Air to Air Combat Error

[docwaldo]

I am getting a freeze at the die roll during strategic bombing interception in the Global War scenario. The air to air combat page will lock on top of everything and the game will not progress any further. When I close out and reload the save it will progress but it ignores the interception attempt.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: docwaldo

I am getting a freeze at the die roll during strategic bombing interception in the Global War scenario. The air to air combat page will lock on top of everything and the game will not progress any further. When I close out and reload the save it will progress but it ignores the interception attempt.

1 - Do you have the historical videos on? Another customer reported several places where running the video interfered with processing the sequence of play.

2 - Strategic bombing interception does not require a die roll. But the resulting air-to-air combat will produce die rolls (one for each side). Are the air units unusual? Some of the strategic bombers have unusual air combat factors. What are the air units involved? Just 2, or more than 2?

[docwaldo]

1. Historical videos are off. I'll try turning them back on and let you know what happens.
2. Sorry, I'm totally new to both World in Flames and the computer version so I'm blindly charging forward! It has happened twice, once during a Japanese strategic bombing attempt. The units involved there were a Japanese G3M1 (I believe I have the right designation) and a Chinese P-36. The second time was a Commonwealth Wellington being intercepted by a German BF109 E-4. Both instances the air to air combat screen locked up.

Hopefully I can help figure it out because I'm absolutely loving the game so far.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: docwaldo

1. Historical videos are off. I'll try turning them back on and let you know what happens.
2. Sorry, I'm totally new to both World in Flames and the computer version so I'm blindly charging forward! It has happened twice, once during a Japanese strategic bombing attempt. The units involved there were a Japanese G3M1 (I believe I have the right designation) and a Chinese P-36. The second time was a Commonwealth Wellington being intercepted by a German BF109 E-4. Both instances the air to air combat screen locked up.

Hopefully I can help figure it out because I'm absolutely loving the game so far.

If you have this trouble, others will, so I need to fix it. It doesn't seem to be related to the units involved, so we can eliminate that as a possibility.

Try a couple of things for me:
1 - Does the form's help message appear when you click on its Help button? Or is the form totally unresponsive?
2 - Does the rest of the game work? Can you still scroll the map, use the Main form's drop down menus? Or are those also inoperable?
3 - Can you take a screenshot for me so I can see what you see?

[cdebasso]

I've also had issues with air-to-air combat freezing in the middle without warning. I could only solve them by exiting the game, restoring the last autosave and starting the air-to-air combat again.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: cdebasso

I've also had issues with air-to-air combat freezing in the middle without warning. I could only solve them by exiting the game, restoring the last autosave and starting the air-to-air combat again.

If you could take a screenshot and post it here, that would be helpful to me for solving this.

[cdebasso]

here it happened again. air-to-air combat froze after two rounds and a half. this is the 3d time at least that this happens, at various points in the game. I tried to restore the game and preserve the results by entering myself the results of the die rolls I had rolled the first time, and it freezes every time at the same point. I don't know if you can tell much from the attached printout of the screen: the air-to-air window is simply frozen, waiting to show the form to select the unit to apply the last result.
by the way, repeatedly restoring saved games also causes crashes. usually after one or two restores I have to exit the application completely and then restart it.

[Zorachus99]

During testing I religiously closed the game before restoring a save.

I suspect there is a problem with garbage collection. I blame Delphi far more than Steve.

[doohanok]

I have also been finding this very same problem at random times.

I am playing Hotseat version 1.04.1 Darkness before the dawn.

Sometimes A2A combat works through the combat sequence perfectly, then other times it freezes the Air Combat screen and I cannot proceed further.

The other screens are scrollable and provide information; however the Air Combat screen remains frozen on top. I will be sending Steve a save game and pic soon describing how I go to that point.

Zorachus99 - I tend to agree with you that this is not a bug in the program but something else.

Although, just thinking about it (and I will have to test this), the only time it freezes may be when there more than one Major Power using aircraft for either the Axis or Allies. This is not proven, just a theory, although the above screenshot only has one MP on either side. So that kills my theory.

