KSC Buildings Lock Up / Can't Click on Anything / Firing Kerbal Crashes Game

[Claw]

KSC Buildings Lock Up / Can't Click on Anything / Firing Kerbal Crashes Game

This bug typically shows up by locking out either the main KSC screen, or by locking up when trying to exit one of the buildings. The screen freezes but with multiple pieces of the GUI merged together. The but itself is actually caused by firing/killing kerbals who have either logged an achievement, or who were rescued as part of a contract. And now that 0.90 comes with hiring a limited number of kerbals, they seem to get fired more often.

Important: Keep a copy of your save files somewhere safe...

Fixing the save file requires a little bit of digging, but is (fortunately) pretty easy. Basically you will need to check the Progress Tracking and Contract sections against the Kerbal Roster. If you already know which kerbal you fired or killed recently, that will make the process a lot easier. If you don't know who it is, then it'll take a bit of looking to find out. You'll need to edit the save game with a plain text editor (such as notepad, do NOT use Word or any other word processing software). Be sure not to leave extra blank lines in the save file as this tends to mess up KSP.

You can find your save game under KSP\saves\[name of your save]\persistence.sfs

NOTE: You MUST edit the persistence.sfs file (since this is the one that is broken) and not the quicksaves. ...But also, beware of any quicksaves. Generally speaking they should be okay, but if you were in the middle of quicksaving when this happened, then both the persistence and quicksave might be affected. In that case, it's easier to edit the persistence.sfs, load the game, then do a quicksave immediately.

Progress Tracking Section

The progress tracking section will look something like this. There might be a lot of entries depending on what all you've done during your game. You are looking for the bracketed parts labeled CREW{} as shown in red below. Keep track of the any crew names that are listed for later.

SCENARIO
{
name = ProgressTracking
scene = 7, 8, 5
Progress
{
FirstLaunch
{
completed = 54.8600000000032
}
FirstCrewToSurvive
{
completed = 93.2401330566423
crew
{
[COLOR="#FF0000"]crews = Jebediah Kerman[/COLOR]
}
}
AltitudeRecord
{
completed = 342.108418884252
record = 70000
}
ReachedSpace
{
completed = 342.108418884252
vessel
{
name = Untitled Space Craft
flag = Squad/Flags/default
}
crew
{
[COLOR="#FF0000"]crews = Muncan Kerman, Jerski Kerman[/COLOR]
}
}

Contract Section

Just like the progress tracking section, the contract section stores kerbal names for any "Rescue XXX Kerman" contracts. I often find it's easier to search for "Kerman" rather than scrolling through pages of contracts. Again, I've shown an example below with the important part highlighted in red. This time crew names aren't listed in a CREW{} section but are labeled with kerbalName. Again, keep track of the any crew names that are listed for later.

CONTRACT
{
guid = d0aeda1b-bbad-46bf-a16b-a953b05f1849
type = RescueKerbal
prestige = 1
seed = -2116328477
state = Offered
agent = Research & Development Department
deadlineType = Floating
expiryType = Floating
values = 86400,46008000,25000,100000,25000,0,50,12,86771.1684188842,0,0,0
body = 1
[COLOR="#FF0000"]kerbalName = Philcan Kerman[/COLOR]
PARAM
{
name = BoardAnyVessel
id = Board
state = Incomplete
values = 12500,0,0,25,0
title = Get Philcan Kerman aboard a vessel
failOn = Any
winOn = All
}
PARAM
{
name = RecoverKerbal
id = Recover
state = Incomplete
values = 0,0,0,0,0
title = Return Home and Recover Philcan Kerman
failOn = All
winOn = All
}
}

Crew Roster

Now that you have a list of names, scroll to the end of the save file. Here you will find the crew roster. Make sure that every kerbal name listed in the Progress Tracking and Contract Sections also has an entry in the Crew Roster. If someone is missing, you can add a kerbal entry to the Crew Roster. See the example below.

KERBAL
{
[COLOR="#FF0000"]name = Philcan Kerman[/COLOR]
[COLOR="#FF0000"]type = Unowned[/COLOR]
brave = 0.7172809
dumb = 0.1653517
badS = True
[COLOR="#FF0000"]state = Available[/COLOR]
[COLOR="#FF0000"]ToD = Infinity[/COLOR]
idx = -1
CAREER_LOG
{
flight = 0
}
FLIGHT_LOG
{
flight = 0
}
}

Make sure each kerbal has an entry. There are a couple options you can set up here based on how you want your kerbal to be available in game. If you don't know what you want, just set it up as shown above. They will stay "fired" and the game will not lock up. If you want your kerbal fired, alive, or dead, just follow the spoilers below.

If you want your kerbal to stay fired, set the following values.

type = Unowned
state = Available
ToS = Infinity

If you want your kerbal to be alive, set the following values.

type = Crew
state = Available
ToS = Infinity

If you want your kerbal listed as dead with no chance to return, set the following values.

type = Crew
state = Dead
ToS = Infinity

Once Complete

Save the file and start up KSP. If you've locked up KSP previously, you'll need to restart.

