using?

Mac/PC, Intel/AMD?
Maybe it's a specific type of processing issue or something :S

[Darth Postal]

PC, Intel, NVidia.

Never used Max's powers to teleport. Always a DeSoto.

Still have a bug.

[FunkyCris]

PC, Intel, NVidia.

Never used Max's powers to teleport. Always a DeSoto.

Still have a bug.

Well there's that theory out the window as I'm using AMD/ATI :p :confused:

[Darth Postal]

Well there's that theory out the window

And DeSoto theory too. As I said, I never teleported, always used the good old car ('cause I kinda like it :)) and I still have a bug.

Any new theories? Anyone? Please? It's maddening not to be able to finish the game like that :o

[Doc Baconlegs]

AMD/ATI myself.
Customers at the Telltale website claim this is a problem for the Steam version only, for whatever that's worth.

[FunkyCris]

And DeSoto theory too. As I said, I never teleported, always used the good old car ('cause I kinda like it :)) and I still have a bug.

Any new theories? Anyone? Please? It's maddening not to be able to finish the game like that :o

I still don't understand why some steam users have not had the bug and other's have :confused::mad:

[FunkyCris]

AMD/ATI myself.
Customers at the Telltale website claim this is a problem for the Steam version only, for whatever that's worth.
While this may be true, as I haven't seen anyone using the TellTale distributed version say they had the problem, the fact that some Steam users haven't had the glitch and others have make it a complete mystery.

[in.meinem.turm.]

Okay. I still have my Savegames. Maybe we can check if the error is specific for a certain chain of events in the game. I'll upload them:

(there are several saves for different states of the game The last one is right before the end all you have to do is teleport to the C.O.P.S. to enter the museum and talk to Paperweight. I was able to finish the game with this savegame If you still get the error it might be something completely different)

http://drop.io/tomitreasures

[FunkyCris]

Okay. I still have my Savegames. Maybe we can check if the error is specific for a certain chain of events in the game. I'll upload them:

(there are several saves for different states of the game The last one is right before the end all you have to do is teleport to the C.O.P.S. to enter the museum and talk to Paperweight. I was able to finish the game with this savegame If you still get the error it might be something completely different)

http://drop.io/tomitreasuresThanks for the help, it's appreciated. :)

However, I loaded the last save, teleported to the museum, got to the fight sequence. and the glitch STILL happens and it endlessly loops! :mad:

Do Not Understand!! :eek::confused::mad:

[FunkyCris]

This is the last thing I can think of:

Who is using 32-bit OS and who's using 64-bit?

[in.meinem.turm.]

okay that helps. I guess. I just tried and I still can finish the game with this savegame so this excludes any strange things you might have done in the game as a cause of the problem.

OS/CPU
32 bit XP with a single Core CPU
latest version of DirectX9

[FunkyCris]

okay that helps. I guess. I just tried and I still can finish the game with this savegame so this excludes any strange things you might have done in the game as a cause of the problem.

OS/CPU
32 bit XP with a single Core CPU

I'm on 32bit Win7. But with a quad core. Maybe it's a problem with multi-core processors? That's the only difference I can get from you being successful and me glitching.

[in.meinem.turm.]

Has anybody made a Thread in the TTG-Support-forum (http://www.telltalegames.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=25) yet? We have some more info now to get to the bottom of this problem a little faster.

[FunkyCris]

Has anybody made a Thread in the TTG-Support-forum (http://www.telltalegames.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=25) yet? We have some more info now to get to the bottom of this problem a little faster.

Seeing as people on the TTG forums who are running the TTG distributed version have not mentioned experiencing this glitch, it does seem to be only happening with the Steam version, so I think it lies in a problem with Valve putting it up on steam.

[in.meinem.turm.]

Seeing as people on the TTG forums who are running the TTG distributed version have not mentioned experiencing this glitch, it does seem to be only happening with the Steam version, so I think it lies in a problem with Valve putting it up on steam.

Valve still cannot patch this game. Only the developers can and they rarely read the steam-forums. They concentrate on their own forum even for problems with the steam-versions.

