Not a very exciting update...

Progress was quite slow these weeks for two main reasons: The classic flu that strikes me every year, and some hardware problems at the studio. Before I expand on the last one, here´s what I could do:

All the caves up to the entrance of the Queen´s lair are done, there´s some details left (like some waterfall effects) but it´s practically done.
I also started with the regular Metroid AI, the ones you face before the queen. They happily latch into Samus, I still have to make them detach with the bomb explosions.

About the hardware thing...
The PC I use at the studio is also my main development computer. And a couple of weeks ago I started experiencing random system shutdowns. These started to happen more frequently, and I even had to cancel a couple of recording sessions (THAT was embarassing).
I tried replacing the videocard, I bought new RAM and replaced it, but it still happens.
Why am I talking about this? I just wanted to know if any of you guys experienced anything like this, there´s a lot of qualified technicians I´d like to hear. (I am good at assembling computers myself, but only if everything works well)

If you think you could share your experiences and hopefully help me fix this problem, you can email me, or post in the forum. I´ll create a thread about this right now explaining it better.
Thanks in advance!

EDIT: I tried a couple of your suggestions, but no luck yet.
Here´s the Forum thread with all the hardware details and what I did so far.
Thanks for your help!!!

Comments

Anonymous said…
Check your power supply as that may be failing
netsendjoe said…
I had random shutdown issues with my computer until I replaced my graphics card. If it wasn't that of your RAM, try changing out your power supply and make sure all your fans are working. I'd doubt your processor would be the cause, but I've heard of ghosts in computers which affect that one piece of hardware and do weird things. Hope everything turns out alright, and hopefully not too expensive.
Anonymous said…
did you save your stuff in another area so just just in case you dont lose all your work cuz im w8in like crazy for the game
xCYBERKIDx said…
Can either be one of these three...

>Your CPU is overheating so it shuts off
>Motherboard is going bad
>Powersupply is going bad

that's all i can think of, but it's probably an overheating problem.
Zoonyboy said…
Well i don't know what it could be. It could be eather something to do with electric stuff inside the computer or it could be something to do with the game being to big of a file. I would have a computer guy come and check it out. Btw what about your progress on the omegas???? You already started working on the normal metroids so are the omegas already done???
Brick said…
1st. :) Also, to the computer problem, try RMAing the MoBo. I had a similiar issue befall my computer, and 2 replacements later, it works like a charm.

P.S. - Metroids that don't let go? Sounds like a challenge... :D
Anonymous said…
I've never experienced anything like it, but in my experience, hard drives are usually the first to go.

It could also be a software problem. Did you install anything recently? Or maybe a program that updates? You might have conflicting drivers thus requiring you to go into the registry to delete one. Although, this can be a little dangerous, so make sure you know the problem before you delete anything.
Anonymous said…
dang, hope you have bacups doc.
Anonymous said…
I had a problem like that years ago and it was the power supply.
Unknown said…
my past machines when ever I experienced random shutdowns it was due to over heating. Make sure your fans are all working.
Anonymous said…
I just cannot wait for that...
but is it possible that i can play this game by 2012?
Anonymous said…
Check the power supply. It was the problem for my computer when it did that sort of thing.
.anderson84 said…
Just make sure you backup all your work, preferably several copies. Losing years worth of work is devastating to creativity (experienced that myself in the past). In my case it was some sort of virus or the like which kept shutting down my pc randomly and eventually prevented it from starting up at all.

Hope youll find a solution soon doc.
Paolo Bonacina said…
I had the same problem last winter. When I checked the processor i noticed that the thermal paste linking the processor and the fan got completely dried up and cracked. I just scratched away the old paste from both components, bought a new paste tube and sequeezed it between them, then everything went fine.
Anonymous said…
This has happened to me because of a virus before. However, I'd recommend backing the files up (on a different drive) too, just in case it is something going wrong with the hard drive.
Anonymous said…
I also had random shutdowns.In my case, it was a virus.Scan your PC for viruses.If you find one, I suggest calling a computer servise company.
Jay Field said…
As Cyberkid said, I can guarantee it's either CPU, motherboard, or power supply. I have personal experience with all three issues.

If it's CPU, it's PROBABLY just overheating, which likely isn't fatal since the CPU has fail-safes in place to prevent permanent damage (hence, shutting down). It probably means you need a new fan/heat-sink. Cheap and easy. Just don't forget to add processor goop between the heat-sink and CPU! However, if black liquid is oozing out the corner hole of your CPU, then your processor is fried and you need a new one.

