1: I load level 1 - no changes or additions - memory bar normal for the few assets that I have (purposely) on this opening level (pic1)
2: launch test game - No changes made in tab/gfx settings - everything works as it should - seems faster . But maybe just my imagination.
3: Exit test game - the memory bar more than doubles (Pic2).
Thanks.

Ok, this is interesting...
Due to me being away for 2 years, if the bar is full does that = no more assets can be placed on such much?
Also I wonder if the 1st screen is a false reading and after you test game all calculations and process's are complete gives the true reading?
i.e: Game engine/Build/Test/End result... (not including compile) I am not sure...

Look forward to the communities feedback on this

I haven't noticed, really, will definitely check that out when I get home.


UPDATE: I'm home now, mine doesn't do that; it stays the same.

Thanks Jerry for update.

Did your scene contain lights, animation, edits or adjustments, and or other.. or just placements of models ?

I also will check this when I get home, currently typing on the fly...

I tried a level that I've been working on, but no lights or animations or adjustments in that yet, but I also tried a couple of the demo levels. (I loaded, launched, exited, and compared) No difference.

EDIT: What's even stranger is "The Big Escape" has been open in my editor for quite some time and I've been away from the computer for a while and GG hasn't crashed! That's a new one for me!

Thanks for all the replies.
It is an outdoor level with few entities( less than 300) and no animated tress. Only 2 lights placed. It is script and trigger zone heavy. Lot's of NPC's with animated sequences. Nothing new has been placed on the level in a while. Was just running it to see how the new build runs. It does run faster. This I can confirm as I tried again but so does the bar thingy. And animations seem smoother etc. No way points on level. All NPC's and entities move through code (thanks to smallg and other generous members of this community).

I am a butcher when it comes to coding but entities kind of do what I want. Could it be something to do with my MESSY code? If I close map and re-open it goes back to normal. Is memory not being released after level runs? If that even makes sense.

Will run my other levels today to see if the result is the same. Anyway I can live with it as it is obliviously not affecting editing or performance. Just thought it strange.

In my past experience with UE4, once something is moved, adjusted the scene needs to be rebuilt (lights, physics etc) before test for these to be implemented, however GameGuru is set up different and I am guessing this is your scripts and lighting that is being compiled showing the higher value.

You say, closing the engine and rebooting, loading map clears this higher value, so it will be interesting to see if this has anything to do with slow downs like what occured in classic. I plan to spend a couple of hours tonight testing this.. Thank you for your report and results.

My daughter is learning game design, and we are working together on a project. We have only ran tests, and compiling media.. So I am looking at every factor before we move forward.

Update: If I play through the whole level in test game this occurs on all my levels (I have four that I am currently working on).
If I launch test game but do not play through, in other words, exit immediately the memory bar stays static.

Hi I have good news.. it's a false reading Here are my test, example, and also I found something I was hoping not to find people that remember me will know what I mean.

All in all as I was predicting was just from the render build in test. However you are correct Isagabe, It has to do with distance traveled.
I have to run some more tests, though here is what I have so far.

I will link screens after I upload and explain. Also this is with version 1.12 (I thought I was still on 1.11 it may have updated on auto )



Screen 1. THE ASYLUM MAP (included game map) - Added countless AI, objects, some lights, waypoints (nothing custom) The green bar went up by half after additions. This is before any Test game... I only loaded said map, and added content.




Screen 2. After loading TEST game, I run all over area (about 10mins check screenshot time) , first to bunnies, then to soldiers, through center and over to zombies. shooting as I go.
I hit exit, which brought me back to Editor in same place. *check green bar value now




Screen 3. While I had such value, I did not edit or exit GameGuru, and flew around for any changes... in the far distance I found this... not placed by me ??




Screen 4. I then removed terrain for a better look.. I could not click or adjust these ??




Screen 5. *this is the cool part... After running Test and coming back to editor.. (high value as above screenshots) I saved map as a New name, did not close Game Guru, and simply went to load map... and loaded the new name save. and before my eyes while in the Editor, the Green value bar... lowered itself super fast... to the value you can see in screenshot. However it was now lower than the 1st screenshot.....
***However check what happened to the mystery zones???? And this is what I was afraid of.

