Crash to desktop, with recurring error code in .dmp file

f1rpo · Oct 8, 2022

I would recommend copying the _NO_DEBUG_HEAP=1 setting because the VS Debug heap slows down debugging and can obscure certain errors (while possibly revealing others) – but those Python errors shouldn't occur either way. My command line argument for loading the mod assumes that there's a copy of CivilizationIV.ini in the same folder as Civ4BeyondSword.exe (and that that ini file loads the mod). This setup allows making other debug-friendly settings in the ini that'll only apply when debugging. Would be simpler not to copy the ini and to just use mod=... instead of ini=... in VS. In any case, the VS debug config does not affect how the DLL is compiled, so, if the DLL is not behaving as expected when loading the mod from the Advanced menu (without involving VS), then something else has to be the cause. Is the source code from my post or from dave_uk's (third attachment)? I guess either of those should work. I've only seen your linker output. If you do a full rebuild (Ctrl+Alt+F7), is there also output stating that each translation unit is being compiled?

Code:

1>  Building source list
1>  Running fastdep
1>  _precompile.cpp
1>  BetterBTSAI.cpp
(etc.)

f1rpo · Oct 8, 2022

Here's my VS output from a rebuild using the project and source files that I had uploaded. I'm also attaching the resulting DLL. Does this one work in lieu of dave_uk's? (When attempting to load the mod via "Advanced" or through a shortcut, i.e. no VS, no debugger.)

Spoiler :

Re-loader · Oct 8, 2022

Gonna try that. Quick question, as I'm checking I've got everything set up correctly, Do I need all the files from BTSGameCoreDLLDepends, namely Microsoft SDK v6.0 and Microsoft Visual C++ Toolkit 2003 SP1 files. Where do the MS 2003 SP1 files go?

f1rpo · Oct 8, 2022

They could probably be trimmed down further, but it's hard to say e.g. which headers exactly the DLL (indirectly) includes. The two folders can be placed anywhere, so long as the PSDK and TOOLKIT variables in Makefile.settings are set accordingly. If no errors occur during compilation, then this part is probably working correctly.

Re-loader · Oct 8, 2022

OK, well previously I was having no errors up to F7.
I tried using dave uk's source code with no success, and now having reverted to using the files in leoreth's thread, I'm getting this

Spoiler :

I was doing OK earlier but have messed things up.

Re-loader · Oct 8, 2022

f1rpo said:
I would recommend copying the _NO_DEBUG_HEAP=1 setting because the VS Debug heap slows down debugging and can obscure certain errors (while possibly revealing others) – but those Python errors shouldn't occur either way. My command line argument for loading the mod assumes that there's a copy of CivilizationIV.ini in the same folder as Civ4BeyondSword.exe (and that that ini file loads the mod). This setup allows making other debug-friendly settings in the ini that'll only apply when debugging. Would be simpler not to copy the ini and to just use mod=... instead of ini=... in VS. In any case, the VS debug config does not affect how the DLL is compiled, so, if the DLL is not behaving as expected when loading the mod from the Advanced menu (without involving VS), then something else has to be the cause. Is the source code from my post or from dave_uk's (third attachment)? I guess either of those should work. I've only seen your linker output. If you do a full rebuild (Ctrl+Alt+F7), is there also output stating that each translation unit is being compiled?

Code:

1> Building source list 1> Running fastdep 1> _precompile.cpp 1> BetterBTSAI.cpp (etc.)

I'm using mod=
I'm using the source code from BTS SDK develop in the Leoreth thread.

f1rpo · Oct 8, 2022

Re-loader said:
[...] having reverted to using the files in leoreth's thread

A DLL compiled from the unmodified BtS source won't be compatible with the other LoR assets. But, to take a step back, you could compile a debug DLL using Leoreth's files and then see if that works in a mod that only consists of an Assets folder with the debug DLL inside. Looking at that latest error message, the cl.exe in the TOOLKIT should be used, not the one that comes with VS. Though I'm not sure if that's what's causing the error.

Re-loader · Oct 8, 2022

Starting from scratch now.

Spoiler :

Makefile.settings

Spoiler :

I think the problem is there ^

f1rpo · Oct 8, 2022

Seems that the TARGET variable isn't getting set. The vcxproj file should be responsible for that. Can also review that in VS. The "build command line" should say something like this:

Spoiler :

The error message comes from the Civ Makefile, so, clearly, the correct makefile gets processed. But perhaps you've created a new vcxproj?
Your output also says that The command "nmake Debug" exited with code 2. I see no such command in Leoreth's vcxproj.

Re-loader · Oct 8, 2022

f1rpo said:
Seems that the TARGET variable isn't getting set. The vcxproj file should be responsible for that. Can also review that in VS. The "build command line" should say something like this:

Spoiler :

View attachment 641247

The error message comes from the Civ Makefile, so, clearly, the correct makefile gets processed. But perhaps you've created a new vcxproj?
Your output also says that The command "nmake Debug" exited with code 2. I see no such command in Leoreth's vcxproj.

