Total War Warhammer 3 memory issue

The primary issue we were having is that the game was crashing to desktop upon loading. If we lowered the graphical settings, it would happen less frequently, but once the battles got larger the issue would come back. What made the issue even more puzzling is that the game worked perfectly fine for a long time until we upgraded his D: drive from an older spinning type to a solid state drive. It didn’t make any sense, upgrading should have made things much better but it didn’t. So I also tried:

• Upgrading the Nvidia RTX 3060 TI video card drivers
• Switching out the Nvidia card with an ATI card
• cleaning off the C: drive for more storage space (this should have helped, but didn’t…I will explain more below)
• reinstalling the game on the C: drive and D: drive
• clearing off the game user data and starting over
• lowering the detail settings

Nothing worked. Some of it helped it happen slightly less frequently but the problem always came back when the battles got larger or the campaign turns increased.

Total War Warhammer 3 crashing solution

Here’s what actually worked for fixing our problem. The problem with the crash is that it gives you basically no feedback on what is actually wrong. It just kicks you right out with no warning.

The core problem is that the game is running out of virtual memory. Why this problem didn’t happen until we replaced my son’s D drive is that the virtual memory page file was on the D: drive and when I replaced it the page file just went away. I show the menus below to check:

This is off my laptop but it’s the same on every windows machine. If your page file isn’t large enough, doesn’t exist, or if your storage drive has too little free space it can cause Total War Warhammer 3 to run out of virtual memory.

The event viewer can also give you a heads up if this is happening on your pc. That was what initially clued me into what might be happening, there was a warning about virtual memory in there.

Hopefully this helps some of you fix this ongoing issue. I’m not sure why there isn’t better error handing for this in Warhammer, but at least this might shed a clue to what’s happening. I hadn’t seen this solution posted by anyone else, but I’m guessing that this is responsible for a large part of the crashes.

How does it work?

Basically, there are two parts. One controller goes into the included ring, and the other goes into the leg sleeve. The ring can be pulled, pushed, rotated, etc, it tracks all kinds of actions. The leg sleeve is for running and crouching. The ring works really well, the leg thing is not as accurate (or at least not for me, but it may have to do with the fact that I’m so tall and have really long legs).

With that, there are a bunch of different games with it. There’s the main adventure game, and a new Rhythm game that’s similar to Guitar Hero or Dance Dance Revolution.

Main Ring Fit Adventure

The main Ring Fit adventure is a series of challenges that you through. Some are running through hills, some are boss battles. They generally involve some sort of endurance and a lot of squeezing and pulling of the ring. My son was doing it quite a bit for a while, he was getting to be pretty good at it.

Is the adventure as good as a normal video game? Unfortunately, not. It’s ok, but I don’t find it that compelling. But I don’t think it’s really made for people who play a lot of video games. It’s made more for casual gamers who want to work out. And that’s what Nintendo was shooting for. The adventures are ok but without a compelling story there’s not huge motivating factor in my opinion.

Rhythm Game

Recently Nintendo added a new Rhythm game section. Basically, it takes songs from the game and other games that they own (Mario, Zelda) and puts them into a DDR style game where you have to match the action on the screen. Here’s an example of what it looks like below:

It’s fairly challenging and frankly a pretty decent workout. The downside currently is probably the music itself. If they had more licensed music it would be pretty awesome in my opinion. As it stands, it’s a nice diversion but not something I could see playing longer term unless you had other people to compete against.

Conclusion

Would I recommend Ring Fit Adventure? If you have other exercise equipment at home, probably not. It would just be easier use the Switch on that piece equipment with a good game rather than doing this. However, if you’re in an apartment with limited workout options, it’s a pretty way to get in some exercise. I know that I’ve listened to podcasts where the hosts have really liked it overall due to the same factors (limited space and workout options).

Battle Chess

One summer in the late 80’s my uncle brought his huge monochrome laptop to my grandma’s. On it, he had something to show me…Battle Chess. Instead of just taking pieces, the pieces would get up and attack each other. For kids, it was about the coolest thing ever. It made chess way more cool and fun to play. You were always hoping for this random match-up where you’d see an animation you’d never seen before.

The queen always had the best animations for the most part. She was very wicked. One of the best animations in the game is her taking a pawn.

