ModEnc² - User contributions [en]

Internal Error

2007-05-21T19:12:52Z

68.40.103.125: /* Other Causes */

[[Image:Ts_ie.png|thumb|150px|right|Tiberian Sun's Internal Error]]
[[Image:Ra2_ie.png|thumb|150px|right|Red Alert 2's Internal Error]]
[[Image:Yr_ie.png|thumb|150px|right|Yuri Revenge's Internal Error]]
[[Image:Rp_ie.png|thumb|150px|right|RockPatch's Internal Error]]
The '''Internal Error''' (commonly known as '''IE''') is a general error returned by the [[Tiberian Sun]] [[engine]] and its derivates. The message itself is rather ambiguous, giving no information what went wrong, and leaving it to the modder to know what could have caused the error and to find this cause in his code.

If you experience an Internal Error, the best course of action is to think whether a distinctive event immediately preceeded the crash (e.g. a unit being built, a weapon being fired...), or, if this is not the case (or not the cause), to tripple-check your latest code modification(s) - at best with the help of a diff between the current rules set and a previous, working one (for this reason, and in case you mess up your code beyond repair, you should always keep recent backups of working code).

Note that, the more code you add at the same time, the more likely it is to introduce multiple bugs and causes for crashes. Just because you found ''one'' mistake in your code, doesn't mean there can't be ''another one'', also causing an IE (or being the one that caused the IE in the first place).

==Except.txt==
If your game crashes through an IE, a file called except.txt is generated in your game folder. This file is a dump of certain runtime-data from the game at the point of crash, and could potentially tell you exactly what went wrong - ''if'' you knew the engine code. 
pd has, every once in a while, found a pattern he recognized, and could, for example, tell when an except referenced the voxel loading routines, thereby pinpointing the IE to a voxel issue.

However, more often than not even pd can't help - without the source code or in-depth knowledge of the game code, the file is rather useless to one. (cp. [[SYNCx.txt]])

According to an early version of [[Except.txt]] (which now redirects here), this file includes the full structure and a stack dump of a [http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/debug/base/context_str.asp CONTEXT] element.

== List of known Causes of Internal Errors (please expand) ==
Since "Internal Error" is the game's response to almost any fatal error, its causes are diverse. Most common are causes related to weapons and warheads, with a missing warhead probably being the all-time no. 1 cause of Internal Errors.

===Weapons-related Causes===
*Pointing to a weapon that does not exist (possibly caused by a simple misspelling of the correct weapon's name)
*Making the game use a weapon that wasn't parsed beforehand (by having it attached to a unit, an example being shrapnel-weapons that aren't assigned to a dummy unit)
**A subset of this happens when you try to use a weapon in a game mode override file that wasn't attached to a unit in the main rules
*Attempting to use a weapon without a projectile.

===Warhead-related Causes===
*Having a weapon's {{tt|Warhead}} tag point to a warhead that doesn't exist (e.g. through a typo), or having no warhead-tag at all
*[[CellSpread]] must not be bigger than 11{{fnl|1}}
*Setting off a warhead with a [[CellSpread]] that is also {{TTL|Temporal|yes}}
*Sometimes, warheads that are not listed under {{tt|[[Warheads|[Warheads]]]}} can cause an IE