---

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Add-On Fix

If you aren't opposed to using add-ons, I've also created a fix to avoid this problem in the future. You can find that fix here. You still need to edit your save file (if it's broken) using the instructions above. Then you can install the fix which should (hopefully) prevent kerbals from getting lost.

Edited January 13, 2015 by Claw

[TriggerAu]

Dear Moderators, Can you sticky this one until a fix turns up?

[Claw]

Yep, that's actually a really good idea given how prevalent this bug is becoming.

Cheers,

~Claw

[Botch]

I seem to have this problem as well except it was after upgrading my astronaut center with all of my kerbals assigned to a single ship. I looked over the fix but honestly am not sure what i'm looking for. I fired the original 3 early in the game but no one else has died or been fired.

I'd guess it has something to do with the twelve kerbals assigned to a craft or else the fired original 3. What should I look for?

[TriggerAu]

Basically you need to search the Progress Tracking and Contract sections of the save and then see if any names are not in the crew roster as Claw describes in the OP. Or use his excellent plugin fix. Take a copy of the save first.

If your stuck and dont have an issue with it you could share your save file via pastebin or similar and people will also look at it

[BattalBoy1]

I just tried this fix but for some reason it didn't work. From the start of the text file, i searched kerman and wrote down each name i came across all the way down to the roster section. I then added all the missing ones. But i still had the bug when i opened the save. If someone could check my persistent file to see if I've done anything wrong, that'd be awesome. My persistent file. Many thanks to anyone who helps!

[TriggerAu]

I just tried this fix but for some reason it didn't work. From the start of the text file, i searched kerman and wrote down each name i came across all the way down to the roster section. I then added all the missing ones. But i still had the bug when i opened the save. If someone could check my persistent file to see if I've done anything wrong, that'd be awesome. My persistent file. Many thanks to anyone who helps!

Looks like Bob Kerman is the missing one too me - listed on line 2129 in the Jool Orbit, but no line in Crew Roster

[BattalBoy1]

Looks like Bob Kerman is the missing one too me - listed on line 2129 in the Jool Orbit, but no line in Crew Roster

Oh i must have missed him somehow. Thanks for looking at the file! Ill add him and try it again.

[manek22]

Tried this fix as well, but still can't seem to get it to work. Not sure If I'm missing crew or put it in wrong. I was missing Bob Kerman and Romal Kerman. Added them at the end.

My File.

- - - Updated - - -

ok nevermind last. Apparently an important step to editing is to SAVE the file. Gah need coffee.

[TriggerAu]

Tried this fix as well, but still can't seem to get it to work. Not sure If I'm missing crew or put it in wrong. I was missing Bob Kerman and Romal Kerman. Added them at the end.

My File.

- - - Updated - - -

ok nevermind last. Apparently an important step to editing is to SAVE the file. Gah need coffee.

Been there. Done that. Bought the Shirt!

[vince3000]

Just want to add my same problem to give visibility (new here and just stopping by to find help etc) to the devs. Bought the 0.90 version on Mac OSX (running Yosemite on a Macbook Pro). The fix laid out above works, but if I read it correctly, the bug happens whenever a record is set etc -which in career mode is often especially in the beginning, compounding the frustration of having game freezes almost every time after applying a fix. I haven't tried the permanent fix, mostly because I'm not sure if it would work on a Mac (it doesn't say but perhaps the .dll is a hint that it's a windows-only fix, not sure as I'm new to Macs myself lol) and I'd rather wait for an update (I bought on Steam).

Decided not to play until fixed with an update Hopefully the devs will pick up on this ASAP! Loving the game!

[TriggerAu]

Just want to add my same problem to give visibility (new here and just stopping by to find help etc) to the devs. Bought the 0.90 version on Mac OSX (running Yosemite on a Macbook Pro). The fix laid out above works, but if I read it correctly, the bug happens whenever a record is set etc -which in career mode is often especially in the beginning, compounding the frustration of having game freezes almost every time after applying a fix. I haven't tried the permanent fix, mostly because I'm not sure if it would work on a Mac (it doesn't say but perhaps the .dll is a hint that it's a windows-only fix, not sure as I'm new to Macs myself lol) and I'd rather wait for an update (I bought on Steam).

Decided not to play until fixed with an update Hopefully the devs will pick up on this ASAP! Loving the game!

Mods/Plugins work on all OS vince3000 - although be warned that once you start using mods you will find it hard to stop

[vince3000]

Mods/Plugins work on all OS vince3000 - although be warned that once you start using mods you will find it hard to stop

Okay thanks I didn't know that -I'll give that a try and hope it gets patched soon!

[Technical Ben]

I'm failing at fixing this bug. Is it possible to just delete the roster? Or do I have to add a specific Kerbal to it to fix? I've checked through the save and cannot see any missing Kerbals from my roster. But as soon as I try to save/replay the game in 0.90 it gets stuck.