They tried to make newer versions of the game but I think they forgot the part which made the original so great, the comedy. I think later versions (and copycats like Star Wars Chess) were too serious about everything.

Where to get Battle Chess now

There are two good options, either Good Old Games or Steam. I’m not sure which one I’d pick, I’d probably read reviews and see which one has the better port. Sound is probably the biggest deal, evidently there is a CD version that has really good sound that came out a few years later after the original. I haven’t played that version though so I can’t comment. I do really like the original sound though, it has a pretty good retro feel for it that’s funny.

If you’re a really high level player, there are probably better options now. But if you’re just looking to have a good time with your kid, there’s nothing better. They’ll love it. I high recommend it to anyone as a fun way to introduce your child to chess.

I finally decided that I needed to stop tripping over the cord and come up with a long term solution. To do that, I did some research on what wireless adapter had the best bang for buck. I ended up buying this one below.

Amazon affiliate link:

Wireless Guitar Adapter for Rocksmith

I also had to buy a female to female adapter as the adapter and Rocksmith cable both have a male end. Amazon affiliate link below:

Female to Female 1/4″ adapter

Wireless Rocksmith

So how well does it work with Rocksmith? In a word, flawlessly. It’s something I should have bought a long time ago. I have like 500+ hours in Rocksmith, and all that time I’ve been tripping over the stupid cord.

There’s actually an additional benefit that most people don’t mention, you can use it to send input into both Rocksmith and an amp if you buy an additional adapter. The wireless features a one output to many input feature that allows your guitar to send to both your console/pc and to another amp. The adapter supports up to 6 receivers from one transmitter.

Why would you want this feature? Well Rocksmith has a tendency to kind of mask imperfections in your playing to a degree, while the amp hides nothing. The first time I tried it I was like “Wow, I suck at this song” when I thought I was really good (according to Rocksmith). While technically I was hitting the notes, what I was playing also had all kinds of imperfections that made it sound terrible. It’s a key part in getting better.

What other advantages does this have? Well it will also keep your Rocksmith cable from wearing out, which is also something that eventually goes out after extended use.

First Impressions

When you first fire it up, you’re greeted by a pretty cool intro view featuring Terry Crews.  Unfortunately, you won’t see too many videos of him after this, although he is character you can select to play with.  The graphics are ok, not great but also not horrible.  It kind of looks like a cartoonish hi-rez 360 game honestly, behind today’s standards but not awful.

The gameplay is pretty good when you first get into it.  It uses a lock on aiming system like Red Dead Redemption 2.  Ironically most of the reviews rip this game for that system but gave RDR2 a pass for the same thing, total double standard.  The action in Crackdown 3 is way better than RDR2 though, with a nice variety of cool weapons and enemies.  Some of the explosions you do are pretty awesome, with one car blowing up to chain into another and another.  In fact there’s an achievement for blowing up like 5 cars in 5 seconds.

Later On

As you get into the game, it pretty much turns into an open world game with like 100 different things you do in just about any order (although it may be pretty tough to accomplish the harder ones to start).  From there you can just pick and choose what you want to do.  It’s lot like Far Cry games only you get a lot more powerful in this game and the map is a lot smaller.

The objectives for the most part pretty fun.  Some of them are kind of annoying with all the platforming you have to do.  There are a few bugs too with the missions, I’ve accidentally completed some and been unable to temporarily complete others due to things not working correctly.

Once you complete a bunch of the easier missions of a certain group, you get to do a boss fight.  These fights are pretty fun for the most part, most of them have a lot personality which is sometimes lacking in open world games.

Conclusion

Is the game greatest thing?  No, for sure not.  But it’s also not nearly as bad as the reviews say in my opinion.  I think that the long development cycle led to it having mismatched expectations, which in turn led to awful reviews.  I think if it would have been a normal release without all the hype it would have reviewed a lot better.  It reminds me of Ryse a little in the fact that it’s a good game that got kind of blasted in the reviews for no real reason.

The best reason to play Crackdown 3 is if you have game pass.  I’m not sure if I would spend $60 on it, but on game pass it’s a no brainer.  I’d probably give it a 7 or 8 out of 10 just because of the fun factor.  Definitely not because it does anything technically that great, it’s just a good throwback game.

