MP Prob On Maps w/ Lots of "Events", 2+ TT Height & Zoom

[DevUrandom]

Ok, just to be sure I understood this correctly:

To create a minidump one should to the following:
1. Right-click "My Computer" ("Arbeitsplatz" in german) and choose "Properties" ("Einstellungen"), then go to the "Advanced Properties" ("Erweiterte Einstellungen") tab and set the Windows Error Reporting to ???

2. Launch Windows\System32\DRWTSN2.exe and set it up to output log and memorydump to a location of your liking and make sure "Number of instructions" is at least 10 and "Create memorydump" is enabled.

3. Make Warzone crash

4. Open DRWTSN again, choose the just created crash-report and press "show"

Is that correct? Did I miss anything? Are the english namings correct? (I hate that I can't switch my copy of WinXP to english language, they should really copy that ability from Linux...) What should the Windows Error Reporting be set to? Should DRWTSN be closed after setting it up, or does it need to be running during the crash?

Maybe you can fill the missing information in my (obviously incomplete) "howto"...

[Rman Virgil]

Ok, just to be sure I understood this correctly:

To create a minidump one should to the following:

* (I would recommend starting with a "Clean Registry".... which is what I did.... when all was done I went back to my Registry and had 234 Invalid Entries - caused by the whole test / CTD process - which I then took care of when I was done before useing my comp for anything else.)

1. Right-click "My Computer" ("Arbeitsplatz" in german) and choose "Properties" ("Einstellungen"), then go to the "Advanced Properties" ("Erweiterte Einstellungen") tab and set the Windows Error Reporting to ???

* (Enable Error Reporting > Check "Win Operating Sys" > Check "Programs" > Browse Programs and select "WZ .exe" )

2. Launch Windows\System32\DRWTSN2.exe and set it up to output log and memorydump to a location of your liking and make sure "Number of instructions" is at least 10 and "Create memorydump" is enabled.

*( You have a choice of "Mini-Dump" or "Full-Dump"... I choose "Mini-Dump". "Full Dump" yielded 356 MBs !!! I also donot change the Default file structure.)

3. Make Warzone crash

4. Open DRWTSN again, choose the just created crash-report and press "show"

* (Also...you must use the Dr. Watson screen to access the Logs & the Dumps with the default file straucture to read and make your duplicate files for submission. If you try to follow the default directory structure on your HD without useing this utility you'll come to a dead-end in your folder structure because MS has made these particular folders/files invisible to this manner of access - typical MS hiding stuff BS.)


Is that correct? Did I miss anything? Are the english namings correct? (I hate that I can't switch my copy of WinXP to english language, they should really copy that ability from Linux...)

What should the Windows Error Reporting be set to? (Above)

Should DRWTSN be closed after setting it up, or does it need to be running during the crash?

* (Doesn't matter. If it's running, you'll just have to refresh. I prefer to re-launch from a DT Short-cut. Also to K.I.S.S. - I CLEAR the logs and dumps after making duplicates and BEFORE initiateing another CTD.)

Maybe you can fill the missing information in my (obviously incomplete) "howto"...

* Should I attatch the .rar with the CTD Log & Dump HERE .... or in an email ???


- rv

[DevUrandom]

Sorry, forgot that: Attach it if you can, otherwise send it via mail to warzone-dev ~ gna.org

Another try:

To create a minidump one should to the following:

1. Clean your registry, as previous crashes might have damaged it. (??? How shall one "clean registry" ???)

2. Right-click "My Computer" ("Arbeitsplatz" in german) and choose "Properties" ("Einstellungen"), then go to the "Advanced Properties" ("Erweiterte Einstellungen") tab and enable "Windows Error Reporting". Check "Windows Operating System" and "Programs". Click "Browse programs" and select "warzone2100.exe" from the location you installed it to.
(??? Does one really have to select the program exe? Doesn't Windows do this for all programs? ???)

3. Launch Windows\System32\DRWTSN2.exe and make sure "Number of instructions" is at least 10 and "Create memorydump" is enabled. You should select "Mini dump" instead of "Full dump", because the full dump might be very large and is mostly not needed.

4. Make Warzone crash

5. Open DRWTSN again and choose the just created crash-report from the list. Press "show" ("Anzeigen") and ??? do what now ???

[Rman Virgil]

Sorry, forgot that: Attach it if you can, otherwise send it via mail to warzone-dev ~ gna.org

* Here ya go...

[Rman Virgil]

Another try:

Quote from: Minidump HOWTO

To create a minidump one should to the following:

1. Clean your registry, as previous crashes might have damaged it. (Huh How shall one "clean registry" Huh)

* (Google "Win Registry Utilities".... many out there, some free, many not - I use what I consider the best but it may not be appropriate to provide a commercial endorsement. Btw - the "Registry" has been a major Achilles Heel for Windows in ALL its flavors, IMHO.)

2. Right-click "My Computer" ("Arbeitsplatz" in german) and choose "Properties" ("Einstellungen"), then go to the "Advanced Properties" ("Erweiterte Einstellungen") tab and enable "Windows Error Reporting". Check "Windows Operating System" and "Programs". Click "Browse programs" and select "warzone2100.exe" from the location you installed it to.

