Server crashes WHY?!

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Hello people! I have been playing esf for quite awhile and ive noticed that ever since the bots came around my servers have been crashing, LAN or otherwise. And ive come to two conclusions as to why that happens:


1. It is a well known fact that the bots may crash servers from time to time, and i use bots to level up a bit before people join my server, as the admin i should be able to keep things in order and a high power level is neccessary to keep any jerks in line.


2. Ever since i started playing my game usually crashed when i wasnt in open gl mode. but then i had to blank my hard drive and when i re-installed ESF it said my video card wasnt open gl compatable. so i tried direct 3d as either one should work! NOPE. so now when i am in open GL mode, it doesnt give me any problems but the game still crashes! this happens when a big explosion or too many explosions appear on screen and crash the game


So, i have concluded that when i play a game, either the bots are crashng my server, or my power level is so high that when a big explosion happens, the game crashes. but i cant tell which one is causing it first! so i have run the following test.



For anyone else with this problem, try my test.

I start a lan game so that internet crashes do not freeze gameplay. you dont want that to confuse what is going wrong. pick goku as he is the default character and has the largest move to start off with, the spirit bomb. start making full size spirit bombs and blasting them at various distances. close, medium, far, and directly on you so it fills the screen. The game ran without a hitch. Then try kamehamehas, at various distances and on top of you. then the other moves until youve tried everything. the game didnt crash at all.

next test. make a bot, any bot, and kill it until your power level is high. once it gets to a bit more than 1 million, try another spirit bomb. and this is where my problem is, i got to about 1,365,117 and when i used a full spirit bomb, my game crashed when it exploded, or rather right before it exploded. So i am guessing that my game crashed because of my video card and not the bots.

However i cant see why that would happen if i didnt have this problem once before. i have my video card updated with all the proper drivers and it WAS compatible with open gl but now it isnt? it doesnt say it isnt, usually there is a warning when you try to switch video modes. i will try another test of a server filled with bots and wait until it crashes. but it definately seems its my video card. can anyone tell me whats going on? is there any talk of the team finding out how to fix this exploding/crashing problem? its very frustrating trying to aprreciate such an amazing display of quality work when your game freezes up in the middle of an explosion.


I am using a Riva TNT 2 video card that came standard with an older computer i had. I am using a gateway my mom got from work that has multiple upgrades. as a matter of fact it can play half life 2 with no problem except that my video card is not as good as it should be. i have plenty of ram and disk space and my video card ran the game fine but ever since i switched my card into this computer it has been giving me problems.


any ideas? thanks for reading this big long thing, im sure someone out there has the same problem.
 
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Wow, I read that, and now I'm a bit determined to help you.

First things first, what version of ESF do you currently have? 1.2.1 was known of bugs/crashes.
 
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oh wow really? thanks! people can be so kind on forums *teary eyes and twitchy lip*.......lol thanks a ton! this keep happening everytime i install esf except when i first installed it on my computer that came with my video card. the deal is, i had to clear my hard drive and get whatever drivers i lost for it again. but then it said open gl wasnt supported, even though it WAS. (this is going back to the days of WON) so i clear my drive and it says open gl isnt supported. ? so i dont know how or why but suddenly it just disappeared and i could play esf without any problems, except that my bots would crash the server after playing for about 5 to 6 hours (I hope this helps the team out knowing a time frame for when the bots crash!) ok moving on! my pc dies and i have no PC until i get my currect one for free rom my moms work. i plug in all my old parts from my dead PC into this one making it basically the same as my dead one, but a new drive and probably better with all the ram and upgrades i got for it. so i re-install all my mods and i get to esf. and apparently open gl was already set up under my video settings before i touched it. (?) so now i tried what i posted above and thats all....well thats all and thank you so much! determined to help me? SUCH HUMAN KINDNESS IS UNHEARD OF!!! THERE SHOULD BE MORE UPSTANDING PEOPLE LIKE THIS IN THE WORLD :cry: ....or at leaste forums.....(maybe i got a little overboard with this nice thing..... :fight: )
 
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just remember you can't get buy with just installnig 1.2.3 patch and all be happy and fine (if you chose to install the patches). You will need to install 1.2.2 as 1.2.3 has no client dll changes in it , just some map fixes and the new esf_arrival map.

