HELP! OS X Mavericks and R&D 3.3.1.0

[Lee Brewer]

Just installed OS X Mavericks.

The Intel R&D 3.3.1.0 will install and run. I copied my levels and BD2K3 form their old folder into the new "levels" folder. Now R&D 3.3.1.0 will not load and run at all!

I deleted/installed the game. It loaded and ran. I again added My levels and BD2K3 from older folders. I shut down the program. It will not load and run again.

I repeated 3 more times.

HELP!

[Holger]

So the unmodified R'n'D 3.3.1.0 runs fine directly after installation. Can you play a level from one of the "classic" level sets included in the game? If so, then that's a good start.

Can you describe in more detail what happened after you added your own level set and the BD2K3 level set?

- Did the game crash? If so, do you get any kind of error message box by OS X? If so, what does it say?
- Did the game freeze?
- Did the newly added levels just not show up?

Try the following: Delete/rename the game application folder "Rocks'n'Diamonds 3.3.1.0", and delete/rename the game data folder "~/Documents/Rocks'n'Diamonds" (be sure to have a backup if you delete it). Now extract the game again from the DMG archive. Start the game, and exit it again. Now you should have a fresh game data folder "~/Documents/Rocks'n'Diamonds". Now just add the folder "BD2K3" to the sub-folder "levels" in that folder. Start R'n'D again, and the BD2K3 level set should show up in the "level sets" section. If anything goes wrong on those steps, please describe in detail what happened, and I will try to find out what went wrong.

[Lee Brewer]

OK - I found out it is not me adding the levels that stops it.

I did a clean uninstall of everything related to R&D 3.3.1.0; reinstalled it; ran it; played a couple classic levels; quit the program; and tried to restart it.

All that happens is the Icon bounces in the dock, a very quick window opens and closes, and nothing.

Trying to start it again, the icon bounces, the window flashes/disappears, and nothing happens.

[Lee Brewer]

OK - more info...

I store (and always have) R&D in:
Applications/Games

So this time, after totally deleting R&D 3.3.1.0 - and everything associated with it (I use an app called AppCleaner that searches and gets all associated files), then:
1. I copied my levels into the Rocks'n'Diamonds 3.3.1.0/lelels folder made by the running the downloaded .dmg file.
2. I copied the Rocks'n'Diamonds 3.3.1.0 (now also containing my levels) in Applications/Games
3. Started the game OK
4. Selected my levels
5. My levels start to load, a few graphic/song names appear onthe screen as normal when loading, and then the R&D window disappears.
6. Trying to restart R&D makes the icon bounce, a window flashes open for a second, then nothing.

[Holger]

Please try the following two things:

After starting and (apparently) crashing R'n'D, have a look at the contents of the following two files (if they exist):
~/Documents/Rocks\'n\'Diamonds/stdout.txt
~/Documents/Rocks\'n\'Diamonds/stderr.txt

If they only contain warnings that can be ignored (about missing default config files etc.), please try the following:

Open a Terminal and "cd" to the folder of the R'n'D package (that is, where you have it installed). Now start the game on the command line by executing the following command:

$ ./Rocks\'n\'Diamonds.app/Contents/MacOS/rocksndiamonds -v

If the game crashes, you should see some output on the command line (like "Segmentation fault" or something like this). This should help in determining what's going wrong.

[Holger]

Another idea that just came to my mind:

If R'n'D fails to start as you described, does it help to remove your level set again?

If R'n'D starts without problems again after removing your set, it is possible that it contains a broken or invalid artwork file (graphic file, sound file or music file) that is not correctly handled by the underlying SDL library (or maybe R'n'D itself).

I just had such a bug in SDL_mixer (which does the sound and music part in R'n'D on the Mac) that was triggered by a (perfectly legal) empty WAV file and caused SDL_mixer (and therefore R'n'D) to crash. I have fixed this specific bug in the version of SDL_mixer contained in R'n'D 3.3.1.0, but the problem you encountered may be caused by something similar.

If this should be the case (R'n'D runs fine again after removing your level set), please put your level set in a zip file and send it to me by mail, and I will debug this further.

[Lee Brewer]

If R'n'D fails to start as you described, does it help to remove your level set again?

No, the program will only run once. When I remove my levels, it just bounces the icon , the quick window flashes, and nothing happens (I can read nothing in the window b/c it flashes on and off so quick - I am not even sure if anything is in the window).

The ONLY way to get the program working a second time is to delete everything I installed and reinstall it from scratch.

If I leave everything as it was installed (not adding my levels or BD2K3) I can play it like normal then, choosing from the included levels, but when I quit the program, I have to delete everything and re0install it all over again in order for it to work.

I think I am going to have withdrawal symptoms - 3 days without my levels to play! LOL!

[Holger]

Maybe you have missed the first of my two last posts. Could you please try what I've described there (checking the error log file and starting the game on the command line)? There's a good chance that it will give some more information for debugging this problem...

[Lee Brewer]

Sorry about missing the other part - I was in a hurry last night and forgot about it.