#1  Red Dead Redemption 2

The #1 anticipated game for 2018 is finally out in stores.  Was it worth the wait?  It’s a little slow in places but the storytelling is great and it has a huge expansive world to explore.  As of this writing it has a 97% on metacritic.  I’m not sure I would rate it quite that high, but it’s definitely worth playing.  Also to note, this game is rated M for mature, not a game you’re going to give a young kid.  It’s available through my Amazon affiliate link below:

Red Dead Redemption 2

#2  Super Chexx Pro Bubble Hockey

The new version came out last year and the response has been overwhelmingly positive.  If you have hockey fans in the house, there’s no better game for them.  In my game room of foosball, ping pong, darts, pinball, etc, bubble hockey is my most popular item for two people to play by far.  It’s almost in constant use when kids come over because it’s such a unique item that isn’t seen very often.  It’s available through ICE directly only, my affiliate link is below:

Super Chexx Pro Bubble Hockey

#3  Tornado Foosball Classic Edition

If you’re looking for a foosball table that’s going to last 40 years and stand the test of time, there’s no better choice than buying a Tornado Foosball Table.  They make 4 different models, but I think the classic is the best overall value.  The T3000 looks are undeniably awesome, but it’s hard to pay that much more for marginal functionality gain.  My Amazon affiliate link is below:

Tornado Foosball Classic

#4  Spiderman/Forza Horizon 4

If you own a PS4, then Spiderman is a great choice.  If you own an Xbox, then picking up Forza Horizon 4 is a no brainer.  I own both these games on these each console, and they’re two of the best games on each console.  Unfortunately they’re exclusive so you have to own the right console in order to buy them.

Both of these are family friendly, so they’re good choices for kids.  My 9 year old has played through most of Spiderman, loves the game.  I’ve spent like 20 hours going through Forza Horizon 4, they’ve done a good job of making new challenges this time.  My Amazon affiliate links for both games are below.

Spiderman for PS4

Forza Horizon 4 for Xbox One

#5  Gran Board 3

The new Gran Board version keeps on with the excellence from the previous two versions and adds all new led lighting to the outside.  The effects are pretty awesome overall.  I’ve made some video on my Youtube channel for the Gran Board 2, the dart boards are identical other than the LED light addition.

The dart board allows you to hook up to a cell phone or ipad to display all the current scores for the game.  You can even pipe the video to a TV screen off the phone if you want, I’ve done that as well.  My Amazon affiliate link is below for the Gran Board 3.

Gran Board 3

#6  Roku Express

If you want to stream shows but your built in smart TV functionality is lackluster, the Roku Express is the perfect solution.  After our older LG WebOS TV didn’t support SlingTV, we got a Roku Express to go on it.  Not only is it faster than WebOS, it supports way more apps.  Now that we’ve got it, we run everything through it.

The best part?  It’s only $29.99, which is bargain for all the functionality it gives you.  Highly recommended for those TV’s lacking things like Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc.  Roku Express is available through my Amazon affiliate link below.

Roku Express

My problem as a father of two boys is that I love video games but I also need to keep in shape, and there just isn’t enough time for me to do both on a daily basis.  That is, until I came up with a way to combine the two.  Note, there are some affiliate links to Amazon below, full disclosure.  I include them to help pay for the costs of the website with no cost to you.  Thanks for your support.

Video game workout on a Recumbent Bike

The first time I tried this like 5 years, I played games on a recumbent Schwinn bike we had.  It worked pretty well although I don’t think I was getting the best workout, it made my legs really tired but I never got super sweaty or worn out.  I remember playing X-Com on the Xbox 360 forever on that bike.

The problem was though, I wasn’t burning enough calories.  After I went through P90x, I realized that while the bike was better than nothing, I really needed to do more on daily basis in order to lose more weight.  That when the elliptical machine came into play.

Video game workout on an Elliptical Machine

Now I know you’re saying, how can you play video games on an elliptical machine, won’t you fall off?  Well, if you have bad balance or a machine that throws you off balance, then you might be right.  Luckily the machine we have is perfect, the Octane Q35 Elliptical machine.  We bought it used for $500 off craigslist for those who are looking for a decent used elliptical machine.  They come up for sale quite a bit.

In any case, I started playing games on it.  The hardest part by far is when the games get intense I have a tendency to lean forward too much, lol.  But other than that, it’s a fantastic way to make working out time fly by in no time.  Right now I’ve been playing a ton of Overwatch on it, try to master that.  How successful can you be?  Well I was able to make platinum basically only playing on the elliptical machine.  I don’t know how many others are playing Overwatch on an elliptical machine but there can’t be many.