[Zorachus99]

Is it a multiple rounds of combat bug? I've never had it, but I rarely have a lot of aircraft in battle.

If reproducible, start saving before the phase is ended, and see if it reproduces...

[mldtchdog]

I have had this issue also. What I believe is occuring is that the second smaller air combat results menu is appearing behind the main air combat menu instead of in front of it and of course the main air combat menu is locked out waiting on aknowledgement of the results menu.

I am using a singlle monitor and and can cycle through the other windows however the main air combat window is almost always on top.

Steve, is there anyway to change the default location of the results window so it is offset from the main window?

[doohanok]

hi Zorachus99 and mldtchdog,

I have tried this A2A problem several times. I have two A2A combats listed and choose the first. Sometimes I get through that Ok, then it freezes before I start the next. I have had several other instances where it freezes after the 2nd roll (attacker). Just tonight the windows error box displayed.

I have emailed the game file and picture of the screenshot through to be looked at.

[bwheatley]

On our end strategic bomber in netplay is just broken...crashes out the defender. Or creates an endless loop where the screen constantly opens and closes. *sigh*

[abulbulian]

yeah, in game with Bill it seems any sort of interception of bombers w/o fighter escort fails. This happens in all the intercepts we've tried with NetPlay. I understand NetPlay wasn't 'baked' long testing, but this needs to get fixed ASAP? Has importance in game if can't do many of the bombing missions given blocking crash.

[mldtchdog]

When the game freezes during air combat I am finding that if I (a) resize the main map window and then (b) launch the Partisan Numbers and Probabilities chart (F5) and then (c) exit from that chart, that the air combat windows recycle which "thaws out" the game allowing me to continue on. This has worked about a dozen times in a row for me so far.

As for the general problem I wonder if it is a symptom of the program or a symptom of the machine. I am playing on a laptop at the low end of the system requirements. Any one playing way above basic requirements experiencing this problem of air combat freeze?

[Shannon V. OKeets]

I just ran a series of tests for strategic bombing and ground strikes. The former were by the Axis and the latter by the Allies. I encountered no difficulties with any of the 5 air missions.

As far as I can tell, there are no problems with those air missions in NetPlay. However, I did not test air-to-air combats or anti-aircraft fire (no divisional units for those games and the Axis was surprised in one of them).

[gw15]

During the second turn of the Barbarossa scenario under netplay. The russians sent a transport plane to reorg a mech unit with a fighter escorting. The Germans tried to intercept (within half range), game froze (crashed). We reloaded 2 times and it happened every time. On the third try I didn't intercept with the German fighter so we could continue the game.
The next time it happens I will try and send saved game file....actually I may still have it.

[Dabrion]

While you are at it take a closer look at ground strike results.. A test monkey of mine had some objections..

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: bommerrang

During the second turn of the Barbarossa scenario under netplay. The russians sent a transport plane to reorg a mech unit with a fighter escorting. The Germans tried to intercept (within half range), game froze (crashed). We reloaded 2 times and it happened every time. On the third try I didn't intercept with the German fighter so we could continue the game.
The next time it happens I will try and send saved game file....actually I may still have it.

To reproduce this I will need two saved games - that match Next Entry #s - one from each player.

[doohanok]

Hi Steve,

With regards to this issue of ‘freezing’ during A2A combat, I have not yet played Netplay; however, I have played Solitaire and Hotseat: Darkness before the dawn currently 1.06.
Several times I have had the main air combat screen freeze after the die rolls have occurred. I do not think this is a bug with the code, but a problem with the program used to code MWIF.

I believe what is happening is that the ‘information window’ (shown below) that should appear in front of the main air combat screen (after the die rolls informing me of the results and which fighter/bomber to destroyed/abort), actually appears behind the main air combat screen.

Sometimes I have managed to make it appear by pressing the icons on the taskbar or using Alt-Tab; however, this doesn’t always work.

I have also gone back and loaded a previous save and carried out the same combat and have had no problem. It is very intermittent.

Hope this helps and keep up the great work.

Thanks,
Brett