===Other Causes===
*An MCV turns neutral: If a player's MCV was mind-controlled by an enemy, that player is killed, and the MCV is then released from mind-control, an Internal Error will be caused by the fact that the MCV tries to return to its original owner, but said owner is not a legal faction of the game anymore. One '''workaround''' is to make MCVs unable to be mind-controlled, this is the way it is done in the [[YR 1.002 UMP]]. Neutral [[Building:Construction Yard|Construction Yards]] do not seem to be a problem.
*If a falling paratrooper (who has nearly reached the ground) is killed by an area-effect mutation weapon, an IE will be triggered. Point based mutations seem to be okay and the [[Super weapon:Genetic Mutator|Genetic Mutator]] seems incapable of killing falling paratroopers. If you have an area-effect mutation weapon, you should ensure that all paratroopers are immune to it.
*{{TTL|HoverPad|yes}}. If the AI uses a Weather Storm or Nuclear Missile superweapon and a building with {{tt|HoverPad=yes}} exists, the game will suffer an IE. '''This IE can''', however, '''be prevented''' by uncommenting the flag {{TTL|AIIonCannonHelipadValue|20,20,20}} (change the values if you like).
*Omitting {{TTL|MakeInfantry|X}} on [[InfDeath]] 9's animation ({{TTL|InfantryMutate|GENDEATH}}) can sometimes cause an internal error. See [[MakeInfantry]] for more information.
*Using the 'sell unit' super weapon on a tank-bunkered unit breaks the Tank Bunker. Attempting to sell or destroy the broken Tank Bunker causes an Internal Error. The only possible fix is to make sure a player never ever has access to both the "Sell Unit" Super weapon and the Tank Bunker at the same time - in reality, this means you can only have either of them...not both.
*Adding a new harvester for a 4th side/faction and not making an AI Trigger for it will cause an IE
*The modding concept known as "[[Infantry Linking]]" can result in an IE, occuring when the linked infantry was modified in a subsequent game mode override file or a map ''and'' a human player scrolls to a place on the map where coordinates on which an AI-owned [[Building:War Factory|War Factory]] is located are visible on his screen. Once again, the only solution is not to do it.
*If you have a buildable Construction Yard, start its construction, and then cancel it, an IE will occur. Same solution as above.{{fnl|2}}
*Calling for an animation that is not listed under {{tt|[[Animations|[Animations]]]}} might trigger an Internal Error
*If you build a unit ingame whose voxel or shp you put into an original game mix instead of a proper expansion mix, you'll have a Close Encounter of the Erroneous Kind
*Not having at least one valid [[InfantryTypes|InfantryType]] with {{TTL|AllowedToStartInMultiplayer|yes}} (default) for each house will lead to an IE on load
*Setting {{TTL|CarryOverCap|0}} will cause an IE. (Default value is -1, positive values do not cause an IE.)
*A certain side's Construction Yard not having {{TTL|AIBuildThis|yes}} set leads to that side's AI causing an IE.
*Removing a building from the PrerequisitePower= list, while it exists in one of the (GDI/NODRegular/Third)PowerPlant= lists will cause IE the moment any of your Power buildings gets destroyed or sold as long as you own a Construction Yard. (For example, YR mods that remove Yuri's Army from the game, should never remove YAPOWR from PrerequisitePower=).
*If an overlay type with {{TTL|Explodes|yes}} is destroyed and the {{TTL|BarrelParticle}} tag is blank or missing.

===Footnotes===
{{fn|1|In certain versions, [[RockPatch]] does allow a higher value.}}
{{fn|2|2=According to [http://forums.cncden.com/showpost.php?p=282732&postcount=23 this post], the poster has found a solution to allow this. This has, however, not been confirmed independently.}}

===Figuring out your IE from Except.txt===

Since all IEs caused by one and the same reason share the same EIP: value in except.txt, knowing that value might help you pinpoint your IE. The following is a small and incomplete list of EIPs and their corresponding IE reasons. 
{| cellpadding="4" border="1" class="table_descrow"
! EIP
! Cause
|-
! colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | Yuri's Revenge 1.001
|-
| 004145BD || You have tried to give infantry a spawn weapon (Such as ASWLauncher)
|-
| 0042E7AF || An AI player deployed a conyard which has {{TTL|AIBuildThis|no}} set.
|-
| 0046650D || You have a shrapnel weapon which isn't assigned to a dummy object.
|-
| 004895C7 || You have a warhead whose {{TTL|CellSpread}} exceeds 11.
|-
| 004F8CCD || You've listed less than 3 BuildingTypes at BuildConst= in [AI] Section and lost or sold your last listed Construction Yard while on low power. If you've already lost it, the IE will trigger when you run out of power after that.
|-
| 0050CE14 || You have a BuildingType with {{TTL|IsPlug|yes}}, but you need to restore the [{{TTL|General}}] {{arr|r}} {{TTL|AIIonCannonPlugValue}} line.
|-
| 0050CE5C || You have a BuildingType with {{TTL|HoverPad|yes}}, but you need to restore the [{{TTL|General}}] {{arr|r}} {{TTL|AIIonCannonHelipadValue}} line.
|-
| 005D7387 || You need at least one InfantryType with {{TTL|AllowedToStartInMultiplayer|yes}}
|-
| 006AEBB8 || Your ra2md.ini file lists a combination of mpmode/map which the game cannot satisfy.
|-
| 006F40A2 || You have an object referencing a '''WarheadType''' that isn't defined.
|-
| 0071AF4D || You have a shrapnel weapon with a {{TTL|Temporal|yes}} warhead.
|-
| 0073B0C9 || [[Infantry Linking]].
|-
! colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | Common
|-
| 90900004 || Generic exception, for example, raised when you are [http://bugs.renegadeprojects.com/view.php?id=76 missing the snowmd.ini median fix].
|}

