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Support & Bug Tracking

February 16, 2014 | Dukus | 202 Comments

Only a few days to go before Banished is available for purchase!

I've set up some support forums to help with bug tracking and reporting. They aren't pretty yet, but they're functional. In addition to being able to get help from me and the rest of the community, the forums allow for uploading crash dumps and save games.

If the game crashes, a small crash dump will be output which you can then submit along with a bug report. This file will show me where in the code the game has crashed and helps to track down and reproduce bugs more quickly.

Save games can also help to reproduce bugs - usually if a problem exists a recent save game will continue to show the bugs after it has been loaded.

My plan is to collect any issues and bugs and list them in a known issues thread, so that everyone can see what issues exist and what I'm working on fixing.

Now it's time to relax until the game is released, and have nice dreams that the Bug Reports category on the forum will stay empty..... Ha!

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202 comments on “Support & Bug Tracking”

  1. I'm really getting excited now. Hopefully there won't be too many bugs, or at least not any onnes that are really difficult to fix. I expect a handful of patches would be needed at most for debugging.

  2. I'm genuinely excited for you, Luke. Three years work and hopefully over the next few days you'll get the reward you deserve. It's particularly good to see the positive nature of the media coverage so far.

  3. oh man I can't wait !

    If only you accepted donations, and allowed alpha-beta testing (ala planetary annhilation on kickstarter) you would have made much more money $$$

  4. I'm sure there will only be a few bugs on opening day but nothing that causes crash issues. I've seen AAA games with more bugs than an actual game.

    as a side note which payment method get's you the most money? I heard people say if we buy from Steam it'll make your game on top of the list so other people will see it.

  5. Perhaps - which is to say very likely - this issue has been addressed already, but in case it hasn't I thought I'd mention it here so that it could be dealt with before the release. I recall that mines and quarries used to have a maximum worker limit of 30 each. Now it seems to be 15. So far so good (and also noticed how they can be exhausted). My concern is two of the achievements I managed to get a peak at. They stated that for three years, the player was to maintain two mines or two quarries at full capacity respectively. My worry is that it stated as well that they were to have "30 each" in terms of workers. Since it's now impossible to have 30 workers at mines or quarries, are these achievements defunct, I'm they sense that they can never be unlocked? Has something changed instead, like for instance, do we need to maintain four mines (or quarries) for 3 years at full capacity? Perhaps - and I assume that this has already been done - the achievement list should be revisited to see that it is compatible with the latest build of the game, making any necessary changes along the way.

  6. Are you going to sell the game directly or only via stream? Would you accept payment in bitcoin?

  7. Steam will take a percentage, but the increased exposure will cause sales to skyrocket, thus off setting any losses. "Top Games" on steam will attract totally new players.

    P.s. I can't wait.

  8. Yeah, I would say steam. Make it populair, and Luke will get more sales which means more money.

  9. I have been promoting this game all over the SC2013 forums. I hope people can see what true love of making a game is over that POS game over there. GL man. Usually I always get a cracked ver of a game first to test before I buy. But this game I fully support and wish you the best.

  10. Linux is fine for advanced users. But for everyday people windows is easiest. They've been trained their whole live to se windows, and that never going to go away.

    Like a Mac I don't use Linux cause who wants to wait an extra 2 years for the same game to come out on Linux. I run both personally but most want easy and less time.

  11. the laptops been cleaned so is my top draw all the rubbish has gone sim city has been removed it is now a waiting game thanks to all the people all over the world even-though we may have different views and religions luke has brought us all together under the banished flag good luck to you all

  12. Two more days!! Luke, you are the best. i don't know the pains that it took to make this game, but i think i say this fore all of us, THANK YOU!!

  13. Im really looking forward to playing this. Really wish the Dev a smooth and peaceful launch - its been great to se so much communication and preperation!

  14. @Ricky: Thanks for sharing.
    Enjoy your days off Luke, soon all your hard work will pay off... My money is ready to be send!

  15. I feel a little sad about it being steam-mandatory. Steam is so buggy and half of my steam games simply don't run at all on my Win8 PC (yes, I feel regretful that I put win8 on it to begin with). Half of them (the other half, pretty much :p ) didn't work on my XP pc... even if they work without steam.

