The NGLE Manual
Known Causes of Editor
Crashes
Various Authors
Important!
Igor32 has made the discovery that sometimes TOM files and
TR4 files can become saturated during repeated output of
WADs and subsequent conversions. If your level is causing
problems, first try deleting the TOM file and the TR4 file,
output your WAD again and convert into a fresh TR4 file
before attempting any of the possible fixes below. This has
been known to cure a number of problems.
Lara
Missing from Level
The load bar goes right to the end while
loading your game and then crashes.
Don't laugh, but is Lara in your level? It's
easy to take her out then forget to put her back. If there
is no Lara in your level, your game will crash at the end of
the load bar.
Is it a
Script Problem?
The game crashes while loading.
Is it a script problem? The easiest way to
tell is to put the original script and english DAT files in
and test. You may have to rename your TR4 DATA level file to
one of the originals for this exercise.
If your level plays fine, you will then know it is a script
problem.
Always keep a saved copy of working script and english text
files. If things go wrong, which they always do, it is then
easy to go back to your last saved working copies. If they
don't work either, you will then know it's not a script
problem and can look elsewhere. If going back to old scripts
makes your level work again, make your new script changes
one at a time and test each one. You will eventually find
where it's going wrong and be able to isolate the problem.
Too many
light bulbs, camera and flame emitters in one Room
Your level has been working fine and
converting fine and playing fine, but now it's crashing.
One possible cause is having too many light bulbs, flame
emitters, other nullmeshes, and cameras in one room. The
manual says you can have over 30 of these items per room,
but I've had crashing problems with just 19 or 20.
This can often occur when adding cameras while finalising your
level. You may have a room that is borderline with light bulbs and flame emitters
etc, around the 20 mark, and
it's working fine, but then you add a few flyby cams and the
game starts crashing. Sometimes deleting a lightbulb or two
can solve the problem. If you're way over the limits though,
you may need to split the room into 2 or even 3 sections and
join them up again to get back within limits.
If a room is borderline, the game may even start up and you
only crash when you actually enter the borderline room. If
this happens in game, check that room in the editor and
delete 2 or 3 light bulbs or flame emitters to see if that
solves the problem.
Random
Crashes in game
One possible cause is having objects lost in cyber space.
Check the Error text file in the TRLE root folder. If it
says objects are in a room but they're not in that room, it
means you have bounded a room (cut it down in size) while
there were still objects in the deleted part of the room.
The editor unfortunately doesn't bin these objects from the
level, it loses them, and they cause random crashing. The
only fix I know is to go back to a previously saved PRJ file
before you bounded the problem room, and rebuild from there.
BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL THERE ARE NO OBJECTS OR LIGHTBULBS IN
THE PARTS OF ANY ROOMS YOU WILL BE BOUNDING.
Random
crashes in game
Audio files in the wrong format can cause your level to
randomly crash in game.
Triggers
are Mysteriously not Working in Game
A level can crash and yet still play. If you
find that switches and puzzles work when you start a level,
but they don't work later on, there is a good possibility
the level has crashed.
I've met this one a few times and it is a real pain in the
neck as it can take you hours of testing to get to the end
of your level only to find that what was working earlier no
longer works. You check the PRJ file and everything looks
perfect. You start the level and DOZY on over to the
switch/puzzle and test it and it works perfectly. Then you
play through the whole level again and when you reach the
problem switch/puzzle, it doesn't work. Your level has
crashed.
The fix is simple. Split the level into two. If you don't
like that idea, try cutting down on too many varied textures
in rooms. If that doesn't work, delete all the unused
objects in your WAD. If that doesn't work, try deleting a
few objects from your level. If that doesn't work, try
deleting a room or two. If that doesn't work, you need to
split your level. If it all works after splitting, then you
will know what caused the problem. It might be a good idea
to try splitting your level first, to see if that is indeed
the cause. Always remember to have backups of everything.
Bad Object
If you've added a whole load of objects to
your WAD and now your level is crashing, there is a
probability one of the objects is the culprit. An easy way
to check is to rebuild the WAD item by item and test your
level after adding each new object. You will soon isolate
the problem object and be able to modify it or bin it.
This might take a bit of work, but sometimes it's
better than binning the WAD and starting from scratch.
Besides, if you add the bad object again, you'll have the
same problem, so might as well isolate it and bin it.
Screen
Suddenly turns Black
If the screen suddenly turns black when
playing your level, and the little light on your
computer goes out, don't panic, just wait until the
electricity comes on again.
Game
crashes while Level Jumping
If your game crashes while level jumping,
and the scripts and finish triggers are definitely set up
properly, and both levels play fine by themselves, the cause
is usually having a different Lara object. You need Lara to
have the same animations in both levels for the jump to be
successful. If, for example, you give Lara a new weapon in
one level, you will need to give her the same weapon in the
other level.
The only way round this (if you have to use a different
Lara) is to use the ResetHub command in the script.
Pushing
Limits
Your level has behaved perfectly and you've been finishing
off the final rooms and all of a sudden, it's crashing at
load. If none of the reasons above help, you may simply have
pushed the limits. This recently happened to me and this is
how I solved it:
Ahhhh, there you go eh. My second level has been expanded
to 151 rooms, and the damn thing just crashed at load.