==Software used to find Internal Errors==
*[[INI Checker]] (can check your rules, art and sound files for syntactic errors like typos and missing references)
*[[ExceptChecker]] (primarily for RockPatch-related IEs, it analyzes except.txt, tries to find references to code added by the patch or known routines, and ''might'' then be able give a direction)
*[[Debugger]] (if you know assembler)

== See also ==
*[[Reconnection Error]]
*[http://forums.renegadeprojects.com/showthread.php?pid=2034#pid2034 Confirmation the Infantry Linking IE also applies to modifications done by maps]

[[Category:Bugs_and_Errors]]
__NOTOC__

Explodes

2007-05-21T19:05:05Z

68.40.103.125: /* See Also */

{{Flag
|name={{PAGENAME}}
|files={{Categ|Rules(md).ini}}
|values=boolean
|default=no
|types={{Categ|InfantryTypes}}, {{Categ|VehicleTypes}}, {{Categ|AircraftTypes}}, {{Categ|BuildingTypes}}, {{Categ|OverlayTypes}}
|ts=yes
|fs=yes
|ets=yes
|ra2=yes
|yr=yes
|rp=yes
}}

== For Techno Types ==

=== In Tiberian Sun and Firestorm ===
Assuming the unit has {{tt|Explodes{{Equal}}yes}}, the unit's {{TTL|Primary}} [[weapon]] is fired at the [[cell]] that the unit occupies when it is destroyed. If the unit does not have {{tt|Primary}}= defined, {{tt|Explodes{{Equal}}yes}} will have no effect.

In a special case, if the unit has {{TTL|Storage}}= defined in addition to {{tt|Explodes{{Equal}}yes}}, it will cause an explosion when destroyed with damage proportional to the amount of [[Tiberium]] contained inside. A theoretical formula is ''amount of [[bail]]s stored * [{{TTL|CombatDamage}}]{{TTL|TiberiumExplosionDamage}}'', though this is unconfirmed.

=== In Red Alert 2 and Yuri's Revenge ===
Assuming the unit has {{tt|Explodes{{Equal}}yes}}, the unit's {{TTL|DeathWeapon}} is fired at the [[cell]] that the unit occupies when it is destroyed by a non-[[temporal]] [[warhead]]. If the unit does not have {{tt|DeathWeapon}}= defined, the unit's {{TTL|Primary}} [[weapon]] will be fired instead. If the unit does not have {{tt|Primary}}= defined, it will default to firing the weapon defined by [{{TTL|General}}]{{TTL|DeathWeapon}}=.

== For OverlayTypes ==
This feature was not used in either {{Ts}} or {{Ra2}}, though the logic is still present. If an {{TTL|OverlayTypes}} object has {{tt|Explodes{{Equal}}yes}}, it will have the following effects when it is destroyed:

*Display the animation defined by [{{TTL|General}}]{{TTL|BarrelExplode}}=.
*Spawn the debris defined by [{{TTL|General}}]{{TTL|BarrelDebris}}=.
*Spawn the particle defined by [{{TTL|General}}]{{TTL|BarrelParticle}}=.
*Deal damage to the cell it occupied defined by [{{TTL|CombatDamage}}]{{TTL|AmmoCrateDamage}}=.

== See Also ==
*[[Recreating Tiberium Damage in Yuri%27s Revenge#Explosive Tiberium|Explosive Tiberium in RA2]]

Recreating Tiberium Damage in Yuri's Revenge

2007-05-21T19:03:20Z

68.40.103.125: /* Explosive Tiberium */

{{BigHorizontalBar|Attention|Apparently, the flag {{tt|HideIfNoOre}} is to be taken ''quite'' literally - the twinkle animation will continue to be played where ore fields used to be, only invisible (''hidden'' from sight). Relating to this tutorial, this means that the damaging particle will continue to be spawned, even if there is no ore in place anymore. In other words, you'll probably experience Tiberium Damage without Tiberium. It is on you to decide whether you can live with/explain that, or not.}}

Note that, while simply replacing the [[ore]] images will work in both {{ra2}} and {{yr}}, the method creating Tiberium Damage in this tutorial is only compatible with YR.

