Reality Factory

I'm really banging my head on the desk about this one. I searched for similar events and fixes on the forum but to no avail.

The problem occurs when I use rfeditpro on the 75b release. I have no older version as I'm a freshcut. It shows when I attempt to compile the level and it compiles successfully. I will have the preview in reality factory button checked and the compile then runs and prompts if I want to run the preview. Clicking yes, the screen goes black as if to load RF as it had normally in the past. However, it doesn't load but instead it closes and I find myself looking right back at the rfeditpro screen.

Prior to this completely closing out like this, I would have success getting as far as clicking the "done" button twice in RF and getting the "LOADING" image, with a subsequent closing of the program. I went through all my video settings such as checking with dxdiag on my XP machine. I disabled hardware acceleration. I have an NVidia MX 440 and I can hear you snickering!

The problem first showed up when I started tinkering with realityfactory.ini to put in the driver=wireframe line so that I can start tinkering with hint brushes after a thread I read here. After adding that line and saving the .ini file, subsequent previews let me choose which driver to use. I would use d3d wireframe and 1280x1024 and I could play my level in wireframe that way. At some point, I started having the crashes when previewing. I may have chose an incompatible mode but I don't see that being a problem since I could choose each time.

I have since taken out the wireframe reference from the .ini and re-saved it. I also tried looking for the realityfactory.ini to see if installing a replacement might not fix things. I also tried loading earlier save versions of my level and tried previewing them with no luck. I even re-opened rfeditpro and hit enter on the cube that comes up and dropped in a playerstart and playersetup just to make sure it wasn't something I botched while editing my levels. Now the funny thing through all this is that the stock demo that came with RF loads up just fine.

I hope I have provided enough information for someone to be able to assist me with this problem. Sucks knowing just enough about computers to really thuck fings up.

could you post your realityfactory.log file?

GD1 wrote:could you post your realityfactory.log file?

the log file appears to be missing. I found a shortcut that targets it, but when I click the shortcut, windows reports that the file the shortcut is associated to is missing. A windows search for the file doesn't turn it up either.

I opened rfeditpro and re-created the error again in hopes that maybe a log file would be created but no such luck.

I am also considering un-installing Reality Factory and re-installing it. I'll probably move my work to a disc when I do. If that is the case, does anyone know what files one should look for that are related to an individual level? My work so far is one level with multiple "save as" files, a few entities, but no actors or scripts other than the token virgil.

that's weird mine always creates a log file when I run a preview from rfeditpro. Just tried it to make sure.
Make sure when you compile your levels that your file goes in your RealityFactory\media\levels\ folder.

sometimes for some reason, if RF crashes too soon it will delete your log file rather than write to it.

I'd say your best bet would be re-installing. Usually something like this happens when a line is written wrong in an .ini file or a texture/bitmap is missing or scaled wrong. I've had problems like this where it was just a very simple thing, and it took me days to find exactly what it was. Usually it's just a stupid mistake like typing the filename of a bitmap incorrectly.

Ok, so after some tinkering with hardware acceleration, editing of the realityfactory.ini file, etc. I was finally able to get some things worked out. I am now able to get the previewer to run, sort of. It will load the simple cube I created off the original tutorial, but now my level won't run.

At this point, the following probably merits moving this thread out of the bug report forum and to the relevant "idiot who doesn't know what he's doing forum".

The previewer won't load my level so I have pasted my compiling log from the last compiling before attempting to preview.

start log:


