The AGS "Y3K" Bug (solved, but please read!)

[Ghost]

I don't know if this counts as a bug, but here is what happened:

A few weeks ago I found an old demo of RCT3, installed it and-
bang, suddenly my computer crashed. After rebooting, a lot of
programs no longer worked: Their desktop links got deleted,
they didn't start at all or crashed with strange error messages.
Among the programs was AGS, which refused to run but gave no
error code in the message window. I was puzzled, but thought
the demo had done some damage to my XP. I made backups and
reinstalled XP.

Trouble remained. For a few weeks I suspected hardware damage,
tried a lot of stuff and finally found the answer.

By some freak accident the demo had set my system's date to the
year 2099. After I reset the date everything was back to normal.
Strange, isn't it? I have made no attempt to find out at what date
AGS will stop working, but now I wonder if this should be fixed
because I actually lost files: Even though I made backups, after
fixing my computer all my ags game folders had nothing but the
compiled files. Didn't bother me too much because I have backup
disks, but still, I thought I should tell you about the
"ags 3k bug".

[monkey0506]

Actually it's more like...the Y2.099K bug.  3K would be the year 3000.  But still interesting.

[Ghost]

Actually it's more like...the Y2.099K bug.Ã,  3K would be the year 3000.Ã,  But still interesting.

True, and I knew that. But the friggin "bug" had me on "AGS Withdrawal" for almost a month. It needs a snappy name.

[monkey0506]

Lol...a month?  That sucks.  Glad you got it fixed though.

[Ghost]

It was a hard time, yes, but it had some benefits- I could not, after having an idea, run AGS and make a mess of it  I actually wrote a small game just on paper in that time; now i am dying to make it in AGS.

what really makes me think is how "future proof" some programs are or are not. Okay, 93 years, that's a lot of time. I won't live to see 2099 (or if I do I'll be 123 years old by then). but apparently some programs really cease to
work at a certain date. Here's a funny little list of "crashes" on my PC:

AGS: Comes up with the generic "AGS has detected a problem" window but
has no error code. when trying to send the report to microsoft, pc crashed.

Sims2: Runs, but shows nothing, not even a thread in the task list. when clicking the icon again, a message pops up "SIms2 is already running".

Media Player: same as ags but with a very long error code.

SimCity4: Starts with a black screen, then instantly quits.

Spellforce: Tells me files are missing, refuses to run.

BUT:

Morrowind: No trouble.
Open Office: No trouble.
Sims (original game): No trouble.
Winamp: No trouble.

Strange that games fromt he same publisher react so different, and very strange that windows can handle the wrong date but applications that are part of it, like media player, can't.

[Mr Flibble]

I'm glad I'll be dead by 2099, it will save me from having to upgrade to a "Y2.099K" safe version of Windows (ie Son of Vista).

Still though, I'm a little uneasy about how XP is only designed to last up to 2099, whilst I'm sure this is just a "service contract" to sell the new models with go-faster stripes, who knows what hidden ramifications it could have on compatibility?

[Fuzzpilz]

The precise time this problem will start, I suspect, is 3:14:09 AM on the 19th of January 2038. Read the linked article for an explanation.

[Pumaman]

This is an interesting one. It seems that, rather than wrapping round as I would hope it did, in fact the system calls like time() and localtime() just return NULL if the date is later than 2038 (as Fuzzpilz points out). Ah well, by then we'll all be using .PET 5.0 128-bit so it won't be a problem.

[monkey0506]

Using a 64-bit value introduces a new problem date in about 290 billion years, on Sunday, December 4, 292,277,026,596 15:30:08 UTC. This problem is not, however, widely regarded as a pressing issue (to put this in perspective the sun will turn into a red giant in about 5 billion years).

And to think some people said 64 bit was a bad thing...64 bit will outlast the sun foos!!!