Bug found in Clark Wehyr Editor

[Crus8r]

While I was doing some testing, I found a serious bug in the Clark Wehyr Editor. I was running several end-of-month passes, and I noticed that after making a really minor edit to one of my bases with the editor, monthly expenses shot through the roof. I therefore did a comparison between the edited base.dat and the backup file made by the editor...

 

Basically, the BASE.DAT file includes a value for each of the 36 "squares" in a base that tells how much time until the facility there is completed, or 0 if it is finished and ready. Unused, or 'dirt' modules should have a value of 255[FF] in the completion section...but the editor sets them all to 0.

 

Apparently, the game has a 'hidden' maintenance cost for 'finished' dirt modules, one that doesn't add to the maintenance costs displayed by the game, but that does add to what you are charged at the end of the month...the game I was testing has four bases: the main base (not much 'dirt' left), a secondary base (about 16 'squares' used) and 2 nascent bases (mostly dirt). After discovering the bug and editing all the dirt in my bases back to 255[FF] for completion time, monthly maintenance went down more than $7,000,000!!

 

Thats more than I was paying for regular base maintenance plus the salaries of 100 scientists, 20 engineers, 25 soldiers, 2 interceptors, and a Skyranger!

 

Crus8r

[Bomb Bloke]

Ooh, that's quite a bug. Were those charges made every month, or just for the month in which the edits were made?

[zaimoni]

Were those charges made every month, or just for the month in which the edits were made?

It's every month thereafter, until an appropriate counter-edit is made.

[Bomb Bloke]

I suppose this means that if you set the completion status of the other modules to 255, you also skip maintanance on them?

 

The question is, can you use them in that case?

[NKF]

It should also be mentioned that these unusual dirt block states can occur naturally in the game. When you dismantle a module, the dirt block that replaces it will not be flagged properly and will continue to add to your monthly hidden maintenance costs.

 

This explains part of why some players pay more than their maintenance totals.

 

- NKF

 

P.S: Ooh, just noticed the indent thingy.

Extra levels? Not as simple as the wiki indents, but able to encompass entire blocks of text. Excellent.