Playing conundrum challenge with andy myhill, he got a conundrum wrong (typed HIREABLE) when the answer was HERITABLE. It then said it was wrong and the rest of the time to me, however, the clock never ticked down.

Exception in thread "AWT-EventQueue-1" java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Invalid remove
at javax.swing.JTextArea.replaceRange(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.deploy.util.ConsoleWindow$25.run(Unknown Source)
at java.awt.event.InvocationEvent.dispatch(Unknown Source)
at java.awt.EventQueue.dispatchEvent(Unknown Source)
at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpOneEventForFilters(Unknown Source)
at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEventsForFilter(Unknown Source)
at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEventsForHierarchy(Unknown Source)
at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEvents(Unknown Source)
at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEvents(Unknown Source)
at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.run(Unknown Source)

I beat Apterous Prune but then went upstairs and found a severed horse's head on my pillow. It definitely wasn't there before I started the game.

I don't know if the fault lies at my end, but if I play for quite a while it seems to get slower and the hard disc keeps making hard disc noises, and lag becomes more of a problem, and eventually I have to reset the computer.

You can buy as much time as you want to think about the numbers by declaring and then when you have to enter the solution keep opening brackets. (I would never do such a thing of course.)

It appears to me that you can use each number as many times as you want in the numbers games as long as it's in the bit before the time runs out.

Haha, wow, that is a long-standing bug. Amazing that no one noticed it before. Will fix ASAP.

By the way, for totally game-breaking bugs like this, I'd be grateful if people could message me privately about them.

Just for a laugh, I thought I'd see if I could beat the maximum score.

http://www.apterous.org/viewgame.php?game=3265

Maybe if you'd had an "Unknown bugs" thread it would have been mentioned more quickly.

Nice, I guess that solves the mystery of you managing 121 in a game where the max was 118.

http://apterous.org/viewgame.php?game=3282

Very kind of it to give me the same conundrum twice in one challenge!

Relating to this, in a dream last night, in the chat feature one of the Apterous bots asked me how I had managed to beat the maximum score and I think the tone was accusatory. Please could the bots be kept inside the game?

Thread-34: [Initialise chat pane] java.io.IOException: An established connection was aborted by the software in your host machine

I'm still getting this. After a few games it becomes unplayable. Anyone else get this?

I sometimes find that the program runs at 100% CPU usage, but restarting the applet always fixes it (and I think that's a Linux Java bug so there's not much I can do about it.) I haven't heard of any problems as severe as yours. Have you ensured that your version of Java is up to date? If so, and you're still having problems, press Ctrl+Alt+Delete and use the Task Manager to find out how much memory and CPU the applet is using, and let me know the figures.

I have determined that the reason why I can't talk to people privately is because I have my firewall turned on. However, I am having the same problem as Gavin.

So, just in case I don't feel like playing a game on Apterous and I want to watch a game that two of you are playing, how can the error be fixed?

How have you determined that? I imagine almost everyone has a firewall turned on.

Also how come you never bothered to comment to our special Birthday Edition of the podcast?

Charlie, about my firewall, I just figured that out myself.

This time, I wanted to play a game of Countdown with you. Do you not feel like it?

I will comment on the podcast in a little bit.

Charlie, James Hurrell and I were playing a game and all of a sudden it froze in round 8? Do you happen to know why this is?

Also, I had a very funny five in round 6. I would have posted the screenshot of it, but I lost it. Would you like to know what it is?

I was playing Apterous Prime and clicked on the letters of the conundrum but the clock just kept running and then Apterous decided to get it about 10 seconds later.

You click on the letters of the conundrum? You should type in the answer!

You can do either now.

Just happened again.

Yes, it's broken. Well, it's fixed, but I'll wait til there aren't so many people online before I upload the changes.

There seem to be two different "looks" to the game, i.e. it doesn't always look the same. Is this intentional?

It should look like a native application (i.e. a normal Windows app if you're using Windows.) If it has the brushed chrome look, that's a bug in Java rather than apterous. You can usually fix it by restarting the applet, but sometimes not. This kind of thing really annoys me because there's virtually nothing I can do about it.

I get extra time on all rounds now. About 6 seconds. Since the "finish your half written word" thing was added. It is a bit annoying despite being an advantage. Anyone else?

I quite like it - as long as the backspace facility is disabled.

