How do you prevent crashes?

[665befb69c09exdiesp_]

I'm very afraid of the crashes that happen as I playtest my mod. They are apparently random, like this very normal soundtrap which once caused a crash. Another time, while not technically a crash, I experience a game breaking bug as the dead powercells couldn't combine with batteries. Would you tell me if the following are right, please?

1) I added items\npcs in the "space" between the rooms: does this cause them to fall forever and suck on memory? Should I instert them in a new brush?

2) I added npcs to the level proper: friendly AI who hang around until you enter their enter-tripwire, then they do something and die. Again, do they strain the program just by standing there (until you find them)? Should I replace them with a trap that spawns a new npc on the spot?

3) Player and enemies have a harmless aura which helps my code activate: it fires once every 200 ms. Is this enough to cause instability? I could limit this aura to the player only.

4) For this same reason, should I struggle to have Destroy traps which clear after all tripwires (and routers, etc) which have already fired (and are now useless)?

edit
I think these crashes mostly happen during sound traps (vanilla ones, that's the problem).

[665befb69c24cZygo]

1) Is a bad idea. Create a blue room (ie a room that is separate from the main level, still roombrushed etc) for objects and AI you want to teleport in or whatever. Otherwise stuff may drop forever and hit the level limits.

If you aren't using new dark there is a random crash bug that can happen with sounds (and with inventory) if a level has high memory usage, there is no workaround* for it except using new dark or keeping memory usage low.

*or maybe it can, but I cannot remember exactly how. There was a fix using lg.ini (which had to somewhere bizarre like the main windows folder) or something similar, cannot remember exactly what it was for though.

[665befb69c38dxdiesp_]

Thanks, I will move all items that fall to bluerooms. I wasn't sure if they actually fell, or got stuck in the solid between the brushes.

I also identified the cause of that soundtrap's crash. I planned on using different gamesys files for each level: the intro level was made so far back in time, that its gamesys was exceedingly different from the newer ones. I have to check if using different gamesys at all causes instability, or if changing just a few things doesn't.

[665befb69c4a1xdiesp_]

In another instance, the plan to help with performance backfired! I have this teleport trap, which brings about fifty items from the level to itself in a blue room. I replaced the teleport trap with a destroy trap, but this way the game crashes. I think it may have something to do, with a sound being played for the destruction of each item.

In yet another one, I had like 10 npcs waiting in a blue room to be teleported. As I was testing the level, I noticed the fps dropping steadily... the 10 npcs must have been partying wildly. So I replaced them with directmonstergens.

[665befb69c7a7Olfred]

I think I heard something about setting npcs to sleep mode or something like that when they are in the blue room. Then teleport them and wake them up

[665befb69cbf1xdiesp_]

I think I heard something about setting npcs to sleep mode or something like that when they are in the blue room. Then teleport them and wake them up

Speaking of which, another performance issue arised from that aura I put on enemies from your suggestion. To prevent them from getting too close to the static Maries, they had a "zero damage aura" (every second, range 50) which the Marie took as their cue to vanish.

The level would load normaly, then slowly, Fraps' FPS counter would lower from 100 to 50. I guess that when all enemies have this aura, the performance is hit big time. At the moment, the pre-existing plan applies to strategically place the Maries where you get them before the enemy does.

Note that the enemies normally ignore the static Maries. If they attacked them, the problem would be disposed of... but I think it would inevitably happen off screen.

[665befb69cd4cOlfred]

Well I don't really know about that. I think there was some kinda trick you have to do. Just read it somewhere over at TTLG, but since I don't map never thought about remembering it. I guess Zygo would know more about it, or someone at TTLG.

[665befb69ced7xdiesp_]

Zygo is so good, he's in the credits twice!

Hopefully, someone over TTLG will like the project and fill me in on a couple technicalities. Our voice actress for Marie is from over there too, Phantasmagore of the Thief community. BTW, I'm currently playtesting a full run through the mod, then I'll implement the New Game Plus and release the beta.

[665befb69d18cOlfred]

Well I would advise you to post any questions over at TTLG as here are mostly only thoose interested in SS are floating around. And at TTLG there are also the people who do Thief-Stuff and it's basically the same tools.

[665befb69d5ebZygo]

Lots of stims firing will slow the level down, especially if they have a large radius because they will check for a collision and to see if they should have an effect every object in their radius, and radius doubling scales to ^8 for a sphere. It's less pronounced for a raycast sphere because it's only thing that can be 'seen' so it doesn't go through the ceiling or floor. There really isn't any way around it, if you use lots of stims they will slow the level down.