v2.1.1 Bugs Thread

[boolybooly]

Not sure whether the mirror universe bug has been quashed in 2.2 (where a ship acts as if in a different system from the one it is drawn in) but here is a related example of it showing up in ship orders.

Note the screenshot orders list, the list of orders has been given while the ship (TG-AT Ocean Blue) is in Sol and proceeds out of Sol to V1216 Sagittarii, at which point, in order to complete an order to board a disabled enemy ship (AS Ant 063) in V1216 Sagittarii it tries to use the LP shortcuts from Saturn to Venus available in Sol but not found in V1216 Sagittarii. So it must be referring to the wrong system map to plan the route.

This only occurs with orders which directly refer to the enemy contact such as attempt boarding action or move to. An order which refers to any other object e.g. wreck, waypoint, planet or fleet proceeds as expected, after which the boarding order for the enemy vessel still shows the bug if given from a location which would want to use the LP. e.g. if you order a move to a wreck in V1216 Sagittarii near AS Ant 063 then order the boarding action while TG-AT Ocean Blue is still in Sol then no LP move shows because it is close by the target, but if you order the move to the wreck then back to the entry JP then give the boarding order, the LP move in Sol is added. So the origin location of the move can obscure or reveal the bug, which persists if orders referring to the enemy contact AS Ant 063 are given while the order recipent TG-AT Ocean Blue is in Sol.

If the same orders are given to TG-08 Creedence which is a tug with the same flight plan to Sol as TG-AT Ocean Blue but which is currently located in V1216 Sagittarii, then any orders referring to the enemy contact do not try to use Sol LPs. So the contextual location info for orders referring to enemy contacts appears not to be updated in the way it is for other orders.

Save in 7Z format attached. Hope this is helpful if it isn't redundant.

SJW: Fixed for v2.2. Thanks for the detailed explanation

[boolybooly]

Is anyone else noticing that when you display fire controls the text label reports 20x their range? (Plus it uses a k for units.) e.g. FC range 128,000 km  reports as 2560000k.

Or has my game become corrupted somehow? (I deleted the example game EDIT OK I checked my backup before the delete and a client backup I made earlier and same thing was happening, so its not that).

See screeny.

SJW: This seems to be working now, so I assume I fixed it at some point during v2.2 development

[nuclearslurpee]

Is anyone else noticing that when you display fire controls the text label reports 20x their range? (Plus it uses a k for units.) e.g. FC range 128,000 km  reports as 2560000k.

I can confirm this.

[boolybooly]

Is anyone else noticing that when you display fire controls the text label reports 20x their range? (Plus it uses a k for units.) e.g. FC range 128,000 km  reports as 2560000k.

I can confirm this.

OK, thanks that is useful to know. I was beginning to worry about my instal.

It would probably be worth mentioning this is BFCs, MFC range display seems to be functioning as expected.

[nuclearslurpee]

OK, thanks that is useful to know. I was beginning to worry about my instal.

It would probably be worth mentioning this is BFCs, MFC range display seems to be functioning as expected.

If I had to guess, this is probably a combination of (1) a holdover visual glitch from VB6, when listed BFC range was 50% of maximum range, and (2) an extra zero getting tacked on somehow. I can't readily think of any other ways for a factor of 20 to show up in BFC ranges.

[boolybooly]

STOs on a planet without DST installations do not display weapon range.

This is the same issue I raised as a question not worth its own thread.
http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=11545.msg165953#msg165953

I dont know if this is a bug or intentional but my reasoning is that since STOs have their own active sensors and passive sensors (in DSTs) do not contribute to the function of weapons you would expect weapon ranges to display for STOs with active sensors regardless of whether or not there was a DST at the same pop.

So I am reporting it as a bug, FYI, just in case.

SJW: Yes it's a bug. Fixed for v2.2

[TheSpartacus]

The function number: # 99
The complete error text: "2. 1. 1.  Function #99: Sequence contains no elements"
The window affected: Main
What you were doing at the time: If I take a turn the error will pop up at somewhat random intervals during the turn, but it always occurs.  Error pops up twice in a row then some time passes on the turn before it pops up again, typically ~2-6 errors per 30 day turn. 
Conventional or TN start: TN
Random or Real Stars: I don't know, first game. 
Is your decimal separator a comma?: .
Is the bug is easy to reproduce, intermittent or a one-off?:Yes.  It is every turn. 
If this is a long campaign - say 75 years or longer - let me know the length of the campaign as well: <20 yrs

SJW: I haven't reproduced it, but I did find some logic that might produce it in rare situations so I have added a fix for that.

