[TopAce]

Ever since I have used FRED (maybe even retail, not only the Open version!), there have been random crashes on save that may or may not have broken the mission's file.  When it crashes on save, my HD starts loading like mad and a few seconds later, it will display an error message and CTD.

Is this a known problem?

[karajorma]

Don't think so. What error message?

[Dilmah G]

Which version of FRED are you using, and are you running it from the default directory? I remember retail FRED2 crashing on me many, many times.

[TopAce]

I've used many builds. Many of them are the official releases, but there were also trunk builds that produced such crashes.

I always run FRED from root.

Kara: I could post a pic about it. My Windows version is Hungarian, so I don't know what that window is called in the English version.
http://www.mediafire.com/?vnnvdd0mnun

[karajorma]

What happens with a debug build? Same thing?

Do you have any of the missions it borked?

[TopAce]

Debug builds also do that.

No, I usually delete those missions and rename the .bak to .fs2.

Could you access the link I posted?

[karajorma]

Yeah but it was just a standard MS error as far as I could tell

[TopAce]

So, if these kind of random crashes occur only to me, it's more than likely that my computer or my settings are responsible.

[FUBAR-BDHR]

Known thing that will cause this: 

Too many ships.  Can't go over 100 unless you are using recent 3.6.10 builds then it's 400. 
Too many wings (pretty sure this is checked for now though so it shouldn't happen)
Using ; in text
Having ;;FS2 Open 3.6.10;; in front of the +use table score line.  This was caused by a few builds in the Nov/Dec time frame.  Should not be a problem if you remove the ;;FS2 Open 3.6.10;; comments or never used one of those builds that added them.

[karajorma]

All of those should result in a parsing error though.

[FUBAR-BDHR]

Yea they should.  I didn't see the link to the screenshot so I assumed it was a standard FRED error window not a windows error window. 

I have had things like that happen from time to time but it's usually after FRED has been open for quite some time and several missions have been loaded/saved.  Never could narrow it down to anything specific. 

I usually screw something up in notepad and crash FRED that way long before it crashes on it's own though. 

[TopAce]

...Too many wings (pretty sure this is checked for now though so it shouldn't happen)...

Well, I've got a couple of that in the mission I'm presently working on. It crashes often.

I have had things like that happen from time to time but it's usually after FRED has been open for quite some time and several missions have been loaded/saved

That's not the case for me.

[Rodo]

well this actually happened to me also... mostly when saving the mission or modifiying a SEXP and then saving, though I can't tell you exactly since there's no error from fred (both retail and debug), it just crashes and then the windows error dialogue pops up.
Then after killing the process with Ctrl+Alt+Del I find the mission file broken and have to replace it with the .bak just like you.

[karajorma]

Next time zip up the borked mission and the .bak, restore the .bak and carry on. Then once you've finished working post the broken mission on  Mantis along with a description of what you have to do in order to break it.

This is especially true if you have no mods in your mission. Bugs like these can only ever be fixed if the coders can reproduce them.

[FUBAR-BDHR]

By any chance do you reorder events a lot?  I've noticed some issues with that from time to time especially moving one to the top or bottom of the list.  Haven't tried it in a recent build though.  Have to see if I can reproduce that one of these days. 


Wouldn't the backup.001 - .009 files help out with debugging as well.  They kind of show a history of what you just did. 

[karajorma]

Yeah they do but only if the problem isn't in the events editor or any of the other editors not involved in the autosave system.

[TopAce]

Rodo: That sounds like a different type of crash than the one that I have. I don't have to touch Ctrl-Alt-Del, because my FRED closes automatically after closing the error message's window.

Kara: These crashes have nothing to do with the nature of the mission, so why post up a broken mission in Mantis? It may have something to do with my memory, since the larger the mission the more likely it will crash. Also, working with many hi-poly models in wireframe mode increases the frequency of these crashes radically. I'm working with lots of mods anyways. Crashes did occur with and without mods.

FUBAR: If I decide to move Events, I do that in WordPad, so that can't really be a problem.

[Rodo]

Next time zip up the borked mission and the .bak, restore the .bak and carry on. Then once you've finished working post the broken mission on  Mantis along with a description of what you have to do in order to break it.

This is especially true if you have no mods in your mission. Bugs like these can only ever be fixed if the coders can reproduce them.

will do

By any chance do you reorder events a lot?

well... that I did at the end before saving.

[FUBAR-BDHR]

Just found one way to crash FRED.  Invalid arrival cue op = splat. 

I'm actually using a recent 3.6.10 FRED for a change (usually in a 3.6.9 Inferno build) so I'll report anything I am able to reproduce.