GetNExtSquare error

[aarmaageedoon]

Hello, me and Kipp made a coop map in which this strange error occurs:

screenshot1

screenshot2

Have you ever experienced it? What are possible causes for it to happen and how to fix them?

If more information or the map itself needed, I can post it.

[Cm_blast]

2 hours ago, aarmaageedoon said:

Hello, me and Kipp made a coop map in which this strange error occurs:

screenshot1

screenshot2

Have you ever experienced it? What are possible causes for it to happen and how to fix them?

If more information or the map itself needed, I can post it.

 

Spoiler

No... the flashbacks are coming back to me... my personal nightmare has return... poor soul...

Yes. I encounter that error while I was doing my very last map, so for now it's only a guess based on what happen and how I fixed it. My main guess that it's something related with the pathfinding of the AI.

For what I think, the AI always try to reach the player with the shorter route possible, not taking in consideration rifts or other objets. Then the AI starts moving, but for me the current path the AI follow may not be the same that he first calculated.

Since on one of your error the crash happen at 100.000 ticks, I can guess you (or you ally) expaned your base to another location. Try to place that base with the editor and let the game run (place yourself 50 devastators so you don't need to give attention to defend against the enemy).

I suggest to import some AI that attack at low ticks, so if the crash happens will happen early (you may save your map with another name to do the tests).

If the game crash then the AI needs help to reach you, like a more direct path or blocking a path or two.

You can create a "reveal map" event with a timer = 1 and radious = 0; the whole map will become reveleaded. this way you can look what the AI it's doing

Finally: you can show me the map; maybe by looking at it I can see something. But again, I got this error recently so for now I only full of guessing.
 

Edited April 25, 2018 by Cm_blast

[aarmaageedoon]

LINK

Here it is. Our strategy was to wall top of our base to make AI go around. Also put sieges in the spice field to the north west so AI would try to attack it.

[Cm_blast]

On 26/4/2018 at 1:45 AM, aarmaageedoon said:

LINK

Here it is. Our strategy was to wall top of our base to make AI go around. Also put sieges in the spice field to the north west so AI would try to attack it.

You mean walls like I make in black here? If yes, the red and green paths from the AI it's too complicated.

 

If you means another place tell me; but with this screen you can see the weird path an AI may take (AI maybe don't use this path, but still take in consideration while it's calculating possible routes. Weird, but in my map once I blocked a path the AI never send a unit, that fixed it, so to me the AI could think of that alternative path even if he don't use it).

Edited April 29, 2018 by Cm_blast

[Fey]

As Cm is already quite aware, that issue results from AI pathing issues. I suggest opening up the map a little to make the AIs' paths more straight-forward. That should help reduce the frequency of the problem.

[aarmaageedoon]

More like this.

Opened map a little, we're going to crash test it soon.

[Cm_blast]

On 26/4/2018 at 2:37 AM, aarmaageedoon said:

More like this.

Opened map a little, we're going to crash test it soon.

I was imagining that other scenario too.

But again, not just look the path the AI goes, but the possible path the AI may calculate.

For example the same AI I draw early. You may think "This AI never follow this path"; but to me I think he still calculate it like this:

 

I am going to show you exactly this problem with my own map, just drawning the paths to avoid more big-heavy files.

Since the game was crashing, I blocked 1 of the two exits from the AI base; this way my AI it's forced to going from the only path possible:

Looks simple, right? Well, game crash... (and very early, not even 4 minutes in game).

Now I looks into my map and think "Maybe the AI it's calculating this possible path"?
This is how a "alternative" new path looks.

 

Pretty, right xD? No wonder the game would crash trying to going this path but... as I recall, the green path it's the only path the AI follow.

Ok; I revert the original map. I place some rifts in the bottom part of the map to block half of that "alternative" path. Now am going to draw the path that the AI ACTUALLY uses (I saw the AI going this way by itself).

 you can see it's the purple one but much shorter.

More complicated that the green one... but game doesn't crash.
In fact, half the units uses the green path, the other half the yellow one.

At the end, all it's just me guessing, but to me looks that the AI calculates routes even if are not logical. In my map it's the purple map, indeed too hard for the dune 2000 Ai to handle.

