help please with Horns of Canzo pt. 1: A Long Way Up

Dafydd on 8/1/2006 at 23:34

I have a huge problem with the quicksand: the moment I touch it, Thief drops straight to the desktop!

Doesn't matter if I try to run through it, around the edge, or skip-jump it... bang, to the desktop, and Microsoft wants to know whether I want to send a report to them (that probably includes all my credit-card numbers).

What's causing this? Is there any way around it? Is there a cheat code for flying, so I get past this?

I'm using the version of Horns of Canzo that is currently up on Cheap Thief, the version whose filename is HornsOfCanzo_part1_ALongWayUp_deluxe.zip, and which was last updated 3 August 2004.

I was using an earlier version, the one titled HornsOfCanzo_part1_deluxe.zip, when I first had this problem; I copied my savegames, downloaded the newer one, loaded it up, copied back my savegames, and reloaded. It loaded up fine... but then the same thing happened: I touch the quicksand (after eating one of the "Beautyful mushrooms," the one that appears to be a speed potion), and my screen goes black and I get the program-unexpectedly-quit alert box.

Help! I hope I don't have to dump the savegames and play all the way from the beginning with the newer version; as I said, it's close enough that they loaded fine. Should I start from a little farther back, not actually across the bridge? Can I fly over, somehow? Is there a backdoor into that area? Or am I just totally hosed after over an hour of tough gameplay?

I know I got farther than this on an earlier version of the game, back when it was first released (and released and released and released :tsktsk: ).

Edit: I have narrowed it down a bit. Spoilering up:

[spoiler]When you first step off into the quicksand, there is a little shelf that runs along the near edge. However, when you move towards the opening at the other end, you drop off that shelf into the yellow, opaque water. When I do that, I don't drop to the desktop right away; I drown, but the game doesn't crash. But it seems that if I sink a little low, that's when I crash.

So if somehow I could manage to keep my head above water, I might be able to make it. The problem is that the moment I leave that shelf, no matter what I do, I seem to sink instantly above my head. At that point, it's just a question of whether I drown or crash to the desktop.

Any suggestions how I can keep my head above water? What I've tried so far: running fast, diagonal running, running with a speed mushroom, diagonal running with a speed mushroom, skip-jumping. So far nothing keeps my head above the waterline, and eventually I just drown -- or else I drift too low, and the game crashes.[/spoiler]

Sigh. This is really frustrating.

Thanks,

Dafydd

Nightwalker on 9/1/2006 at 03:12

I never experienced that problem but it seems several people have reported it in the last few days. Just using a speed mushroom always got me to the far side with no problems and no crashes. Maybe you could PM or email Sterlino?

sterlino on 13/1/2006 at 14:06

I'm really sad when i read such those things, cause the making
of hoc1 was really an hard process for a person like me that
never touched an Editor before in his whole life.
I hate to see that some players suffered about a thing that
i created and that (initially) seems a good idea, but in fact
the swamp zone and the climb zone in HOC1 was a really bad idea,it is bad
for a thief's mission, but i realized that only after some months
of job finished.
Anyhow it's strange how for some players the swamp zone leads
into a crash of the game.
Times ago i decided that once i will finish the campaign surely
i will cut off the time to re-build those two zone in HOC1, just
because i think (problems apart) is a good mission and is not
right that someone can't see all the job done only for a
damned swamp.
I will do it, but not now.
so......
what i can only say is a suggestion to pass throught that swamp:
when you are on the entrance of the swamp deselect all the weapons
and the tulz, drink a speed potion or eat a redmushroom (that is
a speedpotion too) and simple WALK straight on the other side of the
swamp. DON'T JUMP and don't exitate, simple go straight also if
the water comes on your mouth... go on.
If i remember well in the exact centre of the swamp there is
a trouble:
the swamp plane is (in dromed) a secret door with a physic modified
with 0.001 of radius.Rarely It can happens that you will stuck on it in the
centre of the swamp - that was my fault, the lack of experience
makes me build that, today i can made it in a totally different way
but at that time was my best solution.

really sorry for that, i dreamed about a perfect mission, but i think
it was only a nice dream. :)

thanks to anyone that appreciate my mission with or without errors.

Sterlino

Nightwalker on 13/1/2006 at 17:02

Thanks for the explanation, sterlino. Dafydd sent me a save from just before he crossed the swamp and it worked perfectly on my computer. I sent him the save after I had gotten across the swamp and he was able to continue the mission from that point. :)

Dawggon on 7/7/2008 at 23:24

Since first trying to play Horns of Canzo-I shortly after it was released, I ran into the same problem as others while trying to cross the quicksand; it crashed to the desktop. Finally I gave up on it. Something I seldom do. I had downloaded it twice; installed the correct scripts, and still the same problem.

Does anyone know if there is an updated fix for this? I have looked without success.

This is an otherwise excellent FM, and I would really like to play it to completion. Always enjoy Sterlino's clever work.

Thanks

baeuchlein on 8/7/2008 at 20:00

Dawggon, did you try the solution I posted in the other Horns of Canzo thread? (http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1623833#post1623833) Click here to view my post. By the way, after writing that old post I successfully completed HoC on medium difficulty level, so "my" quicksand fix works for that difficulty as well.

Unfortunately, you have to restart the mission once you have installed the scripts I mentioned. Loading an old saved game will not work.

If you want to quickly check whether this fix works for you, install the scripts I mentioned, then start a game on easiest difficulty level ("Poor", I think). Steal some things if necessary, then go to the shop and buy a sword. Go back towards the saloon and starting point, then follow the path further away from the shop. Cross the wooden bridge and look for the cave which is blocked by stalagmites (or are these stalagtites?). Hack at the stalagmites with your sword until you have created a passage through them. This is difficult but possible; use the overhead swing whenever possible; try jumping and preparing the overhead swing if the water is too deep for raising the sword.

Once you're through, run past all the creatures littering the path between you and the bridge before the quicksand. Cross the bridge, then try the quicksand. If the game does not crash anymore, the fix works for you. You can then either continue playing from there or restart the game on whatever difficulty level you like.

If it does not work, post on the forums again and tell us what happened. Maybe we can still find a solution, then.

Dawggon on 9/7/2008 at 03:18

Thank you for responding baeuchlein. Yes, I had previously followed your advice and installed the correct scripts to no avail. When I enter the quicksand I crash to the "report error" box. Tried it again, and the same thing happened.

Dawggon on 21/7/2008 at 20:09

If I told you I had green eyes and red hair...do you think I would get an answer on this forum??? ;)

Nightwalker on 21/7/2008 at 21:22

I don't think anybody knows what to tell you, Dawggon. I still have a save from after the quicksand that I can send you if you like. It's not on expert difficulty. It's the middle one, I think.

Dawggon on 21/7/2008 at 22:06

Thanks a bunch Nightwalker. I will pm you with my new e-mail