Ok i cant take it anymore. This is a open invitation to anyone feeling a little generous. My project map codenamed Maginot will not compile and run successfully. Furyo was kind enough to take a wack at it but in the end could find no error preventing it from running in DODs. if anyone can help i could send you the vmf so you could take a look at it.

lol, PM it to me and I'll take a stab at it too. I have some free time tomorrow.

what does it do when you try to compile?

Well there are errors in the map, yes, but I don't see how any of them would make the map crash. I tried fixing stuff like enclosing the 3d skybox content into a skybox, which hadn't been done, but that wasn't it. Steam loads up the map, and upon arrival on the map itself, it crashes back to windows.

is there anything unusual in the compile log or in the console when loading it up?

Post the compile log if you can, ...that would help anyone trying to help.

** Executing...
** Command: "c:\program files\steam\steamapps\pluckster\sourcesdk\bin\vbsp .exe"
** Parameters: -game "c:\program files\steam\steamapps\pluckster\day of defeat source\dod" "C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\pluckster\sourcesdk_content\ dod\mapsrc\Maginot"

Valve Software - vbsp.exe (Aug 4 2006)
1 threads
materialPath: c:\program files\steam\steamapps\pluckster\day of defeat source\dod\materials
Loading C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\pluckster\sourcesdk_content\ dod\mapsrc\Maginot.vmf
fixing up env_cubemap materials on brush sides...
ProcessBlock_Thread: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (0)
ProcessBlock_Thread: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (0)
Processing areas...done (0)
Building Faces...done (0)
Chop Details...done (0)
Find Visible Detail Sides...
Merged 206 detail faces...done (1)
Merging details...done (0)
FixTjuncs...
PruneNodes...
WriteBSP...
done (0)
writing C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\pluckster\sourcesdk_content\ dod\mapsrc\Maginot.prt...done (0)
Creating default cubemaps for env_cubemap using skybox materials:
skybox/sky_dod_03_hdr*.vmt
Run buildcubemaps in the engine to get the correct cube maps.

Creating default HDR cubemaps for env_cubemap using skybox materials:
skybox/sky_dod_03_hdr*.vmt
Run buildcubemaps in the engine to get the correct cube maps.

Finding displacement neighbors...
Finding lightmap sample positions...
Displacement Alpha : 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10
Building Physics collision data...
done (0) (134554 bytes)
Placing detail props : 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10
Compacting texture/material tables...
Reduced 325 texinfos to 176
Reduced 35 texdatas to 27 (999 bytes to 755)
Writing C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\pluckster\sourcesdk_content\ dod\mapsrc\Maginot.bsp
9 seconds elapsed

** Executing...
** Command: "c:\program files\steam\steamapps\pluckster\sourcesdk\bin\vvis .exe"
** Parameters: -game "c:\program files\steam\steamapps\pluckster\day of defeat source\dod" -fast "C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\pluckster\sourcesdk_content\ dod\mapsrc\Maginot"

Valve Software - vvis.exe (May 22 2006)
fastvis = true
1 threads
reading c:\program files\steam\steamapps\pluckster\sourcesdk_content\ dod\mapsrc\Maginot.bsp
reading c:\program files\steam\steamapps\pluckster\sourcesdk_content\ dod\mapsrc\Maginot.prt
398 portalclusters
1064 numportals
BasePortalVis: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (0)
Optimized: 309 visible clusters (0.00%)
Total clusters visible: 73097
Average clusters visible: 183
Building PAS...
Average clusters audible: 201
visdatasize:43441 compressed from 44576
writing c:\program files\steam\steamapps\pluckster\sourcesdk_content\ dod\mapsrc\Maginot.bsp
0 seconds elapsed

** Executing...
** Command: "c:\program files\steam\steamapps\pluckster\sourcesdk\bin\vrad .exe"
** Parameters: -game "c:\program files\steam\steamapps\pluckster\day of defeat source\dod" -noextra "C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\pluckster\sourcesdk_content\ dod\mapsrc\Maginot"

Valve Software - vrad.exe SSE (May 22 2006)
----- Radiosity Simulator ----
1 threads
[Reading texlights from 'lights.rad']
[39 texlights parsed from 'lights.rad']

