crashes while loading map enigma

Can somebody help me out please, I'm very frustrated...
Sometimes right after a map is loaded while I check the game in launch mode, it crashes. Coldstone is still active. I have two big maps 2000x2000 pix (groundpic: 6,9 MB each) next to each other, they load fine. Then I add an other map (3,1 MB)to the east border of the righthand side map. The player crosses the edge, the map loads.. crash. Then, I change the locations defs so that the map is now on the west border of the lefthand side map: the map loads fine! What is this?
Quitting, restarting, it doesn't make any difference. All pics are in .pct format, 16 bits.

Specs:
Powerbook G3, OS 9.0.4
Coldstone 1.0.1, 80 MB RAM allocated, Prefs: checked Don't use double buffering in the map editor
Game files: 41,8MB

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Quote

Originally posted by Wim:
Then I add an other map (3,1 MB)to the east border of the righthand side map. The player crosses the edge, the map loads.. crash. Then, I change the locations defs so that the map is now on the west border of the lefthand side map: the map loads fine! What is this?

My first thought was memory usage.. those are biiiiig maps. But since you said it works fine if you change direction I don't believe this is it.

I would check your access on the new maps western border. It sounds ilke the player is leaving the main map and when he enters the new map(on the western border), he can't load there and thus the game quits.

Question: Are the map sizes the same? Ie, are they all 2000X2000? If not, make sure the player can not walk off a coordinant of the main map that has no corresponding coordinant on the new map.

Ie: if Map A is 2000X2000 and Map B is 500X500, and the player walked east from map A at point (2000,1000) then CGE will try to move the player to point (1,1000) on Map B which does not exist. It may crash at this point.

My final thought is that it works to the west because either you have the "out of bounds" areas of Map A blocked to the west so the player can't leave the map in that direction except by coordinants that work, while to the est this isn't so.

Or perhaps you are walking off the map into an access restricted area? I'm not sure if this would bomb out, but best to check it.

Your problem probably lies somewhere in this general vicinity.

Good luck, let us know what you find.

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Quote

Originally posted by Stark Bledfast:
**My first thought was memory usage.. those are biiiiig maps. But since you said it works fine if you change direction I don't believe this is it.

I would check your access on the new maps western border.

Question: Are the map sizes the same? Ie, are they all 2000X2000?

Or perhaps you are walking off the map into an access restricted area? I'm not sure if this would bomb out, but best to check it.
**

Thanks for your thoughts! The maps are all 2000x2000, and no restricted access areas on the borders. So the problem has nothing to do with that, but these are very interesting questions, so I've just checked if this would indeed cause CGE to crash:

Walking from the west/east edges off a 2000x2000 map to a smaller 1280x1280 map to the south transports the player to the northwest or northeast corner of the smaller map. So maps do not need to be the same size.

Making access to the enire north border of the smaller map impossible (width: one access tile) does not cause CGE to crash either: the player appears on the map just the same, maybe one tile further south into the map. He just cannot walk back up north, like he should not.

So the enigma remains, maybe it has something to do with CGE not being very stable, or the memory allocated to the game in the game game options > misc. panel, which is at present 80MB, I really don't have a clue. Could virtual memory have anything to do with it, it is presently turned off...
Anyhow, I've solved the whole problem for now with a workaround by replacing and renaming graphic files. But it is frustrating nonetheless.

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Quote

Originally posted by Wim:
Sometimes right after a map is loaded while I check the game in launch mode, it crashes.

Hmm..

ALright, what happens if you build a release and launch the game on its own, as opposed to using the CGE game launcher? Personally I prefer to check a game out on its own two feet, so to speak. Because if you are using another program to play your game(like CGE) and a crash occurs, it could be a problem with either application. Best to narrow down the culprit.

And thanks for posting your findings from the questions I asked. I learned a few new things. 🙂

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And how, pray tell, do you build a release and launch a game on its own? There seems to be some assumptions here.

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-- Debra
Danillitphil Productions

Quote

Originally posted by Debra:
And how, pray tell, do you build a release and launch a game on its own? There seems to be some assumptions here.

Page 82 of the Coldstone manual.

Select "Build release" from the "Projects->" file menu. This will compile your game into a single stand alone application. You can then double click on this application and it will run on its own, completely seperate from CGE.

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Ah, my misunderstanding. I thought that you were suggesting that one can build the game without using the Coldstone applicatin.

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-- Debra
Danillitphil Productions