Friends/Bug reports

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If you find any bugs, please edit this page with a description of the problem.

A helpful bug format is:
=====short title=====

  • Expected: expected behavior
  • Observed: observed behavior
  • Steps to reproduce: steps to reproduce the problem
  • a description of your network topology, if appropriate
  • Use ~~~~ to insert your username and time

Please use the correct section when reporting your issues.

Although this page is long, please do try to see if your issue has been found already using your browser's find or search function.


Sections

  • Friends
  • Hardware Survey Issues relating to the new Hardware Survey
  • Games Bugs that affect games ONLY as a result of updates to Friends.
  • VGUI Issues with the user interface
  • Stuttering Issues relating to audio stuttering

Contents


Friends

Bugs related to Friends, both on the desktop and in-game

Friends (Unknown) [offline]
  • If person A adds person B to the friends list and person B adds person A to their friends list, everything works. If person A removes person B but person B does NOT remove Person A. Person B can continue to Message Person A. All that person A receives is "Message from (Unknown) [Offline]" Or something to that effect. And person A doesn't see the message Person B is sending.

Observed: It seems that when 1 person removes someone from their list, it doesn't affect the person they removed when in reality it should be removing both people from each others friends list. Hope this helps.

removing friends impossible to add them back

  • if i remove a friend in-game or on desktop , hes gone. then i wanna re-add him to my friends list using his login steam name or in game true friendslist,

then i get the message [unknown] is already in your friends list or can not add [unknown]. (please help me)

cs crash when you type a whole message full in friends

  • when you see someone in-game en you type a message and the box is full and you send he crashes out of game and you might if you are in-game


%friend%

mmlo

IP of the Game Appears Backwards

  • Expected: When looking at the game info of a friend you would see the either they are not connected to a game or the status of a game they are playing (if they aren't on they're own server behind a router)
  • Observed: When open up the game info the would be backwards. For ex. This is normal IP 69.90.34.62:27035 here is what I see 62.34.90.69:27035 sometimes not everytime
  • iPodRx 10:11, 18 Jul 2006 (PDT)

Mod Icons for Friend Status

  • Expected: No icon appears for mods not installed on the client.
  • Observed: The mods that are not installed are displayed as other icons
  • Image: [1]
  • ts2do

Goldsource

  • Observed: Messages are printed twice when talking in a chat window in any Goldsource game. (Tested in Blue Shift)
  • Observed: Highlighting a portion of text in TextEntry makes text after the highlighted portion to be rendered white rather than a dim white that text before any highlighting is performed.
  • ts2do

Game crash exploit

  • Observed: Sending or receiving extremely large messages in a game causes the game to crash.
  • Observed: Players are exploiting this to crash other users in-game.
  • Kuro

Some buddies show up twice in the Friends Beta list

  • Expected: One entry per buddy in the friends list.
  • Observed: Some buddies show up twice in the list.
  • Steps to reproduce: I can delete those buddies (both entries) and readd them, or delete only one entry. Everything is fine till the next steam restart. After that, those buddies show up twice again.

Skynet6 11:08, 20 Mar 2006 (PST) Friends Bug

Local IP Address on Servers instead of external

  • Expected: Friend's Current Game returns externally available IP
  • Observed: It returns the friends LAN IP (e.g. 192.168.1.105) and so there is no way to know what server they are really on.
  • Steps to reproduce: Try to connect to a friend whose server is behind a router (own server)
  • Net: Computer behind router

Jerr 16:35, 13 Mar 2006 (PST)

Bad Module

  • When ever I try and load Steam with the beta I get this: 
Steam - Error
Platform Error: bad module 'Friends/friendsUI.dll', not loading
  • --Agret 21:15, 9 Mar 2006 (PST)
  • Temporary Fix for Vista: 
In Windows Vista this error seems to be caused by using the Steam installer in Vista. In Build RC1 5728 you can
circumevent this by installing Steam on an XP system then manually moving the Steam folder from your XP
installation to a Vista installation.
To save space you can also try to create a junction to the XP system if it is a dual boot machine.
  • Although this is no longer relevant this was occurring on a Windows XP system and not a Vista one. I don't even have Vista
  • --Agret 05:00, 25 Dec 2006 (PST)
  • This problem is accruing for me I'm running on Windows XP Professional and have installed Steam and didn't copy it from another computer. I have tried Repairing Steam just to yield unsuccessful.... Once I backup my games to my Server I will remove every trace of Steam on my computer.
  • --IchigoKurosaki 13:36, 10 Sep 2007 (PDT)

SubPanelUserInfoDetails

  • Observed: Apply button is enabled initially.
  • Expected: Apply button is enabled OnDataChange
  • ts2do

Opening console inserts ` to any active Friends windows

  • Observed: When the console is opened, the key it is bound to is added to the typing area of the active window
  • Expected: Not sure, but it should be a little more ergonomic than this. ;-)
  • TomEdwards
    • I'd expect ` not to appear, i.e. it should be impossible to type. The alternative is for the console not to appear when you're chatting, but thats impractical and would be annoying. Doing both is wrong either way... EAi

Friends Window is being forced to the top left on minimize

  • Observed: When IMed while having a game minimized the window will be forced to the top left of your screen where it can not be moved.
  • Steps to reproduce: Open up a game (source engine for sure and used to in the old friends in goldsrc) and have someone instant message you while you are alt tabbed to desktop. * Restore the window and the im will be in the top left.
  • Screenshot: [2][3]
  • nba1341
    • This is a general VGUI issue. If you minimize a game and get kicked, for example the message box informing you of this will be stuck top left as well. I guess this is because when the game is minimized, VGUI is unable to get the screen width/height in order to center it. Solution would be to store the width/height and use that. EAi

Friends does not delete contacts in-game (Source Engine)

  • Expected: Remove the contact from the list.
  • Observed: Click "Remove this friend...", then confirm the action, and nothing happens.
  • Steps to reproduce: Open up Steam friends in a Source game > Right click > "Remove this Friend..." > Confirm .
  • DogGunn


User Online Pop-up Alerts Add Unnecessary New Windows

  • Expected: New User Online alerts should keep calling and updating the same pop up window (preferably with a timestamp included in the alert), and perhaps even automatically disappear after a time (optional?), or when the user goes back offline.
  • Observed: Each time a user comes online, a new pop up window alert is created, meaning that you can come back to a computer and have 10 alert windows blinking in the taskbar, all of which have to be closed separately
  • Steps to reproduce: just add a user and wait
  • Amt259

Focusing incorrect window

  • Expected: When a new message comes in the message window is focused (if this truly is the desired behavior)
  • Observed: Random other steam windows are focused instead, e.g. the main friends window or the server browser.
  • Steps to reproduce: Happens every time for me.
  • EAi

IM Windows not Migrating

  • Expected: When having a chat with a friend outside of a game, and then entering a game the IM window should flow in front of the game so you can continue chatting.
  • Observed: When having a chat with a friend outside of a game, and then entering a game the IM window doesn't flow in front of the game so you have to open a friend conversation to continue chatting.
  • Steps to reproduce: Start a chat, open a game, try to chat
  • SierraSonic
*The window is available when you hit Escape and open the menu. It would be awful to have a chat window in your face while playing normally. Note that there is a bug with this, detailed here in Bug Reports called "Chat messages are not shared between in-game and windows." -TheInimitable Feb 6