All of us who played the original, "Tiberian" [[:Category:CnC Games and Add-Ons|Command & Conquers]] know (and probably dreaded) the so-called "Tiberium Damage" effect, where any infantry unit stepping on a field of Tiberium (save for a few selected [[TiberiumProof|immune ones]]) would take periodic damage until they died.

==Adding Tiberium==
Assuming you want to add ''[[Tiberium]]'' (as opposed to ore/gems) with Tiberium Damage, you first need some Tiberium. There are three ways you can implement this:
*Replacing the original ore's/gems' images
*[http://www.ppmsite.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2621 Creating a new Resource System]
*Use Vinifera — as noted in [http://www.deezire.net/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=5847 this thread], it seems like the resource type defined as "Vinifera" is already present on maps, only disguised as normal ore (Riparius). By replacing only the Vinifera-images and only editing {{tt|[Vinifera]}}, you could potentially have Ore, Gems, and Tiberium in your game, without having to create your own ore tree - the only drawback being that no one documented which maps employ Riparius as their ore, and which use Vinifera. (Meaning some maps might only have Tiberium, while others only have ore, some have both in seperate fields, and some have both in the same field.)
For the sake of simplicity, we'll assume you simple want to replace the original types. [[YR Argentina]] → SHPs → Other → Tiberium Pack includes both green and blue Tiberium, converted to RA2/YR format and correctly named to simply put them at an appropriate place to override the original files. Usage instructions should be included.

==Creating the Damage==
The basic concept of this tutorial/technique is this: On random cells over any field of ore, the animation defined under {{TTL|OreTwinkle}} will be played — this is TWNK1 by default. Independent from that, in Yuri's Revenge, the death animation generated by the [[InfDeath]] caused by [[Unit:Virus|Yuri's Virus]] spawns several particles further damaging units they come in contact with. What we're going to do is make the twinkle animation played over ore use this system to spawn invisible, infantry-damaging particles where it appears, thereby creating a damaging "aura" over the Tiberium field.
===Create the Particle===
Start your new particle somewhere in your [[rules.ini|rulesmd.ini]]; name it whatever you want (of course not using a name that already exists) and add it to the [{{TTL|Particles}}] list.

Add this code to it, and alter it to fit your mod:
Image=none ; it's invisible
MaxDC=15 ; the maximum number of frames that can pass before the particle can start to damage things around it
MaxEC=60 ; the maximum number of frames that the particle can be in existence for, keep it small to reduce lag
Damage=150 ; how much it hurts, this damage ignores tags such as ImmuneToPoison even if the attached warhead is Poison=yes
Warhead=YourWarhead ; the [[Warhead]] with which the damage is calculated
StartFrame=0 ; irrelevant, since it refers to frames within SHPs, and we're not using one
EndStateAI=20 ; irrelevant, since it refers to frames within SHPs, and we're not using one
WindEffect=0 ; since the tiberium doesn't move, neither should the damage
BehavesLike=Gas ; floating around - other types make no sense.
StateAIAdvance=4 ; irrelevant, since it refers to frames within SHPs, and we're not using one
Remember, 15 frames approximately equal 1 second at middle game speed. Most important are {{tt|MaxEC}}, {{tt|Damage}}, and {{tt|Warhead}}.

===Create the Warhead===
Start your new warhead somewhere in your [[rules.ini|rulesmd.ini]]; name it whatever you want (of course not using a name that already exists) and add it to the [{{TTL|Warheads}}] list.

Add this code to it, and alter it to fit your mod:
CellSpread=1 ; up to three soldiers can occupy one cell - this way, they all get affected
PercentAtMax=1.0 ; damage stays constant
Verses=100%,100%,100%,1%,0%,1%,0%,0%,0%,0%,0% ; this is what makes this type of tiberium less indiscriminate
ProneDamage=100% ; multipler to apply to damage when infantry use prone sequence in art
InfDeath=4 ; flame death like in TD
Using these settings, your warhead will
*Deal the amount of damage you set on the particle to soldiers
*Deal minimal damage to tanks
*Deal no damage to [[Unit:Harvester|harvesters]], buildings, [[Unit:Terror Drone|Terror Drones]] and spawned missiles
*Play the flame death animation if a soldier gets killed through Tiberium Damage
Increase {{tt|ProneDamage}} to hit soldiers lying down harder (since they are closer to the crystals). 
If you find the soldiers burning away to be illogical, you might want to try InfDeaths 7 or 8 instead, 7 being the radiation melt death, and 8 being the Virus "explode to venom gas due to poisoning" death.

