Official v5.02 Bugs Thread

[Hawkeye]

EDIT (in response to Atomikkrab & Shadow) - They were from ruins, not salvage.  There were 10 cargo ships with 5 holds each in the fleet, so enough to carry one.  Sometimes I had a few other things, so it reported a fraction of a JGCM.  When I tried with a completely empty fleet and got more than 1 (something like 1.000000065, you get the idea).  I tried the multiple runs and reported taking fractions of a module, but the 4 at source never went down and the 0 at destination (after first run) never went up.  I have been playing around with this game for quite some time  :wink: ).  Input is appreciated

Stephen

Have you tried a freighter with 10 cargo holds, as I don´t belive you can load shipparts that are too big for a single freighter onto several ones.
This _is_ alien tech, so your engineers might be somewhat reluctant to take the thing apart for loading out of fear of not being able to put it back together.

[sloanjh]

Error 3021 was generated by DAO.Recordset
No current record
Please report....

Then after clicking ok a few tims:

Error 3021 was generated by DAO.Recordset
You cannot add or change a record because a related record is required in table 'techsystem'.
Please report...

Raw error message like the first one don't do Steve a lot of good - all it means is that Aurora tried to look up something in the DB and it couldn't - this could have happened anywhere.  The second is somewhat better, since it tells him which DB table ("techsystem") it's in.  Somewhere on the error pop-up window (I think it's in the title bar) should be something like "Error in XXXX" or "Error in routine XXXX".  XXXX in this case is the name of the routine which failed.  Please include this information in your bug reports, as this gives Steve much more information as to where the bad things are happening.

Also, Steve has requested that people not use "Edit" on their bug reports - it makes it a lot harder for him to notice the changes.  In this case, it doesn't look like he's been logged on for a while, so it doesn't really matter, but for future reference....

Another thought:  Do you have a list of the research projects that you're working on?  The bug sounds like something is somehow referring to a technology entry that isn't there.  Which leads to....

Another question:  Have you either A) Been messing around in the DB (I assume the answer is "no" - just doing due dilligence) or B) used the "Delete" key on the research tab of the F2 screen?  A plausible scenario is that you're researching a turretted weapon, and that you've accidentally deleted the weapons system (e.g. a laser) that goes in the turret.  Note that you should remove research projects from the active list using the "Cancel" button, rather than the "Delete" button.  The "Delete" button is really easy to hit by mistake, though, and what it does is delete the tech associated with the project.  If it's a "game" tech (like 15cm focal length lasers) Aurora will pop an error message and not let you make the change.  If it's a "user" tech (something you created with the "Design" button, like a specific engine or laser system) then it will delete it.  This is what it smells like is going on.  The other possibility is that Steve left something out of the DB, but then you shouldn't have been able to research whatever it was in the first place, and one of the rest of us should have probably stumbled over it already.

A final thought:  You should probably save out a copy of your DB so you can send it to Steve if he requests it.  (Read the "Saving the game" FAQ if you haven't already to know how to do this).

John

PS - as for your question about advancing game time, the answer is almost certainly "effect".

[Treebiter]

Sorry. I seem to be making a lot of forum faux pas today.

Here's my revised error report:

Error in SetClassObsolete
Error 3021 was generated by DAO.Recordset
No current record
Please report....

Error in CreateDesign
Error 3021 was generated by DAO.Recordset
You cannot add or change a record because a related record is required in table 'techsystem'.
Please report...

I haven't touched the game DB's (I've only been playing for a few days!) and I'm pretty sure I haven't deleted any tech. I was researching magazine ejection and turret tracking, both are now complete leaving salvage module as the only current project. After what you said regarding the tech jump being an effect of the issue however, I no longer believe this to be a research problem (I'm no expert though).

Thanks John

[sloanjh]

Sorry. I seem to be making a lot of forum faux pas today.

Don't worry about it - it's how we learn :-)

Here's my revised error report:

Error in SetClassObsolete
Error 3021 was generated by DAO.Recordset
No current record
Please report....