Loading c:\program files\steam\steamapps\pluckster\sourcesdk_content\ dod\mapsrc\Maginot.bsp
1692 faces
3 degenerate faces
2543003 square feet [366192512.00 square inches]
264 displacements
728881 square feet [104958992.00 square inches]
1689 patches before subdivision
27577 patches after subdivision
2 direct lights
BuildFacelights: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (242)
BuildVisLeafs: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (54)
transfers 1181570, max 412
transfer lists: 9.0 megs
GatherLight: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (0)
Bounce #1 added RGB(15067, 14729, 10273)
GatherLight: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (0)
Bounce #2 added RGB(635, 577, 316)
GatherLight: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (0)
Bounce #3 added RGB(69, 60, 28)
GatherLight: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (0)
Bounce #4 added RGB(9, 7, 3)
GatherLight: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (0)
Bounce #5 added RGB(1, 1, 0)
GatherLight: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (0)
Bounce #6 added RGB(0, 0, 0)
Build Patch/Sample Hash Table(s).....Done<0.0576 sec>
FinalLightFace: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (13)
FinalLightFace Done
Computing detail prop lighting : 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10
0 of 0 (0% of) surface lights went in leaf ambient cubes.
ComputePerLeafAmbientLighting: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10
Ready to Finish

Object names Objects/Maxobjs Memory / Maxmem Fullness
------------ --------------- --------------- --------
models 10/1024 480/49152 ( 1.0%)
brushes 355/8192 4260/98304 ( 4.3%)
brushsides 2705/65536 21640/524288 ( 4.1%)
planes 1736/65536 34720/1310720 ( 2.6%)
vertexes 3286/65536 39432/786432 ( 5.0%)
nodes 1164/65536 37248/2097152 ( 1.8%)
texinfos 176/12288 12672/884736 ( 1.4%)
texdata 27/2048 864/65536 ( 1.3%)
dispinfos 264/0 46464/0 ( 0.0%)
disp_verts 21384/0 427680/0 ( 0.0%)
disp_tris 33792/0 67584/0 ( 0.0%)
disp_lmsamples 1047280/0 1047280/0 ( 0.0%)
faces 1692/65536 94752/3670016 ( 2.6%)
hdr faces 0/65536 0/3670016 ( 0.0%)
origfaces 1189/65536 66584/3670016 ( 1.8%)
leaves 1175/65536 37600/2097152 ( 1.8%)
leaffaces 1852/65536 3704/131072 ( 2.8%)
leafbrushes 1085/65536 2170/131072 ( 1.7%)
areas 3/256 24/2048 ( 1.2%)
surfedges 12578/512000 50312/2048000 ( 2.5%)
edges 7913/256000 31652/1024000 ( 3.1%)
LDR worldlights 2/8192 176/720896 ( 0.0%)
HDR worldlights 0/8192 0/720896 ( 0.0%)
waterstrips 139/32768 1390/327680 ( 0.4%)
waterverts 0/65536 0/786432 ( 0.0%)
waterindices 3057/65536 6114/131072 ( 4.7%)
cubemapsamples 2/1024 32/16384 ( 0.2%)
overlays 8/512 2816/180224 ( 1.6%)
LDR lightdata [variable] 1251504/0 ( 0.0%)
HDR lightdata [variable] 0/0 ( 0.0%)
visdata [variable] 43441/16777216 ( 0.3%)
entdata [variable] 25086/393216 ( 6.4%)
LDR leaf ambient 1175/65536 28200/1572864 ( 1.8%)
HDR leaf ambient 0/65536 0/1572864 ( 0.0%)
occluders 0/0 0/0 ( 0.0%)
occluder polygons 0/0 0/0 ( 0.0%)
occluder vert ind 0/0 0/0 ( 0.0%)
detail props [variable] 1/3089296 ( 0.0%)
dtl prp lght [variable] 1/4 (25.0%)
HDR dtl prp lght [variable] 1/4 (25.0%)
static props [variable] 1/4946 ( 0.0%)
pakfile [variable] 262372/0 ( 0.0%)

