New Build (2011-05-19) - A Few More Things (Updated!)

[Ultraken]

This build is the usual grab-bag of fixes and improvements. There's a slightly-updated asset pack too.

Update: I forgot to include an important change so I re-deployed the build. If you've already downloaded it, please get it again.


Downloads:

Testing Executable and Symbols - this is the preferred build for now
Release Executable and Symbols
Assets (updated 2011-05-19)


What's new:

* Shell displays better information for games that can't be joined
- Client does not have the map file installed:
. Show name in red
. show "Missing Map: <filename>" on join (multi_error/missing_map)
- Host locked the game or the game has ended:
. Show name in gray
. Show "Game Locked" on join (multi_error/game_locked)
- Game is full:
. Show name in dim green
. Show "Game Full" on join (multi_error/game_full)

* Check if a game can be joined before attempting to join

* Provide clear notification to un-launched clients when the game ends
- Show "The game has ended." message (multi_error/ended)

* Fixed an exception in the shell when a map had no description
- It now shows the name of the missing description file

* Apply original bullet impact strength for units smaller than 5m radius
- This restores 1.4 behavior for most user-pilotable units
- This also fixes the seismic wave divide-by-zero error

* Improved unit DoStuck behavior
- Searches further so it's more likely to find a route
- Checks for terrain collision in addition to geometry
- Ignores collisions further away than non-blocked terrain

* In the 4th NSDF mission, mark the Lemnos factory as an objective
- This allows the player to direct units to it from anywhere on the map

* Treat netural objects like friends if they're marked as objectives
- This restores 1.4 behavior for those objects

* Fixed bad dithering and missing transparency on the lower-right shell button

* Fixed CCA gun towers going inert after changing teams in "The Three Beacons"
- Misn14Mission now switches the team of the power plants too

* GunTowerProcess updates hazard region after switching teams

* Fixed "Camera Stack Overflow" assert in Misn17Mission
- This was specific to the Testing build but still annoying

* Fixed crash on losing last life in strategy MP with sync off
- This was a stack overflow caused by a recursive respawn loop (!)

* Exit the simulation more cleanly after leaving a game
- This prevents some asserts in the Testing build
- This also prevent an unnecessary resolution change

* Update: Shell commands can now refer to players by numeric id
- The /players command lists players by numeric id and name:
#0: Ultraken
#1: UltrakenToo
#2: UltrakenAlso
- Other commands can take a numeric id instead of a name:
/msg #1 hello
/kick #2
- This makes it easier to refer to players with duplicate or hard-to-type names

[Psychedelic Rhino]

Posting to share what I assume is an unintentional 'enhancement' of the Sasquatch convergence. Don't get me wrong, I think it's cool, but a few who don't like changes (*rubs chin* spock...lol...) may find it pushing the envelope.

As we all know, the convergence was intended to give the Sas a better hit ability shooting whatever cannons it happens to have loaded on its arm's hard-points. (see 'A' in the diagram below) I found it works awesomely! The green lines representing an unfocused/untargeted release of the cannons, the cyan, the targeted shot.

But the unintended abilities are even more sweet.

I found the cannons will focus, or cross, at the distance of the object targeted. . .of course. . .BUT it does not matter where that object is. . .it can even be behind you. This means you can drop a beacons (cyan dot) OR a number of beacons and use them to vary your focus point. Take 'B' in the diagram, it is at a distance where the convergence is maximized. I found that spread to be 90 degrees (which is drawn a bit more than 90 in 'B').

In figure 'C', I found if you drop two beacons, you can flick your targeting from one beacon to another and instantly "re-focus" your shots.

In figure 'D', I am attempting to show if you move your Sas while you have a beacon behind you targeted, you can vastly vary the spread of your shots.

2X blast is quite formidable using these techniques, basically allowing the Sas to hit 2 ships that have a very large spacing.

The question is, who will develop the skill-set to maximize this enhancement to its fullest potential? At his point in time, I'm guessing not many.

[Zax]

I'm going to say nobody. Your fears are unfounded- BZ2 has had convergence forever and nobody is using that to some...non existent? problem.

[Ultraken]

While it certainly wasn't what I intended, it's interesting enough that I'm tempted to leave it alone.

I do have a workable solution for it, though. The idea is to project the aim point onto a plane perpendicular to the line from the walker to the target. In your diagram, that plane would form a horizontal line through each small circle representing a target. When pointing directly at the target, it would match the current behavior exactly. As the aim direction moves away from the target, though, the weapons would converges further away until at 90 degrees the lines of fire are parallel. The lines of fire would stay parallel while pointing away from the plane.

[Psychedelic Rhino]

My suggestion would be to leave it as it is. It's quite novel and if someone is willing to spend the time developing the skill to make use of it, more power to em.

[Ultraken]

The "fixed" version I described would still allow shot divergence with a beacon dropped in front of you. It would only correct the counter-intuitive convergence with a beacon dropped behind you.

[Psychedelic Rhino]

That's actually ok, or possibly better for several reasons. First the cannon hard-points are well above the beacons so you can shoot over them without much problem, at least for the distances you would want to use them for divergence reasons. They also provide some shielding, especially for hornets and Shadowers that are a special headache for a platform that can't move fast. And lastly, you can keep an eye on their distance and not drift away in the middle of heated battle.

