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Beta CTDs need squashing!

Sounds good to me, IncredibleHat. I see kblack made a thread about the path to Build 14, so I think I'll move the posts in this thread that don't relate to this issue to that thread instead.
Edit: I tried, but it won't work, because the forum will put the posts from this thread ABOVE the first post of KBlack's thread, which is not what I want. Crazy. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wacko.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":wacko:" border="0" alt="wacko.gif" />

The following was sent to me in a PM by BlackHawk and might give a clue about the issue at hand:<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I was in a battle with a spanish galleon and the game just crashed.It seems to happen when I do more than one battle if the ship surrenders and i board it then the next ship i go after the games crashes.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
 
i have experienced the problem of CTD's occuring during large sea battles. it seems to happen mostly at the moment that i fire.
 
Well I am just sailing around in my Pirate Ship and when I come across 2 or more ships and attack..if i board the first ship and then move on to the second ship the game crashes with an error message....Engine.exe.....Appver--1.0.0.1.....Modname--dx8render.DLL....Modver--0.0.0.0....Offset--00006803..... now I dont know if this will help any but thought i would pass it along. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/dunno.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":shrug" border="0" alt="dunno.gif" />
 
That's the same address I got earlier in the VC++ debugger: DD6803. The DX8RENDER.dll is trying to access data at location 0x00000000, which indicates a null pointer assignment. At least we know the crash always happens in the same part of the code now.

Why it happens is anyone's guess. It only seems to happen at the top of the hour after the weather updates (successfully), but that code reloads some things that might not get finished reloading before the render engine tries to access them.

I'd like to see this one found and fixed.

Hook
 
I tried out Pre Build 13 Base. I was unable to reproduce the problems in this one, mainly because ANY time you entered a ship encounter at sea, the game would crash... haha.

So, I updated 'base' to 'July 11th' update. The bugs persist in that version of the build:

stock
+ build12_full.exe
+ post_b12_full.zip
+ pre_b13_base.zip
+ pre_b13_update_11-7-06.zip

I am going to try backtracking before the 'base' compile was made now. June 28th was reported to be one of the better stable versions up until this week. I will report back when I have more info on trying out:

stock
+ build12_full.exe
+ post_b12_full.zip
+ post_b12_upd_11-6-06.zip
+ post_b12_upd_28-6-06_small.zip

(I will start with june 11th first to see if the bug exists there before adding the 28th update to it)
 
Well, Ok.

The problem was created between these two releases:

post_b12_full.zip
and
post_b12_upd_11-6-06.zip

About 71mb of content in the June11 update. Most of which is resources added.

Thing is, I didn't come into the Build Mod scene until this version. As its the oldest I have downloaded and have over the 'base' of post build 12 (post_b12_full.zip). So, there may have been more updates between the two, as 'full' was like February 5th. Thats 4 months of lost time in updates I have.

I will try to do a compare on them though anyhow.

One thing I immediately noticed with playing post_b12_full.zip, was that fleets were limited to stock settings of '4' each. This made it virtually impossible for me to find a full load of ships to test the CTDs on. Most I got was a ship-to-ship encounter near oxbay when the three french warships were in port: 18 ships and 2 forts in play. (I didnt have any companions to fill in three more ships grr).

However, in the June 11th update, fleets were massive, as I easily found a battle of 8 french against 5 pirates with my ship and then the french invasion fleet and coast raiders on oxbay... BOOM, CTD on going to interface.

It may simply be a simple matter of just too many damned ships being played with for massive fleet encounters...
 
<!--quoteo(post=170976:date=Nov 11 2006, 09:56 PM:name=IncredibleHat)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(IncredibleHat @ Nov 11 2006, 09:56 PM) [snapback]170976[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
...........

One thing I immediately noticed with playing post_b12_full.zip, was that fleets were limited to stock settings of '4' each. This made it virtually impossible for me to find a full load of ships to test the CTDs on. Most I got was a ship-to-ship encounter near oxbay when the three french warships were in port: 18 ships and 2 forts in play. (I didnt have any companions to fill in three more ships grr).

