Archive: 17 posts

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Heyo LBPC! So for a while now I've been super paranoid about my levels getting corrupted, due to the many many times it happened to me while building Oneiros 1 & 2 (And part 3 was attacked by full-blown profile corruption! Thank heavens I'd backed up my profile!) And somehow, following a few paranoid rules I set, I didn't have any problems at all with Dr. Voodoo's Boppin' Brew, through about 40 major edits, despite the most complicated logic I've made so far- whereas before I was gettin' the infinite loading screen every 6-10 edits. Since levels/profiles seem to get corrupted during saves, I did everything I could to ensure the game was never trying to save or load at the same time as doing something else. For example, when starting the game the GUI comes up after some loading, and you can select levels to play or edit, but for the first 30 seconds to a minute (for me at least) it is still loading levels into memory. So- NO TOUCHIE. Don't try to enter/edit any level you're working on until the loading is COMPLETELY done and the arrows disappear. My reasoning for this is that some kind of memory overflow may corrupt the data as it loads the level, so it looks fine when you get in, but go to save and it saves the 'corrupted' load- try to come back aaaaaaaand infinite loading screen. D: Same deal for when you enter the level and it keeps loading for a second. If you're paranoid like me then you'll just sit there and wait till it's safe. A few other things I avoid: The UNDO function. I just don't trust it. Occasionally I'll use it if I was silly and hadn't saved for a while, but I always hold my breath and pray to the sack gods that it didn't ruin something. Half the time it undos too much or too little anyways, so just try to fuggedaboutit. :-) Never unpause in edit mode and then save after unpausing, if you can help it. In my experience it just messes up everything. I'll use unpause to test out logic and find appropriate settings for pistons and the like, but I always make a backup copy of the level beforehand, making notes of any values I need to change, then exiting completely (DO NOT SAVE!!!) and reloading from My Moon to actually apply the new settings to the paused level. Never press the PS/HOME/MENU button on the PSP while anything is loading. For many PSP games, the game keeps on truckin' in the background when you do this, but I've noticed that in LBP it makes the memory stick light stop flashing- and, being paranoid, the idea of cutting off the game while its loading and hoping it picks up where it left off correctly is... irksome. When you want to test your level in Play mode, SAVE before choosing "Switch to Play Mode", and when you do select it, DISCARD CHANGES . This way, the game doesn't try to save your level then INSTANTLY load the data it just saved. I'm not a computer genius or anything but that just doesn't sound safe in the fragile environment of LBP PSP. When you want to switch back to Edit mode from Play mode, DON'T SELECT RETURN TO EDIT MODE in the menu- I've heard horror stories about what happens there, and it's best to ignore that button existence. Go back to My Moon, wait for EVERYTHING to load, then select your level to edit again. This method has the added benefit of providing an ideal opportunity to make a backup of your level while you're at My Moon. (Just don't copy anything till all the loading is done!) Heck, I don't even wiggle the joystick while the PSP is capturing an object. Basically, my method is this: any time the memory stick is being accessed, don't touch anything! Sure, you'll have to wait longer to play/edit- it can be especially time-consuming and annoying if you're making frequent backup copies of your level (a good idea- and backup your profile too!), but it's well worth the saved aggravation! I don't guarantee that if you follow my rules your data won't be corrupted, so be sure to make backup copies of both the level you're working on (big craters with the little craters in a circle work nice), AND your profile. If you're working on an extensive project I recommend a profile backup at least once a day. But you've all seen the corrupt level/profile threads by now, so surely ya do this already ;D And you've probably heard by now to avoid those certain Turbo! materials... I forget which ones, but they apparently break levels maybe? I haven't experienced this myself (never used the bad materials I guess) but if somebody knows the offending mats that'd be a good thing to add to this I think. :x Paranoia FTW! Again, I made this post because Dr. Voodoo's Boppin' Brew was the first level I've worked on that never got corrupted, despite in many ways being much more complex than the Oneiros series in terms of construction. This shocked me to the point where I thought I should share my paranoia with the world (well, LBPC anyways), in the hopes that the rampant corruption could be further curbed while we wait for Cambridge to get LBP PSP up to snuff. So, in summation: -Is your memory stick light flashing? DON'T PRESS ANYTHING. Not even the HOME/PS/MENU button to check the time. You don't need to know the time right now. Time is an illusion anyways. ;-) Check when it's done loading. -Are the loading arrows spinning? DON'T PRESS ANYTHING. -Need to test your mechanics in Edit mode? SAVE, then unpause, tweak/test but DO NOT SAVE, take note of important changes and reload the level from My Moon (after waiting for it to load eeeeeverything before pressing edit!). -Need to test your level in Play mode? SAVE, then either return to My Moon and enter play mode from there (safest option I think), or select "Switch to Play Mode" and DISCARD CHANGES. -Need to return to Edit mode from Play mode? DON'T SELECT "CHANGE TO EDIT MODE." Return to My Moon, wait for everything to load, then select the level to edit. -Make frequent backups of your level AND your profile, just in case. It's hard to remember all the ways to tiptoe around loading/saving, and all it takes is one slip for hours or weeks of work and love to disappear. -No guarantees, but hey, I've noticed a VAST reduction in corruption problems since I began following these rules. You'll be tapping your foot a lot while you wait, but it's worth it :-) If you're still here and actually read all that, CONGRATULATIONS!!! Have a cookie! It may be an imaginary cookie, but our imagination inevitably leads to creation and manifestation, so in a way, by investing in this imagi-cookie you are ensuring real cookies in your future! Or something. And I hope this thread helps! I know some of the information/ideas here may have already been presented in other threads, but I wanted to share my personal experience/strategies with you all. There's nothing worse than putting something awesome together, going to test it and realizing it's all gone, locked in the corrupted level limbo forever. D: Happy and safe creating! SeekingTruth86 out!

