WTH Did I do now?

[Gryfen]

OK.. SO.. Today I finished and Exported the complete Waterdeep “City of Splendors” module…. After exporting it… I exited FG2 and restarted it… I started my “Revenge of the Shadowcult” Campaign. Opened the Waterdeep module to find everything in working order. Then I noticed something amiss… There were no Story pages in the Revenge of the Shadowcult tab…. No Personalities, no items, and all the books in the module activation have been closed and all the Permissions buttons removed.

I can put the buttons all back in place and open and use the modules… but if I close out FG2 and restart, its all set back to Zero.

Also I went into the application data folder… found that the DB for ROS was 1k and when I edited it .. found it was blank. I saw a backup DB so I renamed it DB and recovered a few of the missing pages… but not even close to all of the info I have accrued over the last couple months of gameplay.

The Maps are all still there… Including the most recent ones just added at last weeks game… but nothing else.

So anyone have any idea what the heck I did… and How to fix it so it never happens again? Aside from the missing info… which I assume is lost to the nether-demons of cyberspace how do I solve the clearing of the modules problem?

Edit: Well... I went back into FG2 and the Story was gone again... SO I deleted the Waterdeep Module and The permission buttons are staying put as well as the story pages. Is definately the Waterdeep module... But please ... how do I fix it.. I have MANY MANY man hours into this module.. the DB is almost 1200K I would hate for it not to be usable.

[Griogre]

I'm sorry to hear of you problem, but it's a little unclear to me exactly what happened other than you lost your Revenge of the Shadowcult campaign.

I'm not clear on what you think the problem with your City of Spenders module is - but whatever it is you decided to delete the module - though I don't understand why, it didn't sound like there was anything wrong with the Waterdeep module. Generally speaking, if you have a problem you never want to delete a module because you can recover the data from a module and recreate the campaign you exported the module with it.

Is the Revenge campaign the one you actually keep your characters in or a different adventure module? Usually when you have a champaign truncated like the Revenge one its because you have a bad character, attibutes or elements in the XML or something similar such that FG can't read in the campaign file. It reads as far as it can and then starts FG. As you closed FG it read that trucated file back out, overiding and updating the file, and destroying most of the db.xml data. How were you inputting things into that campaign?

[Gryfen]

I am probably using all the wrong terminology which is whats confusing you...I'll try to be as clear as I can ... Sorry and thanks for trying to help.

First off the Shadowcult Campaign is More or less just a collection of notes I keep as we play. Assigning new Story pages as we enter new chapters of the campaign, placing notable NPC's into the personalities, and Magic items Etc. as needed.This is also where the characters are... But I didnt change anything with any of the characters.

I then bring Modules I've created and exported, in and play through them... all the while keeping notes in the Shadowcult tab.

Ive done this with several Modules I've created, ie. Dry Spell, Sons of Gruumsh, Burning plague Etc. I've never had issues with any of them.

Then I exported and brought my Waterdeep module in... and suddenly my Story, personality, and magic items tabs in the shadowcult campaign are blank. All of the permissions in the "Module activation" tab are removed and the books(Modules) are closed. I opened them reset the all the permissions.

I went to the Application data folder found the Shadowcult backup DB and renamed it to DB. This recovered a small portion of the story pages, but no personalities, or magic items. But when i exited FG2 and restarted it... the the story pages and permissions are all back to blank.

I deleted the File(Module) created when I exported the Waterdeep campaign to a module. Reset the DB and assigned all the permissions again, now all the permissions and Library modules stay put as well as the few story pages contained in the back up DB.

But If I re-export the Waterdeep module is it all going to happen again... if so Why? Its not the first module I've created... Heh.. Doesnt mean its not something I did... but Still I'd like to know what ... So I can fix it.

Hope that Helps... Thanks again for any help.

[Griogre]

OK, it is very unlikely the Waterdeep module had anything to do with the Shadowcult campaign. Did you do anything with the Index Group or Merge ID when you exported Waterdeep (it still would not do anything other than make it hard to tell which entries were in which module)?

First, I have to ask, but are you sure you loaded the Shadowcult instead of the Waterdeep campaign the first time you lost your stuff? Did you check to see if the PCs where there? The permissions normally do not change for a campaign unless you delete modulestate.xml file. When module permissions change radically it often means you loaded the wrong campaign (FG defaults to loading the last opened campaign).

I think it a co-incidence you had the problem at the same time unless you really did load the Waterdeep campaign instead of the Shadowcult one.

My best guess on the Shadowcult campaign is you had a bad character in a story entry which caused the db.xml file to be truncated. It could also be there was a bad character in a character sheet. Typically you only get bad characters if someone is cut and pasting into the xml file or had a file corruption problem. However, is there a chance that you wrote on top of module data from the last adventure? If you did so then unactivating a module would cause the data to go away, though I believe now it can be reloaded if you reopen the module. I don't hold much hope this will fix your problem since you only have an old backup of your Shadowcult campaign db.xml because I think the diff data is now stored in the active campaign, which would have been wiped out when you lost most of the campaign's db.xml file.