(Huh Does one really have to select the program exe? Doesn't Windows do this for all programs? Huh)

* ( YesWin will auto do it by defAULT for all Windows progs - however I figure why waste CPU processing or dump space on apps your not interested in like sys-tray stuff or intits .. maybe the prog focus is unecessary, I just go for Occams Razor reflexively.)

3. Launch Windows\System32\DRWTSN2.exe and make sure "Number of instructions" is at least 10 and "Create memorydump" is enabled. You should select "Mini dump" instead of "Full dump", because the full dump might be very large and is mostly not needed.

4. Make Warzone crash

5. Open DRWTSN again and choose the just created crash-report from the list. Press "show" ("Anzeigen") and Huh do what now Huh

* ("Show" Log - select all - right mouse click pop-up menu - cut 'n paste to clipboard then your favorite word processor.... "Show" Mini-Dump and copy file to your favorite Archiving Utility.)

* (6. "Clear" all, to start fresh, less confusing for successive diagnostic test results, less wasted space too, IMO.)

[DevUrandom]

Ok, I will try it, following just the howto we just created. I never did this before, or set anything up related to this, so I think I am a relatively good candidate for an initial test of a tutorial.

While I do this, you could try this new exe (preview for the 2.0.6 release). It should contain more debugging information, so maybe the minidump might include more information.

[cybersphinx]

Can you post a map file where we can reproduce that problem? Judging from the screenshots in the other thread the mountains are quite steep, and the Causeway map in this thread seems quite flat in comparison, and looking at incomplete assembly code probably won't get us far (me, anyway).

The rest are just random thoughts:
- Have you tried to reproduce this on another machine (preferably with a different graphics chip and driver)?

- Your crash dump contained a few strange DLLs:
  C:\Program Files\VCOM\Fix-It\errhook.dll
  C:\PROGRA~1\NEWDOT~1\NEWDOT~1.DLL
What are those / to which program do they belong? (And why are they loaded with Warzone?)

- The assembly says it's indeed a division by zero, but where does the number 176000 come from and why should it be divided by zero? (It was 11000 before being shifted four bits to the left, or multiplied by 16.)

[DevUrandom]

The last time I fiddled with the minidumps, I thought they contained more information... That's why I was so engaged to get one... Maybe there is just not enough info in the exe...

[cybersphinx]

Ah, yeah, forgot that: Is there a way to get debug info into the exe? Not a full debug version, since that'll die on asserts as soon as you look funny at it, but just the debug symbols. Can gcc create debug info Windows can use?

[Rman Virgil]

Can you post a map file where we can reproduce that problem? Judging from the screenshots in the other thread the mountains are quite steep, and the Causeway map in this thread seems quite flat in comparison, and looking at incomplete assembly code probably won't get us far (me, anyway).

The rest are just random thoughts:
- Have you tried to reproduce this on another machine (preferably with a different graphics chip and driver)?

- Your crash dump contained a few strange DLLs:
  C:\Program Files\VCOM\Fix-It\errhook.dll
  C:\PROGRA~1\NEWDOT~1\NEWDOT~1.DLL
What are those / to which program do they belong? (And why are they loaded with Warzone?)

- The assembly says it's indeed a division by zero, but where does the number 176000 come from and why should it be divided by zero? (It was 11000 before being shifted four bits to the left, or multiplied by 16.)

* Hmmm... how about an email with an earlier, prototype, save-game ? Same prob exists in my current more advanced project but I'd rather not reveal that right know because I don't want to spoil the supprise of the final product when its done and released.

* I havenot tried it on another GFX chipset.

* EW allows map heights of up to 5 Tiles - I've compromised and made my stuff 3 high.

* vCom errhook.dll is a utility to capture crash results..... It's not as comprehensive in its reports as Dr Watson.

* NEWDOT~1.dll is a Winsock Web connection facilitator - I was logged-on.... an oversight on my part, I should have shut down my net connect.

* As far as the NUMs - I took them for "Feature IDs" associated with map coordinates - I could be wrong.

* I'll try to utilize the new WZ preview rc in the next day or two to gen another dump & report..... I'm kinda in a redeployment phase right now with my company and juggling this that and the other - I'll be more settled next week in my new assignment in a diff state from where I am right now (AZ > CO > UT).

* Let me know if the "Save Game" files will be of use & i'll email them.

Cheers, rv 

[DevUrandom]

To create a minidump one should to the following:

1. You might want to clean your registry, as previous crashes might have damaged it. Various programs which can do this can be found on the internet.

2. Right-click "My Computer" ("Arbeitsplatz" in german) and choose "Properties" ("Eigenschaften"), then go to the "Advanced Properties" ("Erweitert") tab and click the "Error Reporting" ("Fehlerberichterstattung") button. Check "Windows Operating System" ("Windows betriebssystem") and "Programs" ("Programme"). Click "Browse programs" ("Programme auswählen") and select "All programs" ("Alle Programme"). Alternatively you can select "All programs in this list" ("Alle Programme in dieser Liste"), click "Add" ("Hinzufügen") and choose "warzone2100.exe" from the location you installed it to.

