At least over 10-12 years ago, I remember playing around with the max dimensions for creating a world in code. In normal cases, too large map sizes would give an out of memory error on the log. However, that is not the case today if your system is packed with a lot of RAM.
Instead of giving an out of memory error, it would display a lovely runtime error. This runtime error is not produced, however, in the map editor. Only within the source code. I've only recently found out about it when someone who contacted me on Discord is trying to use very large map dimensions.
Numbered Steps to Reproduce Problem:
1. Setup the world.maxx, world.maxy, and world.maxz to very high limits (such as (1000x1000x40).
2. Compile it.
Code Snippet (if applicable) to Reproduce Problem:
world
maxx = 1000
maxy = 1000
maxz = 40
Expected Results:
Out of memory error. This was actually the case years ago when systems in general didn't have as much RAM to access.
Actual Results:
Does the problem occur:
Every time? Or how often? Every time in my case.
In other games? N/A
In other user accounts? N/A
On other computers? Only computers with a lot of RAM
When does the problem NOT occur?
If you are still running an old system with far less RAM (about the 256MB-1GB range).
Did the problem NOT occur in any earlier versions? If so, what was the last version that worked? (Visit http://www.byond.com/download/build to download old versions for testing.) This is currently unknown. It could have been something that was left undetected for many years.
Workarounds:
Avoid using very large map dimensions (in fact, even the map editor screams if you use such high map dimensions). Instead, rely on a runtime map loader or even find another solution.