    Here's hoping that steam doesn't keep me from my city building!!

  16. @Shannon Phoenix: it is NOT steam mandatory? According to the FAQ, "You can buy Banished here on the Shining Rock Software website through use of the Humble Widget. You’ll get a DRM-Free version, as well as an optional Steam key. You can also buy it from Steam, the Humble Store, or gog.com."

  17. I dont know where to post this, so i will just put it here. Food Production Strategies: During the warm seasons, fishing, farming, and gathering will be prioritized. In the winter, hunting will be the ONLY source of food at that time. Village Setup Strategies: Each part of the city will be divided into sectors. Industrul Sector: this sector will be the towns main developer of tools and the like. Blacksmith, Woodcutter, and any other productive facilities. Civlian Sector: This is where all of the townsfolk will live. This will also be where the main stockpile will be. Hospitals will be located there( random note: will there be day and night?) Material Producing Sector: This sector will hold the quarry and the mine. The foresters hut will also be close by.(side note: this sector will be quite a bit away from the main town) Relegious Sector: this sector will hold the chruch and and the cemitary. And this is what i have got so far. This will only apply for well developed settlements.

  18. Hey man, you have my buy. Great looking game. I am playing a few games currently but its really just to distract me from Banished.

    I agree with one of the posters up top, enjoy the pay-off! Take a nice vacation after doing some debugging!

  19. Been waiting for so long, but its finally here.

    Good luck at launch, and congratulations, well played sir.

  20. Really looking forward to the launch of this game. On a whim 2 days ago I typed 'best city building pc game 2014' into google and found this. Perfect timing as I haven't played a good city builder since Pharaoh. Good luck with the launch Luke & congratulations on an amazing one man feat!

  21. Luke, i want to give donations. Where do we do that!? You are creating a amazing game, and i want to REWARD YOU!!!!!!!!! PLEEEEEAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  22. @ valerian
    My momma says that if I can't say anything nice, say nothing at all... So I can't even say "win7". :p

  23. I haven't been this excited for a new game launch in decades - let alone an inaugural release! Patience was never my strong suit and you, sir, have taxed it royally. 😉 Best of luck to you and continued MUCH deserved success, as well as my sincere gratitude for your exemplary achievement. Score 1 major blow for the Indie developer!

  24. Yeah, I can't wait, either. Goes to show how flexible time really is... it feels like the day is just draggggggging along! It's only supposed to be 24 hours. I feel ripped off that this day is taking so long to go by. :p

  25. With the last few updates I feel almost as if this game should be released as an early access title. Even if only for a few weeks.

    Like a small test/final beta period to show to people from hey this can be buggy so don't complain. Now people (as they should) expect a fully working game without (at least) gamebreaking bugs and working on the platforms it is being released for.
    Hopefully it will go smooth ofc.

  26. @Tco

    Haven't the latest titles (batman, CoD, Total War, SimCity etc) shown that there is no problem in releasing buggy games? I don't think anyone expects a game to be without bugs on release any longer, at least they should not. They should be fully working copies with minor bugs of course, but every aspect of a game cannot be tested before launch.

    Also, releasing a game as a paid final beta period might send the wrong signals in that the game is still very buggy:S

  27. @Tco paid beta/alpha is actually turning a lot of people off games as more and more people are seeing it as nothing more than a way to make a cash grab with a game that isn't worth the time, it's also because a lot of pre release games sell at a higher premium making it look even more like they are just trying to get cash for nothing.

    if anything releasing this close to launch as an early early release would downplay the level work he has put into getting the game working and out on his own with the investment in it being entirely his own, as all the sacrifices he has no doubt made to make this game possible are one hell of an achievement and something a lot more of these people using pre releases should consider as it really shows a high level of belief in the product you are working on.

  28. @valerian
    Ya, ican do that. I have quite a bit of money. Hey, if anybody cant buy the game, i can buy it for you : [) I am in a good mood.

  29. @ Bj,

    yeah, that would be nice. I am indeed a bit low on the money. Being a student ain't that easy with money, even when you don't drink alcohol of smoke

  30. Okay, I will buy the game when it is released and come here or the most recent blog post. Then, you give me your email, and I will email it to you. : ) get ready to play a pretty good game!