Test this if you have time.
1. Load map (Please make sure it has AI, scripts, Waypoints, Zones)
2. Run Test game
3. Run everywhere (jump, shoot etc) for at least 5mins+
4. Exit Test, and stay in editor
5. If value is higher than before, Save the Map as a new name (i.e Test123) *so to delete later if want.
6. Load map (i.e. test123) while still in Editor and watch Value, does it go down in real time??




Screen 6. So I was puzzled about the zones I found in the outer area... So I went back and loaded the test map - The Asylum
(I am not sure who was the creator was however maybe if they are still on the boards, can explain if they placed these in their map? maybe a sound zone?)
If someone can load this Test game for me, and fly over to the area (check screen) and see if they can see these... would be a great help. Thanks


*the reason I used the Asylum map, was it has the highest file size in Test games.. at 24,000kb +
*Also this is not directed to anyone, Lee has mentioned countless times, save, save often. However I believe that there may be a way to counter the
false value, by saving after the Test compile is complete. Im not sure if this has things to do with fpe's or other. However if you are new to GameGuru and
working on that big project. It is a great system to use countless save names. i.e Mymap1, Mymap2, Mymap3... sure you may end up with lots of save names, however these a small file size, and can also be deleted as you progress. Or revert back to a prior save name if need be.

*update.. sorry mods for double post. was unsure how many screens I could attach.

I was now wondering about frame rates.. could this be a concern with the memory bar values.. With running various tests I am happy to say I don't think so. However on the hardware I have you can still see 105 / 91 difference. Someone with lower hardware as they say... this could be a big factor.
However as you can see I did move a little on the second screen shot, and I do know the fps value can be a bit jumpy depending where the player is looking. I will let people be the judge.
If this is a factor to people getting low fps, when really they are not because of the memory bar or other? I have yet to do more frame tests..
I suggest do as my above post. Save map under a new name and retest your map and frame rates. Exit GameGuru if need be also.


Screens as follows.

1. Loaded GameGuru fresh, Loaded Test map (memory bar was about half of the 1st quarter)


2. Ran Test game, and took a screenshot within a few seconds apon loading.


3. I then continued running around map for 5-10 mins, shooting, jumping etc. and then exit Test game and took a screen of the memory bar.
Which had now doubled of course from such results and tests in prior post.


4. I then did no movement in editor, no edits or adjustments. and Loaded Test game again. And took a screenshot within a few seconds apon loading.


*Also just a update about strange zones found. I am thinking this may be because the water is removed on The Asylum map. Just a theory.....
- Update to this.... I loaded The Asylum, fresh load. Ran Test, Added water via Tab settings, Exited Test, Saved map (new name) and the mystery zones are still present.. So its not the water

I shall continue tests over the next following week. to see if I can help people jump the low frame rate hurdle.. Though I am still not believing I have found a issue, fix or other

*Question,, would users like to see a recorded video of me showing the Memory bar movement? I will be happy to do so if requested.

There is a setting in the setup.ini file in the GameGuru folder
Close GameGuru and using notepad open the setup.ini file
Change
producetruevidmemreading=0

to producetruevidmemreading=1

Save the file and run Game Guru.

There are a few other useful setting you can change there to your taste.

See if that makes the memory bar react better and show you what is going on.

Now each update will reset the setup.ini file back to its default settings. So after updates change these settings to what you need and then run your maps.

Lee is looking at your zone marker issues, But not looking to good at the moment. Email and PM have been sent to you with current status on this issue.

Hi Myke, I am sorry my friend. However all that did was break Game Guru Test for me.. check screen..
At first I thought it was my recording software, so I Ctrl/Alt/Del to exit, closed apps and ran again and boom, same error.. it shows half the assets, while
the loading screen flickers in background.. I hit the Display Mode Error 3com got in the Public Preview 1.12 thread after doing as you suggested.
*UPDATE - smaller less detailed maps does not occur this problem and loads ( I tried 3 sized maps, only thing I found if the map is over pop with scripts it got the error)


2nd update, they are not my zone markers.... that is the test map base file that comes with GameGuru - The Asylum..........



Anyway,, lets not worry about these too much.. Im just here to work out how to get around the memory reading/possible frame rate drop for people and myself before I dive into any world editing.
*I will do a full video tomorrow its almost 3am, so I will leave with 2 videos Lets hope we can work it out..
Also, where can I find version 1.11 download? or other prior builds. Would love to test 1.11, as I thought I was, until I noticed Steam updating. Thank you.

