Crashes

[Jhamil92]

I am dealing with continuous crashes on my project in many different areas, it is random, I am doing nothing, resize a window, collide etc and the game will crash, also my output will list about 40 of this message when loading project.
Core Resources : Info - Blank IdReference found - could be that the project is corrupt.


-what am I supposed to do, I have poured 100+ hours on my project and feel completely discouraged/ afraid that I should just get out of this business for good. PLEASE help, I am begging please.

 

[Evanski]

because you're getting " Core Resources : Info - Blank IdReference found " on project load, Most likely the project is indeed corrupt, and this is an example of using source control and making backups

 

[Jhamil92]

I have made 4 backups and they are all giving the same message, Is there anything I can do? What does that mean source control?

 

[Toque]

I am dealing with continuous crashes on my project in many different areas, it is random, I am doing nothing, resize a window, collide etc and the game will crash, also my output will list about 40 of this message when loading project.
Core Resources : Info - Blank IdReference found - could be that the project is corrupt.


-what am I supposed to do, I have poured 100+ hours on my project and feel completely discouraged/ afraid that I should just get out of this business for good. PLEASE help, I am begging please.

Oh that’s unfortunate.
So incremental saving. I start a game and save. Joust100. Do some work then save joust101, Then work a half hour then save joust102, Etc. So I will only lose a little work if file corrupts. Or if I get a bad bug I go back to the last working version and try again.

sorry I don’t know what your error means.

 

[Jhamil92]

4 backups, but I saved over all of them........with the file thats giving me issues

 

[TsukaYuriko]

The most important data safety rule right after "make backups" is "never mess with said backups". When loading backups, always make a copy of the backup first. After falling into the ocean and having a life belt thrown your way, the absolute last thing you'd want to do is to stab it.

With that said, this is source control:

Git

git-scm.com

I suggest starting to use it as soon as you get your project back into a working state.

For now, make a backup of your project, then make a copy of this backup and try to salvage the project by working with the copy. This way, you won't mess up your working project, have a copy of the state before it messed up and still have a way to try to salvage it.


Which (exact) version of GMS are you on? This was a known bug in 2.3.0. An update in the 2.3.1 beta phase didn't exactly fix the core issue, but it made the error message more descriptive, showing exactly which files are affected by this. The error message you posted seems to be of the less descriptive variant, so I assume you're still on 2.3.0.

This is a bit adventurous, but you could try installing 2.3.1, opening the copy of your project (preferably another copy as opening it in 2.3.1 may change the file format) to find out which files are affected, then installing your preferred version again, deleting those files from your project and re-importing them. This should allow the project to load correctly again.

You should then proceed to read up on the benefits of using source control and subsequently start using it so that you will have a one-click way out of situations like this, should one arise again.

 

[Jhamil92]

thank you, I am on 2.3.1. My project used to be on 2.3.0.

 

[Jhamil92]

Should I have not opened an old project on a new version of gms2?

 

[TsukaYuriko]

Generally speaking, this should not be a problem - but that's only valid in a perfect world. 2.3.1 is still relatively new, so there may be some breaking bugs that will spontaneously and irrecoverably corrupt your project. (All the more reason to start using source control once this whole ordeal is over! )

2.3.1 is not exact. If you're on the most recent version (2.3.1.536 IDE / 2.3.1.406 Runtime as of writing), these error messages should tell you the exact files involved. Are you on this version?

Here are a few topics regarding the issue, hopefully they will be helpful for you:

Windows - GMS 2.3 Corrupted File? "Blank IdReference found - could be that the project is corrupt."

When i opend up my game i get the "Blank IdReference found - could be that the project is corrupt." in the output window. I look back into my folders and my objects sprites etc are all there. When i try adding existing or even just dragging the .yy or the folder into the ide it gives me that...

forum.yoyogames.com

Corrupted File, Need Help!!!

I made a prior post re: my resource tree being messed up since updating to 2.3. I'm starting this new thread because I don't know if this is related. I keep getting this message since the update: Core Resources : Info - Blank IdReference found - could be that the project is corrupt. Anyone...

forum.yoyogames.com

Mac OSX - Project corruption errors, even though it works fine?

