[READ]: Soldat's Frequently Asked Questions, Common bugs and problems.

[FliesLikeABrick]

Soldat FAQs

This is a comprehensive list of the most frequently asked questions, bugs, and problems that Soldat users encounter. If your problem is not in the list, or you need to ask a different question, then create a new thread with the following:

1. Give your topic a descriptive title relative to your problem.
 Topics with titles like "Help please" and "THIS SUCKS!!!" are not recommended, since they force assistants to waste time opening the topic when it could be in a particular field outside of some readers' knowledge. Be as specific as possible.

2. Try to provide a detailed report of the error, including what you were doing at the time of the error, any error messages you received, and your system specs (operating system, video card, amount of RAM, etc.).
 If you need help identifying your computer's system specifications, feel free to ask for help in your topic.

3. If possible, a screenshot or screen-capture is always helpful.
 You can take a screenshot of whatever is on your monitor (in most applications) in Windows by pressing Print Screen or Prt Scr, a key just to the right of F12. Then open an image editor (Paint is the most popular) and press [CTRL] + V. Upload the picture to an image-hosting website such as ImageShack, and fetch its link to post here.

4. Any other information you feel is pertinent.
 With more information, your problem be answered faster and more efficiently. You can't expect helpers to go out of their way to help if you yourself won't. The more information, the better! This is key!

Version 1.6.x Issues

- First and foremost, it is recommended that you do a clean install; this means don't just uninstall Soldat, completely remove the folder where it was installed as well. This is known to fix some problems some people experience.

Access violation when pressing T or F1 / when killed by player with name longer than 20 chars

Also, for people that get an error after pressing T or F1,
go to Soldat\Txt, open fonts.ini and change FontMenuSize
to FontMenuSize=13 (or higher number)
if that doesnt help change
FontConsoleSize=9 (or 10 or higher)

Kicked by BattlEye for not responding on clean installs

Can you enter the following in the Windows Explorer address bar: %appdata%
Then delete the Soldat folder over there.

Do a fresh reinstall of Soldat 1.4.2 and DONT apply the 1.4.1 BE update package.

- Soldat crashes with DirectX error or access violation (on start or join game) but worked in previous versions
Open Soldat Setup.
Try turning on Video Comaptibility.
Try using standard 640x480 resolution. Try changing resolution and texture filters.
Try smaller back-buffer counts.
Try 16-bit, or 32-bit mode in fullscreen. Try windowed mode.
Be sure the following are turned OFF: Force Software; Antialiasing; Dithering;
Update your video drivers.

If all fails try these settings:
1. Check 16 bit
2. Select 640x480
3. Turn OFF antialiasing AND dithering
4. Turn ON video compatibility
5. Turn OFF force software
6. Turn OFF ATI fix.
7. Run in full screen mode.

Another solution for running in windowed mode:
Go to Desktop. Right-click and click Settings.
Then go to Settings again.
And change Color Quality to 16/Bit.

Also, one solution posted by R1ZE:

1. Start up Soldat.
2. Tab out of it completely (so that the resolution changed back to my default)
3. Click on/tab back into Soldat.
4. Click on the Player and Server Options tabs for a few seconds before clicking on the Join server one.
5. Pick a server.

- Different errors during gameplay related to font displaying
Firstly update your video card drivers. If the problem persists:
turn on Video compatibility ON in Soldat Setup.
Also try changing font sizes on Soldat\Txt\font.ini

- If fonts are not working properly in pre-game menu
Be sure that the font files (bgothl.ttf and lucon.ttf from the Soldat folder) are copied into Windows\Fonts folder. Be sure to RESTART the system.

- NOD32 detects virus in installation and doesn't allow soldat.exe to be copied
http://forums.soldat.pl/index.php?topic=13907.msg156626#msg156626

- AVG detects virus in installation and doesn't allow soldat.exe to run/deletes it
http://forums.soldat.pl/index.php?topic=14467.0

- Unicode support layer for Windows 9x/ME (for font problems)
http://forums.soldat.pl/index.php?topic=13599.0

- Game freezes every 10 minutes on Windows Vista
Turn on Video compatibility ON in Soldat Setup.

