The Mini Dump Needs To Go Up In Flames!

Creative Mini Dump Message

While we're stressing about one point oh-three/The mini dump is destroying our games/We get so far as four and a half hours/Instead of playing Sins we all are sour/The mini dump needs to go up in flames! ...If you have reached this point and have not realized that this is written in Iambic pentameter well, there you go. Due to the fact we're unable to play the game due to mini dumps again and again we decided to devote our time in which could be playing to this pointless poem. So instead of whining about balance perhaps making the very game itself finishable and playable we should instead focus our attention on the mini dump.
62,415 views 35 replies
Reply #1 Top
The mini-dumps are there so that the devs can debug crashes. They aren't the cause of the crash.
Reply #3 Top
Due to the fact we're unable to play the game due to mini dumps again and again we decided to devote our time in which could be playing to this pointless poem. So instead of whining about balance perhaps making the very game itself finishable and playable we should instead focus our attention on the mini dump.
End of quote


So true, the mini-dump is a serious problem that has to be fixed, right now the game cannot even be completed!
Reply #4 Top
Wow, I really hope this is a joke thread..
Reply #5 Top
Seriously, I can't take this any more! I have civil liberties, and I know for a fact, being a well-versed lawman, that one of those liberties entails the full enjoyment of entertainment software without ANYONE haveing insight to what I play, when, how and with who! The dumps clearly violate this, and must be removed!
Remove this or I will go to the supreme court in DC and sue you for limiting my freedoms!
Reply #6 Top
Actually The_Regicide you don't have any civil liberties because you don't own the game. They own the game you only get to play it, thats what you payed for. The lisence you got is just for that one copy, and just to play it. They own the game and they can make it mini-dump if they please and you agree to that every time you play it! I seriously hope your post was a joke
Reply #7 Top
without ANYONE haveing insight to what I play, when, how and with who! The dumps clearly violate this, and must be removed!
End of quote


And beside what Serondal said, nobody knows anything unless you actually send the minidump in. You know, if you happen to want the cause of the crash fixed, or something like that ;)
Reply #8 Top
nobody knows anything unless you actually send the minidump in. You know, if you happen to want the cause of the crash fixed, or something like that
End of quote


I emailed over a week ago, they have yet to respond...
Reply #9 Top
I agree that the minidumps create a serious limitation to the game. I made a map using Sins Plus 1.2 worlds and was soooo stoked to play it, but I can only get about 5 minutes into the game in multiplayer mode before it crashes and minidumps. My wifes laptop lasts a little bit longer, but not much, and it doesn't seem to matter which one of us hosts the game. If I play the game alone, with only other AI players to fill up the slots, it seems to run fine.

So far the minidump issue has only appeared when my wife and I play together, never when we play alone, so from my experiences the minidumps only happen in multiplayer games when there is more than one computer involved. Multiplayer games with myself and other AI players don't cause minidumps.

Very curious indeed...

But regardless of the reasons, it will be nice when the far-too-frequent minidump issue is fixed. I've never before purchased a game that was so tempermental.
Reply #10 Top
The iambic pentameter is fun, but a bit wonky. Most people don't say "stressING" or "DEStroyING," and the cadence of "needs TO go Up in FLAMES" really ought emphasize the "needs" and "go," as well as "flames."

My suggestion:

We're stressing now about one point oh-three/While mini dumps destroy our epic games/We get so far as four and a half hours/Instead of playing Sins we all are sour/The mini dumps, right now, must burst in flames!

But sonnet cadence is, indeed, the win.

Ben
Reply #11 Top
I agree that the minidumps create a serious limitation to the game. I made a map using Sins Plus 1.2 worlds and was soooo stoked to play it, but I can only get about 5 minutes into the game in multiplayer mode before it crashes and minidumps. My wifes laptop lasts a little bit longer, but not much, and it doesn't seem to matter which one of us hosts the game. If I play the game alone, with only other AI players to fill up the slots, it seems to run fine.So far the minidump issue has only appeared when my wife and I play together, never when we play alone, so from my experiences the minidumps only happen in multiplayer games when there is more than one computer involved. Multiplayer games with myself and other AI players don't cause minidumps.Very curious indeed...But regardless of the reasons, it will be nice when the far-too-frequent minidump issue is fixed. I've never before purchased a game that was so tempermental.
End of quote




Your mod file is corrupted either on Your system or Hers.
Reply #12 Top
GUYS SERIOUSLY

THERE NEEDS TO BE NO MORE CRASHES IN THE GAME

I DEMAND PERFECT 100% PLAYABILITY ON EVERY SINGLE SYSTEM REGARDLESS OF CONFIGURATION OR DRIVERS
Reply #13 Top
BTW, what location does the game write the minidumps to?

I can't remember whether the minidump message told me where it was putting them or not.

I need to start sending in all these minidumps so the developers will have enough data to hopefully find a pattern in them and make this game bullet-proof.
Reply #14 Top
I've never seen this message, which makes me wonder how big of a problem it really is.
Reply #15 Top
Norrec,

Do you ever play multiplayer?