I have a project on MacOS Mojave, and I recently updated to 2.3.0 When I open my project I get warnings saying "Blank IdReference found - could be that the project is corrupt. "...despite the fact that all of my resources are intact. There are tons of these warnings that show up at the start...

forum.yoyogames.com

 

[Jhamil92]

The most important data safety rule right after "make backups" is "never mess with said backups". When loading backups, always make a copy of the backup first. After falling into the ocean and having a life belt thrown your way, the absolute last thing you'd want to do is to stab it.

With that said, this is source control:

Git

git-scm.com

I suggest starting to use it as soon as you get your project back into a working state.

For now, make a backup of your project, then make a copy of this backup and try to salvage the project by working with the copy. This way, you won't mess up your working project, have a copy of the state before it messed up and still have a way to try to salvage it.


Which (exact) version of GMS are you on? This was a known bug in 2.3.0. An update in the 2.3.1 beta phase didn't exactly fix the core issue, but it made the error message more descriptive, showing exactly which files are affected by this. The error message you posted seems to be of the less descriptive variant, so I assume you're still on 2.3.0.

This is a bit adventurous, but you could try installing 2.3.1, opening the copy of your project (preferably another copy as opening it in 2.3.1 may change the file format) to find out which files are affected, then installing your preferred version again, deleting those files from your project and re-importing them. This should allow the project to load correctly again.

You should then proceed to read up on the benefits of using source control and subsequently start using it so that you will have a one-click way out of situations like this, should one arise again.

I just feel defeated, please help me.

 

[Jhamil92]

Generally speaking, this should not be a problem - but that's only valid in a perfect world. 2.3.1 is still relatively new, so there may be some breaking bugs that will spontaneously and irrecoverably corrupt your project. (All the more reason to start using source control once this whole ordeal is over! )

2.3.1 is not exact. If you're on the most recent version (2.3.1.536 IDE / 2.3.1.406 Runtime as of writing), these error messages should tell you the exact files involved. Are you on this version?

Here are a few topics regarding the issue, hopefully they will be helpful for you:

Windows - GMS 2.3 Corrupted File? "Blank IdReference found - could be that the project is corrupt."

When i opend up my game i get the "Blank IdReference found - could be that the project is corrupt." in the output window. I look back into my folders and my objects sprites etc are all there. When i try adding existing or even just dragging the .yy or the folder into the ide it gives me that...

forum.yoyogames.com

Corrupted File, Need Help!!!

I made a prior post re: my resource tree being messed up since updating to 2.3. I'm starting this new thread because I don't know if this is related. I keep getting this message since the update: Core Resources : Info - Blank IdReference found - could be that the project is corrupt. Anyone...

forum.yoyogames.com

Mac OSX - Project corruption errors, even though it works fine?

I have a project on MacOS Mojave, and I recently updated to 2.3.0 When I open my project I get warnings saying "Blank IdReference found - could be that the project is corrupt. "...despite the fact that all of my resources are intact. There are tons of these warnings that show up at the start...

forum.yoyogames.com

I am on this version....

 

[TsukaYuriko]

I'm already helping you, but you'll have to actually follow the instructions and advice that has been provided so far (both by me and by others in the topics I linked you to) and not just answer questions - and if you have tried anything, you'll have to tell us what you tried and what effect it had. We unfortunately can't magically fix this for you no matter how much info you provide us with.

 

[Jhamil92]

Well there were extra sprites in my sprite folders, some were all black that don't recall ever creating. I deleted all of the sprite layers that weren't supposed to be in the folder and got the same messages, trying what you said I should do now as well...but the thing is, I am already running the most recent version, I'm not seeing any information in the output window that indicates which files are effected so I'm not exactly sure how to do these things you are recommending.

 

[Evanski]

life belt

 

[Jhamil92]

Used the yyp maker and am still having the same problem.

 

[TsukaYuriko]

If you delete all sprites, does the project load correctly? That seems to be a common solution - not necessarily because all sprites are corrupt, but because the project will fail to load if any one of them is... so getting rid of all of them eliminates that chance.

 

[Jhamil92]

No it does not. Are there any other options?

 

[TsukaYuriko]

If you tried out all of the things I've mentioned and linked already, I'm unfortunately out of "common fix" suggestions. If you feel comfortable sending me the source of your project in a private message, I can offer to take a look at it and see if I can salvage it on my end somehow. That aside, the only other option I can offer is to file a ticket with customer support.

 

[Jhamil92]

Please, how do I send it to you?

 

[TsukaYuriko]

Click on my profile picture, then on "Start conversation".