I think you misunderstood, which doesn't really matter as you're not likely to fix my problem, but also I should probably clarify as I did phrase it stupidly.

I got 6 extra seconds, AND the time to finish writing my word in. It's definitely a bug. Anyone else?

Does anyone's game still freeze in the middle?

Charlie, I had another technical difficulty. Jon Corby had asked me twice if I wanted to play Countdown with him, I accepted his challenge once and the game wouldn't start.

Do you happen to know why?

This comment is greatly improved if you imagine it being read with Frank Spencer's voice.

Frank Spencer? Is he like the British equivalent of Jack Webb?

Charlie, I haven't been able to start any games at all lately. Most recently, I had to cancel a game with Keith Bevins.

The game just seems to have gone tits up...can't log in, and a challenge was not forthcoming when it should have been.

Looks like I might have to miss out on today's daily duel.

Yes, sir Charlie!

We're all right.

Not a hardcore bug, but just had the same hypergoatnundrum come up twice in the same challenge (nos 2 and 12)

http://www.apterous.org/viewgame.php?game=4379



I don't know who that is Jason, but Frank Spencer was the star of the British Tv comedy Some Mothers Do Ave Em if you want to look it up, and the way you phrased your post reminded me of how he speaks.

Paul, Jack Webb was the star of Dragnet, which was one of the most popular police shows in America.

And no, Jack wasn't a sitcom star like Frank was, but I have heard of Some Mothers Do 'Ave Em. That was the show in which Ronnie Hazlehurst played the flute for the theme song, isn't it? Do you watch the reruns, or do you remember the show when it was originally on?

Back to the topic at hand. Charlie?

I've noticed some extra messages in the chat windows - quite often when starting a game I'll get the "welcome" blurb twice in the game chat window - possibly once for me entering the room, and once for my opponent? I say that because I've also seen some other people's "welcome to apterous chat, there are 6 people here" messages appearing in the main chat window.

Also, a very very teeny minor one: when you resume a game the button at the bottom of the scoreboard says "Start the Game" rather than "Resume The Game", or possibly more ordinarily "Play Next Round".

Yes, you've correctly diagnosed the problem. I fixed it a few days ago but in the absence of proper Internet access I can't upload the changes.



Well spotted, will fix.

This still happens doesn't it?

Sorry this is long - but playing an apterous tonight, I'd selected the first 8 letters fine and then selected the last letter and it didn't appear yet both consonant and vowel boxes seemed "depressed", i.e. you couldn't click one, and it just hung on with those 8 letters. I had to close that window which I thought usually cuts the game off but it didn't. At that point, I did the old console:

