#3370 Worse bug is Ghost units or soldier bug

[Larry Gray]

1. It always says server error and you can't do anything but end turn to skip until it goes to next unit to more or ends the turn.
2. No way to kill or disband the ghost unit except conquer the nearest town it dwells in. This seems to always work.
3. If you get two of these usually only occur in combat situations when you are trying to take two or more settlements at once. There is is a strong change of getting a ghost soldier in any settlement you are trying to capture.
4. You can't move or do anything with the affected unit. It does give option of building a new settlement which causes a long pause. You always get server can't do that.
5. I once had a ghost cart with ore in it for no reason it moved to a random settlement nearby and I had to bring in the troops and capture the settlement to get rid of it. 99% of the time It's when a soldier looses a rifle or dies. I didn't figure out which. 99% of the time it just a ghost soldier with no rifle. It's never another type of citizen with a rifle that gets killed and becomes a ghost solder I think, only trained soldiers. At least I've never noticed a free citizen with a gun get killed and become a regular blue coated soldier as a ghost soldier. Or a ghost free citizen.
6. I've seen this bug for the last 20 years I've played this game and it's very annoying.
7. Any way to at least add a feature that allows server override to kill any unit in focus with no questions asked? Maybe a hot key or menu item.

[Larry Gray]

I've never seen a ghost free citizen or other professional or any other unit that could wield a weapon as the ghost unit or as far as I recall or turn into a ghost blue coated soldier unit upon loss of rifle or death.

You always get server can't do that on any action except end turn or build new settlement. Again build new settlement only had a long pause then I think went on as if you had hit end turn.

[Bernat]

Hi Larry, I'm not the one who programs Freecol, but I help with testing tasks.
In order to detect errors, we would need you to attach two files (use add attachments button when you post it).
1) A saved game in which the problem can be seen
2) and the FreeCol.log. On my Ubuntu it is located in /home/frai/.cache/freecol/FreeCol.log
on Windows under C:\Users\Frai\My Documents\freecol\FreeCol.log
Adapt it to your user - language of your machine
Thanks

[Gracie Jane Gollinger]

I can confirm this bug in the manner Larry describes.

My version is the 20251124 build.

Attached are a screenshot, the log file, and a save file.

The key error appears towards the bottom:

net.sf.freecol.common.model.Player clientError
WARNING: net.sf.freecol.common.model.Unit not owned by player:19: unit:15160/[unit:15160 russianREF freeColonist 0/1]
Tue Dec 30 19:21:12 EST 2025
Thread: 1391

-- GJG

[Lone_Wolf]

Can't reproduce with freecol-git rev 933a05dba from 2025-11-24 which appears to be the same version you use.

Please describe what you do after loading that produces this error.

[Gracie Jane Gollinger]

@lone_wolfsf

Here is the scenario as I remember it:

I ended a turn with two Veteran Soldiers next to an enemy city; specifically, a city claimed by the Royal Expeditionary Forces. After hitting End Turn, it goes through their turn, and the REF units from the city successfully defeat both Veteran Soldiers and either captures them or slaughters them; I don't recall which happened. However, at the start of the turn, those two soldiers, while invisible on the game board, are still present in the current state as my units in that location where they were, and they are brought up to perform their action on that turn. However, any action involving them pops up the error "The server cannot do that." Those actions include movement, fortification, sentry, end turn, and disband unit. I can Wait on them and go through the remainder of my turn, but cannot end my turn.

What I have found since I posted is that after I quit and reload the game from the save file, the units are indeed gone (or at least appear so), so that is a workaround, but it is still a particularly annoying visual bug.

I should add that I've never seen this occur with any other scenario; e.g. other Europeans or Natives defeating a unit, so it may be limited to the War of Independence scenario.

Hope this helps,
-- GJG