More info about my sync -500 problem

[Farnaby]

When starting to sync, I get asked if I want to overwrite the cloud or the local data.

The difference between the 2 data sets is that my local data has 2 game sessions more, the other data is the same.

I made a backup and tried to overwrite the cloud.
This resulted in the -500 sync error.

I then tried again and chose to overwrite the local data.
This worked without an error.

Restoring the backup and tried to overwrite the cloud again and received the -500 again.

Hope this info helps.

 

[liz]

Farnaby, thanks for the information. Please make sure that you include this information in your support email as well so that all of the information around the error is in once place for the development team.

 

[Mystic Lemur]

I also had a -500 error right after updating. I tried again today and it synced without error. Should I submit a "Me too!" bug report?

 

[Galahan]

I had the same issue than Farnaby and did exactly the same as he with the same results. But now I have the following error message

 

[liz]

I also had a -500 error right after updating. I tried again today and it synced without error. Should I submit a "Me too!" bug report?

Yes, please submit a bug report always. This gives David and the rest of the team more data.

 

[Dark Lord Galen]

Standing well OUTSIDE the programing fence on this... BUT sometimes a cold eye review sees more clearly....
I have used (extensively) most all the features within RW (even unlocking some of the "locked" categories, I know 30 lashes with a wet noodle is forth coming).
BUT I have BARELY used the player view features.(may have turned them on once or twice when I first installed the software)..

I generally utilize RW as a DM management tool Pre/During/Post game and fortunately have not had the -500 issue that seems to not go away (knocking on wood here).

I am curious if others use this particular feature more extensively, could there, may there, be a correlation?

Purely speculation....

 

[AEIOU]

I don't touch the player view stuff and could really care less about it for the forseeable future. I suffer the dread -500.

 

[Indus101]

My speculative theory was that it had something to do with the amount of data entered into the Realm. It would make sense then that more people would encounter the problem as more time went along (and their Realms got progressively larger).

Do those experiencing the -500 problem have large projects?

To my knowledge, I was the second person to experience this (back in September), and I do tend to put in several hours of work on my realm everyday, with topics, maps, sound cues, etc. numbering well into the hundreds if not more.

Just a thought.

 

[DMG]

I encountered the freezing on sync bug last week.

My realm file is ~37MB in size (contains 2 realms). There's a few large maps & some Hero Lab files, so there's no other media files (music / sfx etc).

I only use it for basic stuff like smart images & standard topics. There's some custom tags, but nothing out of the ordinary.

 

[AEIOU]

My theory is that I move and rename and recategorize things too much. I'm putting the poor program through convulsions....

Hmm, over here? No, let's move it there. Red background, no lavendar, no plain, plain, yes that works best. Prefix, no tags. Nope, not a Quest, move it to Location. Maybe I do want prefix instead of tags. Erase the alias and hope that the linkages aren't going to be too much of a problem. Prefixes AND tags. Maybe I should do some smart images for a while.... And on and on and on.... And RW just puts up with my fickleness without complaining and only occasionally spits out a -500 to tell me to knock it off.

 

[Indus101]

Well, I got rid of a bunch of stuff to try and streamline my Realm, just in case that was the case. Right now I'm at about 140 mb for the Master.Realm file, which doesn't seem too bad considering. However, I've only input the first of ten chapters for the campaign, so that might be swelling up.

I mean, I'm assuming when it syncs it takes all the changes, but does that mean it uploads the entire Master.Realm file each time? A year down the road, I don't want to have a 2 gig file uploading every time I sync.

 

[Dark Lord Galen]

Well, I got rid of a bunch of stuff to try and streamline my Realm, just in case that was the case. Right now I'm at about 140 mb for the Master.Realm file, which doesn't seem too bad considering.

I'm just a fraction over 110mb myself, so not certain is if file bloat that is in effect....

I mean, I'm assuming when it syncs it takes all the changes, but does that mean it uploads the entire Master.Realm file each time? A year down the road, I don't want to have a 2 gig file uploading every time I sync.

Wondered that as well...

I don't touch the player view stuff and could really care less about it for the forseeable future. I suffer the dread -500.

