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-   -   Finding the cause of an infinite-loop error (http://forums.wolflair.com/showthread.php?t=63975)

TheIronGolem February 29th, 2020 04:31 PM

Finding the cause of an infinite-loop error
 
Whenever you encounter infinite-loop errors, it's important to determine what condition is causing the error, so that the author of that content (which, in the case of Spheres of Power/Might, is me) can zero in on the correct thing to fix. Here's a quick guide to that:

1. Make a copy of the portfolio, so that you have something you can experiment on without risk. You really don't want to realize, right as game night is about to start, that you've stripped all the magic talents off your 16th-level Incanter and can't recall which ones they're supposed to have.

2. If the portfolio contains more than one character, determine which character is throwing the error. Do this by deleting one character at a time (this is why Step 1 is important!) and reloading (Ctrl+R) until you don't get the error anymore. Whichever character was most recently deleted is the culprit. Go back to your original portfolio that still has the character that produces the error, and export a copy of that character to another new portfolio.

3. Now we're going to narrow down which pick (i.e. feat, class ability, item, etc) on the character is throwing the error. Unequip ALL items on the character, and turn off ALL of their activated abilities (things like Combat Expertise or the Sneak Attack damage bonus). Do a quick reload (Ctrl+R) and see if the error persists. If it's gone, start reactivating abilities and re-equipping items until the error returns. Now you know which specific ability/item is causing the problem (which you can confirm by , and you can start yelling at whoever wrote it (which, again, is me if that thing is from SoP/SoM).

4. If Step 3 didn't produce any answers, repeat it, only instead of simply unequipping/disabling abilities, you will want to REMOVE them. Delete equipment, feats, custom class specials like Rogue Talents, anything that you added to the character by picking it from a menu. After deleting each thing, do a quick reload to see if the error persists. If not, then the thing you just deleted is probably the culprit - re-add it to confirm that.

Generally, I prefer to start by removing equipment. Then I take off anything representing applied effects - things like Adjustments, Shapeshift effects from SoP, etc. After that, I remove custom class/racial specials, followed by class levels.

Yes, this is likely to get tedious. I'm sorry. These errors are notoriously time-consuming to track down, because they provide no information on what specific pick is the cause. We just have to keep fishing until something bites.

5. Once you've found your culprit, you need to prep this portfolio to send to the author for analysis. Ideally, it's best if you remove all other picks from the character at this time. If removing other picks makes the error go away, it's probably a combination of two specific things on the character that's triggering the error - which is valuable information that helps the author fix the problem! Otherwise, stripping down the character to the bare minimum while still keeping the error helps the author by reducing their search space and eliminating false leads.

6. Now that you've stripped the portfolio down, you need to get it into the hands of the author of the content. Figure out who that person (or company) is.

If the problem item is from content by Drop Dead Studios (such as Spheres of Power/Might), post the .por file to this thread with an explanation, or email it to me at dropdeadstudios dot herolab at gmail dot com.

If the content is from the Community Pack (which includes some popular 3PP content like Path of War and Ultimate Psionics), post it to this thread.

If the content is from another 3PP, you will need to get in touch with that company through their website or email (this thread has contact information for some of them)

Finally, if the content is from first-party material, use this page to report a bug to Lone Wolf.


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