CariElf CariElf

Bug Reports for Altarian Prophecy Beta 3

▼

Bug Reports for Altarian Prophecy Beta 3

from Stardock Forums

Please install and run SmartException from the free stuff tab in Stardock Central so that if the beta crashes, it will generate a report that you can send to me with your debug.err files and save games.

I will want any save games that reproduce bugs, particularly crashes.  Save games in Altarian prophecy are only one file, no folders.

Please report typos in the typo thread.

Please give as much detail as possible when reporting bugs so that I can reproduce it more easily.

Here are copies of my current bug report spreadsheets so that you can search them for your bugs.  The one for normal Gal Civ probably has some bug reports that are redundant or have been fixed, but I cleaned it up as well as I could.  When in doubt, report the bug.  Also, all the version numbers for the reports may not be accurate, as I only added that field in recently and had to have a default value. So if I wasn't sure that I fixed it, I gave it the version 1.13 and left it there.  Let me know what you think about this system. 

http://www.joeuser.com/sdfiles/altarian%20prophecy%20bug%20reports.xls

http://www.joeuser.com/sdfiles/gal%20civ%20report%20tracking%20spreadsheet.xls

My e-mail address is [email protected]

4,641 views 106 replies
Reply #76 from Stardock Forums Top

I have a savegame which demonstrates the next bug: My warships (dreads, wraiths) cannot enter a sector due to "out of range". However, I have nearby planets and I even have a starbase in that sector. My combat transports can enter the sector just fine. I can send it to you if you like.
End of quote

Yes, please.  I think that I've fixed the others.

Playing games at obscene in 1.49c - reported as "suicidal" at the end and in the meta... Is this correct?
End of quote

Umm...sort of. :)  Originally, the 11th level was called suicidal, so that's what string the metaverse applies.  I don't remember why, but it was dropped.  Then, when I was playing around with the difficultly levels for AP, I added an 11th level.  But in the next build, it'll be back to 10, but the number values for each level will be a bit different.

I do not get many joys in my life seeing my pure blue happy face makes my day. Keeping Pure Good alignment seems next to impossible with AP.

Last game I played I picked only one evil event all the rest were pure good.

End of quote
 

Um, well I didn't do anything to the events, apart from making it so that you can't get events on planets with class less than 12.  What's the number value of your alignment?

Reply #77 from Stardock Forums Top
I understand I have to play nice :)
It just seems sometimes it takes forever to become pure good.

I seen something weird with starbases in my last game.

The major races had starbases all over the place if rhey had to buy them like me, I do not know how they could do it.

I have seen more than once a resource with a starbase on it but the major race seems to develop a starbase not on resource but next to it.
[Message Edited]
Elemental: Reforged
Reply #78 from Stardock Forums Top
The major races had starbases all over the place if rhey had to buy them like me, I do not know how they could do it.
End of quote


I noticed the same thing. Specially with Arceans. In 1.19 too.
Reply #79 from Stardock Forums Top
The major races had starbases all over the place if rhey had to buy them like me, I do not know how they could do it.
End of quote


It always appears as if the AI does not need to look on its money after all.

For example:
I lately had an AI with -421k bc,
I sold them a tech (don't ask what, i dunno remember)
there was a TG connected to it,
Next turn the got the TG and their cash got down to about -430k bc, so they rush build it
:(


even if it was on 1.13 disturbing this is
[Message Edited]
Reply #80 from Stardock Forums Top
It always appears as if the AI does not need to look on its money after all.For example:I lately had an AI with -421k bc,I sold them a tech (don't ask what, i dunno remember)there was a TG connected to it,Next turn the got the TG and their cash got down to about -430k bc, so they rush build it
End of quote


Indeed disturbing it is. But what you say explains a lot of oddities i observed in previous games (concerning trade goods and wonders). However in my latest APb3 game, no TG/wonders were build by minors, which is a definitly a progress.

Was it a mejor or a minor in that game?
Reply #82 from Stardock Forums Top
A bug I've noticed in my last few games - all random anomolies, etc. completely dissappear sometimes. This is after repeated saving and loading. I don't have a save game right now - just formatted my drive - but I'm sure I'll be able to find another game where this happens.

~SDC~
Reply #83 from Stardock Forums Top
I noticed the same thing. Specially with Arceans. In 1.19 too.
End of quote


They must of had 200 starbases :sniff!:
Reply #84 from Stardock Forums Top
It always appears as if the AI does not need to look on its money after all.
End of quote


Exploitable if you can afford to trade for starbases.... *has used this to get starbases that don't meed the distance requirements in the past*

~SDC~
Reply #85 from Stardock Forums Top
New bug -reproducible every time I try. Happens anytime I load up AP with another application is running that uses creative labs ASIO driver for the Audigy. Causes the computer to crash and reboot.

This is w/ AMD athlon proc, via chipset, SB audigy w/ newest drivers. This happens if I do a fresh install of windows (which I've just done) with a fresh install of AP - though it also happened prior to the new installs. Is this a prob w/ creatives drivers or w/ AP, I don't know.

~SDC~
Reply #86 from Stardock Forums Top
Not actually a bug, but interesting

AP uses the mods form my GC-standard installastion, on an other drive!

Why is that so?
Reply #87 from Stardock Forums Top
Hi Cari,

I have mailed you a game which CTD's when i destroy the last of the Arceans planets and then click next turn (with terrorstars).

