Long ongoing GR problem still here...found in CENTCOM

[chiles4]

I just started playing CENTCOM in MP co-op. I was the host and my friend and I were playing The Prison. On two of the guard towers, I could not enter them because as soon as I did everything just disappears (mostly goes white). It's like I enter an alternate universe and I have to carefully back out so I don't get lost and stuck. This only happened for me and not for my buddy.

Over the years, playing GR with different OSes and different video cards, I've encountered this problem before. I remember getting this when I played the demo years ago and I walked into the wooden buildings that were inside the Castle. I asked my buddy if he'd had ever gotten this over the years and he said yes but he couldn't remember what map it was on.

At the moment, he's using an Nvidia card and I'm using an ATI card. I can't remember what card I was using years ago when I first encountered this problem - probably an Nvidia one. And I don't consider this a CENTCOM problem. Like I said, I've encoutered this problem in different places.

Anyone have any info on this problem? What's really weird is that I can enter some of the guard towers in The Prison with no problem.

[Tinker]

I had a same deal running the Radion 9600

No idea what the issues were though, switched shorlty afterwards.

I did have Gigantic Snowballs, which were fixed by updated the graph card. As you say, this is not a Centcom problem.

Tinker

[Janie42]

@chiles4 ^^ I've exact same problem: Centcom, Prison map, can't enter towers, all white, get stuck, etc., and yes... nvidia card...

No matter if it's the card, I agree w/you that it'd be interesting to know why the problem happens, & esp. on only a few maps?

Any techies out there have the answer?

[chiles4]

@chiles4 ^^ I've exact same problem: Centcom, Prison map, can't enter towers, all white, get stuck, etc., and yes... nvidia card...

WOW! I didn't expect someone to come back and say hey, I've got the exact same problem in the exact same spot on the same map!

And you say you're using Nvidia, eh? So much for the theory that it's an ATI issue.

I can only make a wild guess that maybe when a map-maker makes a building that you can go in, there's some flag that must be set. And maybe sometimes they forget. But even that doesn't make sense since I got the problem on a stock GR map (made by Red Storm).

Probably a better theory would be that there's some obscure driver setting that's set in such a way to effect this on very rare occasions. Good luck finding it though - there are so many of those obscure settings.

It'd be cool if some modder could figure this out!

[Toniezz]

I have the same issues (also NVidia). I gone through some CENTCOM testing and before I had no problems. Unfortunately I have no idea what driver version I was using back then. Now with my current drivers (93.71_forceware_winxp2k_english_whql) I have the same problem at the same places. That could it narrow down to a driver problem.

Any techies out there have the answer?

[chiles4]

Well if it happens on both ATI and Nvidia cards I don't think we can blame the drivers.

[Janie42]

I can only make a wild guess that maybe when a map-maker makes a building that you can go in, there's some flag that must be set. And maybe sometimes they forget. But even that doesn't make sense since I got the problem on a stock GR map (made by Red Storm).

I incline towards supporting your "wild guess"... ...it can make sense if we accept the possibility that the RSE guys could make a mapping-type error same as any GR modder. The only stock map I recall having the problem w/is Castle Demo in East House. My rig is P4 CPU, 2.4GHz, 2GB RAM, XP2-SPk, w/9.1.3.1 driver version--older than Toniezz's but same problem.

Any more ideas? Techies... Mappers? ...cobaka? Phlook? Tinker? sleeper? Dannik?

[Foxtrot360]

I have this problems aswell.

Nvidia GeForce 6600 GT (AGP)

I thought it was just a Centcom map glitch though.

Why do you guys need to enter the towers though?

[GregV]

I think its not a problem of VGA or driver, but a bug of the mod.

[Toniezz]

I can only make a wild guess that maybe when a map-maker makes a building that you can go in, there's some flag that must be set. And maybe sometimes they forget. But even that doesn't make sense since I got the problem on a stock GR map (made by Red Storm).

I incline towards supporting your "wild guess"... ...it can make sense if we accept the possibility that the RSE guys could make a mapping-type error same as any GR modder. The only stock map I recall having the problem w/is Castle Demo in East House. My rig is P4 CPU, 2.4GHz, 2GB RAM, XP2-SPk, w/9.1.3.1 driver version--older than Toniezz's but same problem.

Any more ideas? Techies... Mappers? ...cobaka? Phlook? Tinker? sleeper? Dannik?

I think its not a problem of VGA or driver, but a bug of the mod.

