Platform: Switch, current version
Screenshots/video:
External video capture
Background information
This is actually a very old issue for me, with an official workaround of “just don’t do that” (aka. it’s unlikely to happen just “by accident”), but the existence of an easy workaround does not invalidate that this is a full-on game crash when it happens, and is therefore necessarily a bug.
However, lately I decided to try experimenting with it to gather more information, and I may have identified a series of steps that appear guaranteed to trigger it.
Description
Normally, the first thing that appears after a Daily Reset is the “Daily Login Rewards” screen (same as when starting the game the first time on a given day). However, if you keep the game suspended (from the Map screen) across a Daily Reset, it is possible to take some other action before the game client syncs with the server, with at least one action resulting in a system-standard fatal error message (e.g. “The software was closed because an error occurred.” on Switch). Less commonly, a non-fatal system-standard error message (without crashing) can also occur.
My usecase specifically
- Say it’s 9PM and, at the end of my play session, I check for any hourly incomes, then (with the game left idling on the World Map screen) hit the Suspend button on the Switch, and subsequently turn off the console (sleep mode) for the night.
- My next login is early in the morning just as I start waking up & preparing to head to work – typically this means only starting the game to collect one Hourly Income, then suspending out of the game again, leaving the rest until later in the day when I’m off work and back home.
- BUT. If I left the game suspended overnight (aka. through the Daily Reset), upon returning to the game next morning, I tap the center map button to check for an Hourly Income, which the game successfully collects, but as it returns to the Map it tries to sync with the server more generally . . . and crashes.
- Last week, for example, I tested these same steps every workday, and saw 4 crashes in 4 days, every time from the above steps exactly.
- Invite Code for the server logs: STRATELIER-9XFY (Switch)
I assume the crash can be inferred by noting an Income Collection event followed immediately by a general startup/login event, in whatever format the log records it as
General steps to reproduce/test:
- Start the game at, say, 2-3 minutes before Daily Reset.
(I’m assuming the testing environment can be specifically configured for doing this at any desired time) - Leave the game idling on the World Map screen.
DO NOT collect an Hourly Income yet.
DO NOT attempt to access any other screens or menus (whose transition would involve a server sync). - Wait for the clock to roll over to 00:00 (new day) – the countdown by the Flash Offers panel at the side of the screen is a useful indicator here.
- Once the clock has rolled over, now collect an Hourly Income.
- The game now syncs with the server. Normally, this is the part where it will also display the Daily Login Rewards, but if these steps work then the game should instead crash with a standard Switch error message.
- Other than the crash itself, there don’t seem to be any side effects to it – upon restarting, the game runs without issue.
Alternatively, here are some hypothesized steps which might yield the same result, but I haven’t had a chance to attempt for myself:
Experimental steps 1
- Start the game at (or configured for) any convenient time at least one hour before reset (e.g: 10:58 PM), and collect one Hourly Income.
- Suspend out of the game and fast-forward to (for example) 11:57 PM. Crucially, there should be no income indicator present on the center map button at this time. (This is probably not important to the bug as a itself, it’s just to increase the accuracy to my testcase)
- Without accessing any other screens or menus (which would invoke a server sync), wait for the Daily Reset to occur, then tap the center map button to collect an Hourly Income. Note whether the daily login screen displays or if the game crashes.
Experimental steps 2
- Start the game at (or configured for), say, 11:57PM.
- Collect one Hourly Income, but leave it on this screen – do not return to the World Map.
- Wait for Daily Reset to occur.
- Then dismiss the Income screen. The game should now sync with the server (and if this experiment works, crash as a result).