One minor trouble spot with the elliptical is voice communication via the headset.  When you’re working out, unfortunately all the heavy breathing comes through the microphone, so it actually sounds like you’re exhausted from playing video games.  It makes it a little difficult to play with your friends, which is honestly the only drawback I’ve come across.  I usually have to tilt my mic up higher so it only pics up sound when I talk loud.

Can you game on a treadmill?

We have a treadmill, but I haven’t tried that.  Honestly, I don’t think I would.  It looks like it would be kind of dangerous if you tripped because your hands are on a controller and not able to catch you, so you’d fly off the back and onto the floor or into the wall.  I don’t think I’d recommend it unless you’ve got some sort of safety mechanism to keep you safe.

I do think there was a guy on a sports gaming podcast that was playing games on a treadmill, so obviously it is possible if you have the right safety mechs in place.  Tripping on a treadmill is not fun, I remember laughing at someone else when it happened to them until it happened to me too, lol.  In my case, my shoelace loop went perfectly around the toe of my other shoe, tying my shoes together effectively and making me fall onto the control panel until it threw me out the back.  Pretty graceful. 

If you have any other ways to get a video game workout, let me know.  I’d like to hear about other ideas.

D.Va strategies

D.Va is my main character on offense.  While she’s not super powerful with her default guns, the fact that she can take a lot of damage plus has her secondary pistol mode makes her very versatile in the game.  These are the things I do to win with D.Va:

1. Use your shield to absorb all Reinhardt flames and Moria balls.  Those things can cause a lot of damage to multiple people on your team, so taking them out is essential.
2. When fighting a team with a lot of snipers or Junkrat launching from a platform, you’ve got to make a priority to eliminate those players ASAP.  A good Hanzo or Junkrat can decimate you if left alone, and you may not have anyone on your team able to take them out besides you.
3. Use your missiles when charging at characters.  Often they’ll try and shoot you while charging, if you combine shooting missiles with your shield you’ll eliminate them quickly while also protecting yourself from damage.
4. When using your ultimate, try and shoot it into a group.  Doing it from a standstill usually doesn’t work very well.  There is an alternative strategy to this as well.  If you have your ultimate, try and get stationed on the payload so if you get to zero health, you can launch your ultimate and get a brand new suit back.  I do this quite a bit to try and eliminate 1 or 2 people while simultaneously healing myself.

Bastion strategies

Bastion is a player that needs a little support in order to be useful most of the time.  Without a shield or healing, it’s too easy for a Hanzo to eliminate him in a few quick shots.  To me, Bastion is the player you bring out when things aren’t working at all.  He can quickly change the dynamic if he can melt all the shields of the opposing tanks.  He’s one of the game change players if used correctly.  You’ll also have to learn how to counter him in order to master Overwatch.

1. If the other team has Orisa and Reinhardt, you’re probably going to need a Bastion at some point.  Usually there’s just too many shields to get through if the other team has any good damage players at all.
2. If the other team has no Hanzo’s, Genji’s, or other long distance players, then Bastion can be super effective.  He’s essentially just melt everything in his path, especially if you have shields for him.
3. His ultimate is good ONLY if there’s no shield player on the other team currently in range.  Otherwise you end up just firing a bunch of shots into Reinhardt and do no damage.
4. Often the best place for Bastion is out of a long line of site.  So instead of being in a long hallway, being against some wall where people don’t have time to react works really well (but also limits your effectiveness to some degree).

Lucio Strategies

Lucio is probably my favorite healer to play.  He’s not the greatest character but on some maps he’s really effective (especially the point holding maps that have edges).  Nothing is better (or more infuriating) than a Lucio ‘boop’ off the edge.  On those edge maps you have to be very careful not to get too close to Lucio near the edge.

1. Obviously you want to do speed when going to the point and healing otherwise.  That’s pretty much a given.  The only time I change back to speed while at the point is when an ultimate is coming, then I speed away.
2. His gun is pretty ineffective, but it has unlimited range so you should pretty much be firing from the second you see something.  I usually just spam firing randomly into a crowd hoping to get a few hits.  It works pretty well honestly.
3. And of course you have the edges.  The best way to work this is to either come up behind them and boop them off the edge, or charge at them and do it.

