Screen freezes at Annah's first level-up

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First question: Annah just joined Morte, Dak'kon & me, & we're at the painted door. Rather than enter the door immediately, I decided to kill some Abishai to get my mercs a level-up first.

Annah quickly gets her level-up. I click on her level-up button, & it works. But then the screen is frozen; I can't click on the Accept button, & I have to enter Task Manager (in Windows 7) & close the game.

I'm using the 1-CD game, so I think I already have the 1.1 fix. The only other mods I've installed are Platter's Fix Packs v1.37 & 1.37b, but I installed them while playing this current game, so I don't think they're effecting this game. Plus I've had this problem with Annah's level-up since before I installed them, so the problem is obviously related to something else.

I've tried previous saves, all the way back to my speech with Pharod, at the end of which Annah joins us.

Is this a bug? Or do I have to enter the painted door before she can use her first level-up? Or do I have to visit Fell the tattoo artist first? Or what?

Second question: We killed 2 Abishai before Annah leveled up. Strangely, the Abishai always seem to go for Annah first, so after each battle I went to a rest place to get her healed. When I used the guy in the House of Vermin Control for a rest, I couldn't click on him to get him to talk. Does Annah's presence have anything to do with that?
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Updates (several hours later)

Update 1: I should've mentioned above that Morte & Dak'kon had also leveled up, & I had no problems with their level-ups.

Update 2: I later returned to the House of Vermin Control & was able to rest 3 times successfully (still with Annah), so I don't know what the problem was the first time.

Update 3: I've talked with Fell, had a deep talk with Dak'kon, & wrapped things up back at the Mortuary, so I entered the painted door. I've just finished the first half of the Alley of Lingering Sighs. Annah now has enough XP for two level-ups, so I tried to use them again. Still the same problem: the level-up button works & her stats go up, but the Accept button doesn't work, so I can't complete her level-up.

Interestingly, by the looks of the XP she got, the Level-up button did both of her level-ups at once. Which makes my problem even worse: the more level-ups that are on hold when I click the Level-up button, the harder it's going to be for me to get her max HP on re-rolls.

So...I'm about to enter the second half of the Alley of Lingering Sighs, where I'll be getting so much XP that Annah may very well level up again & have 3 level-ups waiting to be used.

I've stopped playing for now, hoping someone can solve her problem. I don't want to start a new game. So if no one knows how I can fix this problem, I'm simply going to remove her from my party.

So far, she's been only a detriment. Every time we enter a battle, the enemies ALWAYS go for her first. Why is that? Are enemies designed to go for the weakest member first?

And I still don't know how to get her back-stab to work. In the Tenement of Thugs room with the 12+ thugs, she was down to 3 HP before I got her behind the rest of us while we finished the thugs off while blocking the doorway so that they couldn't get to her.

Is she required for anything else in the main quest after getting me through the painted door?

 

In the starting menu in the lower right of the screen you should see the version number of your installed game.

Did Annah perhaps gain Thief abilities and you forgot to distribute the percentages to them and that prevents you from finishing the level up?

I do not think that there is a "1 CD version" of Planescape Torment. There have been a 2CD and a 4CD version. Are you sure that it isn’t a 1 DVD version of PS:T?

Installing different mods while continuing an ongoing game started with an earlier version of the game is always a bad idea and can lead to problems. If you plan to use the mod now, start a new game right after installing it. If you plan to use the mod only some time in the future, then do not install it before you finished your ongoing game.

 

Hi, ConjurerDragon.

Yes, I should've said "DVD" instead of "CD". I'm just in the habit of calling all of them CDs for simplicity. It would be more accurate if I simply called them all "disks".

I assume by "the starting menu" you mean where you have the option of selecting "New Life", "Resume Life", or "The Abyss". There is no version number on that screen. There is only the copyright info, "1999". However, the disk includes a readme.txt file, which says it's version 1.0.0. So it's definitely not the "Enhanced Edition" either.

I had bought it from Amazon.com in March, 2015. The description at Amazon says that "This is Original & Full U.S. BIG BOX 4-CD Version!" However, it does have only one disk in the box. When you have more than one disk, each one is numbered. This disk has no number. It is the disk that installed the whole game, and it's the disk that I put in my hard drive in order to play the game.

Obviously, the manufacturer switched to putting the whole game on one disk when the larger-capacity DVDs came into existence. I hadn't realized that until just now, when I began to do some research in order to answer your question. In the past, I had been searching the Internet for a "1-CD version" in order to find out what version of the game I had, but I never found any mention of one. Only now have I realized that mine is the 4-CD version but all on one DVD. And only now did I find the version number in the Read Me file. So thanks for the heads up.

As I had mentioned in my previous post, the only mods that I've installed are Platter's Fix Packs v1.37 & 1.37b. But as I also had said, I didn't install those until after this problem with doing Anna's level-ups started. In fact, I had installed them because of this problem, hoping those patches would fix it. Which I then found out that they won't effect any current run.

