Stuck at black screen when joining server

LeoPhone · November 2014

Hello,

Since one or two patches ago I started having a problem when connecting to any server.
After loading the map, my game will be infinitely stuck in a black screen. I can still move my mouse around and open the console but that's it.

my net log stuck at black screen: http://pastebin.com/WBgHHpMi
I have sent a mail to tech-support@unknownworlds.com with my tech_support.zip file

Occasionally I will get through the black screen after a long wait. Here is a net log recorded of this happening: http://pastebin.com/4Lz5a9s5
Especially after a server changes map I seem to be able to connect with more success.

Please help, I love this game and I'd like to keep playing it without this problem.

GhoulofGSG9 · November 2014

Please join a server without the siege mod. Your log is full of lua script errors caused by that mod.

ATF · November 2014

Actually, and sadly, there's a considerable number of players reporting this!
They don't come here and ask for help, even if advised to do so. ~:>

LeoPhone · November 2014

Here is a net log of the problem occurring when joining a server which doesnt have siege mod: Wooza's playground.
the log was too big for one paste.
Part 1- http://pastebin.com/uQqv8zMT
Part 2- http://pastebin.com/kUVh986j

I played on woozas playground for a bit, then randomly lost connection(idk what that is, only started doing that today), then got black screen when attempting to reconnect twice.

ATF · November 2014

The black screen when using reconnect is a known issue but very likely related to the black screen on normal connects. No idea whether that's on a todo list anywhere. Also not sure if it's known what causes it.

Regarding the disconnects:

In your log it says:
[1948.591] 85.6.202.192 Client: System packet sent (PacketType_Disconnect)
Connection attempt discarded (host isn't accepting connections)

On the server all of them are:
Client disconnected (x.x.x.x) Quit

This is what it always looks like when you manually and regularly disconnect from a server.

Can you please check if you have a key bound to disconnect or something funny like that?

Can you type f_log into console when you have a blackscreen again?

GhoulofGSG9 · November 2014

( Internal note: This trello note might address the cause of this issue. )

@LeoPhone‌
So it would be interesting for us to know if this only happens after a direct reconnect.

Overall please also try some other servers out. Just to validate that this is a overall issue and not bound to certain mods or servers.

ATF · November 2014

Reconnect sometimes reconnects you to wrong server (one you've joined before the current).

Anyhow I am able to reproduce the black screen on reconnect (not the black screen on normal connect) most of the time by simply typing reconnect (tested on playground and scc).

I ran a f_log:
It logs up to this

[473.903] MainThread : Opening 'shaders/Mask.render_setup' from 'C:/STEAM/steamapps/common/Natural Selection 2/ns2/'

then stops. Sometimes it will, after a while, continue and finish loading. But mostly it will be stuck on this:

[597.266] Worker 04 : Opening 'fonts/Arial_15_0.png' from 'C:/STEAM/steamapps/common/Natural Selection 2/core/'

after going quickly through a page full of these:

[597.238] MainThread : Opening 'reflection_probe_203' from 'C:/Users/ATF/AppData/Local/Temp/'
[597.240] MainThread : Opening 'reflection_probe_204' from 'C:/Users/ATF/AppData/Local/Temp/'
[597.240] MainThread : Opening 'reflection_probe_202' from 'C:/Users/ATF/AppData/Local/Temp/'
[597.241] MainThread : Opening 'reflection_probe_201' from 'C:/Users/ATF/AppData/Local/Temp/'
[597.241] MainThread : Opening 'reflection_probe_200' from 'C:/Users/ATF/AppData/Local/Temp/'

.. and then it just keeps repeating the above, with roughly a minute passing between every cycle.
I saved the log.

I also noticed there's high CPU load with black screen, indicating some piece of code keeps looping.

Got a screenshot with net_stats, says 100% choke and predicted frames count to infinity.

Also got a plog after many attempts (keeps crashing if you start it too early) of the part where it says precaching to about 15 seconds of the blackscreen. It's short.

And as a cherry on top I also captured a memory dump of the black screen.

All of that can be found here for download (350 mb, .7z)

GhoulofGSG9 wrote: »

( Internal note: This trello note might address the cause of this issue. )

That can't be it as there's no ghost remaining on the server. It's a proper disconnect, not a timeout.

ATF · November 2014

Oh, and some clients keep getting dropped with this:
Your game files do not match the server's. Try verifying your game cache in Steam, or maybe an update just came out.
I've managed to contact one of them and he says it's on all servers and sometimes crashes his ns2.
These disconnects, with that error message, happen -mid round- OR on connecting OR ~10 seconds after connecting successfully !!!
I've asked him to please post in tech support forum. "for sure" he said.

