PlaneShift

Support => Technical Help: Problems BEFORE entering the game => Topic started by: lacewing on September 24, 2008, 03:31:51 pm

Title: Missing file, unable to start client
Post by: lacewing on September 24, 2008, 03:31:51 pm
List of things I've done.

I downloaded the direct file (bittorrents do not work for me) Windows.
Install, try to turn on. Tells me that 'This application had failed to start because OpenAL32.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem.'
Uninstall, reinstall. Copy over the updaterinfor.xml
Run updater. It says it updates itself but then nothing else.
Run it again. It says nothing needs to be updated.
Attempt to turn on client. Same error message still.
Check the updaterinfo.xml in my notepad. Can not find (even with ctrl+f and typing in 'false' or 'true') the False to change to True line.

Next steps, will likely attempt to download either older version and see if I can update from that, or retry the updated version from a mirror.
What else can be suggested? I need step by step please, and about where to find any lines I need to update it's early and my head hasn't had caffeine yet.
Title: Re: Missing file, unable to start client
Post by: Crackken on September 24, 2008, 03:47:37 pm
In your planeshift folder, theres a file named updaterinfo.xml just open that in notepad the first line should have the false bit which needs to be replaced with 'true'
Quote
A small mistake was made when making the installers. The updater will consider itself disabled unless you open the updaterinfo.xml file and change the top line to be "true" instead of "false".

Sorry for the inconvenience
I get the same error. After installing the game and attempting to open the client, I get the error saying OpenAL32.dll wasn't found, and the client closes.

Read other threads. I fixed the XML file and am running the updater now..so hopefully after all is said and done I'll be able to play. If not..I shall return.

Editing the XML file and running the updater fixes the OpenAL32.dll problem.

After editing the XML file try running the updater directly from the updater program in your planeshift program folder: psupdater_static
Title: Re: Missing file, unable to start client
Post by: EvindR on October 29, 2008, 06:54:10 am
Just downloaded the client and attempted to run it. Says that OpenAL32.dll was not found. 

I opened up the xml file to change the false line to true, but neither word is located in the file anywhere.

What else can I try?

 
Title: Re: Missing file, unable to start client
Post by: Caarrie on October 29, 2008, 12:18:04 pm
http://hydlaa.com/smf/index.php?topic=33701.0
Title: Re: Missing file, unable to start client
Post by: Sharpii on October 29, 2008, 03:19:42 pm
Hello I am new here.

I did what Caarrie wrote about openal32.dll but the game still don't work at all. openal32.dll will missing again.  >:(
I hope that some one could help me with this  :) Maybe send openal32.dll that it then will work  :P
Title: Re: Missing file, unable to start client
Post by: neko kyouran on October 29, 2008, 04:09:55 pm
Try getting the new client here:  http://hydlaa.com/smf/index.php?topic=32978.msg389492#msg389492

that way you don't have to worry about the updater issue.
Title: Re: Missing file, unable to start client
Post by: Sharpii on October 29, 2008, 06:27:33 pm
I used that installer. But it won't help. The openal32.dll is missing again.
Can some one make winrar for this file ? 
Title: Re: Missing file, unable to start client
Post by: Sharpii on October 29, 2008, 07:51:19 pm
Never mind, I can play they game  \\o// \\o//
Title: Re: Missing file, unable to start client
Post by: isawhim on October 31, 2008, 03:23:40 pm
Again, in version 0.4.02

The "Missing openal32.dll" is still coming up.

There IS NO FLAG in the <config>, you are confusing people when you tell them to change the flag from false to true, when one does not exist.
Adding the flag on a fully updated client does nothing. (EG, This will do nothing if the client is up to date, there is nothing to update.)

Seriously, with all the updates, why is this file not added to the install yet?