I would be most concerned about your PCs. Have you looked at them? Are they still there? Also do you have a version of Vista or XP that allows you to recover old files? If it was at all possible I would try to recover that old DB file before it got truncated.

The maps are all still there because the files are physically in a folder in your campaign and even when your db.xml file was truncated, on exit FG would have written out the maps being in the campaign because the maps are still there. You may have lost some drawings, though they are still in the drawing folder. You could reconnect them if there were any important ones in there.

[Gryfen]

Hmmmmm:confused:


First, I have to ask, but are you sure you loaded the Shadowcult instead of the Waterdeep campaign the first time you lost your stuff?

Honestly... No... But I'm pretty sure it was the Shadowcult campaign. I know that I checked it several times... and couldnt have possibly loaded the wrong campaign every time.


Did you check to see if the PCs where there?

Nope... Havent even looked at the characters since this started.. Guess I'll try that.



My best guess on the Shadowcult campaign is you had a bad character in a story entry which caused the db.xml file to be truncated. It could also be there was a bad character in a character sheet. Typically you only get bad characters if someone is cut and pasting into the xml file or had a file corruption problem. However, is there a chance that you wrote on top of module data from the last adventure?

I think your asking if I edited the XML files... if so the answer is no... I have never edited the XML files in the campaign folders.. and the players.. have never ( They dont even know they can) Edited anything that way... everything is done from inside FG2.


I would be most concerned about your PCs. Have you looked at them? Are they still there? Also do you have a version of Vista or XP that allows you to recover old files? If it was at all possible I would try to recover that old DB file before it got truncated.

I will go Check the Characters as well as re-export the Watedeep module and see what happens. As for recovering the file... Honestly... I use XP... but have no clue if it has the capabilities to recover said file or even how to do it if it does. I will check back after a few more tests.:o

[zabulus]

I seem to recall someone else had a problem that reminds me of this, where internal IDs of the stuff in a module happened to be the same as the IDs in the main campaign. I forget who it was, what exactly the problem was and what fixed it, but it might be worth a search on the boards here.

[Gryfen]

ok... I just opened FG2... Opened Shadowcult campaign... everthing that was recovered is there.. all permissions still set. I checked all the characters... everything is good.

Closed FG2... Reopened FG2... Went into Waterdeep campaign.... Exported said campaign to a module.

Closed FG2.. Reopened FG2.. Went into Shadowcult... Everthing is good... Opened the waterdeep module... Everything Checked out fine Waterdeep is there ... Recovered Shadowcult is there. Permissions still set..Characters are there. all is good. Closed FG2

Opened FG2... Went into Shadowcult... Story tab Blank... .. All gone... Permissions reset. Waterdeep still functional... but Shadowcult vaporized.Closed FG2... Beat head on desk mumbled a few choice explatives ( Mumbled low because my 6 year old son is playing bakugan in the kitchen) Closed FG2 and came here to cry the "I screwed up my campaign" blues.:p


I seem to recall someone else had a problem that reminds me of this, where internal IDs of the stuff in a module happened to be the same as the IDs in the main campaign. I forget who it was, what exactly the problem was and what fixed it, but it might be worth a search on the boards here.

Thanks Zabu... I have to leave here for a while... But I guess I'll go do the search thing when I get back tonight.

[Tenian]

Try closing FGII in a different way. If you are using the red X in the upper right, try using the radial. I've heard of people damaging their campaigns by using one method or the other. Switching methods seems to fix it.

[Griogre]

I think your asking if I edited the XML files... if so the answer is no... I have never edited the XML files in the campaign folders.. and the players.. have never ( They dont even know they can) Edited anything that way... everything is done from inside FG2.
I wasn't specifically asking about wheather you edited the XML files, because while usually this problem is caused by direct editing of the XML, some people have reported that odd characters input into character sheets or story books have caused problems. Primarily non alph numeric characters as well as XML special characters like qoutes, &, ect. Did you cut and paste stuff into FG?

By the way, given your problem(s) I definately suggest you make a copy of your campaign folder in data apps.

[Gryfen]

ok.. It is The Waterdeep module. I tried opening another Campaign ( After making a backup of the DB file) And the same thing happens... The DB of the open campaign is blanked out, the permissions are all erased, Although this time i noticed there wasn't a tab on the personalities for the original campaign... only one for the waterdeep module.

I tried closing with both the red X as well as the radial menue... same effect.

If I delete the Waterdeep module everything returns to normal.

PLEASE dont tell me I have to just forget using the Waterdeep module... I have WAYYYY Too much time invested.

Thanks again for any and all help.

[Oberoten]

It sounds as if the module contains some malformed data. Most likely you have used a < ? or > symbol somehwere it shouldn't.

This causes the XML parsing to get quite unhappy.

