Graphics Crashes Question

[Perrie Juran]

A simple question. 

How would you identify if someone was using a graphics crasher or that you had one used on you?

[Vania Chaplin]

Just subscribed. I am interested in answers too :smileywink:

[Madelaine McMasters]

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Perrie Juran wrote:

A simple question. 

How would you identify if someone was using a graphics crasher or that you had one used on you?

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I'm gonna guess, as I don't actually know anything!

If I understand correctly, crashers rez so much junk that viewers crash from the overload. There is probably no foolproof way to tell that such an overload comes from a griefer, but you can look for hints using meters.

First, you might use the SL Statistics meters. If your scene was stable, meaning the bandwidth meter had returned to background level after loading all the textures, and FPS was normal, then bandwidth spikes and FPS drops, that's an indication that something has been rezzed. If that activity is followed by a crash, that might suggest a griefer. Bandwidth might not spike if the crash is caused by rezzing a large number of objects all using the same texture. The geometry of objects is much more compact than the textures on them. But if scene complexity is the cause of the crash, I'd expect FPS to drop like a rock just before the crash.

There are CPU and GPU monitoring tools that tell you how hard the CPU/GPU are working. If it's the GPU that's causing the crash, a standard CPU load meter (like that included in Mac OS) might not catch it. Seeing a sudden spike in GPU activity during an otherwise stable time might indicate the rezzing of a complex thing intended to crash you. And maybe you would see a spike in CPU activity before crashing. The trick will be to keep one eye on the meter and the other one on SL.

These methods would only work if the griefers are simply overloading the viewer by rendering a complex object and taxing the raw CPU/GPU resources beyond capacity. If there is some latent bug in the SL viewer code that's particularly sensitive to some odd aspect of rendering the scene, it might be impossible to detect that someone has exploited it. The CPU/GPU might not be working hard at all, but just running down a code path that's vulnerable.

ETA: As the methods I described have you looking for spurious activity in an otherwise reasonably stable scene, they are not likely to work as well when you're standing in the middle of the chaos that is a welcome area or public sandbox, or if you are in a crowded region that has you feeling on the edge of a crash already.

ETA2: I just watched this YouTube demonstration on how to crash SL...

If this represents the average skill level of a griefer, then they may not be targetting a specific vulnerability. This fella is just wearing endless copies of something that seems intended to bog down the server/server/link. Given how long it takes him to don his griefer garb, you may see a step in bandwidth and a slow ramp in CPU/GPU activity, not a spike. ;-)

[Czari Zenovka]

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Perrie Juran wrote:

A simple question. 

How would you identify if someone was using a graphics crasher or that you had one used on you?

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I recall reading somewhere on these forums not too long ago that there is a setting on the viewers, or at least one viewer, that keeps one from crashing due to someone wearing a ton of objects.  I'll have to see if I can find that thread.

[Madelaine McMasters]

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Czari Zenovka wrote:

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Perrie Juran wrote:

A simple question. 

How would you identify if someone was using a graphics crasher or that you had one used on you?

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I recall reading somewhere on these forums not too long ago that there is a setting on the viewers, or at least one viewer, that keeps one from crashing due to someone wearing a ton of objects.  I'll have to see if I can find that thread.

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My recollection was that the settings were a blunt tool, that could limit normal drawing as well as crashers. Here's a link to the settings...

http://thegreenlanterns.wordpress.com/2013/05/12/debug-settings-to-make-graphics-crashers-obsolete/

[chrismignon McDonnell]

it is difficult to detect unless you see wearing object or particle

[Alicia Sautereau]

Just enable avatar weight, anyone exploding compared to the rest is the culprit

Besides, in that vid i don`t see every one crashing, all i see is the vid maker having himself some **bleep**ty poor fps...
If this is griefing, lol@fail

[Czari Zenovka]

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Madelaine McMasters wrote:

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Czari Zenovka wrote:

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Perrie Juran wrote:

A simple question. 

How would you identify if someone was using a graphics crasher or that you had one used on you?

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I recall reading somewhere on these forums not too long ago that there is a setting on the viewers, or at least one viewer, that keeps one from crashing due to someone wearing a ton of objects.  I'll have to see if I can find that thread.

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My recollection was that the settings were a blunt tool, that could limit normal drawing as well as crashers. Here's a link to the settings...

http://thegreenlanterns.wordpress.com/2013/05/12/debug-settings-to-make-graphics-crashers-obsolete/

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Although it wasn't on that site, that is the information I recall.  Thank you for posting that.