Here's a short video of the divergence spread.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1-ArR7Tgzo

[Zax]

Aha, after seeing that vid, I think it's a safe assessment that nobody will ever use it in that way, especially in a DM.

[Psychedelic Rhino]

I tend to agree. The major reason is Walkers have never been all that popular in DM. This probably will not raise it's ability to be competitive all that much even if someone did master it.

To master a complex number of necessary inputs required, (flipping between beacons, knowing how far away they are, what is the divergence required for the two UN-targed ships you see in the distance, etc) puts it on a whole different level of "splitting mags" or using beacons for defense.

Just recently, as in the last year or so, feel comfortable with actively swinging my rear view for vastly increasing my situational awareness. For years I was content with just having a stationary rear view, but now I can swing it at will to know exactly, and up to the second, where everyone is within my view distance.

[SnakeEye]

a quite severe problem with bombers, shown here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYZfmrLgjxk



i sometimes get this in the editor:
the instruction at 0x00000000 referenced at 0x00000000.
the memory could not be written

call stack

> ntdll.dll!_ZwWaitForSingleObject@12() + 0x15 bytes
ntdll.dll!_ZwWaitForSingleObject@12() + 0x15 bytes
kernel32.dll!_HeapFree@12() + 0x14 bytes
kernel32.dll!_WaitForSingleObjectExImplementation@12() + 0x43 bytes
kernel32.dll!_WaitForSingleObject@8() + 0x12 bytes
nvd3dum.dll!72541f6b()
[Frames below may be incorrect and/or missing, no symbols loaded for nvd3dum.dll]
nvd3dum.dll!72543803()
nvd3dum.dll!72543adb()
nvd3dum.dll!7253e8d9()
nvd3dum.dll!7253c057()
nvd3dum.dll!7253d64b()
nvd3dum.dll!7253f229()
nvd3dum.dll!7267fd9c()
nvd3dum.dll!72680fdf()
nvd3dum.dll!72680e5c()
nvd3dum.dll!726a1afb()
kernel32.dll!_HeapFree@12() + 0x14 bytes
04c36680()
nvd3dum.dll!72540513()
nvd3dum.dll!726a76da()
nvd3dum.dll!725677e0()
kernel32.dll!_HeapFree@12() + 0x14 bytes
nvd3dum.dll!7278f3c1()
nvd3dum.dll!7253f8fb()
nvd3dum.dll!726c8419()
nvd3dum.dll!7256df3c()
nvd3dum.dll!725a49a9()
nvd3dum.dll!7254d36e()
d3d9.dll!_DestroyDeviceLHDDI() + 0x11b65 bytes
d3d9.dll!_D3D8DeleteDirectDrawObject@4() + 0x2f bytes
d3d9.dll!CBaseDevice::~CBaseDevice() + 0xea bytes
d3d9.dll!CD3DBase::~CD3DBase() + 0xe3 bytes
d3d9.dll!CD3DHal::~CD3DHal() + 0xed bytes
d3d9.dll!CD3DHal::`vector deleting destructor'() + 0xd bytes
d3d9.dll!CBaseDevice::Release() + 0x15442 bytes
d3d9.dll!CMipVolume::Release() + 0x4c bytes
fraps32.dll!6357883a()
fraps32.dll!6357f98c()
fraps32.dll!63580f7e()
msvcrt.dll!_free() + 0x39 bytes
uxtheme.dll!72fa0234()
uxtheme.dll!__CRT_INIT@12() + 0x3940 bytes
fraps32.dll!63596590()
kernel32.dll!77137363()
msvcr90.dll!__crtExitProcess(int status=0x00000000) Line 731 + 0x9 bytes C
msvcr90.dll!doexit(int code=0x00000000, int quick=0x00000000, int retcaller=0x00000000) Line 632 C
msvcr90.dll!exit(int code=0x00000000) Line 412 + 0xc bytes C
bzint_d3d9.exe!0057c9e5()
kernel32.dll!@BaseThreadInitThunk@12() + 0x12 bytes
ntdll.dll!___RtlUserThreadStart@8() + 0x27 bytes
ntdll.dll!__RtlUserThreadStart@8() + 0x1b bytes

[Psychedelic Rhino]

Looks like the bombers get within a certain distance of the target and shut down.

[Ultraken]

They won't fire if they're closer than the blast radius of their weapons. The problem is that the situation comes up far more often than I thought it would.

I just changed that so units gradually reduce the distance threshold while too close, allowing them to fire eventually when they can't get far enough away. They'll reduce that threshold even faster while under fire. Taking some self-inflicted damage beats the alternative of sitting and doing nothing while getting chewed up by an aggressive enemy.

That particular crash seems to be related to FRAPS. I'm not sure what's going on with that, though.

[SnakeEye]

i found another problem with my howitzers, they should be able to fire but they wont:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_ASkAeRd8Q

Update: Spock found the cause of the problem here: http://www.battlezone1.org/post17944.html#p17944

[Ultraken]

The new build should fix that. The AI treated friendly proximity mines and splinter shells (!) as important and wouldn't try to shoot in their direction. Since they tend to be low to the ground, it's safe for AI to shoot over them so I just excluded them from MayHitFriends.