A good way to find broken XML is opening it in IE and see where it breaks. After that try the microsoft error search, remove half of the data, try the remaining half. If it works like that you add half of the removed data. If it still works, keep adding the remaining halves. If it ceases working check through the chunk you just added. (Possibly by halving it again and again as well. )

- Obe

[zabulus]

I did some more searching on this. It appears Lee S. had the same trouble you were having, unfortunately there is no solution mentioned in his thread (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9158).
I remember breaking FG once by typing too many (just that. No "weird" characters in there at all) characters in the Full Attack field of a personality of a module. After I removed the entire field, things worked again.

[Gryfen]

I did some more searching on this. It appears Lee S. had the same trouble you were having, unfortunately there is no solution mentioned in his thread.
I remember breaking FG once by typing too many (just that. No "weird" characters in there at all) characters in the Full Attack field of a personality of a module. After I removed the entire field, things worked again.

Thanks again Zabulus, Read it and your right... no solution... sounds like its close to the same problem though.

I have several personalities with long Full attacks... Maybe I'll delete them and see what happens.


It sounds as if the module contains some malformed data. Most likely you have used a < ? or > symbol somehwere it shouldn't.

This causes the XML parsing to get quite unhappy.

I have checked and rechecked the XML files with XML Marker just in case... no errors found. But I didnt edit the XML files... everything was created from inside FG2... Could it still be bad XML?

[zabulus]

If you use a < within fantasy grounds, that is stored inside XML files. When ready back the XML, FG might interpret the < as the start of some XML code. If it can't find the corresponding > (the close tag), it might skip anything behind the < altogether, thus missing some vital info somewhere.

Because a lot of fields in FG are freetext, it's easy to enter a < somewhere. I myself use --> sometimes to indicate a consequence of actions in story text, I hear it's best not to use <,>,[,],{ and } altogether.

[Griogre]

It's safer anyway. The problem with the XML control characters only seems to happen in rare, probably nested circumstances. I've used ampersands and such with no problems - but I suspect the problem is isolated in a bit of code or script and triggered by doing something in a certain way.

Obi's suggestion is a good one. You can do a binary search (not a Microsoft one - like Obi implies :p ;) ) by splitting your data in two and keep splitting it until you find a problem. This is a *very* efficient search if things are sequential. The only thing if you try this - is remember there could be more than one problem so once you find one, search to see if there are others of the same or different types.

[Gryfen]

OK Fine... I'll Admit it... Im a dufuss.. I was trying not to admit I didnt know how to do what Obe Suggested... But now youve gone and forced my hand:p

I opened the Waterdeep File in IE and It didnt show any errors... I dont think .. What would it show if there was an error?

How do I cut the file in half and still have it work??

And how the heck am I going to search the whole Module for a misplaced < ?

Wow... I have a Job Interview on Monday... Maybe I better call and cancel it... It looks like I'm gonna be busy:D

[Griogre]

If you opened the db.xml file in IE it reads it in and checks it to see if it is "well formed" - ie all the elements (tags) are matching, open and closed, ect. Basically it checks the file is structured the correct way. If there was a problem, IE would have said something about a problem on line so and so.

Checking for well formness is the first step to making sure the file is valid. Your goal in halving to file is not to make it work but to find errors. You can use undo, but your file seems large so it would probably be faster if you actually destroy the file while looking for errors - which is why you do it with a copy. If and when you find an error you would fix it in the real file. I sent you a PM, I can take a look at your campaigns if you like. I am still doubtful your Waterdeep file is directly causing a problem with the other files, but if you work with computers long enough you see all sorts of strange things.

[Gryfen]

OK... I Checked it again in IE... No errors,

I Checked it agin in XML Marker.. No errors,

I Searched it by eye.. line for line.. No errors.

Also.. I opened the Waterdeep module in a different campaign ( After making a back up of the DB) and It erased the story there too... so its not Just the Shadowcult campaign... it blanks whatever campaign its opened into.

So.. I re-exported the Waterdeep campaign to a module .. this time I Filled the " Index Group " and " Merge ID " with " None ". (I've always left them blank) and that seems to have fixed the erasing the Shadowcult story part... but the permissions are still being erased after every exit.

[Griogre]

Ok, I think I have good news and better news. First I was able to reproduce you problem, second - I was able to fix it. The issue seems to be you have double quotes in your module name ie Waterdeep "City of Splenders". The double qoutes seemed to be the causing the problem.

The fix appears to be just re-export you module and call it Waterdeep - City of Splenders or just Waterdeep. I just went into your module and changed it manually and that fixed it. I'm out of time to mess with this today, I'd like to verify so other stuff first - but this appears to be a textbook case of a string of text with an XML control characters fouling things up. Double quotes are used to surround attributes in XML.

[Gryfen]

WOOOHOOOOOO ! ! ! ! ! ! It worked GREAT... If I knew where you lived I'd fly out just to give you a big wet sloppy kiss. ! ! ! ! !:p I'd like to Nominate Griogre for President. If he could fix that mess, Solving the country's Economic woes should be childsplay.:D

[zabulus]

Nice, Griogre :)