I have a bug on my local game (V3.11.55) involving Port Trading at a few Class 8 Ports. The bug looks like this: I key in "PT", the game responds "Docking", then "One Turn Deducted", then immediately drops back to the Sector command prompt. It is as if the ship never actually docked, so the Port never initiates a Buy offer. It does not matter what product(s) are on the ship, and the bug is not at all Class 8 ports, only a few of them. The Planet Negitiate method of trading does work normally at these ports, the bug is only Ship trading. Is this a known bug that someone can tell me how to fix, or is this some kind of corruption of my one or more of the game's program or DAT files? I looked at the SECTOR.DAT and PORT.DAT files with a hex editor and didn't see anything in the database records for the affected ports that looked abnormal, or significantly different from other adjacent ports of the same class, or sectors, in the DAT files.

It is a know bug with the Large Bubbles added in version .55
It should be fixed when .56 is released.

quote:Originally posted by lcharlot

I have a bug on my local game (V3.11.55) involving Port Trading at a few Class 8 Ports. The bug looks like this: I key in "PT", the game responds "Docking", then "One Turn Deducted", then immediately drops back to the Sector command prompt. It is as if the ship never actually docked, so the Port never initiates a Buy offer. It does not matter what product(s) are on the ship, and the bug is not at all Class 8 ports, only a few of them. The Planet Negitiate method of trading does work normally at these ports, the bug is only Ship trading. Is this a known bug that someone can tell me how to fix, or is this some kind of corruption of my one or more of the game's program or DAT files? I looked at the SECTOR.DAT and PORT.DAT files with a hex editor and didn't see anything in the database records for the affected ports that looked abnormal, or significantly different from other adjacent ports of the same class, or sectors, in the DAT files.



This is a specific bug with using the GOLD Bubble feacture and it's tunnel settings. If you create GOLD bubble in your universe. And use the Minimum Link Tunnel Depth and/or Maximum Link Tunnel Depth. Then you will have some ports that are not accessable. The only way to fix this it to delete the specific ports that no one can dock with.


To keep this from happening in furture games. You can create GOLD bubbles of any # or size. You can create them with the minimum Bubble Links and Maximum Bubble Links set. But, do not use the Minimum Link Tunnel Depth or the Maximum Link Tunnel Depth. As this is what causes those certain ports from being accessable.

J.P. has stated that he has found and fixed this for the .56 release. As to when it will be released. That is in the air. As J.P. currently is working on a major project for a new game for another company. And this company must come before TW's updates. Some people may not like that. But, honestly if you were to be paid by a major game company. Or only have the little income that TW makes. Would you not put the company's wants and needs before TW?

>This is a specific bug with using the GOLD Bubble feacture and it's >tunnel settings. If you create GOLD bubble in your universe. And >use the Minimum Link Tunnel Depth and/or Maximum Link Tunnel Depth. >Then you will have some ports that are not accessable. The only way >to fix this it to delete the specific ports that no one can dock >with.


Is the bug in the PORT.DAT or the SECTOR.DAT? Can I work around this by attaching the port to a different sector, and then modifying the SECTOR.DAT to link the new sector to my bubble, and de-link the bad sector from the bubble and put it elsewhere in the game "universe"? as an empty sector? If I do that and some player were to happen to create a new port in that "bad" sector, would the new port be non-accessable like the original one was? I wish J.P. would include more Sysop information in the game distribution, about just what the settings do when you are banging a new game. Especially the newer Gold settings for big bubbles. Thanks for your reply (quoted above). I was stumped and had come to the conclusion that my game files had been corrupted and was about to re-bang the game, which wouldn't have helped had I used the same link tunnel depth settings.

I've noticed this bug in games I played in as well. It usually happens at a few xxB ports in sectors numbered 19,000+ in a 20,000 sector game and sectors numbered 9,000+ in a 10,000 sector game. I don't use tunnel depth in my game, so I haven't experienced it as a sysop.

Would it be fixable if you deleted the port and then remade it the same way in the same sector?

Fury

quote:Originally posted by lcharlot

>This is a specific bug with using the GOLD Bubble feacture and it's >tunnel settings. If you create GOLD bubble in your universe. And >use the Minimum Link Tunnel Depth and/or Maximum Link Tunnel Depth. >Then you will have some ports that are not accessable. The only way >to fix this it to delete the specific ports that no one can dock >with.


Is the bug in the PORT.DAT or the SECTOR.DAT? Can I work around this by attaching the port to a different sector, and then modifying the SECTOR.DAT to link the new sector to my bubble, and de-link the bad sector from the bubble and put it elsewhere in the game "universe"? as an empty sector? If I do that and some player were to happen to create a new port in that "bad" sector, would the new port be non-accessable like the original one was? I wish J.P. would include more Sysop information in the game distribution, about just what the settings do when you are banging a new game. Especially the newer Gold settings for big bubbles. Thanks for your reply (quoted above). I was stumped and had come to the conclusion that my game files had been corrupted and was about to re-bang the game, which wouldn't have helped had I used the same link tunnel depth settings.


I don't know if it is the port.dat or the sector.dat file. But, I do know that moving the port from with in Tedit does not fix it. You can only delete the port. So I assume the problem is with in the port.dat file.

From what I understand is that the link tunnel depth settings code, forgets to update some info about the port(s) somewhere. And this is what causes the port to be not accessable. All you can do is just delete those particular ports.

Personally, I too would like to see better docs for all the sysop options/features/settings. But, I don't see this happening at anytime.

I have decided to re-bang this game, using most of the previous settings, but leaving the Tunnel Link Depth settings both at "zero" as you suggest. This is a 20,000 sector game with just about everything set at maximum - bubble sizes, planet capacities, ship capacities, max ports, and unlimited turns. I have customized the ships and planets to make more of the ships really useful, and the ships and planets harder to kill/capture. The Gold settings allow ships to carry a LOT more of everything - shields, eprobes, figs, etc. - than the default settings. I have configured the Desert planet to be more useful, by giving it 2 colos/unit production in Equipment (assumes this is a world with high metal ore available). All planets allow 1 million colos and 10 million storage. My ISS has MAX of everything, but you need 100,000 EXP points to have one, and the Mule has been configured just about the same to provide an "evil" ISS equivalent, but it's combat odds are a little less, it doesn't carry an Interdictor, and requires 200K exp points. I am also custom-building a dozen or two of really huge bubbles, 500 sectors each maybe, that will each have only ONE gate. This should be big enough to satisfy even the greediest empire-builder. Thanks for your help with the Tunnel Link bug. I would have never figured that out myself.
Larry Charlot - "Mr. Atoz"
The Atavachron BBS
Sacramento, CA
quote:Originally posted by The WABBIT

quote:Originally posted by lcharlot

>This is a specific bug with using the GOLD Bubble feacture and it's >tunnel settings. If you create GOLD bubble in your universe. And >use the Minimum Link Tunnel Depth and/or Maximum Link Tunnel Depth. >Then you will have some ports that are not accessable. The only way >to fix this it to delete the specific ports that no one can dock >with.




I don't know if it is the port.dat or the sector.dat file. But, I do know that moving the port from with in Tedit does not fix it. You can only delete the port. So I assume the problem is with in the port.dat file.

From what I understand is that the link tunnel depth settings code, forgets to update some info about the port(s) somewhere. And this is what causes the port to be not accessable. All you can do is just delete those particular ports.

Personally, I too would like to see better docs for all the sysop options/features/settings. But, I don't see this happening at anytime.