Edited April 29, 2018 by Cm_blast

[aarmaageedoon]

Units may split into 2 paths because one of them gets blocked by walking units, so those behind see no possible yellow path, so they go green one, then yellow is free again and units go there, and so on so on...

[Cm_blast]

12 minutes ago, aarmaageedoon said:

Units may split into 2 paths because one of them gets blocked by walking units, so those behind see no possible yellow path, so they go green one, then yellow is free again and units go there, and so on so on...

Following the green or yellow path doesn't matter. My map only crash if the purple path it's possible to travel.

For you map, thinks similar. Don't focus only on the path the AI follow, but the possible path an AI could use; a path so complicated that the game crash.

1 hour ago, Fey said:

As Cm is already quite aware, that issue results from AI pathing issues. I suggest opening up the map a little to make the AIs' paths more straight-forward. That should help reduce the frequency of the problem.

Fey; Maybe you can try to do a bit of guessing to.
The map you got trouble with. Open it. Try to remember how the map was when crashed to you, and then trying to imagine a "alternative" path (although ilogical) that your AI could try to follow. <-- read the previous post to know what I mean.

Maybe you may see "hey, AI was trying to do that stupid non logical path that my current version don't have; Cm was right!"

I mean; having a confirmation would be good for everyone.

Edited April 26, 2018 by Cm_blast

[aarmaageedoon]

With more open map we menaged to delay the crash to over 120000 ticks.

[Cm_blast]

23 minutes ago, aarmaageedoon said:

With more open map we menaged to delay the crash to over 120000 ticks.

The thing happen once you both wall the top area? Because if yes to do test you can place walls from the beggining of the game and do tests more quick that way.

[Dune & OldGames]

10 hours ago, Cm_blast said:

Dime cm_blat como hago eso para hacer zoom en el editor del dune 2000? al igual que la imagen!

[Cm_blast]

29 minutes ago, Luisito Eb said:

Dime cm_blat como hago eso para hacer zoom en el editor del dune 2000? al igual que la imagen!

El editor tiene la opción para "save map imagen" que te guarda todo el mapa como un archivo .bmp. El resto es una reducción del tamaño total usando photoshop para reducir un poco el tamaño gigantesco del archivo resultante.

[aarmaageedoon]

I tried many various places to block pathways with walls but nothing would crash the game in considerable amount of time. Howeever we gave it a try w/o blocking any path and managed to get 1h11m (over 20k ticks, around 22k I believe)  game without having it crash. Died of natural causes. 

[Cm_blast]

21 minutes ago, aarmaageedoon said:

I tried many various places to block pathways with walls but nothing would crash the game in considerable amount of time. Howeever we gave it a try w/o blocking any path and managed to get 1h11m (over 20k ticks, around 22k I believe)  game without having it crash. Died of natural causes. 

When you said "Died of natural causes" you mean the map ended by classic winning-loosing the map?
 

[Dune & OldGames]

Just now, Cm_blast said:

El editor tiene la opción para "save map imagen" que te guarda todo el mapa como un archivo .bmp. El resto es una reducción del tamaño total usando photoshop para reducir un poco el tamaño gigantesco del archivo resultante.

Muchísimas gracias cm_blast

[aarmaageedoon]

9 hours ago, Cm_blast said:

When you said "Died of natural causes" you mean the map ended by classic winning-loosing the map?

One of the players disconnected and we got rolled over by AI.

[Cm_blast]

42 minutes ago, aarmaageedoon said:

One of the players disconnected and we got rolled over by AI.

Oh, bad luck. But at least we can say that the problem was the blocking path. Maybe a way to avoid this it's making the AI to have an attack priority on walls so the AI attack the walls instead going around (but I don't know if you are using your own AI or just the skirmish one).

[aarmaageedoon]

Then there would be no point to make walls.

[Cm_blast]

1 hour ago, aarmaageedoon said:

Then there would be no point to make walls.

Then not more solution than open more paths (if walls are placed). I don't know if letting at least 1 square or "direct path" can prevent the AI to crash, even if later due the big enemy numbers 95% of the enemy units use the long-around path.

 

[Feda]

Yea that shit error, I had it too in one of the coop maps posted on cncnet, i believe it might still happen, although I remember it was kinda random, not at a precise gametick. There is not much you can do about it besides what the guys already suggested. It's a trial and error kind of thing. A total pain in the ass.