[Karza]

This is the first build in a long time that actually works with my machine. Well, sort of anyway. The problem is that I can only play a single mission and then I have to restart the game, because it either crashes when moving from the debriefing to the next mission (during loading), or shortly after the beginning of the next mission. Also, framerate occasionally drops quite dramatically, but this is rare and lasts for only a second or so. Anyway, it's a definite improvement since lately SCP hasn't worked on my machine at all .

I'll try the debug version when I have the time, see what that turns up.

My specs are: AXP 2600+, 1024 MB DDR333, Radeon 9800 pro 128 MB (catalyst 5,2), DirectX 9c, WinXP home SP2.

My commandline is: \fs2_open_C20050306b.exe -spec -glow -pcx32 -jpgtga, and I'm using the following .vps: adveffects, aseffects, core, effects, models, textures, zpack plus Kara_Temporary_asEffects_Workaround.vp (the cruiser03x fix).

[Pro_D]

This:
http://fs2source.warpcore.org/exes/latest/C20050306b.zip
seems the most stable (on my machine) build I have ever ran (besides retail exe).  I have had serious issues since some of the first open source builds (and walked away for a long while).  I don't know what you've done but it seems to be a step in the right direction. I can finaly play multiple missions back to back (the 20050212 cvs build ran, just not multi missions).  Not only that but I can have the music pack put in and it doesn't (seem) to crash (I have only tried a few missions).

The down side: it crashed on exit (I can live with that, hehe) and on the freespace campaign, 2nd mission in a row I played (where you are under cover trying to steal a transport from ntf, sorry can't remember mission) the ambient (no fighting) music kept getting stuck (play a second or 2, glitch and play the same second or 2).

As for performance, I am still running fs2 at 1024x768 w/ 16x antialiasing and anisotropic filtering (open gl mode) with respectable fps (haven't seen a drop near 30 fps usualy arount 60 fps in moderate battles and 120 (refresh rate) no battle).

... now if I can just get the babylon project to work...

specs: p4 2.6ghz, 1gig ram, geforce 6800GT driver: 66.93, OS: win2k.

[Karza]

Saved by the old troublemaker!

I installed mv_music.vp and now the build works almost perfectly! There is still the (fairly rare) problem of split-second freezing mid-mission, but other than that it works like a dream.

Now excuse me, I think I have some shivans to blast

[Tann San]

hey, i tried all the builds on the builds download page and yours was the only one that let me run a standalone game on my server.  all the others died whilst reading levels at the start.  i run a 2k server downstairs and im running the standalone on that.  im connected to that with another machine.  i can see the standalone game in the multiplayer game listing but when i double click it it says "you have been rejected, this game hates you" well ok it doesnt end like that but maybe someone recognises the beginning.  i've never played multiplayer before so i assumed i just double click the server to start.  i tried to create a game but i think it just did that on mine and not the server.  to test out that theory i put an extra multiplayer level in both the multidata and mission folders.  couldnt see them when i tried to create a game so i figured i was the server and not the standalone.  am i missing something basic?  i tried forwarding loads of ports that i picked up from around the forum and it made no difference.  i took them all out again as it didnt affect me being able to see the server listed.  please help i want to play.

[Tann San]

hey, well I've dedicated most of this weekend to getting multiplayer to work and nothing seems to do it.  I'm using the latest version posted (fs2_open_C20050306b.exe) on both my machine and the server.  I tried the debug version and got some errors on the server which I sussed out was because I didnt have some vp files in the freespace folder.  Copied them in and that got rid of the error messages.  The fs.log file on both machines is blank.

I can see the dedicated server in the game listing but I cant join it.  The message is "You have been rejected, the game is not in an appropriate state".  well i think thats still not quite the message but its very similar.  has anyone got this before and got around it?

I tried running normal multiplayer hosting (multi ingame->create game) on both mine and the server and tried connecting with the other machine (depending which i tried hosting on) and both get the message.  I disconnected my internet connection and dropped both systems firewalls and still got the message.  If I force a port on the server then i cant see the game upstairs.  I can force a port upstairs if the server is left on 0 and see the game listed still but it doesnt change the error message I get.  I'm totally stumped now as taking the firewalls down was my last great idea!

[kasperl]

First off, it might help if you grabbed some paper and wrote down the messages you got next time.

You're trying LAN play, right? Did it work on normal FS? What's the OS on those two machines?

[Tann San]

hey, yes thats right im trying to setup a lan game (for now).  I run windows 2000 server edition on the server downstairs and windows xp on my client system.  the servers going to get upgraded to 2003 server in the next few weeks.  Both systems are windows updated constantly so their both up to date.  Heres the error message word for word :¬)

You have been rejected because the game is not in an appropriate state to accept

happens when i click either join or join as an observer.  like i said before i tried it the other way around where my client ran the standalone server and i tried joining from the server and got the same message.  tried both combinations without the standalone and did in game hosting instead and that didnt do it either.  I can see the game server name as Standalone Server and if I change it to something else like Pob then I'll see it as Pob.  It says game "forming" on the left hand side, a level name and 0 players.  If I put a password on then it will ask the client to enter one but when i click ok on the password box i then get the same error message.

edit-> dont know if it worked as normal retail fs2, dont think it did but i cant recall what happened for sure, ooooo i know your going to say try that again.....i'll do that in a couple of hours got some other things to take care of, any other suggestions are very very welcome.