I think it could even be a combination of both. As well partially a map glitch as a driver glitch. The reason I am still not convinced that it's only a map glitch is because:

a) Not everyone is experiencing these phenomenons, so that would indicate a hardware/software glitch

2) Some (and I) had it also on stock GR maps but the appearance varied over time. This indicates to me that it changed because of my drivers (I have this GFX card almost as long as I play GR). During my testing phase for CENTCOM I had no problems with the area's these issues occur. Somewhere to the end of testing It was happening to me also. Well I am repeating my post above

III) Do you guys know about the gigantic snowballs that can occur in GR (example1, example2, example3)? I know it's a wild shot and can get flamed for this statement but I guess these wall dissappearing could be in the same direction, being a GFX issue. Though those snowflakes issues were only NVidia drivers

and finally but not least) Where are those Techies and mappers???

I have this problems aswell.

Nvidia GeForce 6600 GT (AGP)

I thought it was just a Centcom map glitch though.

Why do you guys need to enter the towers though?

To see if the walls are still intact and/or need a paint job, duh

Cheer'zz Toniezz.

Edited March 2, 2007 by Toniezz

[Hammer]

The one question that comes out of this is Were's JAY? alot of ppl are having problems with this mod! and i dont think i have seen one post from him? relating to tech help ! its almost like hes spent 3 years developing the mod, released it and now is ignoring it ? the only tech questions that have been answered have been by other ppl. I know if it were my mod i would have a post up by now telling ppl not to worry and that the problems are being looked into!

[SnowFella]

Sounds almost like it could be a portal problem with the map, so it would be very interesting to know if all you guys took the same path before ending up inside that tower. This because portal problems generally don't tend to show up as you pass through the portal with the problem but at the very next portal you pass through.

As for Jay's whereabouts...he's very recently got himself a copy of VBS1 so I'm guessing he's busy acctually playing a game for a change instead of modding one for your enjoyment. Give the man a well deserved holiday guys!

[Toniezz]

Sounds almost like it could be a portal problem with the map, so it would be very interesting to know if all you guys took the same path before ending up inside that tower. This because portal problems generally don't tend to show up as you pass through the portal with the problem but at the very next portal you pass through.

[...]

Good explanation. I always have it on the main building at the prison map. When I enter the building via the backdoor the walls and floors are gone. I usually take the path through the two main gates and then move right (north) pass the barracks in front and swing around to get to the back of the main building.

As for Jay's whereabouts...he's very recently got himself a copy of VBS1 so I'm guessing he's busy acctually playing a game for a change instead of modding one for your enjoyment. Give the man a well deserved holiday guys!

Hear hear! Though Jay always has modded/ mods for his own enjoyment! that the community can profit from that is just awesome

Most issues can be resolved by other modders/missionscripters/participants/smartpeople and some are even hard for Jay to get resolved. An issue like this is hard to get your fingers on. RSE could probably be our best bet for getting our answer from. Anyone of them still around?

Though SnowFella already gave a very plausable reason for this issue. I need to check if I also have if I enter via a different path.

Edited March 2, 2007 by Toniezz

[Janie42]

@SnowFella=>

Sounds almost like it could be a portal problem with the map, so it would be very interesting to know if all you guys took the same path before ending up inside that tower. This because portal problems generally don't tend to show up as you pass through the portal with the problem but at the very next portal you pass through.

Excellent explanation/possiblitiy & thanks! I'll collect some "path" input & post it asap.

@Hammer12=> for your courage in posting:

The one question that comes out of this is 'Were's JAY?'

alot of ppl are having problems with this mod! and i dont think i have seen one post from him? relating to tech help! its almost like hes spent 3 years developing the mod, released it and now is ignoring it? the only tech questions that have been answered have been by other ppl. I know if it were my mod i would have a post up by now telling ppl not to worry and that the problems are being looked into!

Same here were it 'my' mod... moreover, I think you've voiced the concern/question that lots of other ppl are also having. IMO, Centcom was rushed out largely in order to be eligible to compete for the 2006 GR Modding Forum Awards: certainly understandable as there are few other mechanisms available to credit the hard work of modders. All the same, the lack of followup and/or any declaration of an upcoming proper "fix-all" patch is very disappointing & seems a bit like a slap in the face to some of the mod's many contributors?

Centcom certainly could be one of the best GR mods ever, but the CTDs & other problems indicate that the final testing phases clearly fell short for whatever reasons. For example, modders all know that final glitches can easily happen during that last "for release" compilation, etc. Centcom's problems, while manageable for those ppl who have Igor etc. experience, can easily turn away ppl who are "just" players & hate CTDs & don't want to or can't mess around w/error logs, Igor & so on.

Anyhow, I am thankful for the mod & esp. to the guys who have stepped up to provide support.

[chiles4]

I haven't had a single issue with CENTCOM...except for the "hallucenigenic" areas. But I think we can pretty much agree that that is not a CENTCOM issue. It's plagued other maps long before CENTCOM. BTW, CENTCOM is an absolutely amazing mod. The SEIZE gametype alone will add a ton of replay value to every GR map as each map will play out differently.

