The following list of Frequently Asked Questions attempts to address some common questions
and problems.
Q. In Visual Studio®, when I run my AI solution I get a "LoaderLock
was detected" error that
appears to involve a DirectX library.
A. This is a known issue related to Managed DirectX and the IDE's handling of what it thinks is an
error condition. To resolve the problem, disable the LoaderLock Managed Debugging Assistant:
On the main menu, choose Debug >> Exceptions..., expand the Managed Debugging
Assistants node, and uncheck the box for LoaderLock.
Q. In the Visual Studio® Help/Document Explorer window, I can't find the class or member I'm
looking for.
A. Make sure the reference documentation is there and isn't being filtered out, as follows: In the
Help/Document Explorer window, on the Help menu choose Contents to show the Contents window. Make sure the Filtered by box is set to either "Bots AI Library" or to something like
"unfiltered" or "not filtered". Below this look for Bots AI Library in the table of contents. If it's not
listed, then the documentation isn't registered (perhaps because Visual Studio® was installed after this product, or for some reason the documentation was un-registered sometime after
installation), so try re-installing Bots: AI Battlefront to re-register the documentation in the Help
system.
A. If your computer goes into a power-saving state, such as standby/sleep or hibernation, while
either of these applications is running, errors may result, such as when coming out of the power-
saving state. We may address this in a subsequent release. Until then you can avoid the issue by
restricting or disabling power-saving options if you'll be running the application unattended for
some time.
Q. Using the Game Viewer, I can't connect to a friend, or he can't connect to me.
A. There are several things you can try. You and your friend can do the following, in order, and if
any test fails, that's your problem:
(1) Whoever is hosting, make sure the checkbox for allowing others to connect is checked on the Host Settings dialog (Tools menu >> Options >> Host Settings...).
(2) Verify network/Internet connectivity, by confirming that you can browse the Web, etc.
(3) Verify that you can successfully ping your friend's host name or IP (search for "ping" in
Windows® Help and Support for details on that command).
(4) If either of you is behind a firewall/router, make sure that the port you're trying to use is
open/enabled.
(5) Make sure the port used to connect (on the Connect dialog) matches the one used by the host
(on the Host Settings dialog). If they match, try entering a different port (same port on both
dialogs). If you still can't connect, restart both of your Game Viewers and try once more.
Q. Using the Game Viewer, weird things
happen or errors result when a friend and I both try to
connect to each other and neither of us has opted to be the host.
A. If you try to connect to someone else who is already connected, or trying to connect, to a host
(including to you), the behavior is unpredictable and errors are likely (because nobody is hosting).
If this occurs, have everyone restart their Game Viewer, decide who will be the host, and let the
other(s) connect to the host, while the host just waits for them.
Q. Using the Game Viewer, I get errors when I run a game that has several bots.
A. Try reducing the number of bots in the game setup. If that helps, you were probably including
more bots than your system could handle. Keep in mind that each bot consumes system
resources, so the more bots you include in a game, the more memory your system needs to run
those processes. To determine the number of bots your system can run simultaneously, try
setting up a game with perhaps two bots and see how smoothly the game runs. Then try using
three bots, and so on, until you notice significant performance degradation. You should then have
a general idea of your system's limits.
Q. Performance. When running a game in the Game Viewer, the user interface is slow to
respond, or the animation is slow or choppy.
A. The overall performance you experience in the Game Viewer depends largely on the
capabilities of your computer (e.g. speed and memory) versus:
(1) how many bots are in the current game and the complexity of their AI programs (especially
code that uses multiple threads);
(2) how many observers (connections) there are and their collective network throughput; and
(3) the location (world) for the game, especially the number and complexity of objects.
If the animation is slow or choppy or if the user interface is slow to respond, experiment with
games that include fewer bots, perhaps starting with 2 or 3 and gradually adding more, and when
you notice a significant performance hit, you'll have an idea of your system's limits. If you have
several observers, try running the game with fewer observers. If the location for the game is a
world that's densely populated with objects, especially relatively complex or detailed objects like
trees and textured walls, try choosing a different location; or, if it's a custom world that you or
someone else created, use the World Designer to remove some of the objects and "simplify" the
battlefield.