How utterly annoying

Why can't I have -ordinary- problems?

So, like everyone and their dog, I've set out to make a TC plugin. Being more modest in my aims than some, it's only intended to have a single system, at least for now.
Your basic near-future, beginning-of-space-travel thing. Anyway...

I got started just building on top of the existing Nova Files. When it became clear that the existing data was fouling up everything (at which point I had my system and much of its contents, and wanted Altair to stop trying to hyperlink to it), I found AbsoluteMinimum, and stuck it in instead.
Now Nova crashes if I try to load my plug.
For reasons I can't quite recall, in the course of trying to fix this, I throw out the pilot file I was testing it with, and try opening Nova. Lo and behold, it starts up. As soon as I attempt to create a new pilot, however, (or load an old one), it barfs.
And I can't for the life of me figure out why.

anyway, here's the debug log, and the pilot log file dump.
Any help much appreciated.

EV Nova debug log

Output on 9/11/2007 at 0:33 AM

game engine was compiled Apr 24 2006
game engine version is 1.0.A Carbon

opening data files & loading prefs
initializing monitor
getting available window positioning bounds
opening RezLib
main display at startup was 1440x900 / 32 bits / 0 Hz
switching to 16 bits
system software version is 1049
initializing QuickTime
building trig table
opening platform tool
opening file tool
opening draw tool
opening interface tool
opening registration tool
initializing arrays
opening data files
opening files in Nova Files folder:
  AbsoluteMinimum
opening files in Nova Plug-Ins folder:
  In the Beginning
loading sounds
creating window
main window rect: (5368, 302, -2208, -16385)
initializing sprite world
creating scratch frames
creating offscreen buffers
starting music
initializing strings
initializing status bar
initializing objects
initializing buttons
loading object data
loading mission data
propagating mission bit effects
showing splash screen
loading sprites
checking memory
loading ship sprites
warning:  (895) lacks shipyard picture
configuring sprites
initializing player
initializing main screen
opening last pilot file
load pilot data 1
load pilot data 2
load pilot data 3
load pilot data 4
load pilot data 5
load pilot data 6
load pilot data 7
load pilot data 8
load pilot data 9
making alias
dumping pilot log
propagating mission bit effects
---
preparing main screen
setting up world







EV Nova pilot data dump

Output on 9/11/2007 at 0:47 AM

Game version:      1.0.A

Plugins loaded:
  In the Beginning

Pilot name:        Goroth Obarskyr
Pilot nickname:    Hawkeye
Pilot gender:      male
Strict play:       no
Seen intro screen: no
Ship name:         Ring of Glory
Ship type:         F-25 Strato-Fighter (129)
Current system:    Sol (128)
Legal status:      0 (in system 128)
Game date:         1/1/2010
Fuel:              300.00
Cash:              2500
Kills:             100

Current cargo:
  none

Active missions:
  none

Mission bits currently set:
  none

Contribute bits:
  0x00000000
  0x00000000

Escorts:
  none

Items currently owned:
  2 Mk. 1 Machine Gun (128)
  1000 Machine Gun Ammunition (129)
  1 Falcon Launcher (130)
  4 Falcon Missile (131)

Stellars currently dominated:
  none

Stellars currently destroyed:
  none

Active ranks:
  none

Active disasters:
  none

Active cron events:
  none


- end of log -

This post has been edited by Otter : 11 September 2007 - 03:18 PM

Well your logs aren't showing anything helpful. Is it crashing before you enter ship (ie, just after creating or loading a pilot)? You may have to post your plug here.

@guy, on Sep 11 2007, 01:04 AM, said in How utterly annoying:

Well your logs aren't showing anything helpful. Is it crashing before you enter ship (ie, just after creating or loading a pilot)? You may have to post your plug here.

If there's a pilot file already in existance, it will crash after showing the progress bar splash screen and before reaching the main screen.
If not, then it crashes immediately after the 'name your new ship...' dialog.

