Trouble with 1.44 on Mac OS X

[BenKimball]

Hey all.

I've encountered a reproducible crash on OS X using update.jar 1.44 that does not occur on 1.40. I'd recommend that you keep your old update.jar files any time you update your HD, just in case.

The bug, btw, occurs when adding a power advantage which has a sub-dialog box to a power. It may also involve doing so while working "in the red"; i.e., spending points you don't yet have allocated on the Basic Info pane. The effect is that the power is added, but then the main window becomes unselectable and all items in the HeroDesigner java applet menu become grayed out (except Services). Sometimes you'll see a blank rectangle on the screen as well, which can't be moved into the background.

In case it helps with troubleshooting, I've enclosed the HDC file that I can use to reproduce the problem. To do so, go to the Powers pane, and select the second power in the multipower (Whirlwind). Double-click to edit it. Add the Area of Effect advantage (5" radius) and click OK to get back to the character. That should do it.

As previously mentioned, 1.40 does not exhibit this crash on my machine.

Cheers!
Ben

[Simon]

There were no changes in the windowing behavior between 1.40 and 1.44.

This is just another one of the reasons why Mac is not supported. Their Java implementation _REALLY_ blows. It's able to handle the basics, but as soon as you start throwing anything slightly more complex than a "Hello World" application at it, it starts to break down.

I am singularly unimpressed with Apple.

[BenKimball]

Never mind. It's not working correctly in 1.40 either. Bummer.

Cheers,
Ben

[Simon]

In this case, the developers have a very clear sign that they are right:

Java is made to function the same on all systems...."Write Once, Run Anywhere." The code that you're running on the Mac is no different from what the Windows and Linux users are running.

The Windows and the Linux users do not have any of the problems being reported by Mac users.

The code that is causing problems for the Mac users also happens to be "stock" Java code. The problems are arising because Mac's treatment of modal dialogs is completely brain dead and breaks the model that they are based on. Quite simply, Mac does not treat modal dialogs as modal and often shuffles them behind their parent window, which causes the behavior that you're experiencing.

Apple has a LONG history of being one of the worst OSes on the planet with Java.....it looked for a brief moment like they were changing, but I suspect they're just falling back on their old ways.

[BenKimball]

Well, for what it's worth, I submitted a bug report to Apple through the ADC web site. The odds of them actually contacting you are ludicrous, of course, but I gave them the info@herogames.com email address just in case.

Cheers!
Ben

[Jade]

Kinda sad considering that Apple is now basing WebObjects completely on Java. I know it is different than the Runtime, but you think they would get it right....