[karajorma]

Just quickly and mostly out of sheer monkey curiosity but...

Can you remove the pof once you've got the ibx file or is there something still using it?

TopAce : You'll probably only generate an IBX if you used a ship not in FS2. Taylor's vp appears to contain most of the pofs in FS2 (176 pofs in Sparky and 130 in Taylor's vp file). Try flying an Ares or Artemis D.H (Both of which are missing).

[taylor]

Originally posted by karajorma
Can you remove the pof once you've got the ibx file or is there something still using it?

The IBX is tied to the POF only as far as version matching.  A checksum is generated of the POF and stored in the IBX.  When the IBX is loaded it verifies that the current POF checksum matches and if not creates a new IBX.  If the POF is missing then it ignores the IBX, if the POF is exchanged with another of the same name then the IBX should regenerate.  Also, the IBX files are ignored unless you are using HT&L.

The IBX code is simple and pretty forgiving.  About the only thing it doesn't handle at the moment is a partially generated IBX.  I've got an idea or two to fix that situation but I probably won't implement it unless people like the IBX code as it is now.

The VP I included was just a test, I didn't generate all of the IBX files since it was really just to demonstrate the new code.  If the IBX code goes into CVS then a true official MediaVP should have all of the POFs pregenerated.  Mod makers can do the same thing.

[TopAce]

I must have missed something with these IBX things. Downloading both files again . . .

[Trivial Psychic]

Originally posted by Singh
The CTDs have occured in two confirmed spots so far: When loading the inferno mission after de-beaming the Diablo, it loads find, but after hitting commit after the briefing or selecting weapons, it doesn't go to the mission AT ALL. It straightaways CTDs. It does not load anything, it does not display anything, CTD almost immediately after trying to get in-mission.

Inferno R1 has some problems with FSO, unless you've got the R1 Patch.  So far the patch is only available to testers.  No official word on when the final will be released.  That specific mission problem was due to a freighter having too many maps.  The patch contains a pof that uses much smaller number of maps, so to not break HTL limits.

Originally posted by Singh
This may be limited to inferno, but their is one mroe time I get it, in the vanilla campaign.
Im currently on the mission where we encounter Kappa 3 and test out the Tag A missile. Now, after finishing the mission and jumping out, it CTDs even before starting to load the debrief screen. It doesn't bother trying to load. It jumps out smoothly, turns to black for a second, and the next thing I see is the desktop.

Reminds me of the CoMT bug from earlier this year.  Taylor was the one who fixed it.  Did you have this problem with any other missions using this build?

[Nuke]

im still having problems getting my mod to work. i get this error message:

Error: Couldn't find weapon loadout screen animation ''

File:U:\src\cvs\fs2_open.pilot\code\MissionUI\MissionWeaponChoice.cpp
Line: 1528

Call stack:
------------------------------------------------------------------
    fs2_open_T-20040822.exe 00586092()
    fs2_open_T-20040822.exe 00586113()
    fs2_open_T-20040822.exe 004ffb91()
    fs2_open_T-20040822.exe 0057955e()
    fs2_open_T-20040822.exe 00406dda()
    fs2_open_T-20040822.exe 005ffbe5()
    KERNEL32.dll 7c5987e7()
------------------------------------------------------------------

the last build ive been able to run my mod under is 29072004_fs2_open_r.exe. it runs fine under that build. all animations are accounted for, so theres a bug of sorts in the animation checking code. at the very least is it possible to bypass the checker with a command line option. as you can see it doesnt name any missing ani file and fred doesnt give me any table warnings.

[taylor]

Originally posted by Nuke
Error: Couldn't find weapon loadout screen animation ''

It can only show the filename if it knows what that filename is.  Check your weapons.tbl for missing or not set "$Anim:" flags.  Any weapons that are available to the player should have the "$Anim:" flag with an animation specified.  "$Anim:" is listed as an optional string so I don't know if FRED would warn about it.

There could be something else going on there but that's the first thing to check.  If that doesn't help any then report back.

[Nuke]

oops, i accidently had a "player allowed" flag in one of my capship weapons that did not have an anim tag. the first thig i did when i got the error was to check all the anim flags and i guess i shoulda checked all the weapons for anomalies, instead of just the player weapons.

anyway thanks for the help. problem is gone now and the build works fine. it might be a good idea to have fred's debuger check those $anim: tags as well.

[DW-Florian]

Looks like the Volition missions are no more validated (?!)

[Trivial Psychic]

This build works well for me.  No support ship or joystick problems.  I still haven't tried this with a mod directory, or checked to see if it plays movies alright.  One weird thing was the fact that the laucher couldn't find the registry entries.  When I selected the registry tab, a message came up telling me that it failed to read the registry and it all comes up blank.  I'm not sure if its a result of using this build, or if its something that Norton did while performing its registry cleanup, which it did just before I selected the new build.  In any case, I tried playing the game and had no problems what so ever.  In fact, it even ran smooth with Norton running in the background.  Usually I shut it down and restart explorer before playing, but I played 6 missions without with no weird errors.  I'd also like to compliment the implimentation of the new ibx system, which speeds up mission loading to like 25% of what it was, or better.  By the way, what does IBX stand for?

Later!

[taylor]

Originally posted by Trivial Psychic
By the way, what does IBX stand for?

Index Buffer eXchange

History ('cause, what the hell, it's late and I've got nothing better to do):
This code was actually never going to be released, I only used it for myself to speed up loading so I could bug test faster.  After about a month of using it I decided to clean it up so that it's not so hackish and made a post about it in the internal forum.  No one objected so I added the code to this test build to see if it was worth having.  I'd rather have the new POF format that includes this stuff already but there is no telling when that's going to happen so this is the next best thing.