Whether this is an intermittent glitch or something that Platter's Fix Packs will fix, I won't find that out until I start a new game. But as far as I am into my current game, I won't be doing that until I finish this run or hit a deadend. And I haven't had any other problems since installing those two mods, so I'm going to leave them installed for now.

And, yes, I always used any ability points that Anna had gotten. The glitch always happened after the "Accept" button appeared. And the "Accept" button does not appear until you have used up all the new ability points.

 

If you have version 1.00 (mentioned to be the one on the 4CD version which is yours, only on 1 DVD) you lack the official 1.1 patch. See here:
http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/Torment/index_misc.php

Any custom mods should be installed after the official patches have been installed.

 

Hmm...very interesting! Thanks!

That is, in fact, another thing I was trying to find out but never found a real answer for. So I ended up just assuming that, as late as I bought my game (2015), it already had the 1.1 patch on it. You see, I was thinking like this: When CD capacity increased, the original 4-disk version was put on 2 disks, which included the 1.1 patch that existed when the 2-disk version was made. So I assumed that my 1-disk game was a further improvement and also included the 1.1 patch. So much for thinking!

So, I went through the tedious process of removing all of the Platter's Fix Packs files from the override folder, without removing any files that may have been part of the original game. That left 8 files in the override folder.

Then I installed the 1.1 patch. Interestingly, at the very end of that install, I got the message to check in the bottom right corner of the Options menu to see if the patch got installed properly. If it did, it would now say version 1.1.0000 down there. It did. So I think you had meant for me to check there instead of in the lower right corner of the "starting menu".

I hadn't checked the Options menu before I installed the 1.1 patch, so I never did see what version it said before. However, when I checked the override folder after installing the 1.1 patch, it now had dozens more files in it besides those original 8 files. So that confirms that I did not have the patch before.

I do still have one question though. I had found that "version 1.1.0000" in the Options menu of the current run that I've been playing all this time. Does that mean the patch is working in my current run? Or do I still have to start a new run before the patch will be actively effecting my play?

 

Thanks, dmc.

Well, the 1.1 patch doesn't look like it really fixed much. But Platter's Fix Packs really fix a bunch of things. Dozens! I had read them when I first downloaded them, but they didn't sink in much, with me being so new at the game. But I just reread them, and it finally sunk in just how many potential problem spots the original game has.

So I'm now sorely tempted to start over, even though I get bored very quickly when I have to redo something I already did in an earlier game. However, I'm not so sure that the 1.1 patch or Platter's Fix Packs will cure Anna's level-up problems. When reading through all that they fix, I found no mention of Anna's level-ups or anything that might relate to that problem. So it seems that it's a random glitch, and I'll have to keep my fingers crossed that it doesn't randomly hit me again.

In any case, I don't know anything at all about so-called "trainers", so I won't bother with such a thing (and increase my chances of more problems because of it). I won't need it anyway, because I can get her a level-up in only a few minutes very easily.

 

Mentioning Platters patch: The readme of it explicitely mentions to make sure to have installed the official 1.1 patch BEFORE installing Platters patch
http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/Torment/Platter/index.php

The game has no known bug that plagues only Annahs levelup. During my playthroughs (both with the original 4CD version and later again with the EE version) I never had a problem levelling up any character). So it likely is a botched installation or mixup of patches and mods of your installation that caused your problem.

The original DVD version of Planescape had "Windows 98/Me/XP/Vista" as system requirements. When you use Windows 7 you may want to use the Windows 7 compatibility mode
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/15078/windows-make-older-programs-compatible
for Windows XP to play Planescape.

 

For Conjurer Dragon:

Yes, I had seen Platter’s patch mentioning that the 1.1 patch needed to be installed first. But remember, I had assumed that my 1-disk game was an improved version that included the 1.1 patch with it, not having been able to find anything on the Internet that gave me any other reason why my game had only 1 disk.

I’ve corrected that now, having uninstalled Platter’s two patches, and then installed the official 1.1 patch. And I don’t plan to install Platter’s patches again unless I plan to start a new game. (And, yes, I will then install them before I start the new game.)

So, moving along here…I just spent a couple hours playing with compatibility settings, including going through all the various recommendations mentioned at the Microsoft Support link that you provided.

First, I should say that I don’t think I’ve been having any compatibility problems. The game might look just a tad too blurry, but I think that’s mainly due to either the age of the game, or simply due to so many of the settings being overly dark. When the scene is (rarely) nice and bright, it looks quite acceptable.

I’ve always thought that the view point is zoomed in too close and would prefer that it was farther back, similar to the view in Neverwinter Nights. In fact, I often subconsciously found myself rolling the mouse wheel to zoom out, just like you can do in NWN. But when I went online and looked at several screen shots, they all look exactly like my screen view, so it became apparent that the view is simply the way the game is made to be viewed. I did notice that screen shots from the enhanced edition are zoomed out a bit to a more pleasing view, but that’s neither here nor there.

