Won't Launch on Mavericks

When I try to launch Vassal-3.2.8 on my Mac on Mavericks I get this error message:

VASSAL-3.2.8 can’t be opened because it is from an unidentified developer.

Clicking help reveals:
The app you tried to open was not registered with Apple by an identified developer. This doesn’t necessarily mean that something’s wrong with the app. For example, some apps were written before developer ID registration began. However, the app has not been reviewed. Also, there is no way for OS X to check whether the app has been modified or broken since it was released. A common way to distribute malware is to take an innocent app and insert harmful code into it, and then redistribute the infected app.

They provide a work around:
You can choose to override your security settings and open the app anyway.

  1. In the Finder, locate the app you want to open. Most apps can be found in the Applications folder.
  2. Press the Control-key, then click the app icon.
  3. Choose Open from the shortcut menu.
  4. Click Open.

Any way to permanently change this so I don’t have to do this every time?

You can disable the feature that is nagging you about VASSAL in System Preferences → Security & Privacy

See here: osxdaily.com/2012/07/27/app-cant … developer/

As far as I can tell Vassal needs Java SE 6 as well which is removed by the upgrade to Mavericks. Is there any way to get Vassal running on Java 7 instead and avoid reinstalling the ancient Java?

/Quisition

Hmm… on second thoughts… Do I need the full JDK in order to run Vassal or just the JRE?

Just the JRE. VASSAL runs just fine on Java 7 and has for quite a long time.

Apple’s Java for Mavericks (1.6.0_65) is here: support.apple.com/kb/DL1572?viewlocale=en_US

Oracle’s Java for OS X (1.7.0_45) is here: java.com/en/download/mac_dow … ?locale=en

Hmm… Must be something on my system in that case… I have JRE 1.7.0_45 installed but when I try to start Vassal I get the system me to reinstall Java 6 and refuses to start. If I verify on Oracle’s site it claims I have a working Java 7 installation though…

Seems like I have some laggy preference to try and use Java 6 instead of Java 7 for some reason…

After some further troubleshooting and re-installation of Java SE 6 from Apple I now have my other Java app working in Mavericks. Vassal is still refusing to open. Is there perhaps a bug in Vassal 3.2.8 (even tried with the latest devseed). When I try to start it from the terminal I get the following error message:

[mysystem]$ open /Applications/VASSAL-3.2.8.app
LSOpenURLsWithRole() failed with error -10810 for the file /Applications/VASSAL-3.2.8.app.

Any ideas? I have tried to reinstall Vassal as well but the error message stays the same… :frowning:

Thus spake Quisition:

After some further troubleshooting and re-installation of Java SE 6 from
Apple I now have my other Java app working in Mavericks. Vassal is still
refusing to open. Is there perhaps a bug in Vassal 3.2.8 (even tried
with the latest devseed). When I try to start it from the terminal I get
the following error message:

[mysystem]$ open /Applications/VASSAL-3.2.8.app
LSOpenURLsWithRole() failed with error -10810 for the file
/Applications/VASSAL-3.2.8.app.

Any ideas? I have tried to reinstall Vassal as well but the error
message stays the same… :frowning:

Try the generic bundle: sourceforge.net/projects/vassale … -other.zip

Does that launch for you?


J.

Wow… Yes, that launched without error messages. Seems to be missing some fonts and much slower than it used to be but that could perhaps be due to some configuration I had made (pretty sure I had increased stack size and such before since WiF is a rather large module).

This seems to support my thesis that there is a bug in the OS X specific bundle in that case. How do we narrow that down?

Thus spake Quisition:

Wow… Yes, that launched without error messages. Seems to be missing
some fonts and much slower than it used to be but that could perhaps be
due to some configuration I had made (pretty sure I had increased stack
size and such before since WiF is a rather large module).

This seems to support my thesis that there is a bug in the OS X specific
bundle in that case. How do we narrow that down?

The bug you’re seeing is this one:

vassalengine.org/tracker/sho … gi?id=9897

The problem is that the Apple-provided launcher doesn’t work with Java
7. There’s a replacement launcher, but it doesn’t work with Java 6. This
puts us in a dilemma, since providing two different Mac bundles would be
inviting a support nightmare—we would get endless complaints from
users who can’t get VASSAL to run because they’d downloaded the wrong
bundle.

The last time I investigated this problem, I delayed taking action in
hopes that when I returned to it, the new launcher would support Java 6,
but it seems not to be the case. Now I’m looking into what else we can
do.


J.

Right… it’s good to know it’s an identified problem in that case. Thanks for the feedback.

Too be perfectly honest I can’t really see you have any alternative.

Apple is actively killing Java SE 6 and will continue to make sure it dies. They are barely tolerating Oracle’s Java SE 7 at the moment and remotely deactivates it whenever a security issue is found which makes it an uncertain platform for the future I guess but at least it’s not dead yet.

