Ratingrecords bug survived

Thunder · 05-05-2006, 12:09 PM

I heard about this, but it was pretty scary when it happened.

Being about a '5' on the computer literacy scale, I hunted around and saw the file had vanished from the Db I created. There was a .bak file, but I tried to rename it and that didn't seem to work.

Finally, I just coped the one from the default Db. Only thing it did was create a blank record for Joe Grim . . the only fighter I had edited. He was already retired in my uni, so no biggie.

(Whew)

Fortunately, I hadn't done much tinkering with the game, otherwise I guess I would have been up the creek and padleless??

I don't know what can be done to keep this from happening, but it should be Priority No. 1 for the development team.

If I do start tinkering with ratings, what's the best thing to do? Just copy that file and stash it far, far away from the OOTP folder after each change??

Also, any programmers out there . . . how do you edit a .dat file??

Thanks

JCWeb · 05-06-2006, 02:51 AM

Yes, I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment that this is the most annoying bug associated with this fine game--I think it finally got OOTP's attention sometime last Dec. when one person asked for a refund because of the lack of answers from tech support to his queries. For those who want suggestions on how to deal with the problem, there's a couple of threads on this in this forum and in the tech support folder if you look back far enough. Best piece of advice is to save the "ratingrecords.dat" file and also the "fighters.dat" files any time you change them or add a new fighter to your universe. I just copy the file and anytime I get hit by the bug, I exit the game immediately, delete the corrputed file, then change the name of the backup to the appropriate .dat file, then restart the game and the problem is fixed (remembering of course to back it up again after exiting just in case it re-occurs).

My sense is the bug only began to occur with TB2 as one of the changes was to separate the "ratingrecords.dat" file from the rest of the "fighters.dat" file so you could have a separate ratings record file for a fighter who moved to a different weight class while retaining all the other records, history and data for that fighter. There has been some speculation as to what causes the bug, but frankly I have no idea. The new patch has not eliminated it entirely, although I think it may occur less frequently now. It may have something to do with how different computers are configured, a possible virus issue, maybe with how the game is shut down or exited, possibly the frequency with which you download or add boxers, I dunno, but it sure is the most annoying thing when it happens.

Thunder · 05-06-2006, 09:25 AM

If it helps anyone, I think mine was shut-down related.

I was in a long stretch of . . search for pics, look at dozens/hundreds, download, edit and place pics in TBCB2, open TBCB2 to see if the pic worked . . repeat. Anyway I did this for hours and the puter starting slowing down . . must have actually had to shut down with the game running.

Cap · 05-06-2006, 10:08 AM

Does this only happen with imported new fighters or can internally created fighters trigger it too?

Cap

mh2365 · 05-06-2006, 11:23 AM

See this is why I never shut down my game!!!

sabotai · 05-06-2006, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cap

Does this only happen with imported new fighters or can internally created fighters trigger it too?

Cap

The only time when I've gotten this error is when importing fighters. It happens when there is already that figher existing in my database, and I click the option to create a new one.

So I make sure never to create a new fighter when importing (I just don't import the fighter) and I havne't had the problem since.

Tomato Can · 05-06-2006, 04:07 PM

Same with me Sab.

That solved my problems. But who knows what could happen tomorrow?

05-05-2006, 12:09 PM	#1 (permalink)
Thunder Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Connecticut Posts: 3,431 Thanks: 7 Thanked 23x in 23 posts	Ratingrecords bug survived I heard about this, but it was pretty scary when it happened. Being about a '5' on the computer literacy scale, I hunted around and saw the file had vanished from the Db I created. There was a .bak file, but I tried to rename it and that didn't seem to work. Finally, I just coped the one from the default Db. Only thing it did was create a blank record for Joe Grim . . the only fighter I had edited. He was already retired in my uni, so no biggie. (Whew) Fortunately, I hadn't done much tinkering with the game, otherwise I guess I would have been up the creek and padleless?? I don't know what can be done to keep this from happening, but it should be Priority No. 1 for the development team. If I do start tinkering with ratings, what's the best thing to do? Just copy that file and stash it far, far away from the OOTP folder after each change?? Also, any programmers out there . . . how do you edit a .dat file?? Thanks __________________ "I wish I was 50 years younger and I'd kick your ass."

05-06-2006, 02:51 AM	#2 (permalink)
JCWeb All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 1,052 Thanks: 0 Thanked 15x in 14 posts	Agree it should be a top priority ... Yes, I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment that this is the most annoying bug associated with this fine game--I think it finally got OOTP's attention sometime last Dec. when one person asked for a refund because of the lack of answers from tech support to his queries. For those who want suggestions on how to deal with the problem, there's a couple of threads on this in this forum and in the tech support folder if you look back far enough. Best piece of advice is to save the "ratingrecords.dat" file and also the "fighters.dat" files any time you change them or add a new fighter to your universe. I just copy the file and anytime I get hit by the bug, I exit the game immediately, delete the corrputed file, then change the name of the backup to the appropriate .dat file, then restart the game and the problem is fixed (remembering of course to back it up again after exiting just in case it re-occurs). My sense is the bug only began to occur with TB2 as one of the changes was to separate the "ratingrecords.dat" file from the rest of the "fighters.dat" file so you could have a separate ratings record file for a fighter who moved to a different weight class while retaining all the other records, history and data for that fighter. There has been some speculation as to what causes the bug, but frankly I have no idea. The new patch has not eliminated it entirely, although I think it may occur less frequently now. It may have something to do with how different computers are configured, a possible virus issue, maybe with how the game is shut down or exited, possibly the frequency with which you download or add boxers, I dunno, but it sure is the most annoying thing when it happens. Last edited by JCWeb; 01-14-2007 at 10:21 AM. Reason: spelling error

05-06-2006, 09:25 AM	#3 (permalink)
Thunder Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Connecticut Posts: 3,431 Thanks: 7 Thanked 23x in 23 posts	If it helps anyone, I think mine was shut-down related. I was in a long stretch of . . search for pics, look at dozens/hundreds, download, edit and place pics in TBCB2, open TBCB2 to see if the pic worked . . repeat. Anyway I did this for hours and the puter starting slowing down . . must have actually had to shut down with the game running. __________________ "I wish I was 50 years younger and I'd kick your ass."

05-06-2006, 10:08 AM	#4 (permalink)
Cap Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Large Province in God's Country Posts: 4,602 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 22 Thanked 81x in 60 posts	Does this only happen with imported new fighters or can internally created fighters trigger it too? Cap __________________ "...There were Giants in Those Days.."

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05-06-2006, 11:23 AM	#5 (permalink)
mh2365 Banned Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: louisville Posts: 14,941 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3x in 3 posts Infractions: 0/2 (101)	See this is why I never shut down my game!!!

05-06-2006, 04:07 PM	#7 (permalink)
Tomato Can Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 226 Thanks: 0 Thanked 7x in 4 posts	Same with me Sab. That solved my problems. But who knows what could happen tomorrow?