Wow, such a long thread about an issue that has been in GG forever. The memory bar always jumps about when running a game and returning to the map. When a test is run it loads up everything needed and so, takes up more memory. When you return back, the bar stays the same as it knows the extra things that are needed. Well that is how I think it works, I could be wrong of course. Someone may have already said this above as I have only read the first post or two. When you load that level again from scratch the bar will return to it's original memory size until run again.

It's normal for GG as far as it's been like it for ever and I am used to it. Obviously it would be better if it took into account the size of scripts, samples and models beforehand so you can judge maxing out more easily, but running the game once normally get's the proper memory use and from there you can judge how much memory you have left.

This issue has been mentioned a few times in beta testing and general posts, it seems better than it was but still has this addition of memory use after running the game once. It's definitely been worked on, I have seen blogs or posts about it, but it still seems to be a rough guide as to how much memory you have left.

I must admit I am so used to it now I don't take much notice anymore.

Yes I can see the flickering when building test game with this setting producetruevidmemreading=1, set in the setup.ini.
Kind of cool in a way to be able to see the editors workings as it is building. But I am sure it is not the desired behavior and may be contributing to the memory bar meter. I tend to ignore that and rely on the poly count in the matrix more.

@DVader, Thank you for the reply and letting me know this is not just v1.12 issue
In my first post (lengthy one) I type: "Hi I have good news.. it's a false reading " , However even though the thread title is about what you mention. I am more interested in what happens behind the scenes when this does occur, why it occurs, what results happen when it occurs and so on.

However I thank you also for justify the need for better documentation on the forum so that if someone who does not read back or search can read about as you have spoken. And also thank you for your knowledge on the topic and your comment about the reading after test, so what you are kind of saying is - Test game, play it through, traveling every where, then exit Test. and this will give the Dev the correct value and what memory is left.
"Running the game once normally get's the proper memory use and from there you can judge how much memory you have left." - DVader
Also its nice to see members here working together like the old days, thanks for your insight.

Also, my posts are not really about the reading up or down memory bar. here is an example.
1. Why does the memory bar go lower than the original reading after the map is saved and loaded again?
*Screen 1 shows the memory value of a fresh loaded level before Test, and screen 5 shows the memory value after save/load after Test.
2. Why did the mystery zones, glitch out after the above had happened?


@Pirate Myke
*update your suggestion worked on smaller maps, and loaded. I did not see any difference for frame rate or memory usage.


I plan to leave this for now. I tested more when I arrived home and believe I found out what I need to know for now. Thanks for listening to my babble.

It's a bug/feature that has been around for ages, I sometimes forget not everyone has been here for the full ride I don't worry too much about it now, not had an actual level running out of memory in quite a while, although I try not to go mad on massive maps nowadays. As far as getting more memory back when you reload that is a feature Also GG refreshes itself when loading maps up now, so it may also reclaim memory lost while working on the map, there are still memory leaks in GG although the worst have been dealt with. That would explain it to a degree. It was done to help stop GG running out of memory when working with it for a long time. This used to be a big issue at one point.

I've looked at your mystery zones vid. I can only say they were probably made when the map was. If you only see it on this map then it must be a simple error on the part of the mapmaker when making the map. I don't think it is related to the memory bar. If it is it's a major bug Also, remember that the level you mention is an old one now and made with an earlier version of GG, so this may be a reason it bugs out with the zones themselves.

I agree that the memory bar can look very erratic at times as pointed out in earlier posts. I have just got used to it's quirks. I couldn't say I have noticed any slowdown linked to this though. Slowdown occurs for me whenever I add in a lot of objects. As soon as you get too many in line of sight (even when not really visible to you) FPS drops to about 22 for me every time. Foliage and trees are always the worst offenders in general, possibly because they use transparencies. We could do with the terrain working with the occlusion as well to help avoid this.

Hey dvader , thanks buddy for reply. Yeah I agree. And yes the map is .fpi not .lua build if I am correct. So it would possibly be the cause. Sound zone maybe. And yeah I never took much notice either. Have a good 1.

I found better results if AI is not placed with shift, is not moved after placement, and scripts are preassigned .