Common Problems

Help! The Lobby Server is not responding!

Please visit this topic.

The Lobby Server works fine, but all the pings are too high to play!

Your ping is really dependent upon your location on Earth and the servers you are pinging. However, there are some steps you can take to help ensure you have the best connection possible.

Try to make sure you stop any and all applications that use your Internet connection while you're playing Soldat. This includes programs that perform web-updates, files you are downloading, and your web browser (if surfing).

Another step is to try to optimize your connection settings using the TCP Optimizer. Simply download the TCP Optimizer (it's the first on the list), and select your connection type, apply, and restart your PC.

Always remember that your ping affects all other players in the game as well, since the server has to work extra hard to keep all players synchronized together.

A message box appears, saying "Cannot play with modified animations. Please reinstall Soldat."!

Reinstall Soldat using the full package; something in ..\Soldat\Animations has been changed and cannot be used online. Reboot the computer just to make sure everything works fine.

There are two reasons that this can appear. Either you installed a mod that modifies an animation, giving it too many or too few frames, or there was a change in daylight savings time.

Access Violations.

Although in version 1.2 this problem was supposed to be fixed, it still occurs now and then. The error message commonly being:

'Access Violation at address 0055411E in module 'Soldat.exe', Read of address 0000000000'

It's been reported that it happens more frequently during viewing of Demos. To solve this problem do the following:

      1. Never cheat, or attempt to cheat - it's the most common cause of this problem.
      2. Do not use 'Reg. Cracks' On Soldat.
      3. Uninstall Soldat.
      4. Delete the Soldat folder to remove any leftover files.
      5. Restart your computer.
      6. Install the latest version of Soldat.
      7. a) For Windows NT/2000/XP: Delete the file cmodule.dll in the 'Windows\system32' folder. *
         b) For Windows 95/98/ME: Delete the file cmodule.dll in the 'Windows\system' folder. *
      8. Delete the file dxlog.chk in the 'Windows' folder*

* If you do not see these files, open My Computer, go to Tools > Folder options > View, enable 'Show hidden files and folders', and click 'Apply to all folders', Yes, and Ok. If those files are on your system, you'll be able to find and delete them now. However, if you don't have them, then steps 1-7 should have fixed the problem.

If this does not solve the issue, then you have programs running that are interfering with Soldat. Close all messengers, chat programs, anti-virus programs, etc. before running Soldat to ensure it is at its peak stability. Then try running Soldat with one program open at a time until you find which program you must leave closed to play Soldat.

Also, ensure that you do not have any spyware or keyloggers, trojans, virii, etc. on your system, as they can cause these issues as well. Update your anti-virus (Grisoft's free anti-virus is one of the most popular and most reliable), perform a full system scan, and use assistant programs such as Spybot S-D and Ad-aware to remove any other malware you may have.

"'XXXXXXXXXX' Is not a valid integer" error.

This is usually caused by a bad installation of Soldat. To solve the problem, you need to reinstall Soldat following these steps:

      1. Uninstall Soldat.
      2. Delete the Soldat folder to remove any leftover files.
      3. Restart to make sure no Soldat files are in use.
      4. Install the latest version of Soldat.
      5. Restart to finalize the installation.
      6. If you still receive the invalid integer error, then download Soldat from a different mirror and repeat the above steps.

Some players have reported that a memory managment program called 7-max helps with these "Access Violation" problems.

Error initializing 3D hardware

It's a hardware compatibility error, so:

    * Make sure you have the latest DirectX drivers.
    * Try running the game in Windowed Mode (a.k.a. not fullscreen).
    * Try changing some Soldat Config settings (turn off Antialiasing, or check 16-bit, or check Video Compatibility, etc.).
    * Change the Windows desktop colors from 32-bit to 16-bit, or perhaps the desktop resolution and bit-rate.
    * Install the latest or different video drivers.
    * Try changing your graphics hardware's acceleration (My Computer/Properties/Performance/Graphics).
    * Try updating your motherboard drivers.
    * If you have Windows NT/2000, install the latest service pack.

