3rd Party Known ANW Issues: - A Walkthrough

[Bucks]

[*]30.> CTD when Database button is depressed

When playing Multi-player games, scenarios will sometimes crash to the desktop when the Database button has been depressed.

Description:

CTD when Database button is depressed

When playing Multi-player games, scenarios will sometimes crash to the desktop when the Database button has been depressed.
This has happened predominantly with PlayersDB scens since they are the ones most commonly played. At first, it was suspected that this was caused by an improperly installed version of the PlayersDB since this is exactly what happens when the Database button is depressed with an incorrectly installed PlayersDB in solitaire mode. However, this has proven not to be the case after players double-checked their installations to find all Text files in their proper place within the Text sub-folder and the PlayersDB fully functional in solitaire mode. The files were also properly installed to the server.

Also, after a CTD and players return to the MP Lobby to re-start the exact same scenario, when they repeat the exact same procedure, it does not always cause a second CTD. In once instance it did, in another instance, the scenario started and ran without a problem only to crash later when the database button was depressed later in the game.

If the server has autosave enabled it should be possible to easily find the offending save game and we can attempt to reproduce the issue or at least track down what might actually be causing this. From the description it seems almost random and could be caused by just about anything.

Again this reinforces the need for saved game files where the issue can be examined and a resolution found.

I'm going to class this as random and as yet unable to be reproduced.

Cheers

Darren

[KLAB]

[font="times new roman"]Many thanks for looking at the bombs issue.[/font][font="times new roman"]. [/font]
[font="times new roman"][/font] 
[font="times new roman"]Have spent hours tweaking to get the bombs to drop reliably without success. Cant figure out why its some types but not others. [/font]
[font="times new roman"]I altered the ROF settings for one loadout of GBU's from 1 to 5 and managed to attack a single target but then when I tried to attack another target the glitch thing happened, dialogue box allows you to assign the remaining bombs in the load but nothing then happens. [/font]
[font="times new roman"]I remember from the days of H3.4 that the same thing was happening with AS.30's in that you could fire once at a target but never again.[/font]
[font="times new roman"][/font] 
[font="times new roman"]Please fix it.[/font]  [&o]

[rsharp@advancedgamin]

Howdy folks,

We have a possible fix for the issue with bombs not releasing. I have an internal release being tested now among some of the beta testers. We'll share as soon as is logical.

Thanks for all the testing and input on this,

[Bucks]

[*]16.> Fly off the world CTD

It is possible to 'fly off of the world' and cause CTD.

--> I've confirmed the save game contains an instance of a crash. I am attempting to reproduce this now using the HUD3 and the latest game exec.(31-Mar-08)

The reason is simply that the aircraft or in the case of the sample file, an aircraft moonlighting as a satellite has a course plotted that would mean the distance covered in the minimum time unit the game uses (1 second) would mean the unit ends it's movement "off map". Part of this report also deals with a case of bases being placed on the game map far too close to the edge and the loiter circuit air groups fly while forming up can also cause this to occur. This off map movement, causes the game to attempt to generate weather information for a non-existant location.

As I said I'll attempt to reproduce this using the HUD3 in a test scenario and once confirmed see if there's something the guys can do to halt this. My basic advice is don't plot high speed units directly at the edge of the map, and for scen designers make sure you allow ample space between any bases you place on your maps and the map edge itself.

-- Fixed in 3.9.1. Changed the check within the GetWeather function to not throw an error unless using a developer's debug build.(01-Apr-08)

Cheers

Darren

[Bucks]

[*]09.> Sonobuoy battery endurance

Battery endurance for sonobuoys is irrelevant.

Fixed in 3.9.1. Sonobuoy life time is now linked to the first fuel record as the number of seconds of life. In the absence of a fuel record it will be 1 hour. - (1-Apr-08)

I confirmed this issue, and Russell has reinstated the ability to set individual sonobuoy endurance and if not set in the Database being used, sonobuoy endurance will default to 1 hour (DB battery fuel = 3600).

