<URL: http://bugs.freeciv.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=38411 >
I just discovered (after four frustrating days of trying just about everything I could think of) that if one of the variables in the data file is too long, the entire Freeciv system crashes. This happened consistently in both 2.09 and 2.10. I can report for Windows XP Home only. I am running a solitaire game. I had entered an additional few names of real world Welsh towns in the Welsh nation file. Everything seemed to be fine but then I left a game (I had done several housekeeping things, including some minor changes to other programs in my computer system.) The symptoms: I would start up the Freeciv client without problem. I could make changes to game variables, etc. But as soon as I hit "start" there would be a quick flash and then the game would freeze. It would still show on my screen, the mouse would move around, but nothing ever happened--just the same hourglass figure. I tried changing lots of things, including excising each program I had running (firewall, antivirus, shell, etc.) After each deletion the problem still remained: I could start up the client fine, change the variables fine, but as soon as I hit the start button, it stopped. The solution: I finally booted up Windows in safe mode to do a step-by-step removal of everything running on my system. With everything gone: no firewall, no anti-virus, no trojan protection--completely naked--the program still crashed. However, since I was in safe mode, the Freeciv graphics couldn't do their thing so I could see the black window left by the Freeciv server. In this window I could now read that the server had crashed because of abnormal data files. The message (which designers had probably intended for me to see but which was hidden by the "eye-candy client" said that the Freeciv server had terminated abruptly, directing me to contact the Freeciv community to report the bug. I then looked at the only data file I had touched: The nation file for the Welsh. I had entered a few real world placenames to the list of Welsh cities (and took out "Barry"--I know it is an actual place name but how can it compare to the sheer poetry of "Llantwit Major", or "Ysgol Maes Dyfan"? Anyway, I had entered in a particularly descriptive and somewhat famous Welsh town name and apparently this is what broke Freeciv. Perhaps this variable length limitation might be written into the headers of the various files? Perhaps the Freeciv client might be adjusted so that it would not immediately cover up the server's complaints? Hope this helps. Thanks for your work, truly. _______________________________________________ Freeciv-dev mailing list Freeciv-dev@gna.org https://mail.gna.org/listinfo/freeciv-dev