Power supply is the next best thing. It's fairly easy to replace. However, if it is the PS, there's a possibility that the failure is actually a symptom of power surges from the wall outlet. Is the PC properly surge protected? I don't mean just a basic power strip, I mean a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) strip with a battery and breaker.

Finally, motherboard. This could SUCK, because it could mean a complete rebuild of the computer in question. Unless you find an identical motherboard, you're going to have to swap all your existing hardware (any of it that's compatible, some connectors may be obsolete) onto the new board, then go through a lengthy setup process to get it all to work. This could be a (comparatively) simple hour+ wait as Windows reconfigures itself to recognize the new hardware on the board, or it could be as complex as completely reinstalling Windows and all your software. If that's necessary, I recommend buying a new hard drive as well, since you want to keep all the data from your existing drive. Doing the Win reinstall would format your drive, but you can always slave the drive afterward and copy your data once the system is reinstalled on the new drive.
Anonymous said…
Had the same. Ed the end it was a defect mainboard, but first after I replaced every component I realized this.
The main causes for random shutdowns are:
1. RAM
2. Software
3. Power adapter
4. Mainboard
5. Graphics card

Set your OS to show the bluescreen and not to reboot. Than you can check the Error Code.
If it´s everytime another code, than it´s propably (if not the RAM) a heavy mainboard defect or the power supply.
If its everytime the same code you could detect the affected driver and on this way the broken component.

Keep up the good work. Wait for a new 2d metroid much to long (prime sux...).
Anonymous said…
I agree with everyone here saying it's probably psu, motherboard, or cpu overheating.

Sometimes the latter (cpu overheat) happens even when it seems like the cpu fan is fine; you can test whether or not it's the problem by just running the computer with the case open and pointing a desk fan in. I actually ran a computer for over a year with this setup (I was a poor grad student) and it prevented random shutdowns. Wouldn't recommend it as a permanent solution, but it'll show if you need to replace the cpu fan. I'm not sure if components other than the cpu can overheat and cause shutdown, as well.
Anonymous said…
As others suggested, one possibility is a hardware issue, but it might be there's something wrong with your OS (damaged system files or hidden virus). Backup all of your files, reinstall OS and see if it happens again. If it does, then it's DEFINITELY a hardware issue.
Pretty much what xCYBERKIDx and the Anon above me said, except for 3 things.


1) If it IS an overheating CPU, try cleaning the fans and heatsink first. There may just be too much dust build-up.

2) Same thing as above, except for your GPU (though this would probably only apply to a dedicated card)

3) If you replace the motherboard with a new one that has the same CPU socket, you shouldn't have to replace all your hardware.
FlavioMetal said…
Something like that happened to me when I changed some of my PC hardware. After some random issues, I've discovered that the PC ATX power supply was the problem. Changed to a more powerful did the trick ;)
Anonymous said…
If your CPU is overheating, check your main fan. I had an issue like this and had to replace the fan 2 years ago with a new one. Easy as pie. Once that was swapped out, the computer worked like a dream again.

The shutdowns are usually a sign of overheating. However, as others have said, it could be motherboard damage or PSU problems. Whatever you do, make SURE you start backing up your work regularly, whether via online, or in an external drive. None of us want you to lose this project.
Desertskunk said…
Okay, the issues described are very broad to be able to diagnose. Random resets could be the result of:
-Power Supply Failure
-Mother Board Failure
-Corrupted System Files
-Failing RAM
-Failing Video Card
-Hard Drive Failure
-Sound Card Failure
-Driver (Video or Sound) Failure
-Faulty Wiring
-Faulty Outlet
-Dust Buildup on the CPU or Heating block (in between the heat sync and the CPU
-Fried, Damaged or Failing CPU
-Virus
-Spyware
-Inadequate Power
-Power Surges
-Too Much Demand on CPU or OS

Fortunately most of that is pretty easy to narrow down, I make custom computer builds and do computer repair on the side. I'd be willing to help guide you thorough some testing you would need to try if you want Doc ^_^.
Moxto said…
My guess is that the power supply either has a bad contact or maybe it has failed completely and needs to be replaced.
Anonymous said…
Damn, can't wait for this game to come out! The shutdowns may be due to the game being so awesome, the computer can't take it. Try buying a computer that can withstand over 9000 degrees of awesomeness. Hope you get well soon.
Anonymous said…
I solved a similar problem in the past.

