PBEM problems (Full Version)

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Ironpaw -> PBEM problems (12/30/2002 9:51:04 AM)

My buddy and I are playing some of the SCN back and forth.

ON our first one he sent me a turn and after I over wrote the save game and went to play it - nothing really happend for a minute then when I moved the mouse I was sent to the main menu. He sent a couple different saves, including a turn back and nothing worked.

We started a new scenario and something similar is happening - he sends the turn, I overwrite and try to load the game - it freezes - I move mouse or click - I get a quarter second of the main menu screen and then the game loads - no password and I am the allies - were I am supposed to be the Japenese.

Is this a problem with him saving the game, maybe?

Is this a problem with my email - I have MSN and it seems very boggy.

A little more info - we are both upgraded to 2.20 and are curently playing scen 12 were before it was scen 6.

We both have the game saved in slot 18.

Thanx for any help.



gus -> Re: PBEM problems (12/30/2002 10:20:25 AM)

Hi Ironpaw

Unless you are having email problems outside of your UV PBEM issue I would doubt that your ISP is the problem. So the problem is probably with the UV files themselves.

So here are a few ideas to try;

[T]UV PBEM files are generally ~250K - 310K in size with version 2.2, see if the files you received are in this range.

Some people still zip up their UV PBEM files, if this is the case make sure they have been unzipped properly on your side. Better yet tell your opponent to stop zipping them up and see if this helps.

You have stated that both you and your opponent are using the 2.20 version of UV. Both of you should check the version number on the UV main screen in the lower right corner to insure that it was installed sucessfully.

If you have any other UV buddies send them your PBEM file along with your passwordor the file and see if they have the same problem.

Scan your system for viruses. While I doubt that the UV files are infected themselves one may already be present on your system.
[/T]

Probably you have tried all of this already but it is all I could think of off the top of my head :)

Gus



Ironpaw -> (12/30/2002 10:45:30 AM)

Thanx for the help gus - yes the files are around 270 no zipping.

I sent my password to my buddy and he ran fine.

Hoping not a virus - might have to do a better check - I have Macaffe on the files and they do not detect any.

I have the 2.20 icon and will check with my buddy.

again thanx.



Knavey -> (12/30/2002 11:02:25 AM)

This problem with a freeze was happening with Feinder and myself when we were using hotmail to email our files to one another.

I would upload the combat results 001 file and the next turn and they would show as aabout 250k in size in my hotmail account. When he downloaded them, they would show up as 250k, but when downloaded and saved, if you looked at the properties, it would only be a 50k file. They don't work when they are 50k. The exhibit the exact symptoms that you mentioned earlier in your post. It would just freeze.

We stopped using hotmail, and started a new game using our regular isp accounts, and so far the game seems to be fine...except for the post I just made above.

It may be a problem with MSN (since they are "Hotmail"). Feinder tried to explain it to me...UV zips their files automatically now, but realize that due to the traffic at MSN, they may also zip it again as it goes through their server. This double zipping could be causing the problems, but we really don't know for sure. We just know that we have not had the problems reoccur since switching from hotmail.



Ironpaw -> (12/30/2002 11:16:14 AM)

I thought I had seen someone say something like that on the boards - problem with hotmail - and that was the exact reason I mentioned MSN - I guess I will have to change ISP's then? That kind of blows, but my addiction to this game is allot stronger than any loyalty to MSN.

Thanx for the information - I was starting to lean this way myself and you confirming it helps allot.



SoulBlazer -> (12/30/2002 12:10:47 PM)

Yes, for some reason, Hotmail started to chop some files off a couple weeks ago. Not always and not all, but some, and it's affecting my PBEM games. They never had this problem before so I'm hoping they fix it soon.



Feinder -> (12/30/2002 12:58:38 PM)

The short of what happens is that
1. UV compresses (zips) the saved game automatically.
2. You send something to Hotmail, and it sits on their server waiting to get picked up the recipiet.
3. As you send it to the server, Hotmail automatically compresses (zips) your file to save room. There are obviously ALOt of people sending/storing ALOT of files on Hotmail, so imagine the space required to save all thos JPGs, WAV, and UVS files. So like I said, I'm betting heavily that they compress the files while they're stored on their server.
4. When you go to get the file from Hotmail, it's uncompressed and sent down to you.
5. UV then umpresses it again when it goes to load it.

The wrinkle is that, the way a compression routine works is that it looks for groups of data that look alike, and stores them "symbolically" by a group of data of shorter length, and then makes a "key" that says this 'short verion" of data actually represents this much longer version. When it unzips the compressed file, it compares the "key" the short data parts and expands them into the full length.

But when you compress something several times, you heavily increase the odds that one of those shorter data pieces is interpreted wrong. And it only takes 1 byte to be interpreted wrong (like maybe the unzip thinks it's actually an "end of file" marker instead of useful data), and your file is dead.

And that's the quick and dirty on how compression (zipping) routines work, and why Hotmail is bad for UV.

We're not seeing a problem a problem with the CONTENT using Outlook Express, but we are having the problem that random seed for the Combat Replay is different.

-F-



Ironpaw -> (12/30/2002 9:03:02 PM)

I was fearing it was my hotmail.


I think I will change ISP's - I wasn't very happy with the speed I was connecting at or the a waiting for uploading and sending the emails out.

I had a pretty good one before, so I think I will just go back to them.

Thanx everyone for your info and help.


This is a great game and I love PBEM.



Point Luck -> (12/30/2002 11:48:49 PM)

I would like to confirm that it is not the UV PBEM files but resides with MSN. This problem has beengoing on for several weeks now. Don't waste anytime with MSN supoort they will just run you around your machine insisting that the problem is yours not thiers.

After three weeks of watching MSN tech support make up everyway possible excuse that it was my machine (never once admitting that it was thier compresson methods) I finally opened an free E-mail account on Yahoo.com. Opps guess what happened NO MORE PROBLEM.

I might add it's not just with PBEM files it is also any attachment sent through MSN. I started watching the file size if the files where not at least 520 kb's for each game file I knew that MSN stepped on the attachment.



SoulBlazer -> (12/31/2002 12:42:17 AM)

I've allready paid to get my Hotmail account upgraded to 10MB, so I'm just crossing my fingers and hoping the file problem gets fixed soon. If enough people complain they may do something. And yes, it includes ALL files, not just UV games. I'd say it happens around 1/3 of the time.



Ironpaw -> (12/31/2002 9:36:30 PM)

Thanx for the help everyone. :)


Maybe I will look into the Yahoo - deal - that might work out well. At least until I get a new ISP.


I suggest to anyone out there using hotmail or MSN to abandon it as your PBEM source immediatly - it is extremely frustrating.



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