After running, quitting, trying to restart, and crashing, the only files in ~/Documents/Rocks\'n\'Diamonds/ are:

cache (folder)
editorcascade.conf
Levels (folder)
levelsetup (Folder)
levelsetup.conf
setup.conf
stderr.txt
tapes (folder)

But the problem, I think, is in the stderr.txt which says:

rocksndiamonds: LoadCustomImage(): cannot find file 'RocksFontSmall.pcx'
rocksndiamonds: aborting

[Lee Brewer]

OK - not sure if this will help - but i deleted all, then before running put Bd2K3 in the Levels folder. BD2K3 loads fine and runs.

Again after quitting/restarting, the same non-load happens and stderr is the same as in my last post:

rocksndiamonds: LoadCustomImage(): cannot find file 'RocksFontSmall.pcx'
rocksndiamonds: aborting

So now we know this happens when no levels are added to the main install and when BD2K3 is added.

I did not try it with my levels yet - I figure just getting the basic install running might be the only problem (?)

Thanks

[Holger]

When you get the error message "LoadCustomImage(): cannot find file 'RocksFontSmall.pcx'", can you please check if the file mentioned ("RocksFontSmall.pcx") is really missing (for whatever reason), or if everything is in fact unchanged?

Does the game run again if you remove/rename only the R'n'D sub-folder in your "Documents" folder (but not changing the contents of the R'n'D folder in your Applications folder)?

Can you check if there are any changes in the R'n'D folder in your Applications folder after starting the game?

So far, I have no idea what might happen on your system when you get that error, especially as I run the game without problems on my own Mac (although running Mac OS X 10.7 ("Lion") not "Mavericks").

Do you have a chance to test this on a different Mac system?

[Lee Brewer]

When you get the error message "LoadCustomImage(): cannot find file 'RocksFontSmall.pcx'", can you please check if the file mentioned ("RocksFontSmall.pcx") is really missing (for whatever reason), or if everything is in fact unchanged?

I just an/played/stopped/ran/crashed R&D

The file is indeed there inside of Rocks'n'Diamonds 3.3.1.0/graphics/gfx_classic

Does the game run again if you remove/rename only the R'n'D sub-folder in your "Documents" folder (but not changing the contents of the R'n'D folder in your Applications folder)?

I renamed the folder and tried to run it.
It crashed even quicker and left only:
cache (flder)
stderr.txt
in the new docu,emts/Rocks'n'Diamonds/ folder it created

stderr.txt says:

rocksndiamonds: LoadCustomImage(): cannot find file 'RocksFontSmall.pcx'
rocksndiamonds: aborting

I checked and the file 'RocksFontSmall.pcx' is still inside:
games/Rocks'n'Diamonds 3.3.1.0/graphics/gfx_classic



I resinstalled/ran and watched the R&D folder in the documents folder. The two files it made inside were:
level setup (folder)
levelsetup.conf

As I chose different level sets it R&D added folders in level setup for each one.

I deleted the folder before stopping the game.
When I hit the start game button, I saw it re-create the R&D folder and put the level setup folder in it (and a sub folder for the set I was playing)

So it seems that the problem is OK up until the time I try to restart,

So I quit R&D - tried to restart - and watched the R&D folder in documents.

It added the cache folder and stderr.txt which again gave the same message as before.

Can you check if there are any changes in the R'n'D folder in your Applications folder after starting the game?

It appears the folders/files that were in it at the start are the same after - I did not check all subfolders.


BTW, I loaded the RocksFontSmall.pcx into a graphics program to make sure it was OK - it loaded fine.

Do you have a chance to test this on a different Mac system?

I wish I did.

I have to admit there are some nice things about Mavericks, but I am wondering if I should have upgraded. I was running Snow Leopard and liked it. It was a free download from the Apple Store so i thought it might be a good idea. Well... no R&D is hard to live with

[Holger]

I think I will have access to a Mac running "Mavericks" next week, so I will try to test and reproduce the problem.

Maybe it has indeed something to do with 3.3.1.0 being built on a Mac running "Lion"... So far I was sure it would/should run without problems on "Mountain Lion" and "Mavericks" systems, too.

One test that you could still do that just came to my mind:

Remove/rename your current R'n'D installation, reinstall it, run it, quit it, run again and let it crash. Then rename that R'n'D application directory to "Rocks'n'Diamonds 3.3.1.0.crashed". Reinstall again as "Rocks'n'Diamonds 3.3.1.0" and, without touching anything and without running R'n'D again, compare the two directories by opening a Terminal window, "cd /Applications" (or whereever you have installed it) and type:

$ diff -r -u "Rocks'n'Diamonds 3.3.1.0" "Rocks'n'Diamonds 3.3.1.0.crashed"

Does this reveal any differences between those two directories?

[Lee Brewer]

Won't be able to try this until early next week. Will do it then and let you know.

Thanks

[Lee Brewer]

OK

Thanks for the syntax for the terminal - been a loooong time.
I used to be pretty adept at AMIGADos.

Anyway, I did as said and got got:
Only in Rocks'n'Diamonds 3.3.1.0_Crashed: .DS_Store

There is no hidden .ds_Store in the newest install on my machine (which you probably knew anyway).

I opened .ds_Store with text edit (took a guess) and it has this:

"Bud1s'n'DiRocks'n'Diamonds.applg1Scomp.¶YRocks'n'Diamonds.appmoDDdutcπp¨ Rocks'n'Diamonds.appmodDdutcπp¨ Rocks'n'Diamonds.appph1Scomp.‡ @Ä @Ä @Ä @EDSDB `Ä @Ä @Ä @"