In-Game Friends List Is Offline In CS 1.6

  • Expected: I click friends menuitem in-game and open the friends list and see almost exactly as what I see on the desktop.
  • Observed: I click the menuitem and it says that I am offline and that it is trying to reconnect to the friends network.
  • Steps to reproduce: Start steam open cs 1.6 and click the friends menuitem in the right corner.
  • iPodRx
Have noticed the same behavior now in CS: Source and Day of Defeat: Source. Attempting to hit ESC to access the player list or friend's list results in near full pauses and a resulting indicator saying that I'm not connected to the friends network. Persons on the player list for the server (ESC > Players from main screen) have a null box for their friends status. - Zips
It doesn't seem to work in any game for me at the moment. It's always reporting that it is disconnected yet others see that I'm online. - DogGunn
Same here but also with the Source games. The in-game Friends shows that I can't connect the friends network. Works fine out of the game though. - MiniMax333
Confirmed in NS as well. - Scoot


In-game friend appears to also be offline

  • Expected: Double clicking on an in-game user, or right clicking and selecting 'send message' should open the chat box for that user
  • Observed: Double clicking sometimes opens the user's info box, even if they're in-game, also, the user doesn't have a 'send message' option in the menu.
  • Steps to reproduce: unknown.
  • Also: Some users appear to be in-game but have no 'join game' option in their menu. This seems unconnected to what games I have installed.
  • Screenshot
  • EAi


In-game sound

  • Expected: You'd expect to hear the chime sound if you're sent a message while in-game
  • Observed: You don't know you've got a message. Instead, these error messages show up in the console on a third party mod when I am messaged: 
Failed to load sound "friends/friend_online.wav", file probably missing from disk/repository
Failed to load sound "friends/message.wav", file probably missing from disk/repository
  • Steps to reproduce: Go in-game and get sent a message
  • EAi and nba1341
I want to note that "warning.wav" should also be included in the Gold/Source engines. —ts2do
  • Workaround: Copy the friends folder from the Steam root folder to the folder in Steamapps for the game you wish to hear sounds in. For warning.wav, copy the sound in resource in the Steam root to resource in the game's folder (you may need to create the folder). --Alph Tech STUART

User Info window has an unnecessary tab

  • Observed: The User Info window has only one tab: the "Details" tab. A single tab serves no purpose.
  • Steps to reproduce: Right-click on any friend in your Friends list and click "View user details." Note the single tab in the User Info window.
  • Lunchtimemama
Bandwidth monitor type window (no tabs) would be better for the purpose. Unless more "user details" are coming soon. Matveims

Status inconsistency

  • Expected: Status should be online when the user is online.
  • Observed: Friends Showing as Offline, when actually online talking to me.
  • DistortioN

Third party mods

  • Expected: When a game is opened, friends should show that the user is in a specific game.
  • Observed: When a mod is on its "desktop" screen, the base game is shown for it.
  • ts2do

In-game status

  • Expected: Shows what server a user is in for a game.
  • Observed: Sometimes, friends says the user isn't in a server and no fix. (Observed with DOD:S, CS:S)
  • ts2do
I can confirm this bug. Shows users as in-game sometimes even if they aren't - snafu.c
I can confirm as well. This is a major issue for people who want to play together without using another chat client/phone call.
Also confirm. Will display "In Game," but will say friend is not in a server (and I can see him playing right next to me!) -Inimitable Feb 4
I can confirm the opposite: my friend says he is in a game, yet Friends shows him as just online. Mikeym88

FriendNameOld field in the User Info window is too small in-game

  • Expected: The FriendNameOld field in the User Info window should appear the same in-game as it does on the desktop.
  • Observed: The field is much smaller in Source games, often clipping the user's name(s).
  • Screenshot
  • Lunchtimemama

Current Game

  • Observed: Users under the CURRENT GAME section still have the invite to game option available.
  • ts2do

Pointless Drag and Drop

  • Observed: There is a pointless drag and drop functionality in the friends list.
  • Steps to reproduce: Hold mouse down on a user & drag!
  • ts2do

Steam Updating or Loading

  • Observed: When beinging the beta, or using it, there are random chances of it failing to update 'steam.dll', error number 03.
  • Steps to reproduce: Launch Steam with beta tags, or launch steam without beta tags when previously using beta
  • ElliottB

Language option behind Name (User options)

  • Expected: Box shows the two characters of the country code (as in the Source console)
  • Observed: Only shows one character of the country code
  • Steps to reproduce: Not quite sure why this feature is there. Please also have a look to an other question regarding this feature Help_Desk#Languages_in_Source
  • Screenshot
  • FishBrainX

Friends window very big

  • If the bar of tools of windows is in the top, friends' window is partially covered and it is not possible to move it correctly.
  • Screenshot
  • LiuM
Observed: Confirmed, for myself. Caused Steam to crash when I pressed the sign in button. -Rexbron
Also confirm. This also happens (rarely) with chat windows (temporarily solved by changing resolution to 1600x1200, resizing chat window, and changing resolution back to 1280x1024). -Inimitable
Another temporary solution is move the bar of tools of windows to left/right side, resize the window and return to place the bar of tools of windows.-LiuM
Doesn't Happen with me. Mikeym88
Cannot confirm - me either. steamfraiser

No Icon Shown Next To Friend When In Game

  • Friends outside of a game shows the icon of the game your friend is currently playing, but when you launch a game and view your Friends list, it is no longer visible.

Viewing A Friends Server Details Messes Up When They Quit

  • If you view a friends server details, then they leave the game, the AutoRetry tick box + the other 1 get stuck in front.

Users coming online and users reverting from Away/Busy/In-game play the same sound

  • Users coming online from being offline should be differentiated from those who have merely changed their status
  • TomEdwards

Icons not shown for third-party games

  • Icons should be shown for these games, to avoid users having to view server info
  • Ask a contact to start up a mod
  • TomEdwards
I saw icons for mods, but not the correct ones. Sven-Coop had the HL icon (although I've changed the liblist.gam to show the SC icon). And GMod had the Dystopia icon, very similar to the bug in the early UI beta. --Koraktor 12:32, 3 Feb 2006 (PST)
Valve would need to add the icons of hundreds of mods to Steam to make this possible, or make a system where a fried could quickly download the icon from the friend, so its probably more of a suggestion than a bug (Maybe they show if you have the same mod as your friend installed on your computer ?)
Icons can be added by mod makers, see gameinfo.txt. Transferring icons of mods not installed is a good idea! --TomEdwards 07:23, 4 Feb 2006 (PST)

CPU Usage

  • When I and my friend tried to run friends beta, we noticed, that steams cpu usage was higher, than if it was without the beta. Steam cpu usage on his machine was around 30-40 and 20-30 on my (probably because my processor is faster than his). On both machines steam without the beta uses 0% of cpu. The larger cpu usage affects the games, there are less frames per second when playing steam games.
  • Garstyciuks
I experienced the same problem listed above. Paranoid
So do I, on a hyperthreaded CPU. Setting Steam's affinity to only one core resolves. --TomEdwards 01:35, 3 Feb 2006 (PST)
I have troubles with the same problem on an AMD 64 (single core) but instead of about 30-40% usage I usually get a constant 99%. However, it generally happens only while updating. - Scoot
I and my friend both have a hyper threaded processors. My processor is Pentium4 model 640, my friends' is P4 2.4GHz HT. --Garstyciuks
Apparently, my cpu usage is low when updating, yet high when not updating. But this happens with Friends enabled and disabled. My CPU usage is the the high 90s. Maybe it also has to do with my computer's hardware. Although it doesn't stay there. My system Idle System goes up to 98 while Steam is reduced to practically 0 and then the CPU usage is low again. Mikeym88

Game Counter-Strike shuts down.

