Fatal Application Error ? Help!

[Amnesia]

Hi

I recently purchased and dowloaded the new Hero Designer and I was keen to see the changes and improvements made over the old Creation Workshop.

When I first ran the hero designer, I noticed that the graphics tended to be a little "glitch-y" (menues would become illegible agter the mouse cursor had moved over them). I was hoping the Update would help fix this graphics glitch, so I downloaded the Update1.19b.

After downloading the file and putting in my HeroDesigner directory, I launched HeroDesigner, the Splash screen came up (sating the version number as 1.19b), but then I got the Fatal Application Error.

Details of the Error Message are:
Fatal Application Error
Invocation of the Java Application has caused an Invocation Target Exception, this Application will not exit (LAX)
The Details button produces the following:
java.lang.ClassFormatError: com/hero/ui/ManeuversPanel$4 (Illegal constant pool type)

at java.lang.ClassLoader.defineClass0(Native Method)

at java.lang.ClassLoader.defineClass(Unknown Source)

at java.security.SecureClassLoader.defineClass(Unknow n Source)

at java.net.URLClassLoader.defineClass(Unknown Source)

at java.net.URLClassLoader.access$100(Unknown Source)

at java.net.URLClassLoader$1.run(Unknown Source)

at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)

at java.net.URLClassLoader.findClass(Unknown Source)

at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(Unknown Source)

at sun.misc.Launcher$AppClassLoader.loadClass(Unknown Source)

at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(Unknown Source)

at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClassInternal(Unknown Source)

at com.hero.ui.ManeuversPanel._$607(ManeuversPanel.ja va:150)

at com.hero.ui.ManeuversPanel.<init>(ManeuversPanel.j ava:50)

at com.hero.ui.MainContentPanel._$2441(MainContentPan el.java:97)

at com.hero.ui.MainContentPanel.<init>(MainContentPan el.java:35)

at com.hero.HeroDesigner.setActiveHero(HeroDesigner.j ava:2000)

at com.hero.HeroDesigner._$85496(HeroDesigner.java:72 1)

at com.hero.HeroDesigner._$85487(HeroDesigner.java:33 3)

at com.hero.HeroDesigner.<init>(HeroDesigner.java:181 )

at com.hero.HeroDesigner.getInstance(HeroDesigner.jav a:2107)

at com.hero.HeroDesigner.main(HeroDesigner.java:2088)

at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Nativ e Method)

at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Unknow n Source)

at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Un known Source)

at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Unknown Source)

at com.zerog.lax.LAX.launch(Unknown Source)

at com.zerog.lax.LAX.main(Unknown Source)

Er... I dunno what went wrong, and would appreciate any assistance.

Thankx

Amnesia

[Simon]

At last! An easy one

That error is indicative of a bad download or installation. Not bad enough to break the installer, but it seems to have corrupted several of the files that HD uses to run.

Try uninstalling HD and then re-downloading the app. Let me know if you need me to reset your account (if the link is not active on the orderStatus page, since you only have one day after the first d/l).

Once you re-download, go ahead and install it again and then apply the update (might as well re-d/l that as well).

That _should_ take care of the issue for you, though if you're on a particularly dirty dial-up connection it may take several tries before you get a "clean" download.

Hope this helps!

[Amnesia]

Hi dsimon

Thanks for the help. Downloading... now

Will report back when done.

Cheers

Amnesia

[Amnesia]

Ok, downloads complete. (Seemed fine)

Unistalled old version. Resinstalled new copy. Applied a newly downloaded Update1.19b.

Programs runs, No Fatal Application Error's.

So thats great. Thank you dsimon.

Er... I am however still experincing the graphics glitches ?
Is that indicative of a faulty download ?
Or is it something else ?

Comfused Amnesia

[Simon]

I'm not entirely sure, as I haven't seen it before. It's certainly not <i>supposed</i> to happen.

Are you using one of the skins? If so, go back to the original (skin-less) mode and see if that helps. If not, try one and see if that affects things at all.

If that doesn't help, then first check the file "trace.log" (in your install directory) and see if there are any errors in it. If there aren't any, then please post a few more details on the problem (exactly what are you seeing?) and also post the specs on your system (OS, RAM, processor, graphics card). I'll see if I can figure anything out

[Amnesia]

Hmm...

Well I checked the trace.log file but I didn't find any mention of errors. Which I think is good... isn't it ?

I wasn't using a skin, so I tried using one, but graphics problem was still there with and without a skin.

Ok description of Graphics problem:
Its a graphical problem where, when the cursor moves over menues and other parts of the hero designer (i.e. moves down over opened menues) its as if the passing cursor distorts/disrupts the local graphics of where it passed over and its especially noticible over menues (as the menu bit it just passed over becomes illegible) and it makes the menues you and screen you just passed over with the cursor quite unreadable. Its almost as if the HeroDesigner isn't refreshing its display properly after the cursor has moved on or selected something.

System Specs:
CPU: 660 MHz (Intel III)
RAM : 128 Mbytes
Graphics Card: 3dfx Voodoo 5 5500
OS: Win98SE (with just about all the updates)

Thanks Again for your assistance dsimon, if there is anything else you need please let me know.
I hope that helps you help me!

Amnesia

[Simon]

More questions:

1. If you minimize and then restore the app, does it repair the "damage" to the screen?

2. If you move another window in front of the app and then move it away, does it repair the "damage"?

3. (This may sound odd) Do you have a different mouse (ideally a different brand, but at least a different type) that you can try? Something which uses a different driver....

The problem that you're descibing sounds like a system-level issue. Java is never being told by the window manager on your system (Windows) to repaint its window(s) when the mouse cursor moves over it.

It's possible that it is an issue with the mouse driver that you're using, or it may be at a "deeper" level....

Let me know....

[Amnesia]

dsimon

You asked
1. If you minimize and then restore the app, does it repair the "damage" to the screen?
Answer: Yes

2. If you move another window in front of the app and then move it away, does it repair the "damage"?
Answer: Yes

Conclusion I think you're right. I think it may be a system's problem. I tried the Hero Designer on another system and had no problem or graphical glitches. I'll just take it to a system problem with this machine.

Thanks again for the help.

Cheers

Amnesia