Cheers

Darren

[Bucks]

[*]16.> Fly off the world CTD

It is possible to 'fly off of the world' and cause CTD.

--> I've confirmed the save game contains an instance of a crash. I am attempting to reproduce this now using the HUD3 and the latest game exec.(31-Mar-08)

Fixed in 3.9.1. Changed the check within the GetWeather function to not throw an error unless using a developer's debug build.

This issue has been dealt with as well. The list slowly decreases again...

Russell has changed the way the game handles this issue and we shouldn't be seeing and more "invalid get_weather" message windows taking over the screen.

Cheers

Darren

[Bucks]

[*]81.> Scen locks up at 15 secs into game

Scenario freezes 15 seconds after start of game.

Scenario freezes 15 seconds after start of game.
1. Run [PDb] Scen locks up at 15 secs into game Iranhattan (3.7.0).scn for 15 seconds in SE

I've confirmed and I believe fixed this. As we can see the original issue is shown using a v3.7.0 scenario, which I've rebuilt to v3.9.0 using the PDb 8.1.1 Mar 25, 2008. A little more information would have been helpful, maybe reference to the 329KB AALog would have been good

The issue was caused by well I have no idea except that for some reason the Al Udeid Air Base was attempting to plot a course and replenish??? This caused the reporting a navigator error "ship in land". I detached one of the air base hangars and then regrouped all of the units to reform the full base.

I have to ask a question here. Did somebody maybe hit the replenishment hotkeys and save the game? Also we've just fixed replenishment so there's always the possibility that changes in the code contributed to this.

This caused the position of the base icon to move slightly and I was forced to rename the air base as it had defaulted to BASE. Regardless I started the scenario as instructed and found the issue had gone and the scenario runs well past the 14 second point where it was hanging.

I can imagine people questioning the need to individually look at scenarios rather than simply click the rebuild function and "hope" everything is working as intended. I am well aware that rebuilding a scenario really only updates the scenario's platforms. It does not guarantee that as the Game Engine is updated that, any scenario designed in a previous version will work as intended. I have seen this as I attempt to rebuild the Stock scenarios and in many cases there will be further updates as these scens are constantly tweaked.

I'll see if I can convince Russell to take a look at what's tripping the navigator up and why a land base is even trying to plot a course to replenish. I've made the edited file available so PDb users can try it out and for that matter anyone who wants to see that the issue is indeed fixed or at least that there's a solution that doesn't require an immediate fix to the Game Engine.

Fixed Test Scen - 81.> Scen locks up at 15 secs into game.

Discussion welcome

Darren

[Bucks]

[*]116.> CTD when altitude changed

CTD when altitude changed in MP

1. Run [PDb] CTD when altitude changed (3.9.0).SCN in GE
2. Order Helo to launch
3. Once launched, plot a path for it
4. Hit F2 to change altitude/speed
5. Use TAB key to move to Altitude Window
6. Ensure that altitude value is highlighted and then hit Delete key to empty the window
7. Hit Return key
8. A value of Zero will appear in highlights
9. Enter an altitude value of 564 and hit return, again. (You may have to hit return more than once)
10. CTD

--> Unable to recreate this issue or the crash described.

--> I cannot make the game crash following the instructions given to supposedly cause the crash. I did however rebuild the scen before testing. I can make the rebuild available if required. I haven't been able to test in MP as yet but the issue DOES NOT exist in SP mode.

I went as far as holding down the 'enter' key without success. [:)] Happy to look at another example if anyone has one. Also if anybody can cause the crash, can they please forward the crash log to me.

I'll make the point that I can't see the usefulness of a one sided test scen for a Multi Player issue.

Cheers

Darren

[Shemar]

ORIGINAL: Bucks

I went as far as holding down the 'enter' key without success. [:)] Happy to look at another example if anyone has one. Also if anybody can cause the crash, can they please forward the crash log to me.