  • When updating Steam with the beta Friendlist Counter-Strike crashes for no reason. This appears when I'm trying to start the game Counter-Strike and the same error occurs to my friend. Other games like Half-life, Sven-Coop works just fine.
  • eliasson
  • I can confirm this, though it doesn't happen often. steamfraiser

Recently used names' label too narrow in-game

  • Expected: label uses all or most of the available space.
  • Observed: label is very thin, and can only display eight or so characters before starting a new line. Most of the data end up hidden.
  • Steps to reproduce: Look at the User Info page of a contact when in-game.
  • TomEdwards
    • This is a dup of "FriendNameOld field in the User Info window is too small in-game" above. Lunchtimemama

Singleplayer

  • Expected: Friends should say so if a user is in a singleplayer game
  • Observed: Friends in a singleplayer game are seen as in Half-Life/2 but not in a server.
  • ts2do

Attempting to add self crashes in game

  • Running mat_dxlevel 70 (not sure if this has anything to do with it)
  • Add Friend use own account login causes game crash
Cannot confirm. Attempting to add yourself to friends results in "you can't add yourself to your friends list" Tested in CS:S, in-game with dx7 mode. Etalon
Can't confirm. Tested in and out of game on DX7 and DX9, resulting only in "you can't add yourself." -TheInimitable
  • Can't confirm; when I try and add myself It says "User cannot be added with nickname "Christmas Time" | Easteregg? -Steamfraiser

Name shows up as a code

  • Expected: When adding a friend, I am told that the friend is found and adds him as his name.
  • Observed: Friend is added under the name of some sort of code. Added friend named "yort" but he shows up as "FN#8992791"
  • Suggested: Allow a function to rename friend or keep this from happening.
  • MrBeefy
Happens to me too. My friend's email is iammrfan@gmail.com, but his username appears as FN#13894675. Mikeym88

Incorrect error message during maintenance

  • Expected: Maintenance error message concerns Friends servers.
  • Observed: Error message says that the Steam servers are down for maintenance, which is not the case. Even if it is the case, it does not affect connectivity and the message gives the wrong impression.
  • Image

TomEdwards

Same problem - really sucks. Confirmed steamfraiser

Maintenance error message replaced with generic connection error

  • Expected: During maintenance downtime, maintenance-specific error message stays visible
  • Observed: Error message is quickly replaced with generic "No network connection could be made".
  • TomEdwards

Chat windows do not change to reflect maintenance downtime

  • Expected: During maintenance, and open chat windows would have a notification added that the network was offline.
  • Observed: No notification until user check main Friends window.
  • TomEdwards

After maintenance, incorrect context menu shown for in-game contacts

  • Expected: Normal context menu appears when right-clicking in-game contacts
  • Observed: After maintenance, the user's context menu is that of an offline user.
  • TomEdwards
I set Friends to offline then came back on and the contact was offline. Seems that the menu knew he was offline, but the list didn't. --TomEdwards 10:54, 7 Feb 2006 (PST)

"Click here to join" has no function

  • Expected: On clicking the "Click here to join" link (shown when a contact you are chatting with enters a game), the server will be connected to.
  • Observed: Clicking has no effect.
  • TomEdwards

[IMPORTANT] Server browser doesn't remember mod correctly for filters

  • Expected: The windows (external) server browser keeps the same game name for each filter in the server browser.
  • Observed: When playing on a 'Natural Selection' (Half-Life mod) server the Game option changes to Half-Life when you quit the game after playing.
  • Steps to reproduce:
    • Select Natural Selection as the game filter
    • Join a Natural Selection server
    • Quit the server
    • Notice the Game filter has changed to Half-Life.
  • EAi
  • Likely to be connected to this issue.

Ragdoll kung fu (preloaded) in the my games list

  • In the beta client, ragdoll kung fu (preloaded) is shown along with rag doll kung fu demo (I don't own rdkf).
    • Preloading is when a game is downloaded to your machine encrypted before you buy it. Not owning it is part of having it preloaded. --Alph Tech STUART 19:39, 2 Feb 2006 (PST)
    • In non beta, Rag Doll Kung Fu (Preloaded) is not shown in my games list, but a demo is shown. In the beta both are shown. I think that only the demo should be shown. --Garstyciuks
  • Garstyciuks
For some reason, Steam decided it wanted to preload DoD:S when I activated the beta (I did not choose to preload it).
Happens to me too. I hate it. Please fix this. I would be appreciated very much. Mikeym88

Having to resume game updates

  • After the most beta refreshes, some games say that their update status is paused. They weren't paused before, they just decide not to automatically update after the next update. Most recent was Halflife1 being paused on the march 10th update
  • Etalon
  • I've seen this as well. EAi

Connecting to secure server message

  • When connecting to a server (tried in CS, not sure about Source games), the connecting to VAC secure server warning message no longer shows.
  • Morthy
I noticed this too, for CS:S and DoD:S. Mikeym88
Confirmed in NS. Scoot
Also confirmed for NS. EAi
Steam started to show it after the last 2 updates, but not consistently. Mikeym88 March 12, 2006

Group Chat Participants - Goup Inivite

  • Expected: displayed as guest in groupchat
  • Observed:displayed as member in groupchat
  • I joined a group chat and was displayed as a Guest. I was invited to join the group. I declined the invite. I was displayed as a member in the group chat.
  • --Rotzi 12:49, 5 Sep 2007 (PDT)

Hardware Survey

Bugs related to the new hardware survey

Game Display settings

  • Expected: Only shows the resolution of every game that has been run at least once
  • Observed: All games show the resolution even if never played, that would give a false outcome.
  • FishBrainX , I'm not quite sure if this is something important, if not than delete this. Also it might be a good idea to get some information about sound(cards) as well?

Games

Bugs that affect games ONLY as a result of the beta update.

Expected:Friends message would appear in lower right as expected, while I play Dark Messiah Observed:Friend messaged me and the game started flashing to the desktop/glitching, then crashed. Had to Alt+F4 out of it.


Crash on helicopter death

  • Expected: Helicopter blows up - Gordon saves the day - Everybody cheers
  • Observed: On the map with the helicopter showdown, I somehow managed to get close to the helicopter , without it noticing and taking off. I proceeded to shot it to bits , with the mounted gun and saw minor explosions , but finally instead of the helicopter blowing up still on the ground , the game crashed.

--CeeJay.dk 10:34, 28 Feb 2006 (PST)

This doesn't really seem like the place to report a HL2 map bug...—ts2do 16:34, 28 Feb 2006 (PST)
Could be connected with this bug. --TomEdwards 11:12, 2 Mar 2006 (PST)
This has happened to me too, what are your specs? Memory management has suffered after this update. --Ender 07:25, 15 Mar 2006 (PST)

Various AI issues

  • Expected: NPCs behave as they did when the game was released.
  • Observed: NPCs behave differently:
    • Thrown Hoppers bounce off physics objects instead of exploding.
    • The Combine soldiers manning the towers in the last Sandtraps map (the final assault on Nova Prospekt) can now see through the gratings and wills shoot you and your antlions as you pass through the sewers.
    • Antlions seem to have more difficulty moving around than I remember. They will stop and start for brief moments when close to their targets, and sometimes can't find a path through doorways when there's a queue.
  • This might have been introduced in the 64-bit upgrade.
  • TomEdwards
This has also been an issue in all games and mods that allow you to spawn npc's, especially garry's mod.Spawning an npc with a non-crowbar weapon in Garry's mod, or HL:DM on a dedicated server will crash the game.--Ender 07:16, 15 Mar 2006 (PST)

Games crash on startup (sometimes) and on reconnect (always) in HL1 based mod (NS)