Error in CreateDesign
Error 3021 was generated by DAO.Recordset
You cannot add or change a record because a related record is required in table 'techsystem'.
Please report...

I haven't touched the game DB's (I've only been playing for a few days!) and I'm pretty sure I haven't deleted any tech. I was researching magazine ejection and turret tracking, both are now complete leaving salvage module as the only current project. After what you said regarding the tech jump being an effect of the issue however, I no longer believe this to be a research problem (I'm no expert though).

Ok, two more questions that Steve might want to know about:

1)  Have you deleted any classes (especially fighters) from the F5 screen?  (The reason I ask about fighters is that there's a "Preferred Strikegroup" entry for the classes that might conceivably confuse Aurora if it pointed to a non-existent fighter type.  I would ask the same question for missiles, but you said you haven't deleted any techs

2)  When you started the game, how many NPR did you specify?  Was it more than 0?  If it was zero, have you encountered any NPR yet in your explorations?  It's possible that the problem isn't something you've done, but instead is a bug in the NPR code.  Although that puts us back to "why isn't anyone else seeing it".

Don't forget to save your DB into a separate file so you can send it to Steve if he asks for it....

John

[Andrew]

I have what is probably a bug related to NPR's populations. I created an NPR in Tau Ceti making it AI Controlled , then a while later I started getting the error message
Error in Getlargestfreindlypop

This puzzled me for a while until I sent a scout ship into the system and discovered that their homeworld was uninhabited....
The planetery environemnt was rigged by me to be earthlike by creating one of my own colonies on the planet and then deleting it , however I created the NPR after doing that, while creating the NPR I chose an existing Human Race so the world should have been perfect for them.
Their fleet still exists and is going baout survey, Jump gate building etc but so far as I can tell they have no populations. I intend to land ground troops on their planet and see what happens

[AtomikKrab]

I can report I am also getting the friendly popbug as well

[Treebiter]

I have deleted a few ship designs that I created when toying with new builds but none that ever ended up getting built. Also, I haven't yet played with fighters so I doubt it's that.

| specified 1 NPR at the start of the game but haven't encountered them yet despite exploring the three systems linked directly to Sol. The only new thing that happened prior to the crash was finding a ruin and a wreck.

[Treebiter]

Strangerer and strangerer.

I tried to brute-force past the crash by incremental time increases up to the exact point in time where the crash occurs. This has created another crash:

Error in GetOxyAtm
Error 94 was generated by Aurora
Invalid use of Null
Please report...

Then I get the aforementioned errors again. Then I get bored and spam 'ok' on the error report which last a while.... Then it ends and the next turn begins. For better or worse I can continue my game.

[Andrew]

I have what is probably a bug related to NPR's populations. I created an NPR in Tau Ceti making it AI Controlled , then a while later I started getting the error message
Error in Getlargestfreindlypop

This puzzled me for a while until I sent a scout ship into the system and discovered that their homeworld was uninhabited....
The planetery environemnt was rigged by me to be earthlike by creating one of my own colonies on the planet and then deleting it , however I created the NPR after doing that, while creating the NPR I chose an existing Human Race so the world should have been perfect for them.
Their fleet still exists and is going baout survey, Jump gate building etc but so far as I can tell they have no populations. I intend to land ground troops on their planet and see what happens

The Actual problem is that the NPR has a population of 619592495683 million, which breaks a lot of things

[Nabobalis]

On ship design, selecting commercial only hides the maintenance storage bay.

[Shadow]

On ship design, selecting commercial only hides the maintenance storage bay.

Can't confirm that on my end. Works fine here.

[Shinanygnz]

EDIT (in response to Atomikkrab & Shadow) - They were from ruins, not salvage.  There were 10 cargo ships with 5 holds each in the fleet, so enough to carry one.  Sometimes I had a few other things, so it reported a fraction of a JGCM.  When I tried with a completely empty fleet and got more than 1 (something like 1.000000065, you get the idea).  I tried the multiple runs and reported taking fractions of a module, but the 4 at source never went down and the 0 at destination (after first run) never went up.  I have been playing around with this game for quite some time  :wink: ).  Input is appreciated

Stephen

Have you tried a freighter with 10 cargo holds, as I don´t belive you can load shipparts that are too big for a single freighter onto several ones.
This _is_ alien tech, so your engineers might be somewhat reluctant to take the thing apart for loading out of fear of not being able to put it back together.

