ID:2516454
 
Resolved
Including an ampersand in maptext caused it to freak out and hang the client up in a state where it could close, but not close completely.
BYOND Version:513.1490
Operating System:Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Web Browser:Chrome 77.0.3865.120
Applies to:Dream Seeker
Status: Resolved (513.1491)

This issue has been resolved.
Descriptive Problem Summary:

The & symbol in a map text will "crash" any players who view it.

Numbered Steps to Reproduce Problem:
1. Set map text to & on New().
2. Error "The parameter is incorrect" appears and client is frozen.
2. Client crashes.

Code Snippet (if applicable) to Reproduce Problem:
maptext = "&"


Expected Results:
It displaying "&" properly.

Actual Results:
A client crash.

Does the problem occur:
Every time? Or how often? Every time & is used in a map text string.
In other games? Unknown.
In other user accounts? Unknown.
On other computers? Unknown.

When does the problem NOT occur? When & doesn't exist in a map text screen.

Did the problem NOT occur in any earlier versions? If so, what was the last version that worked? Unknown.

Workarounds:
None that I know of. & doesn't work because that also contains &.
Well that's a weird one. New to 513, or did 512 have the same issue?
In response to Lummox JR
Lummox JR wrote:
Well that's a weird one. New to 513, or did 512 have the same issue?

Just tested it now on latest stable (512.1488) and it did not crash or anything, and displayed an ampersand just fine without a crash.
Unicode did it. We can blame unicode for everything now.
Lummox JR resolved issue with message:
Including an ampersand in maptext caused it to freak out and hang the client up in a state where it could close, but not close completely.