Video Driver Crash and Network Errors 3 mins before Basin announce

[2501]

Hi, this issue needs further investigation:

 

Not only do I receive network errors (dialog boxes), and disconnects, but I also get complete video driver crashes (AMD Radeon 7970 Ghz Edition).

 

This leads me to what I've always believed to be the case, but could not prove until now: The cause of video driver crashes has been network code all along.

 

They always seemed to be timed approx. 2-3 hours apart (129mins-172mins), most likely due to boss event timers, but I also experienced one when the Hongmoon Store was updated at 8am exactly.

 

The client receives a packet, or fails to at the wrong time, cannot interpret the data and instead of handling the error properly, feeds garbage to the video driver instead, causing the crash.

 

I cannot replicate the error, as it occurs randomly, and is not due to any action on my part, but rather that of the game client, the server and its network environment.

 

It may be unavoidable for efficiency reasons, as a check on the data might introduce performance concerns, etc... but it's most likely just an error handling bug in video/network code.

 

However, it has a very high probability/frequency to occur precisely 3 minutes prior to Celestial Basin announcements, as players are switching areas and channels, even when not in the area.

 

Similarly, at the exact same time (3 mins to announce), even cross-server dungeons and solo instances will lag and freeze completely for several seconds at a time.

 

Part of the reason may be that all the servers are either on the West coast or in Texas (and at the same location), but the true cause of the problem lies in client-side network code, and its effect on the video subroutines, caused by a network error or server congestion.

 

Also, curiously: Prior to this event, crashes were at a minimum (I was under the impression they had been fixed), but then suddenly increased massively when it began. In fact, the game (and video driver) very rarely crashes EXCEPT 3 mins prior to Basin announce (regardless of what zone/instance I am in)...

 

[2501]

3x video driver crashes today (system lockup), 2-3 minutes before Celestial Basin announce. Last day of the event, June 13th is just one giant lag session so far.

 

Expecting at least another 2 crashes with this amount of server congestion. Will update the thread when that eventually does happen.

 

Edit: Unplayable. Attempted Croxar once, Aomak twice, and it was just 1-2 minutes of pure lag, 10-20 second screen freezes throughout. Except for Basin, no lag.

 

Merchant and inventory interactions were taking 30 seconds during some time. Realm is Juwol, but somehow, I'm not sure that matters.

 

[2501]

2 more video driver/system crashes today, June 14th (complete system lockup, with hard reset required).

 

One at 5:45, 2 mins before Basin announce (while idling in Grand Harvest Square), and another at 7:13, exactly at basin announce time (while fighting Naksun).

 

Essentially, client/server network errors causing video/system crashes; confirmed.