  31. Can't wait to buy and play this amazing indie game! so excited! Great Job man and i wish you all the best for the launch day!

  32. Lil question for the devs, are you planning to flesh out the depth of the tech etc after release?

  33. @ BJ
    Man how many of these keys are you going to by. I would love to make the list... since you're in a good mood! But seriously can't wait for this game!

  34. Can't wait for this game. Been watching it develop over the last year and a half. At last release is now only 24 hrs away!

    It looks superior to other games of this ilk I have bought over the years(The Settlers) etc. And they were made by a huge team. Astounding to think Banished has been done by just one person.

    I truly hope you get the success and the sales you deserve Luke. I predict Steams top selling game within days!

  35. God damn man, your blog is great! I wish you the best of luck with the release, looks great! Hopefully it'll end up on mac eventually as well:)

    Keep the good work up! From what I've read here you seem like a really great dev and person.

  36. Like i said, I have quite a bit of money: ) but there is a price. I am going to transfer my money out of my bank, and today, the bank where i live is closed and there website is down. So you most likely get it on the twenteith. : S Sorry.

  37. Oh man I can't wait to play this! I have off Wednesday and Thursday so I think the timing of the release is perfect.

  38. Been following this since last year, very excited it will be arriving on Steam tomorrow. Just wanted to say congrats on your release, and I hope everything goes as smoothly as possible! 😉

  39. @BJ
    I'm patient... if I can obtain one of those coveted spots....this is my email; seanacosta310@gmail.com

    As for now I better start finishing my law school apps. And working.... I work for a bank and we're open!

  40. @ Bj
    That's to bad Bj, another week anda half of waiting ;(

    But I think I can manage to wait longer 🙂

  41. Whoa, Whoa. I thought you guys wouldn't take that very well. I am writing down all of the email adresses, but there are still Seven more spots availible!

  42. BJ, I just want to thank you for doing this. It feels wonderful to see someone doing such a kind gesture for no reason other than just to do it.

    Thank you. I feel good today, thanks to seeing a kindness done.

  43. @Bj Put me on the list as well. No just kidding. 😛

    I just wanted to say: Less than 1 freaking day!! The whole day I thought about the release tomorrow while I should be working. I'm trilled. xD ^^

  44. I'm also an early follower and admirer of your project and cant wait till its release tomorrow. Have a great releaseday and keep up the good work!

  45. @Shannon
    Hey, i am a generous guy. When i see a hobo on the street, i give them 50 bucks and wish 'em luck. Though, when i am in a bad mood...... Lets just say, you dont want to be around ME.

  46. If the game will be released on the time that steam is announcing... than it will be released on 19:00 GMT 0. So that's 20 hours and 15 minutes from now.

  47. @Tenbears
    Trust me, posting videos from a guy that does almost nothing but minecraft isn't a best idea.

  48. whoa whoa whoa! Is there a giveaway I see? count me in! 😉 I wanted to buy one for my brother, but don't have the extra cash... so if BJ is kind enough to send me one copy I'd be very happy that I will be able to play with my brother! Woo!

    zaghy2zy@yahoo.com over steam, btw... Thanks so much! I can't believe you're actually doing this! Thanks! I'll even start making videos and thank you on each one... 😛 I have a youtube channel, not so much active, but I get fair views (some videos have been used by some gaming website, portal 2 related content)

  49. @ bj

    If I'm reading too much into it... Is it my email that's protected? If so I can friend you on steam if necessary.... My username is: mavfan3

  50. TWO SPACES! WHEN THEY ARE ALL GONE, THEY ARE GONE! NO AMOUNT OF BEGGING WILL SAVE YOU! * I am getting very happy that I am making YOU happy!*

  51. hilarious. you guy are crazy :). i'd like that ^^. but i want to spent myself for that awesome game. *sigh* and looking quill18 lets plays of banished for hours. that waiting time drive me crazy!

  52. Bj if you have a key left, I would be veeeeery happy if I can have it 🙂 email:christ-lu@gmx.de

  53. @BJ

    That's a pretty noble thing you're doing! I would like a copy aswell if you've still got any spots left, e-mail's phenaxy@gmail.com.

