Things I've learned writing missions for various versions of Aces High

[jimson]

Yes. Old, previously stable versions become unstable when compiled in a newer version as you deduced. I suspect that some new feature introduced in V2.31.x has a bug that causes these occasional crashes. I have recently seen some evidence suggesting that these failures are limited to Windows XP environments. Take a look in this thread in the  "bug reports" section of the bbs for a discussion of this:

http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,356971.0.html
 

I run windows 7 and I have so far had better luck offline. There seems to be an issue with the interface to the host for online use. I believe nearly all missions will run full length online if they are AI only (participation optional) but the moment a player joins them, there are issues.

[bbosen]

I run windows 7 and I have so far had better luck offline. There seems to be an issue with the interface to the host for online use. I believe nearly all missions will run full length online if they are AI only (participation optional) but the moment a player joins them, there are issues.

To me, this sounds like TWO DIFFERENT issues.

1 of 2- Offline missions crashing fairly deep within MOST missions (may be limited to Windows XP systems), and
2 of 2- Online missions crashing when a player joins.
 

[jimson]

To me, this sounds like TWO DIFFERENT issues.

1 of 2- Offline missions crashing fairly deep within MOST missions (may be limited to Windows XP systems), and
2 of 2- Online missions crashing when a player joins.
 

Indeed. Can you make a sure crash offline mission available to me so I can test it on win7?

[MrKrabs]

See, it's the skew of inconsistancies like this is what scare people off...

A mass of technical knowledge isn't required to build missions, skins and "to a certain extent" the same can be said about terrains... "But don't get me wrong terrains are a entirely different animal that IS hard when it comes to detail".

What I'm saying is, things are where that it can be like pulling teeth to conk out "detailed" missions. But as we all know HTC has only so many hands and there are bigger fish to fry and sooner or later the mission editor will be the way it was meant to be...

To all people even half-interested in content creation, never give up and don't look away too long, HTC will deliver.

[bbosen]

Indeed. Can you make a sure crash offline mission available to me so I can test it on win7?

Yes. I have a couple of missions that are ready for this test.




1 of 2: A big, bold, complex mission: my new "Rabaul431018" mission. You will need my "NGuinea4" terrain as described in this descriptive page:

http://askmisterwizard.com/FlightSimMovies/AcesHigh/Ah2Missions/Rabaul431018/Rabaul431018Page01Full.htm

Detailed instructions for Version 2.31.3 here:

http://askmisterwizard.com/FlightSimMovies/AcesHigh/Ah2Missions/Rabaul431018/For2313/Ah2Rabaul431018ForAh2313.htm



2 of 2: A small, simple mission: My "PeabodySimple" mission, using the well-known "ndisles" terrain. Description here:

http://askmisterwizard.com/FlightSimMovies/AcesHigh/Ah2Missions/PeabodySimple/PeabodySimpleMissionPage01Full.htm

Trimmed-down source code (you should not need this, but it's here for reference) and trimmed-down .res file for 2.31.3 here:

http://askmisterwizard.com/FlightSimMovies/AcesHigh/Ah2Missions/PeabodySimple/For2313/


With Windows XP, both of those two missions run well in version 2.12.4 but crash within a few minutes offline under version 2.31.3. Note that the second one was originally published with lots of supported media files for mission briefing and ongoing radio banter (as described in the third link immediately above) but I made a "trimmed-down" version for troubleshooting (described in the last link immediately above) with all of that extra stuff stripped out. Both versions run perfectly in old version 2.12.4 and both versions crash (identically?) in new version 2.31.3.

It would be very useful to know whether either or both of these missions runs on Win7 without crashing.
 

[jimson]

Thanks Bosen, I'll check this out later today if I can get to it and report back.

[jimson]

Tried Rabaul mission once on allies and once on axis. It did indeed crash both times. On Allied side, it did make it through the warp but crashed shortly afterward. I'll try it again and will also try the other one.

Win 7 Pro 64 bit

[bbosen]

OK. Thanks. This (of course) indicates that the problem(s) are NOT limited to Windows XP. Whatever pattern is behind this, it isn't yet obvious.  Further input is welcome from anybody!
 

[bbosen]

Just for contrast, here is a link to a mission that DOES run reliably for me under AH V2.31.3 on my Windows XP machine:

http://askmisterwizard.com/FlightSimMovies/AcesHigh/Ah2Missions/PacMix01/Ah2PacMixMissionFullPage.htm
(Last link at the bottom of the page takes you to the version for AH 2.31.3)

I'm banging my head against the wall trying to determine what's different between the missions that do work versus those that don't. So far, I've eliminated these factors:

