*.model failed consistency check after several months of not playing NS2?

antd00d · February 2015

Hi!

I haven't played NS2 for months due to my BUSY real life and its previous releases breaking in my very old, updated Windows XP Pro SP3 (known issues in this forum). I saw that the issue was finally fixed, but I am having problems loading NS2 maps even in sandbox and tutorials. I tried disabling mods and restarting, tweaking video options (saw new ones), etc. but they all failed. I noticed ~ console show problems with my models (*.model failed consistency check) as shown in my http://i.imgur.com/GaobGDy.jpg screen capture/shot. I exited NS2 and ran its integrity check on NS2, but it found no problems. I also noticed when the maps fail to finish loading, NS2 crashes back to desktop when I try to reload a map.

http://zimage.com/~ant/temp/NS2b274tech_support.zip for my support logs. http://zimage.com/~ant/antfarm/about/MyComputerStuff.txt for my detailed Windows XP Pro SP3 machine. Does anyone know what's going on? I hope I don't have to download and reconfigure NS2.

Thank you in advance.

GhoulofGSG9 · February 2015

Ok did you make sure to turn everything in the graphic options to the lowest possible (beside resolution) and also texture handling to 0.5GB?

antd00d · February 2015

GhoulofGSG9 wrote: »

Ok did you make sure to turn everything in the graphic options to the lowest possible (beside resolution) and also texture handling to 0.5GB?

Yep. Same results.

I forgot to mention this last night:

1. I replaced my old 19" 5:4 1280x1024 pixels LCD monitor about 1.5 months ago to a new 23.6" 16:9 1920x1080 pixels monitor.

2. I noticed after getting b274 and changing video options, I was never asked to preoptimize or whatever it was called for NS2. Did b274 stop doing that?

IronHorse · February 2015

Ok so, first thing that struck me when looking through your dxdiag :
Your video card is below the minimum requirements. You need at least a 1 GB GPU

The reason why the male and female models in particular are failing consistency checking is because of their large size - the hash checking is probably unable to operate correctly due to the limited amount of RAM you have available. (2.5 GB) More than likely, if you make it to the main menu and alt tab to windows task manager and select the performance tab, you will probably find your memory usage to be maxed out, with your lack of GPU VRAM possibly contributing to this scenario. If it's not maxed out, attempt to load a map in the console and then alt tab and watch the performance tab.

Also, running in 1080p with all settings on High (even ambient occlusion?!) is NOT helping your issue..

Your OS, RAM, and GPU are all holding back that beautiful CPU that is just dying to stretch its legs.

Good news is that those things are cheap, you could probably get all of those - top of the line items, too - totaling around $250-300 if you do it right, and see a 70 fps difference in NS2 - not to mention resolve all crashes like this!

antd00d · February 2015

IronHorse wrote: »

Ok so, first thing that struck me when looking through your dxdiag :
Your video card is below the minimum requirements. You need at least a 1 GB GPU

The reason why the male and female models in particular are failing consistency checking is because of their large size - the hash checking is probably unable to operate correctly due to the limited amount of RAM you have available. (2.5 GB) More than likely, if you make it to the main menu and alt tab to windows task manager and select the performance tab, you will probably find your memory usage to be maxed out, with your lack of GPU VRAM possibly contributing to this scenario. If it's not maxed out, attempt to load a map in the console and then alt tab and watch the performance tab.

Also, running in 1080p with all settings on High (even ambient occlusion?!) is NOT helping your issue..
Your OS, RAM, and GPU are all holding back that beautiful CPU that is just dying to stretch its legs.

Good news is that those things are cheap, you could probably get all of those - top of the line items, too - totaling around $250-300 if you do it right, and see a 70 fps difference in NS2 - not to mention resolve all crashes like this!

Did 275 update these models or something? I didn't have this problem last year before the patch broke Windows XP SP3 until 275 fixed it. Even setting all video options to low or off still show the same results.

IronHorse · February 2015

Nope, same models.

What did the performance tab tell you?

antd00d · February 2015

IronHorse wrote: »

Nope, same models.

What did the performance tab tell you?

Interesting. I also tried back to my previous screen resolution (1280x1024 pixels), but that still showed the same errors.

http://i.imgur.com/akOSC4W.jpg and http://i.imgur.com/KKF7JW1.jpg after NS2 failed to load the player models and maps.

How can I force NS2 to reoptimize everything like in the past after it got a new release?

IronHorse · February 2015

We no longer need to do that, as it was unnecessary.
But if you wish, you can delete your "cache" folder found in your hidden C:/user/YOU/appdata/remote/natural selection 2/ folder.
Expect your first load to be at least 5 minutes as a result of this

So do you notice how it says you are 2 GB into your page file usage?
We needed to see what your Memory usage is, which looks to be about 1.6 GB, leaving 1 GB remaining from what i can tell.

