0.2.8.3_rc1 available! Post bug reports here.

Help test release candidates for the next release
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Z-Man
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Re: 0.2.8.3_rc1 available! Post bug reports here.

Post by Z-Man »

No problem, we're almost done there. armagetronad-0.2.8_r7854.gcc.win32.exe

My guess is that it's affected and I'll be giving you the next build to test right away.

Edit: here it is. armagetronad-0.2.8_r7852.gcc.win32.exe
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sinewav
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Re: 0.2.8.3_rc1 available! Post bug reports here.

Post by sinewav »

Both were bugged.
r7850 next and last? :)
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Re: 0.2.8.3_rc1 available! Post bug reports here.

Post by Z-Man »

No :) There was only one change on 0.2.8 from 7848 to 7852, that must be it. A big one, unfortunately: the switch from rendering cycle walls individually to rendering all walls of one cycle at once. Now comes the hard part: testing random code changes to the current source that revert that change a bit (it's essential to the performance increase, so reverting it completely is not really an option), trying to get it working again.

But first, clarification is needed:
- The texture vanishes only if you're using a moviepack?
- The texture vanishes every time someone turns or dies for one frame only?
- All cycle trails are affected, not just the trail of the cycle turning?
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Re: 0.2.8.3_rc1 available! Post bug reports here.

Post by sinewav »

- The texture vanishes only if you're using a moviepack?
Correct.

- The texture vanishes every time someone turns or dies for one frame only?
It's quite random at times. In r7852, the match starts with all dir_wall.png loaded for all cycles except the player. As the match progresses, dir_wall will disappear from one or more cycles for several seconds before returning. This action will occur when a cycle turns or explodes, usually affecting that cycle, but may affect others.

In other versions I've seen the bug act a little more strangely, sometimes switching dir_wall on/off randomly without an event, and even flickering rapidly for a few seconds.

- All cycle trails are affected, not just the trail of the cycle turning?
Yes
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Re: 0.2.8.3_rc1 available! Post bug reports here.

Post by Z-Man »

Shot in the dark fix attempt for the texture vanishing problem:
armagetronad-0.2.8.3_sinewaw.gcc.win32.exe
I figure it may be caused by fresh walls being rendered in a way that your card/driver can't cope with properly. This version just doesn't render fresh walls. There's a setting NEW_WALL_RENDER_DELAY that can be used to tune the delay. Crank it up to 1, if textures still disappear with that, the reason must be something else.
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Re: 0.2.8.3_rc1 available! Post bug reports here.

Post by sinewav »

Z-Man wrote:...if textures still disappear with that, the reason must be something else.
:( Something else.

Here is something I didn't notice before. In a local game, the dir_wall texture will disappear from the entire trail for a significant amount of time. But in a network game, only parts of the trail lose texture, and seem to flicker back on much quicker. Sometimes it's hardly noticeable at all in a network game. I don't know if that helps, but because there is a difference in behavior, perhaps it is a clue.

EDIT: Oh yeah, check out how the alpha blending "eats" through the trail in the local game image. That's pretty weird too.
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Re: 0.2.8.3_rc1 available! Post bug reports here.

Post by Z-Man »

The upper picture is a rendering order issue; alpha blending looks that way if the alpha objects are rendered before some of the objects in the background (the yellow walls, in that case). Odd. I'm quite sure all solid walls are rendered before the fresh segment out of the cycle. The lower shot looks like it's only the alpha section that doesn't get textured (note the color continuity at the top of the wall). Oh well.
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Re: 0.2.8.3_rc1 available! Post bug reports here.

Post by sinewav »

Actually, that lower image probably gives a false impression anyway. The texture popping can happen anywhere along the trail (but does happen near the cycle quite a bit). Maybe it's just a problem for lame ATI chips on crappy laptops. After all, no one else has even seen it - or cares. I say forget about it and go for RC3. :)
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Re: 0.2.8.3_rc1 available! Post bug reports here.

Post by Z-Man »

You're probably right. I'll get to it as soon as bazaarmagetron runs again ;)
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Re: 0.2.8.3_rc1 available! Post bug reports here.

Post by sinewav »

sinewav wrote:The texture popping can happen anywhere along the trail ... Maybe it's just a problem for lame ATI chips on crappy laptops.
I wanted to give you some good news. I don't think Armagetron is the source of this problem I have. Nor is it my crappy computer necessarily. I think it has something to do with other applications I use, possibly Sound Forge or Photoshop. I haven't narrowed down which one yet, but it may be related to incompatible DLLs changing the video environment, which then causes Arma to act inconsistently. This alleged "bug" I found has only been occurring intermittently on my machine as of late, whereas before it was constant. So, sorry for all the trouble I caused above, but a software conflict never came to mind because I never saw evidence of one.

Also, how close are you to wrapping up 0.2.8.3? Just curious. After using RC4 for a while now, I feel pretty good about it. :wink:
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Re: 0.2.8.3_rc1 available! Post bug reports here.

Post by Z-Man »

sinewav wrote:Also, how close are you to wrapping up 0.2.8.3? Just curious. After using RC4 for a while now, I feel pretty good about it. :wink:
Err, I'm a slacker and busy ignoring Phytotron's much too detailed bug reports :)
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Re: 0.2.8.3_rc1 available! Post bug reports here.

Post by Phytotron »

:|

Better more info and even useless information than insufficient, wouldn't you say? It's like going to the doctor or a mechanic. I tell you everything that seems out of the ordinary, and it's your job as the professional with the expertise to sort out what's meaningful or not, yeah?
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Re: 0.2.8.3_rc1 available! Post bug reports here.

Post by Jonathan »

Phytotron wrote::|

Better more info and even useless information than insufficient, wouldn't you say? It's like going to the doctor or a mechanic. I tell you everything that seems out of the ordinary, and it's your job as the volunteer with the expertise to sort out what's meaningful or not, yeah?
??
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Re: 0.2.8.3_rc1 available! Post bug reports here.

Post by Phytotron »

Doctors and mechanics are professionals. It was continuation of the analogy, if somewhat poorly worded to indicate such. Like I don't know it's a nonprofessional, volunteer effort? C'mon, man.
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Re: 0.2.8.3_rc1 available! Post bug reports here.

Post by sinewav »

D: Oh god I hate to bring this up again but...
sinewav wrote:BUG: dir_wall.png disappears from loaded moviepack textures on camera change, angle change, player death. Reappears intermittently.
That stupid, aggravating bug. I just discovered it only happens with LOWER_SKY 1. I can turn the sky on and off, the the effect follows. I'm sure you just want to forget about this, but I thought I would post this information anyway, since maybe it's the kind of information that makes you say "oh, I know exactly what causes that. easy fix!" (unlikely).

Note: UPPER_SKY, SKY_WOBBLE and all other display preferences don't seem to affect it at all. Just LOWER_SKY.
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