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This page is intended for people having problems running the software NoLimits.

If you have a processor with 500 MHz or above but the program is running very slowly or hangs, the reason is probably your graphics card. If the program does crash, it is very likely, that the graphics card driver is the reason. Not every card has a good and complete OpenGL driver, but most newer cards. Be sure to have the latest drivers installed for your graphics card if you are experiencing problems. Be sure to cleanly remove the old drivers before installing the latest ones.

Common issues

Problems installing an update?

You get an error "The full release v.1.x is not installed!" when trying to install an update?
In order to install an update you need the required full release. The previous version must be installed correctly via the delivered setup file (e.g. NLSetup.exe). Otherwise the update is not able to verify if the previous version is available. The path can differ from the default path (it is different in each localized version of Windows anyway). If you rename or move the installation path after the installation, the update will not find the previous version and you need to install the previous version again (with the setup program of course). If you change the operating system (e.g. update to XP) you should install NL again to be on the safe side.
If you cannot reinstall the full version (with the setup program of course) again you may delete the registry entries at "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\NoLimits Coaster" and "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\NoLimits Coaster" in the Windows Registry via regedit.exe. Be sure to not loose your registration data before uninstalling the program. You will be asked to provide these information (user-name and reg-key) each time you install the game freshly.
It was reported that the NL Construction Kit from Gravimetric Studio is corrupting the "instpath" setting in the registry if the user uses the "Fix Locatrion Tool". Try to remove the last backslash
('\') at the end of the "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\NoLimits Coaster\instpath" setting.

Questions on advanced features such as Scene-Objects?

Please read the small collection of Howtos for a more detailed description of advanced features that are not described in depth inside the manual.

Windows 98/ME

I highly recommend to use Windows 2000 or XP. These systems are much more reliable compared to 98 or Me.

Windows 2000/XP/VISTA

NoLimits works great with Windows XP and VISTA but you should make sure to have the latest graphics card drivers installed. The drivers that ship with Windows will not run properly in many cases.

You need to have DirectX installed. When you upgrade your DirectX or graphics drivers be sure to install the components in the proper order:

  Step 1. Uninstall all display drivers from the system
  Step 2. Restart computer
  Step 3. Install latest DirectX
  Step 4. Restart computer
  Step 5. Install latest display drivers for your graphics card
  Step 6. Restart computer
  Step 7. 2000 and XP: Install latest Service Packs even if they are already installed before
  Step 8. Restart computer

