Zezo forum:

Post by Ursus Maritimus | 2018-03-18 | 02:50:27

I tacked two times after the start to get on the layline out of New Zealand. The second tack at 03:13:00 to starboard: The tack is properly executed in the user interface. Than I got kicked out, back to the home screen (annoying) and when I go back to the race (VOR leg 7), I see my boat is BACK ON PORT TACK!!

With VR Dashboard it is visible that a tack penalty is applied for the tack to stb and than without command the boat is again sailing port (03:14:02).

I'm very lucky not to have gone back to asleep after the (according the user interface) succesfull tack, but I had to tack again (03:15:44), which is causing an extra tack penalty and I missed the lay line by a few minutes.

Anyone with the same problem? VR has become close to unplayable like this. Not funny anymore.

9 Comments

Post by mak08 | 2018-03-18 | 11:45:38

Your boat did not tack back without a command, but the messages arrived out-of-sequence. Look at the Time and Δd columns. The message where vC is marked yellow occurred /earlier/ than then the message below. The reported penalty indeed looks higher than it should, but that's most likely an artifact of the stray message.

Post by Ursus Maritimus | 2018-03-18 | 12:47:34

thanks for looking at it.
The first tack was somehow ingnored by VR, at least in the client where is was reversed. At first my boat seemed to be on the right course but after being forced out to the home screen and back in, it was on the course before the tack.
So I had to make two tacks and incurred two penalties to change course ony once ...

Looking at the positive side, I'm lucky that I didn't crash into some island or rocky coast ;)

Post by YourMomSA | 2018-03-18 | 13:46:53

This bug hit me for three phantom tacks and a phantom gybe in the last Clipper leg. Really frustrating. It happened a few times to Marcusbelgicus too. I'm aware of it also happening to Toppen and Ghostbuster a couple legs earlier.

It may have something to do with adjusting scheduled maneuvers a lot in an active session. Marcusbelgicus indicated he had heard it might happen from watching your boat do a scheduled maneuver. I have no idea.

Post by mak08 | 2018-03-18 | 15:37:05

You are right, there are in fact two tacking penalties visible in the message log above. This is clearly a bug VR has to fix.

Still, note that the message with phantom tack at
Time = 18-03-2018 03:14:02 CET
was outdated when it arrived. The previous message is timestamped
Time = 18-03-2018 03:14:05 CET
It has the correct TWA, and it reports a newer boat state!

If possible, I'd wait for the next 2min cycle after such an out-of-sequence message to see if the problem persists.

Post by Ursus Maritimus | 2018-03-18 | 16:12:13

could be that this happens when you tack AND adjust your programming within the same 2 minute cycle. maybe good to wait after a tack or gybe before adjusting the programming (time, TWA or HDG)

Post by marcusbelgicus | 2018-03-18 | 20:41:38

Yes I also got this problem a couple of times, but only if I had an active session and let a prog doing the scheduled maneuver. I don't know if it only happens if I was trying to change something before the maneuver takes place.
But now, if I am connected, I tack/gibe myself and remove the prog.

Post by Ursus Maritimus | 2018-03-18 | 20:55:20

I can't, because than I loose two cards that I can use again (NMS player ...)
Shifting them back in time allows me to plan tacks/gybes and use them as back-up in case I don't wake up from the alarm clock.

Post by marcusbelgicus | 2018-03-19 | 20:42:51

If you move them before they are used, you should not have problem. I do it very often with my NMS boat. This is only if you have opened your screen and you let the prog making the maneuver that you have issues.
Beware also that if you move them just at the moment the prog was supposed to work (the prog usually does not desapear immediately), then you can run into trouble.