Blair Fraser Blair Fraser

Multiplayer Crashes

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Multiplayer Crashes

from Sins Forums

I apologize for the MP dumps. I've addressed this multiple times in other threads but they've been buried so it isn't because we are ignoring it or trying to hide it - its just impossible to comment on it everytime it reappears in a new thread. Tech support has also been in email contact with a variety of people (including some in this thread).

The MP bug is 1 of 2 major bugs we are aware of and its a sync bug. Statistically, it is very rare which is why it is so difficult for us to track down (we have yet to see it ourselves but we have something going out soon that will help us find it from those who do get it). Also, any multiplayer fixes are scheduled to go out in 1.1 not 1.04. They are in seperate code paths and completely seperate systems being worked on by completely seperate people. This isn't a matter of just throwing the fix into 1.04 and 1.04 development is not slowing down 1.1's development so don't feel we are wasting time on 1.04 (balance + misc) when the *real* bug is in 1.1 (multiplayer).

Now, to save you all a lot of headaches - the nature of the sync bug is that once you've had a game where it happens it is very unlikely you can recover from a MP save game. If you load the MP save game and continue to play you will crash again. You will then load a more recent save game and crash again. The crashes will come more and more frequently. If you see this behavior just start over as its very probably that its the sync bug and the crash is nothing to do with your machines, network, or drivers. If you don't see this behavior, its likely a driver problem or you are running out of memory or you are running a bad mod (at least based on the data we've collected through tech support).

As soon as 1.04 is out I am going to make a post looking for volunteers. I have a special 1.04 build that will track the synchronization info we need to track it down. Since we can't recreate it we need to have a few players who it happens to regularly to play 1.04 with this build and then send us their logs when it goes out of sync.

P.S Minidump is the generic term for a general crash - it could be anything and is not caused by any specific problem. We can decode the minidump to get useful information on the true nature of the crash.

technical
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Reply #101 from Sins Forums Top
Thank you Edix. It's reassuring to hear from someone who has the problem, but is handling the issue in a mature way. Yes, it stinks that the problem exists, but if what we want is the problem solved, the best solution is to help Stardock in uncovering it, and not yell and scream "fraud".

-HM
Reply #102 from Sins Forums Top
I've got to say, XBoxer. I don't like your tone, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Sit back and put a sock in it. They're doing the best they can with what they're getting, and priority one isn't drying your tears.



Anyway, On topic. My friends and I are getting crashes, but no red text is appearing. We've tried standard builds and fixed, and the crash persists. The only way we can play a game for more than an hour(ish. Bad estimate) is to do a fresh install and avoid patching. With v1.00 we get no crashes, but there is a good bit of lag after we get a metric ton of units, making the game nigh-unplayable. (Also there's the whole slow tech trees thing, but that's another story altogether, and unrelated to technical issues)

Dunno if that info helps at all, but there it is anway.

tl;dr - v1.00 does not crash, but has major slowdown when many units are produced, and all other versions, including the Fix crash. We do not get red text on crashing.
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Reply #103 from Sins Forums Top
idc what you guys think cuz i paid to play and no playing is going on
Reply #104 from Sins Forums Top
95% of people have the sync bug? Please Xboxerdude, just because you say something doesn't make it true. Please back up your "facts" with some proof.

I'm not denying that people have this problem. But as I said in an earlier post, if it was that widespread, Ironclad would've seen it before release. And also note that the sync bug has been a problem for some since day one. So if one is seeing new crashes with the 1.04 patch, it's probably something else, and not the sync bug.

-HM
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Reply #105 from Sins Forums Top
So much for hoping this thread stayed focused....

Anyway, Blair, I don't know if this helps you much, but we had another successful game this weekend using the SyncFix patch. This one lasted around 4 hours and was setup similarly to the last successful game (different map). Not a single problem whatsoever.
Reply #106 from Sins Forums Top
50% of the time 95% of people think that they are 100% right.


It is sometimes hard to tell the difference between a Fanboi and a person who is more knowledgeable that you. And you can quote me on that.
Reply #107 from Sins Forums Top
My friend and I noticed that sync issues occur, if you have a NPC player set to hard level.
Reply #108 from Sins Forums Top
Confirmed it... Its nothing to do with our computers. We got minidumps every game starting about 2 patches ago.

