What could have caused "Unknown UDMF thing key"

Sun Oct 10, 2021 5:50 am

I have fixed this problem but I was just wondering if anyone knew how it might have happened. When loading up an old map that I converted to UDMF some time ago (which, I suspect, is where this crept in - but I have converted literally hundreds of maps and never seen this before) I got the following message at the console:

Code:: Unknown UDMF thing key 1 Unknown UDMF thing key 2 Unknown UDMF thing key 4 Unknown UDMF thing key 32 Unknown UDMF thing key 64 Unknown UDMF thing key 128 Unknown UDMF thing key 256 Unknown UDMF thing key 512 Unknown UDMF thing key 1024 Unknown UDMF thing key 1 Unknown UDMF thing key 2 Unknown UDMF thing key 4 Unknown UDMF thing key 32 Unknown UDMF thing key 64 Unknown UDMF thing key 128 Unknown UDMF thing key 256 Unknown UDMF thing key 512 Unknown UDMF thing key 1024

UDB gave the map a clean bill of health so I upened up the TEXTMAP lump and I found the following:

Code:: thing // 233 { x = 896.0; y = 160.0; angle = 180; type = 32012; skill1 = true; skill2 = true; skill3 = true; skill4 = true; skill5 = true; skill6 = true; skill7 = true; skill8 = true; single = true; coop = true; dm = true; class1 = true; class2 = true; class3 = true; class4 = true; class5 = true; 1 = true; 2 = true; 4 = true; 32 = true; 64 = true; 128 = true; 256 = true; 512 = true; 1024 = true; } thing // 234 { x = 896.0; y = -128.0; angle = 180; type = 32012; skill1 = true; skill2 = true; skill3 = true; skill4 = true; skill5 = true; skill6 = true; skill7 = true; skill8 = true; single = true; coop = true; dm = true; class1 = true; class2 = true; class3 = true; class4 = true; class5 = true; 1 = true; 2 = true; 4 = true; 32 = true; 64 = true; 128 = true; 256 = true; 512 = true; 1024 = true; }

Pretty much as the console had indicated: two things in the map with a bunch of properties "names" of 1-1024 going up in powers of 2 (no 16 though).

Once I knew which items to look at, UDB showed me this:

The actors themselves are really simple, straight forward single sprite decorations - so I wouldn't ever have needed to set any particularly fancy flags or options on them and everything else about the items and their placement in the map seemed normal.

The fix, of course, was easy. Just delete the actors and re-insert new copies of the same actor.

Any ideas how it might have happened?

Sun Oct 10, 2021 6:23 am

I suspect it to be caused by map conversion tool. Those sequence of numbers look like a list of flags.

Sun Oct 10, 2021 6:25 am

Thanks, I'm increasingly coming down to that conclusion myself.

A similar one - this time with lines. Another map flagged this up in GZDoom:

Code:: Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags Unknown UDMF linedef key extraflags

Looking at the map, these were probably all line type 121 in Hexen format and I *think* this map was converted with a command line tool rather than using UDB (or GZDoomBuilder as it would have been at the time).

So, yeah, I'm pretty sure this will be due to a faulty conversion done by that command line tool (whose name I forget) that gives questionable results for some parts of the conversion process.

Sun Oct 10, 2021 7:23 am

OK, I just got through checking around 150 maps (easier than it sounds, I just renamed the WAD files sequentially using RenameMaster and dumped them in a PK3 for easy map-hopping at the console. If I saw an erorr at the console, I made a note of which map it was and checked it later. Some time last year I "forced" myself to learn UDB by converting a bunch of maps that I had lying in a WADs folder, which is where these came from. Anyway, out of these ~150 maps, 14 had things with the unknown keys (always the same range of numbers as the key names) and one map (the one already reported) had the linedef issue.

I honestly can't see any obvious connection with them. It is only ever usually one or two things on a map (other items of the same type might be fine) and there is no obvious connection between them. None have been enemies, but there have been decorations, pickups, dynamic lights, ambient sounds, skybox silencers... I've looked that the original maps too and I don't see anything unusual about the particular items - no unusual flags, arguments or whatever. Interestingly, one or two of the items concerned were not actually in the original maps so I must have placed them myself after conversion - which is just another level of weirdness because I have never created any custom things fields for any items ever.

Some of the maps were definitely converted by the command line tool, others, I am almost certain, were not (instead done by pressing F2 in GZDoomBuilder and changing projects).

The map with all of the line errors was definitely converted with the command line tool.

So I have no real idea why this happened because it seems pretty random (at least as far as the things are concerned). Ultimately, it's harmless - the errors only appear when developer mode is active and they don't affect how the map plays, but it would be interesting to know where they crept in.

What could have caused "Unknown UDMF thing key"

What could have caused "Unknown UDMF thing key"

Re: What could have caused "Unknown UDMF thing key"

Re: What could have caused "Unknown UDMF thing key"

Re: What could have caused "Unknown UDMF thing key"