===Adjust the Twinkle Animation===
Still assuming the Twinkle Animation is TWNK1, go to {{tt|[TWNK1]}} in [[art.ini|artmd.ini]] and modify it to look like this:
[TWNK1]
LoopCount=-1
RandomLoopDelay=120,300
DetailLevel=2
HideIfNoOre=true
Rate=450
'''SpawnsParticle=NameOfYourNewParticle'''
'''NumParticles=1'''
Bold lines are the new ones. Replace ''NameOfYourNewParticle'' with the name you gave the particle you created above. Keep {{tt|NumParticles}} to 1, as there'd be no reason to have two damaging particles when you could just double the {{tt|Damage}} value, and more particles always cause more lag.

With that done, every time TWNK1 is played by the game, it should generate your new, invisible particle, damaging whatever you want it to damage.

===Adjust the Slave===
On its default settings, the [[Unit:Slave Miner|Slave Miner's]] [[Unit:Slave|Slave]] uses {{TTL|Armor|none}}, which is also be used by normal soldiers. It is therefore subject to damage on Tiberium fields, if you used the code above. 
This, of course, is less than optimal. 
Fortunately, the seperate [[Armor types|Armors]] are not bound to [[Category|categories]], so you can just go to {{tt|[SLAV]}} and replace {{tt|Armor{{equal}}none}} with {{tt|Armor{{equal}}medium}}, which is the armor only used by Harvesters (at least on the ground). 
Alternatively, if you want to distinguish the Slave from the Harvesters, armor-wise, you might want to consider using {{tt|Armor{{equal}}special_1}}, the Terror Drone armor, which is generally treated like other unit armors, but unaffected by the warhead code above. However, given that all other resource-gathering units use {{tt|Armor{{equal}}medium}}, it should clearly be preferred.

==Extension==
Having done all of the above, it should be rather easy to give the particle a warhead with {{TTL|InfDeath|0}} and an animation that spawns a neutral infantry looking like a [[Visceroid]], using an armor you selected to be immune. This part of the tutorial, however, has not been written yet. Feel free to do that.

==Explosive Tiberium==
Unfortunately, the Exploding Tiberium system has been disabled. As off now, no way has been found to bring it back. There is a {{TTL|Tiberium|yes}} flag for warheads, to enable them to affect resources, however, one would have to make sure such a warhead is rapidly spread across a field in a cascading fashion. You ''might'' be successful by working with (multiple) particles spawned from shell-explosion-anims which, in turn, have a {{tt|Tiberium{{equal}}yes}} warhead, {{tt|WindEffect{{equal}}5}} and a high {{TTL|Velocity}}, with their warhead-explosion-anims spawning further of them, to spread the effect. This, however, is pure theory and has never been done before, and you should take into account that the number of particles could result in significant amounts of lag.
It is posssible to recreate something similar to explosive tiberium by placing the flag {{TTL|Explodes|yes}} into all the overlay types for that particular type of tiberium. In this case the tiberium will explode whenever a weapon hits it, regardless of whether the weapon had Tiberium=yes set on it. The damage done is controled by the {{TTL|AmmoCrateDamage}} tag in [{{TTL|CombatDamage}}] and only effects the cell the tiberium was in. The explosion, debris spawned, and particle system are controled by the tags {{TTL|BarrelExplode}}, {{TTL|BarrelDebris}}, and {{TTL|BarrelParticle}}, respectively. These tags are located in [General].

==See also==
*[http://www.ppmsite.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2621 Creating a new Resource System]
*[http://www.deezire.net/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=5847 Thread about Vinifera on maps]
*[http://yrarg.cncguild.net/ YR Argentina]
*[[:Category:Particles Flags|Particles Flags]]
*[[:Category:Warhead Flags|Warhead Flags]]

[[Category:Tutorials]]