[neoterran]

yeah, taylor, way to go, you're our heart and soul. Even if you are a Open-Source zealot. 

[ThomasJeffersonJones]

How are the mediavp patches for effects and adv effects applied? 

In quickvp i can see how vp files can be extracted and merged...i think...but i can't figure how to recompile the resultant directories back into vp form -

Also if VPmage is the program to use, - does anyone have a link to a download?  I can't seem to get it from either hard-light or the source code project.

[Wanderer]

Just place the mediavp patches (.vp files) into your into your mediavp directory

EDIT: You dont have to rebuild the vp files or anything. And it might be better if you wouldnt do that at all as if you later on run into mediavp related trouble it can be a little difficult to figure out the problem that is caused by using custom mediavps.

[taylor]

The problem with A Game of Tag is known. The ships do warp in, they just do not approach as they should. There's a fixed version floating around somewhere which will take care of it until the bug is gone - search should find it easy enough.

Found the real cause last night.  Or, narrowed it down on one commit, I should say.  Didn't see anything obviously wrong and haven't had another chance to look yet.  It will get fixed for the official 3.6.9 though.

somebody got a boot up his arse from goob?

Actually I think it's my foot that's being swung about lately.  Sometimes it's just good to blame the other guy for being anal, and it's my turn to get blamed. 

... Even if you are a Open-Source zealot. 

Dude!  That's, like, the nicest thing that anyone has ever said to me!       

[Ace Pace]

Taylor, one thing I've been wondering about(since it's summer I think I'll finnaly take the plunge and look at the source code) is wether you guys have any plans to redo the AI code, or is it too tangled?

[vyper]

Getting black boxes around explosions and such. Since I've only just reinstalled FS2/fso I have no idea if this has been tracked down.

[Ace Pace]

Getting black boxes around explosions and such. Since I've only just reinstalled FS2/fso I have no idea if this has been tracked down.

I think thats related to the MediaVPs, download the patchs linked to in the opening post of this thread.

[vyper]

Already tried. :|

[taylor]

Already tried. :|

It would be the same problem though (incorrect image files).  Make sure no other mods are providing bad data and that you don't have any extra effect files in there which might be causing the problem.  You can pretty much only get those black squares if the effect is DXT5 or 32-bit TGA when it should be DXT1 or 24-bit TGA (ie, images that shouldn't have an alpha layer).  ANI, PCX and JPG images can't get rendered wrong like that since ANI is at most 24-bit (if using -img2dds), PCX is ignored completely, and JPG can only be 24-bit.

[Leviathis]

NOOB question here...

How do i get 3.6.9 to work..?

It gives me 2 files... "fs2_open_d" and "fs2_open_r"

Both of them give me a "fatal error" when i select them from the launcher.

??

[ARSPR]

NOOB question here...

How do i get 3.6.9 to work..?

It gives me 2 files... "fs2_open_d" and "fs2_open_r"

Both of them give me a "fatal error" when i select them from the launcher.

??

d are debug exes which creates a log file (fs.log IIRC) and do not have optimizations. You should normaly use r versions which are release ones but when tracking and reporting crashes.

Be sure that you have OpenAL instaled (search in creative web page), Launcher 5.4., vp 3.6.8. zeta and the alpha patches. Check Karajorma's FAQ on how to install FSOpen.

[Nuke]

scp is getting pretty damn stable lately. i was able to fly and blow up every ship in nukemod without a crash. taylor just kicks ass!

[IPAndrews]

Kara is your class change before arrival stuff in this?

[karajorma]

Yep. That was submitted to both CVS branches and should be in any build from now on

[Vasudan Admiral]

It would be the same problem though (incorrect image files).  Make sure no other mods are providing bad data and that you don't have any extra effect files in there which might be causing the problem.  You can pretty much only get those black squares if the effect is DXT5 or 32-bit TGA when it should be DXT1 or 24-bit TGA (ie, images that shouldn't have an alpha layer).  ANI, PCX and JPG images can't get rendered wrong like that since ANI is at most 24-bit (if using -img2dds), PCX is ignored completely, and JPG can only be 24-bit.