However, in the June 11th update, fleets were massive, as I easily found a battle of 8 french against 5 pirates with my ship and then the french invasion fleet and coast raiders on oxbay... BOOM, CTD on going to interface.

It may simply be a simple matter of just too many damned ships being played with for massive fleet encounters...
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

<img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/par-ty.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":cheers" border="0" alt="par-ty.gif" />

I know a celebration seems odd at this point, but i was really hoping you or someone who had got this CTD would do what you've done. It does indeed seem to stem from too many ships being generated in ship-ship battles. Ok so we know the stock default setting is 4 max(each side) - thats a start. maybe the jump of what looks like doubling that amount is just too much for the game to handle? what happens if you play with a setting of 6 for example, in that early version before the CTD was introduced?

Anyway i think you deserved the beer jugs - its a step in the right direction to fixing this problem i suspect <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/icon_mrgreen1.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":cheeky" border="0" alt="icon_mrgreen1.gif" />
 
Aye, I agree, Black Bart. Well done on the bug hunting, Hat. That should be enough of a step to start playing with some numbers and seeing what happens at least.

Cap'n Drow
 
Well, looking at the code, it appears those 'massive fleets' still exist even back in Post Build 12 full. The code is there anyhow, I guess just by luck of the draw in 8 or so encounters I tried, I never got anything above 4 ships on a side. Hrm... more testing I guess to see if I can get the bug.

I found where these massive numbers are introduced though. Its in a file called "Encounters_Init.c". There are the stock fleets, then there are some new ones, SOME of which go up to 10 ships in the fleet!!! Image running into two of those types of fleets at battle, near an island, that had like 3 quest ships and 6 coastal ships too ?!?!?!?!?! AAAAAAAAAAGH.

What, did the modders just think the game could handle all that?
 
<img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="xD:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" /> (he he i love your concern for the games code)

Thats ten per side right? its just not cricket is it.

i suspect thats what causes the game to go ?!?!?!?!?! AAAAAAAAAAGH also.

<img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink.gif" />

Still i think this is an important breakthrough - i think these are the last crop of major bugs for this version? (oh apart from a few possible/maybe minor ones i put in my post in the beta7 bug thread) It could be all 'fixed' quite soon? <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/me.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":onya" border="0" alt="me.gif" />
 
<!--quoteo(post=170992:date=Nov 11 2006, 05:14 PM:name=IncredibleHat)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(IncredibleHat @ Nov 11 2006, 05:14 PM) [snapback]170992[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
...What, did the modders just think the game could handle all that?
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Actually the game could and did handle those large fleets very well.

That was, I suspect, until the introduction of high poly-count ships.
 
I've just spent a good couple hours trying to get the crash in build 12.1, because it has the large fleets as well. They are extremely rare though near island encounters it seems. Maybe just luck of the draw, but build 13 is SO EASY to get a massive battle encounter right near oxbay with the french fleet in town. So easy in build 13 to reproduce this crash, but its WORK to get it in the other versions.

I can't get it to go on Build 12.1. My run was ended with a crash loading into an encounter (prolly some other error).

Some things I noticed didn't exist in Post Build 12 full (and Build 12.1)... was no 'gunpowder' for cannons. And no cannon damages at all.

One thing I had noticed with the easily reproducable crashes in build 13, is it seems to usually occur after someone loses cannons, or someone sinks. Maybe just coincidence. Or not. Hard to tell... since what it breaks on, doesnt appear related to cannons or sinking! GAH!

If someone could show the error location for the F1/F2 CTD, to see if its the same thing as the CTD for weather update... at least we would know its related. However the two CTDs happen after two completely different actions in the game. I have no idea how to find what its bombing in, like that offset, dll whatever error that Hook magically pulled out of his ass. He needs to dig in there for the information on the F1/F2 CTD.

I commented out the entire chunk of code that does cannon loss. Still got a weather update CTD, but I noticed it occurred after some ship sunk. I guess I could comment out the ship sinking code too <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink.gif" /> see how long I can go without a bomb with no cannon loss and no ships sinking lol.
 
