Error: Array index -1 is out of range

[miketheratguy]

I've spent days trying to add some armor sets to the leveled lists of my game so that enemy NPCs (bandits, primarily) will occasionally wear them. I'm not at all familiar with Wrye Bash and the process of manually editing leveled lists seems incredibly time-consuming and needlessly complicated, so for a while now I've been using this mod: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/64778/? which allows the user to specifically choose item esps from the load order and add them to enemy inventory.

 

The problem is that my game seems to be crashing pretty regularly whenever I try to add a handful of armor and for the longest time I haven't been able to figure out whether it's a ram issue, specific armor issue, an issue with that loot mod, or what. Just this morning I was able to find a spot where the game crashes reliably whenever I've used the mod to apply some armor. It doesn't seem to matter which armor I try to apply and it doesn't happen if the mod is dormant (ie, active but not trying to apply any armor). The Skyrim error logs report the following:

 

[05/03/2016 - 07:21:48PM] Error: Array index -1 is out of range (0-99) stack: [Active effect 2 on (1700FF8A)].DSerItemAdderScript.OnEffectStart() - "DSerItemAdderScript.psc" Line 116

 

Can anyone tell me what this means, or more specifically, what I can to do try to fix the problem? (Bonus points for anyone who has an easier or more reliable way to make enemy NPCs wear modded armor that I add to the game, such as some kind of leveled list script or something).

[NexusComa]

It's telling you that you are calling/referring to an array then asking for array -1 ... there is no possible way to have a array at -1 ... arrays start at 0.

[miketheratguy]

Thanks for the reply. Is there any way to know what's actually causing this to happen so I can go about trying to fix it or attempt some kind of alternative? Basically what's happening in that error is that I've installed a mod of armor that would normally only be available through crafting, and have installed and activated a mod that's trying to apply that armor to some bandits at a fort that I'm approaching. Is there a way to determine what's causing the -1 error in that scenario?

[NexusComa]

jezz ... Other then fixing the script error with the 2nd mod, there would be no way.

The error is in script "DSerItemAdderScript.psc" at Line 116 ...

Just a blind guess here given what you have told me: looks like the armor is trying to put itself in slot -1 on the bandits

(I'd have to look at the script to see what's going on for real ... even then may not be able to locate the error)

"that would normally only be available through crafting" - this wouldn't matter

 

Have you talked with the mod's author about this error ?

[miketheratguy]

jezz ... Other then fixing the script error with the 2nd mod, there would be no way.

The error is in script "DSerItemAdderScript.psc" at Line 116 ...

Just a blind guess here given what you have told me: looks like the armor is trying to put itself in slot -1 on the bandits

(I'd have to look at the script to see what's going on for real ... even then may not be able to locate the error)

"that would normally only be available through crafting" - this wouldn't matter

 

Have you talked with the mod's author about this error ?

 

Okay, so the error is NOT in the armor itself, but rather the script that's trying to apply the armor to the bandits. Thank you, that really helps a lot. At least now I know which component is causing the problem, and that's a huge step forward. Very disappointing, since this is by far the easiest way I'm aware of to add modded armor to leveled lists, but still good to narrow things down. I haven't seen others post the same type of crashing issue so I was worried that it could be something else, and wouldn't know how to find out what.

 

I've written to the mod author to no avail. This is one of those all too common situations where someone came out of nowhere with an awesome mod that seemed to work great, promised an update, then disappeared before the update or any answers to bug fixes. It's so frustrating because this is one of the few mods that I truly consider "must-have", since fighting the same enemies with the same loot and the same outfits over and over and over again is one of the things that really drags down the sense of immersion or excitement when playing this game. I've tried looking into other ways to add a bunch of custom armors myself but it's all so over my head and consists of so many steps that I think doing so would take days, if not weeks.

 

The mod is called "Modded Loot". http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/64778/?

[NexusComa]

I didn't say that ... just one possible guess ... it could be the armor if the armor is not set to the right slot.

That would error that command. In fact if it did compile may even be more likely ... depending on how the call was made.

 

 

After looking at the mod here are a few more questions:

 

Is the armor you are adding wearable by a bandit ...

Is the armor you are adding a default armor in the game ...

 

 

You do know something like this would be pretty easy to make up real quick in the CK.

You can edit the loot tables and/or the items worn from about anything ... make it a mod and go.

 

No limits, Not just bandits ...

The whole mod would be only a few bytes.