I said MEMOIR, he said MORE
Awaiting maxes...
CX Synch stage 1 (writing)...
ClientGame3829364999258502791 << GameEvent{key=3829364999258502791,pos=0,o=87621}
CX Synch stage 2 (reading)...
ClientReceiveThread >> GameEvent{key=3829364999258502791,o=87622}
GameEvent{key=3829364999258502791,o=87622}
CX Synch done.
TPP 12
Client waiting for pick
Client got pick
ClientGame3829364999258502791 << GameEvent{key=3829364999258502791,pos=0,o=1}
Client sent pick
ClientReceiveThread >> GameEvent{key=3829364999258502791,o=90}
GameEvent{key=3829364999258502791,o=90}
Picked 90
Client waiting for pick
Client got pick
ClientGame3829364999258502791 << GameEvent{key=3829364999258502791,pos=0,o=1}
Client sent pick
ClientReceiveThread >> GameEvent{key=3829364999258502791,o=83}
GameEvent{key=3829364999258502791,o=83}
Picked 83
Client waiting for pick
Client got pick
ClientGame3829364999258502791 << GameEvent{key=3829364999258502791,pos=0,o=1}
Client sent pick
ClientReceiveThread >> GameEvent{key=3829364999258502791,o=68}
GameEvent{key=3829364999258502791,o=68}
Picked 68
Client waiting for pick
Client got pick
ClientGame3829364999258502791 << GameEvent{key=3829364999258502791,pos=0,o=0}
Client sent pick
ClientReceiveThread >> GameEvent{key=3829364999258502791,o=65}
GameEvent{key=3829364999258502791,o=65}
Picked 65
Client waiting for pick
Client got pick
ClientGame3829364999258502791 << GameEvent{key=3829364999258502791,pos=0,o=0}
Client sent pick
ClientReceiveThread >> GameEvent{key=3829364999258502791,o=73}
GameEvent{key=3829364999258502791,o=73}
Picked 73
Client waiting for pick
Client got pick
ClientGame3829364999258502791 << GameEvent{key=3829364999258502791,pos=0,o=0}
Client sent pick
ClientReceiveThread >> GameEvent{key=3829364999258502791,o=73}
GameEvent{key=3829364999258502791,o=73}
Picked 73
Client waiting for pick
Client got pick
ClientGame3829364999258502791 << GameEvent{key=3829364999258502791,pos=0,o=1}
Client sent pick
ClientReceiveThread >> GameEvent{key=3829364999258502791,o=88}
GameEvent{key=3829364999258502791,o=88}
Picked 88
Client waiting for pick
Client got pick
ClientGame3829364999258502791 << GameEvent{key=3829364999258502791,pos=0,o=0}
Client sent pick
ClientReceiveThread >> GameEvent{key=3829364999258502791,o=65}
GameEvent{key=3829364999258502791,o=65}
Picked 65
Client waiting for pick
Client got pick
ClientGame3829364999258502791 << GameEvent{key=3829364999258502791,pos=0,o=1}
Client sent pick
ClientReceiveThread: [] [java.net.SocketException: Connection reset]java.net.SocketException: Connection reset
at java.net.SocketInputStream.read(Unknown Source)
at java.net.SocketInputStream.read(Unknown Source)
at java.io.ObjectInputStream$PeekInputStream.peek(Unknown Source)
at java.io.ObjectInputStream$BlockDataInputStream.peek(Unknown Source)
at java.io.ObjectInputStream$BlockDataInputStream.peekByte(Unknown Source)
at java.io.ObjectInputStream.readObject0(Unknown Source)
at java.io.ObjectInputStream.readObject(Unknown Source)
at net.DirectNetworkLayer.readObject(DirectNetworkLayer.java:128)
at net.client.CXInfoClient$ReceiveThread.run(CXInfoClient.java:58)
java.net.SocketInputStream.read(Unknown Source)
java.net.SocketInputStream.read(Unknown Source)
java.io.ObjectInputStream$PeekInputStream.peek(Unknown Source)
java.io.ObjectInputStream$BlockDataInputStream.peek(Unknown Source)
java.io.ObjectInputStream$BlockDataInputStream.peekByte(Unknown Source)
java.io.ObjectInputStream.readObject0(Unknown Source)
java.io.ObjectInputStream.readObject(Unknown Source)
net.DirectNetworkLayer.readObject(DirectNetworkLayer.java:128)
net.client.CXInfoClient$ReceiveThread.run(CXInfoClient.java:58)

Just give them some Prozac or something

I played Jim Bentley yesterday and it seemed to hang on the last letter but I decided to hang on and it was OK after 20-30 seconds or so.

Not sure if this is a bug, but I was just wondering if anyone else is unable to view the High score tables. I got 140 on the Speed Conundrum and I was wondering if anyone could tell me where this has come on the table.

Yes, high scores are broken right now and I have no idea why. Sorry. I'll take a look at it when my Internet connection is restored.

How come you haven't been online, Charlie?

There's no need to apologise Charlie. I didn't know you were having connection problems so I apologise for not knowing that

We're a friendly group, aren't we?

No. I hate animals.

apterous is running very slowly atm. Just logging onto apterous.org takes forever. Other sites haven't got this problem - do you know why?

I'm currently getting this:



EDIT: Oh wait, it's come back again now.

Yes, it seems the high scores script has gone haywire (hence that page being blank for the past few days) and is totally crunching the database, which is slowing the rest of the game down. I will disable high scores temporarily and hopefully the game will return to normal.

You like humans though, don't you, Kirk?

It's down again now - all the bits and pieces of the site seem to be working (although the game browser has gone a bit funny), but it's not possible to play:

Login failed: java.net.ConnectException: Connection refused: connect

I'm getting the same message as Jim above.

Yes sirs!

You're all right!

It seems to be working again. I'm not really in a position to fix things properly at the moment so the high scores page will be blank for a while, but your scores will still count so don't worry.

Thank you, Charlie!

Thank you for playing Countdown with me also!

Could I have a smile, please?

It won't log in now...please wait...

Edit: It's OK now.