[nanomage]

Yes, there is no doubt that loops are possible in Random Stars, at least if Local generation chance is cranked up to 95+.   In Known Stars however I strongly suspect they are not

SJW: Jump loops are fine in Known Stars

Hello, I would like to post some additional considerations and add some more test results to this report.  Thank you Steve for taking the time to review this, I wouldn't want my post to look like i'm denying your expertise, rather i would like to think that i'm adding new information to this search.

I have run a further several tests, by using a version of Aurora patched (exe+db replacement) to 2. 1. 0.  I have it set up with two executables:
the 2. 1. 1 . exe from 6. 9. 22, and
the 2. 1. 0 . exe dated 16. 8. 22.
I have used those 2 executables, running them from the same aurora folder, to generate several Known Stars maps (50 stars each).  The 2. 1. 0 executable generates looped maps quite reliably, but the 2. 1. 1 executable does not, instead it always creates a new system for every jump point, with the amount of tries that i think should at this point exclude considering RNG as a reason.
I'm attaching 2 sample maps, and here are my numbers:
the 210 executable was used to generate 50 systems, and made 3 connections to pre-existing ones, remarkably close to the 0. 065 rate.
the 211 executable was used to generate 177 systems in the last test, creating 0 loops.  If the rate of looping back to known system was indeed 0. 065, the chance of this happening can be calculated as (1-0. 065)^177, a very small number close to 7/1000000
related or not, another thing i never observed it creating are deadends
Thank you again for taking time to look into this matter Steve.

[nuclearslurpee]

Hello, I would like to post some additional considerations and add some more test results to this report.  Thank you Steve for taking the time to review this, I wouldn't want my post to look like i'm denying your expertise, rather i would like to think that i'm adding new information to this search.

I think the discussion concluded that there was a bug (or multiple) in 2.1.1 that Steve "accidentally" fixed while working on 2.2. IIRC Steve has observed expected jump loops in his playtests.

[ChubbyPitbull]

Stuck in never-ending loop of "2.1.1 Function #1954, #1943 and #478: Object reference not set to an instance of an object." errors.

EDIT: After searching a bit better, saw Steve's post about it maybe being related to detection. I opened the game again and SM-moved my two Player Empire surveillance ships which were approaching the Cylon colonies back to Earth, and now I can advance time without the errors appearing. Sending even one ship back to the planets causes the errors to start appearing as time advances; once the ship arrives on station in detection range the error loop continues forever. Re-opening again, and turning the active sensors off on the Mk. II Cylon BDB's still triggers some errors, but they stop after holding down Enter for a second or two and time advances.

In a second test, I SM-ed away my surveillance frigates (which carry thermal sensors, EM sensors, and an ELINT module. I then sent a commercial Tug to within 1m KM of the new Cylon colonies, and no errors appeared. It wasn't until I sent a surveillance ship to join the Tug that the error cycle returned. Surveillance ships at older Cylon colonies in Sol do not have the issue.

In a third test, deleting the Mk. II Cylon BDB's allowed the surveillance ship to get within 1km of the colony without errors. Insta-building a Mk. II Cyclon BDB into a fleet located at the colony the Surveillance ship was within 1km of caused the error cycle to begin again.

Last update, it seems as if a surveillance frigate approaches a Mk. II Cylon BDB the errors begin. I instead insta built 4 of the original Cylon BDB desisgns at the colon 1M by the frigate, and no errors occur.

DATABASE MODIFICATION: All Particle Beam sizes (except for PB-2) set to a size of 300 tons prior to game creation, similar to the upcoming v2.2.0

TN Start
Random Stars (Starting Sol System)
86000 Construction Cycle Time
20% Research Speed
Local System Gen chance 50%
Local System Generation spread 15%
NPR Generation Chance (by Player) 75%
NPR Generation Chance (by NPR) 10%
Ruin Generation Chance 50%
All spoiler generation enabled for Player and NPR
One Second Sub Pulse Enabled

Game in the DB is titled "Waiting for 2 dot 2" and is just shy of 13 years into a play-through with 2 Human players, one main empire and then 1 general boogeyman (Cylons) that I use to spawn a defense colony with a ton of ground forces on newly discovered planets with minerals or alien ruins. I also generated 1 NPR at game creation, but have not encountered an NPR yet in game. Maybe about 5-years into the game, I also imported Froggiest1982's excellent medal pack from here: https://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=11424.0 , and it has been working great auto-awarding medals.

