New Sync Bug Tracking Build

from Sins Forums

Hi guys,

We recieved some sync logs last week which are helping us narrow the issue down. Using the data from those logs we've created a special Entrenchment 1.05 build that will print out some particular data we'd like to look at in new sync logs. If you'd like to participate you can download the exe at www.ironcladgames.com/sync.rar.

Once you've un-rar'd it (http://www.rarlab.com/) place the exe in your Sins installation folder. You will be able to connect to ICO but you will only be able to connect to players using the same exe. 

Be sure to enable all the sync checking stuff that you enabled previously.

You will want to change the following entries to these values:

CalculateCheckSumTickFrequency 50
CalculateCheckSumDetail 3
SaveCheckSumSnapShotsInGameTickFrequency 0
SaveCheckSumSnapShotsOnSave TRUE
IsCheckSumLoggingOn FALSE

The user.setting file can be found in the \Setting sub folder of the Sins user data root folder, which appears in the following location:
Windows 7: C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\
Vista: C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\
XP: C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Application Data\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\

where username is your windows account name. If/when a sync error occurs, red text should appear on all players' screen that says which players went out of sync with each other. Have those players submit their sync error logs found in the \CheckSum subfolder of the user data folder. These files will typically have a name like SyncError-Tick10325-Player0.txt.

 

Once a sync error is detected, please send us the new logs from all the players in the game. Hopefully, this additional data will tell us exactly where the problem is.

Thanks for your help,

Blair 

45,258 views 15 replies
Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top

Thank you Blair.  I'll install it soon.

Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top

Ill be d/ling soon. How you should see if you can get some of your dt guys to get this so we can all play a large game on that exe (since thats where the desyncs happen most often)

ObjectDock - Access shortcuts and frequently used applications from an animated dock.
Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top

Blair, no red text so far, but we did get one MD.  GreekGeek said he sent you the log.  We'll keep trying.  It's been hard to convince people to load the new file.  Perhaps you could advertise the new build with ICO Server?

Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top

il download this tonight, hopefully i can get a desync :)

 

[_]-Uber

Reply #5 from Sins Forums Top

It looks like this is for entrenchment?  I'm running diplomacy and getting desyncs over Direct IP connection games.

This wasnt an issue at all during the beta and only became an issue after diplomacy was officially launched.

Reply #6 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting dcinzona, reply 5
It looks like this is for entrenchment?  I'm running diplomacy and getting desyncs over Direct IP connection games.

This wasnt an issue at all during the beta and only became an issue after diplomacy was officially launched.
End of dcinzona's quote


If Entechment is desyncing then Diplomacy will. Since Diplomancy is built on top of Enterchment.

Reply #7 from Sins Forums Top

After having played the original Sins many moons ago, I never got around to playing Entrenchment, but saw a great opportunity when the Trinity pack became available. After convincing a couple friends to pick it up as well, we've been enjoying the heck out of it, but the desync issues are still a fairly frustrating occurrence. Admittedly, though, you Ironclad folks have really impressed me when it comes to community involvement, and I figure my friends and I would all be doing a grave disservice by not chipping in to the log-hunting effort, but I've no really clue how the executable architecture is put together. We're all running the Trinity pack, using the Diplomacy Dev .exe; is this new 1.05 build something that would be layered into the whole Trinity application, or is it primarily intended for standalone Entrenchment players?

Reply #8 from Sins Forums Top

Klassen, all you have to do is get all your friends to get the file, and then play a game with the .exe  with them. It will be a game without the diplomacy addition, so you will be missing out on that micro expansion while you play it, but the logs will help them track down the bug(s) in BOTH expansions.

BLAIR- Do you think you could make another similar .exe for diplomacy? Since its the cool new thing for many, you might have more luck getting people to use it if you made it executable for the 2nd expansion. Also, you may want to link to a thread or tell people here how to turn on all the sync checking gadgetry. Theres a couple of "AHH desyncs are killing me" typed threads up ATM. I bet you if you made a diplomacy. exe, and a central thread explaining how to use it correctly (enabling sync checking and whatnot) us forum trollers could link all those desync threads there and you can get a bit more info. We all want to see desyncs go the way of the dodo, and are willing to help in any way we can.

Reply #9 from Sins Forums Top

Righto, I didn't know if any of the new logged debug information would still be present if we were to backup the existing Entrenchment exe and rename the new Sync executable; basically whether or not Diplomacy actually utilized the exe for Entrenchment or if it just called on externalized data files. I've seen some applications stack on top each other like that in a few various and asundry programs, but have seldom seen it in the gaming world. Buy hey, who's to say IC didn't try and revolutionize things a bit? ;)

Either way, I'll try and get the guys together and do some more checksum mining this week. Just keep us up-to-date if you get any new hunches as to what the problems might be, I'm sure we'd all be more than happy to work on replicating possible issues to help narrow things down.

Reply #10 from Sins Forums Top

Ok, so I played an 8 hour game (thats right, 8 hours) - I'm actually on vacation all this week :) - using the sync.exe file and we NEVER got a desync.

We were playing on my LAN so that may have been the issue, we also saved the game 3/4 of the way through and transferred it to another computer and ran it again (still using the sync.exe file) and still no desync.

I'm wondering if the desync occurs on latent connections because it happened every time we played over direct IP access.  I have a fast FIOS connection and my buddy has DSL.

I'm wondering if that has a lot to do with it.

We were also initially playing on a really slow laptop and my really fast desktop, just to see if that had any affect on the problem, and it appears that the only difference was the fact that we were playing on a LAN.

Reply #11 from Sins Forums Top

Just finished a long-ish session with the sync file and same deal: no de-sync. On the other hand, we were playing Entrenchment, not Diplomacy (where we've noticed we were out of sync every time within 75 minutes). But as for the connection type being a factor, I'm not so sure. I've had it over a LAN and over ICO. However, we never reloaded from a save, which we have every other time that we have noticed a de-sync.

Reply #12 from Sins Forums Top

Just a quick note on this sync issue:  My Bro and I have bene playing SINS since the original was first released.  We have had de-sync's, but only on occassion.  We have found that since v1.05 (we play only Entrenchment now) the game will de-sync on ANY custom map and most (not sure if all) Random maps very early on.  In fact, we have found that it appears to de-sync about the point we build and send out our first Capital.  One person shows it leaving the home world, the other doesn't and the de-sync starts.  All seems OK to that point. 90% of the time for us, the "built-in" maps work fine - though we have had this same de-sync issue with them.  With teh Custom-made/Random ones, it is EVERY TIME we play now.

If we get time, we might try the logging request from teh Devs, but that will be time permitting. 

HTH.

 

Reply #13 from Sins Forums Top

<Bit of hating>

 

Me and my best mate LOVE playing the game, but have kinda been unable to play diplomacy at all since release due to dumps and desyncs...

One month and one patch later, still no sight of any fix for either of the issues? /cry

Reply #14 from Sins Forums Top

Hey all,

Please make sure you have the latest Diplomacy patch, there was at least one sync bug fixed in it.  Also, there should be a new patch out soon which will fix a sync bug existing in all versions of Sins.

Cheers

https://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/377774