Access Violation Exception, v3.37.00

I'm getting this crash:

Eternity caused an Access Violation Exception (0xc0000005)
in module Eternity.exe at 001b:00457ba5.

Error occurred at 1/26/2010 14:19:28.
C:\games\Eternity\Eternity.exe, run by Gaston Lahaut.
Operating system: 5.1.2600
1 processor, type 586.
36% memory in use.
1023 MB physical memory.
650 MB physical memory free.
1697 MB page file.
1281 MB paging file free.
2048 MB user address space.
1962 MB user address space free.
Access violation at 00037020. The memory could not be read.

Context:
EDI: 0x022d0350 ESI: 0x034e9fa0 EAX: 0x00037020
EBX: 0x00000148 ECX: 0x00000000 EDX: 0x001729b0
EIP: 0x00457ba5 EBP: 0x00000000 SegCs: 0x0000001b
EFlags: 0x00210202 ESP: 0x0012fe3c SegSs: 0x00000023

Bytes at CS:EIP:
8b 10 83 c4 08 8b 8a 28 01 00 00 89 4e 28 8a 8e

Stack:
0x0012fe3c: 139c0000 f6940000 034e9fa0 00459898 ..........N...E.
0x0012fe4c: 034e9fa0 00000148 80000000 00000151 ..N.H.......Q...
0x0012fe5c: 03637ad6 0045a021 139c0000 f6940000 .zc.!.E.........
0x0012fe6c: 80000000 00000148 034c3dec 03637ad8 ....H....=L..zc.
0x0012fe7c: 00000001 00000001 004638d9 03637ad6 .........8F..zc.
0x0012fe8c: 0000097c 0000097f 00000000 03637aa8 |............zc.
0x0012fe9c: 004652f6 034c3de0 01549bc8 00000000 .RF..=L...T.....
0x0012feac: 00000004 00000000 0042a04d 0051c714 ........M.B...Q.
0x0012febc: 00000000 00000002 01549cec 01549d20 ..........T. .T.
0x0012fecc: 0042bc36 00000002 0051c708 00429bfb 6.B.......Q...B.
0x0012fedc: 000000b5 00000000 0012ff4c 00000001 ........L.......
0x0012feec: 00000001 00035fed 004186b7 00320038 ....._....A.8.2.
0x0012fefc: 00000000 7ffdb000 000000b5 000000b4 ................
0x0012ff0c: 00418462 00300036 0041539b 0048e733 b.A.6.0..SA.3.H.
0x0012ff1c: 0049280a 00000008 003826b0 00320038 .(I......&8.8.2.
0x0012ff2c: 00300036 7ffdb000 0012ff28 0012fa60 6.0.....(...`...
0x0012ff3c: 0012ffb0 0049ecd0 0049fb50 00000000 ......I.P.I.....
0x0012ff4c: 0012ffc0 0049edbf 00000008 003826b0 ......I......&8.
0x0012ff5c: 00382a40 004b1000 004b1004 0012ffa4 @*8...K...K.....
0x0012ff6c: 0012ff94 0012ffa0 00000000 0012ff98 ................
0x0012ff7c: 004b1008 004b100c 00320038 00300036 ..K...K.8.2.6.0.
0x0012ff8c: 7ffdb000 00000000 003826b0 00000000 .........&8.....
0x0012ff9c: 00000001 00382a40 00000008 0012ff84 ....@*8.........
0x0012ffac: 8058306f 0012ffe0 0049ecd0 004afc88 o0X.......I...J.
0x0012ffbc: 00000000 0012fff0 7c7e7077 00320038 ........wp~|8.2.
0x0012ffcc: 00300036 7ffdb000 8054b6b8 0012ffc8 6.0.......T.....
0x0012ffdc: 85b36750 ffffffff 7c809ad8 7c7e7080 Pg.........|.p~|
0x0012ffec: 00000000 00000000 00000000 0049ecdc ..............I.
0x0012fffc: 00000000 ....

I strongly suspect it has something to do with the size of the current map, which has caused the nodesbuilder (zdbsp) to force compression due to size of the nodes.

Does it still happen with 3.37.00?
http://www.doomworld.com/vb/eternity/49268-eternity-engine-3-37-00-sekhmet/
(Just noticed that the official site still points to 3.35.92. Given how hopelessly outdated it is, it should probably be replaced by a redirection to the Eternity wiki...)

Or with SVN build r973?
http://svn.drdteam.org/eternity/

What about 3.37.00?

Yes, i meant the latest release version :) Fixed title. Also tested SVN build r973, which does the same. Doombuilder and zdbsp don't seem to have a problem with it, but I suspect EE cannot handle compressed nodes..?

Mordeth said:

I suspect EE cannot handle compressed nodes..?