  • Expected: Using 'retry' in the console will reconnect you to the last server you were in
  • Observed: Game starts to load then half-life instantly exists, no error.
  • Steps to reproduce: Open half-life 1 mod, join a server, disconnect and try to reconnect using 'retry' (or 'connect')
  • Note:Has occasionally happened when launching a server straight from the windows server browser.
  • EAi
Confirmed. I've already sent the .mdmp as a Support ticket and has been forwarded on.
The game will launch, connect to the server, and it will crash to desktop when verifying resources. No error message given. I find it only happens when connecting to a custom map (testing using CZ). --KillerKoala 10:30, 14 Feb 2006 (PST)
  • Possible fix- running the new Internet Explorer 7 causes the game to randomly crash on HL1 based games during veryifying resources. There will be no error message and .mdmp files will be created. This happenes particularly on custom maps and servers running extra plugins. To fix this just uninstall/rollback IE7 to IE6. rembold
I don't have IE7 installed, it must be unrelated or this could be another bug you are seeing. EAi
This appears to be fixed with the March 3rd update. Can anyone else confirm this? EAi
Reconnects works now with Day of Defeat and Counter Strike, but independent mods like Natural Selection and Earth's Special Forces cannot reconnect or connect. However, connecting directly from the windows server browser triggers a crash even in Counter Strike. --Ender 07:29, 15 Mar 2006 (PST)

So what will the official fix for the be when Vista comes out? Uninstall your operating system?

Crash when starting in offline mode

  • Expected: Game will load to main menu when in offline mode
  • Observed: Game goes through initial loading stage. Then the loading message disappears and reappears as if to load a background map (even if the game does not have one) and a "memory cannot be read" error appears immediately afterwards. No issue when online.
  • TomEdwards


Cannot bind console to another key

  • Expected: Binding keys other than ~ or ` to console should allow that key to bring up or cancel the console. You should also be able to bind ~ or ` to other functions so that ~ or ` don't have to bring up the console.
  • Observed: Binding other keys to toggleconsole results in the keys becoming unbound when you start your game.
  • Steps to reproduce:

1. Open up config.cfg for any game, and bind an arbitrary key to +toggleconsole
2. Bind ~ and ` to another function (e.g. bind ~ "lastinv"; bind ` "lastinv")
3. Bind another key to toggleconsole (e.g. bind F1 "toggleconsole")
4. Start your game. Observe how ~ automatically becomes bound to the console again, and F1 gets unbound.
5. Also observe that setting autoexec.cfg or userconfig.cfg to automatically bind the keys upon startup doesn't work either.

  • This bug affects all games and mods that use both the HL1 and HL2 game engines.
  • I would really like to be able to bind the console key to something else. The reason why is because I too often find that I accidentally hit the console key while in the middle of battle, especially in games such as NS that can involve a lot of button mashing.
  • AlphaWolf
    • How is this relevant to the Friends beta? --STUART (TALK  ) 07:26, 13 Mar 2006 (PST)


"View Server info" and "Join Game" won't work in counter-strike

  • Expected: Ability to view the server info where a friend plays / connect to that server when YOU are already IN counter-strike.
  • Observed: No server info shown / cannot connect to server.
  • Snafu.c
I thought connecting to the server from in game did not work anyway. Well, I can confirm that the view server info button does not work in counter-Strike 1.6, (not sure about source), or Day of Defeat (non-source).--Ender 07:32, 15 Mar 2006 (PST)

HL2 Crash experienced in Follow Freeman

  • Observed: Crash occurred after Barney is rescued from snipers. I tested the same section about 5 times before I experienced the crash and cannot recreate.

Prior to the crash occurring Barney got stuck on the rubble exiting the building. After pushing him around for 2/3 mins I eventually managed to free him. I got as far as the base of the stairway with all the crates where Barney makes his first speech introducing the Nexus Building and then the game crashed. Error report was sent to MS. Unclear whether this crash is due to beta or not.

  • Steps to reproduce: Try to get Barney stuck on his way out of sniper building (not easy!)
  • chopsnsauce

HL2 Unexpected behaviour when running with sv_autosave "0"

  • Expected: When player dies HL2 should always load the last save point used.
  • Observed: After loading a game from a previous saved game (Note. this is a saved a game, NOT a quick save or an auto save), when I die the loading message appears but the saved game does not load. The loading message will just stay on the screen indefinitely with no HD activity. Note that the games does not crash, I can press Esc and get back to the menu and then load the game from there.
  • Steps to reproduce: load a game (NOT a quick save or auto save) then die running with sv_autosave "0". Not sure at the moment (20-Feb-2006) whether this problem is intermittent or not. Will update later...

(21-Feb-2006) Okay, tested again last night and this is definitely an intermittent problem.

HL2 Crash experienced in Nexus building

Game keeps dumping when in the museum/bank whatever it is after taking out the second generator and backing back into the room that you get surrounded in. Tried with both regular steam and beta as well.

The game crashes out and this is the error:

AppName: hl2.exe AppVer: 0.0.0.0 ModName: datacache.dll

ModVer: 0.0.0.0 Offset: 00008a37

Specs: Pentium 4 2.8 HT, 1.0Gig PC3200 ram, ATI Radeon 9800 Pro, Sound Blaster Audigy, Windows XP Pro SP2

Crash experienced in 1 min. of play

Unable to play the game at all, the game will freeze within the first min. of playing HL2 or HDR maps.

  • I ran de_nuke on CS:S and the looping sound with the game freezing came up within playing 1 min of the game.
  • After this, I ran HL2, started a new game, and as soon as the "Half-Life 2" title came up, my game froze.

Specs: Customized HP Pavilion zd8000 notebook, Intel Pentium 4 630 3.0ghz w/ H/T 2MB L2 Cache, 2 GB RAM, ATi Mobility Radeon X600 256MB (Using Omega Catalyst 6.01 version 3.8.205)

I'm having the same problem w/ relatively the same specs, just w/ a 2.8 ghz. If you get any helpful responses would you please pass them on? maxami13@msn.com I've tried everything i can think of. Driver updates, clean boot, safe boot, defraging the cache, checking it for errors, nothing has helped me so far.

Black Patch on Disappearing Hostages' Mouthes

  • Expected: When hostages in CS:S cs_******* maps are rescued (by the Counter-Terrorists), they should disappear without their appearance changing.
  • Observed: A black patch appears on the hostages' mouthes as soon as they start disappearing.

VGUI

This section is for bugs that are most likely in VGUI/SteamUI that only come to light with their implementation in the Friends beta. If you're not sure, enter it above.
Note:VGUI is the RENDERING ENGINE FOR THE WINDOWS. Only problems with the WINDOWS and their display go here.

Incorrect display of Russian language

  • Expected: Russian text is displayed correctly just as it is in all Source games and Steam itself
  • Observed: Russian text is displayed incorrectly regardless of Steam language settings. It looks like incorrect encoding is used for input. Tested in Windows. Update: In-game Russian works just fine.
  • Steps to reproduce: Install Russian locale on your Windows installation, start Steam, open Friends chatbox, switch to Russian and type some text.