I have tried only destroying 3 (of 4) planets which didn't cause a CTD. When i destroyed the last one (one turn later) it CTD'ed again.

I hope the information is usefull, let me know if there is anything i can do, to explain the problem.

I couldn't find a smartexception file (galciv.exe.err ?)
Reply #88 from Stardock Forums Top
Not actually a bug, but interesting

AP uses the mods form my GC-standard installastion, on an other drive!

Why is that so?
End of quote


So that they don't have to use up 400MB on an entire second copy of the GalCiv files, most of which haven't changed between AP and GC, they read in all the files from the GC directories, then all the files in the AP directories. The instances in AP override those in GC, so that things that have additional semantics or altered design in the expansion work correctly there, but can still have lesser effects in GalCiv. That way the AP installation only amounts to 40 MB, but everything from the old 385MB (post-multimedia) GC installation still works in AP. The mod interoperability is a minor, but still useful, side effect.

I couldn't find a smartexception file (galciv.exe.err ?)
End of quote


If you have SmartException installed properly, they will either be in the SE directory or in root of your system drive. It's an odd quirk that seems to have something to do with which Windows OS you're running.

~SDC~
Reply #89 from Stardock Forums Top
Don't know if this is a bug but...

I thought that in 1.49 the minors were not supposed to build trade good and wonders (at least that's in the history file).
Well, Carinoids just build 2 trade goods (ultra spices and aphrodisiacs) :( .

Since the beta share files with galciv, is it possible that when I updated galciv to 1.2, some of the parameters were reset?
Reply #90 from Stardock Forums Top
Is it possible in this late stage that somebody can review the events and see why the game does not always reward pure good play with pure good alignment?

Last game I played each and every event I picked was the good choice but at the end I did not rate pure good.
Reply #91 from Stardock Forums Top
Well I managed to register one pure good game under 1.49. All other were chaotic good. But I think it is because the events aren't frequent enough for a player to reach pure good alignement within the lenght of a medium game. However, in my current game, I got lucky and reached the 100 alignement. I'll check if it registers correctly in the metaverse.
Minors are building trade goods in this game too.
Reply #92 from Stardock Forums Top
I have also managed to submit pure good games, but i have noticed that there seems to be a bug in UI.

It will display me as Saintly before i actually am. This doesn't affect available tech or game submission, only the UI (society, stats on the domestic screen)
Reply #93 from Stardock Forums Top
Yes I noticed that. Saintly has replaced the former good (so, for now, good is better than saintly...) and the same in the "other side": you'll have demonic instead of evil, and then evil instead of demonic.
Reply #94 from Stardock Forums Top
But I think it is because the events aren't frequent enough for a player to reach pure good alignement within the lenght of a medium game.
End of quote


I only play gigantic but I agree there are not enough events.

I think the events we do get though are biased to give a player evil alignment.

Land on a planet pick that nice PQ bonus and see how fast you swing from neutral to evil, you pick the good choice 4 or 5 times in a row and you do not get good alignment.
Reply #95 from Stardock Forums Top
I found one exception to the lack of events. My last game I got events about once every 4 turns in mid/late game. I usually don't even get 4 events total on my map size (small). Maybe the events should allow a morality of 90/10 at least on any map size.
Reply #96 from Stardock Forums Top
Maybe the events should allow a morality of 90/10 at least on any map size.
End of quote


Something like that would be difficult to determine... but what would be pretty simple, and a lot of help, would be an option at the start of the game to select 'rare', 'average' or 'frequent' events. The current rate could be considered 'average' (or even 'rare').

Btw... the alignment reversal issue appears to be an error in English.STR. I've 'corrected' it in my version (this is GC though, not AP), and it works fine.
Reply #97 from Stardock Forums Top
I meant that the events would have set numbers of increase to those levels. So at least the number of events would exist to allow pure good and pure evil on any map.
Reply #98 from Stardock Forums Top
I meant that the events would have set numbers of increase to those levels. So at least the number of events would exist to allow pure good and pure evil on any map.
End of quote


Yes, but the way it's set up now, the actual alignment change from any event is random, so there's no way of knowing at the start of a game how many events would be required to bring you to a certain threshold... and even if there were, there's no way of determining how many events will go to the player and how many to AIs, etc.

Changing the random nature of morality effects is something I can't see them doing either... at least not until GC2, if at all.
Reply #99 from Stardock Forums Top
Yes, but the way it's set up now, the actual alignment change from any event is random, so there's no way of knowing at the start of a game how many events would be required to bring you to a certain threshold... and even if there were, there's no way of determining how many events will go to the player and how many to AIs, etc.
End of quote


Really? I thought (from something Brad had said last year) that each event had its own rating as to how far it would move you either way. For example, the "worms" event (or whatever it is) that can change planet quality a lot, affects your good/evil alignment more than the one that has you discover smuggling and just costs or gives you cash.

Or am I misunderstanding what you're saying?

~SDC~
Reply #100 from Stardock Forums Top
Or am I misunderstanding what you're saying?
End of quote


Probably not. :)

They are weighted one way or another, but the actual bonus and the actual effect on your alignment are both randomized, and therefore not predictable at the start of a game.

In other words, you can't say 'these 10 events will allow you to go up to alignment 90 if you take all the good choices', because those 10 events may get low rolls and only bring you up to 70 anyway.