derbal:
I was able to easily complete you first two suggestions, but this one I cannot:

My guess here is that the Cruiser0 file is spelled wrong. Go into the Particle file folder and double check the spelling of this. Open up Explosions.Explosionsdata and compare the spellings. It's possible the particle file is name CruiserO instead of Cruiser0 or something like that. This is my guess as to what is causing all of the minidumps. My experience messing with explosions is that they are very fragile. Wrong numbers, names, etc. easily cause minidumps.

In the Particle folder there is no file with the name "Cruiser" in it, nor is there an "Explosions.Explosionsdata" file. The latter file is in the GameInfo folder, but has no "Cruiser" references in it.

Perhaps that is the problem though, that these isn't an effect for Cruiser0?

I should also add that the following change you recommended caused the mod not to load, so I removed it:

Put:
Prerequisites
NumResearchPrerequisites 0 (Assuming there are none)

between numRandomDebrisLarge and MaxMitigation.

OK, well as if it wasn't obvious from the dump file, I have figured out the exact issue in-game. When you destroy a cruiser class vessel, in my test a Heavy Cruiser, the game dumps. This is because there isn't an explosion file (or something of that nature) for the cruiser class. It explains why some people play for longer periods of time before dumping - they just don't get to a cruiser as fast

Now we just have to figure out what to replace, which I'll leave up to those who know the code better than I.

nice work

Ok. Well since there is no effect for Cruiser0, my guess is that there is at least one frigate file that wants to use "Cruiser0" for the explosion. So, open up FrigateTechHeavy. Search for ExplosionName towards the end of the file. My guess is that it says Cruiser0. And since there is no Cruiser0 explosion, there can't be an effect and it minidumps. So check that and see what happens. The vanilla file says ExplosionName "Frigate0".

-Also, I apologize for not clarifying that the explosions file is in the GameInfo folder. And also, the research prerequisite line. Without it, it shouldn't minidump. But the vanilla FrigateTechLongRange file looks like this:

maxMitigation 0.6
Prerequisites
Indent->NumResearchPrerequisites 1
Indent->ResearchPrerequisite
DoubleIndent--->Subject "RESEARCHSUBJECT_FRIGATEACCESS_LONGRANGETECH"
DoubleIndent--->Level 1
numRandomDebrisLarge 0
numRandomDebrisSmall 5

After doing the first change with the ability file, the minidump debug files should be smaller. Is that the case?

-derbal213

First of all, there is no "ExplosionName" reference in FrigateTechHeavy. There is a reference to "Cruiser0", but if you change that the mod won't load.

Please don't take this the wrong way derbal, but have you even tried any of your suggestions? Everything you've suggested has either made things worse or not had any effect at all. I really appreciate you trying to help, but when things get worse instead of better we're heading in the wrong direction. Maybe we'd all save some time if you were to try your suggestions on the Mod yourself before posting them. Just a thought.

Ok, for one I couldn't download the mod because I was over my limit on my bandwidth for the month.
Two: Every single frigate and capital ship file HAS to have the line "ExplosionName "X."
Three: The FrigateTechHeavy file is in binary so it's not showing everything, therefore you can't even make the changes correctly. So, unless you converted it to text, you shouldn't have been making any changes to the file. Did you not notice the files were in binary?

EzraeilBeatus, did you change the explosion name in any of the files or leave them all the same? If the minidump says there is no Cruiser0 file, that means something is trying to use that file even though it doesn't exist.

-Since the files are in binary, I can't do anything to them.

-After three tests of blowing up a Kodiak, I've gotten a minidump each time, but the debug file is empty. That usually means there is nothing wrong or there is a line pointing to something that doesn't exist, which could very well be the ExplosionName line. My ability to help has come to an end unless I can see the non-binary text form for all of the files in the mod.

-When I add the ResearchPrerequiste lines to the FrigateTechLongRange file, the mod loads just fine. This is one of the files that is in text format so I could play with this one. You probably have the wrong format which is why it wouldn't load.

I had no problem editing the files with Notepad - even though some of them had a space between every letter. They didn't look like typical binary files.

Also, bear in mind that just because the vanilla files include "ExplosionName" doesn't mean the ones in the Mod do. Of course, that could be the issue.

That's the issue. The game engine wants to blow ships up. If there is a ship that doesn't tell the engine what effect to use, there is going to be a problem.

To test this, I replaced this mod's FrigateTechHeavy file with a vanilla one, and Had no problem. I went on to test the remainder of the TEC's ships. To fix the minidumps caused by explosions you will need to replace these files with vanilla ones.

FrigateTechHeavy
FrigateTechUtility0
FrigateTechUtility1
FrigateTechCarrier

After replacing these, I built every TEC ship and blew them up. Not a one caused a minidump.
Replacing those files should keep the mod running. I'm not sure why these are causing the minidumps, but they are. I haven't played a full game due to my work on the Stargate Mod, but you shouldn't run into any problems.

Even if you did open up the file in notepad, which I did also (also used Notepad++), You still aren't seeing everything you need to see. Unless you have an extremely strong grasp of binary language, you shouldn't be touching the binary files.

