Mallard

Verified files. All verified. Started up CoH again, no weird "Space Invader" patterns. Musta been cosmic rays or sump'in, as Ben would say.

I'm prey to the error 13/14 nVidia driver crash, though. Maybe fallout from that, or the danged system just needs a power-down restart.

---System information gathered by CoH Helper version 0.1.1.7---

DxDiag gathered at July 22, 2009 22:00 (-04:00)
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6002) Service Pack 2 (6002.lh_sp2rtm.090410-1830)
System Manufacturer: System manufacturer
System Model: System Product Name
BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Central Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6600 @ 2.40GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.4GHz
Memory: 2046MB
.Net Memory Report: 1198MB out of 2045MB available
Page File: 2945MB (1389MB currently in use)
C Drive: (Hitachi HDT725032VLA SCSI Disk Device) 105382MB out of 305242MB (34%) free
F Drive: (WDC WD10 -WMATV0872491 USB Device) 914773MB out of 953866MB (95%) free
D Drive: (LITE-ON DVDRW LH-20A1H ATA Device) zero-size drive
Windows directory location: C:\Windows
DirectX: DirectX 10
DirectX Diag version: 6.00.6001.18000 (32-bit version)

Display Notes: No problems found.
Sound Notes: No problems found.

No problems found.
Input Notes: No problems found.

Monitor: ViewSonic VX2235wm
Monitor's Max Resolution: (blank)
Video Device Name: NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT
Manufacturer / Chip: NVIDIA / GeForce 9500 GT
Video Memory: 1779 MB
Driver Version: 8.15.0011.8618
Driver Date: 6/10/2009 6:03:00 AM
Driver Language: English

Sound Device Description: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Driver File: RTKVHDA.sys
Driver Version: 6.00.0001.5384
Driver Date: 3/12/2007 7:29:46 PM

Sound Device Description: Realtek Digital Output (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Driver File: RTKVHDA.sys
Driver Version: 6.00.0001.5384
Driver Date: 3/12/2007 7:29:46 PM


WMI Information
Motherboard Manufacturer: ASUSTeK Computer INC.
Motherboard Model: (empty)
Motherboard Product: P5N-E SLI
Motherboard Version: 1.XX
BIOS Manufacturer: Phoenix Technologies, LTD
BIOS Name: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
BIOS Version: VELOCI - 42302e31
BIOS Release: 20070112000000.000000+000

Registry Information for Current User
Resolution: 1664x1000
3D Resolution: 1401x842 (Using renderscale)
Full Screen: No
Maximized: Yes
Screen Position: 0, 0
Refresh Rate: 60Hz
Vertical Sync Enabled: Yes

Physics Quality: High
Maximum Particles: 14311
Max Particle Fill? 3.595
Physics Card Enabled: No

Anti-aliasing: 4x
Anisotropic Filtering: 2x
Texture LOD Bias: Smooth
Water Effects: High Quality
Bloom: 1.000 (turned on)
Depth of Field Enabled: Yes
Desaturation Effects (Sepia) Enabled: Yes
Shader Detail: Medium

World Texture Level: High
Character Texture Level: Very High
World Detail Level (Vis_Scale): 1.000
Entity Detail Level: 1.000
Shadows Enabled: Yes
Gamma Correction: 0.910
Geometry Buffers (VBOs) Enabled: Yes
Suppression of Extra Player FX Enabled: No
Suppression of FX When Camera Close Enabled: No
Close Suppression Range: 3.000
Show Advertisements: Yes

Audio Mode: Performance
3D Audio: No
FX Sound Volume: 0.047
Music Sound Volume: 0.000

Show Advanced Graphics Options: Yes
Overall Graphics Quality: 0.500
Reverse Mouse Buttons: No
Save Login Username: Yes
Transfer Rate: 125265 bytes/second
Current Game Version: 19.20090702.5T2
Installation Directory: C:\Program Files\City of Heroes

Mod files in the Data directory
No modifications found

Here's something I captured in Atlas Park.

My friend standing there next to me did not see this. The question is, am I up against a driver issue, or is this a card/memory issue? No such stuff showed up in Skyway or King's Row. Haven't had time to look elsewhere yet.

What? That isn't under the "Scrolling" tab in the Mouse Control Panel applet?

It's

<cue The Liberty Bell, by John Philip Sou >

This reads a lot like the Error 13/14 situation with the nVidia drivers and (apparently) active PhysX on the card. I think someone said it's an error due to bus timings caused by some new code introduced prior to December. (I13?)

There's an entire thread devoted to the issue.

[ QUOTE ]
The 186.03 page mentions that it implements OpenGL 3.0 and significant PhysX changes... it's not surprising that there are some issues. (What version of OpenGL is CoH written to anyway?)

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, the problems started long before any changes that might have been coded into 186.18. I'm getting the Vista 32-bit version installed in the hope that if the issues I'm experiencing are related to PhysX processing, they'll go away this time.

Probably not. But it keeps me off the street.