I recently explored my JP #1 in the starting Sol system. When I first tried to explore it, the game hung processing, and after ~15 minutes I used end task to stop. I restarted the game and explored JP#1 again, generating the new Proxima Centauri system. I then used Space Master to switch to the Cylon empire and did the following:

1. Explored the same Jump Point for the Cylons to see the new system (2 Planets, 1 Dwarf Planet with 1.9 colony cost).
2. Spawned a ruin and HW minerals on the Dwarf Planet.
3. Created Colonies on 1 planet with a large amount of minerals (Proxima Centauri I-A) and the dwarf planet (Proxima Centauri II-A).
4. SM-edited the environments of both planets to be habitable from the Economics window.
5. Edited the Diameter of the dwarf planet (Proxima Centauri II-A) in the System window using "Modify Body" to first change it from 400 to 500, then 500 to 600.
6. Went through the Civilian tab of Proxima Centauri I-A to spawn a pile of colony buildings, including auto mines, military academies, naval HQ, financial centers, etc.
7. Used "Edit Pop" to set a I-A's colony pop to 50M.
8. Used the GU training tab in Economics to build a large army (~55 formations).
9. Used instant research to increase Cylon technology in Particle Beam strength and armor.
10. Copied the Cylon "Salamander" Beam Defense Base Class to create an updated Mk. II version of the class with the new PL-9 beams, updated the armor, and added a power plant.
11. Went to Cylon Fleet Organization and created 2 new Defense fleet for Proxima Centauri I-A and II-A, used the miscellaneous tabs to move the empty fleets to their respective planets
12. Insta-built 2 BDB Salamander Mk. II's into the Proxima Centauri I-A's defense fleet, and 1 into Proxima Centauri II-A's defense Fleet.
13. Enabled Active Sensors and shields for the two new defense fleets.
14. Went to the Civilian tab of Proxima Centauri II-A to spawn a pile of colony buildings, including auto mines, military academies, naval HQ, financial centers, etc.
15. Used "Edit Pop" to set II-A's colony pop to 50M.
16. Used the GU Training tab to build a large army (~30 formations)
17. Edited I-A's Pop up to 75M.
18. Went to the ground units tab and designed v2 versions of the Cylon ground forces to use the new armor and racial weapon score.
19. Marked the original ground force versions as obsolete
19. Created v2 versions of the Cylon Ground Formations, did not obsolete the original ground formations.
20. Insta-GU-trained a limited number of the v2 formations on all existing Cylon Colonies in Proxima Centauri and Sol.
21. Switched back to Player Empire, sent two surveillance frigates to set up positions 1M km from Proxima Centauri I-A and II-A.
22. Advanced time, got a few pop-ups of "Object reference not set to instance of object" errors until time stopped with the enemy Cylon pops being detected.
23. Saved
24. Now attempting to advance time even 5 seconds produces a constant cycle of the following errors. I can hold down enter as long as I want and the errors never stop, I need to "End Task" to exit Aurora. Re-opening Aurora and trying to advance time repeats the same series of errors.

"2.1.1 Function #1954: Object reference not set to an instance of an object."
"2.1.1 Function #1943: Object reference not set to an instance of an object."
"2.1.1 Function #478: Object reference not set to an instance of an object."

[Iron_Hide4]

Civilian designed ships are showing up in my Class Design screen even though "Civilian" is unchecked.   Checking it shows all of them as its supposed to, it's just that some are leaking in.   It seems to be happening slowly over time, and my working theory is salvaging and scrapping their parts, or deleting them from the Naval Organization screen is what makes them appear.   I periodically delete Civilian fleets to help with lag and when I checked the designer the types I deleted where there.

[Steve Walmsley (OP)]

"2.1.1 Function #1954: Object reference not set to an instance of an object."
"2.1.1 Function #1943: Object reference not set to an instance of an object."
"2.1.1 Function #478: Object reference not set to an instance of an object."

The error codes relate to identifying alien ships. This is relatively short code that runs all the time without issue, so there must be something unusual in this case. The only option seems to be that the attempt to identify is looking at a ship without either a parent class or a parent race somehow. It could be related to your manual creation of the ships, but even that is not particularly unusual.

Unfortunately, I don't have a v2.1 version of the code to test this on and your current DB won't work with the v2.2 code.

[ChubbyPitbull]

Entire Population of Ganymede Disappeared

DATABASE MODIFICATION: All Particle Beam sizes (except for PB-2) set to a size of 300 tons prior to game creation, similar to the upcoming v2.2.0

TN Start
Random Stars (Starting Sol System)
86000 Construction Cycle Time
20% Research Speed
Local System Gen chance 50%
Local System Generation spread 15%
NPR Generation Chance (by Player) 75%
NPR Generation Chance (by NPR) 10%
Ruin Generation Chance 50%
All spoiler generation enabled for Player and NPR
One Second Sub Pulse Enabled

Game in the DB is titled "Waiting for 2 dot 2" and is 29 years into the game. Humanity has taken the main colonies back from the Cylons, including Ganymede. I have been working on terraforming Ganymede for a while now, adding Aestuisum to the atmosphere to bring the temperature up, and colony cost has gotten down to ~0.54. There was already a pile of infrastructure at the colony, so it was a bustling populace of 100M+ population.

All I was doing was advancing time in 5 day jumps as I was prepping armies to start re-capturing a new system, when I noticed an odd entry in the Event Log: "Giorgiou Small C6 085 (FLT: CS Giorgiou Small C6 085) was unable to load colonists from Ganymede as none were available for pickup."

Opening the population window, Ganymede is now just listed as an automated mining colony with 100x AM. All other facilities, environment, infrastructure, and troops on the planet are still there intact, but every single colonist is gone. Nothing else in past events gives any indication that anything occurred that caused the disappearance. Ganymede is marked as a Destination of Colonists, but this game has been going on for so long I'm honestly not sure if it's because the colony fell below the pop threshold to be considered a Source of Colonists and it auto-defaulted to Destination.

Advancing time, colonists remain gone, and more events show up about civilian colony ships failing to load colonists at Ganymede as none were available, which may mean for some reason they evacced the planet? My civilian fleets are a decent size due to the length of the game, is it possible that with enough civilian colony ships, they can queue orders to load more colonists  from a source colony than that colony actually has? I've simply been advancing time for awhile building troops.

[Steve Walmsley (OP)]

I'm not sure if this is a bug, or just something I don't understand.   But I have a group of hostile contacts which I keep losing contact with each pulse (regardless of length)  and then re-establishing contact with 5 seconds into the next pulse. . . even when they're deep inside my active sensor range.   It's too quick for them to be transiting an unknown warp point and coming back, right?  Let me know if there's anything else that'd be useful.

This is not a bug. These are Raiders; looks like they are popping into the system through their super-sneaky not-a-jump-point, seeing your active sensor, getting scared, and immediately jumping out.

Steve - It might make sense to change this AI behavior even though it's not a bug. This is the same kind of thing as the AI jumping through a jump gate every 5 seconds and that was changed as it leads to a similarly poor gameplay experience. Maybe this is already fixed in 2.2 though, I recall there is a change so the AI remembers contacts for a while now.

I've added some new Raider mechanics to address this:
http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=13090.msg166201#msg166201

[Steve Walmsley (OP)]

I have had a loong game that while I saved last time, started throwing up many error messages, don't remember now, but almost all my systems jumppoint information is lost, well that would have been a fun "happening", rediscover the empire... Perhaps making them free and having to conquer again..., but you cant use the existing jumppointinformation, getting error #3102,  need to regen the systems jumpoints and then its new jumppoints will go to new systems... Most info about the game is still there... Trying the fleet window, error "" then moving time, getting error #3476, followed by# 700, #697, #3312, restaring the error string...

Well so sad, the game is busted...

In the game directory is a file called AuroraDBSaveBackup.db. This is your previous save. If you delete Aurora.db and rename AuroraDBSaveBackup.db to Aurora.db, it will restore your previous save. I realise its too late for this game, but mentioning it for others in a similar situation.

Also, if you get errors on a save, the database will be corrupted as a lot of the existing data is deleted and replaced by data from the game. However, the data is still in memory so if you leave the game running and figure out what is causing the problem, you can save again and fix it. Otherwise, revert to the previous save as above.