I think there might be more to it than that - it seems that only the bitmap in the "@Laser Glow:" field is rendered for primary weapon types ATM.

Anything I try in the "@Laser Bitmap:" field shows up as a black square in game as far as I can tell. Images without an alpha channel seem to have their black square backgrounds showing, such as the flak shots, and I don't think "@Laser Glow:" bitmap glows escape this totally either.
A few missile trails still have black background outlines, and some beams or pieces of beams are now missing. :\

Also, non-flak muzzleflashes don't appear to display when firing out of turrets anymore either - though if you arm the weapon on yourself, they do appear.
None of the above was present before the RC2 release - "fs2_open_T-20060513.exe".

Errm, should I mantis this or does it sound more like a messy install? Is anyone else having similar issues?
Other than that though, this build's rock solid. Not a crash in sight. Awesome work.

[taylor]

Sounds like a messy install actually.   But if you could send me one or more of those problem graphics I'd like to take a look and make sure that there isn't something wrong with the code.  That code was well tested, but that doesn't mean it's perfect, we're mainly just waiting on the content to catch up with the code at the moment.

[ThomasJeffersonJones]

I'm running 3.6.9RC3 with all 3.6.8zeta media vp's save adveffects,
anyway - at random points during missions, my framerate is perfect and everything is rendering correctly, yet my system will just completely power-off.  It just shuts itself down.  And this is not after hours of play... i've had my computer shut down a few minutes into the first mission of a play session. 

The only thing i can think of is cpu overheating activating some safeguard on the motherboard...I built the system myself and while the case doesn't have great airflow from the front, - i've never had any temparature problems in the past, everything's neat and tidy in there - and my system generally runs like a dream.

I don't have a  ton of experience with overheating issues -- and 3.6.9RC3 is the first fsopen build i've ever run...my introduction to the great work that's going on at HLP,  - does this system power off issue sound like overheating?  I've had this system for almost a year, and have run many games on it - so far Freespace SCP is the only application that's had this startling effect.  Does anyone here find that FS2SCP tends to heat up their system to an unusual degree?

     

[Diomedes]

noob question: where are the mediavp folders located?  I want to apply the patches but don't know where to put them.

[ARSPR]

noob question: where are the mediavp folders located?  I want to apply the patches but don't know where to put them.

They are located where you have installed it. Vps aren't folders, they are just a kind of 'zip archives' which contain models, textures and other effects which, if properly installed, override retail ones. Please read Karajorma's FAQ (look for the link in his signature a few posts above) on how to install mediavps, mods and so on. At the begining, setting up FSOpen with its enhacements can be a little tricky. (Just one thing, if you use the latest version of Launcher (v.5.4) you don't need to type SecondryList=,whatever instead of SecondaryList=whatever, they were tricks to solve previous version bugs. You will understand this after reading the FAQ).

I'm running 3.6.9RC3 with all 3.6.8zeta media vp's save adveffects,
anyway - at random points during missions, my framerate is perfect and everything is rendering correctly, yet my system will just completely power-off.  It just shuts itself down.  And this is not after hours of play... i've had my computer shut down a few minutes into the first mission of a play session. 

The only thing i can think of is cpu overheating activating some safeguard on the motherboard...I built the system myself and while the case doesn't have great airflow from the front, - i've never had any temparature problems in the past, everything's neat and tidy in there - and my system generally runs like a dream.

I don't have a  ton of experience with overheating issues -- and 3.6.9RC3 is the first fsopen build i've ever run...my introduction to the great work that's going on at HLP,  - does this system power off issue sound like overheating?  I've had this system for almost a year, and have run many games on it - so far Freespace SCP is the only application that's had this startling effect.  Does anyone here find that FS2SCP tends to heat up their system to an unusual degree?

FSOpen runs fine in my system. Try monitoring your Temperatures AND Mobo Voltages with Motherboard Monitor (search in google) or any other utility.

[Diomedes]

I asked only because I got the impression you have to use a prog to extract the contents of one of the main vp files (whereby you can access the mediavp directory), then recompile the vp files with the patches to complete the process... 

Having read the FAQ, it seems all i have to do is create a mediavps folder and dump them in there.  That done, I see no visible changes to the desired effect.