    Gotta say, I've been looking forward to this game being done far a long time, can't wait to actually play it.
    Also looking forward to see what kinds of mods will be made for this game!

  54. @Stretsch
    You are too late. But I can make an exception. You get one too : ) GIVE AWAY OVER! REPEAT, GIVE AWAY OVER! ALL PARTICIPANTS, EXPECT TO GET YOUR GAMES ON THE TWENTEITH THIS WEEK!!! TALK TO YOU GUYS TOMORROW! BYE!!!!!!!!

  55. Sorry, Phenoxy, giveaway is over : ( I really do want to give you one, but i kinda went over what i planned to pay. Was supposed to be $220, now it is $260. Sorry.

  56. Ah well, to bad 😉
    I just hope I'll be able to buy the game on here with $20 instead of 20 euros. And that the site won't crash XD

  57. The site WILL CRASH. By the amount of support for this game everyone who knows about Banished will be on here at the same time. So ya. Well, lets hope it is reparible in one day. : [)

  58. Yeah, and chances are I won't be home right when it comes out 🙁
    As happy I am for this project getting so much attention, I don't want to wait too much longer to get my hands on it.

  59. Haha I dunno if my comp will run this but I will still buy, been following this for a long time !

  60. Good night guys. See ya tomorrow! Oh, and by the way, not trying to spamm, but there is a good game called Project Zomboid 15 dollars, recently released multi player. Bye.

  61. Okay, I seriously have timers counting down on my phone, tablet, and laptop...18 hours to go. Thank god some of that will be night. And snow tomorrow so....best of luck Luke. This is going to be awesome!

  62. @ Shannon Phenix not for another 15 more hours. 15 hours from now the game will come out. it not coming out at midnight

  63. Can't wait for it to be released! Here in Tokyo half of the day is already over and I'm getting excited!

  64. Dang, its the 18th, granted its midnight, but theres no game! I was hoping it would be out at midnight.

  65. 13 hours and counting!

    It won't release until the 19th where I am (Australia!) 🙂

    Looking forward to playing this tomorrow!

  66. Why is their still no price listed on the German Steam site? Their is just a release timer and that's it.

  67. I think hes sleeping still sucks that I cant play the game right now and have to wait 13 more hours to play this game >< should of release it on the 17th. at least it would be 10 hours before the 18th and not 10 hours till the 19th

  68. sucks when its 7pm on the 18th and the game still isnt out and steam still says 12 more hours to go. i wasnt aware that a day went for 31 hours :/

  69. I can not wait. I am a huge fan of city builders. This is gonna be amazing! Need more developers like this guy!

  70. Luke, would it be possible to announce how many sells you got after 1 day? I'm curious how many people you've reached. 🙂

  71. @Christian There never was a midnight launch announced afaik. Just 9 hours to go (I really should work now xD).

  72. In 9 hours, a civilization shall be born, and with it, a social & professional life shall perish.

    May this game have mercy on my soul & graphics card.

  73. I love, love, love it!

    One thing I miss is a minimap. I used a large map and I can't find my town again. :p

    The game is fantastic, and I am really feeling pleased with the graphics, the sound, and the gameplay.

    Thank you so, so much for making this!

  74. I bought the game, knowing you only support Windows (atm) and I'm running Ubuntu Linux, so most likely this will not work for me right now. It installs on Wine and actually starts, but I can't get much further than the start-menu.
    Anyway, I bought it to support you; the game looks amazing on Youtube....

  75. It's out! Omg but I have to work. x'D
    Downloading before the server might crash of the pressure. 😛

    Thanks Luke for sharing your work!

  76. hi people. I am indecisive on buying this game atm, it looks amazing... but so did SimCity.. was soo disappointed with that so i am a little worried on how deep and rich this game will be?

    Any1 able to give me more hope?

  77. @ Linux/WINE
    To play Banished on Linux you must force the game DirectX9 Mode. Rename VideoDX11-x32.dll or use the workaround on "A fatal error has occured..." in the support forum.

  78. Release! I just released that i had 20 dollars in my paypal,(PUNNS!) so i dont have to transfer my money from the bank to play. BUT. ALL PARTICIPANTS INVOLVED IN THE GIVEAWAY, STILL EXPECT TO GET YOUR STEAM KEY ON THE TWENTEITH THIS WEEK!

