Last week on VASSAL’s ConsimWorld forum (post 6775), I posted the situation where a visible counter was left in one hex when the Logfile showed that it had moved to another. This happened to me twice with two different modules – 3rd edition TRC and Bull Run.
Chris Dodd (post 6778) provided an answer that a divergence had developed between the game state and the initial state. I was unsure whether it was VASSAL or my computer system that made this divergence between the “game state” and the “initial state.” I did not understand Chris Dodd’s explanation.
Someone else indicated that another module was subject to the same problem and that the bug that caused this situation had not been tracked down as yet.
I provide a screen shot (post 6785), Image BR1, of the Bull Run Logfile showing the movement of the unit and the final location of the unit when the Logfile was saved. This image is from the reopened saved Logfile. Image BR2 is from the beginning of the next Logfile. The game was not saved between Logfiles.
Joel Uckelman (post 6778) wanted a list of steps detailing how the divergence developed so that someone else reproduce the situation.
I reviewed the Logfile. The first time I reviewed it I noticed that a sequence:
- UNDO: UNDO: * P (EV) Gen Evans (0-0-6) moving from [BR R07] to [BR R10]
- UNDO: * P (EV) Gen Evans (0-0-6) moving from [BR R07] to [BR R10]
These two lines occurred at the point shown by the blue arrow in image BR3. I wrote down the full sequence as I hope to reproduce it to see if the stated problem occurred again in a different Logfile.
However, when I reopened the BR-005.vlog Logfile again, that sequence was missing. The counter was still located at the BR R07 hex from which it was supposed to have moved but did not.
I tried repeatedly in other Logfiles to repeat the written sequence, but could not. And, the counter always moved as indicated by the Logfile. No problem repeated itself.
I am not crazy although it must seem that way. I don’t believe that Logfiles can change one they are written – but this one seems to have done that.
In conclusion, I could not repeat the error or the sequence which I believed to have caused the error. Further, the Logfile seems to have mysteriously corrected, or at least deleted the error sequence, itself although it failed to correct the location of the counter.
I am including the complete Logfile BR-005.vlog. It is used with the AH’s Bull Run v5 module downloaded from VASSAL’s Module Pages. My computer is a Dell Inspiration running Windows 7 Pro.