VoiceAttack2 sometimes quits when SteamVR Exits

[BillEvansAlone]

Quitting SteamVR also closes VoiceAttack 2. This doesn't happen with VoiceAttack 1.

For me the issue occurs consistently, with the proviso that an overlay called OVR Toolkit (which allows you to bring desktop windows into VR) is also running when I quit SteamVR. It doesn't matter if VoiceAttack2 had been launched from Steam or by double-clicking its executable.

I've no idea what kind of weird cross-talk is going on here. So far as I can tell with a keystroke monitor, there's no Alt-F4 being generated. And other Apps don't seem to be closing unexpectedly. Perhaps the fault is entirely outside VoiceAttack 2, but I thought it worth mentioning. I've attached a video of it happening.

[Gary]

If you look inside your installation folder, is there a VoiceAttackFault.txt file in there?  If so, does it contain any entries that may coincide with the times that you see VA closing?  This file can also be found in %APPDATA%\VoiceAttack2

[BillEvansAlone]

There is a VoiceAttackFault.txt in ...AppData\Roaming\VoiceAttack2, but it doesn't get updated when VA2 closes. I've attached it anyway for the avoidance of doubt.

I did a few more experiments this morning, and realized it is not SteamVR closing per se that impacts VA2: it's when the OVR Toolkit overlay shuts down as a result of SteamVR closing. In fact, I can start OVR Toolkit using the Steam Library LAUNCH button (this does not start SteamVR), and on quitting (using Steam Library STOP), VA2 also quits. So this problem is entirely with OVR Toolkit. I've tried a few other VR overlays and a game, and none of them crash VA2 when they shut down.

[BillEvansAlone]

Several more crashes this morning. This time it was happening whenever I started or quit Elite Dangerous (2D mode, not VR). This wasn't happening yesterday, nor is it happening anymore today so not very reproducible, but fortunately VoiceAttackFault.txt has caught some of the crashes. I can also see more using the Computer Management Event Viewer, but they all look similar. I've attached the updated VoiceAttackFault.txt.

[Gary]

Yeah - the fault file is not very telling at this point.   If the log entries do not coincide with the OVR Toolkit interactions, that would mean that VA is either closing normally, or is crashing so catastrophically that information cannot be written to the file.  Are you using any plugins?

[BillEvansAlone]

I've still got the old VAJoystickOutput.dll in the Apps folder. Not needed anymore as I'm using the new VA2 functionality. I'll remove it and see if that makes any difference.

However, the faults shown in today's VoiceAttackFault.txt were actually the result of Elite Dangerous crashing VA2; either when the game starts or when it exits. I've been trying to nail this down, and so far as I can tell it's to do with window handling. I had the game resolution set to 1680x1050, and VA2 was maximising it to fit a 3840x2160 monitor. Once I changed the game resolution to 4K, the crashes stopped. Another wrinkle was that (I think) the crashes only happened when the game was in Full Screen Mode. But I'm afraid that's all I've got. I've attached the latest VoiceAttackFault.txt. All of today's crashes will have been caused by Elite Dangerous.

[BillEvansAlone]

Neither emptying the Apps folder nor disabling Plugin Support helped with the OVR Toolkit issue. If you recall, the OVR Toolkit issue is that closing it crashes VA2.

However, I have discovered something else, tested multiple times: the crash only occurs if VA2 has invoked Get Choice Input before OVR Toolkit is closed. Specifically a question has to be asked and answered for the crash to occur.

The attached video shows a question waiting for input with OVR Toolkit in the background. Closing OVR Toolkit does not crash VA2. Rinse and repeat but this time answer the question before closing OVR Toolkit, and VA2 crashes. I do not have the faintest idea why. That question is the only thing in the profile being run. Comment it out, and VA2 does not crash.

Details of the question are:

Get Choice Input [>ResetType]

Storage Variable: ">ResetType"
Window Title: "Choose Reset Type: Full, Skip Companion Apps, or Quit"
Prompt Text: "Reset Type?"
Values: "Full;Skip Apps;Quit"
Selected Value: "Full"

Stay on Top is ticked

[Gary]

Ah - I see.  Thanks for the research.  There's obviously some kind of threading issue going on.  I can look into different ways of presenting the Get Input screens, but it's going to take some time.

[BillEvansAlone]

Glad to be of help