Mavericks is released for free and supported on almost all Macs from 2007 and forwards. The release is already seeing a high adaptation rate so I think you are forced to provide a working solution whether if you want to keep us happy users… =)

Any chance I can just switch some files around to start the Mac bundle with the generic launcher or get access to your replacement launcher in the mean time?

Thus spake Quisition:

Any chance I can just switch some files around to start the Mac bundle
with the generic launcher or get access to your replacement launcher in
the mean time?

Try 3.2.9-svn8901, which contains a replacement launcher:

vassalengine.sourceforge.net/bui … macosx.dmg

  • What versions of Java do you have installed?

  • What version of OS X are you using?

  • Can you run VASSAL from the app bundle?

  • What version of Java does the app bundle find? (You can check this in
    the errorLog, close to the top. Go to Help > Error Log in the Module
    Manager.)

  • Do you see any differences in appearance or behavior between this app
    bundle and the the app bundle for 3.2.8?


J.

Hello!

I’ve verified this now in a game session running OS X 10.9 with Java SE 7 u45.

I can run Vassal from that devseed. I does however seem rather sluggish compared to Vassal 3.2.8 running Java SE 6 and OS X 10.8. Not really sure what the slowdown is due to though but it makes it rather tough moving counters for example… :frowning:

But at least it is starting I guess…

Glad I am not the only one with a slow Java 7 VASSAL.

Thus spake Quisition:

Hello!

I’ve verified this now in a game session running OS X 10.9 with Java SE
7 u45.

I can run Vassal from that devseed. I does however seem rather sluggish
compared to Vassal 3.2.8 running Java SE 6 and OS X 10.8. Not really
sure what the slowdown is due to though but it makes it rather tough
moving counters for example… :frowning:

What’s your hardware? In particular, what graphics card do you have?

One Mac where there’s no problem with Java 7 has an Intel 5000, and
bdgza has an ATI Radeon HD5750.


J.

Thus spake Quisition:

Hello!

I’ve verified this now in a game session running OS X 10.9 with Java SE
7 u45.

I can run Vassal from that devseed. I does however seem rather sluggish
compared to Vassal 3.2.8 running Java SE 6 and OS X 10.8. Not really
sure what the slowdown is due to though but it makes it rather tough
moving counters for example… :frowning:

Does this happen at every zoom level for you? (In particular, does it
happen at 100%?)


J.

The Mac where I know Java 7 is working does not have a Retina display. I’ll bet that you and bdgza both have Retina displays. In 3.2.2, we introduced a workaround for a bug in Apple’s Java 6 which prevented map tiles from painting correctly. If that bug is fixed in Java 7, then our workaround is no longer appropriate for anyone running Java 7 on a Mac with a Retina display. Here’s a build which removes the special behavior for Retina displays:

vassalengine.sourceforge.net/bui … around.dmg

Does this work properly for you with Java 7?

Hi All,
I’m having trouble with Vassal on my MAC too.

With the last patch VASSAL-3.2.9-svn8901 I can start Vassal but it is very slow and I have trouble dragging elements around the main board. Before Mavericks it was running nice.
I’m playing with “Command and Colors Napoleonic” (Ver 2.31) and “Hammer of the Scots” (Ver 7) modules.

Here is my system:

java version “1.7.0_45”
Java™ SE Runtime Environment (build 1.7.0_45-b18)
Java HotSpot™ 64-Bit Server VM (build 24.45-b08, mixed mode)

MacBook Pro 13" (end of 2011).
CPU: 2.8GHz Intel Core i7
RAM 4 GM 1333 MHz DDR3
Graphics Intel HD Graphics 3000 384 MB
OS X 10.9 (13A603)

Let me know if I can help in some way.

Thanks
Grifalco.

Thus spake grifalco:

Hi All,
I’m having trouble with Vassal on my Max too.

With the last patch VASSAL-3.2.9-svn8901 I can start Vassal but it is
very slow and I have trouble dragging elements around the main board.
Before Mavericks it was running nice.
I’m playing with “Command and Colors Napoleonic” (Ver 2.31) and “Hammer
of the Scots” (Ver 7) modules.

Here is my system:

java version “1.7.0_45”
Java™ SE Runtime Environment (build 1.7.0_45-b18)
Java HotSpot™ 64-Bit Server VM (build 24.45-b08, mixed mode)

MacBook Pro 13" (end of 2011).
CPU: 2.8GHz Intel Core i7
RAM 4 GM 1333 MHz DDR3
Graphics Intel HD Graphics 3000 384 MB
OS X 10.9 (13A603)

Let me know if I can help in some way.

Were you running with Java 7 before Mavericks?


J.

Hi Uckelman,
I was running VASSAL-3.2.8-svn8781.
To be honest I do not remember which java version I had,
I think it should be Java 6.something.

G.