3. Launch "drwtsn32" from the "..." ("Ausführen") box in the startmenu and make sure "Number of instructions" ("Anzahl der Anweisungen") is at least 10 and "Create memorydump" ("Datei für Absturzspeicherabbild erstellen") is enabled. You should select "Memorydumptype" ("Absturzabbildtyp") "Mini" instead of "Full" ("Voll"), because the full dump might be very large and is mostly not needed. (You can only select the type on Windows XP or later.)

4. Make Warzone crash

5. Open DRWTSN again and choose the just created crash-report from the list. Press "show" ("Anzeigen") and Huh do what now Huh

[TO BE CONTINUED]

* ("Show" Log - select all - right mouse click pop-up menu - cut 'n paste to clipboard then your favorite word processor.... "Show" Mini-Dump and copy file to your favorite Archiving Utility.)

* (6. "Clear" all, to start fresh, less confusing for successive diagnostic test results, less wasted space too, IMO.)

[cybersphinx]

* Hmmm... how about an email with an earlier, prototype, save-game ?

If it's possible to reproduce the crash with that. Oh, or the other way round: Have you tested Causeway, does that crash for you? If it does, trying another map is probably pointless, since both dev and I couldn't get Causeway to crash.

The memory dump says you ran Warzone in cheat mode. Does the crash happen without that as well? (Or with/without debug mode, as shown in your screenshots?)

Oh, and if you have some time and nothing better to do (if not, don't bother, they're not that useful anyway), get me a few more crash reports in different positions of the map or even different maps - only the text files (with more instructions, see below), no memory dump.

3. Launch drwtsn32.exe from the "..." ("Ausführen") box in the startmenu and make sure "Number of instructions" ("Anzahl der Anweisungen") is at least 10

Is that the number of assembly instructions shown around the crash position? Then make it 20 or more, ten lines of assembler don't really give any useful context.

[Rman Virgil]

If it's possible to reproduce the crash with that. Oh, or the other way round: Have you tested Causeway, does that crash for you? If it does, trying another map is probably pointless, since both dev and I couldn't get Causeway to crash.

The memory dump says you ran Warzone in cheat mode. Does the crash happen without that as well? (Or with/without debug mode, as shown in your screenshots?)

Oh, and if you have some time and nothing better to do (if not, don't bother, they're not that useful anyway), get me a few more crash reports in different positions of the map or even different maps - only the text files (with more instructions, see below), no memory dump.
Is that the number of assembly instructions shown around the crash position? Then make it 20 or more, ten lines of assembler don't really give any useful context.

* "Causeway" crashed on me once a couple weeks ago when I first tested & reported it.

* The last couple days I've tried everything to get "Causway" to crash but, like you and Dev, I haven't been able to repeat it - actually, a good thing.

* I'll see if can get a CTD to happen on some other released map.

* I'll also follow your other suggestions: increase crash report lines to 20+, different map locations, with & without Debug enabled.

* Lets say about 5 different text reports. I'll fit it in before tomorro - I'm on MT Time, about 3:00 PM at this moment.

Thanks, rv

[Rman Virgil]

If it's possible to reproduce the crash with that. Oh, or the other way round: Have you tested Causeway, does that crash for you? If it does, trying another map is probably pointless, since both dev and I couldn't get Causeway to crash.

The memory dump says you ran Warzone in cheat mode. Does the crash happen without that as well? (Or with/without debug mode, as shown in your screenshots?)

Oh, and if you have some time and nothing better to do (if not, don't bother, they're not that useful anyway), get me a few more crash reports in different positions of the map or even different maps - only the text files (with more instructions, see below), no memory dump.
Is that the number of assembly instructions shown around the crash position? Then make it 20 or more, ten lines of assembler don't really give any useful context.

* Tried reseting DR Watson to 20 but it wouldn't capture so I went back down to 10.

* Attatched .rar has 2 crash reports for Pumpkin's "Ziggurat" Map (T-3, maxed ai): 2 different locations, Debug enabled and not.

* Note: These CTD occassions are deep into engagement (not 5 mins into the game) aka lots of GFX & SFX events....lots of stuff blowing-up.... coincidence ? I don't know. There was such a prob with pre-gpl WZ CTDing under those conditions.

* I'll try again to get more assembly instructs....

* BTW... Ziggy has no H2O but extreme zoom-in does go well beneath the polygon mapping.


l8r, rv

* EDIT: Maybe I'm not used to reading these Dr Watson reports but they seem to have much less info than the MS Reports you can only view before sending to the WER Server.

* So I read the whole WER Report and it has a 68 Total Module breakdown.

* Of those 68 Modules only 5 had Flags triggered (the other 63 Modules where not flagged).

* One Module was for the crash capture .dll - easily identified & justified.

* The other 4 were as follows:

* Module 20:    png13.dll

* Module 60:    wrap_oal.dll

* Module 61:  CLBCATQ.dll

* Module 62:    COMRes.dll

[DevUrandom]

ALl dlls Warzone should need are OpenAL32.dll and wrap_oal.dll... The others are now included in the exe.