Overconstrained brush clipped away...
** BSP Compile Version: 15
** Build Date/Time: Jan 31 2005,06:32:56
--- Load Brush File ---
Num Solid Brushes : 853
Num Cut Brushes : 0
Num Hollow Cut Brushes : 0
Num Detail Brushes : 1
Num Total Brushes : 857
**WARNING** BuildBSP: Brush with NULL volume
SplitBrush: Brush was not split.
--- Remove Hidden Leafs ---
**WARNING** BuildBSP: Brush with NULL volume
--- Remove Hidden Leafs ---
--- Weld Model Verts ---
--- Fix Model TJunctions ---
--- CreateLeafClusters ---
--- Save Portal File ---
--- Create Area Leafs ---
--- Save GBSP File ---
Num Models : 3, 240
Num Nodes : 2387, 105028
Num Solid Leafs : 1071, 64260
Num Total Leafs : 2390, 143400
Num Clusters : 1308, 5232
Num Areas : 1, 8
Num Area Portals : 0, 0
Num Leafs Sides : 8308, 66464
Num Planes : 1744, 34880
Num Faces : 6421, 231156
Num Leaf Faces : 11231, 44924
Num Vert Index : 29707, 118828
Num Verts : 8357, 100284
Num FaceInfo : 71, 4544
Num Textures : 19, 988
Motion Data Size : 40
Tex Data Size : 1035283
FileName C:\RealityFactory\media\levels\rfeditpro1.bsp
--- Radiosity GBSP File ---
Num Faces : 6421
Num Normal Lights : 0
Num RGB only Lights : 0
Num RGB Always Visible Lights : 0
Num Suns with fallofftype 0 : 0
Skipping RWM Gouraud coloring 29707 RGB faces (Full Vis only)
.0GBSPLib: Fatal error in Radiosity! Doing Clean-up work.
Warning: GBSP_LightGBSPFile failed for file: C:\RealityFactory\media\levels\rfeditpro1.bsp, GBSPLib.Dll.
------------------------------
Compile successfully completed

I have not used the 75B patch, as yet, so I don't know if this is a bug or not. If QOD can confirm that is is not a bug, then we'll move it over to the "idiot who doesn't know what he's doing forum" - sometimes called The Level Design and Entity Usage Forum.

Welcome to RF. Now, what are trying is to just make a room and run around in it? Try this. Open RFEditPro, size a cube to, say, 512X512X512. Place one each of the PlayerStart, PlayerSetup and Environment Setup entities 'inside' the cube. They must be inside the cube. Save the file as test01.map or some such name. Then click build. Turn off any radiosity for the level, leave default lighting on, and check the box at the bottom for previewing with engine after compiling. When it's done, click Okay to preview level. It should run okay. let us know.

If this is exactly what you have been doing, also let us know and we'll try to think of something else. Good luck!!

Actually, I've moved beyond the cube stage. I have created an entire level that has start and end points. I put in an enemy (the robot), although I haven't put more because I need to have a custom model made of a prisoner in orange jumpsuit. I compiled the level repeatedly and also saved several versions in case I needed to dump my latest version. I demo'd the level multiple times including exiting out and moving to level 2 (a cube since I'm not done with lvl 1). I started adding dynamic lights and other entities as well as radiosity.

Then I stumbled on some threads about hint brushes to reduce rendering times. I started putting in hint brushes and tried running the level in wireframe mode to see what brushes were rendering. Some playing around with this eventually led to me screwing up my video settings. I managed to get it corrected but I couldn't run my level. I then tried running the cube (I keep a saved cube just in case) and it ran. Then I started running my other saves and they ran fine. However, my more recent save that had all my dynamic lights and light settings wouldn't run.

I submitted a compile log and the problem appears to be in the last three lines and has to do with it not finding a particular file. If someone could post that file and tell me where to place it, then perhaps I could close this matter.

Thank you for your help, it is most appreciated.

I've never see this before:

Warning: GBSP_LightGBSPFile failed for file: C:\RealityFactory\media\levels\rfeditpro1.bsp, GBSPLib.Dll

I wonder if this could be what's causing the radiosity to fail?

**WARNING** BuildBSP: Brush with NULL volume

I don't know how complex your level is, but you can zoom out, so all brushes are visible, highlight a brush and use the arrow keys to cycle through your brushes. Each one will highlight in the order they were created, If you press an arrow key, and don't see a highlighted brush, I'd guess that was a brush with NULL volume. Hit delete, and try to compile again.

That's really the best advice I have at this time.

Would anyone be willing to take the un-compiled file and try to compile it and preview it on their machine? This way I can determine if the problem is in my game file or if it is in my computer such as a misplaced file.

I have a playerstart and environment, no leaks, even a level exit. Only one "enemy" (robot) as I'm waiting on a custom model.

I've seen this line before, and i too didn't know what was wrong. Try to delete all files that have been created by the compiler (the *.map, *.bsp and *.rec files), restart the computer and then compile new, sometimes this helps. If it does not, then try to delete some recently added brushes and look if it works.

Sorry that i cannot say more, this has occured to me only once and i solved it with working with my backup file.

