bugfix(specialpower): Fix Special Power ready state during construction by xezon · Pull Request #1461 · TheSuperHackers/GeneralsGameCode

xezon · 2025-08-15T20:01:38Z

Follow up for [ZH] Fix game crash in MissileLauncherBuildingUpdate::initiateIntentToDoSpecialPower() #1218
Closes bugfix(specialpower): Fix availability of building based special powers #1444

This change is an alternative to #1444 and attempts to fix the Special Power ready state during construction. To do that, it postpones the Special Power initialization until the construction is signaled done.

TODO

Have Mauller test this
Replicate in Generals

xezon · 2025-08-15T20:02:28Z

I tested this on local player and AI Player and Special Powers worked correctly.

@Mauller please check if this solves all the issues that you have seen.

Skyaero42 · 2025-10-11T08:44:10Z

+	DEBUG_ASSERTCRASH(m_availableOnFrame == UINT_MAX,
+		("Unexpected state. Function must be called only after OBJECT_STATUS_UNDER_CONSTRUCTION was completed"));
+
+	m_availableOnFrame = 0;


shouldn't this be m_availableOnFrame = TheGameLogic->getFrame(); ?

It has been a long time and I do not remember if this was intentional. I tend to believe it was intentionally 0. We can try TheGameLogic->getFrame() and see if that works.

using zero or the current frame at this point should work either way, when init is called it will call initCountdown(); which will set m_availableOnFrame into the future where it needs to be for the countdown to work.

The main thing to prevent the bugged behaviour is making sure that the m_availableOnFrame is set into the far future while a building is still under construciton or a unit is not ready yet etc.

This then prevents the exploit that can crash the game.

Would it not be enough to just return false with initiateIntentToDoSpecialPower?

Skyaero42 · 2025-10-11T17:49:00Z

It crashes the game for me (RETAIL_COMPATIBLE_CRC = 0

xezon · 2025-10-11T18:07:10Z

Well that is not good. What do you do?

Skyaero42 · 2025-10-11T18:22:17Z

So I build 1 complete nuke and 1 scaffold nuke, group them in the same team. Then use a hotkey (like F).

In retail it then shows the red nuke outline. When pressing left button, nothing happens
In non-retail, it also shows the red nuke outline. When pressing the left button, the game crashes.

So what I have been doing is not exactly the exploit, but something is still not right

xezon · 2025-10-12T11:36:50Z

I do not understand how you are doing this. I cannot add 2 buildings to the same team.

I have made additional changes that hopefully fix it while keeping retail compatibility.

Skyaero42 · 2025-10-12T19:49:09Z

It doesn't crash anymore, but now I can launch a nuke from a scaffold.

To be able to group buildings, you need to comment out line 1200 and 1217 in SelectionXlat.cpp, as grouping of buildings is not allowed since #1347. - And yes, that does make it a lot harder to crash/exploit the game with the bug(s) that this PR is trying to resolve.

Alternatively, here is a replay with pre-grouped buildings. Press 1, click on the fire nuke icon (even when it is not finished) and fire the nuke from scaffold.

00000077.zip

xezon · 2025-11-08T11:55:27Z

I am unable to shoot the missile when 2 silos are selected.

I tested with
RETAIL_COMPATIBLE_BUG 0
RETAIL_COMPATIBLE_CRC 0
RETAIL_COMPATIBLE_XFER_SAVE 0

I need a video or step by step guide.

xezon · 2025-11-08T13:33:57Z

I have applied more changes, but have lost track of what is going on with RETAIL_COMPATIBLE_CRC.

Things look ok with RETAIL_COMPATIBLE_CRC 0, but I could be wrong.

Code is very messy as usual, which makes it cumbersome.

Skyaero42 · 2025-11-08T18:45:40Z

With retail compatibility on and off, I can still do this:

2025-11-08.19-36-48.mp4

You cannot manually group buildings as we fixed that bug. However with cheat engines there are still ways around it, or just disable the code that prevents it. To help out, I already created a replay that has the buildings grouped.

Steps:

Download this replay: https://github.com/user-attachments/files/22874036/00000077.zip
Press 1 to select the scaffold and build nuke together
click the fire nuke icon (it is not ready, you can click it anyways)
(in the video at around 0:15 there is an assert firing, hence the freeze)
4 click anywhere.

xezon · 2025-11-09T09:45:40Z

I cannot reproduce this bug. When pressing 1, the Control Bar does not show this button.

I also tested with Control Bar Pro 1.2. Can you reproduce it with unmodified game data?

xezon · 2025-11-09T09:46:53Z

Rebased on main.

Skyaero42 · 2025-11-09T17:44:18Z

I cannot reproduce this bug. When pressing 1, the Control Bar does not show this button.

