Game Problems

How to Report a Bug

I saw a bug! How do I report it?

My game crashed. What should I do?

Log Files

How do I send a log file?

I won a great game! How do I save the log file?

Policies

Why does my completion rating drop when I crash?

Why do I lose rating points when I crash?

How to Report a Bug

I saw a bug! How do I report it? Send an e-mail to bugs@playsanctum.net . Give a complete, detailed description of the incident, and why you think it was a bug. Also:

• Attach your game log file right away. Click the link for instructions.
• Or, find your game log file and save it to a different folder, in case we ask you for it later.

My game crashed. What should I do?

1. Send an e-mail to bugs@playsanctum.net .
2. Please describe the most recent game activity just before you crashed. Also describe anything unusual you may have noticed.
3. Attach your game log file.

If we determine that this crash was caused by a bug in Sanctum, and your log file helps us find and fix the bug, then NIOGA will restore any rating points you lost.

Log Files

Why should I send my log file? NIOGA can replay a game from your log file, using our internal Log Viewer app. This often allows us to duplicate your crash, exactly as you saw it. That pinpoints the location and cause of the crash in our source code, with a minimum of fuss. A game log file is the single most useful resource we have in investigating a crash or bug report.

How do I send a log file?

1. In Windows Explorer, navigate to your Sanctum directory.
• On Windows 9x / NT / 2K / XP, the default is C:\Program Files\NIOGA\Sanctum\.
• On Windows Vista, the default is C:\ProgramData\NIOGA\Sanctum\.
2. Navigate into the Logs\ subdirectory.
3. Game log files are named GameNN.txt, where NN is a 2-digit number, usually in the range 01 to 20.
4. Find the log file in question. Usually, this is the most recent log file. To sort all your log files by date, click on the "Modified" column header. (If your Windows Explorer doesn't show timestamps, choose View | Details in the Windows Explorer menu bar.)
5. Verify that the log file is the right one. A game log file is plain-text. Open it by double-clicking it, and read the first couple of lines. You should recognize your opponent's name.
6. Please compress the log file before you send it! Log files tend to be huge. You can use WinZip, RAR, ALZ, or any other standard compression software.
7. Attach the compressed log file to your e-mail report.

I won a great game! How do I save the log file? Find your game log file, then either (a) rename it to something descriptive, (b) move it to another folder anywhere else, or both. If you don't do this, Sanctum will eventually overwrite your log file with a later game, since it recycles the 2-digit number suffixes.

Policies

Why does my completion rating drop when I crash? This follows from the definition of “completion”. Your rating measures the percentage of games that you completed successfully. If you crashed or couldn't resume, then you didn't complete the game.

Why do I lose rating points when I crash? Under the Alpha 2 rating system that NIOGA uses, a disconnection counts as a win for the remaining player. Many other online 2-player games have a similar policy.

v2.20.00 Last updated 2009/03/21