We played with V1.0 and got through an entire large game with out anything more than a little lag later on into it.
Reply #109 from Sins Forums Top
MadTim, if you have deleted your settings file, and tried the exe in SinsSyncFix.zip (posted at reply #49), AND still get minidumps, then you should send your minidump file to [email protected]. Your problem is most likely not the sync bug, and hopefully they can help you figure out why you're getting the crash.

-HM
Reply #110 from Sins Forums Top
I would say it should be safe to put out the new exe as a required update. Most all are using the regular 1.04 exe now, so adoption is pretty slow... And it definitely seems that the changed one is better, at the very least it does not seem to cause any harm.
Reply #111 from Sins Forums Top
If Ironclad hasn't released it yet there's probably good reason. I, for one, do not want a debacle like the WinXP SP3 mess-up.

-HM
Reply #112 from Sins Forums Top

Hi gang,

We're hoping to do some final testing on this over the weekend. If everything works out, we should have a hotfix up for everyone sometime next week. :)

Reply #113 from Sins Forums Top
Nice to hear that Yarlen. Blair Fraser I would also like to thank you for your patients with the community on this matter. And my thanks to the community for helping out. This is an issue I have had since day one and I am for one glad to see it gone.

I think this should be common place in more game companies. I mean if a publisher and a developer can work so well hand in hand then its customers should be able to do that as well. I think this shows that it can be done with a mostly mature attitude.
Reply #114 from Sins Forums Top
Hi,
Just discovered this topic.
I ll be really happy to help if you re still chasing this MP dumps bugs.
I do have a reproduction rate of 100% ( so I feel can of cursed when I read that is a really rare bug)

Anyway here are the reproducton steps:
- Start Sin
- Start an online game
- PLay for about 2h or more
- Go back to the lobby
- Restart straight away a new game.
- Wait for the bug :(

So, if you guys are still looking for this I would be more than happy to play with some people with the "test verison" exe installed.
let me know,

cheers
Quiche Poireau
Reply #116 from Sins Forums Top
Indeed was wondering that my self.
Reply #117 from Sins Forums Top
As far as I know, it's still being tested. I imagine it's not so much that they aren't sure it fixes the sync, but they'd probably want to be sure it doesn't break anything for those who were fine before. :P
Reply #118 from Sins Forums Top
Yeah, push backs happen, still wish we could get another loose guess on that hotfix though.  :D 
Reply #119 from Sins Forums Top
I'm sure there will be plently of volunteers for this, myself included.This problem has virtually caused long term games unplayable.


as short as 30 mins into a game has this happened to me, the longest ive gone is 1 hour 30 mins without a crash of some kind, this isnt a rare thing, it happens all the time.
Reply #120 from Sins Forums Top
Well, we've played a multiplayer game every weekend since the syncfix and not had one single crash. For my group at least the game is bulletproof.
Reply #122 from Sins Forums Top
It's posted earlier in this thread. I think on page 2, maybe 3.
Reply #123 from Sins Forums Top
JasonH2, there are two files right in this very thread (one will test to see if the crashes you get are the sync bug, the other is a test fix for the sync bug). Simply read through the posts and do accordingly (you have to wipe out your settings file).

But note that it has NOT been officially released, thus, chances are the final hotfix will differ from the file that is contained in this thread. It is also not compatible with 1.4, so you will only be able to play with others that also use the special executable.

-HM
Reply #124 from Sins Forums Top
For those of us who do not read entire threads here is a brief overview of what this thread has said.

By Blair Fraser Post #1 April 9, 2008 15:46:20
IC announced upcoming testing of the sync bug.

By Blair Fraser Post #13 April 11, 2008 18:51:57
IC released www.ironcladgames.com/sins/SinsSyncCheck1.04.zip for testing this did not fix anything but was used to track the bug.

By Blair Fraser Post #49 April 17, 2008 20:00:13
IC released www.ironcladgames.com/sins/SinsSyncFix.zip for testing this seemed to fix the sync bug by all reports thus far.

By Yarlen Post #112 April 30, 2008 17:15:38
SD announced future release of the hotfix after more testing.

Present
We are all still waiting for news of the hotfix and its eventual release.
Reply #125 from Sins Forums Top
Nice to know since the 1.4 patch I havn't played a single game because of this. Sigh. Reminds me of Hellgate london and their farce of a release. They STILL have memory leaks, I was fine beta'ing this game and playen until 1.4 released than all hell broke loose.