> > Want to share with the rest of us exactly what you did to stop non-standard > maps from randomly crashing the server, besides removing them?
The key to stopping non-standard maps from crashing the server is to understand why the server crashes. HLDS is very sensitive to certain entities and how and where they are placed in the map. I have stopped some maps from crashing by simply moving/removing entities. IMNSHO, this is nothing more then a simple series of BUGS in hlds that Valve has not yet resolved. With HL2 right around the corner, abandoned mods like OP4 and DM may never be fixed, as this would probably take more time then it's worth. So, you have two choices - play with entities, or remove the map. Most of the time I just remove the map. There are many many good maps out there, it's not really worth the time to fix a borked map unless you really like it. What I do is use HPB_Bot to test the map. I don't think that HPB_Bot itself is buggy, I think the bots do a good job of immitating real players in that they run all over the place and trigger crashes just like a human would. I may be wrong, that is just my personal theory. So, I take the map to be tested, start a server, and add a dozen or more bots. I found that all of my random crashing maps would not last 5 minutes with 20 bots running around them. My stable maps would run and run with 20 bots. Any map that can't run with a bunch of bots doesn't get added to my mapfile. Since I've done this, I've eliminated 99.99% of my server crashes, and my server will run and run and run without crashing. (Kudos to Kevin Ottalini (sp?), he is the one that advised/nagged me to yank maps that crashed, and by following his advice I discovered that 99% of crashes were caused by 10% of the maps. Yank them, crashing goes away.) > A. To Annoy Mike <evil grin> > Q. Why top post? Many of us here top post. For fear of starting yet another top post/bottom post pissing contest, I usually top post because I hate having to scroll down through messages to find the latest responce. I want it right there at the top where I can find it fast. _______________________________________________ To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, please visit: http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlds
