My engine makes other ships glow

[Screet]

Hi,

version 1.72.2 PC is installed here. Strange stuff going on...and this time something very new for me to be seen:

The station from which I launched does change it's metals color according to the setting of my engines (engines off = normal, engines full = almost white glowing station).

While I tried to play a bit with this strange effect, a Dredger did launch from that station. Uh. It came out properly. Possibly some inflatable model? Anyway, the Dredger then had the same effect as the station: it's hull began to glow as soon as I use my engines.

The log doesn't reveal anything to me. Surely, somethings very, very wrong....but what? Before this, I tried to launch with the caduceus oxp, but it gives me a strange error message and oolite crashes upon launch, which is why I took that oxp out...and now this bug!

Screet

[Commander McLane]

Obviously your engines get very hot, if your exhaust plume has such kind of effect on such big structures!

But seriously, this sounds like your ship's shader settings are for some weird reason applied to other entities. No idea why this would happen.

[Screet]

Obviously your engines get very hot, if your exhaust plume has such kind of effect on such big structures!

But seriously, this sounds like your ship's shader settings are for some weird reason applied to other entities. No idea why this would happen.

I was flying around for some seconds, until the game crashed "out of memory" (2 gigs free were not enough). Funny thing, the next time I started the game, this did not happen, but the game crashed before I could witchspace to the next system. Restart....and then I had it again and things were stable. I could heat up all ships around me with my engine, but this time the station was not heating up.

I don't know what's causing this. Since then, the shaders haven't been producing black ships, but white ships. Not much better...and very difficult to dock, especially if the bay is also white and the DC just sits still instead of trying to dock (see Erics bug report on that problem).

Screet

[another_commander]

Screet, you seem to have many weird issues going on with your game. My recommendation to you is: For every single issue you are reporting, please try to reproduce it without the OSE OXP installed. Anything that can be reproduced in such a way, can be a valid game bug, in which case we will need as much info as you can provide. Otherwise, we will have to consider it a result of a beta work-in-progress OXP installed. I honestly cannot reproduce any of all this on my system, even if I try.

[Screet]

Screet, you seem to have many weird issues going on with your game. My recommendation to you is: For every single issue you are reporting, please try to reproduce it without the OSE OXP installed. Anything that can be reproduced in such a way, can be a valid game bug, in which case we will need as much info as you can provide. Otherwise, we will have to consider it a result of a beta work-in-progress OXP installed. I honestly cannot reproduce any of all this on my system, even if I try.

Concerning RS/OSE: For the cloak bug, I had it removed

Overall, you're right, I /do/ have much too many weird issues which are not always reproduceable. Take the energy consuption of the cloak, for example. Typically I cannot reproduce ALL of the effects (the DC thing always)...but then, suddenly, it's happening once again.

I'm pretty close to trying something different: Reducing the RAM amount of my machine to half it's size. I should curse that company which sells 32bit operating systems as 64bit technology and then claims they could not exchange it for the 64 bit version. Maybe the 4 gigs, of which Vista uses 3 lead Vista somehow to a mismanagement of memory? At least it asks to shut down programs due to low memory when there are still 2 gig free!

Anyway, I'm now flying a non RS/OSE ship, and search for another non RS/OSE ship (Caduceus). This allows to more easily remove that extension - although I've got the impression that the worst thing it does is to create such a big amount of ships that oolite leaks too much memory, thus becoming unstable.

On the other hand, I'm known to find weird bugs. Really. Proved to be quite some trouble for an online game and when I was working, I was hunting bugs down faster than the testers could find them, sometimes they were unable to reproduce them, because they were not fast enough interacting with the machine. On one occasion it even allowed us to throw a competitor out of the contract, because I found an immense bug in their code, they claimed we would lie and that all their products would have this flaw if I were correct. The customer tried with other products of that company in the way I told them to test and then never contracted them again, giving the whole contract to us. Well...it was a company producing their own database system and it had an immense flaw.

Screet

[Screet]

Screet, you seem to have many weird issues going on with your game. My recommendation to you is: For every single issue you are reporting, please try to reproduce it without the OSE OXP installed. Anything that can be reproduced in such a way, can be a valid game bug, in which case we will need as much info as you can provide. Otherwise, we will have to consider it a result of a beta work-in-progress OXP installed. I honestly cannot reproduce any of all this on my system, even if I try.

Just had that bug once more, without OSE installed. This time, /some/ of the ships were glowing to my engine, but not all.

Furthermore, a Salvage gang and an abandoned hermit were also glowing according to my engines setting, but the asteroids and the non-glowing ships were displayed plain white.

Still, the log doesn't reveal anything.

Screet

[Screet]

Hi again...

maybe you remember that a short while ago I had some other strange problem and while looking for it it turned out, that two versions of anarchies were showing up in the search paths: the old version and the new one. However, only the new one seemingly was loaded. The old version hadn't been in the oxp folder at all, but oolite still had that non-existent path active.

I've got the same problem now, with another prominent OXP:
"AddOns/Zzzz_Realistic_Shipyards_V3.02b.oxp"

The path is non-existent! Still oolite claims it should load from it (and the old anarchies path).

I also have moved OSE out of the folder. Still I had some ships in which I thought came from there, although I did press shift upon load and was welcomed with a different (the original) CM3 variant.

The log says:
[dataCache.rebuild.explicitFlush]: Cache explicitly flushed with shift key. Rebuilding from scratch.
[shipData.load.begin]: Loading ship data...

...

[shipData.load.error]: ***** ERROR: the shipdata.plist entry "tt-star-wing-sub" specifies non-existent model "star_wing.dat".
[shipData.load.error]: ***** ERROR: the shipdata.plist entry "frog-player" specifies non-existent model "fsr1.dat".
[shipData.load.error]: ***** ERROR: the shipdata.plist entry "legal_slough_sidewinder" specifies non-existent model "legal_slough_sidewinder.dat".
[shipData.load.error]: ***** ERROR: the shipdata.plist entry "ndock" specifies non-existent model "ndock.dat".
[shipData.load.error]: ***** ERROR: the shipdata.plist entry "bweed-falcon-airlock-l" specifies non-existent model "bweed-falcon-airlock-l.dat".
[shipData.load.error]: ***** ERROR: the shipdata.plist entry "eagle2" specifies non-existent model "eagle2.dat".
[shipData.load.error]: ***** ERROR: the shipdata.plist entry "bweed-falcon-airlock-r" specifies non-existent model "bweed-falcon-airlock-r.dat".
[shipData.load.error]: ***** ERROR: the shipdata.plist entry "paladin-trader" specifies non-existent model "paladin.dat".
[shipData.load.error]: ***** ERROR: the shipdata.plist entry "viper-hrp-player" specifies non-existent model "viper-hrp.dat".

....and so on!

Now this appears to be REALLY strange to me. As if Oolite cannot really get rid of things that have been previously installed.

Furthermore, I got another error message again, which I had seen in the past, but which is not always showing up. As far as I understand it, that message is nonsense! Therefore, it appears to me that it happens from time to time that something breaks and the effects become visible at a very different part of the game.

[plist.parse.foundation.failed]: Failed to parse AddOns/Missiles and Bombs v1.2.oxp/AIs/missileAI.plist as a property list using Foundation. Retrying using homebrew parser. WARNING: the homebrew parser is deprecated and will be removed in a future version of Oolite.
Parse failed at line 2 (char 25) - extra data after parsed string
[plist.homebrew.parseError]: Property list isn't in XML format, homebrew parser can't help you.

The visually strange thing was, that I again had the bug that many ships/stations/... did use the same texture, however it was another texture than last time.

Screet

[Screet]

Hmmm. Still trying to figure out, what's going on.

New observations:
- the error messages from the previous post come as soon as I hold shift during startup, but do not show up when I just start without shift
- both anarchies and RS paths have not been removed from the game. Both do not have a space in the name and thus are represented in the style oxp_without_spaces_path instead of "oxp with spaces path". Maybe this has somehow to do with the problem of getting rid of old stuff?

Screet

[another_commander]

OK, the debugging must go now to a more basic level. If I understand correctly, you have somehow messed up your installation and it will be very difficult to troubleshoot anything like this. You need to uninstall the game completely and then reinstall it without OXPs. It is critical that we establish at this point that a fresh installation of the game is stable, as it happens to be for the vast majority of users.

