Anyone else having trouble with email games?

maxm2 · Post by **maxm2** » Tue Jun 13, 2000 6:38 pm

My friend and I have tried several different scenarios for email games. One required one or more remailing of the files before it worked (the receiver got messages like "saved game failed to load"). In one scenario, "Breakout from Borisov," we simply could not get it to work.
We are mailing all three required files, and using the same procedure with the problmatic scenarios that we use with the ones that work fine.
Anyone have any ideas?

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Mark_Ezra · Post by **Mark_Ezra** » Tue Jun 13, 2000 6:44 pm

do I count?

schmoe · Post by **schmoe** » Tue Jun 13, 2000 7:50 pm

Yes, big problem. I've played anywhere from one to 10+ turns, and suddenly that error message appears and your game is over. I gave up.

I think it always happens when you are using the encripted file.

Drake666 · Post by **Drake666** » Tue Jun 13, 2000 7:50 pm

Dont play useing the secure feature. I have tryed 5 times with the secure feature and never compleated a game. Without useing this I have played 3 good games to the end and im right now playing two more without any problems.

jmo1 · Post by **jmo1** » Tue Jun 13, 2000 8:12 pm

I and my friend had the same problem today. We have emailed all three files in one zip file. We are playing two different secure email games. I noticed couple unusual things... Dat and aux files have different modifying times and dat file was packed into *very* small size. I will double check that we haven't done any mistake with files. I can send saved game if somebody like to check those files.

AStott · Post by **AStott** » Tue Jun 13, 2000 9:58 pm

Hmmm... I wonder if this might explain why I had vehicles disappearing during my e-mail game... So, how do you play a non-secure game? I didn't know there was an option.

Paul Vebber · Post by **Paul Vebber** » Tue Jun 13, 2000 10:46 pm

Just don't enter a password!

The game will then save the file in the SAVE folder as a regular save game.

I'm not sure what is causing the failure of the file to encrypt.

The way to check it is to open the .dat file in an editor like WordPad and see if you can read SPWAW in teh very first line. If so then notify your opponent to reload the last turn you sent. Since the game didn't save properly he will be able to replay his turn and send it again.

I make it a habit to open the .dat file before I send it to my opponent to make sure. IF it failed to encrypt, then I have to replay the turn.

I also always wait about 10 seconds after ending the turn to exit the game and have not seen this fault happen since I started doing that.

Billy Yank · Post by **Billy Yank** » Tue Jun 13, 2000 10:52 pm

Originally posted by Paul Vebber:
I make it a habit to open the .dat file before I send it to my opponent to make sure. IF it failed to encrypt, then I have to replay the turn.

I also always wait about 10 seconds after ending the turn to exit the game and have not seen this fault happen since I started doing that.

I understand sacrificing a young goat by the light of the full moon helps, too. :lol

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Billy Yank
I don't define "my own" the way you want me to.

Paul Vebber · Post by **Paul Vebber** » Wed Jun 14, 2000 6:29 am

LOL- At least rolling some chicken bones:-)

Seriously, the game tells Windows to save teh file, well sometimes Windows takes its sweet time and if you exit the game to quick, the data its trying to save is gone and it fails to overright the file with the encrypted version.

Waiting several seconds to make sure its finished writing has stopped it from occuring to me...

Alastair at Work · Post by **Alastair at Work** » Wed Jun 14, 2000 1:43 pm

Not had any problems with secure pbem games at all thus far and currently have 2 on the go, both past turn 10.

I have noticed in the past [strange but true] that sometimes when I save the zip file from Outlook Express into the directory I keep my zipped files that something goes wrong. Either the zip wont unzip or once I too got the "failed to load" error. Went back to Outlook, saved the attachment once again in my directory and unzipped. Worked fine second time around...

I have also had a problem in the past with the Direct X 6. This seemed to affect the save files or at least caused problems with loading them - are you using the latest Direct X 7? I have had no problems with secure games since upgrading to this.

I am not [unfortunately] a computer programming whiz at all - I dont know why these two factors above have sorted out my past problems but they do. Get Direct X 7 and try resaving the attachment again. They may work for you too.

Cheers
Al

maxm2 · Post by **maxm2** » Wed Jun 14, 2000 3:03 pm

Just wanted to post my thanks to all who have responded. We will try ALL the suggestions until it works--thanks very much!! We currently are pounding on each other in two successful separate games, and will be trying others with our new technical support. : )

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Max Molinaro

Tombstone · Post by **Tombstone** » Wed Jun 14, 2000 10:57 pm

Hey Alastair... make sure and let me know when you have a pbem slot available. (I'm Tomo Moriwaki, we've played before) Something that Outlook does is copy the file to the /windows/temp directory. WinZip also extracts stuff into the same directory, and just about everyone and their mother does the same. Maybe the directory is hashing the file. It's happened to me before as well. (Not that its stopped me from opening winzip out of outlook)

Tomo

Alastair Anderson · Post by **Alastair Anderson** » Thu Jun 15, 2000 1:02 am

Ah Tomo! Yes - our sp3 game was a good one. As soon as the patch is out we will resume hostilities.

We never did finish that Finnish/Russian encounter - put it down as a draw I guess. It was pretty intense towards the end.

Cheers
Al