Nasal runtime error

[PeterGarrone]

I have just installed flightgear on ubuntu using the standard package management.
The system is a system76 laptop, using a second console, 24 free gig of ram.
The flightgear version is 2019.1.1

I start up flightgear by running fgfs from the console. I maximise the screen over the second console.
I am in a cessna. I set time to noon. I complete the first tutorial, checking the plane. I think I get to starting the engine, the whole thing crashes.
The shell window console error (many prior warnings) is:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
674.53 [ALRT]:nasal Nasal runtime error: Timer is running, cannot change type between real/sim time
674.53 [ALRT]:nasal at /usr/share/games/flightgear/Aircraft/c172p/Nasal/engine.nas, line 500
674.53 [ALRT]:nasal called from: /usr/share/games/flightgear/Nasal/globals.nas, line 119
674.53 [ALRT]:nasal Electrical system initialized
674.53 [ALRT]:nasal Astro Tech LC-2 Chronometer Loaded
674.54 [ALRT]:nasal Hobbs system stopped
Segmentation fault (core dumped)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The linux system is Ubuntu 20.04.3 LTS. The output of lspci, lsusb is:
garrone@system76-pc:~$ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Device 9a36 (rev 05)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Device 9a05 (rev 05)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Device 9a60 (rev 01)
00:04.0 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Device 9a03 (rev 05)
00:06.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Device 9a0f (rev 05)
00:08.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 9a11 (rev 05)
00:0a.0 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Device 9a0d (rev 01)
00:0d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation Device 9a17 (rev 05)
00:14.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation Device 43ed (rev 11)
00:14.2 RAM memory: Intel Corporation Device 43ef (rev 11)
00:14.3 Network controller: Intel Corporation Device 43f0 (rev 11)
00:15.0 Serial bus controller [0c80]: Intel Corporation Device 43e8 (rev 11)
00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation Device 43e0 (rev 11)
00:17.0 SATA controller: Intel Corporation Device 43d3 (rev 11)
00:19.0 Serial bus controller [0c80]: Intel Corporation Device 43ad (rev 11)
00:19.2 Communication controller: Intel Corporation Device 43a7 (rev 11)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Device 43bc (rev 11)
00:1c.6 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Device 43be (rev 11)
00:1d.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Device 43b0 (rev 11)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation Device 438b (rev 11)
00:1f.3 Audio device: Intel Corporation Device 43c8 (rev 11)
00:1f.4 SMBus: Intel Corporation Device 43a3 (rev 11)
00:1f.5 Serial bus controller [0c80]: Intel Corporation Device 43a4 (rev 11)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation Device 25a0 (rev a1)
01:00.1 Audio device: NVIDIA Corporation Device 2291 (rev a1)
02:00.0 Non-Volatile memory controller: Sandisk Corp Device 5011 (rev 01)
03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller (rev 15)
04:00.0 SD Host controller: O2 Micro, Inc. SD/MMC Card Reader Controller (rev 01)
05:00.0 Non-Volatile memory controller: Sandisk Corp Device 5009 (rev 01)
garrone@system76-pc:~$ lsusb
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 5986:9102 Acer, Inc BisonCam,NB Pro
Bus 003 Device 006: ID 06a3:0763 Saitek PLC Pro Flight Rudder Pedals
Bus 003 Device 008: ID 06a3:075c Saitek PLC X52 Flight Controller
Bus 003 Device 004: ID 1a40:0101 Terminus Technology Inc. Hub
Bus 003 Device 003: ID 8087:0026 Intel Corp.
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub]

Am attempting to use the saitek controllers as far as possible, they appear to partially work.

[wkitty42]

The flightgear version is 2019.1.1

that old version of FG is EoL and no longer supported... you should update to the latest 2020.3.11 so we can provide you some support...

