WARNING: Too Many Maps cause problems

cloy · 04-25-2005, 12:37 AM

This is related to my earlier post about not being able to load Jabba map.

Since I didn't get any replies I figured I would try to nut this one out myself. So I uninstalled the program (again) and then reinstalled .. then applied Patch 1.2 .. ran the program and Jabba worked fine.

I then loaded all the maps I had downloaded previously, and then found that Jaba no longer worked.

So I removed all the download maps from the Add On folder, except Jabba .. and it then worked okay. So the problem was somehow either a specific map or combination of maps.

I then loaded the maps back in one at a time and found that when the number of maps is up around 28 or so, two things begin to happen. The first symptom is that the Jabba video shows when you select Jabba from the list, but when you try to run it, it exits to the desktop before fully loaded.

Then, if you add additional maps to the Add On folder, I found that the Jabba video no longer played, and it didn't run either.

By randomly taking away 6 maps I then found that the Jabba video was back and the program ran successfuly, loading the Jabba map and playing it.

So it appears that if you have too many maps in your Add On folder then you may find that some of the maps will not play correctly .. or not even load .. the program will simply exit to the desktop with no warning message.

I suspect the problem is not related to a specific map, but rather to a lack of resources, most likely memory. I am running WXP (SP1) on a Celeron 2.4GHz machine with 512MB RAM. Since the problem is due somehow to the number of maps it is likely that when the program loads and displays a list of maps, it uses memory to store this list. And then when you try to load a map or play a video, it fails. But it might also be to some other resources that the program loads when getting the information from each map that somehow conflicts internally .. don't know.

Suggestion though is if you have problems like above, then try removing some maps from the Add On folder and see if everything works. Maybe over time we will narrow down more specifically to the fault, or a patch will come out to fix the problem.

I suspect this problem will get worse as more maps are developed and added to the Add On folder.

For reference, here is the list of maps in my Add On folder for those who might want to try repeating the experiment:

1 savp Savannah Prime
2 smb Sandcrawler Maze Battle
3 JorgeTaspir6 The Battle for Taspir VI
4 bes3 Bespin Platforms II
5 bounty1 Bounty Hunters I: Tibanna Gas Depot
6 cne2 Cata Neimodia
7 edk9 Eddies's Kastel
8 csi9 Eddie's Italia
9 edc6 Eddie's Q City
10 kaj1 Kashyyk: Jungle War
11 KasS Kashyyk: Shores
12 rat1 Ratooine
13 bounty2 Rebel Outpost
14 sgda Desert Assault
15 dst1 Death Star Trench 1
16 dwmk Dude, where's my kart
17 ec Endor Confrontation
18 y4gc Yavin 4: Gammorean Camp
19 geonosis Geonosis Battleground
20 rac1 TAW Race
21 kas4 --
22 trench1 Death Star Trench run
23 nab3 Naboo Encounter
24 npm Naboo Phantom Menace
25 modx Rancor's Lair
26 abr1 Abridon City
27 hoth6 Hoth: escape
28 kas6 Kashyyk: wookieland
29 tat3 Jabba

Craig

Darth Derkie · 04-27-2005, 10:11 AM

I read on the lucasarts support site that the maximum number of custom maps to connect to a multiplayer game is 25.

cloy · 04-27-2005, 09:18 PM

Not sure about the MultiPlayer limit. I was running in Single Player mode, Instant Action.

I solved the problem by dividing up my custom maps into two folders: AddOns1 and AddOns2. Then, when I want to play a specific group of maps, I simply copy it over AddOns.

Doing this I found that several maps I couldn't play previously, or those that had all kinds of problems, now worked great. Which means several new battles to be fought.