Then you will need to add OXPs slowly. Emphasis on slowly. Test every OXP you add for errors in the log. Any OXP giving errors of whatever nature in the log, put it apart and don't use it. Alternatively, you can try finding out what is causing the error and fix it. Don't continue tests with OXPs that generate errors of any kind. Once you have added a new OXP, tested and are happy that it works, proceed with the next one. Leave RS and OSE for the very end. The reason: They are not just one OXP, they are about eighty or more. During all these tests, Oolite is supposed to give correct paths in the log and if you have problems like these again, we need to know precisely what you did before these errors appeared.

Regarding the cloak bug, it is a code bug and we'll deal with it. Any bugs for which we do not have very precise instructions on how to reproduce, we will at least need the full log output. Tip: The stderr.txt in oolite.app is not used for logging anymore, but it may still contain some information from the SDL library when the game crashes. It's a good idea to always check that too for error messages.

The reason that the errors appear when you press shift at start only is that the game will load the ship data on cache rebuild, and then cache the information. Any shipdata errors will be reported at that rebuild time. After that, you are simply reading from a bad cache. This is why it is always recommended that you post log info after restarting the game with shift.

[Screet]

OK, the debugging must go now to a more basic level. If I understand correctly, you have somehow messed up your installation and it will be very difficult to troubleshoot anything like this. You need to uninstall the game completely and then reinstall it without OXPs. It is critical that we establish at this point that a fresh installation of the game is stable, as it happens to be for the vast majority of users.

Hmmm. Just uninstalled it, renamed the Addon-folder which did stay into disabled addons, installed 1.72.2 again, then moved ONLY the oxp with the GriffBoa back into the Addon-folder.

Result: Again got white ships (guess the usual shader problem, usually they were black before this release)...and:

Code: Select all

[searchPaths.dumpAll]: ---> OXP search paths:
(oolite.app/Resources, AddOns, AddOns/Anarchies2.0.oxp, AddOns/caduceus.oxp, AddOns/griff_ships_remixed.oxp, "AddOns/Missiles and Bombs v1.2.oxp", AddOns/Zzzz_Realistic_Shipyards_V3.02b.oxp)
[dataCache.rebuild.pathsChanged]: Cache is stale (search paths have changed). Rebuilding from scratch.
[shipData.load.begin]: Loading ship data...
  [shipData.load.error]: ***** ERROR: the shipdata.plist entry "lestradae-juggernaut" has unresolved subentity behe-dockv2.
  [shipData.load.error]: ***** ERROR: the shipdata.plist entry "velocity96-sub" has a broken subentity definition "velocity96-sub" (should have 8 tokens, has 1).
  [shipData.load.error]: ***** ERROR: the shipdata.plist entry "lestradae2-juggernaut" has unresolved subentity behe-dockv2.
  [shipData.load.error]: ***** ERROR: the shipdata.plist entry "leviathan-player" has unresolved subentity behe-dockv2.
  [shipData.load.error]: ***** ERROR: the shipdata.plist entry "Spearhead_1-player" specifies non-existent model "spearhead_1.dat".
  [shipData.load.error]: ***** ERROR: the shipdata.plist entry "wormM2" specifies non-existent model "worm_reduxM2.dat".

The list of ship-problems reported seemingly is as big as the list of RS ships. After that list, it continues as this:

Code: Select all

[script.load.world.listAll]: Loaded 5 world scripts: "oolite-cloaking-device" 1.72.2, "oolite-constrictor-hunt" 1.72.2, "oolite-nova" 1.72.2, "oolite-thargoid-plans" 1.72.2, "oolite-trumbles" 1.72.2
[dataCache.willWrite]: About to write data cache.
[dataCache.write.success]: Wrote data cache.
[load.failed.missileNotFound]: ----- WARNING: couldn't find missile with role 'EQ_CASCADE_MISSILE' while trying [PlayerEntity setCommanderDataFromDictionary:], missile entry discarded. -----
[load.failed.missileNotFound]: ----- WARNING: couldn't find missile with role 'EQ_CASCADE_MISSILE' while trying [PlayerEntity setCommanderDataFromDictionary:], missile entry discarded. -----
[load.failed.missileNotFound]: ----- WARNING: couldn't find missile with role 'EQ_DREDGER_SALVAGE_MISSILE' while trying [PlayerEntity setCommanderDataFromDictionary:], missile entry discarded. -----
[load.failed.missileNotFound]: ----- WARNING: couldn't find missile with role 'EQ_DREDGER_SALVAGE_MISSILE' while trying [PlayerEntity setCommanderDataFromDictionary:], missile entry discarded. -----
[load.failed.missileNotFound]: ----- WARNING: couldn't find missile with role 'EQ_DREDGER_SALVAGE_MISSILE' while trying [PlayerEntity setCommanderDataFromDictionary:], missile entry discarded. -----