You can also wall ride on some maps pretty well but unless you’re trying to delay point capture it’s pretty hard to do anything effective while doing that.

Other characters to Master Overwatch

Some other characters I like to play are Moria, Orisa, Pharah, and Symetra.  Although with the nerfing of Symetra I’m pretty sure I won’t be using her again anytime soon.  It was probably good that they nerfed her because she was making it impossible to take the point sometimes against good teams.

Orisa is great at two things.  First combining here with Bastion or Torbjorn on defense is a lethal combo IF you have someone watching your back a little (or if you can get up against a wall).  She’s also great at moving the payload with Bastion on top.

Hopefully this article has given you a little insight into how to master Overwatch.  I think keying on a few characters and really getting good at them really helps your win percentage.  I was never able to climb to Platinum until I really focused on becoming good with D.Va.

Overwatch Reddit

A great place to pick up tactics for Overwatch is the Overwatch Reddit here.  You can learn a lot of great strategies, tips, tricks, etc. that will help you win over time.  Some of them are hard to master, as much as I try I’ll never be any good with Genji, lol.

There’s also a competitive overwatch section on reddit if you really desire.

Official Nintendo Switch Dock

If you’ve been reading the video game news at all, you’ve seen that third party docs have been bricking Nintendo Switch consoles.  Some of them have a design flaw which causes the Switch to have issues when charging or updating.  For this reason, I’d only recommend buying the official dock like I did.  I originally thought about saving some money, but it’s not worth the $50 savings if your console ends up bricked.

If you already own a switch, you’re already familiar with the official dock.  It’s basically the same thing, with the AC adapter and HDMI cable ready to plug it into your favorite TV.  There have been reports of the dock marking the screen in some cases, so I’d also recommend adding a screen protector if you haven’t already.  I added one to mine, I have a review here.

Cost

Yep, it’s the elephant in the room, the switch dock is ridiculously expensive for what it is at $90.  I don’t know why it’s priced so high, but it will probably come down in price over time as all console stuff does.  You can get it through my Amazon affiliate link here:

Official Nintendo Switch Dock

I don’t regret buying mine, it’s a lot nicer to play on my TV downstairs now that I’ve got a dock both upstairs and downstairs.  The price for convenience was a little high though.  While you’re at Amazon you might also check out some of the other docks to see if any of them have fixed the bricking issue, because if they’ve fixed that then you’d probably be better off saving the money and going with one of those.

For those of you who are looking to hook up your switch to a cell phone hotspot, I put up an article here as well:

Nintendo Switch on a Mobile Hotspot

The search for the best Nintendo Switch Screen Protector

So now that I know I need a protector, what’s next?  Go searching on all my favorite sites like Best Buy, Amazon, Walmart, etc.  I expected to find several equally good options, but honestly one of them just totally blew the others away in the number of reviews, the amFilm one.  Whereas the other had 1,000 or less reviews for the most part, the amFilm had over 11,000 reviews, which is a ridiculous total.  I’ve included my Amazon affiliate link below:

amFilm Tempered Glass Screen Protector for the Nintendo Switch

I decided to go ahead and order the favorite and see how it performed.  When it comes, it’s actually a 2-pack, so if the first one breaks you have a spare.  It also comes with some cleaning supplies which is a nice bonus.

After I cleaned off the screen, I went ahead and installed it.  The screen comes with film on both sides to help eliminate fingerprints when installing.  I actually put it on the wrong side to begin with, luckily since it didn’t stick it was easy to see I had screwed up.  When I turned it around, it easily applied with remarkably no air bubbles.  I was pretty certain I was going to have a bunch of those, but somehow I got lucky and the air bubbles stayed away.

How does the switch play now?  Honestly I like the touch of the screen better, it’s more glass like my phone than it was before.  It does have a little more glare but since don’t really play in the sun it doesn’t really matter to me.  Just something to keep in mind in case you play outside a lot.

Conclusion

Hopefully this review will help you make a decision on a screen protector.  Luckily they’re not very expensive so it’s pretty cheap insurance.  If you’re on the go and are having trouble hooking up to a hotspot, I put up a guide on How to hook up a Nintendo Switch to a hotspot article.  I often use that plus my Switch Pro Controller when playing on the go.