2010-11-24 07:01:00 Author: SeekingTruth86 Posts: 151

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Hi, SeekingTruth86! Thanks for useful information!

2010-11-24 08:06:00 Author: Domik12 Posts: 838

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Hey there Domik! Great to see you again!

2010-11-24 08:27:00 Author: SeekingTruth86 Posts: 151

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Once again, I thanked the OP because of HOW MUCH YOU WROTE! Gosh, you guys are either really passionate or really nerdy......I'm gonna go with the first one.

2010-11-24 15:04:00 Author: The-Questor Posts: 1328

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Gosh, you guys are either really passionate or really nerdy... I'd say I'm a little bit of both

2010-11-24 19:47:00 Author: SeekingTruth86 Posts: 151

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Hehe, I often do a few of these things. But I am really relieved to know all of these tricks. I am insanely paranoid about levels, especially when they begin taking hours to load and lagging in create mode. I think the undo button has got it in for me, I sometimes press it by accident. 0_0

2010-11-24 20:28:00 Author: PygmyOwl Posts: 1316

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it's nice to know that people other then yourself are constantly hit with corruptions. thanks for the info. it's really helped, I think ill print it!

2010-11-25 05:07:00 Author: jimydog000 Posts: 813

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@dizzy: the undo/redo feature can be turned off, but of course you already knew that, right?

2010-11-25 05:12:00 Author: jimydog000 Posts: 813

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[>] - The play function, activated by the up button activates the physics in a level [ll] - The pause function, also activated by the up button, pauses everything in their current position [<<] - The rewind function, activated by the left button, is unpredictable in pause mode... buuuut this button is actually extremely useful in play mode. But how!? D: To playtest within create mode: -push up once to play -DO NOT PAUSE -once done playtesting push left to rewind to the state before you unpaused

