Bug: Abadan Peninsula Black Screen - Bug

[The_Think_Tanker]

Greetings folks!

I've been creating a few scenarios and small battles from some friends and I to play through, and in the process of doing so I've encountered a bug that affected each of our separate copies of WinSPMBT and was repeatable. I'll list the conditions that we could replicate below:

Version: v14 CD & v16 CD (tested with v16, still occurred)

Resolution: Desktop (1920x1080), Windowed

Map:

Map 40 - Abadan Peninsula/Island, Iran 100x200

Countries:

Iraq (Human Players), India (AI) (though this bug was repeatable with other nations and time periods as well)

Era:

June, 1987 (as above, was repeatable with other eras)

Issue:

Screen instantaneously reverts to a black overlay, can still scroll around the map but only a small sliver of the map is visible through the overlay. There were some instances which resulted in a hard crash, and one which resulted in a freeze, but these were rare and couldn't be reliably replicated.

How to Replicate:

There were numerous instances in which the overlay seemed to occur, but the most reliable to cause it was scrolling all the way to the right side of the map, scrolling to the top, all the way to the left, and then down the left side of the map, where the overlay would shortly appear. Zooming in and out and scrolling to the top of the map also seemed to cause it fairly regularly.

Computer Specs:
- Intel i7-9750H CPU (6 cores)
- GTX 1650 GPU (4 GB)
- 16 GB RAM
- Windows 10 OS
- 2-TB Samsung EVO 860 SSD


Worth noting, I was unable to repeat this issue with other maps, but I also tested only a handful of other types to verify that the issue wasn't widely prolific. There were also brief periods of time where the overlay issue would seem "fixed" until it'd come back later in the turn. Also worth noting once the black overlay was encountered all maps tested would have the same black overlay (with exception to the map editor) until the game was exited and restarted. I've attached an image, as well as a link below of what the issue looks like on my end.

If you have any additional questions that I can provide information for, please don't hesitate to let me know. I tried my best searching through the forum to find similar instances of this issue but was unable to find similar examples. I'd also note that since this was tested by myself and other players on various different machines, it is unlikely that the issue is rooted in my hardware, though previous instances of "black screen" bugs did seem to be GPU-related.

Any insight, suggestions, or feedback you're able to provide is greatly appreciated, and please let me know if there is anything further I can do to help!

Black Overlay Screenshot:
http://imgur.com/a/OwnuaIj

[Mobhack]

There does seem to be something poisonous in that map in the game - but not the extended map editor.

I simply loaded it as a custom map in the game scenario editor and tried to scroll, then got the black screen as described.

I'll try to figure out what is doing that - and why the extended map editor is not exploding with it. There will be some small thing different between the two. Finding it however is the pain...

[The_Think_Tanker]

Originally Posted by Mobhack

There does seem to be something poisonous in that map in the game - but not the extended map editor.

I simply loaded it as a custom map in the game scenario editor and tried to scroll, then got the black screen as described.

I'll try to figure out what is doing that - and why the extended map editor is not exploding with it. There will be some small thing different between the two. Finding it however is the pain...

I am not sure if it is any help, but while the scenario editor seemed to encounter this bug I could not replicate it when clicking the "View Map" tab on the Battle Purchases screen, but as soon as you got to Unit Deployment you could encounter the issue again.

If this is true it would imply there is some differences between the "View Map" and the actual map you Deploy onto, or that the poisonous element is only there when you start playing the map.

Not sure either way, but just wanted to share some observations I made while further testing it, in case they may help at all.

[Mobhack]

I transferred the map to WW2 and tried it. After a bit and after troop purchases it went squiffy when deploying them. It seems to be related to having troops on the table somehow.

Something to try to track down when I get some free time.

[DRG]

Originally Posted by The_Think_Tanker

Map:

Map 40 - Abadan Peninsula/Island, Iran 100x200

Countries:

Iraq (Human Players), India (AI) (though this bug was repeatable with other nations and time periods as well)

Era:

June, 1987 (as above, was repeatable with other eras)

Issue:

Screen instantaneously reverts to a black overlay, can still scroll around the map but only a small sliver of the map is visible through the overlay. There were some instances which resulted in a hard crash, and one which resulted in a freeze, but these were rare and couldn't be reliably replicated.

