Desert.esh

[Spoonboy]

Hi folks,

When I try to load the ZCT270 track, I get an error message:

"desert.ESH FILE ERROR"

and Stunts quits to DOS.
Anyone else get this? Other maps work fine, this is the same 1.1 install I've always used.

[Daniel3D]

I've seen that error before. I don't think it has to do with the horizon file but a memory overflow or something. But I can't remember what it was and that irritates me.

[Spoonboy]

I can't see it mentioned anywhere else. The only thing I changed was to add this track and the 2024 custom cars I didn't have (removing a couple to make space).
I'm using Magic Dosbox for android, but as I say, it's only this track that triggers the issue.
A file named desert.esh isn't visible/searchable in any Stunts install I have (tried a fresh download just in case).
Maybe @alanrotoi included too many palm trees?? 

[Daniel3D]

[A file named desert.esh isn't visible/searchable in any Stunts

That is because the file doesn't exist.
*.Esh is an unpacked *.PES file. That extension is used but not for Horizons.

Check if all 5 horizons (desert.vsh, city.vsh etcetera) are still there.
And download a clean copy of the game.
Either from ZakStunts, CCC, the wiki or somewhere on the forum.

[Duplode]

That's a weird crash, @Spoonboy ! I tried loading the track in my main install (DOSBox Staging 0.80 on Linux, and a Stunts folder seeded from the ZakStunts 2016 package, I think), and it seemed to work normally here. Since I don't really know where to start digging, I suggest trying a new install freshly downloaded from, say, Kalpen (Dowload Stunts >> Download Stunts! 1.1, near the bottom of the page) or some other competition site, and/or DOSBox on a computer, be it running Windows, Linux or macOS. (I have no experience with DOSBox on Android -- @Daniel3D do you think that might be a factor?)

Also, if you attach a zip of you Stunts folder here, I can try to reproduce the crash in my computer when I get home in the evening.

[Argammon]

@Spoonboy: I did a quick test, and it works on my system. Unfortunately, I can't think of any better solution than a complete reinstall either.

I know a little about Magic Dosbox. Too clarify, are you using Magic Dosbox to actually play the game? That is, are you playing on a phone or tablet and not with a keyboard or/and a controller?    Knowing the details of your setup might help us track down the problem should a reinstall does not work...

[Erik Barros]

I usually use magic dosbox on my cell phone to be able to watch some replays while I'm away, I downloaded the track of the month and it opened without problems, I'm using the zak 2023 version. I remember that when I hear the change from the 2022 season to 2023 and I went running I had a bug but I don't remember the details, at the time I downloaded the latest package from the website and it resolved it.

[Spoonboy]

Fresh 2024 install seems to work fine!
Thanks all for your advice.

@Argammon yes I am 100% phone based and driving via Magic DOSBox, which lets me place keyboard keys on my screen as widgets. Means I can tailor it to my driving style (as mentioned in the DGC podcast).
Happy to help anyone interested in trying MD, and I can share my widget file if desired.
Any Stunts, anytime, anywhere!

Don't know what the old 2023 install was missing, but never mind. Tbh, clearing the decks for a new season is a good thing, less replays to scroll through. Should have tried this earlier, instead of concentrating on specific files etc.
Now, back to racing!

[Argammon]

[...]

@Argammon yes I am 100% phone based and driving via Magic DOSBox, which lets me place keyboard keys on my screen as widgets. Means I can tailor it to my driving style (as mentioned in the DGC podcast).
[...]

Wow, now with that in mind your lap times are really impressive. WOW! 

[Spoonboy]

[...]

@Argammon yes I am 100% phone based and driving via Magic DOSBox, which lets me place keyboard keys on my screen as widgets. Means I can tailor it to my driving style (as mentioned in the DGC podcast).
[...]

Wow, now with that in mind your lap times are really impressive. WOW! 

Haha, well it lets me place only the keys I need, exactly where I need them. Of course this obstructs the view slightly, but you get used to it.
And touchscreens are very sensitive nowadays, so the only lag in the system is my brain's reaction time 

[Daniel3D]

[...]

@Argammon yes I am 100% phone based and driving via Magic DOSBox, which lets me place keyboard keys on my screen as widgets. Means I can tailor it to my driving style (as mentioned in the DGC podcast).
[...]

Wow, now with that in mind your lap times are really impressive. WOW! 

Haha, well it lets me place only the keys I need, exactly where I need them. Of course this obstructs the view slightly, but you get used to it.
And touchscreens are very sensitive nowadays, so the only lag in the system is my brain's reaction time 

My brain isn't used to it. So I struggle a lot with it. But I've been running it for years. 

[Spoonboy]

For future reference:
At the suggestion of @Cas in the shoutbox, I went searching for other desert. files. I found desert.pvs in the new 2024 install, which was missing in my original. Dropping this in solves the desert.esh issue! \o/

But I'll stick with my clean install this season (to save wading through all my 2023 replays), and will make it a habit to start each season with a fresh version each time.
Because cleanliness is next to Stuntliness.

[Cas]

Ha, ha!  Glad it worked!  It's curious that it's a PVS, because the uncompressed variant would be a VSH not ESH. It seems that Stunts has even more option for scenery files. Then surely a PES file would work too, but we have no way to make one. It'd be interesting to see why it looks for that one too.

[Daniel3D]

I think that it's a programmed error message. PES (Esh) files were used by earlier games of DSI as well. The are now only used in the track editor and intro animation. Those were probably made outside the core team. It could be that the horizon image also started as PES or Esh.

[Cas]

The "P" in "PES" means "packed", following the rule of other extensions in Stunts. The "SH" in "ESH" stands for shape, following "3SH" and "VSH". Not sure what the "E" means. "Extra"?  I think ESH/PES files store bitmaps that are not car-related and yes, it seems to be an older format that has limitations and probably because of that, came VSH/PVS. Just guessing... it could be that ESH/PES have one byte to represent width and another to represent height, so images can't be larger than 255x255.