Yeah, I think only ZDoom and derived (and maybe Vavoom?) support that. Eternity does not use zlib or something similar and therefore cannot handle compressed formats.

(It's also for this reason that Eternity has a full directory of data, base/ and its content; instead of a single file like ZDoom. It's important to maintain the resources herein as files with a directory tree hierarchy and extensions, and it's not possible in a .WAD file, so it'd have to be zipped or similarly archived to be made into a single file. I think PNG support, for screenshots for example, is also dependent on using zlib.)

Old discussions:
http://www.doomworld.com/vb/eternity/23391-new-node-format/
http://www.doomworld.com/vb/doom-editing/47001-reliable-nodebuilding-for-large-maps/
http://www.doomworld.com/vb/eternity/36802-ee-3-33-33-paladin-released/2/

(Another reason why I think zlib will be unavoidable in Eternity's future is UDMF.)

Gez said:

Yeah, I think only ZDoom and derived (and maybe Vavoom?) support that. Eternity does not use zlib or something similar and therefore cannot handle compressed formats.

(It's also for this reason that Eternity has a full directory of data, base/ and its content; instead of a single file like ZDoom. It's important to maintain the resources herein as files with a directory tree hierarchy and extensions, and it's not possible in a .WAD file, so it'd have to be zipped or similarly archived to be made into a single file. I think PNG support, for screenshots for example, is also dependent on using zlib.)

Old discussions:
http://www.doomworld.com/vb/eternity/23391-new-node-format/
http://www.doomworld.com/vb/doom-editing/47001-reliable-nodebuilding-for-large-maps/
http://www.doomworld.com/vb/eternity/36802-ee-3-33-33-paladin-released/2/

(Another reason why I think zlib will be unavoidable in Eternity's future is UDMF.)

I have been looking at integration of zlib and libpng, but since I don't have anyone who can adjust the Linux build process to accommodate these libraries, it's being held up while I consider how to do it myself.

EE's new save format will be based on zip files, and EE will also support zips for resources. The base hierarchy will remain however, because it is also used for writing, and works in a manner similar to the base directory used by newer idTech engines.

However, adding zlib to the program does not automatically imply support for ZDoom's node format. That's an entirely separate issue altogether. There probably isn't any reason I couldn't add such support, given proper documentation of the format.

Note that UDMF does not specify a node format. My plans for UDMF in EE are to introduce an internal node builder, so that EE UDMF maps do not require nodes.

Quasar said:

There probably isn't any reason I couldn't add such support, given proper documentation of the format.

The format's specs are in ZDBSP's documentation. For easier browsing, I've also copied them in the ZDoom wiki some times ago. And I'm pretty sure Randy would be happy to explain if anything is unclear.

The format inside the Zip is nothing special. The only things to look out for is that it omits some stuff that's in the regular nodes but can be derived from other things, like for example the seg offset.

Quasar said:

I have been looking at integration of zlib and libpng, but since I don't have anyone who can adjust the Linux build process to accommodate these libraries, it's being held up while I consider how to do it myself.

Have you asked the Linux users in a place where they can notice? I believe there's enough people here who could help you - if they knew you need help with this.

So is support for this actually in the works now, or am I better off splitting that map?

Or use another node builder, that doesn't compress?

ZDBSP doesn't compress unless it needs to (or you ask it to). It's possible another nodebuilder might manage to produce a bit less nodes, but he's probably better off splitting the map.

Like I said, zdbsp forces a compress now that the map has grown over its seg limit. And so far, only zdbsp has managed to handle my little monster.

That kind of map sounds like a viable candidate for a hub. Eternity WILL support hubs if Hexen gameplay is to be implemented. SMMU had hubs but I think Eternity removed them.

printz said:

That kind of map sounds like a viable candidate for a hub. Eternity WILL support hubs if Hexen gameplay is to be implemented. SMMU had hubs but I think Eternity removed them.

SMMU had broken wonky hubs. EE disabled them because I can't have people depending on a broken feature. Real hub support is coming up though.

printz said:

That kind of map sounds like a viable candidate for a hub. Eternity WILL support hubs if Hexen gameplay is to be implemented. SMMU had hubs but I think Eternity removed them.

Don't give him any ideas - we'd like to see this thing THIS decade!

I've ended up with ripping some stuff out for later re-use. Good thing this level had a setup that allowed me to do that ;) Hubs for ep2 are out of the question.

Mordeth said:

I've ended up with ripping some stuff out for later re-use. Good thing this level had a setup that allowed me to do that ;) Hubs for ep2 are out of the question.

ZDoom node support may be in the next release. Considering that r1000 is rapidly approaching, I would expect a new release soon in celebration ;)