Unable to persistently share images

[ValerionWolf]

I am running a game from Turn of Fortune's Wheel with no mods and a fully updated game using the 2024 rules. My normal method when preparing was to go through the part the players would encounter and share all the images and maps I believe I would need. This allows the player clients to download and cache the images, leading to less waiting time for slower connections. I also prepare my game a few days in advance so I can think about how I want to run it in the intervening time and do some research if needed.

When I set all the images I want to public, then /save and close the game, when I re-open it, the images are no longer shared. As an example, I tested the duodrone slot machine from Chapter 3 section F4, and can reliably reproduce this. I have not extensively tested this, but it looks like maps with tokens on them do stay shared.

Some of the images, particularly of creatures, in Turn of Fortune's Wheel show up for my players as black blank images when I share them. If I share the same creature image from the MM, it shows up correctly for them.

Can someone please advise on how I can keep my images shared across restarts of FG?

[Egheal]

Concerning the black images: Are you sure you have disabled line of sight and lighting on the images?

[ValerionWolf]

Concerning the black images: Are you sure you have disabled line of sight and lighting on the images?

I will check that in my next game, thanks. Weird if required for the image of a yeti, for example, though.

[Zacchaeus]

I have a vague memory that some of the creature images in this module did have lighting enabled for some reason, but this was fixed some considerable time ago (now I can't be sure of this - it's a vague memory and may not have been this module). At any rate I can't see any images that do have lighting enabled in the module but I didn't check them all. But whatever this is the most likely reason that the images show black for your players, so just make sure lighting isn't enabled before sharing.

I'm able to reproduce the issue with images not staying shared. If I share an image with no players connected and then close out the campaign and restart it then the image has stopped being shared. Even if players then connect and the image isn't opened by the player during a session then the image doesn't remain shared. So, it seems that only if there are players connected and the image is shared; or if shared when a player connects and opens the image does the sharing work. This is unexpected behaviour so will require the devs to have a look. I'll make sure they see this thread.

Moon Wizard: Issue is that images that are pre-shared don't remain shared on session close if a) the session is closed without players joining and b) even if players do join before the session is closed they don't open the image before the session is closed. Only if the image is shared whilst players are connected does the shared image remain shared across sessions.

[Moon Wizard]

I'll take a look at the pre-shared images.

Regards,
JPG

[Moon Wizard]

Just took a quick look; and I wasn't able to reproduce the shared images issue.

I tried sharing via drag and drop from the Images list to the chat window; and using the Share button in the upper right of the floating images window. I also tried both Return to Launcher via right click on Desktop, as well as closing using the application X button in the upper right and reopening FG. I also tried on both campaign and module maps.

There must be some specific step that I'm missing. Can one of you walk me through the steps that consistently lose sharing for you?

Regards,
JPG

[Zacchaeus]

Well, that is strange then.

My previous testing was done in an established test campaign and the images I used were from the same module as the OP mentions. So in order to double check this time I started a new campaign without any themes etc. I loaded up the Monster Manual and Volo's Guide to Monsters and picked the first two images from the image list. Opened the images, clicked on the share button at the top of the window, and then returned to launcher. When I reload the campaign the images are no longer showing as shared. Just to make sure I joined my own campaign and checked that the image list was empty.

Finding this strange I checked the db.xml for the campaign and found that nothing was getting written to the db.xml either on sharing or on exit. I would have expected the fact that the images were being shared to appear there. So next I tested my current play campaign and found that all the images that I had shared there were still shared. However when I then shared a new image it didn't get written to the db.xml (that I could see) and on closing and reopening the campaign it was no longer shared.

So something is weird but I don't know what.

[ValerionWolf]

I can reproduce it using the same steps as Zacchaeus. Here's what I did:

1) Create a new 5E campaign named Test with Type set to LAN using the 2024 rules
2) Load the Monster Manual only
3) Go to Images in the sidebar and open the first one (Aarakocra)
4) Select the Share button in the window title
5) Open the 2nd image (Aboleth)
6) Right click and select Sharing -> Share Record
7) Check that both images show as Shared in the Images window
8) Close all the open windows
9) Go to the chat window and /save
10) Right-click on the desktop and select "Exit Program"
11) Open FG and load the campaign
12) Open the Images window from the side bar
13) Neither of the 2 images displays as Shared in the Images window
14) When opening them, they also show as "Not Shared"

I am running 4.6.1

[Moon Wizard]

Thanks for the help. This should be addressed in v4.6.2 of the client. Please run a new Check for Updates, and let us know if you are still having an issue.

Regards,
JPG