[PeterGarrone]

Installed the saiarcot895 ppa, version 1:2020.3.8-0ubuntu1~ppa1~20.04.1, and no longer crashes, just goes in an infinite loop in the tutorial attempting to start the engine. That is a particularly stupid tutorial.
From the console, lots of messages like:
169.53 [ALRT]:flight Failed to save initial FDM property state
169.55 [ALRT]:io mipmapping: texture size not a power-of-two: /usr/share/games/flightgear/Scenery/Objects/w160n10/w156n19/KSJC_tower.rgb
251.89 [ALRT]:nasal ERROR: Cannot add listener to tied property /controls[0]/lighting[0]/beacon[0]
262.85 [ALRT]:nasal ERROR: Cannot add listener to tied property /controls[0]/lighting[0]/landing-lights[0]
262.90 [ALRT]:nasal ERROR: Cannot add listener to tied property /controls[0]/lighting[0]/strobe[0]
262.93 [ALRT]:nasal ERROR: Cannot add listener to tied property /controls[0]/lighting[0]/beacon[0]
267.26 [INFO]:nasal Starter on
267.27 [INFO]:nasal Flooded engine!
267.49 [INFO]:nasal Starter off
268.23 [INFO]:nasal Starter on
268.47 [INFO]:nasal Flooded engine!
268.78 [INFO]:nasal Flooded engine!
268.78 [INFO]:nasal Starter off
273.77 [INFO]:nasal Primer reset to 0
275.23 [INFO]:nasal Starter on
275.24 [INFO]:nasal Use the primer!
275.56 [INFO]:nasal Use the primer!
275.88 [INFO]:nasal Use the primer!
276.19 [INFO]:nasal Use the primer!
276.51 [INFO]:nasal Use the primer!
276.83 [INFO]:nasal Use the primer!
277.14 [INFO]:nasal Use the primer!
277.46 [INFO]:nasal Use the primer!
277.78 [INFO]:nasal Use the primer!
278.10 [INFO]:nasal Use the primer!
278.41 [INFO]:nasal Use the primer!

Any ideas? I imagine it is some sort of installation problem. This could not happen in something working, it is simply too stupid to believe.

[AndersG]

What is too stupid to believe? What you see is partly "error" that have been around for years (listeners to tied properties) but only reported recently. Or is it the last INFO messages that seem to come from the auto-starter that is stupid? Explain?

[PeterGarrone]

What I found difficult to believe is that it is normal behavior for the tutorial to tell me in an infinite loop to start the engine, the console is saying use the primer, and after several minutes of turning the engine over, with the tutorial repeating itself endlessly, it does not start. A very stupefying experience. I simply installed the software and tried the tutorial. A fairly negative introductory experience. Do you have any suggestions as to the miss-configuration of my installation. I cannot believe this would be normal behavior.

[wkitty42]

has anyone even stopped to think that it could be a bug in one of several places or even a combination of bugs? it could be as simple as one bit of code looking for a float number (one with decimal point) but the actual code generating the number is using floor or truncate in which case, the resulting number is always less than the desired value and the loop starts to run because the code generating the number simply cannot generate the number as large as the detection code is looking for...

it could also be the code is looking for an integer but the generating code is working with and sending a float... if the code is looking for (eg) 5 and the generating code is calculating 4.999999, then we have the problem... while 4.999999 may be rounded up to 5, it isn't the same as 5... if floor or truncate are used on 4.999999 then the value of 4 is used and we have the same problem...

reporting the bug in the craft's development repository is the best thing to do... that way one of the developers who has experience writing and working with the tutorials can take a look at it and maybe fix it if it is a problem in the actual tutorial code... it may be that the problem is not in the tutorial code but in the craft code... in that case, another developer who is familiar with that portion of the craft's code may need to get involved... the first step, though, is to have the issue reported to the craft's development repository...

if we're talking about the c172p, as seen in the first post, then looking through the 95 (at this time) unfixed issues to see if there's an existing one for this problem is the thing to do -> https://github.com/c172p-team/c172p/issues... if there is not already an existing issue, then filing a new one would be the proper step to take... i just took a quick look through the issues and do not see one related to the tutorials...




FWIW: it also appears that the initial report and topic title are no longer valid for the problem now being discussed...

[PeterGarrone]

I think I got a bit upset a while ago when getting frustrated and I apologise for any misunderstanding I caused. I discovered autostart and stopped using the tutorial entirely, and much better experience, except when the engine is flooded or whatever and the mixture needs to be set back but autostart sets it back to 100%. Sort of an "uncanny valley" effect where one expects the human like voice to signify some sort of feedback driven intelligence.