[eÅ kwaadâ„¢]

Hi all

Well english is not my native language but I'll try to be a bit clear

I cant help all of you with centcom bugs because:

1) i dont have all this bugs.

2)some of this bugs seems to be computer spec / hardware problems (Memory/Cpu usage etc...) or mod problems (Mission script or maps),i dont have talent to check this issues,same for Jay.And looks like a part of Centcom Team dont have time or are able to help us.

My only problem was about missing and size textures that' why I did a little improvment with all the textures to reduce the size and CPU usage,now my problem is fixed and same for a friend wich use an old P3.I continue to test sometimes with him to see if we can help a bit more.But i'm very limited and i couldnt help with technical issues.

I'll upload this little patch as soon as possible and i'll update it each time we or you find a problem in relation with textures,that's all what i can do.I know its nothing amazing but maybe a little part of you will enjoy a bit more this mod.

@Janie:I asked Jay to release the mod at the christmas period because i'm too busy this year to help or continue with Centcom (Same for centcom members).Nothing to do with 2006 Awards,it's always a pleasure to receive an award but thats not my/our priority.

Regards/eS

[jay316]

Centcom was 3 years in developement for many reasons, first because of the ammount

of content and second because of the limited time we can take out of our own work weeks

to spend time on it. As far as the issues with the mod go, many including myself have no

trouble running the mod. The mod was free of cost and in the licence agreement even states

"CENTCOM IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND IS USED BY YOU AT YOUR SOLE RISK. MAKES NO

EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, CONDITIONS OR REPRESENTATIONS WHATSOEVER,

AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS THE SAME INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY

WARRANTIES, REPRESENTATIONS OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR

A PARTICULAR PURPOSE INCLUDING THOSE IMPLIED BY STATUTE. CENTCOM MAY CONTAIN

BUGS, ERRORS, PROBLEMS, VIRUSES OR OTHER LIMITATIONS. THE CENTCOM DEVELOPMENT

TEAM ASSUMES NO LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY SUCH BUGS, ERRORS, PROBLEMS

OR VIRUSES OR OTHER LIMITATIONS." So stating that in the release the team and I are

not obligated to provide tech support if some people have issues.

As far as what other people would do if it was their mod, the bottom line is that no one else

created this mod but us. We put the work in and thus at the end of the day it is our decision what

is done with it. We were not a professional paid team so of course it can be expected that our

product may have the odd issue thus we stated so in the licence agreement. Because the people

that dl this mod are not paying customers we also arent obligated to spend our time fixing your

mod problems, be happy with what you get for free on our time or play something else.

As for the 2006 release date there were a couple major reasons for this release

date. Firstly members of the team had other obligations comming up thus they would not be

able to continue work on it, second we had to draw a line at content to make it in to the mod

or it would never get released and just keep being built upon, to tie in to the second reason

gr1's popularity had been obviously shrinking and we wanted to get the mod out before there

was no one to play it. It was a long dev period and there had been a dramatic drop in the

activity of gr1 nearing the later part of production.

As far as providing post release support even before release a addon for centcom

was in the works to add new content and fix some issues. Even recently i have continued to

add to it however due to many factors i cannot justify putting any more of my time into working

on it for release, seeing as there is very little activity in gr1 now and that i have found other things

to invest my time into. I still enjoy aspects that gr1 does well and like to play the game with

those who have worked with me and supported the centcom project and may continue to still play

and update the mod on occasion for them for internal use, but the recent state of the "community"

has caused me to loose interest in the gr modding scene. Also out of the few people that still play

gr that downloaded centcom that have issues playing it I just have other things that take priority

as far as investing my time into. For those that play and enjoy the mod im glad and will say it was

a great experience producing and the people who worked on it with me are the best and I appreciate

their paricipation and enjoy their friendship. For those that complain or claim that they would have

done better, the day you invest your time and freely create a mod for gr that surpasses the size

and quality of centcom I will congratulate you.

With this project i think i have contributed as much or more to the gr1 community than most

( some have contributed more but that goes without saying), in all anyone who criticizes my contribution

should ask themselves what have they done for the community. If they think they have done more than

me then they should feel proud they were able to give what they have. If less then maby they should

reconcider their comments. After completing this project I now understand the work and time that went

into other expansion mods like Frostbite, War of Infamy and YOTM and respect those teams very much.

I will help Eskwaad with his possible fix though and if it turns out to help with some issues it will be

released. As for the addon mod if an active gr1 community persists the addon mod may one day be

released but for now it will just be worked on privately and we will have to see what becomes of it.

For now that is all. Will see some of you on msn or vbs1 land.

[Tinker]

CENTCOM

I have:

Downloaded from all locations.

Full Mod

Seperate Mod Versions

Played here on PC and Laptop.

Mission Update Pk Installed.

