[ZylonBane]

In some other threads, it's been mentioned that fs2_open missions will likely crash and burn if run under the original FS2 exe. Even if they don't crash they'll probably run incorrectly, but this wouldn't immediately be apparent. So how about eliminating any ambiguity and guarantee that players will know if they're trying to run an fs2_open mission?

I propose having fred2_open automatically add a command briefing stage that would say something like, "Do not attempt to play this mission. It was created for FS2-Open.".

fs2_open would be programmed to recognize and ignore this briefing stage. The original exe would display it. Sound good?

[demon442]

[mikhael]

Does that really need to be in the binaries? This is the sort of thing that readme files were made for.

[Goober5000]

I'm inclined to agree with mikhael.  People ought to be able to figure that out by themselves.

Good idea, though.

[ZylonBane]

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
- Thomas J. Watson, Chairman IBM, 1943

"640k ought to be enough for anybody."
- Bill Gates, 1981

"This is the sort of thing that readme files were made for."
- mikhael, 2002

[mikhael]

Originally posted by ZylonBane
"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
- Thomas J. Watson, Chairman IBM, 1943

"640k ought to be enough for anybody."
- Bill Gates, 1981

"This is the sort of thing that readme files were made for."
- mikhael, 2002

That puts me in damn good company.

[Goober5000]

That wasn't really called for...

Your suggestion is great, but it's just one more thing to add to the SCP list.  And when it can be easily handled with readme's, it's a low priority, methinks.

[Zarax]

Originally posted by ZylonBane
"640k ought to be enough for anybody FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS."
- Bill Gates, 1981

People has a tendency to forgot the last words...
But, here is my favourite:

"There will be a computer in any desktop and every home"
-Bill Gates' Vision, 1975

[Bobboau]

anyway the crashing would likely happen long before you even get to the CB screen, so it's sort of a mute point

[ZylonBane]

Originally posted by Bobboau
anyway the crashing would likely happen long before you even get to the CB screen, so it's sort of a mute point

But what about the missions which don't crash, but do critically rely on some changed behavior or bugfix of fs2_open? Massive player confusion could ensue when the mission fails to progress as planned.

Feh, sue me for trying to be user-friendly.

ps-- "moot point"

[Goober5000]

Originally posted by ZylonBane
But what about the missions which don't crash, but do critically rely on some changed behavior or bugfix of fs2_open? Massive player confusion could ensue when the mission fails to progress as planned.

This does have the distinct possibility of happening - for example, missions that use the beam-free-all-by-default mission flag but are identical in all other respects.  Mission designers will just have to make it very clear in the readme that it is a fs2_open only mission.

[mikhael]

Originally posted by Goober5000

Mission designers will just have to make it very clear in the readme that it is a fs2_open only mission.

Readme? You can't expect users to READ. Heck you'll be lucky if they figure out how to work the mouse long enough to download a the mission file, let alone locate a readme and actually engage the brainpower to read it.

Those darn readme files. So complex and daunting.

[LtNarol]

Don't try to save the stupid from themselves I say; if they're too stupid/lazy to read the readmes, then they can suffer from their own idiocracy.

[WMCoolmon]

Simple solution:

YOU MUST HAVE FS2_OPEN 3.3 FOR THE CAMPAIGN TO WORK PROPERLY
Download the Babylon Project Core Files

If they complain about their version not being right then...

[Sesquipedalian]

*Remembers detailed, failsafe readme he included in the SubspaceRift Sathanas mod*

*Remembers someone writing him asking why the demonstration mission didn't work*

*Laughs sardonically*

[Inquisitor]

Probably not a bad idea to trap errors elegantly, and make them meaningful.

Probably a few revs down the way though. Keep bugging us about it, or enter it into bugzilla so I don;t forget.

[Bobboau]

hell all we'd have to do is add an optional string that the new parser is designed to handel and the origonal one isn't and have fred write it every time,
but for now I beleve there isn't anything default that we have changed, so in order to use some new code change there is going to be something in the mission that the old fred or FS2 can't handel,
for example, the beam free default thing adds a line to the mission file that normal FS2 will go ape**** over,
seeing as the backward compatability we have been trying to maintaine is only alowing the new exe to read old missions and not the other way around it is likely that something will happen sooner or later that makes FSO missions totaly unplayable on origonal FS2, if it hasn't happened already.