0.2.8.3_rc4 available! Post bugs here.

[Z-Man]

So far, only on Sourceforge: https://sourceforge.net/projects/armage ... 2.8.3_rc4/
(It's already late, I'll do Launchpad maybe later tomorrow)

Changes:
- Pinging previously popular servers earlier for quicker server browsing
- Improved master server random polling, the second polled master now also is random, and all masters are polled if need be
- Custom camera snaps to cycle direction once when activated if the turn speed is zero.
- RESERVE_SCREEN_NAME now works regardless of the ALLOW_IMPOSTOR setting.
- USER_LEVEL now escapes the given authenticated name so you don't have to guess the escaping rules. Ex: USER_LEVEL "name with spaces@forums" 2 changes user level for name\_with\_spaces@forums

Minor stuff. If no LARGE problems surface, this should become 0.2.8.3, all minor fixes will be left to 0.2.8.3.1 in about two weeks.

Phytotron: Sorry, couldn't do anything about the sound oddity you reported. I can't see a recent change to the sound engine and don't hear anything wrong when playing myself. We'll need to find the change triggering the problem. Your first task: find the first release with it. Then we'll try that binary revision search thing.

[DDMJ]

If no LARGE problems surface, this should become 0.2.8.3

famous last words

but seriously, you rock Z-Man

[sinewav]

Man, that server browser tweak is incredible. Immediately noticeable. Good Zone.

[Infa(mous)]

I agree with Sinewav about the server browser. It's more responsive than I've ever had before.

Z-man, you're awesome

[Z-Man]

Z-man, you're awesome

As with the display list optimization, my patented step one for appearing awesone is to first do things in the most inefficient way possible Wait till we switch away from using bubblesort on the server list.

Yeah, it's not really bubblesort. It's slightly worse.

[Jonathan]

How about bogosort? Gotta be ready for quantum computing.

[kyle]

bogosort is fun, i use 2 passes of that for the randomized teams, except i don't check for order after the passes.

z-man you may want to port the master server fix and server list fix to 0.3 because the master times out a lot when i use that.

[Z-Man]

z-man you may want to port the master server fix and server list fix to 0.3 because the master times out a lot when i use that.

If you mean anything else by that than what we usually do (merge changes to 0.2.8 to the trunk, do alpha builds as we please), then sorry, no. 0.3.0 and other trunk builds are pretty much 'use at your own risk', and besides, there's a workaround: just exit the browser and immediately enter it again.

[kyle]

(merge changes to 0.2.8 to the trunk, do alpha builds as we please)

that's what i mean i forgot you do those periodical for a larger set of revisions of the 0.2.8 branch, I was just hoping to see those 2 sooner since masters are crazy right now , but no hurry.

[AI-team]

z-man you may want to port the master server fix and server list fix to 0.3 because the master times out a lot when i use that.

Mine times out everytime , I can only connect to servers using MoniTron ):

[Phytotron]

Phytotron: Sorry, couldn't do anything about the sound oddity you reported. I can't see a recent change to the sound engine and don't hear anything wrong when playing myself. We'll need to find the change triggering the problem. Your first task: find the first release with it. Then we'll try that binary revision search thing.

Right, I actually did that myself a little while ago. Forget the binary revisions—I downloaded 0.2.7.1, and brought over my old copy of 0.2.6.0. It seems the issue may be on my end, as it was pretty much the same with all three (seemed perhaps less exaggerated in 0.2.6.0, but maybe not). Of course, I was unfortunately unable to 'test' it in any servers with these previous versions. But I just entered Shrunkland-like settings into the local game console, as well as some others for trial-and-error.

The behaviour seems to have something to do with some relationship between CYCLE_SPEED, CYCLE_SOUND_SPEED, and acceleration. A server where speed and sound speed are equal values, and acceleration a greater value than speed, seem to cause the most exaggeration. Brakes may also come into play, but I didn't test that (didn't think of it until just now). Look at Shrunkland and Yellow Submarine as examples, whereas that Mud Puddle server doesn't exhibit it hardly at all (if at all). Like I said in the other thread, it's as though it can't handle a sudden drop and then increase in speed.