Like you, I don't see the need for player view personally (most of my players attend in person), and my setup just really doesn't need it. Just the way we play .....

My theory is that I move and rename and recategorize things too much. I'm putting the poor program through convulsions....

LOL wondered on that as well..... a lot of "my convulsions" are similar... but have resisted (with mixed success) making those changes you describe until -500 is resolved and the share between realms comes to being.

 

[AEIOU]

I'm putting my realms on a diet.... My backup from July was 350MB.... I know it's been eating pretty well since then even though I also implemented some serious portion rationing.

 

[MaxSupernova]

I was wondering the same thing about file sizes.

I've been going through and replacing all my images. I open them in RW, then copy to photoshop and reduce the file size (physical dimensions and jpg compression) to make them much smaller.

I brought it down to just over 20 meg from about 70 meg. I don't know if that's really affecting anything, but I'll keep trying to keep it as small as possible without really affecting quality.

 

[DMG]

I'd assume (here we go... ) that it would only sync incrementally. So any data marked as "dirty" or changed would be synced with the server.

 

[rob]

We worked through the weekend and we think we have a handle on two separate issues that are the cause of these errors. We're testing everything now, which isn't easy, since we have to properly setup suitable test cases in the first place. We're working to get these issues resolved as quickly as possible.

FYI, the syncing logic goes through extensive gyrations to make sure that it only syncs the data that has actually changed. That applies in BOTH directions. If you only change one thing locally, that's the only thing that gets sent up to the server. Similarly, if you then sync that down to another computer that was previously synced, that's the only thing that gets sent down. That being said, given all of the interweaving nature of Realm Works, changing one thing can have a domino effect on a variety of things under the covers. All that has to be properly accounted for, and it gets quite complicated.

This web of inter-dependencies is the source of most of the "sync -500" errors that users have received at various points. It's also why only a relatively small number of users get the errors each time, since it's wholly dependent on exactly what you've done within your realm.

Right now, we send each record that has been changed in its entirety. However, we've got things structured in a way that we'll ultimately be able to only send the portions of records that have actually changed. That's an optimization that we haven't addressed yet, though.

Oh, and before someone gets worried due to an incorrect assumption, lots of stuff is already broken out into completely separate pieces so we can avoid sending data unnecessarily. For example, if you change a map pin, nothing about the underlying image has to be re-transmitted. If you modify the reveal mask for a smart image, nothing about the underlying image has to be re-transmitted. The image itself only gets transmitted if you actually replace the image with something else. This thing is pretty well engineered IMNSHO.

 

[davidp]

I was wondering the same thing about file sizes.

I've been going through and replacing all my images. I open them in RW, then copy to photoshop and reduce the file size (physical dimensions and jpg compression) to make them much smaller.

I wouldn't always assume JPG will be smaller. I would also suggest trying to save as PNG as it can have better compression than JPG for certain kinds of images, such as maps with relatively few colors. JPG is really optimized for photographic type of data and can do wonders with that type of image, but not do so well with map-type images.

 

[davidp]

Another point about this is that the sync error -500 is a catch-all error. If it doesn't fall into any other bucket, it becomes a -500. This means the underlying causes can be very different even when several people get a -500 error.

 

[Dark Lord Galen]

Another point about this is that the sync error -500 is a catch-all error. If it doesn't fall into any other bucket, it becomes a -500. This means the underlying causes can be very different even when several people get a -500 error.

Ah that explains seeing a myriad of seemingly unrelated issues all being gathered in one bucket (-500)and the end user laymen (aka us)wrongly perceiving the cause as being related or the same in all cases.
Thanks Dave for clarifying.

 

[MaxSupernova]

I wouldn't always assume JPG will be smaller. I would also suggest trying to save as PNG as it can have better compression than JPG for certain kinds of images, such as maps with relatively few colors. JPG is really optimized for photographic type of data and can do wonders with that type of image, but not do so well with map-type images.

I'm lowering the jpg quality percentages, which drastically lowers file size, in most cases without drastically affecting image quality. Most of my images are photos, so jpg is the most appropriate.