Thank you Jay. I just started deleting sections of my level and compiling until I cut out the section that had the null brush. Then I re-opened the file with the level fully restored and started removing brushes one by one until I got a successful compile.

It turned out that the null brush was the result of a cylinder template I used to create a "sewer tunnel" in my level. I used a solid cylinder and then a cut cylinder within it to hollow it out. I haven't figured out a work around to correct this so I have set this aside. I have been able to since get a successful compile and my level runs with radiosity settings and dynamic lights and all now.

What is getting me now is that when I run my level, I can't seem to completely climb a flight of stairs in my level to get to the second floor. I clip the top of the stairs and move through the staircase with just my head sticking above the second floor but my body is hanging through the staircase. I have another set of stairs that I have been able to climb though. Funny thing is, I haven't tinkered around with this set of stairs since a few saves ago except to try and get a brush face at the top to be a different texture.

I removed a hint brush at the top of the stairs and started examining things to see if I could find the cause of the clipping. I compile just fine, but my preview won't run and the program just closes, leaving me staring at RFEditPro again.

Don't you just love us rookies and our problems?

That is one of the reasons they all say "don't use cut brushes!"

Another is that with some constelations, new brushes can appear out of nowhere and the only way to get rid of it is to delete the cut brush. Cut Brushes can also result in 'Brush with NULL volume' or in incorrect texture mapping, problems in the Vis routines (optimizing the level, automatically done during the compile) are also possible - levels without cut brushes usually run faster.

I use cut brushes only if REALLY neccessary...

You could try if you can add a hollow-cylinder-brush and then only use cut brushes on the sides that you want to open (if it is a passage for example). Maybe this makes a difference.

About the stairs i have no idea.

ConvertGBSPToFile: geVFile_OpenNewSystem failed.
Compile Failed: GBSP_SaveGBSPFile for file: C:\RealityFactory\media\levels\rfeditpro1.bsp, GBSPLib.Dll.
.

That's my latest problem compiling my level. Absent a direct answer to the cause of this, I'm just going to start walling myself in on my level and just open up more and more of the level until I find the hangup.

As far as hollow cylinders go, that sounds like a better idea. I also toyed around with ring cylinders which are similar but with open ends. I can join the pipes to other pipes by building rooms at the openings to avoid cut brushes even further. I can change the floor heights and pipe floor heights to create a logical direction for water to flow.

i have 75 A and the same problem after it sucsessfully compiles the screen is black for a second then at back at the customazation screen it says this

** BSP Compile Version: 15
** Build Date/Time: Jan 31 2005,06:32:56
--- Load Brush File ---
Num Solid Brushes : 6
Num Cut Brushes : 0
Num Hollow Cut Brushes : 0
Num Detail Brushes : 0
Num Total Brushes : 6
--- Remove Hidden Leafs ---
--- Remove Hidden Leafs ---
--- Weld Model Verts ---
--- Fix Model TJunctions ---
--- CreateLeafClusters ---
--- Save Portal File ---
--- Create Area Leafs ---
--- Save GBSP File ---
Num Models : 1, 80
Num Nodes : 6, 264
Num Solid Leafs : 6, 360
Num Total Leafs : 7, 420
Num Clusters : 1, 4
Num Areas : 1, 8
Num Area Portals : 0, 0
Num Leafs Sides : 36, 288
Num Planes : 24, 480
Num Faces : 24, 864
Num Leaf Faces : 24, 96
Num Vert Index : 98, 392
Num Verts : 27, 324
Num FaceInfo : 3, 192
Num Textures : 1, 52
Motion Data Size : 40
Tex Data Size : 49153
--- Vis GBSP File ---
Loading Portal File : c:\realityfactory\media\levels\rfeditpro1.GPF
NumPortals : 0
Starting to Vis all Leafs
Collect Leaf Vis Bits for leaf 0
Total visible areas : 1
Average visible from each area: 1
FileName c:\realityfactory\media\levels\rfeditpro1.bsp
--- Radiosity GBSP File ---
Num Faces : 24
Num Normal Lights : 0
Num RGB only Lights : 0
Num RGB Always Visible Lights : 0
Num Suns with fallofftype 0 : 0
Skipping RWM Gouraud coloring 98 RGB faces (Full Vis only)
.0.1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20
Light Data Size : 6522
Num Light Maps : 24
------------------------------
Compile successfully completed

so wats wrong with it?