I'm fairly certain this never occurred with my previous computer (G3 iMac). As you might've read, I got a "new" G4 eMac a handful of months ago—wanted to see how it would handle the graphics/FPS and whatnot, thusly and hence my recent posts. I haven't bothered trying other people's computers, including my wife's laptop. [Sidebar: I've wanted to get my hands on another G3 iMac cheap so's to have a dedicated OS9 computer. Do any versions even run on OS9?]

Remember when I used to get horrible FPS using pre-0.2.8.x versions, and no one got it, but then nemo added some lib or some shit, and suddenly in 0.2.8... I had decent FPS? Maybe this is something along those lines? I dunno. [Sidebar II; Har! I still wonder as well about that old "kicked for cheating" thing that only happened to me under 0.2.7.1, but got cleared up subsequently. That was weird.]


I have another real bad rendering/graphics/something issue that occurs only in local games. It gets really, really choppy, even momentary freezes; not an FPS deal. (Did I mention this elsewhere?) Never happens in an online server. I'll come back to this later, so as to separate posts, but wanted to go ahead with a heads up. You said recordings are useless for rendering problems, but how about this? (Or the sound thing?)

[Z-Man]

No, no port was ever completed for OS9. Someone started, IIRC, but it's such a different beast from Windows and Unix that it never got anywhere.

Regarding recording usefulness, it's worth a try for the FPS problems. The recording will show where the slowness hits and I can check what gets done during those slow frames to get a guess at what's causing it. My money is on the AI unless you say you had those disabled. The pathfinding they do can be quite costy.

For the sound problem, it's probably useless. Sound is processed in a separate thread that only polls data from the main thread. And I have to admit my motivation to look for a fix is quite low, considering not one line of 0.2.8's sound code is still in use on the trunk and you're the only one reporting it as a problem, with the past version check suggesting it's unique to your range of hardware.

[sinewav]

I have another real bad rendering/graphics/something issue that occurs only in local games. It gets really, really choppy, even momentary freezes; not an FPS deal. (Did I mention this elsewhere?) Never happens in an online server.

Yes, I have this problem a lot. It seems like my system isn't strong enough to handle the AI. It runs great until I have 6 AI, then each new AI makes the problem more severe, so much that it eventually becomes unplayable after 10 AI (on my machine).

[Jonathan]

I did the performance check myself. Local games seem alright, even with 22 bots. But then this isn't the PowerBook.

About my only complaints related to performance:
- There's a short freeze occasionally, mostly when a bot explodes (or 15 at once when you seek revenge with CYCLE_RUBBER 0).
- My own performance isn't all that good anymore. Somehow I often think I'm right on when I turn, and I hear myself press the key right before I see myself hit the wall, and still I die. Oh well. I guess having touched just a little bit of somebody's Guitar Hero biased my timing to be later than usual (although I'm still quite sure I'd be JUST on time on an idealized system).

All unrelated to this version, I believe. Not sure about the freezes though. And I mean genuinely not sure, not like I think it might have actually changed.

Edit: I just got one huge freeze. Recording time.
Rapid edit 2: sound disabled, if it even works on Mac.

[compguygene]

I have been doing my own testing, regarding the sound engine, and local game. On my Acer Aspire one netbook, I do also see the behavior described in a local game with greater than 5 bots always, and occasionally with the standard 4 bots. I have noticed for a long time, that the sound engine seems to pause in Capture the Flag, for instance, when multiple repawns and deaths are occurring. However, testing manta and I have done have shown that the server "hiccups" or has a slight pause, whenever a respawn happens. I have also noticed a pause in the sound engine when 3+ people die nearly simultaneously in Fortress. I don't think it is the computer I tested for that behavior with. It is a quad-core AMD 64 Phenom CPU, with 4gb RAM and no other programs running, other than the few things I keep in the system tray. I also shut off the virus scanner and anti-spyware software whenever I run Armagetron on the Windows installation on said computer. I have seen the same behavior on the Linux (Ubuntu) installation.