What to do?
First thing I did was check all my texture tiles and binned
any I wasn't using. Did that, but the level still crashed
right at the beginning of the load bar.
Next, I went through my WAD and removed everything not in
the level. Did that and the load bar got to half way before
the level crashed. A ha! We're getting somewhere. What else
can I bin?
Checked the map and found two rooms I could bin straight off
which didn't affect the game or gameplay. Did that, level
still crashed half way through loading.
Hmmm, something else has to go. Oh dear, it's going to have
to be one of EssGee's new puzzles. Hmmm, but I love both of
them. Ah, but one of them also has a static object, so if I
bin that one, I'll be able to bin the static too, saving
more whatever it is the editor needs saving on. Binned it
and the static and the load screen went right to the end,
took a breath and . . . crashed.
Damn. Hmmm, but we're almost there. Something else has to
go. Oh well, I didn't particularly like the first area
anyway. Binning that gets rid of 3 rooms plus 3 flipped
rooms, plus the mine object, two switches, and a few other
objects. Removed the mine object from the WAD, binned the
rooms, loaded the game and . . . it WORKED!
The editor isn't something you can regulate
regarding limits. You can be way over one limit but way
under other limits and the game will play. It's a delicate
balancing act.
If you do get a broken level working again like this
close the thing down before it breaks again. If it's still
growing, start another level.
The Level
Crashes when Lara Dies in Game
You're been playing your level but when Lara
dies you crash.
This happens when the load camera coordinates are too far
outside any of your rooms. A temporary (or even permanent) fix is to change all
the numbers in the script relating to the LoadCamera from
say:
LoadCamera= 11088,-1100,28896,11119,-1399,31486,0
To:
LoadCamera= 0,0,0,0,0,0,0
All
available Object Slots filled up
Another cause of random crashing is having
all the available object slots filled up. 9 slots MUST be left free for animations.
"ARG List
too big"
Then "Cannot find texture file..." and then
the editor crashes and closes.
There is a space in the file name for your texture set.
Simply delete the space it and it should work. The Editor will not
recognise spaces in texture set file names.
Trapdoors
Improperly placed trapdoors can cause your
game to crash or freeze. The correct way to place a trapdoor
is to place it on the ground in the room below and raise it
up into place. It MUST be EXACTLY raised into the portal
between the upper and lower rooms.
Please note that if any other part of the
ceiling of the room in which the trapdoor is placed is lower
than the trapdoor itself, it will
cause you problems. Also, placing the trapdoor on the floor
of the room above
will cause the trapdoor to disappear from view in game when
viewed from certain angles.
Trapdoors can be placed below room portals
if you use dummy triggers below them so Lara can stand on
them, like the bridge objects.
Editor
Crashes using Draw Doors or Zooming
If your editor is crashing while
using draw doors and zooming in and out, check your screen
resolution. Make sure you're running at 1024 x 768.
Sometimes this is unavoidable in huge areas with zillions of
texture infos and objects in view in the editor window. If
your level reaches such a size you will just have to
complete it without using draw doors unfortunately.
Levels
Crash while Loading from the Title Screen
I recently installed a fresh editor, loaded
in all my game files and everything worked perfectly, but
when I outputted the WADs of my levels in the new editor
they all crashed while loading from the title screen.
I eventually found the problem was due to not having the
font.pc and pcsky files in the graphics/ wads
folder. If these files are missing they will generate an
error message in the converter too. To fix all you need to
do is copy and paste the originals into the graphics/ wads
folder.
The Game
Crashes while Loading
This is an example of what not to do in your
TRLE root folder!!
The editor has to search the root folder for
files it needs to operate smoothly. If you clutter the root
folder with rubbish, like in this example, don't be
surprised if your editor throws a fit and refuses to work.
Too many
Textures in One Room
Having too many different textures applied
in the same room can cause crashing. Try to be as sparing
as possible with using different textures.
Having 8 rooms 8 x 8 x 4 joined together and stacked into
one big room 16 x 16 x 8 will cause far less problems for
you than having one huge room that size.
The Flare
Bug
And let's not forget the flare bug. If you
use the light on the binoculars and your level crashes to
desktop in game, you've activated the flare bug.
You can recognise the flare bug when Lara lights a flare, but
it doesn't work unless she chucks it away. Simple solution
is anti-trigger your flame emitters.
It's a good idea to get into the habit of anti-triggering
all flame emitters in areas Lara has completed and won't be
returning to.
Level
Converter crashes while Converting
If the Level Converter gets to Room Text
Info and then crashes to desktop, your WAD is overfull and
needs trimming.
If you are using the TRNG and the converter
crashes to desktop, this is usually due to the animations
ranges requiring to be reset. Open your Animation Ranges
dialogue box, press the R button to Reset all your animation
ranges and save. Your level should convert now, but you will
need to set your animation ranges again. This can also occur
updating to newer TRNG versions.
Switches
without Triggers
Some switches, like the underwater switch, can crash or
freeze your game or mysteriously trigger flyby cams if there
are no triggers placed on them.
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