[kasperl]

Trying retail would be greatly appreciated. Trying any other FSO build too. You might want to ask the same question in the general SCP forum, instead of this rather hidden thread.

[Tann San]

hey again, just tried retail on the server and it wouldnt finish loading missions.  it starts to query the first one and then dies, the standalone panel simply closes.  I remembered thats what it did before, tried toms old build 1.3.6 and that dies at the same point if not sooner.  I'm done with this game for today i reckon, i know my friend will be calling me up later nagging about it but i'll just tell him to do it himself and get back to me after a week of dissapointment...tisk...i know its not anyone heres fault, if you can all play and i cant then its got to be something with my setup...oh there i go again!  i'll take your advice and post it in the other forum when i calm down a bit.  thanks :¬)

[kasperl]

I had a brainwave reading your post aboput the FS2 behaviour, do you have any of the mediaVP's or other FSO only content still installed when trying FS2 retail? If so, it will die, whatever you try. You can de-install a .VP file by calling it VPdisabled or VPbah or something. Just change the extension. Change it back to get it to work again.

[Tann San]

no, i did a decent trawl through the forum for other people having multiplayer problems.  removing all fso files is recommended all over the place so i made sure there were none left.  made a folder called root and then moved all fso data into that.  did the few files in the data folder as well.  that includes all .vp files that i put in for fso.

i had a couple more ideas although i cant test them till later tonight.  the first is to try the 3.6.6 vps, i didnt think these would make a difference but i dont know any better!  the second idea is to try the v4 loader.  i saw a page that said that the v5 loader was for later versions of the fso exe and that v4 was for this one, will that make a difference?  im using the v5 loader btw.

[Tann San]

hehe ok so there goes the weekend, couldnt let it go and have spent hours tinkering with things to no avail.  decided to look up the error message in the original source code and see if any comments around it would indicate what the problem was.  The error I posted before is listed in MultiMsgs.cpp, i did a search for JOIN_DENY_JR_STATE which is the value sent in to produce the message and that cropped up in multiutil.cpp.  in there is a function called "multi_eval_join_request".  right near the top of the function is this snippet:

// check to make sure we are otherwise in a state to accept
if(Netgame.game_state != NETGAME_STATE_FORMING){
return JOIN_DENY_JR_STATE;
}

// the standalone has some oddball situations which we must handle seperately
if(Game_mode & GM_STANDALONE_SERVER){

that indicates that if the server is in the "Forming" stage that i cant join.  well its true when i run the dedicated server downstairs the client upstairs sees the server game as forming and i get the message.  i was wondering if you could alter it to something like:

if(Netgame.game_state != NETGAME_STATE_FORMING && !GM_STANDALONE_SERVER){

i tried the latest build from yesterday (16/04 - C20050415.zip) and the standalone wouldnt run, it crashed during mission loading at startup.  what does everyone elses standalones say when they run them?  i assumed "Forming" was a good thing and it meant it was at the level select screen.  as the first person to join i would get to pick the mission.  that code chunk seems to indicate otherwise.  do you think that simple change might fix it and if so could you rebuild the version fs2_open_C20050306b.exe with it in, pleeeeeeeaaaaase :¬)

[WMCoolmon]

I probably won't be able to take a look at this today, I'll try to remember to look at it tomorrow.

[kasperl]

Always use the launcher meant for your current build, new launchers don't work with old builds, and the other way around.

[Tann San]

oooo so you think it could just be because of the loader then?  im using the v5 loader with the exe i listed above, should i be using the v4 one then and if so could you post a link to it?  there was a link to it on a page in the wiki that had all of them listed but it doesnt work.

[kasperl]

Current build+Launcher v5=OK.

[Tann San]

oh well, worth a thought i guess :¬) so what do you see when you are the first person to connect to a standalone server?  do you see it saying Forming or does it say something else normally?

[kasperl]

You see it as forming, you're taking to a mission select screen, and you can pick the mission and stuff. IIRC.

[Nix]

I'm experiencing pretty major hits towards memory as well, resulting in complete freezups for a second then back to normal gameplay.  Sometimes I will CTD when this happens.  I have my stats turned on and I see a major hit to Texture memory and my total available memory.  I've got a 2 GB swapfile according to FSO, and that usually stays pretty static.  I'll start a mission in Derelict, pretty much any mission and I'll start off with 300 MB free texture memory.  Any time something new jumps in or anything, the text. mem goes down, which is to be expected.  Turns out I hit rock bottom constantly, 0 MB texture memory, and it seems to free up some but it just gets sucked back down again, and when it hits 0, the game freezes.  
I'm running an Athlon 64 3000+ on Windows XP Pro 32 bit, 1GB RAM Radeon 9800Pro 128MB onboard VRAM, my flags are similar to those above who have the memory hits too.  I have pcx32 turned off, am using spec and glow, 2dpoof, etc.  I experience this playing the retail campaign or add-on, specificily BR's updated Derelict mod, and I am using the 3.6.6 media VP zpack, minus the music VP.

[StratComm]

the advanced effects - which include the animated textures - are seperate for a reason.  Try pulling them out of your root directory (aveffects or something IIRC) and see if you get any improvement in performance.  Unfortunately it's not at all unlikely that you'll use up 300 megs of texture memory over the course of a diverse mission, so there may not be much you can do.