2010-11-25 06:24:00 Author: Alismuffin Posts: 1328

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To playtest within create mode: -push up once to play -DO NOT PAUSE -once done playtesting push left to rewind to the state before you unpaused More Paranoia Follows! Ch. 2: User Error and Rewind If doing the above be careful you don't forget you're unpaused and start editing things, and SAVE before you go all unpause just in case! There's been many times where I intended only to run through a piece of a level, but got distracted by some little thing that I could edit right there, kinda forgetting I had unpaused if there were no moving level elements on the screen. I'd make an edit and maybe even get into creating before realizing, in horror, it was unpaused. I'd press rewind to try to return to the pre-unpause state.... but because I had mistakenly begun editing again, it returned to the mid-unpause state in time where I had made the edit (corner edit, new object, etc.), and I could not return to my pre-unpause state. Work lost D: (Course if I had saved first, it woulda been fine since I could revert to save through My Moon, but when I unpaused I only meant to test out a little thing and didn't thing saving would be necessary, since I could just unpause my way back, right? Right!? USER ERROR!!! D: ) But sometimes I'd even save while in unpause (you can still jetpack around and edit things after all) then discover that all my mechanisms were saved in some crazy position because everything wasn't set up yet, and I would have to rebuild it all over again. This happened to me many times and is probably why I am so leary of relying on the rewind button... I would just forget to use it at the right time, and lose a lot of work because of it. But maybe my memory is just awful :-p When I want to test out something in Edit mode with unpause (ex: jetpacking around to watch hidden mechanics and logic in action), I make A LittleBig Mental Commitment. Since I refuse to rewind, when I unpause I know I am committing to another 5 minutes of sitting around as I return to My Moon (stopping to make a level backup on the way!), wait for everything to load, and then load the saved version and wait for it to load again. This makes it very easy to remember that I have pressed the unpause button and thus less likely to forget to push the rewind button before going all edit/creating crazy and realizing it's too late to go back, or even worse making edits and mistakenly saving in unpause. Thass' why I'm paranoid about the rewind button. Perhaps it has more to do with user error than any technical issue with the game, but... being Gargassian- er, that is- being Human, I err a lot. ;D The slow method (returning to My Moon, waiting for everything to load, making and numbering a backup, and reloading the saved version instead of rewinding) provides that littlebig extra shield against user forgetfulness- which is great for somebody as paranoid about losing their work as me. Plus, you can backup your level! Backup your level! Backup your level! thus ends another chapter of seekingtruth86's paranoiacs guide. thanks for reading. i'm out of imagi-cookies, don't ask for any more. -ST

2010-11-25 09:27:00 Author: SeekingTruth86 Posts: 151

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Great info! I need to stop hitting home.. I'm just super excited for the conclusion to your trilogy...

2010-11-25 14:30:00 Author: anoken Posts: 1654

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Yes saving before play testing within create mode is crucial!

2010-11-25 20:13:00 Author: Alismuffin Posts: 1328

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I have a fear of unpause, I almost always go into play mode to test, moving the start if I am in a rush. But unpausing to see whats mucking up my logic (this happens a lot) really helps.

2010-11-25 20:24:00 Author: PygmyOwl Posts: 1316

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I'm not sure if you guys know yet, but the rewind function is predictable. Kind of. The rewind functions Always rewinds to the last moment you placed/deleted an item. So, if you tweaked something, corner edited, or stickered, the rewind function won't undo your small edit. DO NOT expect the rewind function to undo a corner, sticker, or tweak. It will instead lead to the moment you first started the use of placing an object/deleting an object. (By Placing/Deleting, I mean any object. Whether its a block of material, or a sensor switch.) The Rewind Feature is predictable. It' just not precise in small edits. I actually place an object and then delete the item to playtest during create mode. Then rewind to lead me to the moment before I deleted the object I placed. It's a handy technique if you ask me.

2010-11-26 03:21:00 Author: Spark151 Posts: 801

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Oooh, that is a very neat trick Spark! I actually didn't know that, hence my paranoia ;D Thanks for the info!

2010-11-27 06:21:00 Author: SeekingTruth86 Posts: 151

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Wow, this really is a paranoid guide. Too paranoid if you ask me. I mean, I never used these tips and I got a good profile going.... Then again, it'll explain the numerous amounts of corrupted levels I have. Hmm....

2010-11-27 11:33:00 Author: CyberSora Posts: 5551

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@CyberSora: Haha yeah, it is extremely paranoid, and I wouldn't blame anyone for not following any of these rules 8-) It really adds a LOT of waiting around.

2010-11-27 19:22:00 Author: SeekingTruth86 Posts: 151

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