All of you probably experience that FVE hangs on certain gifts and especially SDB’s. I’ll address this now with the announcement of version 4.0.18.
The symptoms: Hanging and gifts doesn’t end up in the gift box
Important: If all your gifts continuously keep getting rejected you should read this:
http://a-creative.dk/2011/09/23/secure-browsing-https-enabled-suddenly-causes-problems/
Otherwise: You click the “Process requests” button and FVE starts processing. Suddenly it just hangs and gets no where. This happens with both SDB’s and other gifts. It might also process gifts but leaves them unhandled on the Facebook page and these gifts doesn’t end up in the gift box.
The cause: Bug’ed gifts being sent out
Actually I don’t know the cause for certain, but here’s some possibilities:
- It all started when FVE launched the new tool for mass sending SDB’s. Maybe this tool isn’t quite done yet.
- FB normally has limits to how many gifts can be sent. FarmVille exceeds these limits with the new mass sending tool. Maybe FB enforces the limits anyway thus making some of the FarmVille gifts invalid in the process.
- People use different third party tools for sending gifts in FV like for instance GU’s(Gamers Unite’s) gift sending tool. Maybe some of these tools sends out invalid gifts or also exceeds the gift sending limits.
- People with HTTP/”Secure browsing” enabled sends these gifts and FVE doesn’t understand them. I’ve researched this and it doesn’t seem to be a problem. FVE handles them without problems.
- Non-friend neighbors send these gifts. My research doesn’t show a pattern that proves this. The invalid gifts basically come from all types of users.
Some advice
Here is some advice to avoid some of these causes:
- Recommend your neighbors not to use the mass sending tool for SDB’s. Recommend them to use “Free gifts” instead.
- Recommend your neighbors not to use any third party tools for sending gifts.
- Receive your SDB’s with Zynga Message Center inside FarmVille. I’m however not sure of this advice at it seems like some gifts don’t even accept correctly from there or even show up there.
Actual solutions: Version 4.0.18
These are the changes in FVE 4.0.18:
- The hanging is now solved. FVE now marks the gifts as invalid(red x) instead and should now finish normally. The consequences of this probably will be that you will notice more red x’s after this update. But that’s simply just how the reality is.
- Actually I had more planned for this release to help you clean out the bug’ed gifts. But this will have to wait until another time. Until further notice you will have to use “ignore all” on the game requests page to clean out once in a while OR you can try accepting them through Zynga Message Center
Download the new release here.
A gift
I’ve made a new Google Chrome extension to help you a bit more when you’re playing FB games. I will announce it later, but here is some highlights:
- It’s basically a little orange “Select all” button showing on pages with neighbor lists when you’re sending gifts or asking for stuff.
- Clicking on the button marks a random selection of neighbors within the shown list and within the sending limits of the shown list.
- Next you click on “Send” like usual and this way it’s easier than ever to send out gifts or ask for stuff.
- It’s a good replacement for the bug’ed mass sending tool for SDB’s.
- It’s very simple in every way.
I really hope this will help you(and maybe your neighbors) send out gifts that actually work.