Window Dragging

  • Observed: Dragging a Steam window over another Steam window can easily shoot the CPU to 100%
  • ts2do
  • Mine does too. I bet it's the windows' rounded corners that eat up half the cycles Matveims 18:33, 4 Feb 2006 (PST)
  • Ditto, CPU usage can get to around 80% with many steam windows, and dragging one. I tested, and its not specific to the beta client. Etalon
  • Nevertheless, the default skin is what is causing all the lag. I tested it with another skin (Flat - Steam) and the CPU using went up by 40%, half of what is used to go up by with the default skin. Mikeym88
  • Confirmed... windows sucks... buy a mac... steamfraiser
  • Confirmed. EAi

Highlight behavior odd with tab for Unicode

  • Expected: Selection under mouse position for Unicode.
  • Observed: Selection ahead a little for Unicode.
  • Steps to reproduce: Say "w'?????" and try selecting.
  • ts2do

Cursor vs. text

  • Expected: Text highlights under cursor.
  • Observed: The cursor can be over a character off on lines with tabs or such before them, see the white lines where actual conversation happens.
  • Steps to reproduce: Type a line of text and highlight toward the margins.
  • After update: Verified Fixed by Zips
  • No it's not. --Alph Tech STUART 20:25, 2 Feb 2006 (PST)
  • Observed: Selection advanced a little.
  • Steps to reproduce: Start selecting from the <user> says: line to the next one & see the selection ahead.
  • ts2do

Pseudofocus

  • Expected: Text input cursor is displayed ONLY when text entry is selected in that box, e.g. typing will make text appear there
  • Observed: Whenever a message is received, the window's title bar highlights and the text entry cursor starts blinking away whether or not it has focus.
  • Fix: Windows should just try to steal focus. Assuming focus stealing is blocked (it will be unless the user has altered the registry, and in that case I don't think they'll mind), the window toolbar will blink like it should.
    • Okay, basically, do whatever the Update News does to flash. That's what you should do.
  • Alph Tech STUART

Home

  • Observed: When pressing home on a multiline input in the TextEntry, the carat is positioned at the beginning of the previous line.
  • ts2do
  • I find it is moved to the end of the previous line. EAi

Margins

  • Observed: There is a terrible margin on the right, and text or the carat can sometimes overflow off the edge.
  • Fix: Change the inset specified in the steamscheme.res19:39, 8 Feb 2006 (PST)
  • ts2do

URLs

These are issues relating to URLs in chat messages.

Links

  • Observed: When a link is pasted to or typed into the chat window with no text prepended, every single chatline after the link disappears until the link line is scrolled away from the screen focus. Also, you can't click the links. Scrolling backwards to bring up the link text causes the chat log to blank out.
I can confirm this bug. - Briguy992
I also confirm this. - Feanix
    • I seem to recall this was fixed? --STUART (TALK  ) 07:26, 13 Mar 2006 (PST)

Resuming games after clicking links

  • Expected: After clicking a hyperlink in an in-game chat (observed in Natural Selection), upon resuming I should be able to see my cursor in the "escape menu" (the dark thing with the "Resume", "Disconnect", etc.).
  • Observed: After resuming, I can't see my cursor.
  • Alph Tech STUART
    • Haven't tested this yet. --STUART (TALK  ) 07:26, 13 Mar 2006 (PST)

URL clicks

  • Observed: URL clicks either do nothing or open up the window of the first URL posted...please consider redoing the whole URL system
  • ts2do
  • LoL - agreed and confirmed! steamfraiser
    • Again, please time mark your posts (~~~~ instead of ~~~)- I think this has been fixed. --STUART (TALK  ) 07:26, 13 Mar 2006 (PST)

Stuttering

ZDragon

Stuttering causing crash, and almost no stuttering with low audio acceleration

  • Stuttering is about 5 seconds of 0 FPS and repeating sound, then goes on normally. Stutters occur once about every 2-5 minutes
  • Crashes happen after it has stuttered a few times; sometimes the second time already, sometimes it takes up to 10 times (highest value measured)
  • Lowering the settings of graphics/audio doesn't change the least bit about the problem
  • Happens in ALL Source engine games that I tested (HL2, HL2DM, HL2 episode 1, CS:S), even the closed beta of Dark Messiah is affected
  • Not related to graphics card: switched from ATi Radeon 9800pro to ATi Radeon X800 XT and the stuttering is as bad as before, even with the exact same settings and different Catalyst driver versions
  • Might be related to sound: although the problem didn't get better by switching form a Terratec DMX 6fire 24/96 to a brand new Creative X-Fi platinum, it can be pretty much resolved by completely deactivating the DirectX audio acceleration over dxdiag.exe. Stuttering still occurs but a lot less; also the game crashes a lot less.
  • This behaviour started either after reinstalling Windows or when adding another 1GB of RAM to my computer; didn't test if removing some RAM would decrease the problem
  • Specs: P4+HT 3,0 GHz, ASUS P4P800-E Deluxe, PC3200 2GB MDT (4x512), ATi Radeon X800 XT, Creative X-Fi Platinum, all drivers up to date.

Tau137

MORE stuttering with MORE RAM?

  • Major stuttering (up to 20 seconds with ~0.2 fps) throughout for HL2 & Episode 1
  • Only occurs with 2GB RAM installed.
  • With only 1 gig installed, everything works ok (having minor, <100ms stutterrings occasionally).
  • No other application/game negatively affected by memory size increase.
  • Memory tested fine; stutter behaviour independent on which memory modules were used.
  • Not related to sound (same with different sounds cards, as well as no sound)
  • No hardrive activity during stutter episodes.
  • This behaviour observed from January to this date, apparently same on all updates.
  • This only occurred in XP 32-bit
  • This did not occur for me under XP x64 (same computer).
  • Specs: AMD64 3000+, MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum, PC3200 2GB Mushkin (4x512), BFG GF6800GT OC, current WHLQ drivers for everything.

WebScud

  • Can't run Half-Life 2 at all. Huge slowdowns/stuttering in every level I loaded.
  • Other Source games like CS:S and DoD:S play without problem.
  • Specs: Intel Pentium 4 3.06GHz (Prescott Core) / ABIT IC7-G / BFG Technologies nVidia GeForce 6600 GT OC / Corsair 1GB DDR400 XMS3200 (TWINX1024-3200C2PT) / Windows XP Professional, Service Pack 2 / Most current drivers and patches (as of 02/15/06) for everything are installed.

FishBrainX

  • It still has some small hitches in the trainstation map (the only map I've tested) - much less - but they're still annoying nonetheless. I beg this "fix" is applied to every Source engine game, not only Half Life 2. If someone says that it isn't fixing anything in their game, is lying to himself or need a serious PC upgrade. I hope this fix is improved even more for a Completely FREE of stuttering / hitching game experience. I don't intend to enable mat_formanagedtextureintohardware because it makes my game run like crap when I use it while running the FAKEFACTORY's texture mod. - Diego Grecco
  • Everytime when seeing a NPC or talking to them a small visual/audio stuttering occurs
  • All places with NPC's.
  • When I look in the console, I get this: Late precache of scenes/Expressions/* where * is almost every npc reaction possible. This began after the 64bit update which I have installed.
  • FishBrainX
    • Can you update with hardware specs? Erik Johnson 10:23, 8 Feb 2006 (PST)
    • CPU: AMD Athlon64 3500+, VIDEO: ASUS X800XT PE, RAM: 1024 Dual Channel Twinmos, Mobo: MSI K8N NEO2 Platinum. Drivers/firmwares up to date. Other information available on request.
    • These error messages are still present in the new fix, dialog seems te be better but i got a pretty large stutter when the combine asked me to put the can into the trash can. I have exactly the same stuttering problems after the fix as the last person to comment here. Screenshot
    • Played through the entire game last week, in the Our Benefactors part the game crashes when you throw a ball at a enemy. There are some good stutter moments but overall it plays really smooth except a crash after about 7 hours of playing.

