Map & resource download troubleshooting

Retrocycles downloads maps and configs from public resource servers when you join a game. If a download fails, the client may leave a zero-byte placeholder and show errors like “file is empty” on the next join.

Find your resource folder

1. Launch Retrocycles.
2. Open Help → About and note the resource directory path (Steam/Linux paths vary; do not guess a folder on your desktop).

All paths below are inside that directory.

How URLs map to folders

Everything after /resource/ in the URL is the relative path under your resource folder.

Example:

• URL: https://resource.armagetronad.net/resource/Titanoboa/sumobar/dynamic-0.2.aamap.xml
• Local file: Titanoboa/sumobar/dynamic-0.2.aamap.xml

RCL servers may use other authors, for example rcl/sumobar/dynamic-0.3.aamap.xml on resource.retrocyclesleague.com. Use the exact path from your in-game error message — that is always correct for the server you joined.

Keep the full filename, including .aamap.xml. Renaming to .xml alone will not work.

Fix “file is empty” (recommended order)

1. Redownload one file

1. Quit the game completely.
2. Delete only the file named in the error (check size with your file manager — if it is 0 bytes, delete it).
3. Start the game and join the same server again; wait on the loading screen for the download.

2. Copy from the browser (if redownload keeps failing)

If you can open the resource URL in a normal web browser:

1. Open the URL (View Source or Save Page if needed).
2. Save the XML into the matching folder under your resource directory, with the exact filename from the error.
3. Confirm the file is not empty (should be several KB for a typical map).

Linux example (replace <resource-dir> and the URL with yours):

mkdir -p "<resource-dir>/Titanoboa/sumobar"curl -fsSL "https://resource.armagetronad.net/resource/Titanoboa/sumobar/dynamic-0.2.aamap.xml" \  -o "<resource-dir>/Titanoboa/sumobar/dynamic-0.2.aamap.xml"ls -la "<resource-dir>/Titanoboa/sumobar/dynamic-0.2.aamap.xml"

3. Check the automatic/ cache

Downloads are often cached under resource/automatic/... with the same author/category layout.

If you manually created empty folders (e.g. Titanoboa/sumobar/) but working copies exist under automatic/, remove only the empty stub files you added — not the whole automatic tree.

Do not delete your entire resource folder

Wiping all of resource/ can break startup (missing DTDs, includes, and cached files) and may crash the client while it refetches everything.

If you already deleted everything and the game crashes on launch:

1. Steam → Retrocycles → Properties → Verify integrity of game files.
2. Launch once without joining a server, then join again to let maps repopulate.
3. Still broken? Ask on RCL Discord with your OS, the error text, and whether the crash happens at menu or only when joining a server.

How many map files do I need?

• Usually only the file in the current error.
• If every server and map fails with empty files, treat it as a general download/connectivity issue (firewall, VPN, DNS, disk full, permissions) — not something to fix by hand-copying dozens of maps.

Quick connectivity check

Join a simple public server that uses common stock maps. If that works, focus on the specific path in your error (custom sumobar, Titanoboa dynamic maps, RCL rcl/sumobar/..., etc.).

Still stuck?

Post in Discord with:

• The full error line (includes the resource path)
• Help → About resource directory (you can redact your username from the path)
• OS (e.g. Arch + Steam)
• Whether the browser can open the same resource URL