Darren, I have been able to reproduce this in SP. The problem is, it does not always occur and you usually have to test 5-6 times before it first happens. Also it is possible that an open MSN chat may cause the issue to occur more frequently. Even so it will still only happen 1 out of 2-3 times at best. Additionally the only way to make it happen is right after the plane launches. If it does not happen the very first time you try to give speed/altitude commands, you have to restart the scenario to try again.

I would be happy to run my tests once more time and forward any crash logs to you, along with my test scenario, if you can point me to where that log is.

[Bucks]

Shemar,

The crash log should be located in one of two places. First place to look is the H3ANW root directory:

C:\Matrix Games\Harpoon 3 Advanced Naval Warfare

or:

C:\Matrix Games\Harpoon 3 Advanced Naval Warfare\ATOut

The files are named as follows:

crash_Scenedit.txt

crash_H3.txt

crash_H3Client.txt

Cheers

Darren

[Bucks]

[*]124.> Crash after re-building with SE

Crash after re-building with SE.

1. Run [PDb] Crash after re-building with SE (3.9.0).scn in GE
2. After 15 seconds, game crashes with "Al Udeid Air Base cannot intercept replenishment source unit A/B Ammo Dump [Hardened]"
3. Scenario works fine in 3.8.0 and problem only occurs after re-building with 3.9.0 SE

There's a bug where for some reason scens designed with earlier versions would trigger an attempt by land units to replenish after a rebuild. This is partly due to the fix to the replenishment handling and Russell has had to tweak it a little further to remove this issue. This problem is a duplicate of #81, same issue different scen. I reckon you're cheating if you count it twice... [;)]

I've tested the 3.9.1 Patch Beta and the crash no longer triggers and Unrep is still functioning perfectly. Looks like another one bites the dust.

Cheers

Darren

[Bucks]

[*]59.> CTD with Re-build Scenario function

Crash to the desktop when Scenario Rebuild - Re-build All Units is selected with AxisEvil.scn.

1. Load AxisEvil.scn and PlayersDB into ScenEdit.
2. Select Scenario Rebuild - Re-build All Units
3. CTD

The crash will only occur if the PC you're using isn't up to rebuilding this scenario. The scen weighs in at 5,541KB! So we are dealing with something a little out of the ordinary here. Of course the complainant says nothing about the sheer size of the scenario...

I knew from experience that attempting to rebuild this monster was going to possibly cause issues, and it did due to my system config. Russell and I have both tested this one out and I returned a crash with a "special" error message in the shell window. OUT OF MEMORY - ERROR. The size of the scen and the sheer number of inter connected units means there may be some looping of certain rebuild functions and the scen fills up the PC's RAM, then empties any excess data to the Windows pagefile. If the scen crashes it is due to the system Pagefile reaching its limit.

Users will become aware of this as their PCs will slow markedly and you may even lose some functionality as the pagefile nears its limit. Russell was able to rebuild the scen successfully and knowing my config, the error I received was caused by a limit I have placed on the system pagefile. We will be looking at some limits that the game is capable of handling in terms of sheer unit numbers etc and rebuilding etc on some different systems in the near future for comparison purposes and in an attempt to find out exactly what ANW can handle.

Cheers

Darren

[Bucks]

[*]130.> CTD incomplete

CTD does not drop game all the way down to the desktop. Instead, the Shell window remains and must be closed manually

1. Cause crash with any of the aforementioned bug reports
2. Game closes but Shell window remains

--> Normal for 3.9. Shell will be removed in 3.10.
--> Non-Issue.

Hopefully after the 3.9.1 patch there won't be many instances of this anyway. If you take a look at the screnshot provided you are presented with two choices:
1.> End Now
2.> Cancel

Normally you just click End Now, and it goes away... If anyone knows a family of Hermit crabs, there'll be a lot of spare H3ANW shells going cheap after 3.10. [:D]

Cheers

Darren

[Bucks]

[*]125.> Crash after re-building with SE II

Crash after re-building with SE. Clock will not start.