TomEdwards

  • Audio and texture stutter, strong examples in d1_trainstation_02.
  • Small hitches when walking up the steps and around the corner. No stutter as metrocop speaks, but enormous 2 or 3 second hitch right before the Breencast starts. Small but noticeable hitches when talking to citizens. Stutter when first drawing the plaza through the closed Station doors and stutter before the music track begins. Small stutter when Strider first appears, rest of map more or less smooth.
  • No changes with beta update.
  • TomEdwards
Can you update with hardware specs? Erik Johnson 10:23, 8 Feb 2006 (PST)
Ran a msinfo32 report [4]. There's a conflict between the PCI bus and Direct memory access controller, I'll look into fixing it now. --TomEdwards 11:55, 8 Feb 2006 (PST)
From what I can tell, the conflict is more a case of sharing and perfectly normal. --TomEdwards 12:21, 8 Feb 2006 (PST)
Can you try running through this same test case, but put +mat_picmip 2 on your command line before you run? Erik Johnson 18:50, 8 Feb 2006 (PST)
With mat_forcemanagedtextureintohardware enabled most stutters are reduced to being very minor, and the Breen stutter is almost eliminated, but hitches when citizens speak new lines is unaffected. With mat_forcemanagedtextureintohardware disabled stutter is reduced when entering the plaza but unaffected elsewhere. --TomEdwards 06:03, 9 Feb 2006 (PST)
  • Huge improvements with new update. With mat_forcemanagedtextureintohardware enabled hitching is so minor it's hard to say if it's even there at all! Entering the plaza is the only time I can say for sure there was a problem, but it is still only a very short hitch. With mat_forcemanagedtextureintohardware disabled it only stutters when walking through around the corner leading to the can scene, with the plaza and with the strider. --TomEdwards 00:38, 10 Feb 2006 (PST)
I've been through some other areas in the game with mat_forcemanagedtextureintohardware enabled. I still get hitches when the scene behind the Gman in the intro changes (and a very large one when moving to the train and station). During the Citadel tour I got a similar stutter coming up to the first razortrain - quite a way ahead of it, strangely enough. I played through the first Water Hazard map and got stutter the two times I looked backwards (once when doing the phys puzzle - I splashed into the water to pick up the supplies on foot and got a very large stutter). Autosave hitches remain throughout, and I still get a nasty pause when the game reads the save TGAs (are they precached?) and a smaller one when I open the New Game dialog. --TomEdwards 01:15, 10 Feb 2006 (PST)
In DOD: Source I still have stutter when entering a server, but that could be because of the IE frame loaing? I've noted that texture stutter has gone, including the very nasty one I would get when moving to cap the last Allied flag on Argentan. --TomEdwards 01:37, 11 Feb 2006 (PST)
Been playing through some more. I can't reproduce most of the stutters I described above, even in the intro sequence. The only times I've got reproducible stutter are autosaves and a small hitch, perhaps half a second, at the start of each Breencast. It's stable at all other times. --TomEdwards 10:45, 11 Feb 2006 (PST)
The Nova Prospekt Breencast doesn't stutter. It's also one of the few in which Breen doesn't appear on a monitor somewhere... --TomEdwards 13:48, 11 Feb 2006 (PST)
Commentary on Lost Coast still hitches. --TomEdwards 04:01, 14 Feb 2006 (PST)

Boozer Dawg

  • Audio and texture stutter, Examples in trainstation
  • Small audio stutters in Gman speech when changing each area, seconds worth of stutter as gman is halfway through fading out, 2 seconds stutter when the whole train station appears, small stutters as the train comes to a halt, large stutter coming off the train and a pretty huge stutter when Breen appears on screen. Also, a lot of split second stutters when turning corners throughout the trainstation, especially when walking towards the checkpoint (Where Barney comes to get you).
  • No change since using the Beta.
  • System Specs - AMD Sempron 3000+ (2.0Ghz), 1Gb DDR Ram, GeForce 6600GT 128Mb, PCI Sound Card, Windows XP SP2, AsROCK SiS K7S41GX (Using an AGP Driver v1.21 from the SiS site), latest drivers all round. Previously i had fixed stutter (absolutely completely, was the best time ever)which i assumed by changing my AGP Aperture Size to 128Mb, but a week or so afterwards the stutter returned from what i can only assume an HL2 update.
    • MAJOR improvements with new beta stutter fix. Almost all minor stutters gone, game very smooth, although some parts mentioned above (Gman fade halfway, when breen appears on screen) still have some stutter (although reduced a lot). Entering into unexplored areas through a door still causes a slight stutter. Question: Is there more stutter fixes coming ? And have these fixes been applied to CS Source etc ?
    • Have noticed big stutters that others have had such as in Follow Freeman, where the City wall grinding things crash, and at the end when Alyx finishes speaking. Sound stutters still seem to happen (especially in CS:S and DOD:S, after playing the game for a couple of minutes it becomes smooth as a daisy).

Jong

  • Stutter due to audio loading in first 2 chapters of HL2
  • Stutter almost completely eliminated in the first 2 chapters this beta although small hitches still noticeable in some spots which seem to be caused by audio loading. Two of note were in the interrogation room just before Kleiner appears on the screen and when the Citadel sound loads in d1_trainstation_06, just as Barney comes out the door. Honestly I would not complain about these, but it does suggest to me that timings are still quite close. It's worth noting these hitches can be eliminated completely by playing the same bit again without exiting HL2 (an indication of caching), or by "The MaLDo fix", although certainly we'd never have developed it for such a minor improvement in what so far seems to be a pretty smooth game.
  • previous serious stutter and hitching in the trainstation foyer elimated e.g. "p-p-p-p-ick up the c-c-an", as you walk though to the foyer and out into the plaza.
  • Also, serious hitching and stuttering in Kleiner's Lab eliminated (some very small minor hitches still noticeable)
  • More testing needed at major events later in the game but progress seems v.good
  • System Specs - P4 3.06GHz, Hyper-threading enabled, 1GB RAM, X800XT with Cat6.1, Audigy 2 sound card.
  • Playing HL2: 1280x960 default video settings apart from 4XAA and 8XAF. 5.1 sound enabled. Default Heapsize being used.

--Jong 08:57, 10 Feb 2006 (PST)

  • Update
  • Situation definitely improved but stutter not eliminated
  • Early stages of Follow Freeman still have occurrences of brief stutter, although stutter free with the "MaLDo fix" (or if the same section is played for a second time without reloading HL2) e.g. movement of Combine Wall after emerging into sniper fire. [removed ref to one spot - autosave (sorry!)]
  • Many stutters have been eliminated but it is clear that severe hitches are still able to cause stutter. Is there any way to bring forward pre-loading a bit further to get rid of these last hitches?

--Jong 16:44, 10 Feb 2006 (PST)

  • Update
  • mistertones is right. The climactic scene at the end of Dark Energy is a good test and shows there is still some work to do.
  • Still a significant, if not huge, stutter for me when the ships emerge on the roof and after the last panel is taken out. Precise timing (i.e. which sounds are playing when the stutter occurs) affect how noticeable they are.
  • A very bad stutter after the portal is taken out when the portal explodes just prior to the Gman appearing.
  • None appear if the same section is played again without exiting HL2. None appear if using the "MaLDo Fix".
  • Don't want to be negative here. It is clear that the current work in the beta IS getting to the heart of the matter and makes a significant difference. However, the game still has trouble in stressful moments. I guess the main question is whether, knowing they are on the right track, the development team still have room to push things further and truly eliminate sound related hitching, or if they have now done all that is possible.

