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Rachel Duim
So Called Tortured Artist

Posts: 2498
Filters: 188
I am unable to render a 4000x3000 png file on the Mac with the Polygon Painting filter. When doing the Save Image As (rendering) it crashes about 2 seconds into the render. Here's some quick info:
Mac 10.10.3 on the latest MacBook Pro (4 cores).
Filter Forge Pro 4.014 released June 5.
16 gb memory
Let me know what files or logs you need from me to look into this. This is a consistent crash, happens every time with this png file.
I was hoping I did not have to reinstall...
Math meets art meets psychedelia.
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Rachel Duim
So Called Tortured Artist

Posts: 2498
Filters: 188
I sent a longer message to support via email, here it is:
Quote
> I am unable to render a 4096x3072 png file on the Mac with the Polygon Painting filter. When doing the Save Image As (rendering) it crashes about 2 seconds into the render. The render is done 16 bit. Here's some quick info:
> Mac 10.10.3 on the latest MacBook Pro (4 cores).
> Filter Forge Pro 4.014 released June 5.
> 16 gb memory
> Let me know what files or logs you need from me to look into this. This is a consistent crash, happens every time with this png file.
>
> Note that all other filters seem to be working. FF does crash occasionally, but not consistently like this bug. I rendered the same image under Windows 7 and had no issues.
> Thanks for listening,
> Rick Duim
> PS I was hoping I did not have to reinstall...


This is the reply I received from support. I am flabbergasted. The Polygon Painting filter is so simple that I can not see how the author of the filter can somehow fix the problem I am having. Here is the reply from support:
Quote
The key words in your message are "other filters seem to be working". Please note all filters in our filter library were made by users like yourself, not by the Filter Forge developers. A few filters are known to cause issues, but Filter Forge itself is working correctly.

With all suggestions and complaints about a particular filter please contact its author directly via the "Send email" link on the filter web page.


Best regards,
Filter Forge Support


Is this the new policy? Authors have to fix bugs that occur within their own filters when a crash occurs, say due to a memory allocation error? How as an author can I fix that? To say I am offended by this reply is an understatement. I am not going to contact the author of such a simple filter and expect that person to somehow fix it. My faith in FF has been shaken.
Math meets art meets psychedelia.
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Mardar
Graphics Junkie

Posts: 688
Filters: 61
Have you tried deleting just that filter and then re-downloading a fresh copy from the library? You can save your presets. Here is a thread on how to do this. https://www.filterforge.com/forum/read...sage125189

I don't use a Mac, but I have been using FF since version 1 and sometimes a filter just doesn't work after I download, so I just delete it and download it at a different time and this has fixed the problem. I'm just a user and filter builder, not a tech by any stretch of the imagination, but I do know sometimes my downloads can get corrupted or interrupted and mess them up. This is just a suggestion. Hope this helps.
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Rachel Duim
So Called Tortured Artist

Posts: 2498
Filters: 188
Actually, not a bad idea. Deleted it, re-downloaded it, still crashes. What is more ironic is that support said to contact the filter author. Guess who it is... Vladamir Golovin. The real "proof" that it's a a bug: it renders just fine on my Windows 7 PC. So there is an issue on the Mac. Is it the dreaded "leaking" memory bug? Will I ever know. Probably not. Support said to contact Vlad... I'm on the fence about contacting him.
Math meets art meets psychedelia.
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Mardar
Graphics Junkie

Posts: 688
Filters: 61
I would contact Vladamir if it was me. Sorry my suggestion didn't fix the problem. I have only had this happen a few times (maybe 3), but I am a Windows user and this sort of thing seems to be more prevalent on the Mac. Hope you get it figured out. There is nothing more frustrating than not being able to use a filter you like. smile;)
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Rachel Duim
So Called Tortured Artist

Posts: 2498
Filters: 188
And GMM where are you? This is a VALID bug. The reply from support was insulting. Putting off the problem to the author of the filter, what a joke. It renders properly in Windows. Any 4096x3072 PNG image will crash FF when attempting to render Polygon Painting (a very simple filter) on my brand new MacBook Pro. I worked in software engineeering for a long time. I see a classic picture here. Denial of real bugs means that your software, at least on the Mac, is doomed. What does FF have to say about this? It's been a long time since I got such an insulting uninformed reply from support. Reminds me of the early days with Microsoft Word. Report a bug and it was the users fault...
Math meets art meets psychedelia.
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Mardar
Graphics Junkie

Posts: 688
Filters: 61
Rick I just had another idea. It may be silly and not work but it is worth a try. Go into Vlads filter, highlight and copy everything, then go out and build a new filter. Paste Vlads filter into the new one and replace all the components one by one with the version 4 components. Then name it and save it in your filters. Then try to render with your new build. I know all the old components are suppose to work with the new version, but there may be something that is hanging up the Mac from reading it correctly. Did you notice any other filters that are not working? Are they old filters? Just a suggestion. Please don't give up. I know support sometimes doesn't have the best bedside manner, but it can be hard to deal with problems from so far away from the problem. If I think of anything else to try I will post it here. smile;)
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Rachel Duim
So Called Tortured Artist

Posts: 2498
Filters: 188
Mardar nails it! smile:D smile:ff: Indeed, there was only 1 component that was an old one in Polygon Painting (Image). Changed it to the new Image component in My Filters and it rendered! It did crash immediately after the render, but the render finished successfully. It appears to be specific to 16 bit renders of PNG files. A Mac only bug, with a workaround. I normally would not go this far to fix something like this. Thanks again Mardar. I would say bad bedside manner is the wrong word to describe support on this issue. Obfuscation would be more like it.
Math meets art meets psychedelia.
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GMM
Moderator
Filter Forge, Inc
Posts: 3491
Quote
And GMM where are you? This is a VALID bug


There are over 11,000 filters in the library — surely some filters can fail for some users. This looks like a problem with a particular filter, I will ask Vladimir to update it.
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Mardar
Graphics Junkie

Posts: 688
Filters: 61
Rick I am so glad this worked for you. Woo Hoo! smile:banana: smile:D
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Rachel Duim
So Called Tortured Artist

Posts: 2498
Filters: 188
Thanks all. Here is the modified Polygon Painting filter with the old Image component replaced with a new Image component.

Polygon Painting new.ffxml
Math meets art meets psychedelia.
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