Mini dump Hell!

Arrrgggg!!!

Yet another great game ruined by Mini Dumps.

I've have never seen a mini dump before Sins. Is it my machine at fault somehow?, or is this a sins thing?

Its got to the point I really wonder the point of playing. I love Stardock, but please guys, why the mini dumps, why can I not rejoin a game if I am only gone a minute?

I mean with (spit) WorldofWarcraft you can rejoin a battle ground if you are gone only a couple of minutes. This way Since I am one of only 10% that can host a game every mini dump I get ruins my game and 5 other peoples. As if I get a mini dump they all get disconnected too. No wonder there are so few people online.

Sorry for the rant. But what is going on here?


12,006 views 11 replies
Reply #1 Top
A minidump is some info created by Sins when there is a crash. From the tech FAQ:
* My game has crashed and told me it saved a "minidump" file. What do I do?

Please open Windows Explorer to the location below and see if your dump file is there.

XP: C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Temp\Sins Dump

Vista: C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Temp\Sins Dump

If there is a minidump file present, please zip it up along with a copy of a dxdiag from your PC and a description of what you were doing when it occurred to support(at)ironcladgames(dot)com. Please note that you must provide your Sins of a Solar Empire serial number in your email to receive support (anti-piracy measure).
End of quote


I mean with (spit) WorldofWarcraft
End of quote

Apples and oranges.
Reply #2 Top
Thanks for the above. I will give it a try.

Apples and oranges.
End of quote



Yes, WoW is hosted on a server and Sins is hosted locally on each machine playing. But I'm wondering if it is possible for part of the program to allow a player back into the ring if disconnected. It would be very handy. Perhaps this is a feature of Alloy?
Reply #3 Top
Yes, WoW is hosted on a server and Sins is hosted locally on each machine playing. But I'm wondering if it is possible for part of the program to allow a player back into the ring if disconnected. It would be very handy. Perhaps this is a feature of Alloy?
End of quote



The functionality of "Alloy" lies in the fact that it is "tunneling" netcode which means it bypasses routers/firewalls instead of relying on user-control. Alloy is netcode, not server-state tracking software and as such is only the "vehicle" by which data is transported.
Reply #4 Top
Hi Monk, is it possible with a game like Sins to allow players back into the game in the event of a crash or a disconnect if they are gone about a minute. Or is that just not going to happen in this game?
Reply #5 Top
Arrrgggg!!!Yet another great game ruined by Mini Dumps.I've have never seen a mini dump before Sins. Is it my machine at fault somehow?, or is this a sins thing?Its got to the point I really wonder the point of playing. I love Stardock, but please guys, why the mini dumps, why can I not rejoin a game if I am only gone a minute?I mean with (spit) WorldofWarcraft you can rejoin a battle ground if you are gone only a couple of minutes. This way Since I am one of only 10% that can host a game every mini dump I get ruins my game and 5 other peoples. As if I get a mini dump they all get disconnected too. No wonder there are so few people online.Sorry for the rant. But what is going on here?
End of quote


It probably isn't your machine. You should definitely put in the elbow grease to make sure it isn't your system (read TheMonk's guide, change router settings, game patches, driver updates, reinstall, etc. etc.), but I've done all of those time and again, even switching to other systems and a new PC I recently put together. Despite the multiple claims on the SOASE forums that this is a "small" problem, a LOT of people SEEM to have run into trouble with it and the number of posts referencing it is way up there. The actual word "minidump" is the Sins game logging the error, but the bottom line is that the game is crashing, and so many other commercial games seem to get released without this level of instability. I've found it to be an incredibly frustrating issue with this game (in addition to having to beg for a serial key after I bought the retail game because it was declared "in use"), and actually stopped playing as a result of it. I was never big into the online play through SD/IC, but was trying to play regularly over a LAN with some friends and we got nowhere. We held out for the more recents SD/IC patches with little improvement. I wouldn't be surprised if that's why the game isn't as popular as one would expect given the good reviews it has gotten. A lesson to be learned...

Also, if you're new to the game, don't bother reloading a saved game after it hits a minidump, it will generally encounter the same error despite repeated attempts.
Reply #6 Top

  Hi , its my 1st post on this forum and i hope it will help some people here. Im French and i have bought the french version of this game in a store. My begininning attempt to play online with this game was plagued by this minidump problem (and a chat bug for french version). My system is good (e8400, 8800gts...) and my drivers are up to date (the game was 1.05 too). So i started to loose faith in this game (solo get boring really fast without a campaign).

 But hopefully i found on a forum that you can download the english version of this game via the impulse program without buying a second key. Since i play with the english impulse 1.05 version i have yet to have a minidump and i am enjoying this game a lot. I hope it will help a few people :)

 ps: sorry for my bad english

Reply #7 Top

I have the english verison & my first multiplayer game was a minidump funfest.  Maybe I should get the French version ;)

Reply #8 Top

  Nevermind my last post , i have just had a minidump error last game ... Still english version seems more stable since it is my 1st in a week. Im afraid of joining team game again now :'( .

Reply #9 Top

Quoting KingBingo, reply 4
Hi Monk, is it possible with a game like Sins to allow players back into the game in the event of a crash or a disconnect if they are gone about a minute. Or is that just not going to happen in this game?
End of KingBingo's quote

 

Well, I'm not the monk, but in answer to your question, I suppose it is possible.  The problem is that since the game is hosted locally, the game would need to remember the IP address of where the game was and then would need a feature for you to rejoin; no such feature exists right now. 

There is another way to get around this problem.  If the people you are playing with are kind, you can rehost the game using the auto-saved copy.  If an auto-save isn't available, one of the people would need to save the game and then e-mail it too you.  I have done both before and it works fine.  Please note that this only works if you disconnected for reasons other than mini-dumping.  If you mini-dumped, then the game will just mini-dump again when you reload it.

Reply #10 Top

i hate minidump its is the gayest thing every and it wont stop it happens every game

 plz someone help me i beg you

 

Reply #11 Top

I won't touch solo with a ten foot pole, boring as easy as hell.  I only play multiplayer, and although I am semi-new, I play quite a bit.  In all my games I have had only one minidump, and it was after I won and I said to keep playing.  I play on a cheap laptop (without  a graphics card too), so I have the game close to the lowest settings.  I have never had a problem with SOASE besides the occasional tiny bit of lag, I am glad I don't get the minidumps, cause this is pretty much the best game ever.