[TriggerAu]

I'm failing at fixing this bug. Is it possible to just delete the roster? Or do I have to add a specific Kerbal to it to fix? I've checked through the save and cannot see any missing Kerbals from my roster. But as soon as I try to save/replay the game in 0.90 it gets stuck.

If your OK with pastebin or simliar you can upload the file and people will look at it as well.

[ThreeMartiniLaunch]

Someone mind taking a look at mine? All kerbals listed in the Roster section, but only one listed in the Progress section - the one I rescued and accidentally fired.

http://pastebin.com/mJY3Dr38

[vexx32]

All looks well, except for this:

KERBAL                {
                        name = Camrod Kerman
                        type = Unowned
                        brave = 0.09300721
                        dumb = 0.08747065
                        badS = False
                        state = Available

Not sure if kerbals can be Unowned and Available at the same time. Might want to change his type to Crew; he's listed in your achievements section, and firing those guys can be a bit tricky sometimes.

Alternatively, you may be able to change his type to Applicant.

Edited January 6, 2015 by vexx32

[Claw]

Is it possible to just delete the roster?

No, that is exactly the opposite of what you want to do. If you delete the roster, your game will likely be even more broken. If you want to delete things, you're better off removing any contracts or ProgressTracking that you find that which references a kerbal. As TriggerAu suggests, posting a copy of your save can help.

Cheers,

~Claw

[Claw]

Someone mind taking a look at mine? All kerbals listed in the Roster section, but only one listed in the Progress section - the one I rescued and accidentally fired.

http://pastebin.com/mJY3Dr38

Not sure if kerbals can be Unowned and Available at the same time. Might want to change his type to Crew

Sorry Vexx, but you actually want him to be listed as Unowned and Available. That keeps him fired, but not showing up on the roster anywhere.

Two things, one of them definitely wrong...

For Camrod, try also setting his idx = -1 (instead of idx = 0) since right now it's saying he's on an active flight, when he isn't. I don't quite think that's your problem though...

You're still missing someone from your roster, and it's a guy you rescued. ==> kerbalName = Tommund Kerman... There's another guy with a very similar name "Tombro Kerman" that might be throwing you off.

So you need to add a crew roster section for "Tommund Kerman" per the instructions in the OP, or he'll definitely break your save.

Cheers,

~Claw

[ThreeMartiniLaunch]

That did it, Claw. Thanks.

Don't know how I missed poor Tommund.

TML

[Claw]

That did it, Claw. Thanks.

No sweat, glad it's sorted out.

Cheers,

~Claw

[DRIVENES]

I have never fired a kerbal and have never lost one yet I still get this lock up occasionally. I have never added any 'Mods' either. Most of the time it happens when I start the game but has sometimes happened in the VAB, which leaves a forced close as the only way out. I find it strange that any ship I build and save is available later. On starting the game I visit 'Mission Control' before trying anything else. Frequently I find that it shows 99 contracts with Max=0. When this happens I hit the exit arrow in the upper right corner, then the game date/time appears at the bottom of the screen but I am still in 'Mission Control' and can't leave. When this happens I hit the Escape key and it brings up the 'normal' pop-up menu but the only thing I can do is load a previously saved game. Therefore, I have been creating a 'Save' game before exiting the game. When I load this saved game everything goes to a normal screen and when I check 'Mission Control' it shows the correct number of contracts and game play is normal until the next lock up

[TriggerAu]

I have never fired a kerbal and have never lost one yet I still get this lock up occasionally. I have never added any 'Mods' either. Most of the time it happens when I start the game but has sometimes happened in the VAB, which leaves a forced close as the only way out. I find it strange that any ship I build and save is available later. On starting the game I visit 'Mission Control' before trying anything else. Frequently I find that it shows 99 contracts with Max=0. When this happens I hit the exit arrow in the upper right corner, then the game date/time appears at the bottom of the screen but I am still in 'Mission Control' and can't leave. When this happens I hit the Escape key and it brings up the 'normal' pop-up menu but the only thing I can do is load a previously saved game. Therefore, I have been creating a 'Save' game before exiting the game. When I load this saved game everything goes to a normal screen and when I check 'Mission Control' it shows the correct number of contracts and game play is normal until the next lock up

Well that certainly dont sound right - but I dont think thats the same bug as this one. I'd recommend you post that in a new thread with logs, etc in the support forum that matches your install - modded/unmodded

[bretil]

I also got the lock-up bug but can't find any missing kerbals.

Can someone please have a look?

Thanks!

EDIT: Nevermind. After the 5th try it just magically worked again.

See you at Mün!

Edited January 10, 2015 by bretil

[vexx32]

I've looked at the file, but I can't see any issues with it. If you have a lockup, it's unlikely it will be present in the quicksave file -- the save game uses the persistent.sfs file under all normal operations. Quicksaves are used as backups to be loaded at will, so unless you've saved the file after the breakage, it will not be saved in any other quicksave files, only the persistent.sfs file.