Like I said in my original comment, it only seems to happen to us when my wife and I play the game together, never when it's just one human player and the rest AI.

It could very well be the Sins Plus 1.2 mod, and it probably is, but what a great mod that is and I think it would be great to be able to play it with my wife.

One mod we haven't had problems with is the Capital Ship mod. No mini-dumps there.

But I've read posts here where people are experiencing crashes left and right, far more than any other game I've heard of, so again I wish this game could be made bullet-proof because it is a fantastic soul-sucker of a game.
Reply #16 Top
If your having trouble with a mod, it may be out of date. There have been problems because a line was removed from gameplay.constants having to do with fleet sizes.


But I've read posts here where people are experiencing crashes left and right, far more than any other game I've heard of, so again I wish this game could be made bullet-proof because it is a fantastic soul-sucker of a game.
End of quote


Well, one problem is with the most recent NVidia drivers -- they don't work right, and are therefore crashing. Above and beyond that, send in the minidumps and the devs will try and fix it!
Reply #17 Top
@kedgington

So you just admitted it happens with a particular MOD you and your wife are fond of, however with another MOD (of which you two are obviously not as fond) it never happens. I've heard nothing from you with regards to "vanilla" SINS and as far as I know "vanilla" SINS is what the DEVS are responsible for.

....just a thought.


the Monk
Reply #18 Top
I only play multiplayer really. I played 2 games against the AI when I first got the game to figure out how to play, then immediantly went online and learned the hard way(well, it was actually kind of easy). It took 4 minutes to open the ports on my router to get that working and I was hosting games just fine. I've never crashed and I've never gotten any error messages(other than that one "Most people will not be able to join your game" which could just be ignored). I have had other people quit int he middle of the game, or the host quits and it never makes it past "Migrating," but I've never seen this "minidump" message.

This is all ICO though, I've never done LAN. Maybe this is a LAN only issue that possibly has something to do with people using the same cd key? Or its probably something to do with the mods your using. I remember for World of Warcraft whenever a new patch came out some UI modifications would stop working and I'd have to get the new versions. This could be the same thing.
Reply #19 Top

I emailed over a week ago, they have yet to respond...
End of quote

I don't think everyone understands what minidumps are. It is not a specific problem, but rather a minidump is really a capture of the state of the game when the crash occured. It could be caused any number of different crashes. That is why it is so important that people send us the minidumps (only if they are from the latest version of Sins) so that we can see what state caused the crash. Since beta 1 March 2007 we rarely respond to minidump emails because they are numerous (and often the exact same thing) and there is nothing to be done but wait until the next patch. The only time we respond to them is when the specific cause of the minidump looks to be something that the submitter can fix on his/her end (almost always this involves bad drivers, a corrupt install, or a bad mod).

At this time there are only 2 known crashes caused by Sins (hopefully fixed for 1.1), 1 caused by the Nvidia drivers (new Nvidia drivers with Sins specific fixes coming soon) and the rest fall into one of the types of categories I just listed of which there is nothing we can do but help direct people.

And because it came up earlier: Ironclad's support responds within 24 hrs (often much sooner) unless you write on Friday night, Saturday or Sunday in which case you may have to wait until Monday (though you might get lucky).

Reply #20 Top
omg wtf dus dat mean i gotz spywarz on my cump cuz u colectin data n i didn no abut it?/!


Surprised no one has gone bloody marry about that part (even though it's complete ignorance)
Reply #21 Top
It is a great shame that the multiplayer crash is affecting so many people and that it found its way into the game.

Hopefully the lesson learned is to make the whining 'pro's' wait a little longer for their balance fixes and beta test a little more than a week next time (seeing as anyone who can actually validate any balance issue makes up about .1% of the player base). Obviously this cant be done for 1.04 or 1.03b or 1.1 (whatever the next patch is) because this crash is creating a HUGE issue with the fan base and needs to be addressed yesterday; but for the future, make the updates once every 4 - 6 weeks, not every 2 - 3.

Frequent updates are nice in theory, but they are obviously not working in practice. The balance work is off, bugs are getting though and fans are leaving as fast as they are coming. This game is really only great as a multiplayer experience (at this time) and so the online bugs need addressing immediately.
Reply #22 Top
It is a great shame that the multiplayer crash is affecting so many people and that it found its way into the game.
End of quote


What is your evidence for this "affecting so many people"? People that don't have the issue (the overwhelming majority) aren't going to post about it, so you're probably extrapolating that it happens to everyone from the forums alone. I think you've fallen victim to confirmation bias.
Reply #23 Top
5 MP games online, all went through fine to the end. About a dozen vs the AI, all went fine. But, we've tried Lan and got the dumps every time (no mods, I'm affraid of mods  :SURPRISED: ). We will send in the dumps from now on.

Reply #24 Top
I sent an email containing my save game and minidump file and I got a response the next morning, saying that they will look into it, and try to add a fix into the next patch. Really wonderful service. :)
Reply #25 Top
I would like to take this opportunity to make it clear that my previous post was written while sipping a cup of sarcasm. Thank you for failing your Detect Sarcasm rolls.