The problem was a capacitor of the mother board. Hope that helps

Greetings from german. Keep going ;)
Anonymous said…
I assume you are using Windows? That's the problem. More than likely you are viral. Windows... the unfortunate necessary evil. To bad you can't do this using Linux or OS X
Anonymous said…
Check if you have to many things on your hardrive, because that happened with a other guys computer and it was pushing the ram too hard so it was overclocking itself or something...
Just a though, make sure it is'nt too full, maybe treat yourself to a external hardrive if your HD is too full!
MOELANDER said…
Hmmm... The way you said, that you are at the queen's lair...
does that mean *gasp* you're almost finished with the maps? Does this mean we can expect the game this year?
Anonymous said…
I had the same problem, the reasen was a cable, it was loose...
But I don't know, if that really helps you, good luck.
Anonymous said…
Please make sure to back up this project on ANOTHER computer in the case of your computer's hardware dying, and SAVE you project often so you don't loose your work that you have done though the day!
NFITC1 said…
I had this problem a few months ago. It was a bad power supply like everyone else is saying. :)
Anonymous said…
Buenas Doc, se trata de un fallo muy clasico en los ordenadores, tiene toda la pinta de que esta fallando la fuente de alimentacion, cambiala si puedes y es mas que probable que tus problemas se solucionen.

Si aun asi sigue dandote problemas entonces es cosa de la placa base lo cual haria pensar que vas a tener que cambiar el pc, porque si se te ha muerto la placa base o encuentras una parecida o adios al ordenador.

Asi que animo y que tengas suerte ;)
Omegametroid said…
you should check your fan in there, the same thing happened to my computer once, I hope it's not something major though, that'd just be no good
Zoonyboy said…
I would recamend 2 things.

1) transfer the game to a flash drive so you can just work and save from that and back it up on another flash drive at least once a day. It sounds like allot of work but it would be aven more work if you lost it all.

2) if you don't like what's above, back up the game on two different flash drives and as much as I would hate to say it.........stop working on the game until this is fixed. That way if the cause was a virus it wouldn't effect the game.

As for the problem.....

1) if you computer is humming loudly it is probably because of the fans.

2) and even though it is kind if expensive and maybe even more expensive were you are, call a computer dude to come out.
SUPER DUPER COM NEARD said…
dude the same thing happened to my old computer and what .The problem was was the motherboard fried. But luckily i was able to keep all the data. and the data is on my new computer. so you might want to look into that. ( :
Ezekiel Rage said…
btw if youre done with this, maybe you could port it to wii with http://www.wiigamestudio.com/

it basically works like gamemaker and should make porting easy enough for you to try. i think porting this to wii homebrew would be the best thing since other M, seeing as it is a nintendo game.

sincerly spike
BlizzardFenrir said…
My old PC had filters in front of the fans on the front and back. Looked kinda like this:

http://www.dansdata.com/images/digidoc/grille400.jpg

I forgot about them, and they apparently slowly became one big block of dust. Fresh air was no longer circulated properly and it would randomly shut down.

I've since replaced it with a laptop, but I did learn that you really have to keep the inside and the filters of a desktop PC clean. Laptops are less of a problem, but put them on a carpet and the fan might pull in all kinds of dust and fibers and clog up the only cooling they have.

Your problem might be because of overheating from dust.
NUBE said…
dude it could be just about anything, power supply could be failing, a hidden virius could cause pc's to manfuntion and shut down try downloading malwarebytes it free and you can update it. It finds hidden viriuses on your pc and kills em. If it still does it CPU or MOBO could be on its last days. Overheating is another problem that shuts pc's down. I had to put new thermal paste on my cpu because i built it 2 years ago and playing Street Fighter 4 or Crysis kept making it shut down and after i put new paste on the cpu it doesn't overheat or shutdown anymore. I hope ive been helpfull let me know what happens and goodluck on finishing AMR2 can't wait to play it.
Anonymous said…
I've had a few different shutdown problems over the years. Most recently my Windows 7 was have a weird issue with my firewall software zonealarm. It was causing a blue screen, but it would happen so fast it looked like my computer was just shutting off at random. Removed zone alarm and it stopped.

