Frequent Client Errors

[Stanza]

I have Planeshift on two computers. One is really nice, and the game runs smooth with hardly any problems. However, my slower pc experiences frequent client errors. The nicer one is my work pc, so you can see why I would like a fix :/

Is there any info on a solution?

Windows XP service pack 2
2.2 ghz intel p4
256 mb ram (not bad with draw at 15-20)
32 mb video (intel\'s 845g chipset, latest drivers)

When the client closes on this pc, it ramps my usage to 100% and takes a good 10-12 minutes for the client to \'End Process\'. It won\'t do so without ctrl+alt+delete. I know it should prompt with an error and for a save dump, but it doesn\'t happen.

Places that the client errors have happened:

- Loading/Entering the forest (first time only)
- Loading the sewer (didn\'t the first few times, now does)
- After falling off the world
- Twice while running around in the plaza

Being a customer service rep, I can already tell that it\'s not enough info to come to a full conclusion. But with no error window and no dump request, how could I? It should, right?

Any fixes or tips would be appreciated. Are there any bugs I am unaware of? I searched the forums. Thank you.

[MaidenIndigo]

I know you probably already realize this, but your main problem lies with the on-board video.  Is that 32 MB of video RAM shared with your system memory or does does the chipset have its own?  Either way, it sounds sort of like your graphics chipset is going \"Oh my God!!!  Too my polygons!  Ahhh! *die*\"  So technically it isn\'t a problem with the game so much as it is a problem with keeping the game afloat on your home computer.

Your CPU is not big deal, actually it\'s the best aspect of your computer.  The RAM could use a bit of improvement (Windows XP itself suggests a minimum of 128MB, so when running a game on top of that it tends to lag).  Your graphics chipset looks like the main problem - even a low end graphics card might improve upon that.

I suppose the fact that the game crashes instead of simply is concerning...I don\'t know why it\'s flat-out crashing, usually it would just lag (though my boyfriend crashed Half-Life2 by making over 100 oil barrels explode at once, so I guess hardware-related crashes are possible).  Try right-clicking on \"My Computer,\" select \"Manage,\" and go to \"Event Viewer.\"  If there are any strange events that coincide with the times the game has crashed, that might give further insight to the problem.

Ah, customer service...I feel sorry for you.  You have to put up with stupid people like me who think you folks have the answer to life, the universe, and everything. ;_;

~Indi

[Stanza]

Yea I\'ve been meaning to upgrade, but with the work pc being top line, I just never have. They let me do just about anything on it, so long as I get my job done.

But since this game is such a huge time sink (not complaining)... I need to play at home. Notice I use the word need and not want

Actually I have close to no lag with draw at 15, I just see a lot of blue. So perhaps you\'re correct about my ram not being enough, but I\'m suspecting something unrelated. My FPS ranges from 15 - 25.

But I agree, need more ram and a better card. Can\'t use any opengl because of intel\'s rather stupid idea to support it but not enable it. Thanks for your time.

[Moogie]

Heh, that\'s a bit of a problem then, since Planeshift uses OpenGL.

[Stanza]

Hehe... Well then perhaps I will upgrade soon.

I guess that means opengl works, at least to a degree. My chipset webpage said: \"The Intel 845g chipset does not  support opengl.\"

But then I found a driver for it that people said \'crudely\' enables the opengl, which allowed me to play SW: KoToR and a few other games.

Thanks greatly for looking at my post

[MaidenIndigo]

Originally posted by Stanza
Can\'t use any opengl because of intel\'s rather stupid idea to support it but not enable it. Thanks for your time.

Merp, that\'s news to me.  /me doesn\'t know much about Intel chipsets

Again, the RAM isn\'t that big of a deal, the main problem with playing 3D games is your graphics card (or lack thereof).    I\'ve read about people playing that game with the same amount of RAM, but an okay-ish graphics card.  Heck, on my old computer I played MB with 128MB of Rambus RAM and a 1.3GHz socket 423 P4 and it never crashed...it was just very, very slow.

~Indi

[mavrik]

Just make sure that you upgrade the video card to a make from a different company, Intel cards are very poor porformers because they are aimed at the low end market who dont know what they want.
Upgrade the video card to a ATI or NVIDIA based video card and you should be right with crashes. The faster the video card the less lag then of course. Just steer clear of Intel video cards

[Stanza]

The one in my other machine is a radeon 9200se (128mb)

I\'m waiting for nice newegg deal for a 256 mb card. No computer shops in my area that don\'t charge outrageous fees :/