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hollow
29 Apr 2006, 15:42
Specs:
Windows XP Home
Radeon 9200 / last driver update 2 years ago
Intel Pentium 4 2.4 GHz
512 MB RAM
RealTek AC97 Audio
DirectX 9.0c
Using v3.6.26.5

First problem: I can join games with color maps, and host games with 'regular' maps, but when I host a color map the other players get an error saying: "PNG error: Invalid distance too far back" and the map doesn't load for them.

Second problem:Sometimes when I'm playing on wormnet the game will start lagging. After a while, it tells me the other players have "network dropped". Whereas on THEIR SIDE, they get a message saying: "Player has disconnected due to invalid data: hollow". The problem occurs sporadically and some games it won't happen at all, others it will happen within 10 minutes.

I believe these problems only began occurring with the most recent patches, I know 1 year ago my game worked fine (on the same system and everything).

Help would be very much appreciated.
Lex
29 Apr 2006, 19:24
Does the second problem happen when your game is not emulating an older version? In the game you and I were playing, our games emulated an old version because of Oracle.

You should post a replay.
hollow
29 Apr 2006, 19:47
Yea, the invalid data error occurs even when the game is emulating at version 3.6.26.5.
I've attached the replay, so people can see what happens. But on my side, it looks like a regular old disconnection..
Run
29 Apr 2006, 20:36
Posting to subscribe. Is there a way to subscribe to a thread without posting?
[UFP]Ghost
29 Apr 2006, 22:30
click thread tools and subscribe.
hollow
15 May 2006, 00:49
Well, that post has been up for a week, and I've had zero useful responses. ARG. My game is still messed, sporadically getting the "Invalid Data" error when I'm playing online. It happens both when the game emulates at the latest version, and when it emulates at earlier versions.

HELP!
bonz
15 May 2006, 00:59
"Invalid Data" error
It would be helpful to know what this error is triggered by.
Run
15 May 2006, 14:22
I think only Deadcode would know the answer - he'd know what the error messages are for. Next time I see him I'll point him at this thread and see what he makes of it.
CyberShadow
16 May 2006, 01:17
This sounds like TCP connections are getting corrupted.

Here's a hint.
What software are you using that might interfere with your network connection? Firewalls? Anti-viruses with Internet-traffic-checking modules? Traffic limiters, etc?

Do you ever get broken downloads (big downloaded archives have errors and installs report that data is corrupted)? What about other games (though most games use UDP anyway)?

If you have the time/bandwidth, try packing something modelatery big up with WinZip or WinRAR, upload it somewhere, then download and test the archive.
bonz
16 May 2006, 02:35
Next time I see him
Good luck.
This sounds like TCP connections are getting corrupted.

Here's a hint.
What software are you using that might interfere with your network connection? Firewalls? Anti-viruses with Internet-traffic-checking modules? Traffic limiters, etc?

Do you ever get broken downloads (big downloaded archives have errors and installs report that data is corrupted)? What about other games (though most games use UDP anyway)?

If you have the time/bandwidth, try packing something modelatery big up with WinZip or WinRAR, upload it somewhere, then download and test the archive.
My first thought was, are you using shítty ethernet cable, that likes to drop a few packets here and then?
CyberShadow
16 May 2006, 06:02
My first thought was, are you using shítty ethernet cable, that likes to drop a few packets here and then?
That shouldn't cause corruption of TCP conversations, as those were thought out especially to prevent data corruption even on very bad lines.

Here's a quick test to check how fail-prone is the ethernet card/line.
Open up a command-line window, and type in ping -t google.com.
Leave it for a while, then press Ctrl+C.
Check the statistics: if Loss % is higher then 10% it most likely is a hardware problem (not necessarily related to hardware inside YOUR computer).
hollow
23 Jun 2006, 17:38
Ok, its very strange, but both problems have been fixed. My guess is that I was on a pitiful internet connection, that wasn't allowing a bunch of data to go through, and it was messing everything up.

You see, I was at a university residence. I believe they had some stuff in place that would prevent file sharing. As a side effect, I was barely able to send files to other people (over msn, mirc,e-mail, etc). I think maybe this type of thing was preventing people from downloading color maps from me when i hosted.

As for the invalid data.. unknown. But I think it was related.

I guess CyberShadow was right.
Run
25 Jun 2006, 15:50
Cool. Thanks for coming back and telling us about it... that doesn't often happen on this forum
bonz
26 Jun 2006, 01:55
As for the invalid data.. unknown. But I think it was related.
So have you actually managed to play games without getting that error?