Server Bug - All players drop flag on new player spawn

[elem3nt]

Hi all,

I am experimenting with a server running Ubuntu Linux. It's only 233 MHz, so you might want to take that into consideration.

My problem is that when a new player joins, when he spawns all existing players drop their flags. It doesn't happen when the player spawns again. The server has had a history of lag problems, so could it be that? This problem seems very strange.

[The Red Baron]

The server has had a history of lag problems, so could it be that? This problem seems very strange.

well, if still has lag... that could be your answer. its not unsuall that if a player gets a sudden lag spike, he drops his flag. Esp if they are losing packets.

[orchid]

Hi all,

I am experimenting with a server running Ubuntu Linux. It's only 233 MHz, so you might want to take that into consideration.

233mhz is plenty for bzfs, even with a full compliment of players it
should be fine...

My problem is that when a new player joins, when he spawns all existing players drop their flags. It doesn't happen when the player spawns again. The server has had a history of lag problems, so could it be that? This problem seems very strange.

What server version are you running? Does this occur with ever new player joining? ie: its predictable and repeatable?

Can you run the server with: bzfs -d -d -d > bug.log and watch closely the output when a player joins? You might see some messages that could help.

[elem3nt]

I am running bzfs 2.0.2 (the latest release). Yes, when a new player joins and spawns for the first time, all players simultaneously drop their flags. I can repeat it as many times as I like.

Let me try to run the server with the debuggin options. I'll get back to you on that.

[elem3nt]

After a talk on the server with /dev/explodingtank, I found the problem. When a new player joins, the CPU on the server goes to 100% just trying to PM him the -srvmsg. Meanwhile, it can't keep up with everyone else, so everyone goes [nr] and loses their flag. Solution: either upgrade to better hardware or install a less-bloated operating system (bare minimum gentoo, for example).

So for all it's purposes this thread is practically useless except for reference. Thanks for your help!

[DTRemenak]

If you have the bad words filter turned on, turn it off. Without it bzfs uses virtually no cpu time. All of the servers on dtremenak.bakadigital.com run on a single k6 at 200mhz.

[SportChick]

Also, how complex is the map? I was on a server a while back that had an amazingly complex map, using many of the new graphics features. The server wasn't very fast and whenevwer someone joined (downloading the new map), the lag spiked significantly.

[elem3nt]

Ah.. those are some good ideas. Yes I had a very large badwords file (~50kb) I'll try turning that off and seeing how that runs.

Yes it's a rather complex map. Check it out here (Collaborator 1). It's not a 2.0 map, but it still has alot of objects. I might try reducing the number of shots, flags, etc... or trying a different map altogether.

Thanks for your suggestions!

[elem3nt]

DTRemak found the problem. I had a huge multi-lingual badwords file (the one from sourceforge), and the server had to push every line through 1,000's of lines. This easily took up all the resources, and the server was simply not fast enough to keep up. Thanks!!