Database of known issues/bugs/problems

Entry	Description	NL-Version	Classification	Comment
KB0025	No crossties on minetrains in simulator	1.8 (Win)	Bug in simulator	Only the Windows version is affected. A new patch v1.802 is available in the Downloads which fixes this bug.
KB0024	1.8 update cannot be installed for some previous versions (v1.71, v1.72)	v1.8 update (Win)	Bug in update setup	Seems to happen when the registry entires are not valid. The update v1.801 fixes this issue.
KB0023	Screenshots or tracks or other saved files cannot be found in Windows file explorer	All NL versions running on Windows Vista, 7 or newer	Issue with Operating System	NoLimits was originally designed for Windows XP which allows write access to the installation folder of the program when NoLimits is installed in the 'Programs' directory. From Vista on, there is no write access to the Programs directory any more. Any files that will be saved in NoLimits such as tracks and screenshots will instead be redirected to a virtual store folder inside the user's home directory. This folder is typically located at 'C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\'. Files inside the virtual store will not be shown by default by the Windows file explorer, but the files will be available from inside NoLimits. To show the files in the Windows file explorer, one can click on the 'Compatibility Files' Button which appears at the top of the Windows file explorer as soon as one is inside the 'screenshots' or 'tracks' folder.
KB0022	Simulator crashes when trying to change resolution on newer Mac with Intel graphics	All versions	Bug in simulator	The newer Macs with Intel graphics stopped supporting 16bit color depth. The NoLimits simulator has a problem with that and crashes because of a bug. I am working on a bug fix. As a workaround, one can change the resolution with the Advanced Setup program found in the NoLimits folder. The Advanced Setup is included from NL1.7 on.
KB0021	Screensaver does not work in Snow Leopard	1.6/1.7 (Mac 10.6)	Issue with Operating System	There is an update to fix the problem. It can be downloaded at Downloads. Only users running Mac OS X 10.6 or newer need this patch. The update 1.8 includes that patch.
KB0020	Very long response time when selecting objects in the editor	All NL versions running on Windows	Issue with graphics driver	This problem occurs most often when using a very new consumer graphics card. In most cases, this problem dissappears when updating to drivers that come out a couple of months after the graphics card was first released to the market. The reason for this problem is, that the NoLimits Editor is more like a CAD program and not like a game and it uses a couple of 3D API functions that might not be fully optimized in the first drivers of a brand new graphics card. The first driver releases of a consumer 3D card are typically designed to only run games properly. Later graphics drivers will fix this situation and other types of 3D applications, including the NoLimits Editor will then work properly. There is not much I can do about this issue except to encourage you to wait a little until the drivers of new products are fully perfected before you buy the latest hardware.
KB0019	Distorted static shadows in the simulator	1.6/1.7 Mac (Intel)	Bug in NoLimits	This bug will be fixed in 1.72, which will come out soon.
KB0018	Framerate is quite slow for the first couple of minutes in the simulator	All Win	Issue with Nvidia cards	Disable the 'Threaded Optimization' inside the NVidia control panel. NoLimits does not work well when this switch is set to 'auto' or 'on'.
KB0017	G-Force display is different compared to older versions	1.7x	Issue	The G-Force calculation was improved in NL1.7, which may result in different displayed values. Because of increased accuracy compared to older versions, some spikes might occur at segment joints if the track is very bumpy.
KB0016	Saved AVIs are all white on Intel-Macs when played with QuickTime (7.3.1)	1.71 Mac	Bug in QuickTime (Intel only)	The reason for this is most likely a bug in the AVI QuickTime (7.3.x) decoder on Intel-Macs. The files work just fine with the same QuickTime version on PowerPC Macs and on other video players and platforms. The problem seems to be fixed in QuickTime 7.4.5.
KB0015	Static sound problems on some systems	1.7 Win	DirectSound latency issue	Please download and install 1.71 to fix this issue.
KB0014	The mine-train cartexture says "Rail Raod" instead of "Rail Road"	1.7 Win	Bug in NoLimits	Please download and install 1.71 to fix this bug.
KB0013	AVI-Export: The error 'Not enough diskspace' is shown even if there is enough diskspace.	1.7 Win	Bug in NoLimits	Please set an existing path with the 'NoLimitsAdvancedSimSetup' tool that can be found inside the NoLimits folder. The message is also always shown on Windows 95/98SE/ME. Please download and install 1.71 to fix this bug.
KB0012	Installer hangs with message "Cannot execute installation helper tool"	1.7 Mac	Bug in NoLimits	Please download and install 1.71 to fix this bug.
KB0011	The mouse cursor does not disappear using the simulator on some Macs and stays centered on the screen.	1.55 Mac	Bug in graphics driver	I am unable to fix it right now, it seems to be a bug in the graphics drivers. As a workaround you may press the 'm' key (delink mouse) twice while riding a coaster.
KB0010	Screen corruption (strange lines, almost black screen) in some resolutions using Radeon 9600 mobility after updating to OS 10.3.8.	1.55 Mac	Bug in graphics driver	Apple knows about this problem, but this bug was not fixed in 10.3.9. As a workaround you may try to change the resolution by hand. The preferences are stored in the preferences file found in "~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.nolimitscoaster.NoLimitsSimulator.xxxxx.plist", where xxxxx is some number. The preference values for the display mode are "reswidth", "resheight" and "mode". reswitdh and resheight are numeric values and mode is a boolean ('true' for fullscreen, 'false' for windowmode). Be sure to set "appstate" to 0 if that value exists. Example: "reswith = 640, resheight = 480, mode = false, appstate = 0" will set the mode to 640x480 windowed. I got an email that this bug was fixed in Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger).
KB0009	Vertex Panel behaves strange sometimes.	1.51 Win/Mac	Bug in NoLimits	Please download and install 1.55 to fix this bug.
KB0008	Installation may fail with error "The required full version (1.3x) cannot be found at "<path>\" and "The registry contains invalid data. You need to reinstall NoLimits!"	1.5 Win	Bug in NLConstructionKit from Gravimetric Studios	May happen if the user has NL Construction Kit from Gravimetric Studios installed and was using the "Fix Location Tool". The problem is the last backslash ('\') in the path at "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\NoLimits Coaster\instpath" that needs to be removed. Reinstall the NoLimits Full-Version as a workaround and do not use the "Fix Location Tool" or install 1.55.
KB0007	Shuttle tracks with chain lifts (e.g. Boomerang/Invertigo) crash on some ATI Radeon 9600 and 9800 cards.	1.5 Win	Bug in graphics driver	Please update to 1.55, which works around this graphics driver bug.
KB0006	Editor will behave strange and needs to be restarted when one clicks both mouse buttons in the 3d-view at the same time.	1.5 Win	Bug in NoLimits	Please update to 1.55.
KB0005	Rail view was removed from the sim because of some new engine issues, the help still mentions it.	1.5 Win	Issue in NoLimits	Please use the fly-by view as a replacement for the rail view.
KB0004	Common track segment settings dialog does not open.	1.5 Mac	Bug in NoLimits	This is a bug that was fixed in 1.51.
KB0003	If the user tries to open a 3DS file outside of "objects", the error message "File is not relative to object folder" is shown.	1.x (Mac)	Issue	Scene objects files (3DS) must be located inside the "objects" folder, in may be located in a sub folder.
KB0002	On some Macs, especially when they are equipped with a GeForce 4 Ti card, the simulator may start with a black screen when the display setup of NoLimits was changed before.	1.351 (Mac)	Unknown bug	If you restart the application and still get a black screen, you may delete all "nolimitscoaster.com" files in the ~/Library/Preferences folder. This will reset the settings (preferences). It is unclear at this point if this is a graphjcs card driver bug or a NoLimits bug.
KB0001	Saving a track might result in "Can't save track" message.	1.x (Mac)	Issue	This is not a bug in NoLimits, it is because of Mac OSX file access rights. Mac OSX is a Unix based operating system, which means that users might not be able to write a file created by another user without applying the "write" access right to that file. The default is "read only" for other users than the owner of the file.