I was using dave uk's source.
Trying again now with Leoreth CvGameCoreDLL folder in the mod folder.
What do I need in makefile.settings ? Previously you mentioned having the source files(CvGameCoreDLL folder) as the CIV4 PATH location, but I've been using C:\Program Files (x86)\Firaxis Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4\Beyond the Sword

f1rpo · Oct 9, 2022

Re-loader said:
I was using dave uk's source.
Trying again now with Leoreth CvGameCoreDLL folder in the mod folder.

Ah, I see. Then it appears that you were combining dave_uk's vcxproj file (which does specify a "nmake Debug" build command) with a more recent Makefile (Leoreth's, Nightinggale's or mine). So that can't work; the project files (everything I placed in the project folder in my upload) can't generally be mixed and matched. (And a DLL compiled from Leoreth's DLL source code is only going to work with a mod that hasn't modified the original DLL source.)

Re-loader said:
What do I need in makefile.settings ? Previously you mentioned having the source files(CvGameCoreDLL folder) as the CIV4 PATH location, but I've been using C:\Program Files (x86)\Firaxis Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4\Beyond the Sword

Needs to be the location of Boost-1.32.0 and Python24. In a fresh installation of BtS, that's normally
C:\Program Files (x86)\Sid Meier's Civilization 4\Beyond the Sword\CvGameCoreDLL
(Those two libraries and the BtS source code get placed there by the BtS installer only so that DLL modders can use them; moving them to a different location causes no problems.) I think the Makefile will also look for libraries in the local working directory. Since Leoreth's source includes copies of Boost and Python 2.4, I guess the CIV4_PATH variable won't really matter.

Re-loader · Oct 9, 2022

f1rpo said:
Ah, I see. Then it appears that you were combining dave_uk's vcxproj file (which does specify a "nmake Debug" build command) with a more recent Makefile (Leoreth's, Nightinggale's or mine). So that can't work; the project files (everything I placed in the project folder in my upload) can't generally be mixed and matched. (And a DLL compiled from Leoreth's DLL source code is only going to work with a mod that hasn't modified the original DLL source.)
Needs to be the location of Boost-1.32.0 and Python24. In a fresh installation of BtS, that's normally
C:\Program Files (x86)\Sid Meier's Civilization 4\Beyond the Sword\CvGameCoreDLL
(Those two libraries and the BtS source code get placed there by the BtS installer only so that DLL modders can use them; moving them to a different location causes no problems.) I think the Makefile will also look for libraries in the local working directory. Since Leoreth's source includes copies of Boost and Python 2.4, I guess the CIV4_PATH variable won't really matter.

I think I have the makefile settings ok now.
It's attempting to compile but failing with cannot open afxres.h

Spoiler :

Feels a bit more promising than yesterday.

f1rpo · Oct 9, 2022

Leoreth's CvGameCoreDLL.rc does attempt to include afxres.h, and I can't find that header in v7.0A of the PSDK. v6.0 has it in a subfolder Include\mfc, but that subfolder doesn't exist in v7.0A. You could try replacing

#include "afxres.h"

with

#include <windows.h>

in CvGameCoreDLL.rc or set the PSDK variable to the path of v6.0 (if you still have that one from the dependencies that I had uploaded). Or just removing CvGameCoreDLL.rc should also work. rc.exe merely writes some metadata to the DLL file, so this whole step is dispensable. All that being said, I don't understand why no one else has been getting this error with Leoreth's files.

Re-loader · Oct 9, 2022

OK, doing much better now. F7 works after fixing makefile settings.
F5 loads the game and mod, but because the DLL has been replaced I'm getting the Python exceptions again
Sorry, this is big.

Spoiler :

Same result as yesterday https://forums.civfanatics.com/thre...g-error-code-in-dmp-file.679216/post-16346339

f1rpo · Oct 9, 2022

Output looks good:

Code:

DLL Load:Mods\LoR Mod\Assets\CvGameCoreDLL.dll
'Civ4BeyondSword.exe': Loaded 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Firaxis Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4\Beyond the Sword\Mods\Lor Mod\Assets\CvGameCoreDLL.dll',
Symbols loaded.

Those are all the symbols we need.

Python errors is not good. Your partial compiler output (in your afxres.h post) doesn't include BetterBTSAI.cpp, so, apparently, you've compiled the original BtS source code linked in Leoreth's thread. The resulting DLL should be compatible with any mod that doesn't have a custom DLL, but, for running LoR or any mod based on LoR, you'd need to compile the source code of that particular mod.

Re-loader · Oct 9, 2022

f1rpo said:
Output looks good:

Code:

DLL Load:Mods\LoR Mod\Assets\CvGameCoreDLL.dll 'Civ4BeyondSword.exe': Loaded 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Firaxis Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4\Beyond the Sword\Mods\Lor Mod\Assets\CvGameCoreDLL.dll', Symbols loaded.