A possibility that, so I have done some testing.  You are correct - and I even found out why.
I nipped in to the database and added three modules to Earth.  Then used a large fleet of freighters to load the modules.  Despite having enough holds to carry more than one, the number in Earth's stockpile never reduced.  Unloading at Mars resulted in zero modules in its stockpile.  You could send the fleets backward and forward and the numbers would never change.
Some numbers using freighters with 5 holds each (25000 cargo capacity)
10 ships = 0.833000019192696, 100/250000
17 ships = 1.41610003262758, 170/425000
12 ships = 0.999600023031235, 120/300000
13 ships = 1.0829000249505, 130/325000
I then created a monster freighter with 62 holds and SMed it into existence (a mere 400000+ tons with enough engines to make it move -Waresky would love it).  Ordered it to load...
1.0333000421524x Jump Gate Construction Module 90 loaded, available cargo space 10/310000, and Earth had only two modules in its stockpile.  Sent it off to Mars and it unloaded.  Bingo, Mars now has one module in its stockpile.  Loaded it and record of module disappears.

I then used 13 normal ships and unloaded at Mars (3 at Earth, 0 at Mars).  As an experiment, ordered those ships to pick back up what they just dropped off.  Warning message in event log that they can't load.  Quick look in the PopComponent table and there are 3 at Earth and 0 at Mars
Loaded one in to the monster freighter and took a look in ShipCargo table.  I can see it carrying 1.0333
Got the fleet of 13 ships to load again.  They appear in ShipCargo carrying 0.0833 of a module each

I then wondered if there was some variable type issue going on.  In ShipCargo, Amount field is a Number, Single type.  In PopComponent table, the Amount field is a Number, Long Integer type.
So I changed Amount in PopComponent to a Single and "hey presto", the multiple ships unload and I have a whole module at Mars.  In fact 1.0829 of them.  It would appear that the smaller ships are each loading/unloading a small part of the whole, but the Long Integer type has no decimal places, so it probably keeps rounding.

Steve, help us!

Stephen

[Shadow]

Found something else: can't rename some components using the Technology screen (I don't know how else, after they're designed). So far I can't give non-default names to magazines nor EM sensors in those circumstances. I wouldn't be surprised if other component types were affected as well.

EDIT: And by the way, I can also confirm the greyed-out Add Task button bug. Playing a game started in 5.01 and continued in 5.02.

[Another]

.....

I then wondered if there was some variable type issue going on.  In ShipCargo, Amount field is a Number, Single type.  In PopComponent table, the Amount field is a Number, Long Integer type.
So I changed Amount in PopComponent to a Single and "hey presto", the multiple ships unload and I have a whole module at Mars.  In fact 1.0829 of them.  It would appear that the smaller ships are each loading/unloading a small part of the whole, but the Long Integer type has no decimal places, so it probably keeps rounding.

Steve, help us!

Stephen

"Single" is a floating point type. It is perfect for multiplying and division but can lead to somewhat weird things when 2 quantities with drastically different amounts are added together and subtracted. Like 17000000.0-1.0 would probably equal to 17000000.0 (seventeen millions) and there could be problems with adding or subtracting 0.001 from 17000. I heard that Steve uses "currency" type for some records and it would be really optimal to have both ShipCargo and PopComponent  Amount types be "currency". I've got an impression that colony Population and racial wealth could also roll out of range of Long Int  but will practically ever stay within range of "currency".

[Sotak246]

I have both of the recently mentioned shipyard bugs in my current game.  My home system shipyards "add task" doesn't gray out when you fill up the slipways.  I recently captured the homeworld and accompanying shipyard of another race.  That shipyard the "add task" button stays grayed out att all times till I change the complex tasking, even if it is just to no change, and I have to do this for each slipway.