My menus don't have any text and it's your fault!

This is commonly caused by installing Soldat and not restarting your PC. You can easily solve this problem by restarting, and if that doesn't fix it, then you need to uninstall Soldat, delete the folder,  restart your PC, reinstall Soldat, restart your PC again (just to make sure), and then start playing.

My text isn't missing, but it looks really messed up!

If your fonts are messed up in Soldat 1.4, and you're using Windows 9x or ME, then try the steps below.

Download the Microsoft Layer for Unicode Support.

Extract it to your Windows\System folder (Usually located at C:\Windows\System).

Specifically, you are looking for unicows.dll. Ensure that it is copied to the system folder.

Restart your PC and give Soldat a try.

- Originally posted by Skiessi. Edited for clarity by Lapis Lazuli.

I only see half of the graphics...

Then you probably have a Savage/Pro Savage on-board video card. There isn't really a way to solve this problem, besides buying a new video card.

Cannot load <filename>.bmp

Another common problem. The most common solution to this is to uninstall Soldat, completely delete the Soldat directory, reinstall, and then reboot. Again.

However, sometimes it's due to the person in question not having the latest version of DirectX. Another problem may be that their graphics card is not up to date, so also be sure to update it.

How do I play MP3 files in Soldat?

Registered users get the added feature of playing select MP3s in Soldat without having to use an external application. To do this, you must create a .m3u playlist. You can do this using the attached Soldat Playlist Generator, or through a media player such as the Windows Media Player.

How do I play Soldat using Windows Vista?

Windows Vista doesn't seem to work with Antialiasing in Fullscreen (uncheck the Antialiasing checkbox in Config).

I receive an error titled "Direct Hook #X" ... what do I do?

You are running a program, such as ATI Tools or FRAPS, or any other program which offers an ingame overlay, which is detected as a cheat. Please disable the program, or disable the ingame overlay option.

The Direct Hook error is caused by an overlay used by xFire. It is still possible to use Soldat, provided you disable the overlay within xFire.

Open up xFire and then go to Tools -> Options.
Click on the Games tab.
Highlight Soldat on the list and check "Disable xFire In-Game".
Click Apply, then Okay.

- Originally posted by Despair. Edited for clarity by Lapis Lazuli.

Other Frequently Asked Questions

I've recorded demos; now, how do I play them?

There is a manual which covers this in the ..\Soldat\Demos folder.

I saw a headless player on a server!

Actually, the guy probably used the Soldat Skin Color Changer to render his head invisible, but it can still be shot off.

I've found a bug that lets everyone cheat and be unfair! Can I share it with everyone!?

No. If you find a bug, such as the infamous dual-shot LAW trick, then send it to Michal Marcinkowski directly. Do not post it for everyone to see, as this is what lets people use and abuse such bugs.

I have a suggestion for this list. What should I do?

If you feel you have a pertinent suggestion for this list, then don't be at all hesitant to pose your question here to the staff to add to this thread.


If this list doesn't solve/answer your problems/questions, then please use the forums' Search function. If you still don't find anything... then post away

Common Issues

The Push Effect

A number of people have complained that a host of a server, having 0 ping, is affected by a so-called 'Push effect'. This means that whenever a host is shot at with an auto, the bullets propel him 3 or 4 times faster than usual, resulting in him flying across the screen.

Sudden Keyboard Freezing

Some people are complaining that their keyboards randomly freeze, and that only certain things don't work anymore, while others do.

Weapon jamming

Occasionally you will find that, just like in real life military, your weapon jams and you will be unable to fire or reload. This is caused by hitting the "discard weapon" button before the animation for switching weapons finishes. It is easily remedied by rolling, throwing a grenade, or going prone.


This topic was originally created by Hitman and was updated by b00stA, Lapis_Lazuli, Michal Marcinkowski, and Keron Cyst, in grammatical revision and the fixing and updating of various links.