Don't strip your code, merely create a stand-alone application (a stub) that specifically and exclusively tests out the "player" pointer. It would take very few lines and would resolve this question neatly.

After all, if the problem is with the engine, a few lines using the Player pointer will amplify that bug and make it MUCH more efficiently to squash than searching through actual code. And if the problem is not with the engine, then the stub will run as normal and the problem lies elsewhere.