GhoulofGSG9 · November 2014

Actually it is known that if you use "reconnect" you are not disconnecting properly. Because you can still access the given server client ent via lua for some while.

That is what is meant with "Ghost". Not any actual player model. Just a server client ent of a not anymore connected client.

Anyway this issue is known since the ns2 beta days. Also Max did investigate once into it but couldn't find a solution so I'm not expecting this to get fixed any time soon.( maybe if matso gets the time it can be done for something like 272)

The issue above with client getting the message of "Your game files do not match the server's. Try verifying your game cache in Steam, or maybe an update just came out." out of sudden or at a map-change is known to be caused by some sort of memory leaks of the "io stream" ( mainly happening at win xp 32bit ).

ATF · November 2014

I had the understanding that ghosts are only left behind when a players network link to the server fails or the client crashes.
Upon connecting again through server browser, auth will fail because the ghost has yet to time out.
At least that is what this particular trello card seems to address.

I'll try asking that guy with game files do not match error if he's running xp. I keep forgetting about that possibility.

LeoPhone · November 2014

ATF wrote: »

This is what it always looks like when you manually and regularly disconnect from a server.

Can you please check if you have a key bound to disconnect or something funny like that?

Can you type f_log into console when you have a blackscreen again?

I do type 'disconnect' 'reconnect' and 'quit' in the console whenever I desire to perform those actions, e.g. while stuck connecting or after losing connection to a server.
Here is another log.txt stuck at black screen connecting to wooza's hamster wheel server. I joined quite a few other servers before it so it's a long log.
Part1: http://pastebin.com/g0eevcuV
Part2: http://pastebin.com/pSecQK1i

GhoulofGSG9 wrote: »

( Internal note: [url="https://trello.com/c/KIuBCrLO/588-when-trying-to-reconnect-to-a-server-after-a-crash-
@LeoPhone‌
So it would be interesting for us to know if this only happens after a direct reconnect.

Overall please also try some other servers out. Just to validate that this is a overall issue and not bound to certain mods or servers.

The black screen connecting problem also happens when directly connecting to a server through in-game server browser. I have had the problem occur on at least 4 unique servers.

When trying to join a server without mods there don't seem to be any issues. I can't say that for sure though because it can happen the servers I have problems with joining also work fine. I did not even notice a black screen when joining the un-modded server though, while when joining a modded server I always see a black screen for at least a few seconds.

I received a reply from Max McGuire on the issue:

Hi Leo,

I've passed the information along to our development team. It appears the problem is due to the extra entities mod. They've informed me they are going to try and get a fix for it in the next patch, but in the mean-time you can try disabling that mod or avoiding servers that use it.

Max

--
Technical Director
Unknown Worlds Entertainment
http://www.unknownworlds.com

Thanks all for your help so far.

GhoulofGSG9 · November 2014

That's interesting. Could you try out my server once please?

LeoPhone · November 2014

GhoulofGSG9 wrote: »

That's interesting. Could you try out my server once please?

I can join your server fine. Don't notice anything wrong. It was 1/19 players when I joined it though. The blacks screen problem I experience only seems to occur when joining a server with 15+ players in it and has an in-progress match.

GhoulofGSG9 · November 2014

LeoPhone wrote: »

GhoulofGSG9 wrote: »

That's interesting. Could you try out my server once please?

I can join your server fine. Don't notice anything wrong. It was 1/19 players when I joined it though. The blacks screen problem I experience only seems to occur when joining a server with 15+ players in it and has an in-progress match.

Hmm i would say there is something wrong with the given servers and used mods. Also have in mind most popular servers are actually not really good (have a look at net_stats

)

Myx · November 2014

I think this problem is similar to my, because I always have a black-screen issue on problem servers with red plug. But on normal servers, I never seen it.

GhoulofGSG9 · November 2014

Myx wrote: »

I think this problem is similar to my, because I always have a black-screen issue on problem servers with red plug. But on normal servers, I never seen it.

We will address the "red-plug issue" beside optimizing some other stuff with the next update which will help with some of the current performance issues.

Please have in mind that we as cdt can't support all kind of mods and also can't magically make servers which perform bad generally, magically perform perfect ( just use perfbrowser in the console to enable our beta server rating in the server browser, which will show you which server have constant performance issues)

METROID · November 2014

@GhoulofGSG9, and what does it mean?
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/36046461/NS2/perf_russia1.jpg

GhoulofGSG9 · November 2014

METROID wrote: »

@GhoulofGSG9, and what does it mean?
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/36046461/NS2/perf_russia1.jpg

Loaded = This server probably can't handle the late game for the given max players amount. Have in mind those ratings are given for the complete "server runtime".