Lol - my grasp of binary left me long ago after my first year of programming - and even then it was shaky at best!

Going to try replacing the vanilla files now. I'd be interested to know what "mod features" we're altering by switching out these files!

I don't think you're changing any of them. I think these are just vanilla files except for the whole "Screwing the mod up" part.

Even after replacing the FrigateTechHeavy file the game eventually crashed - but not because of the cruiser explosion. I don't know why this time, but I'm tired of fooling with it for now. I guess I'll wait for a new build and hope for the best.

Yea. I can't help anymore because I don't have time to play it until it crashes.

Egads! I'm gone for like two days and my mod implodes on itself. Not my intent, just so you know. This is my general memo to people b/c I don't have time to respond to everybody right now... 1) There have been a couple of requests to use my ships, and I say go for it! Credit is nice, but not required. Claiming them as your own=not cool, though. 2) I'm not done with the modeling tut yet, but will release the first part soon, covering the basics of actually making a model in XSI. Pt 2 will cover texturing, effects, and importing to the game . 3) I have finished the models for the Galaxy and Nebula, and have started the Sovvie, so expect the next update to most likely include those three! 4) WTF did I do to my mod that is causing it to go wacko-nuts on everybody? aah! Is anybody able to play with the sabre, cause I think there was one post that said the sabre was not there, and it should have been, it just had some noticeable phaser issues. Holy mackeral a lot is going on. I've got finals this week, but once I'm done with electrostatics and Laplace transforms, I should be able to finish each of these projects...
Sigh, hope to post again soon,

Ezraeil

Ezraeil:
It hasn't imploded - we're just waiting for a stable release. We all seem to agree that it has a lot of promise, and I know I'm very excited about it.

The Sabre worked very well, in fact I prefer it over the Miranda in-game. Read the previous dozen posts or so and you'll see where the real problems are relating to the mini-dumps.

I have some thoughts on the mod, and I'll list a few of them here for discussion in no specific order:

-Each race should be inclusive, meaning that each ship is specific to that race. For example, I don't think you should use a Borg Cube for the Fed colony ship. I get the idea, they assimilate planets, but it doesn't feel right IMO.
-The sound effect used when buttons are clicked is annoying and too loud. I know that's a general computer sound from the series, but I'd use one of the shorter "bleeps" and make it quieter. It really nags at a player after a few minutes.
-Shields are looking good so far, but it would be interesting if you could somehow make it where the shields worked in sections, i.e. forward and after, or maybe even add starboard and port. I know this would be a pain to code, but it would be closer to the ST reality. Maybe this should only be done for cap ships - that way a player could attack from one side and go for a tactical kill.
-As far as cap ships go, I'm thinking Excelsior II, Galaxy, Sovereign and Ambassador for the Feds.
-Shuttlecraft for fighters and runabouts for bombers. Wouldn't that be awesome to see a half dozen little shuttlecraft flying around blasting phasers?
-Perhaps Olympic class for Colony ships.
-Borg as pirates? Come on - this one is obvious! Ferengi should be pirates!!!
-Latinum instead of credits. Gold pressed latinum, that is
-It would be interesting to replace some of the asteroids with Starbases - maybe even DS9's. Another option might be to use starbases and defense platforms/repair facilities, if the former idea is too difficult to pull off.
-I love the idea of space debris from destroyed ships, but I wish it would be permanent! Oh and the debris should spin at all, or very slowly.
-Nebula regions should cause shields to be depleted if a ship enters the nebula. If you really wanted to go canon, enemy ships would be invisible while actually inside the nebula.
-As for the other races, I was thinking the standbys - Klingons and Romulans. I only pick these because they have the most ship types to work with. Of course Cardassian and Dominion are options as well, but they have limited canon material to pick from for ships and stations.

Ezraeil,

I think that person thought the Sabre was missing because there was no button for it, but it is indeed there, and looks great.

Can't wait to see what you've done for the Galaxy... I've been waiting for that one, it's one of my favs.

I'm also really looking forward to the texturing tut because I am defiantly doing textures all wrong, and your textures look perfect.

Thanks for the permission to use your ships in my SoaSE: BORG INVASION mod!

btw, the debris you made rules!

-Draven

As to your thoughts, what I am putting out now is just my testing ground for all the models/sound effects/UI/etc. I never really had any intention of people playing this for whole games, but that's what happened, so there you go . No, the feds aren't going to have a cube as their colony ship, and the borg aren't going to be pirates in the end, they're going to be their own separate race with some pretty neat features, I hope. If you want a rough layout of my plan for the borg, check out Draven's thread 'cause I put a post up there last night. So far my plan for caps was Excelsior II, Nebula, Galaxy, Sovereign, and maybe Ambassador or Akira. I plan on including Defiant, Miranda, Sabre, Oberth, Steamrunner, Norway, Nova, Intrepid, and probably New Orleans as various frigates/cruisers. That seems a little ambitious even to me, so we may have to see how things end up, but I most definitely want to have awesome borg v. Starfleet battles eventually.
Thanks for all the help, and keep me updated on this minidump thing. I'll try and investigate this as soon as I can...