--Jong 10:38, 11 Feb 2006 (PST)

  • Update
  • Also had brief stuttering/hitching in Follow Freeman after taking out generators and on the roof, notably when the aircraft is brought down.
  • I think they are mostly linked to autosave points, but interestingly they don't stutter (maybe the briefest of hitches) with the MaLDo fix.
  • The MaLDo fix just pre-loads sounds, so if the stutter was caused by the autosave, why would it improve things? It seems that when autosave is competing with the pre-cache system for HDD access this can cause stutter and removing either one from the equation can fix things.
  • Again this shows how close to the edge things are on my system. Since I do not have the worst stutter in the world by any means I would guess others who have it bad would find this 'beta fix' less effective (although I am sure still a considerable improvement).

--Jong 03:58, 18 Feb 2006 (PST)

AlphaWolf

G-man stuttering

  • G-man intro cut-scene still stutters here. Mostly on the parts where the background shifts from one scene to another while he is talking.
  • I don't believe the beta update has changed anything in this regard, though I am not certain.
  • System specs: P4 550 (3.4Ghz, HT enabled,) 1GB DDR2 PC4200, GeForce 6600GT 128MB PCI-E, WD Raptor 36GB.

--AlphaWolf

Pilmer

Persistant Stuttering Problems

  • Got on board the beta, but stuttering seems to be on the whole unaffected. I loaded up the point where I had left off (Highway 17) and there seemed to be less stuttering than before, until I got into the car and the music started up, which caused ~1.5 sec of stuttering, as did shooting the gun for the first time. Started a new game and serious stuttering took place whenever a new background environment loaded up during the monologue.
  • Looks like the beta hasn't improved the situation much - I experienced stuttering during saves/loads and new sounds (gunshots especially) before and seem to have the same problems now.
  • I'm running a P4 3.2 GHz, 512 MB RAM, SB Live! and RAEDON X700 128 MB RAM on a Samsung 160 GB HDD. I still hope to play HL2 stutter-free someday!
  • Update - I tried the MaLDo fix, with no improvement. I also tried changing mat_forcemanagedtextureintohardware from 0 to 1 - this cut the stuttering down somewhat. I compared when the screen whites out before you appear in the train in the beginning, and with this setting at 0, the stuttering lasted a full 3 seconds, but with it set to 1 it only lasted about a second.
Can you access Friends? --TomEdwards 10:56, 25 Feb 2006 (PST)
--I don't have any friends, but yes, in Steam I can access the Friends menu - it gives me the option of adding a friend.

Unknown

Stuttering examples

  • The stuttering appears to have improved very little, if at all, for me with the beta. I would define a stutter that i experience as a short pause in the game's action (never more than a second in length, usually much less) which is also accompanied by a slight crackling sound for the duration of the stutter.
  • The stutters usually arrive as several in quick succession. One of the worst areas in the game regarding stuttering occurs on d1_canals_07, at the point where you enter the first indoors section and Breen appears on the screen and begins to talk. There's a slight stutter when the door to this area is opened from the outside, followed by a series of them across a period of about 3-5 seconds, beginning when Breen starts to talk.
  • I would speculate that the stuttering has something to with how sounds are loaded into the game, rather than being a problem with how textures and/or models are loaded. I say this because in many non-Source games I'm accustomed to stuttering occurring when entering a new area, followed by smooth gameplay until the next section of the map is loaded. With Half-life 2, often it appears that i can walk into a new area, experience some stuttering seemingly as a result of textures and so on loading. I can then walk around in this area for a bit with no stuttering. Then, a sound that hasn't been played since the level load occurs, and the stuttering begins. Also, while stuttering during the process of loading new areas of a map is more severe when resolution and texture detail level are increased, stuttering that is present concurrent to the loading of a sound not played since map load is equally bad regardless of visual detail levels.
  • An example of new sounds seemingly causing stuttering would be the d1_canals_07 garage area mentioned above. I can walk into the room containing the monitor that Breen appears on; experience slight stuttering as the area loads; walk around smoothly for a few seconds following this; then endure extreme stuttering as soon as Breen starts to speak. Other examples would be stuttering following weapon firing in CS:Source. I can walk around a map for a few minutes, loading every area and in the process encountering the mild stutter that is noticeable in most non-Source games when you enter an area of a level for the first time. I can then walk around freely for as long as i want with no stuttering or hitches. However, as soon as i fire a weapon i encounter a severe stutter, often as long as a second.
  • My system specs: windows xp pro sp2, athlon xp2800+, 512mb pc2700 ram, radeon 8500 64mb (catalyst 5.10), directx9.0c, ASUS A7N8X2.0 Deluxe mobo (onboard nvidia nforce sound 4.62a drivers), seagate barracuda 120gb 7200 hdd.
  • Half-life 2 settings: 1024x768, medium texture detail, medium model detail, simple reflections, high shader detail, high shadow detail, no aniso, AA or vsync.

Bennyhanna316

UPDATED 2/26/06 For the first time since buying the game 3 weeks ago, i can finally play it. So far this has worked on my machine, theres some hiccups at the start of levels, but nothing i haven't seen in other games so thats something i can live with. But this appears to have worked on my end, knock on wood, So far the most enemies i have had on screen is 6, with 1 or 2 bystanders, im in the Aqua Duct, "nderground railroad" on by the stationary gun, then i got up to the next loading screen, and got 5 flaming barrels dropped on me and died, but it didn't stutter once.

I am using Windows XP Media Center Edition, a Pentium 3.0 Ghz Processor, 1 gig of RAM, a 256Mb X600 card, Direct X 9 c.

My settings are 1152 X 864 Resolution, Model Detail High, Texture Detail High, Shader High, Water reflection Simple, Shadow Deatil High, AA None, Filter Trilinear, HDR None, and Verticle Synch Disabled.

ADDED:Today(2/13/06) I've had 2 lock ups, they are both in Route Kanal, the first was when i was walking along the big orange pipe that shoots steam up, when you get to the end and need to bust the wood out to drop, when i dropped it got in the stuttering loop.

Lock Up 2 was just now, in the part where you need to activate the wheel to make the water raise, then go back through the tunnel and get across where it loads up the next part, it locked up there and didn't load up the next part.

  • ADDED 2/26: it has frozen up on me again in water treatment, today it was damn near unplayable. I reduced my Resolution to 1024 X whatever it is, windowed so when it locks up anymore i can close it out, and not have to reboot my PC to get control back. I also have dropped my Shade Detail to Low.

Yesterday i went from where i first get the boat to where they add the gun on it, no problems at all. Today i load it back up and it freezes at the first loading screen past when you roll out with the boat. I reload, i get past that part, then i get to where you have to break the end off the trailer and you have 2 tanks firing down on you, where you go through the trailer around and hit a ramp into a pipe opening. it froze there with the same looping noise, and no movement. I reload, and i get to the part where i take down a Helicopter, open a gate and then open a gate on the Dam then i jump through it, then a loading screen and it locked up again, Stuck on loading after falling waiting for the next par to load.

Seriously this is not cool i feel like i wasted my money on this when i bought it a month ago, i was so excited getting a new PC and i had to have Half Life 2, and so far its been one big headache, and i feel ripped off. HL2 Freezes, HL2 Lost Coast Freezes, HL 2 DM Freezes, CS:S is the only one that seems to play and thats not worth the 50 bucks i wasted on this GOTY package.

SilentSteps

Stuttering is very minimal. sv_autosave set to 0 helps stuttering even more. Also, possible audio looping crash cause is found. In console, it states the following:

CSceneEntity lcs_citizens_watch_alyx unable to find actor named "! target 3"

CSceneEntity lcs_citizens_watch_alyx unable to find actor named "! target 2"

CSceneEntity lcs_citizens_watch_alyx unable to find actor named "! target 3"

CSceneEntity lcs_citizens_watch_alyx unable to find actor named "! target 2"

.... And this same line lasts throughout the whole console window, at least 60 counted. Probable cause of looping crash.