Hmmm...

antd00d · February 2015

IronHorse wrote: »

We no longer need to do that, as it was unnecessary.
But if you wish, you can delete your "cache" folder found in your hidden C:/user/YOU/appdata/remote/natural selection 2/ folder.
Expect your first load to be at least 5 minutes as a result of this

So do you notice how it says you are 2 GB into your page file usage?
We needed to see what your Memory usage is, which looks to be about 1.6 GB, leaving 1 GB remaining from what i can tell.

Hmmm...

I assume C:\Documents and Settings\Ant\Application Data\Natural Selection 2\cache\ with 78.7/88.2 MB, 7,531 files, and one folder/directory. I will try that once I get your confirmation.

IronHorse · February 2015

That's the one. Just delete that folder.
It won't solve the problem though, i can pretty much guarantee you. Especially if you try right after compiling the shaders

What's really interesting to me is how we can run XP 32 bit on our team without issue, and so can others so far.
Wondering if it's purely due to your low amount of RAM.. since the rest of the XP users have had the maximum amount for 32 bit (3.3 GB).. or if it's weirdly related to your sub par GPU's VRAM

antd00d · February 2015

IronHorse wrote: »

That's the one. Just delete that folder.
It won't solve the problem though, i can pretty much guarantee you. Especially if you try right after compiling the shaders

What's really interesting to me is how we can run XP 32 bit on our team without issue, and so can others so far.
Wondering if it's purely due to your low amount of RAM.. since the rest of the XP users have had the maximum amount for 32 bit (3.3 GB).. or if it's weirdly related to your sub par GPU's VRAM

Yep, you were right that didn't fix it. It was good try.

Yeah, I don't know why my Windows XP Pro SP3 shows 2.5 GB of RAM out of 3. I was told video card takes that 512 MB?

It is strange that NS2 was fine in the past. Do any one else have 512 MB of VRAM too?

IronHorse · February 2015

No, because 1 GB is the minimum in order to run NS2

antd00d · February 2015

IronHorse wrote: »

No, because 1 GB is the minimum in order to run NS2

In the past (e.g., a couple years ago), did NS2 even require 1 GB of VRAM?

IronHorse · February 2015

Yup!
The requirements have not changed since the day they were made.

Frankly, it's amazing that you've been able to play at all, ever, with that little amount of RAM and VRAM.

So something tells me that if your RAM being reported is less than what you actually have, that you may have a faulty RAM module. Which could explain the crash..
Time to go test that with Memtest86

antd00d · February 2015

IronHorse wrote: »

Yup!
The requirements have not changed since the day they were made.
Frankly, it's amazing that you've been able to play at all, ever, with that little amount of RAM and VRAM.

So something tells me that if your RAM being reported is less than what you actually have, that you may have a faulty RAM module. Which could explain the crash..
Time to go test that with Memtest86

I find it more interesting that even lowest graphic details and previous screen resolution didn't help. Memory issues? Maybe, but then I don't have this problem in my other games and softwares.

IronHorse · February 2015

Very little software is actually comparable to one another

Diagnose your RAM before continuing, it is really the last potential culprit

Doctik · February 2015

This has been a WinXP issue since the hashes were changed/updated. Since this bug, as many others, was left unfixed, well maintained servers still allow you to play by using a workaround. Search for them.

antd00d · February 2015

Doctik wrote: »

This has been a WinXP issue since the hashes were changed/updated. Since this bug, as many others, was left unfixed, well maintained servers still allow you to play by using a workaround. Search for them.

I cannot seem to find a workaround. What keywords (tried Windows XP and hashes) and/or URLs do I use?

GhoulofGSG9 · February 2015

antd00d wrote: »

Doctik wrote: »

This has been a WinXP issue since the hashes were changed/updated. Since this bug, as many others, was left unfixed, well maintained servers still allow you to play by using a workaround. Search for them.

I cannot seem to find a workaround. What keywords (tried Windows XP and hashes) and/or URLs do I use?

Well that purely depends on if the given servers use a lighten up consistency check or not (so they don't check those large marine model files). Some servers i know of that don't check the marine model files are the thirsty onos, german slaughterhouse and my own one.

So far there is no way for you as user to find out what servers are using a modified consistency check beside joining them and looking at the log what files get checked.

Beside avoiding those hashing issues checking less files also decreases the total needed loading time, which was the original reason to use them.

