Topic: Spontaneously Combusting fleet members?

[Galaxy_Class]

It's happened a few times now during the Fed Conquest campaign I'm playing. Be it in a Starbase Assault, Planetarty Assault or Freighter Convoy, seemingly at random I lose a fleet member. This is REALLY aggravating, since I had my tricked-out Galaxy and two Akiras running all hell through Borg space when I suddenly lost one, and it went downhill from there. These ships have full shields, little or no hull damage and they're usually barely being fired on.

Is this a known issue?  

[Robb Stark]

This is indeed a known issue.  It is a variation of a bug which existed in SFC2 and SFC:OP, which the community has dubbed the "Hand of Bethke" (although I have always referred to it as the "Ship Blowed Up" bug).  In the previous games, your own ship would sometimes spontaneously detonate at the beginning of the mission, which sucked a great deal.  The SFC3 version is different in that it does not actually seem to affect the player's ship, at least not that I've seen.  It will affect enemies and allies, though, and sometimes even cause a planet to blow up at random (makng a Planetary Assault mission impossible to finish).  

Taldren does not seem to be able to make any progress with this bug.  They have said that it is not duplicable, or at least not in such a way that they can pin down the cause.  The prognosis for ever seeing it fixed is somewhat dim.

It seems that maybe even if you did not know where the bug was, there might be a way to write a redundant subroutine that double-checks before any ship blows up in a mission and makes sure that the Hull is really down to 0.  This is speculation on my part and I do not know if anything like that has been tried.  

Sorry I don't have better news for you.  

[FEDX-Laad]

oh you bet they've tried that idea! problem is that you have a loop per say and all the sub routines run between this loop and if the sub routine where this ship blows up in comes after the ship checking routine its wouldn't catch its even saying you could write a redundent subroutine for this type of problem.  

[Lieutenant_Q]

Yes but then youd get it pinned down a bit better as to where the bug is in the code.  Thats how i was able to debug "Tetris" for the TI-82 Graphing Calculator, inserting trips and eventually narrowing it down to a period instead of a comma in a matirx.  

[D. Boon's Ghost]

'Spontaneously Combusting fleet members?'

I am pretty sure, though do not quote me on it, that in one of unreleased episodes of the original series (TOS, all rights reserved), McCoy actually does.  It was during one of his famous arguments with that damn Vulcan.  

McCoy :  Logic?  The man is dying, Spock!  
Spock :  Yes, doctor.  It is... unfortunate.  
McCoy :  'Unfortunate'?  'Unfortunate'??  Why you inhuman, green blooded....

*muffled flash, followed by a searing flame... not even the eye shadow could save the man*

Spock :  Fascinating.

*off camera*  Uhura :  I think I'm going to be sick, Captain.

Kirk :  My... God, Spock... Bones?  He...

*Spock scans the debris with a tricorder.  Satisfied by its readings, he bends down and sifts through the remains.  He stands, and displays his find to the bridge - it appears to be a femur.*
 
Spock :  Yes, Jim.  I believe the doctor... spontaneously combusted.

*Chekov gingerly touches Spock's find*

Chekov :  Vell, Kaptain... at least the docktors neekname served him vell till de end.

*Crew stops their movements, staring at the young Russian for a moment.  They suddenly break into gales of laughter.  Segue to credits.*

 

   

[Galaxy_Class]

It's happened a few times now during the Fed Conquest campaign I'm playing. Be it in a Starbase Assault, Planetarty Assault or Freighter Convoy, seemingly at random I lose a fleet member. This is REALLY aggravating, since I had my tricked-out Galaxy and two Akiras running all hell through Borg space when I suddenly lost one, and it went downhill from there. These ships have full shields, little or no hull damage and they're usually barely being fired on.

Is this a known issue?  

[Robb Stark]

This is indeed a known issue.  It is a variation of a bug which existed in SFC2 and SFC:OP, which the community has dubbed the "Hand of Bethke" (although I have always referred to it as the "Ship Blowed Up" bug).  In the previous games, your own ship would sometimes spontaneously detonate at the beginning of the mission, which sucked a great deal.  The SFC3 version is different in that it does not actually seem to affect the player's ship, at least not that I've seen.  It will affect enemies and allies, though, and sometimes even cause a planet to blow up at random (makng a Planetary Assault mission impossible to finish).  

Taldren does not seem to be able to make any progress with this bug.  They have said that it is not duplicable, or at least not in such a way that they can pin down the cause.  The prognosis for ever seeing it fixed is somewhat dim.

It seems that maybe even if you did not know where the bug was, there might be a way to write a redundant subroutine that double-checks before any ship blows up in a mission and makes sure that the Hull is really down to 0.  This is speculation on my part and I do not know if anything like that has been tried.  

Sorry I don't have better news for you.  

[FEDX-Laad]

oh you bet they've tried that idea! problem is that you have a loop per say and all the sub routines run between this loop and if the sub routine where this ship blows up in comes after the ship checking routine its wouldn't catch its even saying you could write a redundent subroutine for this type of problem.  

[Lieutenant_Q]

Yes but then youd get it pinned down a bit better as to where the bug is in the code.  Thats how i was able to debug "Tetris" for the TI-82 Graphing Calculator, inserting trips and eventually narrowing it down to a period instead of a comma in a matirx.  

[D. Boon's Ghost]

'Spontaneously Combusting fleet members?'

I am pretty sure, though do not quote me on it, that in one of unreleased episodes of the original series (TOS, all rights reserved), McCoy actually does.  It was during one of his famous arguments with that damn Vulcan.  

McCoy :  Logic?  The man is dying, Spock!  
Spock :  Yes, doctor.  It is... unfortunate.  
McCoy :  'Unfortunate'?  'Unfortunate'??  Why you inhuman, green blooded....

*muffled flash, followed by a searing flame... not even the eye shadow could save the man*

Spock :  Fascinating.

*off camera*  Uhura :  I think I'm going to be sick, Captain.

Kirk :  My... God, Spock... Bones?  He...

*Spock scans the debris with a tricorder.  Satisfied by its readings, he bends down and sifts through the remains.  He stands, and displays his find to the bridge - it appears to be a femur.*
 
Spock :  Yes, Jim.  I believe the doctor... spontaneously combusted.

*Chekov gingerly touches Spock's find*

Chekov :  Vell, Kaptain... at least the docktors neekname served him vell till de end.

*Crew stops their movements, staring at the young Russian for a moment.  They suddenly break into gales of laughter.  Segue to credits.*