Odd Editor skips and pauses

McGlaspie

<div class="IPBDescription">Wth is it doing? It doesn't like me...</div>I've recently decided to give the ole mapping schtuff a go again. I've really enjoyed what I've seen out of Spark and the Editor (SparkE?) so far. Although, I'm begining to encounter a really weird and <b><i><u><!--sizeo:3--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->VERY<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></u></i></b> annoying problem. It's making me want to go perform a face vault on a floor covered in broken glass.

Approximately every 2 to 5 minutes the Editor just suddenly (and for seemingly no reason) hangs. It sometimes responds again within a second or two, but usually the whole program just "stops" for 10-20 seconds. Then everything goes back to normal like nothing happened. It doesn't matter what I'm trying to do at the time (Moving something, browsing props, etc.).

I've checked the auto-backup settings. I've tried disabling them, setting the time to 999 minutes, etc. Any changes to the auto-backup seem to have no affect on the problem. No other program on my machine behaves this way, and I have a pretty good computer. It might be worth mentioning that I have zero issues (except the obvious ones everyone encounters) playing NS2, so I don't think it's a compatibility issues or anything.


Anyone else run into this problem or have any suggestions?

Kouji_San

I think you're not using layers all that much? It is a good thing to put geometry and props into layers to be able to disable them. And also maker sure you have the Readyroom start and player starts in a layer and invisible (those in particular will have the editor lag). Putting lights and other entities into layers and hiding them will also help.

The bigger you map gets the more it has to load into the memory and render, hiding all this stuff will keep you performance up to par. for example, I put every location (room) into a layer and hide them as I move onto other areas.

McGlaspie

While that is good and sound advise, I suspect it's not related to the problem. I haven't even finished one room yet, and haven't even begun to start thinking about layout and other aspects. I'm basically just trying to get an understanding of how the Editor works and just get a feel for things.

I doubt the map I have right now even has 100 props and probably less than 200 faces. I get the same issue even if I have like one or two props and nothing else. I added an image to that shows the entire level (minus the lights, which are less than 25 atm).
[attachment=35976:McGlaspi...ireLevel.jpg]

Regardless, that's good advise Kouji San and I agree with you.

Kouji_San

That should not even make Spark blink, ya might want to try running with taskmanager open to see if there are processes hogging the cpu, or get one of those Asus probe programs to check temps and stats (brand specific of course). To narrow down the problem to a specific anomaly occurring somewhere in the pc.

McGlaspie

I've done all those sorts of things. Even went to the point of stripping all of the services / start-up programs that Win 7 doesn't need and rebooted. Same exact effect. The ONLY programs that I have any problems with on my machine are the Spark tools. The cinematic editor does the same exact thing. I know it's not my hardware. Oh, and my temperatures are well below normal, average temp for my CPU is 112F when SparkE is open.

Basic specs on my system:
i7 960
12GB CLS 2 RAM
240GB SSD Raid 0 (Solid State Disk)
AMD 5870 1GB

All of the NS2 files are on my SSD raid. I'm at a complete loss as to why just the Spark tools are so erratic for me. Last time I tried messing with them (um, B151 I think) I didn't encounter this problem.

SN.Wolf

I get the same scenario,freeze for about 10 seconds except my perspective view goes black and never comes back unless i reload the level.

I was blaming my vid card but it's running cool with plenty to spare. 9800GT 1Gb
This seems to happen when i select a new prop but has happened when i just select something with the move tool. The next release is near so i'll wait it out and see if some of the work they have done helps.

Note: It starts happening more frequently in long sessions and seems few and far between on a fresh reboot.

Thaldarin

I know you have 12GB of RAM physically, but do you have a swapfile/virtual memory set?

If so is it too small or too large? If it's not set this could also be contributing?

McGlaspie

I just checked virtual memory and it's set to 6GB. I can try playing with that number and see what happens. Good suggestion Thaldarin, I hope the fix is that simple. Although, I never modified that setting, I let Winblows decide what to set it at. So, I suspect it won't have a real impact on the problem. SparkE is behaving like it's having to load/unload resources over and over. After paying a bit closer attention, the problems seems to occur more often when I don't view portions of the level for a while and then pan the view/camera where they are visible. It doesn't matter if I'm using the 3D view of one of the X/Z, etc views.

Btw, per Kouji's layers suggestion I tried loading some of the NS2 maps. I can load and view/edit them without any problems, but the same issue happens. This is really starting to drive me crazy.

I'll post results when/if the virtual memory has any effect on the problem.

McGlaspie

Not trying to bump this; however, the virtual memory changes (increase and decrease) have had no effect on the problem. I guess I can try using the ATI control panel and manually set stuff to see if that helps. Thanks for the suggestions/thoughts so far guys, they're appreciated.

Kouji_San

I just recently saw this effect as well, it slows down and speeds up again (sometimes). But it only happens when I make one of the windows fullscreen, if I change it back to the 4split screen it goes smooth again...

Maybe resolution has something to do with it?

Thaldarin

I've not experienced any of the problems said.

Although something to note is, I haven't updated my ATI drivers to the latest version yet (10.11). Try rolling back to 10.10 and tell me if you still get problems.

SN.Wolf

@Kouji_San

Yep, 100% on the nose with that. I went back to the split windows and my display became visible again and it smoothed out.

It will also do it if i put two of the views in perspective, so i am assuming it's video card performance related?

EDIT: Note that i am using a single nvidia 9800GT 1GB card.
AMD 3800+ Dual Core
XP Home SP 3
3GB ram

McGlaspie

Verified. I was able to reproduce the problem the same way SN.Wolf and Kouji described. Congratulations guys, we found us a bug! =P

I suspect this is a problem with the older rendering engine the editor is using. I clearly remember seeing "Upgrade editor to current game rendering system" on the Technical Tasks a few days ago. So, this is probably a byproduct of some older bug that's already fixed in the game.

@Thaldarin: I'm currently on ATI driver v10.10, so I don't think it's something I have any control over.


It's worth mentioning that I've been toggling between 4-split views and fullscreen perspective view a lot. I usually switch to full screen when picking props/textures so I can see more of them in the browser. So, in some ways I've been doing this to myself, lol.


Btw, I created a topic on GetSatisfaction for this: <a href="http://getsatisfaction.com/unknownworlds/topics/spark_editor_skipping_dxdiag" target="_blank">http://getsatisfaction.com/unknownworlds/t...skipping_dxdiag</a>

If anyone else is encountering this same problem under the same circumstances please go add your own comments to the GS topic. I doubt it will get fixed anytime soon, but it is still worth reporting.

SgtBarlow

editor will pause on autosave, if your HDD is incredibly slow then you will notice the pause on small files but you should not see majour pauses till the level gets much bigger.

McGlaspie

I had the same thought SgtBarlow, that's why the first thing I tried was disabling the auto-save feature. It's also worth mentioning the auto-save location and NS2 install are on a SSD raid array on my machine and I'm still getting the hitching problem.

SgtBarlow

Bizarr, The only thing I get hitching on is Tigerwoods PGA Tour online, Does my head in, Can't find what the darn problem is

Thaldarin

Well if it's related to auto save then that's probably why I don't get it. I'm a constant CTRL+S man when creating anything, no need for auto save!

Kouji_San

I have autosave turned off, because I hate it. CTRL+S all the way, but it only occurs when one of the viewports it set to full. So I think it rules out autosave. Simply because of the fact that I also get it this slowdown, but only on viewport change. And as you can see by McGlaspie's screenshot, his level shouldn't even give this trouble with only a few walls/floor/ceiling thingies. RAID also wants a word with you :P