A little something extra...

[Ultraken]

I finally put those 24-bit unit BMP files to good use...




These are 16-bit (R5G6B5) textures loaded from a new MAP file type (type 2) created by a custom MakeMAP utility. I was originally going to create 24-bit (R8G8B8) and 32-bit (A8R8G8B8) types but this looked good enough that it seemed unnecessary.

[Ded10c]

Wow, those are a massive improvement.

[Ultraken]

If I had all the original source textures, I could make everything else look like that too.

[Psychedelic Rhino]

I see this as the continued failure to see the forest for the trees. For example, if BZ1.5 has indeed been hacked, (and I apologize if it is not so, as I have not witnessed it personally) why the heck are we seeing this work, instead of pursuing with vigor, the patch to block further hacking?

Those that are intimately involved in the intricacies of the game, might see some subtle difference in the textures. But I must also say, at this point in time, it really doesn't matter what improvements are lavished on BZ or any BZ mod.

I really don't see any significant difference. Certainly nothing that jumps out at the player, new or old.

But as I have said many times, a vast improvement that could have been easily done, and I argue, would have attracted players to stay once they saw the difference, was to significantly turn up the draw distance, lifting it out of the 90's at least in that respect. Also at this point in time, I realize those involved in modding or improving the game 'don't get it', and never will, at least IMHO.

So BZ will continue to be, and has been for years, just another bit of code three or four guys tweak here and there and share their efforts at backwater forums like this for comments from the other couple guys interested. Inconsequential, other than for a comment or two.

Stock textures;


>>Full 1900x 1080<<

[Red Devil]

i think someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning or hadn't had their coffee yet...

looks great, ken

[Ultraken]

I've been wanting to add higher-quality textures for a long time and this took me only a few hours after a few mis-steps. It might not be instantly obvious from 640x480 screenshots but it's hard to miss in-game, especially when you get close to units.

As for not pursuing this with vigor, I don't even know for sure what they did let alone how they did it, so I don't have a good place to even start. Battlezone is intrinsically insecure since it makes clients authoritative over their own units, so short of rewriting the entire network system to a client-server architecture--which is not going to happen--there isn't much I can do about it. Remember, Battlezone is something I work on for fun in my limited free time and open-ended, ill-defined problems like this in areas well outside my area of expertise are especially hard to deal with. I already have enough trouble staying focused since most ofthe remaining problems are hard to track down, let alone fix--and I get enough of that in my day job without my hobby getting in on the act too.

[Ultraken]

As I replied elsewhere, "WHY CAN'T YOU JUST BE HAPPY FOR ME?"



Also, the aggravating thing about trying to defend against hacks and so forth is that I have no idea if anything I try to fix actually fixes anything.

[Apollo]

We are ALL HAPPY for you KEN. Sorry if we aggravate you but you'll have that when you pop in once in a blue moon


BFT yes i "GET IT"" and also my response was the view distance effects the amount of data being sent thus causing lag.

If Ken can come up with a way around that then you'll still need to sort out any mission bugs from a long view like pushing back fog when it clearly is intended tobe there.

Also, i don't think the game can maintain 75fps for all with 1600 meter views and would likely make strat unplayable.

The Hack in 1.5.1.6, as i heard it described, was an odf hack on both a turret and weapon. This can't be stoped with known, open assets, in my opinion.

[General BlackDragon]

BZ2 stops it.

[Apollo]

BZ2 stops it.

So does BzE.

[Psychedelic Rhino]

BZE must indeed stop it. Because if there was ever a BZ mod that 'certain people' would love to hack, or see hacked, it would have been BZE. Since BZE has survived, what now 5 years? and not been hacked, is a testament that there must be a way to at least hold the game trolls at bay. BZ1.4 was ravaged almost immediately.

As to draw distance, let's not exaggerate . . . I am well aware of the issues going crazy (1600m), but I routinely set BZ 1.4's view distance at 550 meters (render setting 290-300) with an old 2.4ghz with a nvidia 6600 @ 1024 back in 2003 with little issue, keeping frame rates in the 40's. I agree, seeing 550 meters has an effect in strat with those settings with an old PC. A game I have been playing lately, Tribes:Ascend has incredible draw distances, well past 1000 meters, as well as its predecessor 12 years ago. As to the BZ devs 'intending' the draw distance to be around a football field is sort of like saying NHRA and the IHRA Pro Modifieds cars can't do the 400 mph is because the quarter mile tracks are too short.

[Apollo]

If you set the VD in the cfg to 300 that is 750 meters also if you are droping the fps under 75 then the pc is too slow to keep up, causing more lag online.

[Zax]

If you set the VD in the cfg to 300 that is 750 meters also if you are droping the fps under 75 then the pc is too slow to keep up, causing more lag online.

What long distance viewing? I think BFT is forgetting the natural occurrence of "moon fog," plaguing astronauts for generations.

[Psychedelic Rhino]

I am looking at empirical view distance, not whatever math you might apply.

Go set BZ1.4 render.cfg to 300, I will challenge you see actually see anything past 600, you might be able to just make out objects at ~625 if you swing your view a bit left and right, even fully zoomed.

[Apollo]

My empirical view is seeing you quit games at the slightest bit of lag while any 3 people can't do splash damage on you and you want us to increase the network data just so you can see the whole map.

It's up to Ken to adjust the network data to allow for a longer VD without increasing lag but since the network data must be scaled for the game to run well, i can't think of a way to do it.

New games use a lot more bandwidth thus they can handle a longer VD.

IYRC, i made a broadband version for BzE and though it worked extremely well, the result was Tailspin scaled his bandwidth to what he said Bz should use. I believe others would do the same and so it will be abused too much. What i would like to do some day is add a host control for it.