I am currently using Windows XP Professional Edition SP2, AMD Athlon 64 3200+, 1 gig of RAM PC3200, ATi Radeon x800GTO, DirectX 9c.

Settings: 1152x864, All High, HDR None, AA 4x, AF 2x, V-sync Disabled.


Nav

Have only tested "Water Hazard," stutters when airboat breaks through first barricade.

However, this new stuttering fix has a severe side-effect where when a weapon [ex. crowbar] hits a surface, nothing happens (no decal on surface, no sprites spray out, no audio occurs). This is especially aggravatinga, and is the main gripe for me. OS: Windows XP SP2 CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3000+ RAM: 2 sticks of 512 Corsair RAM Video Card: ATI Radeon 9800xt

The stutter you describe is an autosave, something completely different. You can fix the second bug by reloading the map...you should only have to do it once. --TomEdwards 12:56, 27 Feb 2006 (PST)

chopsnsauce

  • Observed: All chapters tested (Point Insertion, Red Letter Day, Follow Freeman) where HL2 paused for long enough for the sound to start looping ('Pick up the can', 'I'm way behind on my beating quota', etc.) have been eliminated. The points where it did pause long enough to start looping, the sound now just stops for a short amount of time (between 0.1-0.2 secs). Using sv_autosave "0" eliminates almost all points where the game pauses. The only really noticeable pause now (in the chapters I've tested) is when you go up the stairs in Follow Freeman to the roof level where Barney is pinned down by the snipers. I'm going to re-test that section with the "The MaLDo fix" to see if this pause is a sound caching issue. OK re-tested and "The MaLDo fix" made no difference. Suggest this pause is due to loading a scripted event (snipers shooting crows, drop ship swooping overhead carrying a strider, etc.) from disc.


  • Suggestion RE AutoSaves: Auto Saves are a nice feature and I would like to see them retained without causing hitches. At the moment when an auto save point on the map or an auto save event occurs SOURCE automatically saves the game status to disk, which is a slow thing to do. As there are only 2 save points in existence at any one time, would it be possible to save the game to RAM and commit them to disk either when the player dies or they press Esc to access the menu. I appreciate that SOURCE is designed to run on systems with a varied amount fo RAM so you could just enable this option when the Heap allocated to the game is sufficient.


  • Suggestion RE Remaining Hitches: Implement something similar to the "The MaLDo fix" where you have precache files for each chapter that SOURCE automatically loads at the start of each chapter providing the heap size is big enough.


It would be nice if these features could be accessed from the 'Options Menu' for convenience. At the moment it seems that if you have a large amount of RAM (1 to 2Gb) SOURCE cannot take advantage of it to give the user a better playing experience.


  • Specs:P4 3.2Gz HT, Asus P4C800E Deluxe mobo using onboard sound. Seagate Baracuda 200Gb SATA HD. 1GB Corsair PC3200XLPro 2-2-2-5 memory. Gainward 6800GT video card. WinXP SP2 (auto updates on)

--chopsnsauce 18 Feb 2006

mistertones

The beta makes a big improvement, but it's still not perfect.

  • Pre-beta, on the G-Man intro I get stutters nearly every line of speech. ( mat_forcemanagedtextureintohardware has no benefit )
  • With the beta, this is reduced to only a couple "on the Job-b", "C-come again".
  • Interestingly though when running the beta, mat_forcemanagedtextureintohardware 1 suddenly does give a benefit, reducing these remaining stutters to small clicks.
  • The beginning of "Nova Prospekt", where Breen is audible in the background, is also stutter-free with the beta.
  • Certain parts of the game still stutter, however. For example, the classic "d1_canals_07 garage area" mentioned above. I still get a large hitch when Breen starts talking, and stutter if I then shoot the glass ( I have a save point just before entering the building, so weapon sounds and glass breaking are not pre-cached. )
  • At the end of Dark Energy, when the reactor is destroyed, there is still a MASSIVE stutter when Alex says the word "maybe we still have time". This is probably the worst stutter in the whole game, for me. There used to be another stutter immediately afterwards when the G-Man says "doctor", but with the beta and mat_forcemanagedtextureintohardware 1, this one vanishes.
  • All these stutters are cured by the "MaLDo fix". ( Forces all sounds to be pre-cached )
  • To summarize, I would agree with others - performance is now similar to the pre-"Loast Coast" update where the new shader routines were implemented, which is great ! Can it be made any better...?
  • Specs: Dell Inspiron 8600 laptop. Windows XP SP1, Centrino 1.5 Mhz, 512MB, Radeon Mobility 9600 Pro Turbo 128MB (Latest Dell driver, date 03/08/2005)mistertones

Fyter

  • I've noticed small improvements all around. Most of the stuttering is now limited to big events and simultaneous multiple file loading. Smaller events now crackle instead of looping.
  • Common areas of stuttering (now mostly crackling) include: G-Man intro speech between lines, Objects (i.e. airboat) crashing into water and wood, and multiple simultaneous explosions.
  • The engine still loads many sounds upon use. If preloading is intended, it doesn't seem to be working well (i.e. If an individual has a pistol in his hand, wouldn't it be logical that all sounds related to that weapon also be loaded, such as gun firing, reload sounds, bullet material hits, etc.?)
  • System specs: Old system: Pentium 4 2.2 GHz @ 400MHz bus. 512MB PC800 RDRAM. Intel 840EMV2L Board. ATI Radeon 9500 Pro. Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum.

New system: AMD Athlon 64 3000+ @ 800MHz hypertransport. 1GB qualified and properly timed PC3200 DDR-RAM. Asus K8V-X SE Board. ATI Radeon 9500 Pro. Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum. Stuttering was improved on the new system, but not eliminated by any means.

  • I appreciate this Wiki and the public Beta. I think that this community-driven system will help immensely in the elimination of problems that end-users are experiencing.

--Fyter 12:51, 16 Feb 2006 (PST)

mungamunga

  • using beta
  • happens with cs:s and hl2 demo. most experience with cs:s.
  • current system: amd athlon64 3500 ,msi k8n plat nforce4, ati x700pro, 2gb corsair xms ram, sb audigy 2 zs (new stuff next week=asus a8n-sli, amd dual core opteron 165, corsair xms 3500ll, antec 550w psu i'll update then)
  • Hl2 engine has always stuttered quite randomly in CS:s, has been a little better with time (and THANK YOU GOD for fixing the exit bug). Just DL'd the HL2 demo and it crashes w/sound loop when i attempt to save or when i believe it's auto-saving. i have yet to get past the part where the npc comes out of the door and says "this way citizen."
  • the stuttering has always been a crash too. until recently it was such that i could exit (in cs:s), but now I'm almost always forced to reboot. the last time it happened it let me get out after pressing alt-tab maybe a million times and ctrl alt del another million (in hl2 demo).
  • interesting to note- the task manager will fail to initialize while the crash is happening. alt-tab will stop the sound but not show the taskbar or anything but the cursor.
  • when the game begins, right as the guy on the train is about to talk, it stutters just a little.
  • when the stutter crash happens, my fps indicator via atitraytools also freezes.
  • good freakin' luck, I'm happy to help in any way possible. w00t programming!

Mungamunga 21:13, 10 Mar 2006 (PST)

Chat Double Send

  1. Expected: regular chatting
  2. Observed: when in-game chatting with someone out of game, their message comes in twice like a double print
  3. Steps to reproduce: start a chat with someone while you are in-game
  4. a description of your network topology, if appropriate

Nighthawk1221 04:05, 15 Mar 2006 (PST)

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