I'd be happy to post it, it's massively unpolished, but on the other hand I only started working on it this morning :blink:
At the moment, it's a bit bloated (over 10 mb), because I copied all of Nova's spob and weapon spďn resources into it.
I'll go through and weed them out, but it'll still be a bit large. Any suggestions on where to host the thing?

AM is missing an essential sound. Can't remember which one though. Either drop the Nova Sounds into the data files or plug-ins folder or copy the hyperspace sounds into your plug. I know it's one of the hyperspace sounds...

@joshtigerheart, on Sep 11 2007, 01:23 AM, said in How utterly annoying:

AM is missing an essential sound. Can't remember which one though. Either drop the Nova Sounds into the data files or plug-ins folder or copy the hyperspace sounds into your plug. I know it's one of the hyperspace sounds...

Tried dropping Nova Sounds into Nova Files. Still doesn't work.
I should mention that with just AM, and no plug-in, it will start up, create and load pilots, and generally act exactly as it should.

Thanks, though.

EDIT: I've done some testing. The trouble is definitly graphics related. If I drop Nova Graphics 2 in with AM, it will work. Must be calling some resource that's in there. I can't think what, though.

This post has been edited by Otter : 11 September 2007 - 12:56 AM

Then the issue is in your plug. Make sure all spins and shans point to the approperiate graphics, your spob points to the proper spin, and all other grapical things point where they're supposed to.

Check the resource ID guide and make sure you have all the resources in bold and that they're all valid.

This post has been edited by Guy : 19 January 2009 - 04:21 PM

That exact thing happened to me. I definately think that that's a problem with the plugin, it's looking for a resource that isn't there.

He is using Absolute Minimum, though. Shouldn't that work?

It might be because there's something in HIS plugin that is being referenced incorrectly. AbsoluteMinimum doesn't fix everything.

Oh. Yeah. That could be it.

Quote

AM is missing an essential sound. Can't remember which one though. Either drop the Nova Sounds into the data files or plug-ins folder or copy the hyperspace sounds into your plug. I know it's one of the hyperspace sounds...

It's the hyperspace entry sound. If you don't have a sound with that ID number, then when you jump out of a system you just leave automatically without speeding out of the system.

This doesn't cause crashing, though.

This post has been edited by Shlimazel : 13 September 2007 - 10:55 AM

@shlimazel, on Sep 13 2007, 11:54 AM, said in How utterly annoying:

It's the hyperspace entry sound. If you don't have a sound with that ID number, then when you jump out of a system you just leave automatically without speeding out of the system.

This doesn't cause crashing, though.

Thus far I've copied into my plug all the hyperspace sounds, all the explosion sprites, all the asteroid sprites, all the spob sprites that I use, all the weapon sprites that I use, all with no luck. I'm beginning to seriously consider dumping the entirety of Nova Graphics 2 in there, just to make the accursed problem go away.

Try putting AbsoluteMinimum in the plugins folder. That's what I do, and I rarely have any trouble.

I thought it was supposed to go in the plugins folder in the first place...

EDIT: 900th post! OMGWTFBBQ!

This post has been edited by Cosmic_Nusiance : 13 September 2007 - 01:23 PM

Yeah, but that isn't where he had it.

Quote

900th post! OMGWTFBBQ!

I'm not impressed, considering that you've been posting in every single topic aparently just to have your name on it as the last poster, and to boost your post count artificially. I think you are posting WAY too much. Unfairly so.

I'm with ma dawg Shlimazel. How do you pronounce your name, while I'm typing I have to pronounce everything in my head and that gave me a pause there....

Shhh-Li-Muh-Zel

Hope that helps.

@shlimazel, on Sep 13 2007, 02:33 PM, said in How utterly annoying:

I'm not impressed, considering that you've been posting in every single topic aparently just to have your name on it as the last poster, and to boost your post count artificially. I think you are posting WAY too much. Unfairly so.

I believe you just posted twice without using the edit button.