Computer freezes during compiling!!! Created 17 years ago2006-06-10 19:41:07 UTC by a

I have came across another instance where my computer has frozen during compiling. Although it has occured before - and i didnt think much of it then - this time however, Hammer (and worldcraft before) will not compile it after i restart my computer - it jsut freezes again. I thought about downloading different compiling tools, but i thought it would be best to discuss it on the forums first...

Uh... well...

First of all, what compiler tools do you use? If the default Q-tools, then switch to ZHLT.

Second; Are you sure it's completely frozen? IE doesn't respond to Ctrl+alt+del and stuff?

Im using the tools that came with hammer.

I tried using ctrl+alt+del, and a variety of other protocols including accesing my computer from another via a LAN connection - the computer simply stops responding?

Weird. I expected to read this and just see another instance of someone who just isn't patient enough to wait for the compile to finish.

How much RAM does your PC have? How long do you wait after ctrl-alt-delete before concluding that your computer is indeed frozen? If you are running under 512 megs of RAM then it might just be taking a while for the task manager to pop up considering the amount of memory generally takes.

I wait on average an hour for it to come up (usually i busy myself with some office work during this - just so you know im not some sort of nooby computer nerd) before trying to remote access it.

My ram on this computer is about a gigabyte - which is probably more than adequate.

I looked through the compile list from the last time i got the map to compile, and couldnt see a single error. I sent it down to a branch of my office (to someone who was off-duty of course) who had a look at it, he also couldnt spot anything.

I also wondered two days ago when this occured if i was using too many faces/edges and so on. Any ideas on the subject?

Oh... well then...
Does it only freeze up if you try to compile this specific map? If so, I'd suggest trying to "backtrack map" untill you've reached where your map looks just like it did the last time that the compile worked. This should be obvious, but that will probably make it a lot easier to find out why the map is screwing your computer on the compile.

Too many faces? How many faces did you have last time you checked?

Its frozen at other maps as well, but i fixed them simply by restarting my computer and/or closing hammer with ctrl+alt+del and restarting the compile.

Last time i checked the face count, i was well within limits.

I have a fairly large "sky box" in the level ( the only reason im using this is because the level is inside an aircraft, and it looks odd to miss out the ground or any other face of the box) do you think thats whats causing th problems?

Well, as Elof said, you should definitely be using ZHLT. Try 'em. Links page.

Incidentally, how long have you lived in Russia?

You don't need to put a skybox around the entire map. Just put the sky texture on every window.

Ahhhh, the evil skybox. Why didn't you say you were using one earlier?
take it away and cover only the parts that you need to with a sky texture.

One of the problems which origonally forced me to use a sky box is that the plane gets shot down and you get blown out of it. I thought about having a small tube covered in sky textures that you fall down, but then the plane dissapears (its a fairly big plane)

I suppose i could force the player to stay in the aircraft and have the aircraft bank and pitch as a func_train would and place a few env_explosions around it to make it look like a missile hit it. Any ideas?

And in ancswer to "Seventh-Monkey's" question, ive lived in russia for 18 years now - still stuck on the same old night shift as well. Night shift sucks.

Ive downloaded the zoner tools and i cant seem to get them working - how to i get them to compile a map?

Wow... eighteen years and you still don't speak the language?

You don't use Zoner's tools any differently from the Q-tools. Pin-compatible replacements :).

Also, try a batch compiler if you are compiling in Hammer. A link to one can be found in this website's links page.

yeah, atleast with batch compiling you can see where in the stage its freezing, and you can see if any progresss really is being made.

so i simply select Zoners' bsp, cfg and so on instead of the ones suppleid with hammer, right?

And i do speak the language, just not particularly well - i live in an english speaking sector which as one can guess doesnt use russian very often, the only russian i picked up is from my wife and a few of my work colleagues.

Theres actually more french people here than there is any other nationalities in my work team. Russia decided to join the robotics market 20 years ago and selected a few promising students from across the globe (excluding america which i find very infuriating considering my childhood hero was Niel Armstrong) and drafted them here to compete in the Robotis Engineering market.

PS, Nightshift sucks

"One of the problems which origonally forced me to use a sky box is that the plane gets shot down and you get blown out of it. I thought about having a small tube covered in sky textures that you fall down, but then the plane dissapears (its a fairly big plane) "
How big is that part of the map?
And what is the last log entry befor it freezes?

Why do you need night shifts in a robotics place anyway? Not like a factory or something where you need to churn out stuff all the time, surely?

If you have ZHLT, and it still 'Freezes' then just wait it out.

Trust me, just wait it out.

If you hate waiting, get a batch compiler.

I have downloaded ZHLT and it loads, after between five and seven hours. After that, when im actually in the level, it comes up with a message saying that im "missing 'x' textures" and many of the object in the map dissapear or at least go see through until im standing directly beside them.

And in answer to Seventh-Mokey's question, we have night shift here simply because our two super computers (imaginatively named 01, and 02) need constant surveyance to make sure they dont crash - as if they do, its not a simple case of re-booting them or taking them back to factory settings. It took as many as three weeks to bring them back online the last time they crashed. So the bosses figured that instead of leaving only the security and the maintainance personel, to save money, they might as well bring in the scientists to work with the supercomputers (eg. Me and the 28 under me, and the other eight symetrical nightshift teams).

can`t they just get 2 new super computers that don`t crash? or are they running microsoft?

can't you just use the super computers to compile your map with VIS?

which BTW, is probably the cause of your problem. things tend to disappear when VIS hasn't run. and when your running in software mode. look at the video modes configuration and turn on Direct3d if you don't have it or openGL already selected

oh, and don't accually try to compile your map on your companies computers, it might get you fired and crash the machines.

Another new problem. This time during compiling using Zoner's tools, the computer comes up with a error message saying "Hlbsp has caused an error in HLBSP.EXE, hlbsp will now close".

How do i fix this problem?

are you running BSP twice?

When i "make it into a .bmp" then my valve hammer freezes depending how big the map is.. If its huge map like the one im working on now.. It freezes up to 20-25minuts >.<. Note that its only valve hammer that freezes not entire windows...

BSP, bmp is what you make in paint.

it just takes time. VIS and RAD do alot of number crunching when they are working. they have to decide what can be seen from every part of your map, and do the precise lighting calculations. they tend to ignore windows when there doing this so windows regiseters them as not responding.

just give them time, and try to optimise your map so it doesn't take so long

Spectre, you had the choice to name the supercomputer '2' when it arrived - so why are you complaning that the names are unimaginative?

PS, i have no idea why its not compiling - all i can recall is you sitting in you workstation for a multitude of hours before your shift starts.

PPS, i backed up the files you asked for - though i can probably tell you tommorow anyway...