I also tested with Control Bar Pro 1.2. Can you reproduce it with unmodified game data?

I've reinstalled the game from Steam, removed all the Genpatcher stuff and I can still do what I showed in the video.
May investigate later on my end figuring out whats going on.

xezon · 2025-11-09T18:53:26Z

Ok I wonder where this behavior difference comes from.

xezon · 2025-11-25T21:02:16Z

Unclear to me how to advance with this change. Can you perhaps debug this and tell me what code path the Superweapon takes to by-pass the ready timer conditions?

Skyaero42 · 2025-11-30T14:12:54Z

Update: On my laptop I cannot launch the nuke, on my PC I can. Both are supposed to be clean installs. Will compare files to see if there is a difference.

xezon · 2025-11-30T18:54:55Z

Mysteriuos things happening on your PC.

Skyaero42 · 2025-12-06T15:42:34Z

Found the issue. I had a custom commandbutton.ini in Data/ini, which added OK_FOR_MULTI_SELECT to special powers. I don't know why I had it (possible because of testing a long time ago).

This means somebody can still launch the scaffold nuke if the modify their commandbutton.ini. How would you like to approach this?

CommandButton.zip

Mauller · 2025-12-06T15:57:14Z

Yes this is the way to perform this action that causes the crash.

Skyaero42 · 2026-01-11T16:26:53Z

This means somebody can still launch the scaffold nuke if the modify their commandbutton.ini. How would you like to approach this?

How shall we continue?

So

if you make a code change that allows you to group multiple buildings
and if you make the above change in commandbutton.ini

you can still launch a nuke from a scaffold. This will not mismatch in game

I can

Approve this PR and create a bug report for the above 'cheat'
Or we fix the cheat in this PR. Somewhere there must be a scaffold / nuke timer check missing allowing the launch.

xezon · 2026-01-11T17:44:36Z

I have not retested this with your exploit. I will do that when coming back to this.

Skyaero42

Current state is approved, see comment above.

greptile-apps · 2026-02-24T22:00:04Z

Greptile Summary

This PR refactors special power initialization to fix ready state issues during construction by postponing initialization until construction completes.

Key Changes:

Added Object::onConstructionCompleted() to centralize construction completion signaling
Introduced SpecialPowerModule::init() and initCountdown() helper methods to defer initialization
Modified special power module to initialize at ~0u frame during construction (non-retail mode)
Replaced direct construction status clearing with onConstructionCompleted() calls throughout codebase
Added crash prevention guards in retail-compatible mode for special power update modules

Issues Found:

Module initialization order dependency in MissileLauncherBuildingUpdate.cpp:56-57 - constructor now assumes SpecialPowerModule exists, but modules are created in INI file order
Multiple comments reference 2025 instead of 2026 (violates date policy)

Confidence Score: 3/5

This PR has a potential module initialization ordering bug that could cause crashes
Score reflects a critical logic issue in MissileLauncherBuildingUpdate.cpp where the constructor assumes m_specialPowerModule exists, but module creation order depends on INI file definitions. The original lazy initialization was safer. Additionally, multiple style violations with outdated dates.
Pay close attention to MissileLauncherBuildingUpdate.cpp - verify module ordering in INI files or revert to lazy initialization

Important Files Changed

Filename	Overview
GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngine/Source/GameLogic/Object/Object.cpp	Implemented `onConstructionCompleted()` to clear construction flags and notify all special power modules
GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngine/Source/GameLogic/Object/SpecialPower/SpecialPowerModule.cpp	Refactored initialization to postpone until construction completes; added guards against using powers during construction
GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngine/Source/GameLogic/Object/Update/BattlePlanUpdate.cpp	Added retail-compatible crash prevention guard; contains outdated date in comment (2025 vs 2026)
GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngine/Source/GameLogic/Object/Update/MissileLauncherBuildingUpdate.cpp	Moved special power module initialization to constructor; potential module initialization order issue; outdated date in comment

_{Last reviewed commit: 9d25c7f}

greptile-apps

_{12 files reviewed, 6 comments}

_{Edit Code Review Agent Settings | Greptile}

greptile-apps · 2026-02-24T22:00:15Z

+	m_specialPowerModule = getObject()->getSpecialPowerModule(d->m_specialPowerTemplate);
+	DEBUG_ASSERTCRASH(m_specialPowerModule, ("Missing special power"));


Initializing m_specialPowerModule in the constructor can fail if module initialization order varies. Modules are created in INI file order (Object.cpp:403-410), so SpecialPowerModule may not exist yet when this constructor runs. The original lazy initialization in update() was safer.

Check that SpecialPowerModule is always defined before MissileLauncherBuildingUpdate in all INI files, or revert to lazy initialization.