ALL Missions completed SP

ALL Missions completed with a 9ManSquad

No Issues, apart from minor things that have no relevence on this Thread?

Don`t Hound Centcom! Post your problems by all means, but I know it works fine. I spent long enough Beta testing. I can run it on my Laptop.

Tinker

[Janie42]

@ eÅ kwaadâ„¢

Thank you for your fast, courteous & helpful reply!

It's encouraging, especially I'm excited to hear:

...I did a little improvement with all the textures to reduce the size and CPU usage, now my problem is fixed and same for a friend wich use an old P3. I continue to test sometimes with him to see if we can help a bit more... I'll upload this little patch as soon as possible and i'll update it each time we or you find a problem in relation with textures, that's all what i can do. I know its nothing amazing but maybe a little part of you will enjoy a bit more this mod.

It is amazing & very exciting good news that through this support your patch can be on the way! I know I am not alone in saying that your characters & mod work are all of an absolutely outstanding quality!

[Janie42]

@Tinker

Don`t Hound Centcom! Post your problems by all means, but I know it works fine. I spent long enough Beta testing. I can run it on my Laptop.

A big 'ta' for your beta testing work (I think ), but since when does asking about real problems that ppl are having amount to "hounding"? ...as, while the mod runs great for you, it's equally true that not everyone is having this same experience...

[Suicide Commando]

I absolutely love CENTCOM and have had only minor problems, and these were only on one or two missions. No big deal in the grand scheme of the mod.

And jay, please release the update, I'd love to have any additions to this excellent mod.

[Hammer]

The one question that comes out of this is Were's JAY? alot of ppl are having problems with this mod! and i dont think i have seen one post from him? relating to tech help ! its almost like hes spent 3 years developing the mod, released it and now is ignoring it ? the only tech questions that have been answered have been by other ppl. I know if it were my mod i would have a post up by now telling ppl not to worry and that the problems are being looked into!

Well no were in my post did i say i could do better, and i dont have any problems with the game. I too did some early beta testing with Jay and i have contributed in a small way, which i thank Jay for. I was just suggesting that maybe a post similar to the one he has just posted would have been a good idea .

[Tinker]

@Tinker

Don`t Hound Centcom! Post your problems by all means, but I know it works fine. I spent long enough Beta testing. I can run it on my Laptop.

A big 'ta' for your beta testing work (I think ), but since when does asking about real problems that ppl are having amount to "hounding"? ...as, while the mod runs great for you, it's equally true that not everyone is having this same experience...

Totally understand Janie, but I ran 9 Guys, with all diffrent PC`s, connections, through the Campaign so many times. None of these Issue ever came up? Besides the Mission Bugs anyhow. We had a good 3 Months at it, not long before it was released.

Only thing we ever picked up was, a little laggy for the weaker connections during heavy firefights. Few minor map problems.

Either way, I still offer my services too, if there is anything i can help out with.

Tinker

[Giampi]

Fact is that not only few people had problems. It reminds me when we released Armenia SCARed and immediately some people found a problem with the weapons sounds that was unknown to us even if we seriously betatested for over 2 months. Once the community gave us some suggestions how to at least reproduce the problem we came out with a patch, I believe it's called "support after sales"

There are cases where the issue remains unclear, I can remember well the problem in mission 2 of Operation Stabilise and in the forum we can find many cases where we apologize and gave a possible turn around way to solve it.

But from what I could read in the forum it seems to me that not enough effort has been done by the Centcom team (that includes up to 40 contributors I believe) to support the community.

Just my 2 cents

[jay316]

Fact is that not only few people had problems. It reminds me when we released Armenia SCARed and immediately some people found a problem with the weapons sounds that was unknown to us even if we seriously betatested for over 2 months. Once the community gave us some suggestions how to at least reproduce the problem we came out with a patch, I believe it's called "support after sales"

There are cases where the issue remains unclear, I can remember well the problem in mission 2 of Operation Stabilise and in the forum we can find many cases where we apologize and gave a possible turn around way to solve it.

But from what I could read in the forum it seems to me that not enough effort has been done by the Centcom team (that includes up to 40 contributors I believe) to support the community.

Just my 2 cents

Support after sales? correct me if i am wrong but what sales do you speak of? Last time i checked none of us recieved any payment for this project. I'm sorry that 12 maps dozens of chrs and hundreds of weapons are not enough effort from our team. Giweda i havent seen your hand up in the air to help out the community with these issues, if it is so important that these issues be fixed and for me to put what little free time i have right now into this why havent you volunteered your assistance. maby then i will drop what i am doing and put aside my other priorities to serve the community if developing this mod in the first place wasnt enough.

As far as forum awards go they are not my focus, after three years of work a shiny pic in my sig isnt a big deal, the fact is i was not here to walk away with an award, but to release a project so i could move on to something else.

Thats all i have to say....................