Also what gfx card are you using ?
 
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well this is how i re-installed esf on my new computer (or old depending on how you look at it...) i just went on esforces.com and downloaded the 1.2.3 full install....shouldnt that be it? or do i have to wait another 6 hours to download 1.2.2 (i have 56k and desperately need to get my dsl back) and then get a patch? i said before my gfx card is the Riva TNT2. isnt that the same as a video card? in any case i have to run more tests to see whats going on, i gotta run a server filled with bots and not do anything and see when they crash....anyways thats all for now.
 
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you said you have 1.2.3 full so ther for you should ont need the 1.2.2 patch installer. Those TNT2 cards are now an utter pile of crap that should be burned :\.
 
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ya tell me about it....but i dont have enough money for a new card. all i need is a new card! my pc has plenty of memory and i have 4 extra external hard drives with like 11 gigs each so thats 44 gigs extra (if my math isnt wrong...). i have all the specs for a good PC except for my damn video card! i could get a geforce 4 like my friend who has half life 2, but that runs it just good enough but not where i wanna be! the best video cards so far are about 500 dollars...a bit rediculous if you ask me but i guess it would last me for a good few years before graphics improve past our current technology. well back to my problem, it DID work but now it doesnt. so what gives?

(ps: anyone have a video card they dont want anymore thats better than my craptastic tnt2?)

PS again: i would have a great job at a gamestop as i am one with games and they said i was perfect for it after i told them all i knew about computers and games...but i have no mode of transport during the week so i can only get there during the weekends with my mom. i could take a bus but i dont know the name of the outlet where they are and if a bus even goes there. its in the middle of the highway ;/


ok thats all. i gotta shorten my posts...really... :p
 
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I take it you're running a dedicated server on one machine, and playing from another on your network? That's the way your first post makes it sound. I could be missing something, though.

Either way, are you running any third-party mods/plugins on top of ESF? They can sometimes cause problems, and it can be a nuisance if you don't think to look there. Your server is going to crash sometimes, though, and there's nothing you can do about those freak-accident crashes. They're to be expected with a project that's still in progress, really.

If you're running a Win32 dedicated server, read this page for information on how to run your HLDS process in the background, as a service. This way, when/if your server crashes, it is automatically restarted. The downside to this, is that you'll need a third-party mod (such as AdminMod or AMX/AMXX Mod), because you won't have direct access to the server (you won't get a server command prompt). The Linux HLDS does this automatically, without need for running in the background or modifications, but has it's own problems, so don't feel left out.

EDIT:
Gileum Rix said:
the best video cards so far are about 500 dollars...a bit rediculous if you ask me
A bit ridiculous if you ask me, too. That's why you don't buy the absolute best cards. Those cards are just for people who want to be on the bleeding edge, have money to burn, want a big e-wang, or any combination of the three. If you're looking to buy new hardware on a budget, take the newest stuff available, then drop down a few releases/levels of that product until you find a good balence between the power you think you'll need, and price you'd still rather not pay for it. =P
 
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hahaha i know what your saying i was just using the 500 thing as a metaphor (or was it a simile?) and no i am not running any third party add-ons, just base ESF. and i am running the server on my computer. i only have one working computer that can run Half Life itself, this one, because my other computer is a craptastic IBM with next to no memory or processing power....and windows 95....i got it as a present when i was 5. but getting an admin mod does sound like fun. i mean i never bothered downloading them cuz i could jus kick a pain in the butt player or beat him to a bloody pulp until he just leaves. (thats why i want my power level so big, give the annoyance a taste of his own medicine!) and i realise the server/game may crash, the mod is still under development and theve already accomplished alot, more than any mod has that i have seen. its almost a new game in itself. im probably gunna get someone yelling at me for this but the server crashes, shouldnt this be top priority on the teams list? i mean not that they arent busy coding and stuff i just havent seen anything towards fixing the crashes. unless they have and i didnt notice. i mean im just saying this to say it, not to cause any trouble. i know they work on this on their own free time and they arent obligated to make it for us. im just wondering why they havent touched this aspect of the mod.


(PS: please dont ban me! i appreciate your work im just asking why we keep crashing! perhaps a new patch is in store?)
 

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