1. Run [PDb] Crash after re-building with SE II (3.9.0).scn in GE
2. Game clock will not start
3. Scenario works fine in 3.8.0 and problem only occurs after re-building with 3.9.0 SE

--> Confirmed this crash. Issue related to/is a duplicate of #81 & #124, caused by "land unit Unrep bug". 3.9.1 Patch removes both the land unit attempt to replenish and the game hanging at that point.

Cheers

Darren

[TonyE]

ORIGINAL: Bucks

[*]130.> CTD incomplete

CTD does not drop game all the way down to the desktop. Instead, the Shell window remains and must be closed manually

1. Cause crash with any of the aforementioned bug reports
2. Game closes but Shell window remains

--> Normal for 3.9. Shell will be removed in 3.10.
--> Non-Issue.

Hopefully after the 3.9.1 patch there won't be many instances of this anyway. If you take a look at the screnshot provided you are presented with two choices:
1.> End Now
2.> Cancel

Normally you just click End Now, and it goes away... If anyone knows a family of Hermit crabs, there'll be a lot of spare H3ANW shells going cheap after 3.10. [:D]

Cheers

Darren

I'm not asking for any to be spent on it, but this is far from a non-issue for running a MP server, since the shell window doesn't close, the batch file to restart ANW Server cannot run so with 3.90 there is a whole lot more hand holding of the server than there was in prior versions.

[Bucks]

Tony,

Received and understood. I'll discuss with Russell. Let's hope we minimise the crashes so you don't have to nurse the baby along too much. How often is this an issue when running your server?

Cheers

Darren

[Bucks]

[*]114.> Wrong loadout descriptions

Helix helos are show the wrong loadout descriptions. Display is Mk44 torp, but they revert to Minimal when launched.

Confirmed this issue. Caused by basic database edits and removal of the original loadout assigned to this aircraft. Awaiting confirmation on inclusion of fix (Scenario edit) in 3.9.1.

This issue is caused where a previously valid loadout and one that was used when the scen was designed to be assigned to this aircraft type is no longer valid for the aircraft type. Requires correct, now valid loadout to be placed on the aircraft in question during Air Ops ready process in Scenedit.

Cheers

Darren

[Laramie]

I ran Lesson VI using 3.90 and the standard ANW database, and found that with Weapons Free selected - and the default preference - the AI did NOT fire the F/A-18's (off the Roosevelt) Harpoon at the hostile surface contact regardless of how close its range was. Eventually, as it passed over the Krimsky, the Hornet was destroyed. However, it did fire when I took manual control. Same behavior with the F-14's attack with a Phoenix, targeting the TU-16. Would not fire under AI control, but did launch under my manual control. It seems as if the AI is not firing missiles from jets off the Roosevelt.
 
Forgive me if others have pointed out this situation or it is a common result of mishandling the scenario. But it is repeatable, in different databases. I tried a recent version of the Players DB with the same results.
 

[Shemar]

Laramie, were the targets identified as hostile? I believe the AI will not fire until the targets are positively identified as hostile and that happens with visual contact, if they fire on you or if you manually designate them as hostile (H key).

[Laramie]

Shemar, I take it I'm the only one seeing this, so must be something I'm doing. But - targets are red - ID as hostile I believe, but not identified by name until much too close for the Kriminsky. In any event, I believe the Tutorial suggests first leaving the Hornet on Weapons free, to demonstrate that it will launch Harpoons when in range, then turn and RTB. My Hornet will fly to the target when following Tutorial instructions for Airborne intercept routine. But it will die rather than surrender its Harpoon to the Communists.
 
Visual ID range would appear to be a death sentence for the AI?
 
For the TU-16 encounter, the F-14 just circles around it although its status indicates prosecuting target. Weapons free.