Momentary Freeze

SlamHannigan

<div class="IPBDescription">Detailed description of problem within</div>This has only been happening for the past couple days. I'll be playing NS2 when, about 5-10 minutes in, my game will freeze for about 30 seconds or so, before returning me to the game with some residual lag that lasts for awhile. This only happens once per day (or perhaps once per session) and then, for as long as I play, it never happens again.

During the freeze, I can still hear music and ambient sounds, and I am not booted from the server for idling. My CPU isn't overheating, my video card isn't crashing or having any driver problems, so the nearest I can figure is it's my RAM. But if it's a problem related to physical memory, why would it only happen once, then never again? And most importantly, does anyone else have the same issue?

Angelusz

When it next happens, check your console if anything strange occurs. Also, can you still open the console/get into the menu? That might tell us more about whether it's local or has something to do with your connection to the server.

SlamHannigan

<!--quoteo(post=1959965:date=Aug 9 2012, 07:15 PM:name=Angelusz)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Angelusz @ Aug 9 2012, 07:15 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1959965"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->When it next happens, check your console if anything strange occurs. Also, can you still open the console/get into the menu? That might tell us more about whether it's local or has something to do with your connection to the server.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I'll give it a shot. When the freeze happens, I can't access the menu, but I haven't tried opening the console. It isn't network lag, or at least it doesn't appear to be, but network lag occurs as a result, if that makes sense.

SlamHannigan

Okay, I just played a pair of games on the new build. The freeze no longer happens as I've described it, but I get one that lasts for a shorter duration, only a second or two. There are two causes the console clues me into after the freeze ends

One is a message reading Error: Couldn't open file ''

The other is a message that reads:

Client : [string of numbers that changes with each instance] : Tried to use invalid looping flamethrower sound entity id: [string of four numbers that changes with each instance]

That second one is much more severe -- lasts up to two seconds and results in about a second of high ping afterwards.

EDIT: Played another game just now where this didn't happen at all. Apart from severe server-side lag, absolutely nothing was wrong. I turned off Bloom, and disabled and re-enabled Antisotropic Filtering, but I don't know if this has even remotely anything to do with it.

Ramblemoe

I have similar issues. Random massive framerate drops (down to 0-5 fps) that last for 1-5 seconds. Console is usually spamming errors about sound files.
Also, my console often times spams stuff about missing or corrupt shaders for fade. That may or may not be related to the fps drops.

SlamHannigan

Just did another game where it happened again. Game wasn't going on long enough for flamethrowers, but I got the message that reads [Error: Couldn't open file ''] which coincides directly with the freezes.

SlamHannigan

Bumping for support or a solution, and to say there was a new error that caused a massive freeze. It begins with SoundEventInstance::SetPropertyInt (or SetPropertyFloat), gives an object name and location, and says "An invalid object handle was used."

Angelusz

Some of these messages can be considered normal - some things are simply not in the game yet, but ARE referenced in the code. The console reports all of these. That should not cause hitches etc.

If there are actually files missing, however, you can solve that by rightclicking NS2 in steam and Verifying the game cache. Give that a go and let us know how it pans out.

SlamHannigan

Well, this is embarrassing.

I tried a couple other games online, and ran into the same problem. Using my task manager I saw my processor just fall asleep. A friend asked me when the last time was I cleaned my CPU fan. I realized then that I had let that routine fall by the wayside in recent months...

I'm trying one game now with no issues. NS2 will have to come tomorrow, but I have a feeling that swabbing my case fan and CPU cooler may have fixed this issue.

EDIT: Actually just tried a round. In addition to better framerates and client-server communication, I also had no freezes. My earlier test determined it was a problem with my machine either way, so I guess we can call this thread closed. Thank for all your help Angel :)