Level flags = 0

Win32 Specific Data:
physics [variable] 134554/4194304 ( 3.2%)
==== Total Win32 BSP file data space used: 3782811 bytes ====

Total triangle count: 4452
Writing c:\program files\steam\steamapps\pluckster\sourcesdk_content\ dod\mapsrc\Maginot.bsp
6 minutes, 3 seconds elapsed

** Executing...
** Command: Copy File
** Parameters: "C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\pluckster\sourcesdk_content\ dod\mapsrc\Maginot.bsp" "c:\program files\steam\steamapps\pluckster\day of defeat source\dod\maps\Maginot.bsp"

I can get it to compile just fine, but when i run try to run the map, it crashes (hl2.exe illegal erro) just before the map loads. I tried compiling without displacements, or water, or func_details, etc, leaving only the skybox and it still crashes. I used the cordon tools to try to section off areas and I discovered that I can successfully compile and run areas that do NOT include the origin of the map. Once the origin (0,0,0) is included, crash. I'm still investigating though...

to be more specific, it crashes after the step:
"Compressing fragments"

Did you "Select ALL" and move the map on the Hammer grid at some point?
Did you Cut and Paste it into a completely new grid for any reason?
Have you tried a FULL vis compile?

Originally posted by LightningBoy
Did you "Select ALL" and move the map on the Hammer grid at some point?
Did you Cut and Paste it into a completely new grid for any reason?

What effect do you think that would have? All his stuff is aligned to the grid. You think it could change something else?

Just asking,....and based on my own experience because,....there are no obvious errors in the compile log.
You had mentioned the cordon compile and orgin issue crash in your test.
I've experienced this same issue on at least one of my own maps.
Try the cut and paste to a new grid, and a FULL vis compile.

Originally posted by LightningBoy
Try the cut and paste to a new grid, and a FULL vis compile.

Hmm, i tried that actually. No luck.

Sounds maybe like a bad non brush based entity. Nothing in the developer console or log after crash?

PROBLEM SOLVED (for me anyway)!!

Ok, i figured it out and it's pretty strange.

Pluckster, do a search for all of your env_fire entities. Go to their properties and UNCHECK the flag "Visible from Above". This setting is causing the map crash. I'm not sure what it does (or doesnt do currently), but removing this flag from all env_fire entities will solve the crash problem in your map.

After having done that, i was able to run a full compile. Now there are still plenty of problems with your map, but you should at least be able to run/compile it.

Oddly enough, i opened up one of my test maps, placed an env_fire entity and checked that flag and it still ran fine.

Dustin - no go for me but sorta funny it worked for you. you got to see it before i did :-)

Propaganda - cant tell, it completly exits dod before i can take a look at the log.

Lightning - doesnt work either, this seems to be quite screwed up

IMO, if you're not even able to play your map, it kinda means you have some personal work to do on your own mapmaking skills. If that's not the case, then you should strip the map of all its entities and compile it. If it still doesn't work, then you might want to revise your building strategies (avoid, or should I say, NEVER use carving). If compiling works, then you might want to revise the way you make your entities and such.

If your map makes anyone crash, then it's not even worth releasing it, it's a matter of principle. If I were you, i'd stop trying to pinpoint the error that makes it crash and just restart from the ground up again. I know I sound mean when I say that, but if one person fixed the issue in one way, and that it doesn't fix your problem, then it means your map has more than just one problem.

Are there any "hybrid" entity tries in your maps? (like using many entities to produce a single effect) If so, you might try to remove all the fancy stuff and then see if that's not the reason your map is crashing.

i dont believe its how i map as ive made 4-5 projects after that have run fine. This one used to work but then one day just stopped running.

EDIT: definate entity problem. hey at least i dont have to rebuild the geometry.

Originally posted by pluckster
EDIT: definate entity problem. hey at least i dont have to rebuild the geometry.

Good to hear that :D

Guaranteed entity issue brushwork rarely if ever causes those sorts of issues. I would check for doube entities of required things like env light.

yeah i saved another one as operationsavior and each time i would delete one group of entities each time to find out which ones where causing the problem. im still working on it so ill tell ya when i get it fixed

Dustin you win. I had accidentally overlapped some of the fire entities and they had the visible from above flag on. thanks for helping out