So…I tried all kinds of compatibility settings, including some that I had no idea what they were talking about. I tested each change by opening the game to the same load spot to see if I could tell any difference before and after. I always loaded a save in the Brothel, because it was nice and bright, and thus easier to see any changes.

In the end, I made only one permanent change. I noticed on the “Compatibility” tab that the “Compatibility mode” box was not checked, and that it gave two Windows XP options: Service Pack 2 or Service Pack 3. After spending a long time on the Internet trying to find out which Windows XP service pack the game was made for, I finally found out that I should select “Service Pack 3”. So I did. I’m not sure there was any difference: either it was an extremely slight change in sharpness (and nothing else), or it was my imagination. But I kept that change, just in case.

During all the time on the Internet to help me deal with all this compatibility stuff, I did come across a fix that gave all this trouble a happier ending. One big annoying thing in the game had been everyone (my character, my companions, and even NPCs and enemies) often running backwards or sideways. In battle, they would even fight backwards, which made it impossible to tell who was attacking whom, especially in large groups. I found one web page that told how to fix that. And here’s how for those who don’t know:

How to fix walking backwards:

1. While in the game, go to Options Screen and select Video Options.

2. Click on the “Software Mirroring” dot, so that it is enabled.

3. Click the “Done” button and return to the game. Everyone is now walking forward!

Note 1: The article had called that button the “Mirror BLT”. My game had no such thing. The only option I had with “mirror” in it was the “Software Mirroring” dot. And that worked.

Note 2: What position the dot is in is not obvious (like a simple “On” or “Off” displayed). Instead, the off position is a solid dark blue dot. When it’s “on”, the dark blue dot gets a small light blue section added to it along the bottom of the dot. I would think that a solid dark blue dot would be “on” and a broken dark blue dot would be off, but so much for thinking again. LOL

So, was Anna’s level-up problem due to not having the official 1.1 patch and/or Platter’s Fix Packs? Probably not.

Was it due to compatibility settings? Probably not.

That seems to leave a temporary glitch that may not happen again, or an installation glitch of some kind.

So, if I start a new game, I’ll probably (1) first reinstall the whole game, then (2) add the official 1.1 patch, then (3) add Platter’s two Fix Packs. Then start a new game. Of course, even if Anna’s level-ups work fine in the new game, I won’t know why for sure, because it could’ve been due to any of those three changes. Or it could have been a temporary glitch that wouldn’t have repeated itself anyway.

 

That is why it is important to discriminate between CD´s and DVD´s and for similar reasons between DVD´s and Bluerays...

The blurryness comes from the problem that the original Planescape does not support the higher resolutions of nowadays monitors and usually is streched to fit the screensize (similiar to watching a movie recorded on a VHS-tape on a new large Flatscreen TV - you can either watch it in the original size sharply or stretched to the size of the TV blurry).

Chosing the Windows XP compatility setting was what I originally suggested without the need to test through all of them. Compatibility settings often do not give immediately visible differences - but when playing an older game some of them might prevent mysterious crashes to desktop at different stages of the game (e.g. for Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor I did not really need the compatibility settings for most of the game - with the sole exception of one battle in a part of a dungeon where a magical effect caused a CTD without those compatibility settings). If you try to play an older game it usually is a good idea to use the compatibility mode for the newest operating system that game was released for.

 

Well, I"m glad I got the compatibility issue fixed. Thanks for your help.

 

Actually, that's only part of it. The other part is that old CRT monitors used a 4:3 aspect ratio, while modern flatscreens are the widescreen 16:9 ratio. There is considerably less distortion if you can set your monitor to a 4:3 ratio like 1280x1024 (~2*640x480, don't know why it's 1024 on monitors that support it instead of 960) or something higher if available that I don't feel like calculating. If you can do 1600x1200 (2*800x600) or something close it that should also help eliminate the distortion since I think PST can do 800x600. I can't recall if it can do 1024x768, I think so, so a 1900 or 2000 pixel 4:3 ratio should have less distortion as well. Sorry, I can't recall which IE game can do what resolutions.

Also, I thought PST had a "gamma" or "brightness" hidden in the graphics options that would let you make it less dark. Now I'm going to have to check but I'll have to dig out the CDs, which I'm looking at and are in a CD case under another CD case under my old laptop on a shelf I've overloaded such that if I remove the laptop and top CD case, it will flip because of the books to update my certifications on the other side of the shelf.

 

No need to check. I just checked, myself, and...THERE IS!

There's also a Contrast control, both under the "Video Options". I turned them both up and, wow, what a difference!

Dumb me. I should've thought of that when I first started the game. Been away from them too long.

Thanks.

Oh...I remember that I didn't change either way back when, because I try to keep stress on the game to a minimum. Well, I changed them anyway, each about halfway up, and we'll see how it goes.

 

Glad to be of help. Sorry if what game has what option kinda blurs in my head. Both BG games, both IWD games, and PST all use the same code base and engine, with IWD1 & BG1 being virtually identical, and I rarely need to mess with the kind of settings we are talking about. I haven't done so in over a decade.