Truth:
Originally it was .buf but that was a bit stupid when other people might get see it.  Later it was going to be .idx but I spelled it wrong once (b rather than d) and thought it would work so IBX it was.  I just pulled the Index Buffer eXchange thing out of my butt cause I needed a better response.

[Forinec]

Question: How well does this build work with the shadow3 beta build? I recall in the 3.6 build, some missions wouldn't load properly and I would be returned to the desktop, but this only happened in shadow mode and only on specific missions. I even made a shadow test level and was able to reproduce the error. (You start in a fighter hovering over a leviathan, which leads me to the suspicion that if your craft is casting a shadow at the beginning of a mission, it can cause strange problems. I'm definitely not sure on this matter, but perhaps it'll help some in improving the shadow build.)

Also, I'm glad the fenris problem has been worked on. I hope this also fixes the hercules problems I was having as well. You're doing an excellent job on SCP.

[karajorma]

There won't be any shadows in this build. There won't be any shadows in any builds in fact until Bob stops working on Ferrium and decides to completely re-write the shadow code. He's already stated that what was released was more of a public experiment than a serious attempt to get a CVSable version of the shadows working.

[Trivial Psychic]

Finally got another chance to test this.  MODS work fine, but for movies, I still get a black screen freeze which can only be freed by a cold boot... and not the one on my foot   I guess I'll have to stick to running with movies disabled for now.

[GT-Keravnos]

I made a fresh installation of FS2, patched up to 1.2, used Lightspeed's 27 Aug Shine LT pack, and Taylors' exe, along with the IBX .vp

UPDATE... Have played till the trinity mission, when you 're about to enter the hyper-gate and head into shivan space. No SLOWDOWNS, missions load in second, IT IS THE WORKS. I am shocked and amazed at the versality of the thing... My settings on the launcher...(there is another file with the exe the .ibx thing. It is amazing. The zip/rar file contains a .vp file Make sure it is installed in the root folder ---where the other .vp's reside. It can speed up the loading of the game by 300%).

F:\Games\Fs2\fs2_open_T-20040822.exe -spec -glow -d3dmipmap -targetinfo -2d_poof -orbradar

Meaning I have enabled
Specular
Glowmaps
Mipmapping
Info next to target
3d radar.

I must say again, I AM AMAZED AT THE SPEED AT WHICH THE GAME LOADS THE MISSIONS. IT IS AS IF IT ACCESSES RAM.

The only BIG thing I haven't done is enable 32 bit colours.
Everything is SUPER, pilot is OK, support ships work...everything works as it should. In fact, I think I will try to finish FS2 (again) just to see if any more errors lurk.

ONE MINOR *****ING POINT...

When playing that version when pressing the asterisk in the num key board, you get a 3rd person view of the craft. While it is perfectly playable, and wonderful for me to use, sometimes it holds.

Allow me to elaborate...

Normally, when you turn left, your ship will flip to the right as if it attempts to do what you order it but is just slightly late. It is very awarding visually to see.

Point is some ships, and mostly bombers either lose "cohesion" or revert to a single fixed point and don't "heave and ebb" like they should.

@ Taylor, amazing work as always, if you choose to look at my pet pieve, just take ANY fighter for a spin, press the asterisk on the num keyboard and try going left-right-up-down. You will see first hand what I am talking about. It would be REALLY nice if this thing got fixed.

Again, thank you...

System...
2.4 P4 400MhZ FSB, 512 RDRAM, Asus p4B, EAX enabled soundblaster, defragged drive, Ti4200 64MB RAM.

[Lightspeed]

The most disturbing problem right now is the loading code corrupting the game so it will not find files anymore.

[taylor]

Originally posted by Lightspeed
The most disturbing problem right now is the loading code corrupting the game so it will not find files anymore.

That's the problem with the textures disappearing right?  I see the Mantis bug, does it happen in OGL too?  I'll a look at this as soon as I can.

Originally posted by GT-Keravnos
Point is some ships, and mostly bombers either lose "cohesion" or revert to a single fixed point and don't "heave and ebb" like they should.

TODO list item number 3.  Has that been an issue for a while or is it new to this build?

[GT-Keravnos]

Ever since Retail version.  Was originally a retail addon, you could see the ship but it didn't have the HUD with it, so it was really a beauty shot option.

No, it isn't new on this build. Just overlooked till now. Hopefully it is fixable. Thank you again for taking the time to make it perfect.

( I just hope you don't change the way + and - works on the numpad. I am so used to them zooming in and out while in 3rd person mode, that it is second nature)

After work tonight, I will keep on playing the game till I either finish it  or it crashes... Let's see who quits first, me or the game...


I use d3d and play on 1024*768 WITHOUT any sort of AA.

[GT-Keravnos]

And another minor thing. Sometimes, in the beginning of the mission, the joystick I use is unresponsive. It doesn't do anything for a few seconds. Then I press fire and things go back to normal, movement wise.

Not really a bug, but it happens, so I reported it.

[Singh]

Originally posted by Trivial Psychic

Reminds me of the CoMT bug from earlier this year.  Taylor was the one who fixed it.  Did you have this problem with any other missions using this build?

Nope; not really.

No idea what can be causing it - but I really need to get past the mission so I can play the rest of the campaign somehow

[übermetroid]

Things I notice, when a high poly frenis jumps in game the FPS drops from 120 to 42 and then after a few seconds goes back to 120.

alt-tab to other programs does not work. I used to alt-tab to fred to work on my missions, but if I alt-tab out, I can not get back to FS2.