Edited May 4, 2016 by NexusComa

[miketheratguy]

I understand, you didn't say that it was a guaranteed certainty or anything but simply that the error was the additem script. I guess I just figured that this must be related to the loot mod and not the armor itself. I know that some armors come with scripts but I don't believe that any of the ones that I tried did. Also, I got this error with about six different sets. I'd turn on the loot mod and the armor mod then load up a clean save that was made before either one were installed. I'd go into the loot mod's MCM menu to have it load up the armor set. Once successful, I'd approach a fort where I knew many enemy bandits would be, and the game would abruptly crash to the desktop once I got close. I'd then remove that armor mod, install a different one, and repeat the process: Load up the clean save, set the loot mod to activate the new armor, and approach the fort. Another crash. If, however, I loaded up the save with the loot mod and any of the armor mods installed but did NOT "activate" the loot mod in-game by telling it to search for the armor, then the game would proceed like normal and not crash. The loot mod would be on, the armor would be on, and I'd be able to go craft it for myself if I wanted to. The crash would come if I activated the armor through the loot mod and approached the fort again. That's why it made perfect sense to hear that the error had something to do with an add item script.

 

To your questions, no, the armor that I've been adding is custom armor made by individual users (Dreamburrows, etc). As to whether it's wearable by a bandit, I'm not sure what you mean. It's just a set of meshes and textures meant to be worn by the player, but which the loot mod has dynamically added to the bandits due to the settings that I selected (it could also be added to dragons and giants but I chose bandits specifically because the bandits would actually wear them). In other words the armor doesn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary, just custom armor for use on the player or his followers. If it helps the bandits in the game do, in fact, wear the armor once it's been added - in areas of the game where I don't crash reliably, I can encounter bandits wearing the various pieces. The problem is that the game will seemingly crash at random when spawning bandits with the armor on - sometimes I can approach an area where I encounter bandits wearing custom armor, sometimes I can approach that same area and crash. In the case of this specific error log I was testing out an area that, for some reason, would crash consistently. I'm not sure why that spot is reliably unstable, but I guess I'm not as concerned about that. My problem was with trying to understand why the loot mod / armor sets were making the game crash at all.

Edited May 4, 2016 by miketheratguy

[NexusComa]

"I'd turn on the loot mod and the armor mod then load up a clean save that was made before either one were installed. I'd go into the loot mod's MCM menu to have it load up the armor set. Once successful, I'd approach a fort where I knew many enemy bandits would be, and the game would abruptly crash to the desktop once I got close."

 

Did you try to save after adding the loot then reloading before you approach the fort ...

 

Here the crazy part about programming ... just because the error was flaged in the script don't always mean it was a script error. The script could be calling it right

but what it's calling could be malformed or just not compatible despite passing the compile ...

 

Scripts have two kinds of errors. Syntax Errors and Logic Errors. Of the two Syntax errors are the easiest to see and find.

In this case - considering it did compile, it's most likely a Logic error. A logic error can be many many things ...

Edited May 4, 2016 by NexusComa

[NexusComa]

I hope I'm not just confusing you ... maybe I should just answer your question and not speculate as to the error ...

 

"Error: Array index -1 is out of range (0-99) stack: [Active effect 2 on (1700FF8A)].DSerItemAdderScript.OnEffectStart() - "DSerItemAdderScript.psc" Line 116"

 

Ok ... in the script DSerItemAdderScript.psc at line 116 there was a call for DSerItemAdderScript.OnEffectStart() on object 1700FF8A

The correct range for this array call was 0-99 and it tried to call -1 ... that triggered an error ...

 

ok one more speculation !!! :tongue:

 

did you play with the load order - Ii would guess the armor being called would need to come before the loot mod ...

Edited May 4, 2016 by NexusComa

[miketheratguy]

First of all, I appreciate your help regardless of the confusion. You obviously know more about this stuff than I do (I've been playing and modding Skyrim for years but I've never delved into any particularly "advanced" stuff such as scripting, Wrye Bash etc.) so you're going to be saying things that I don't really understand, sure, but I'm more or less following you, I think.

 

No, I actually did not save the game at any point past using the loot mod to activate the armor in-game. I'd install the loot and armor mods, load a save from a few nights before, let MCM detect the loot mod, and use it to find and distribute the armor. Then, after crashing, I would use NMM to deactivate the armor, activate a different armor set, reload that same save from a few days prior, and try anew. I can make a new, separate save after loading up the loot and armor mods and reload that save before I try to approach the fort. I'll let you know what happens.

 

As for the load order I ran Loot (which hasn't detected any problems, for whatever that's worth) but now that you mention it, no, I haven't messed with the load order beyond that. I just fired up NMM and see that the loot mod has, in fact, been placed well BEFORE the armor mods. I wonder if something so stupidly simple could be the whole problem? I guess I never really thought about it, I just trusted Loot to do its thing. This probably still wouldn't explain why my game would randomly crash during the other times that I tested it, but it could very well explain why I'm now getting consistent crashes at the spot I've been testing in.

 

I'll go try out the save / reload scenario with the fort, then after I've done that I'll change the load order to place the loot mod last and do what I've been doing to see if I get any different results.