I don't even have a sound-blaster card. (OpenAL32.dll is a "CreativeLabs" dll. If you are using some-other hand-made DLL or a specific version, called OpenAL32.dll, I suggest that you include it in the \game\ folder. That is the "Standard" windows method. Attempting to register a DLL with the same name as an existing "Windows Certified" DLL is a violation of windows use agreement, because it can cause hardware/software that you did not create, to stop working.)

In code, I suggest that this "Non-critical" dll error should be handled by disabling sound, if it is required. Since I don't have any Creative-Labs hardware, it should not even be attempting to load the DLL. The program should "Look" to see if the file exists, before attempting to use such a critical element. (Critical, because it stops the game from loading, for no apparent reason.)

Awaiting a solution that works... No, I will not rifle through all the posts to dig for a solution. The ones I have found, have not been a solution.

(Downloading the missing DLL, the creative-labs version, causes entry-point errors which tells me that you may be using your own "DLL" or a specific version. If you are going to operate in a windows environment, you should check with windows about reserved "Paid License" DLL registered names. It is not that difficult to search google and find them. It is also not that difficult to simply rename the DLL or keep your custom version inside your \game\ folder.)

Sorry if this seems a little on have a negative tone... but after four years, and 0.4.02 versions... and the fact that full instructions are written about how to deal with it... tells me this is not some "New" issue. Plus my 10 hour download wait... Plus the 3 hours I spent hunting down the solutions and trying them, and trying my own... I am a little on the negative side.

This is not helping my judgement to consider this "Engine" as a possible tool for use in creation of my own game.
Title: Re: Missing file, unable to start client
Post by: Farren Kutter on October 31, 2008, 04:16:50 pm
You'll need to download the OpenAL, which comes with the proper .dll :) I think OpenAL itself is more than just a DLL though
Title: Re: Missing file, unable to start client
Post by: Sen on October 31, 2008, 04:23:26 pm
Hi

Did you use an installer of version 0402 or updated to that version?
I was under the impression of that the new client will bring the dll. If someone knows this for sure I'd appreciate the information.

The xml _did_ have that flag with the 0401 version for sure so it was a working solution and not confusing people.
What exactly is the updater saying when you start it (in a console/command prompt)? What is your operating system and what exactly did you download when you downloaded the dll?

This is supposed to be a community project, so "Awaiting a solution that works... No, I will not rifle through all [...]" is not the right way. Working together means from both sides.

Sen

Title: Re: Missing file, unable to start client
Post by: kuski_tkd on October 31, 2008, 04:33:30 pm
Hey, I've installed the program too, and after getting the openall32.dll error if tried to correct it. But after opening the updaterinfo.xml I couldn't finde the line <config active="false"> that I have to change...   ::| Then I've tried changing the first line I have "<config>" into the one that it's suppossed to make the game run "<config active="true">" but nothing happens. I still receive the same error message. :-\
Any solution?? ???

Btw, I have downloaded the 0402 version and trying to run the game with Vista
Title: Re: Missing file, unable to start client
Post by: Sen on October 31, 2008, 05:47:00 pm
The reason for this <config active = "true"> thing was with the 0401 client that it was on false. And with that false setting the updater never downloaded updates. Setting it to true corrected that.
I don't know how the file looks with the 0402 client, but if the line is not there or just <config> I would _assume_ there is no change needed at all.

First try I would do is run the updater in a command window and watch/post the output of it.
Except someone is around who knows what is wrong  ;)

Sen
Title: Re: Missing file, unable to start client
Post by: kuski_tkd on October 31, 2008, 06:12:20 pm
The updater says everything is ok, that there are no updates to download... =s

Anyways, thanks!
Title: Re: Missing file, unable to start client
Post by: wizkidchris1109 on November 04, 2008, 05:08:13 am
Hi

Did you use an installer of version 0402 or updated to that version?
I was under the impression of that the new client will bring the dll. If someone knows this for sure I'd appreciate the information.

The xml _did_ have that flag with the 0401 version for sure so it was a working solution and not confusing people.
What exactly is the updater saying when you start it (in a console/command prompt)? What is your operating system and what exactly did you download when you downloaded the dll?