ATF · November 2014

LeoPhone wrote: »

I do type 'disconnect' 'reconnect' and 'quit' in the console whenever I desire to perform those actions, e.g. while stuck connecting or after losing connection to a server.
Here is another log.txt stuck at black screen connecting to wooza's hamster wheel server. I joined quite a few other servers before it so it's a long log.
Part1: http://pastebin.com/g0eevcuV
Part2: http://pastebin.com/pSecQK1i

I received a reply from Max McGuire on the issue: Hi Leo,
I've passed the information along to our development team. It appears the problem is due to the extra entities mod. They've informed me they are going to try and get a fix for it in the next patch, but in the mean-time you can try disabling that mod or avoiding servers that use it. Max

Typing those commands into console is perfectly fine, of course.

Skimming over those logs, I see you managed to get two connect timeouts to the wheel. Do you know what happened there?

That extra entity mod is clearly not causing this. But yes, for testing, do connect to the most unaltered server you can find. The wheel is not such a server. :-j

GhoulofGSG9 wrote: »

Hmm i would say there is something wrong with the given servers and used mods. Also have in mind most popular servers are actually not really good (have a look at net_stats )

I just tried to reproduce the issue on Survival of the Fattest and got it on the 2nd time typing reconnect. Server was empty at the time. Sometimes it finishes loading if you wait (seconds to minutes) and prints this in console:

File logging enabled
[471.268] MainThread : Error: OnPacket: Received an empty NetworkPacket
[471.268] MainThread : Error: OnPacket: Received an empty NetworkPacket
[471.268] MainThread : Error: OnPacket: Received an empty NetworkPacket
[471.268] MainThread : Error: OnPacket: Received an empty NetworkPacket
[471.268] MainThread : Error: OnPacket: Received an empty NetworkPacket
[471.268] MainThread : Error: OnPacket: Received an empty NetworkPacket
[471.268] MainThread : Error: OnPacket: Received an empty NetworkPacket
[471.268] MainThread : Error: OnPacket: Received an empty NetworkPacket
[471.268] MainThread : Error: OnPacket: Received an empty NetworkPacket
[473.342] ClientGame::UpdateWorld : Opening 'NS2Plus/LastRoundStats.json' from 'C:/Users/ATF/AppData/Roaming/Natural Selection 2/'
[473.346] ClientGame::UpdateWorld : Opening 'shaders/GUISmoke.surface_shader' from 'C:/STEAM/steamapps/common/Natural Selection 2/ns2/'
[473.346] ClientGame::UpdateWorld : Opening 'D3D9_8adc8111d2b19e2433154ca2209ef2cb.cached_effect' from 'C:/Users/ATF/AppData/Roaming/Natural Selection 2/cache/'
[473.346] ClientGame::UpdateWorld : Opening 'shaders/GUISystem.hlsl' from 'C:/STEAM/steamapps/common/Natural Selection 2/core/'
[473.361] Worker 03 : Opening 'ui/ethernet-connect.dds' from 'C:/STEAM/steamapps/common/Natural Selection 2/ns2/'
Server changed interp to 0.08

LeoPhone · November 2014

ATF wrote: »

Skimming over those logs, I see you managed to get two connect timeouts to the wheel. Do you know what happened there?

I don't know, as far as I remember I simply joined the wheel server trough server browser once.

ATF · November 2014

Just to freshen peoples memory, L-900 says he has to turn off vsync before every mapcycle in order to avoid getting the blackscreen.

IronHorse · November 2014

ATF wrote: »

Typing those commands into console is perfectly fine, of course.

Meehhhhh... I'd stay away from reconnect or retry until further notice.

LeoPhone wrote: »

GhoulofGSG9 wrote: »

That's interesting. Could you try out my server once please?

I can join your server fine. Don't notice anything wrong. It was 1/19 players when I joined it though. The blacks screen problem I experience only seems to occur when joining a server with 15+ players in it and has an in-progress match.

Then we need you to join other non modified / vanilla servers that have players in them, even if they have a higher latency.

LeoPhone · November 2014

ATF wrote: »

Just to freshen peoples memory, L-900 says he has to turn off vsync before every mapcycle in order to avoid getting the blackscreen.

Wow, this might be it! I use Dxtory software to limit my game's FPS. When I am stuck in a black screen and I disable the FPS limiter, a few seconds later I will get past the black screen and load in fine.
my log file (line 217 is where I got stuck at black screen, 218 after I disabled FPS limiter): http://pastebin.com/VzRpG464

IronHorse · November 2014

*facepalm* You've been using a 3rd party app to control NS2 and you didn't think to mention this in the beginning? :-B
Sigh.. well at least you can play now hehe

LeoPhone · November 2014

Well sorry, but I've never come across a game that breaks by limiting the FPS. thats just way too weird.
Thanks for all the helps.

Stuck at black screen when joining server

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