Thus, it's clear that uninstalling and reinstalling the game doesn't really clean these problems. Obviously, oolite installs more stuff somewhere in Windows (Vista) and does not remove it.

Next test, I'm gonna check the location where logs and saves are stored, maybe I find something there...

Screet

[another_commander]

Everything except the AddOns folder and the saved games files gets removed on uninstall, Vista or not. We know that because the installer/uninstaller code is included in the source code and has been working fine forever. Try moving the disabled AddOns folder completely out of the way just to be sure that no OXP can be physically visible from the game and retry.

On a clean installation startup without an AddOns folder, Oolite should only be finding Resources in the path. I recommend checking out for unwanted remnant files in Vista's VirtualStore folder for Oolite.

[Screet]

On a clean installation startup without an AddOns folder, Oolite should only be finding Resources in the path. I recommend checking out for unwanted remnant files in Vista's VirtualStore folder for Oolite.

Just checked...there was only "oolite-cache.plist" additional to saved games and logs.

Now I really would like to know where oolite stores that stuff. As you could see, most paths from oxp's have been cleaned up, but some did stay!

Maybe I'm finally moving in on the source of all my oolite-problems...there's something left from previous game and oxp installations, and it's confusing oolite...

According to your adive I now moved the disabled addons-folder to another harddisk...200 megs! However, the problem with all those shipdata-errors from nonexistent oxps still stays! Same applies for the search path of non-existent oxp's.

Anyone who knows where this info is stored, so that I can do a REAL clean installation? The oolite-uninstaller cleaned things up pretty nicely, but obviously, there's a different location that has not been cleaned.

Screet

[another_commander]

Oolite does not store any of this stuff. The RunOolite.bat file that is used to run the game sets up all the environment paths and then Oolite looks in the appropriate places based on those settings. The fact that it finds files in some path other than its installation has to be a result of the game paths being set incorrectly. Try checking the paths shown in RunOolite.bat against the true install paths. Make sure you are not running the game from any desktop shortcut, instead go to the installation folder and run RunOolite.bat manually.

[Screet]

Oolite does not store any of this stuff. The RunOolite.bat file that is used to run the game sets up all the environment paths and then Oolite looks in the appropriate places based on those settings. The fact that it finds files in some path other than its installation has to be a result of the game paths being set incorrectly. Try checking the paths shown in RunOolite.bat against the true install paths. Make sure you are not running the game from any desktop shortcut, instead go to the installation folder and run RunOolite.bat manually.

Still the same...including this:

Code: Select all

[searchPaths.dumpAll]: ---> OXP search paths:
(oolite.app/Resources, AddOns, AddOns/Anarchies2.0.oxp, AddOns/caduceus.oxp, AddOns/griff_ships_remixed.oxp, "AddOns/Missiles and Bombs v1.2.oxp", AddOns/Zzzz_Realistic_Shipyards_V3.02b.oxp)

...and I only have the griff_ships_remixed.oxp in because I'm currently flying a GriffBoa.

Thus, at least some of the paths must be stored somewhere else, or how could oolite believe that it has to load from these folders? Furthermore, where does it store all the ship info, which leads to all those error messages for ships from RS/OSE? The game shouldn't be able to KNOW about those ships anymore!

Screet

[another_commander]

The file <OoliteInstallDir>/oolite.app/GNUstep/Library/Caches/Oolite-cache.plist (or its Vista equivalent location, most likely in VirtualStore) is the cache that Oolite is reading. Try deleting this file and restart. But it's just the same as pressing Shift and restarting.