Factorio Forums

prg wrote:So this is not a bug report (since the bug is not in Factorio) but a feature request to add a kludge to work around broken OSes and replicate some of the kernel's functionality to know how much memory can safely be requested in a given situation (just a hardcoded percentage of total RAM won't work too well, this needs to depend on how much other processes are already using).

• I've been able to reproduce the issue three times, on two different sets of hardware. Both computers were running windows 10 home 64bit. I've also reproduced it once in linux, but there the OS stepped in and prevented a total crash.
• Two other people have tried it and both were unable to reproduce it. No one knows why.
• Other games have already solved this issue. Garry's Mod is a good example, since it's the same in the sense that it also has lua modding. Where Factorio's memory check seems to trigger when the OS tells Factorio that it's out of memory, Garry's mod's memory check is different. I believe the Source engine sets its own limit somehow, which means it will never even come close to using all of your memory before it stops itself. Perhaps Factorio can use the same method?

• At first, it seemed like Factorio alone was the cause of the crashes, but now I think that isn't entirely true. Factorio uses all of your ram, and then when you attempt to open another app (or even click a button in the windows UI), you no longer have enough memory to perform the action, and since Windows apparently is stupid as a rock, it crashes itself instead of terminating the Factorio process to clear up memory. So, while Factorio allows for it to happen, the blame is much more on Microsoft's head. We probably can't get them to fix it, though.

Divran wrote:... I'm going to wait for a developer to render final judgement on this thread.

Rseding91 wrote:We're not going to spend time working on trying to prevent mods from making infinite loops.

Divran wrote:

prg wrote:So this is not a bug report (since the bug is not in Factorio) but a feature request to add a kludge to work around broken OSes and replicate some of the kernel's functionality to know how much memory can safely be requested in a given situation (just a hardcoded percentage of total RAM won't work too well, this needs to depend on how much other processes are already using).

It was a bug report from the beginning. It would be a feature request if Factorio didn't have a memory check at all, but it does. It just doesn't work properly. If it did, I wouldn't be able to crash my own computer.

1. It works.
2. It does not work.

Divran wrote:Also, I've said this several times, but Garry's Mod is a good example of where this already works. Gmod will stop itself before using too much memory, and it doesn't wait until you're completely out of memory. It sets its own limits afaik. I've no idea how it does it, though. Factorio could probably use the same method.

Divran wrote:Anyway, I've only been asked about 4-5 original questions in this entire thread. The rest have just been people repeating the same questions, forcing me to repeat my answers. I'm sick of it now. From now on, unless someone asks a new question, I'm not even going to bother replying. I'm going to wait for a developer to render final judgement on this thread.

Divran wrote:Before I go, let me post a status update here:

Facts:

• I've been able to reproduce the issue three times, on two different sets of hardware. Both computers were running windows 10 home 64bit. I've also reproduced it once in linux, but there the OS stepped in and prevented a total crash.

Divran wrote:

• Two other people have tried it and both were unable to reproduce it. No one knows why.
• Other games have already solved this issue. Garry's Mod is a good example, since it's the same in the sense that it also has lua modding. Where Factorio's memory check seems to trigger when the OS tells Factorio that it's out of memory, Garry's mod's memory check is different. I believe the Source engine sets its own limit somehow, which means it will never even come close to using all of your memory before it stops itself. Perhaps Factorio can use the same method?

Divran wrote:prg you keep saying the check already works, but then why was I able to reproduce it on two different computers? I agree with everything else you said in your latest post though

Request x bytes of memory from the system
Was there an error? {
    Possibly inform the user
    Stop what you're doing and return with an error status
}
Use newly allocated memory

Divran wrote:In other words, like we both have already said earlier, this is technically windows' fault. Until microsoft fixes it (aka never), Factorio can't use a hard cap to the amount of memory it gives itself because... reasons?