This is supposed to be a community project, so "Awaiting a solution that works... No, I will not rifle through all [...]" is not the right way. Working together means from both sides.

Sen




It seems that I'm not the only one with this problem, but maybe one of the few digging through way too many useless posts...
I downloaded the PlaneShift-v0.4.02.exe and got the OpenAL32.dll not found error, read that I just needed to keep on trying the updater and it would eventually work---and a few hundred times later it still has NOT, read a lot of posts where people responding to this problem keep thinking I (and others) are using 4.01 (WE ARE USING 4.02!)...... I'm not upset or disgruntled even, I'm really just amazed at how and why a file necessary to run the game isn't included in the installer in the FIRST place. *huge exhalation* I'm not a person who writes programs, I'm just a gamer, but to me it seems really....[use your own explicative]....for this to have not been solved even by a simple posting of the file we need somewhere on the site to download. PLEASE just post a link so we can download the correct .dll if you're not going to fix the installer (the 4.02 installer!) until your next major update. PLEASE!

This post is so long because I've read a lot of useless crap and want to make the problem as clear as possible to the people who SHOULD be able to fix this....grrr....

EDIT: Since there all the "fixes" were for the 4.01 version, I decided to download it and the updater fix..........and now the game works for me. Of course, that doesn't change the fact that the 4.02 release deserves explicatives for not working....
Title: Re: Missing file, unable to start client
Post by: Brikken on November 04, 2008, 11:23:22 am
I agree with wizkidchris1109

And it's kind of amazing reading all these posts completely ignoring the problem as if it's not occuring. Well, it is. You might not believe it, but it is.
Title: Re: Missing file, unable to start client
Post by: Mordraugion on November 04, 2008, 01:38:43 pm
Its kind of amazing that everyone forgets that the game is developed by volunteers in their spare time divided  between family husbands/wives/children full time jobs and university, no one is ignoring anything.
Title: Re: Missing file, unable to start client
Post by: kuski_tkd on November 04, 2008, 01:59:39 pm
Hey!
I do still receive the same error and I've tried to download the older version (what I couldn't do, a problem with my internet provider, nothing to do with this) but , Hey! Do not worry!!. I think that, while anyone tries to solve the problem, whoever received the error window could try downloading the previous version...
Because, it's not as wizkidchris1109 says, THEY TRIED TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM but another one appeared (and as a student of computer programming I DO understand the programmers, because errors appear everywhere where they shouldn't!!!)

So try to keep that bad criticism away!! And if no solution has still appeared, maybe it's because they haven't find it YET!
And until anyone finds the solution, I'll wait.. I do not understand so well yet ;)
Title: Re: Missing file, unable to start client
Post by: Brikken on November 04, 2008, 03:33:23 pm
Its kind of amazing that everyone forgets that the game is developed by volunteers in their spare time divided  between family husbands/wives/children full time jobs and university, no one is ignoring anything.

I'm not after the hard working volunteers on this project - not at all. If instead they said "Hm, we have and unexplainable error here, I don't have time to fix it right now, but stay updated", then everybody would be happy. But people saying "you didn't make a clean install" and "download it and it works" when in fact it doesn't, that's ignoring the problem.

So just to recap, I'm happy volunteers are on this project, but you should know there is a problem with 4.02 - and it's not ghosts or unclean installs.
Title: Re: Missing file, unable to start client
Post by: Caarrie on November 04, 2008, 03:40:04 pm
If you have downloaded the .4.02 client and still cant find the openal32.dll you can download it from
http://www.psmirror.org/repo/backup/win32/OpenAL32.dll
one of the official ps updater repro's. We have NO fix for this apparent issue at this time.


Official testers have been asked and they had no issue with this, so at this time we do not know what the cause is or the fix in the installer.
Title: Re: Missing file, unable to start client
Post by: Brikken on November 04, 2008, 04:08:42 pm
 :thumbup:

It works, thanks a lot