I have to agree with Mikamir. It's an OpenGL problem after all. (Why don't they just use DirectX????) Anyhow, I appear to have inadvertantly lied. I got four good days out of Vista SP2 combined with nVidia 185.85. It's started crashing again.

32-bit Vista SP2 and the latest nVidia (185.85) seems to have stabilized my system now. I'm going on a solid six hours with no crashes since I deployed these.

I can has better explanation? You have set us up the bomb?

Something was definitely leaking, and it leaked so badly that there wasn't enough memory left to process a heap dump to the disk. There isn't much point in reporting the issue, because you have no useful data to transmit regarding what the issue might have been. (As a software developer, I can tell you that an anecdotal report with no heap or core dump is not very useful.)

As far as having an issue when leaving the game running all night, I suggest the Vaudeville Solution:

Patient: Doctor, it hurts when I do this.

Doctor: Well, don't do that!

I decided to create a custom contact for a new mission arc, and no matter what I enter for his name, it gets rejected. I'm not looking to put in trademarks or copyrighted names, nor names with embedded naughty bits. The daggone thing won't even accept "Bob." Has anyone else seen this?

I've got the same issue with many, but not all, of my cape-wearing characters. Sometimes it occurs with characters who already have a cape, and sometimes with characters who are just adding a cape for the first time. I already threw out a petition on it.

I didn't have this issue until my 8600GT died and I replaced it with a 9500GT, and the Valentine's day patch cranked up. I applied the hotfix and I've gone from the black screen where the driver can restart to a blue screen where it doesn't restart.

It seemed like I stayed in the game longer, but on exit from CoH the entire machine rebooted. I don't know if that's better or not; all I know is I'm getting tired of rearranging my desktop icons.

[ QUOTE ]
I called the Walmart corporate headquarters, yes... geek alert, and they said that most exclusive items are usually heavily advertised before releasing them. They said they have no specific information around the game, but seeing as it is not in their circulars/adverts that they are probably waiting so they can push the game with more advertising.

Since the Hero boom has returned this year (with Superman and Heroes on NBC) they must be waiting so they can push it, bigtime.

Hmmm.... wonder if we'll see an advert for it during Heroes?

I doubt it. But every now and then I see those Walmat Exclusive CD's (like Tim McGraw, Aerosmith, etc.) commericals on primetime programming.

[/ QUOTE ]

I call shenanigans on that response from corporate. NCSoft/Cryptic has been announcing that you can "BUY NOW" from Wal-Mart--and that was two days ago. The boxes should have been in the stores on Sept. 29th. It's that simple. Highly ironic, methinks, because Wal-Mart's policy is that incoming shipments have to hit the store loading docs no more than 30 seconds after the scheduled delivery time, or else the delivery isn't accepted and no payment is made.

If only they'd apply the same rule to themselves when getting product to customers.

I'm writing them now.

Always read the full mission briefing. Seriously.

She's in Croatoa, and an alternate-universe version (apparently) is in D5.

Through ridicule and dark derision,
No evil shall escape my vision!
Let those with Evil at their back
Beware my chill: the Mallard's quack!

--//--

No, it really didn't have the desired effect. Back to the drawing board.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
ramen eating Europeans.

[/ QUOTE ]

What's wrong with Ramen?

[/ QUOTE ]

Nothing, so long as your doctor says you're not getting enough sodium in your diet.

A story told to me by Mercurian:

"The microwave died. Wasn't going to be able to make a bacon sandwich for breakfast with that unit anymore. I just can't face Crey's Folly each morning without a little bacon on toast, y'know?

I can buy a new one--the old one is ten years old now, and that's fine. It was due for replacement. We have a second, cabinet-mounted microwave as well, so I could still have bacon. That's not the part I hate.

The part I hate is the line in the directions on the microwaveable bacon package: "Cook 5-10 seconds per slice. Adjust time to suit your microwave."

Adjust time to suit my microwave? That's a pretty tall order. So far, the only ways I know of to adjust time are to manipulate the local geometry of spacetime, or accelerate my local spacetime frame to a significant fraction of lightspeed.

I'm an energy blaster, not a gravity controller. (Dammit, Jim,...!) That means I can't do anything about the local geometry of spacetime. That left only accelerating to near light speed--and luckily, I'm a super-speedster.

So there I am, running around the equator at 80% lightspeed (time dilation factor 2.236), trying to get the bacon to cook faster. (I had a Science/Tech AT acquaintance rig up a hellacious battery for the microwave oven because I was afraid I'd trip over a 25,000 mile long extension cord.)

And wouldn't you know it? When I got back to the house with the bacon just right, the toast still wasn't done.

Man, some days...."

[ QUOTE ]
the best thing to come out of canada is Elisha Cuthbert

[/ QUOTE ]

I see two possible retorts here (tongue in cheek, of course):

1) So how lame is Canada, then?

2) Nah--William Shatner is the best thing to come out of Canada.

Can't go with the Elisha thing, but I'd vote for SF author Robert Sawyer as the best thing out of Canada lately.