[Darth Postal]

I just tried to disable Steam Overlay.

No dice.

[FunkyCris]

I'm sending a detailed e-mail straight to Telltale support team explaining the glitch and everything we've been through on here, including a link to this thread.

Will post reply as soon as they get back to me.

[in.meinem.turm.]

I'm curious how long it will take bonnie to answer your email. Maybe you could also make a thread in their forums just to be sure.

[FunkyCris]

I'm curious how long it will take bonnie to answer your email. Maybe you could also make a thread in their forums just to be sure.

Will do.
I'll just copy and paste the content in the email into the thread post.

[Doc Baconlegs]

Yes, contacting Telltale is the right thing to do at this point, if not sooner. I'm assuming you informed them that multiple people are having this problem, so now it seems the most we can do is wait.

The timer for how long Skunkape waits until retaliating is malfunctioning, but since the menu sometimes pops up for a split second, it might be a version of the "interrogation" scenes we see in Act 1. Since none of those have the same problem, it leads me to believe it is not our operating systems but an oversight from transitioning to the Steam version.

In Layman's terms, it's most likely just a code error, not our graphics cards or OS's.

[NameGoesHere]

I've had no problem, but there was a bug where I saw toaster Max at Straight and Narrow even though Storm Max was following me around.

[Wackoweasel]

I've had no problem, but there was a bug where I saw toaster Max at Straight and Narrow even though Storm Max was following me around.

As I said before, I also had this very same problem, except it was Credit Card Max, and he was laying flat on the sidewalk. He could be talked to just as you could normal Max. It's actually funny.

[Doc Baconlegs]

Thankfully, the extra Max glitch is equally game-fatal than it is relevant to this thread.

However, This Telltale-Forum Thread (http://www.telltalegames.com/forums/showthread.php?p=332206) lists a few possible reasons: Those experiencing the glitch tend to run Windows 7 or a Multi-Core processor.

I happen to have a computer with neither, and I'll test it tonight to see if these are the source.

[TheComputerGeek]

I found a fix for the looping-fight scene. I set my CPU affinity to 1. It seems this scene has problems with dual cores.

I case you don't know how to set affinity, all you have to do is alt-tab out of the game after you have launched it, start Task Manager, right click on the game's exe, and hit "Set Affinity". Then select only 1 core. Have fun.

[Doc Baconlegs]

I found a fix for the looping-fight scene. I set my CPU affinity to 1. Start Task Manager, right click on the game's exe, and hit "Set Affinity". Then select only 1 core. Have fun.

CONFIRMED: The problem lies with Multicore Rendering. Disable it manually and the game will continue. As Sam and Max once said: "Thanks, Geek!"

Why multicore rendering causes this glitch remains a mystery... (dun dun dun)

[Wackoweasel]

I found a fix for the looping-fight scene. I set my CPU affinity to 1. It seems this scene has problems with dual cores.

I case you don't know how to set affinity, all you have to do is alt-tab out of the game after you have launched it, start Task Manager, right click on the game's exe, and hit "Set Affinity". Then select only 1 core. Have fun.

That solved the problem for me! I managed to beat the game thanks to you. Thanks a lot!

[Darth Postal]

I found a fix for the looping-fight scene. I set my CPU affinity to 1. It seems this scene has problems with dual cores.

I case you don't know how to set affinity, all you have to do is alt-tab out of the game after you have launched it, start Task Manager, right click on the game's exe, and hit "Set Affinity". Then select only 1 core. Have fun.

This is officialy THE most useful first post I've ever seen.

Thank you, rep+.

[JinseiZetsumei]

I had no problems, but I drove everywhere because I kinda forgot about the phone power >.>... but it looks like someone found a way to get around it, hopefully it will be patched or something in the future.

[in.meinem.turm.]

I had no problems, but I drove everywhere because I kinda forgot about the phone power >.>... but it looks like someone found a way to get around it, hopefully it will be patched or something in the future.

they are working on the issue.