The EVN v1.0.2 "Rescue Tomak" mission (mďsn ID # 720 & 719) of the Rebel string goes into an infinite loop at the ReturnStel due to an error in the mission 719 definition. To wit:

AvailBits (test) = b428
OnAccept (set) = !b428 g262 A719
OnAbort (set) = b428 S719

The culprits here are the "A719" and "S719" expressions.
Translated into my approximation of english, this means that when the player responds to
the mission dësc reqarding the granting of item 262, mission 719 proceeds to clear NCB 428, grants the player oütf 262 and then aborts itself. The abort then causes the mission to be re-activated causing the game engine to once again evaluate the "OnAccept" statement which aborts again... over and over and over. Until either something runs out of resource and your computer crashes or the player runs out of patience and CMD-opt-ESCapes out of the application.

A quick fix is a simple plug that redefines mďsn 719 so that the OnAbort (set) statement is empty. However, I do not know if the Rebel string is then broken, since the intent may have been to start some other mission as a follow-on after 719 ends. In EVN 1.0.1 the mission 719 definition had no OnAbort (set) statement which was changed to this infinte-loop situation for EVN v1.0.2.

If anyone has any insight as to why this was changed for EVN v1.0.2, it would be appreciated if they would share it.

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Quote

Originally posted by Arturo:
**The EVN v1.0.2 "Rescue Tomak" mission (mďsn ID # 720 & 719) of the Rebel string goes into an infinite loop at the ReturnStel due to an error in the mission 719 definition. To wit:
**

This has been extensively discussed on the main Nova board, and - I think - fixed by Slagblah.

See topics:-
Nova Crash issue in 1.0.2, Pirate String
Ion dissipation device
Countless Ion Dissipators...

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(This message has been edited by Cruachan (edited 09-18-2002).)

Thanks Cruachan I saw that thread, but it doesn't address the issue of what the change from v1.0.1 to v1.0.2 was intended to accomplish. I have no problem working around the *-loop. I'm just wondering what might be unaccessed because of the error in the update.

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Indeed, this is a known problem, and will be fixed in a future update.

mcb

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"If it's not on fire, it's a software problem."

I think it was likely an attempt to prevent players from aborting the mission to get rid of the hostile ships. In my opinion, it would have been easier and safer to do this by unchecking the 'Can Abort' flag (after all, the mission's invisible; how are you going to abort it anyway?).

One thing to look out for if you're planning on fixing this yourself is that simply removing the 'S719' directive will result in the mission popping up at every landfall giving you an Ion Dissipator every time. The fix plug on my EVN Quick Fix page (see sig) corrects this mission without the side effects.

(Edit: Oh, and clearing the onAbort field entirely will cancel the special ships of the mission. My fix removes both the A719 from the onAccept and the entire onAbort field, while at the same time adding a 'Chase off ships' shipGoal and an onShipDone of A719.)

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(This message has been edited by Slagblah (edited 09-18-2002).)

Quote

Originally posted by Slagblah:
**I think it was likely an attempt to prevent players from aborting the mission to get rid of the hostile ships. In my opinion, it would have been easier and safer to do this by unchecking the 'Can Abort' flag (after all, the mission's invisible; how are you going to abort it anyway?).

One thing to look out for if you're planning on fixing this yourself is that simply removing the 'S719' directive will result in the mission popping up at every landfall giving you an Ion Dissipator every time. The fix plug on my EVN Quick Fix page (see sig) corrects this mission without the side effects.

(Edit: Oh, and clearing the onAbort field entirely will cancel the special ships of the mission. My fix removes both the A719 from the onAccept and the entire onAbort field, while at the same time adding a 'Chase off ships' shipGoal and an onShipDone of A719.)

**

Nice karma, you deserve it if not more.

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"The best revenge is a life well lived." -My father

I just ran into this... Slagblah, does the "combined fixes" on your page take care of it?

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Quote

Originally posted by Neon Soldier:
**I just ran into this... Slagblah, does the "combined fixes" on your page take care of it?
**

Yes, it is included in the Combined Fixes plug.

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