Gah!!! This is turning into an elusive as hell problem. Well, I'll keep banging on things here. Haven't been doing much testing today though. Busy modeling. **grins**

Hopefully I'll have a new ship for all to peruse soon!

Cap'n Drow
 
Welp... nope, and nope. Not ship dying, not gunpowder, not cannons. I commented out so much that we just sat spinning around each other firing gobs of balls into each other... then, whooop dee doo, it f**king crashes when the weather updates (or I hit F2, or try to do a sailto, or try to moor etc etc blah blah blah).

I'm sick of this bug. I'm giving up.

Pieter can release build 13 whenever he likes... I'm not holding him back. He just needs to add a big disclaimer "Game will crash at will during sea battles, so avoid them... all of them.".
 
ARGH! This bug seems to be quite horrid. Do I understand correctly that this bug was even in Build 12.1? How are we ever going to get that fixed? I do have Build 11 somewhere still... <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/unsure.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":?" border="0" alt="unsure.gif" />

<!--quoteo(post=170934:date=Nov 11 2006, 07:15 PM:name=IncredibleHat)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(IncredibleHat @ Nov 11 2006, 07:15 PM) [snapback]170934[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
I tried out Pre Build 13 Base. I was unable to reproduce the problems in this one, mainly because ANY time you entered a ship encounter at sea, the game would crash... haha.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That is because of <a href="http://www.s31clan.com/pietersmods/boal_map_na.ini" target="_blank">this</a> file missing from that version. Put it in RESOURCE\INI\NEW_INTERFACES. That solves at least those crashes.

The bug is even in the 11 July update? Goodness gracious me. That bug really does go <i>waaay</i> back, doesn't it? <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/piratesing.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":shock" border="0" alt="piratesing.gif" />

If you need any older files, just say so. As far as files between post_b12_full.zip and post_b12_upd_11-6-06.zip goes, I have the following files:
post_b12_upd_25-5-06 (69 MB)
post_b12_upd_27-5-06 (69 MB)
post_b12_upd_30-5-06 (69,4 MB)

Unfortunately I don't seem to have any files anymore from between Thursday 9 February and Wednesday 24 May.
 
What happens if weather update is turned off?

Also when ships are sunk there is a mod that produces 'survivors' for each sunk ship?

I still havent been able to get this bug????? but i'm sort of stuck in my current game - so untill i can get past this stickiness i wont be able to attempt to see this bug in action.

And i thought we might be quite close to killing this sucker <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":(" border="0" alt="sad.gif" />
 
If the weather does not update, then you won't get weather update related CTD's. But you'll still get a CTD when using F1, F2, sail-to, and probably mooring and going to your cabin.

Hook
 
<!--quoteo(post=171020:date=Nov 11 2006, 04:51 PM:name=IncredibleHat)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(IncredibleHat @ Nov 11 2006, 04:51 PM) [snapback]171020[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
Welp... nope, and nope. Not ship dying, not gunpowder, not cannons. I commented out so much that we just sat spinning around each other firing gobs of balls into each other... then, whooop dee doo, it f**king crashes when the weather updates (or I hit F2, or try to do a sailto, or try to moor etc etc blah blah blah).

I'm sick of this bug. I'm giving up.

Pieter can release build 13 whenever he likes... I'm not holding him back. He just needs to add a big disclaimer "Game will crash at will during sea battles, so avoid them... all of them.".
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Because of this bug the only way to capture the french battleship at oxbay is with a boarding <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/modding.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":modding" border="0" alt="modding.gif" />
 
<!--sizeo:4--><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->STOP THE PRESSES!!!<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->

<!--sizeo:5--><span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->WE HAVE A FIX!!!<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->

Hook and I just discovered the vile evil at the root of this problem! It's a DOOZIE!!!... a whole wopping ONE LINE OF CODE needs to be changed. We are doing final trials and tests to see if it fixed it. Stay tuned!
 
I have postB12 dated Nov. 21, 2005 which was the last fairly stable code base before everything went down hill.

edit: Hopefully the fix has already been found.
 
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