  79. You dont have to wait for Steam! just buy it here on the website and you will get a steam code so you can register the game on steam later! But you can download the game directly after buying it over the Humble Widget! 😉

  80. I am playing my little heart out. I feel so charmed by this game!

    I do wish it would let me Windows-key out more easily, and had a mini-map. However, those are my only beefs so far, and so minor as to be inconsequential.

    The whole thing feels just so charming. I feel such awe that this was made by one person. I can feel all the love and tiny little attention to detail that went into it.

    The deer bobbing their heads while they graze. At first I felt like... what?? Then I realized what it was and I just sort of melted... awww, that's so cute! 😀

  81. Sim City - Banished

    Honestly, I bought sim city, it's good. It keeps you entertained for a while.

    As this game keeps you entertained for way longer.

    Banished wins, hands down

  82. Bought Banished plus a little extra 🙂

    I am very excited, I just love this kind of games. Cngratulation to the release. Very impressive for a one-man-team.

  83. Hey guys, instead of doing work, i am playing banished on my laptop. : ) I just got it and,noy sure if this is a glitch, but i started in the middle of winter :S They all died almost two minutes in real time. So I am started again..... And still winter. So I just built a house and a tailor, and they are still alive..... Barely. But who cares? I have not played enough to feel connected to the citizens. :() So anyway, i am still a kind of pro, so if anybody needs help, ask.

  84. @Bj
    There is no reason for being impatient in case of such a nice action 😉 Have fun and enjoy playing...hope that there are no problems!
    I can wait two days 🙂

  85. Hey yannis. Maybe try 3D soundback. I have it on my PC already and my sound works just fine.

  86. Hi, I couldn't wait and I bought it on GOG earlier, will I be able to get a steam key in this case?

    Time to play!!! OMG I waited so long!!!

  87. Guy, you definitely need a better Call to Action button for your website. Try a contrasting colour, which stands out from the background (green or gold/yellow usually works).

    It was really easy for me to oversee it, I had to read the comments that you actually can buy the game now.

    I'm really excited to start playing your game!

  88. @Karla
    Please go to work, earn 20$ (it's not much, you can get it even by giving out flyers) and buy the game = support the dev.

  89. Ok, I just brought the game from here, am I missing something? Because I can't see where to download it from...

  90. @Will

    Same here. Have yet to receive anything in email, other than the receipt from paypal/humble bumble.

    Anyone know if we are missing anything?

  91. Just bought the game from this website it asked if I wanted to use paypal or amazon to pay for it and I chose amazon. now it says my order was flagged for manual review by humble bundle and may take 24 hours to process.

  92. BANISHED IS NOW AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE ON STEAM!!!!

    (Capslock just for the sake of sending the message xD)

    Can't wait to get home

  93. @Bj
    Hey Bj,
    i am one of your participants.
    Can you write me an EMail? I want to say you something 😛
    i think that you should know my email-address 😛

  94. Knowing that everyone is playing the game already makes m jealous, but knowing I don't have to pay for it and getting it on the 28th makes it much better 😀

  95. I've just bought the game from steam, where you've also made it to the front page, and also TotalBiscuit mentioned you with a congratulations on his podcast, because of how well it's sold on Steam! Congrats man, and I look forward to what comes next!!

  96. Great game! have a fatal error when trying to trade. Have tried to make a forum account but get "reCAPTCHA value not entered correctly" I've tried about 10 times entering the codes that appear but it just won't accept

  97. I think this game. Should from now this time slowly evolved into modern business simulation game. The effect may be better. I do not know whether! Game player who played this game, from ancient times to the information age games are real-time strategy instead of business simulation games don't have!

  98. I found a bug: my herdsman are collecting meat, I believe it's cow meat at a completely random corner of the map, alot of time they die from starvation. The meat is randomly spawning at this location, causing the herdsman to travel all the way over there to collect it. Then starving on the way back!

  99. Through playing this few day, but not his people hungry, cold, no other play first, should open more elements including a evolutionary age. If it is to the age of empires that even if, that is not interesting, simulation of the operation is the best

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