1- mission complexity: This large, complex mission works, while my simple "PeabodySimple" one fails
2- Terrains: Missions that fail on the newest ndisles terrain also fail on a very old ndisles terrain, at the same point
3- Number of flights assigned to routes: I trimmed my "Rabaul431018" mission down from many flights to the bare minimum with no change.
4- Media files: My "Peabody Simple" mission fails the same way whether fully loaded with briefing audio, briefing maps, and battle radio banter or not.
5- Graphic detail: I've tried my "Rabaul431018" mission with graphic detail at max and at min. Crashes the same way under AH2.31.3 in both cases.
6- Windows XP versus Windows 7. Credible reports from jimson indicate failure of my Rabaul431018 mission under Win7, and the same mission fails for me under Windows XP.
7- "Impossible Segments": "PacMix01" has segments with errors that are detected by the V2.31.3 compiler, but if I have it compiled anyway, it runs OK. "PeabodySimple" has no such errors, but it crashes.
8- Planeset: All of the planes in "PeabodySimple" (which crashes) are also used in "PacMix01" (which does not crash).
9- Converted Terrains: My "Rabaul431018" mission runs in my "NGuinea4" terrain, which was converted from AH1. My "PeabodySimple" mission runs in the "ndisles" terrain, which does NOT display the "Using Converted Terrain" message. Both missions crash under V2.31.3.
10- Warp Segments: I don't have any warp segments in my "PeabodySimple" mission (which crashes). I don't have warp segments in "PacMix01" either, but it does NOT crash. My "Rabaul431018 mission DOES have a warp segment, and it DOES crash.

That is all!
 

[jimson]

Just for contrast, here is a link to a mission that DOES run reliably for me under AH V2.31.3 on my Windows XP machine:

http://askmisterwizard.com/FlightSimMovies/AcesHigh/Ah2Missions/PacMix01/Ah2PacMixMissionFullPage.htm
(Last link at the bottom of the page takes you to the version for AH 2.31.3)

I'm banging my head against the wall trying to determine what's different between the missions that do work versus those that don't. So far, I've eliminated these factors:

1- mission complexity: This large, complex mission works, while my simple "PeabodySimple" one fails
2- Terrains: Missions that fail on the newest ndisles terrain also fail on a very old ndisles terrain, at the same point
3- Number of flights assigned to routes: I trimmed my "Rabaul431018" mission down from many flights to the bare minimum with no change.
4- Media files: My "Peabody Simple" mission fails the same way whether fully loaded with briefing audio, briefing maps, and battle radio banter or not.
5- Graphic detail: I've tried my "Rabaul431018" mission with graphic detail at max and at min. Crashes the same way under AH2.31.3 in both cases.
6- Windows XP versus Windows 7. Credible reports from jimson indicate failure of my Rabaul431018 mission under Win7, and the same mission fails for me under Windows XP.
7- "Impossible Segments": "PacMix01" has segments with errors that are detected by the V2.31.3 compiler, but if I have it compiled anyway, it runs OK. "PeabodySimple" has no such errors, but it crashes.
8- Planeset: All of the planes in "PeabodySimple" (which crashes) are also used in "PacMix01" (which does not crash).
9- Converted Terrains: My "Rabaul431018" mission runs in my "NGuinea4" terrain, which was converted from AH1. My "PeabodySimple" mission runs in the "ndisles" terrain, which does NOT display the "Using Converted Terrain" message. Both missions crash under V2.31.3.
10- Warp Segments: I don't have any warp segments in my "PeabodySimple" mission (which crashes). I don't have warp segments in "PacMix01" either, but it does NOT crash. My "Rabaul431018 mission DOES have a warp segment, and it DOES crash.

That is all!
 

To add to the hair pulling experience of trying to figure out why crashes sometimes occur and other times do not, with no discernable reason, and to confirm that making a successful mission seems to be done only by accident, my "infamy" mission has added sound files, is built on a custom terrain with custom objects (completely redesigned and relocated briefing rooms, fake carrier runways, etc), and also contains warps and has been downloaded 15 times and I have confirmed testing by 4 players and there are so far no reported crashes when flown offline.

As I have stated before, I have temporarily suspended the creation of joinable staged missions for online use as I am now unable to create a mission that works online.

[jimson]

BBosen.

I just built an offline mission where all my flight segments were first set at "cruise" to check the timing and it ran fine. When I changed some of the cruise settings to "attack" the mission began crashing. I then went back and changed all the attack segments to patrol and so far no crashes.

You could try this with your Rabaul mission to see if it changes anything.

Perhaps it's the attack segments and not warps that are creating a conflict in the program.

[bbosen]

BBosen.

I just built an offline mission where all my flight segments were first set at "cruise" to check the timing and it ran fine. When I changed some of the cruise settings to "attack" the mission began crashing. I then went back and changed all the attack segments to patrol and so far no crashes.

You could try this with your Rabaul mission to see if it changes anything.

Perhaps it's the attack segments and not warps that are creating a conflict in the program.

Interesting.... I'll test that theory and report back through this thread. Give me a couple of days.... real life is intervening.
 

[bbosen]

BBosen.

I just built an offline mission where all my flight segments were first set at "cruise" to check the timing and it ran fine. When I changed some of the cruise settings to "attack" the mission began crashing. I then went back and changed all the attack segments to patrol and so far no crashes.

You could try this with your Rabaul mission to see if it changes anything.

Perhaps it's the attack segments and not warps that are creating a conflict in the program.

Well....I tried this theory and got mixed results using the current version of Aces High (V2.31.3) on Windows XP.

After eliminating all "attack" segments (replacing them with "patrol" segments), my big, complex Rabaul mission crashes less frequently, but it still crashes  about 50% of the time. Prior to this change, it crashed about 95% of the time. (Same mission never crashes with old version 2.12.4.)

I have  published the updated "V2.31.3 no attack segments" version of this mission on my web site if anybody else wants to exercise it. Perhaps it won't crash on some systems. Here's the link:

http://askmisterwizard.com/FlightSimMovies/AcesHigh/Ah2Missions/Rabaul431018/Rabaul431018Page01Full.htm