How to Replicate:

There were numerous instances in which the overlay seemed to occur, but the most reliable to cause it was scrolling all the way to the right side of the map, scrolling to the top, all the way to the left, and then down the left side of the map, where the overlay would shortly appear. Zooming in and out and scrolling to the top of the map also seemed to cause it fairly regularly.

Not saying it does not happen, your report and Andys confirmation says it does

However.....

I followed the "How to Replicate" instructions to the letter and scrolled all the way to the right side of the map, then all the way to the top, then all the way to the left, and then down the left side of the map then I repeated that test at different zoom levels then repeated it with the same right-top- left-down pattern with a new zoom level at each change in direction

Works perfectly for me, no crash not even a blip and I followed what Andy did "...... loaded it as a custom map in the game scenario editor and tried to scroll, then got the black screen as described."

You said ......."this bug was repeatable with other nations and time periods as well)" I was using what is my default ATM and that is Ukraine Vs Russian May 2022 so I switch to your example of Iraq (Human Players), India (AI) June, 1987

Worked perfectly and I tried it with the mini-map normal and expanded and with the Hex grid on and off

Then I tried the same pattern in reverse ... no problem at all

SO...... there is a problem for some. What I would like is for others to try the same How to Replicate and report their results

Another test for you and Andy------------- try turning off map text ( Press M )


Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-2130 CPU @ 3.40GHz 3.40 GHz
Installed RAM 6.00 GB (5.88 GB usable)
System type Windows 10 Home 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

[Mobhack]

Yes - immediately going into the edit map function (in the scenario editor) and pressing M to disable map text seems to do the trick.

After doing that I went and bought troops and then deployed them - no black screen.

In the middle of the deplyment I pressed M again to turn map text back on - still no black screen.

My thoughts are that that map has at least 1 bad map string. Turning map text off then on again seems to cull the bad data. A save from the scenario editor may fix that - will experiment later.

[Mobhack]

Confirmed - saving the map in the scenario editor looks like it fixed the (presumed) bad data.

- enter scenario editor, immediately select custom map, load map #40
- now select edit map
- in the map editor, press M to turn map text OFF
- then press M to turn it back ON again
- now save map to same slot with same name
- exit game, then restart (just to be sure all is cleared down)
- enter scenario editor, select map 40 as the custom map
- purchase troops and proceed to deployment phase
- no black screen from panning map this time!

[DRG]

EDIT..... attachment removed. Anyone interested use the version posted below POST # 19

[The_Think_Tanker]

So I've tested with the map text on and...hooray! It works flawlessly and I've not encountered a black screen with the text off. However, turning it off and on doesn't seem to work for me, even though it worked for Andy.

I've tested by editing the map text off/on in the map editor, and saving myself and I still ran into the black screen. I tried dropping in the editing map file zipped above and it still gave me a black screen. So it seems that whatever Andy did to fix it on his end still persists on mine, for some reason. I've confirmed the text definitely seems to be the problem, because if I am mid-left on the map and turn it on in the deployment screen it immediately gives me a black screen.

So Don, your solution appears to of worked which I am immensely grateful for, but I cannot seem to "cure" the text on this map like Andy did. Is there anyway to mass-remove text from a map? As the biggest problem I am now encountering is that the map turns the text 'on' by default anytime I load it. I'll keep retrying the proposed solution and see if I can quash this bug through repetition, or if trying a different way seems to work. Thank you both for your timely responses and valuable feedback, as I seem to be able to temporarily quash the problem, which is appreciated!

[DRG]

Let us be clear here.... are you testing the modified map I posted or the original ( text on /off>?

Don't really care about the original any longer the mod I posted is the only one. I know it works for me but so did the original. Andy has not tested my change yet. You say......" your solution appears to of worked" then go on and say "but I cannot seem to "cure" the text on this map like Andy did" which seems to indicate you are still using the original.

Andys test for map text on and off was what I suggested needed to be tested but that is now old news

Not interested in how the original reacts any longer, just the mod I posted