Prompt To Fix With AI

This is a comment left during a code review. Path: GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngine/Source/GameLogic/Object/Update/MissileLauncherBuildingUpdate.cpp Line: 56-57 Comment: Initializing `m_specialPowerModule` in the constructor can fail if module initialization order varies. Modules are created in INI file order (Object.cpp:403-410), so `SpecialPowerModule` may not exist yet when this constructor runs. The original lazy initialization in `update()` was safer. Check that `SpecialPowerModule` is always defined before `MissileLauncherBuildingUpdate` in all INI files, or revert to lazy initialization. How can I resolve this? If you propose a fix, please make it concise.

greptile-apps · 2026-02-24T22:00:18Z

Additional Comments (1)

GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngine/Source/GameLogic/Object/Update/MissileLauncherBuildingUpdate.cpp
Date in comment references 2025, should be 2026

	// TheSuperHackers @bugfix Mauller 29/06/2026 prevent a game crash when told to launch before ready to do so

Context Used: Rule from dashboard - What: Flag newly created code comments that reference dates prior to the current year (2026).

Why: ... (source)

Prompt To Fix With AI

This is a comment left during a code review.
Path: GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngine/Source/GameLogic/Object/Update/MissileLauncherBuildingUpdate.cpp
Line: 209

Comment:
Date in comment references 2025, should be 2026

```suggestion
	// TheSuperHackers @bugfix Mauller 29/06/2026 prevent a game crash when told to launch before ready to do so
```

**Context Used:** Rule from `dashboard` - What: Flag newly created code comments that reference dates prior to the current year (2026).

Why: ... ([source](https://app.greptile.com/review/custom-context?memory=fd72a556-4fd8-4db4-8b08-8e51516a64ad))

How can I resolve this? If you propose a fix, please make it concise.

Skyaero42 · 2026-03-05T21:32:30Z

 //-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 MissileLauncherBuildingUpdate::MissileLauncherBuildingUpdate( Thing *thing, const ModuleData* moduleData ) : SpecialPowerUpdateModule( thing, moduleData )
 {
+	const MissileLauncherBuildingUpdateModuleData* d = getMissileLauncherBuildingUpdateModuleData();


d is not a good name for a variable. I would suggest data

PR has changed

xezon requested a review from Mauller August 15, 2025 20:01

xezon added Major Severity: Minor < Major < Critical < Blocker ThisProject The issue was introduced by this project, or this task is specific to this project NoRetail This fix or change is not applicable with Retail game compatibility labels Aug 15, 2025

xezon force-pushed the xezon/fix-special-power-update-under-construction branch from 20617ca to 060b423 Compare August 15, 2025 20:04

xezon mentioned this pull request Aug 15, 2025

bugfix(specialpower): Fix availability of building based special powers #1444

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1 task

xezon added the Bug Something is not working right, typically is user facing label Aug 20, 2025

Skyaero42 reviewed Oct 11, 2025

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xezon force-pushed the xezon/fix-special-power-update-under-construction branch from 060b423 to 6e3da22 Compare October 12, 2025 11:36

Skyaero42 mentioned this pull request Nov 1, 2025

bugfix(ai): fix crash when AI fires China Nuclear Missile while another is under construction #1769

Closed

xezon force-pushed the xezon/fix-special-power-update-under-construction branch from 6e3da22 to 9351133 Compare November 8, 2025 11:56

xezon requested a review from Skyaero42 November 8, 2025 13:30

xezon force-pushed the xezon/fix-special-power-update-under-construction branch from 60b7d98 to b80c622 Compare November 9, 2025 09:46

Skyaero42 previously approved these changes Jan 11, 2026

View reviewed changes

xezon added 3 commits February 24, 2026 22:53

bugfix(specialpower): Fix special power ready state during construction

e41f154

More fixes

8527387

More fixes 2

9d25c7f

xezon force-pushed the xezon/fix-special-power-update-under-construction branch from b80c622 to 9d25c7f Compare February 24, 2026 21:56

greptile-apps Bot reviewed Feb 24, 2026

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Skyaero42 reviewed Mar 5, 2026

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xezon mentioned this pull request Jun 10, 2026

bugfix(specialpower): Charge uninitialized special powers on new buildings #2781

Closed

		m_specialPowerModule = getObject()->getSpecialPowerModule(d->m_specialPowerTemplate);
		DEBUG_ASSERTCRASH(m_specialPowerModule, ("Missing special power"));

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xezon commented Aug 15, 2025

TODO

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xezon commented Aug 15, 2025

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greptile-apps Bot commented Feb 24, 2026

Greptile Summary

Confidence Score: 3/5

Important Files Changed

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