Ezraeil

You can see what we are currently doing for the Borg here.
SoaSE: BORG INVASION

@Ezraeil

Your doing a great job here & I havent experienced any mini-dumps prior to this release, so what ever is wrong, went wrong in this latest release. But the Sabre is there & looking fantastic! The idea that the next release could include the Sovereign, makes me giddy to say the least & while I wish you all the best luck on your finals, I will be glued to the forums waiting for "My Ship" (Sovie) =P As for the borg as pirates, other races & this projects eventual outcome, I would say dont overload yourself. Especially if you have finals right now, both making & playing with this mod should be fun & I would hate to see you lose sight of that because you were mired by requests and/or idea's. Just keep going the way your going & trust that the mod will be awesome in the end, cause frankly, it is already is IMHO! =P

@sc456A

I dont think he ever really intended to use a Borg cube as a fed colony ship, if you had read this thread more carefully you would have seen that the cube was just something he did to mess around and he never really wanted to release it. He did because everyone wanted him to after he posted some screenshots of it & the colony ship slot is just where it ended up.

As for the button-press sound effect, yes it can be a bit repetative, but I experimented with several choices before finally settling on that one. However, if you would like to make the sound "softer" its actually not that hard to do. Get the program known as GoldWave (should be free) and open up the button-press sound file. Goldwave will open .ogg files as well as saving another type of sound file in an .ogg format. It sould also have some kind of soften or noise reduction option. So if you get the GoldWave program, it should take you less than 5 min.'s to make the change yourself.

I like your shield idea, sounds interesting. Dont know if its possible, but it sounds cool!

Now for Cap. Ships.... This is really just a matter of personal opinion, as everyone will have their own ideas about what should be done. For me it would seem that the majority of ships included should be tougher ships, that are more suited to combat. In the Star Trek series, the Federation & Starfleet are explorer's, yes... But SoASE is more of a combat oriented game & so, imho, the Federation ships included should be ones that somewhat reflect that, aside from their practical uses, (i.e. a scout needs to be a scout class obviously). But as an example, the borg come and kill a bunch of people (Wolf359) & then Starfleet puts a whole line of new "Borg resistant" ships into production & we get the Sovereign, Defiant, Sabre, Akira, & luna classes. Or the dominion war happens & you end up with specialized classes of ships like the perigrin fighters or the Excalibur class. It would seem as though every time the Federation encounters an "Unbeatable foe" Their ship classes become more combat hardened & since SoASE is a combat game it makes more sense to me to do it that way. But again, its all a matter of personal opinion.... =P

I agree with the runabouts, but I think that the Perigrin should be the bomber... just my opinion...

The colony ship is a tough one I think cause there isnt really one in the ST series that I am aware of, but I do think what ever ship it turns out to be should be big as it is theoretically carrying enough people to colonize a planet.

No need to cover the borg pirate thing, Ezraeil anwsered that.....

I like the latinum idea ! =P


I already sent Ezraeil a version of the mod which replaced the "Dead Asteroid" in the game with a trading post. Essentially what I did is told the game to use the varrying stock Trade Station meshes in the game for the Dead Asteroid instead of the asteroid mesh & then increased the move radius to the maximum, which really gives you the impression of being in "open space" & the games Trade Stations could be easily switched out for a Federation Starbase once a mesh is made....

If the debris were permenant, it may cause some lag on lower end machines after several large battles. Because the debris woulnt go away and would be sitting there all the time building up after each battle.

Cool nebula idea's! One of the things I have been meaning to tinker around with, is the size of the nebula's. I'd like to make them much bigger then they already are. I'll see what I can do there.....


But they are all good points & these are just my take on them...

As for the mini-dumps, I have been getting them to, but I have an older version of the mod that never crashed. So I will try and slowly move the new files into that & see if I cant find where the problem is. But lets all keep up the good work, cause these are some great ideas and fantastic work!

Adm Cobbs

Just out of curiosity, what version are you using Ezraeil? I think I am still using 1.03 not the new one. Wonder if that has something to do with it.....

Cobbs:
Please read back over the last few pages, we already identified the problem that causes the dumps. I'm using v1.04.

well everything that should be there is for me the longest I only played 30 min too much else to do , but I never got a single crash of minidump or anything.

love your work ezraeil and am looking forward to more stuff!

ds

The first part of my XSI tutorial can be found here for those of you who are interested!

Ezraeil

Hi Ez

I love ur Borg idea ... if u could MOD it that Borg can colonise Planets but only assimilate them (u could use the allegiance system. Just let a borg ship attackin a planet. But instead of the Population will be reduced the allegiance will. When the allegiance reaches zero the Planets belongs to the Borg with all the Population it had before)

This would be such a great Race to play. Complete new taktik of gameplay

I think having the peregrine as a bomber makes sense seeing how they were assaulting cap ships in ds9, but i don't think shuttles should be fighters.

The federation had other fighter class ships that were more suitable than a shuttle for anti bomber/fighter defenses.

The valkyrie would be a better choice for a fighter.

Flux