ID:754849
 
BYOND Version:494
Operating System:Windows 7 Pro 64-bit
Web Browser:Chrome 19.0.1084.46
Applies to:Dream Maker
Status: Deferred

This issue may be low priority or very difficult to fix, and has been put on the back burner for the time being.
Descriptive Problem Summary:
You need to have a map with some map instances, and some of those instances must contain references to resource files (like defining icons through map instances).

Even when FILE_DIR is off, Dream Maker has a tendency to overwrite the paths to files in the custom map instances and set them to just the file name. This causes errors when compiling, because when FILE_DIR is off you must specify the full path.

This happens even when the instance itself is not modified. In our case it seems to be affecting the same instances whenever the map is saved, even when we've reset the paths by manually modifying the .dmm file.

Expected Results:
When FILE_DIR is off, any paths to files defined in instances on the map must be a full path. BYOND should not modify these paths on its own and reset them as if FILE_DIR was on.

Actual Results:
BYOND resets the paths, thereby screwing up the map and forcing us to work with FILE_DIR on despite that this is one of my most disliked features on this language. Grr.

Does the problem occur:
Every time? Or how often?
It seems to occur every time when one of our developers modifies the map.

In other games?
Untested.

In other user accounts?
Untested.

On other computers?
I'm not sure; it didn't seem to occur for me but it did occur for at least one other developer.

When does the problem NOT occur?
The problem does not seem to occur when minor modifications are made to the map. But if you modify a map instance it seems to edit a bunch of them and set any resource paths incorrectly.

Did the problem NOT occur in any earlier versions? If so, what was the last version that worked? (Visit http://www.byond.com/download/build to download old versions for testing.)
I think the bug has always been there, and that the problem is that there's a piece of code in the map editor that instructs it to update resource file paths but doesn't take FILE_DIR into account.

Workarounds:
The only workaround is by not using FILE_DIR, which I'd like to avoid as much as possible as I think it's a very bad habit.
While I'm not really sure what you mean about FILE_DIR (a set of steps to follow is probably necessary), I looked into where this happens and it looks to me like it's pretty far in the guts of the compiler. Specifically, I believe it has to do with the way filenames are saved in the .rsc file.
Lummox JR changed status to 'Deferred'
I think this happens when you change the icon of an instances object in the map editor. It's pretty sad to be seeing compiler errors at Map.dmm:624 and not be able to easily fix them, even when editing them as text.