Those are all the symbols we need.

Python errors is not good. Your partial compiler output (in your afxres.h post) doesn't include BetterBTSAI.cpp, so, apparently, you've compiled the original BtS source code linked in Leoreth's thread. The resulting DLL should be compatible with any mod that doesn't have a custom DLL, but, for running LoR or any mod based on LoR, you'd need to compile the source code of that particular mod.

I could try with dave uk's source code?

f1rpo · Oct 9, 2022

Yes. Question is whether you should kick out his project files (the vcxproj, makefile, CvGameCoreDLL.rc, not sure what else he has in there) and replace them with Leoreth's or try using dave_uk's files (i.e. setting the PSDK etc. paths in his makefile). The files I had uploaded had already replaced dave_uk's project files with more recent ones, but that somehow hadn't worked out for you.

You could also try, just as a test, placing the DLL you have now in a new "empty" mod (just with an Assets folder for the DLL) and then load that mod (via mod=Mods\MyMod or so in the VS debug config) with the debugger attached.

Re-loader · Oct 9, 2022

f1rpo said:
Yes. Question is whether you should kick out his project files (the vcxproj, makefile, CvGameCoreDLL.rc, not sure what else he has in there) and replace them with Leoreth's or try using dave_uk's files (i.e. setting the PSDK etc. paths in his makefile). The files I had uploaded had already replaced dave_uk's project files with more recent ones, but that somehow hadn't worked out for you.

You could also try, just as a test, placing the DLL you have now in a new "empty" mod (just with an Assets folder for the DLL) and then load that mod (via mod=Mods\MyMod or so in the VS debug config) with the debugger attached.

OK, I'll try your first suggestion first.
I'll have a good look at the files and see what similarities and differences I can see.
Regarding the second suggestion, surely the DLL compiled is only relevant to the Assets and source it's compiled with? Leading me to think that I need a working DLL compiled with dave uk's source and Assets?
If I can get the dave uk assets etc compiled, I'll be able to get the game working with VS.
Gonna have to try all this later on today, but many, many thanks for your help so far.

f1rpo · Oct 9, 2022

Re-loader said:
Regarding the second suggestion, surely the DLL compiled is only relevant to the Assets and source it's compiled with? Leading me to think that I need a working DLL compiled with dave uk's source and Assets?

By "assets" I mean any file that the game loads from an "Assets" folder. The compiled DLL would be one such file, the other assets are mostly XML and Python files and artwork. None of those enter into the DLL. The DLL is only compiled from the C++ source code (.h, .cpp files), and that source code itself is not loaded by the game at all. So, to compile a DLL for dave_uk's mod you'd only need his C++ sources (and external libraries such as Boost and a build system - "project files" - that tells the compiler where the sources and libraries are located and for integration with the IDE; all this isn't specific to a particular mod - though some large mods include additional libraries). The interaction between the DLL and the XML and Python assets only happens at run time, once the mod is loaded.

Re-loader said:
Gonna have to try all this later on today, but many, many thanks for your help so far.

I generally don't give up unless the other person does. This has probably already been more trouble than it's worth, but we couldn't really have known that upfront. And it's mostly been your trouble. (And I've learned a few small things, or at least have come closer to understanding them.)

Re-loader · Oct 10, 2022

f1rpo said:
This has probably already been more trouble than it's worth,

No, not at all. I'm determined to get to the bottom of this and get my game working. I'm learning stuff along the way.

f1rpo said:
Python errors is not good. Your partial compiler output (in your afxres.h post) doesn't include BetterBTSAI.cpp, so, apparently, you've compiled the original BtS source code linked in Leoreth's thread.

I've been having a look at the files that Visual Studio uses. dave uk's CvGameCoreDLL.vcxproj does not have BetterBTSAI.cpp in the include or compile. The list of files is almost identical to Leoreth's. dave uk's source has a <ClCompile Include="CvTextScreens.cpp" /> and a <ClCompile Include="_precompile.cpp" /> and a <ResourceCompile Include="CvGameCoreDLL.rc" /> which Leoreth's doesn't,.

f1rpo said:
Question is whether you should kick out his project files (the vcxproj, makefile, CvGameCoreDLL.rc, not sure what else he has in there) and replace them with Leoreth's or try using dave_uk's files (i.e. setting the PSDK etc. paths in his makefile).

At this point, I'm going to just make methodical changes to dave uk source files, but not sure where to start.

Crash to desktop, with recurring error code in .dmp file

plastics

plastics

Attachments

Warlord

plastics

Warlord

Warlord

plastics

Warlord

plastics

Warlord

plastics

Warlord

plastics

Warlord

plastics

Warlord

plastics

Warlord

plastics

Warlord

Similar threads