Ofc using those modified consistency checks allows to modify the given not anymore checked files. But in case of marine models i guess it's fine to ignore them.

antd00d · February 2015

GhoulofGSG9 wrote: »

antd00d wrote: »

Doctik wrote: »

This has been a WinXP issue since the hashes were changed/updated. Since this bug, as many others, was left unfixed, well maintained servers still allow you to play by using a workaround. Search for them.

I cannot seem to find a workaround. What keywords (tried Windows XP and hashes) and/or URLs do I use?

Well that purely depends on if the given servers use a lighten up consistency check or not (so they don't check those large marine model files). Some servers i know of that don't check the marine model files are the thirsty onos, german slaughterhouse and my own one.

So far there is no way for you as user to find out what servers are using a modified consistency check beside joining them and looking at the log what files get checked.

Beside avoiding those hashing issues checking less files also decreases the total needed loading time, which was the original reason to use them.

Ofc using those modified consistency checks allows to modify the given not anymore checked files. But in case of marine models i guess it's fine to ignore them.

So, there is no way to test locally (sandbox, tutorials, etc.). I don't want to connect to servers until I resolve the issues.

GhoulofGSG9 · February 2015

antd00d wrote: »

GhoulofGSG9 wrote: »

antd00d wrote: »

Doctik wrote: »

This has been a WinXP issue since the hashes were changed/updated. Since this bug, as many others, was left unfixed, well maintained servers still allow you to play by using a workaround. Search for them.

I cannot seem to find a workaround. What keywords (tried Windows XP and hashes) and/or URLs do I use?

Well that purely depends on if the given servers use a lighten up consistency check or not (so they don't check those large marine model files). Some servers i know of that don't check the marine model files are the thirsty onos, german slaughterhouse and my own one.

So far there is no way for you as user to find out what servers are using a modified consistency check beside joining them and looking at the log what files get checked.

Beside avoiding those hashing issues checking less files also decreases the total needed loading time, which was the original reason to use them.

Ofc using those modified consistency checks allows to modify the given not anymore checked files. But in case of marine models i guess it's fine to ignore them.

So, there is no way to test locally (sandbox, tutorials, etc.). I don't want to connect to servers until I resolve the issues.

Yes ofc you can test it locally as the loacl server basically doesn't differ from a dedicated one. Go into %appdata%\Natural Selection 2\ and edit ServerConfig.json. In that config file change "use_own_consistency_config": false to "use_own_consistency_config": true. After that edit the ConsistencyConfig.json to look like this:

{
    "restrict": [
    ],
    "check": [
    ],
    "ignore": [
    ]
}

Now you can test it at a local servers (create at server-browser or sandbox etc.). But have in mind that only means the game will work at servers with modified consistency configs.

What seems to really cause the issue is that the hash algorithm used by ns2 is somehow not really working that great with small ram sizes (like 2 GB).

antd00d · February 2015

A

GhoulofGSG9 wrote: »
antd00d wrote: »

GhoulofGSG9 wrote: »

antd00d wrote: »

Doctik wrote: »

This has been a WinXP issue since the hashes were changed/updated. Since this bug, as many others, was left unfixed, well maintained servers still allow you to play by using a workaround. Search for them.

I cannot seem to find a workaround. What keywords (tried Windows XP and hashes) and/or URLs do I use?

Well that purely depends on if the given servers use a lighten up consistency check or not (so they don't check those large marine model files). Some servers i know of that don't check the marine model files are the thirsty onos, german slaughterhouse and my own one.

So far there is no way for you as user to find out what servers are using a modified consistency check beside joining them and looking at the log what files get checked.

Beside avoiding those hashing issues checking less files also decreases the total needed loading time, which was the original reason to use them.

Ofc using those modified consistency checks allows to modify the given not anymore checked files. But in case of marine models i guess it's fine to ignore them.

So, there is no way to test locally (sandbox, tutorials, etc.). I don't want to connect to servers until I resolve the issues.

Yes ofc you can test it locally as the loacl server basically doesn't differ from a dedicated one. Go into %appdata%\Natural Selection 2\ and edit ServerConfig.json. In that config file change "use_own_consistency_config": false to "use_own_consistency_config": true. After that edit the ConsistencyConfig.json to look like this:
{
    "restrict": [
    ],
    "check": [
    ],
    "ignore": [
    ]
}
Now you can test it at a local servers (create at server-browser or sandbox etc.). But have in mind that only means the game will work at servers with modified consistency configs.

What seems to really cause the issue is that the hash algorithm used by ns2 is somehow not really working that great with small ram sizes (like 2 GB).

Ah, so this will mess up online. I think I will just leave it alone and retry when I upgrade my hardwares.

*.model failed consistency check after several months of not playing NS2?

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