i'm having this same problem. it didn't happen at first, but as i progressed further in the game, it began to happen more frequently; now, i can't leave a single base without crashing. if anyone out there knows why, i'd really appreciate some help as well.

note:
-no mods
-version 1.1
-all updated drivers (except video, because updating it causes my computer to crash in cerrtain games)

update:

OS: Win XP Pro Edition
Processor: AMD Athlon XP 2600+
Ram: 1024 mb
Hard drive: 80 + 120 GB
Graphics Card: ATI Radon 9600 Pro

I reinstalled the game (to rid myself of the "breaking the in-progress main quest" problem with installing the 1.1 patch). It seemed to relieve the recurrence problem, and fixed any already-afflicted bases. I'm entirely unsure if the problem was with the client or server side, still, because they were on the same computer. I expect the problem may begin again (because it has occured before I installed the 1.1 patch before), but at least now I know how to temporarily fix it again.

another update:

as was mentioned several threads down, this problem actually does seem to correlate with hauling around large amounts of extra guns (and possibly other equipment). to prevent these crashes, after hauling in and selling a large amount of loot, i exit the game and rejoin the server before leaving the station/planet/ship. i can't yet promote it's effectiveness because i haven't tried it for extended periods of time, but i think it might help to reduce the number of these annoying incidents. and oviously, i no longer carry around lots of extra guns that i don't intend to use right away.

more after i've tried this repeatedly for several days.

another other update:

oh, so that's how you edit posts.
so, it seems that this problem is more commonly experienced when you dock at a station with a lot of extra guns (say, six or eight extra guns you found in salvage). when you go to exit the station (even if you've sold the guns), it will CTD on you. from then on, it pretty much will continue to CTD on you even if the client is restarted, or the server is restarted. the best way i've found to fix this is to:

1) Sell those extra guns
2) Dock at the offending station
3) Quit to main menu (not Select new character, must log off of server entirely)
4) Re-enter server and leave the base. It should work now. Might take a couple of tries, but it seems to work the first time for me.

And a good way to prevent this: if you're hauling in a load of guns, go ahead and sell them. Then, Quit to main menu while still docked. It's exactly the same as the above steps for fixing, except that you don't actually experience the error, you just quit and rejoin before even launching from the station. Since this problem doesn't always seem to occur, just more frequently for more guns, you don't even need to do this if you don't want to, it's just a precaution.

And I think that about sums up how to fix it and avoid it in multiplayer, if you're one of those unlucky few to experience this weird error in the first place.

and another edit (i know you're tired of them):

if you do have this problem, and upon re-entering your game you're stuck in a base's airlock, and it's a very remote base or you don't want to wait for another ship to enter/exit, you can select the base and ask for docking permission. some bases let you right back inside when you do this; others make you go back outside and re-dock. if you have to do the later, the base will open its door for you, since you're within proximity of it, so that you can get out. you'll slam around into the walls for a while as it slowly opens, but eventually it'll open, and you can then leave (either on autopilot, or by going free-flight and running out before it closes again).
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--the milling_hordesman

Edited by - mhordes on 3/16/2004 11:18:49 AM

Edited by - mhordes on 3/16/2004 11:20:02 AM

Edited by - mhordes on 3/16/2004 2:35:18 PM