I also had a problem in windows 7 where if my hard drives weren't accessed for a while and the computer would try and go into a power saving mode it would cause my computer to bsod and shut down. Sometimes it would also do the same thing when entering the screen saver. I changed my power saving options to fix that.

I've also had driver conflicts with my onboard network drivers causing a bsod and shutdown. Updated them to fix.

I've had to update my mobo's BIOS, because of a problem that was causing it to send the wrong amount of voltage to my cpu, causing random shutdowns. I downloaded the Intel Processor ID Utility to find out what my cpu should be running at (voltage wise), in default settings and it told me what it was actually running at.

Other than those odd ones, I'd say check your fans on the important bits to make sure they are spinning correctly. Maybe get a program to read your cpu/gpu temps under load, because most BIOS will auto shutdown the computer if the temp gets too high on something.

Maybe a new power supply is needed.

If you are getting an error report, with a dump file check those and look for solutions online, with whatever is causing the conflict.

Try a different wall outlet, on a different breaker. If you are like me and have more than one monitor and a bunch of other stuff plugged in to the same outlet, it might be too much for it. I was able to tell that one because my power strip makes a really loud beep when there's a surge or the power fluctuated drastically.

Keep up the awesome work and I hope you get your comp working correctly again. :)
Anonymous said…
An easy thing to check, as someone else mentioned, is for bad capacitors. Pop open your computer, and look for the little cylinders all around (particularly near your CPU). If the little X on the top of them is bulging outwards, your computer is suffering from the "capacitor plague" and you'll need to repair/replace your motherboard.
Amaroq Dricaldari said…
Try extracting your Hard Disk out of your dead Compy and putting it into another one to back-up any and all information other than viruses. If you load the Hard Disk into a computer that can have multiple, then make sure you have antivirus software on the Hard Disk (Hard Drive) already in the other computer, and use an external Hard Drive (and maybe some CD's/DVD's) to back up your files. For more information, contact me at amaroqthewolf@gmail.com, especially you Cyberkid, you're awesome and I want to meet you.
DarkPhazon said…
leave those fans. without em will overheat and accidents will happen trust me. my computer keeped havn errors. turn off the computer after use you wanna keep those fan runnin
Nick said…
Always good to see any progress on this project. I'm not sure how well this would go over with the other fans of this project but I would be down to donate a little towards getting some new hardware for you.

I've been following this project for a while and it seems like you could use a little help getting better equipment to work with. Maybe a paypal donate button?

Nintendo seems to be getting much more relaxed about fan projects, I think it would be fine.
Hi!

How I do for play this game on Mac, with Leopard OSX?

Thanks!
Anonymous said…
Could be a number of things, but the most common parts to go are always the power supply and hard drive. But it does not sound like a hard drive issue. I'm leaning toward power supply.

But first, visit memtest.org burn a copy of their memory tested and check to see if you've got defective memory chips.

Your type of crash happens a lot, when one of your memory sticks goes bad.

Also make sure the processor fan is spinning and clean. Most processors are designed to turn off, without warning, in the event they overheat.
Maybe I can help you make it work somehow. Is your studio computer even running? Is the light on? I'm no expert on computers, but my father sure is. I'll ask him for help. Nah, he doesn't know what the exact problem is. I guess just do what I told you earlier.
Anonymous said…
Ive actually been having that problem too, it wont make it past the start up screen now, but for me, i believe its the power supply. Other suggestions ive gotten from people it the heat sink or fans arent working and perhaps its shutting down due to over heating, your operating system (windows or what ever you may use) is corrupt and needs to be rebooted, or possibly somethings wrong with your motherboard. What ever the case may be i hope it gets fixed soon ^_^
Unknown said…
@brett, in regards to inability to play the game on Linux or OSX:

You're wrong. Intel-based hardware running Mac OS X only requires BootCamp and an install of a Windows OS to run the Windows OS natively.
Or you could try WINE (Which is Linux-based, and now the modern Macintosh OS tend to have a bit more of a Linux base, which enables more program flexibility), and do the same install process...

With Linux, you just need WINE to help with running Windows and such. The game is likely to be playable through that method.

A quick set of Google Searches will help you figure this out in more depth.
standby power said…
Its really nice post i have same problem no have any solution for that..
Have you tried another power supply yet? Or it could be a driver issue causing a fatal error and crashing the system.

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