Reliable Channel Overflowed Created 10 years ago2013-05-05 17:56:12 UTC by Commandeer

I'm not sure if this is in the correct place, sorry if it's not. Came here asking for help since this place was recommended...

Okay so I'm having this problem with my newest map deathrun_3sixty. For some reason on almost every round start it gives this error to a somewhat random amount of players, kicking them out of the server. I've read it could be a problem with entities but that is not the case here since the entity amount is below the limits. Also we thought it was some plugins fault, but later on it turned out it's not the plugin.

All my previous deathrun maps have worked fine, and the only new things I brought into this were using my own textures and lights.rad. I already tried compiling a version without lights.rad and that didn't work either. So the only thing I could think of is I did something wrong with the textures, but I have not read anywhere they could cause something like this. Also the error seems to appear only when there is like 15+ players on the server.

So I'm asking if anybody here would know better what are the possible causes of this error in maps ? I will provide any additional info if it's needed.

Map download: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ftur2e1gpcj6quw/deathrun_3sixty_beta2.bsp?v=0mcng

We would be able to troubleshoot the problem a bit easier if you supplied the rmf or map files. I understand there might be some hesitation to share your source files, but it would help moreso than the bsp.
Without actually looking at the bsp or rmf, have you checked your map for errors? (alt+p)
Which compile tools are you using? Valve's? Zoner's?
How many player starts are there?
Have you enabled dev mode while running the map to check trigger status' in the console?

I can give you the rmf, do you need to have the textures too ?

• Yes I have checked it for errors.

• Compile tools Vluzacns ZHLT v3.0 (is this the one ? :D).

• I nowadays put 64 spawns because last time I used 32, for some reason players kept dying when there was over 15 players. So I tried all kinds of tricks, and finally doubling the amount of spawns solved that problem.

• I have no idea what this dev mode is ?

I've been mapping for about 3 months now so many things are still unfamiliar for me

Dev mode is developer mode. You activate it by typing:

1. Developer 1 - Various engine messages are displayed, also enabling various other commands to be used, such as gl_wireframe, r_speeds, fps_max limit lift, etc.
2. Developer 2 - Additional engine messages

When do the players get this error? Is it as they connect to the server after about 15 players join, do they get insta kicked, or is it like, after 15 join, people start randomly getting kicked from time to time?

If it's the first:
Are you sure it's not the plugins causing the problem? All the stuff the server sends to the player; map, textures, plugins, models etc, can contributes to this error. If there's too much information being sent at once, you get this error.
I presume the error doesn't happen in a LAN game right? If that's the case, then all the stuff on the server is causing the overflow.

If it's the second:
You said that your map is below the entity limit, but remember that entity polys in-game increase based on how many players there are on the screen, so if you start getting overflow after about 15 players join, it could be due to too many entity polys. Of course plugins contribute to this as well, If the sever is hosting a map with a lot of e-polys, and it has flashy plugins that make models appear, create flashy sprite effects or what not, it would make sense why it chokes after a certain amount of players join.
To fix this, You can either reduce amount of entity polys for map, or remove some flashy plugins and see if it can handle more than 15 people now.

Does your server require specific rates? and if yes, are the players with those rates crashing? Reading this up on the web, it could be caused by bad rates in-game too, but then I guess it wouldn't make sense why it happens only in your map.

Give us the .rmf and .wad's so we can find the problem.

You can play this map fine on the server until there is 15+ players, when enough players join, the reliable error starts to appear on some rounds. Not every round, and it kicks a different amount of players each time it happens. And you can play this fine on HLDS or LAN without any errors. Easiest way to find if the error is caused by the server would be playing this on a another public server I guess, I haven't yet asked anyone to test it for me. It would be great to get it working on the server I play most on of course.

I will look into that entity poly thing, I have to admit I'm not completely familiar with that term

Here is the rmf, wad and lights.rad values I used:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8a3y5rqo9et8f3o/Files.rar?v=0mcng

The rmf is slightly modified from the original beta2 version, fixed some things on it, but nothing big. I hope your eyes don't bleed after seeing my work.

Edit: And if it helps anyone, the server had this same error with deathrun_bhopz_v2 at start, but when they moved the spawns on that map, for some reason the error stopped appearing. Was wondering if this could somehow be linked to that spawn problem I had on my first deathrun map.

I nowadays put 64 spawns because last time I used 32, for some reason players kept dying when there was over 15 players. So I tried all kinds of tricks, and finally doubling the amount of spawns solved that problem.

To fix probelm when all players ar dying, make distance between spawnpoints bigger and if you want be 100% sure put bots in it and see if they are dying on spawn. And I am sure that will fix players getting errors when round starts

Hmmm OR probably too much entities.. but I am not sure, cuz my DR map with about 490 entities (coming soon on gamebanana :)) is working great and players have not reported to me with problem with "reliable channel...."
Anyway, look at amount of entities, maybe it is equal or greater than 512 or super-close to it. It is only thing I can imagine... without nasty server plugins

I belive that your amount of spawnpoints is causing this problem.

I did make sure that all spawns had plenty of space when I had the problem. I tried 16 units and 32 units between the spawns and above the ground, neither helped. I also tested them with bots, nothing worked until I doubled the amount of spawns.

I got ~350 entities on deathrun_3sixty so I don't think that is the problem ?

Had this problem some time ago on a TFC server playing dustbowl...It was a problem coming from the server .

Edit : Here's your problem : Max Viewable distance 9999 can cause server errors if not left at 4096

8192 worked well for me over the years.
Why does that cause the error? Do you have any technical info on this topic?

I have used more than 4096 on all of my maps so far and they work fine, I doubt that is the problem.

9999 is a weird value. the default is a multiple of 8, keep it 8196 as a maximum.
Stojke look at his map I don't have VHE anymore

One thing that can sometimes fix problems like this one is selecting all your objects, copying them, and pasting them in a completely new map, then recompiling it. As dodgy as that sounds it has fixed problems for me before.

E-polys are entity versions of W-polys (world polygons). There are three types of things drawn within HL; the World polygons, the Entity polygons, and sprites. Entity polygons come from both entities like func_wall or func_door, and from player models and any other models you might have in the map.
So when you have 20 players, your map would have like 5000 additional E-polys if we assume each player model is 250 polys.
My maps usually have like 1000 epolys in one area, and on a full server that can go to 8000 and anything further would get really laggy for some people.
To check how much polys each area has, type developer 1 into the console, and then type r_speeds (while within your map). It will now display as you walk around.
If it's anything crazy like 3000+ in any one area, then that's your problem, and you should reduce that amount.

Roger that sir Skals-sama!

Max wpoly I got was ~450 and epoly ~1450.

Soo I'm guessing nobody knows a solution to this problem ? :/

Seems like it.
Must be some sort of entity overflow.

Must be the sheer size of the map. The terrorist glass is always visible everywhere in the room, maybe make it an celling with glass openings only on trap parts?