[WangNukem]

Striker, on 12 January 2019 - 02:40 AM, said:

I'm saying that using the HRP will lag matches. There's no way around this. I cannot control this.

But would that mainly affect WAN matches instead of fast LAN matches?

[Striker]

WangNukem, on 12 January 2019 - 06:09 AM, said:

But would that mainly affect WAN matches instead of fast LAN matches?

Both. If there's ever a loading pause due to a new model or high res texture popping in, it'll cause a hitch which will affect everyone, and also increase the player pawn and shot trail-behind for the rest of the duration of the map. (Though it'll recover partially over time)

This is due to the game needing to stay in lockstep to keep synchronization.

[Kyanos]

I understand Strikers hesitation for using the HRP. I'd say there is a good argument against disabling autoload for oldmp.

With that said I will add that from my experience that older 2009 HRP runs fast on any modern pc and if everyone is on the same page using it in a game it's fine. The current Polymer HRP however would be a different case.

@Striker, do you think there is enough interest in this to assemble an Oldmp DM specific HRP. Trim and lean, in a pk3 in the mod folder is what I have in mind. I'll try to get something together at least for testing sake.

[WangNukem]

@Photonic

This would be really great!

An OldHRP-Pack, that is working with (and supported by) the new OldMP-Maintenance-Releases.

[Kyanos]

I have something ready for testing. It's the '09 HRP minus all the monsters, swapped in the new Duke model '13 by tea monster, new shotgun too. Made highres wide screen status bars (mixed bits and pieces from the HRP/megaton/fox's widescreen 8 bit bars) I also downsized some of the larger model skins from 1024^2 to 512.
I hope to get on discord later today and try it out.

[Striker]

EDuke32-OldMP Release 28 is out. Fixes a critical bug: https://gitlab.com/m...ldmp_release_28

Also, if you missed what was changed in r27 (since I forgot to post in here):

Fixed (hopefully) the random CON errors that would happen at startup with some mods like StrikerDM.
Fixed (hopefully) a freeze that could happen on level transition sometimes.
Fixed hang that would occur if more than 8 players were in a game and it couldn't find an unused player color.
Added the ability to make your own player colors. (addplayercolor   in CON. deleteplayercolor -1 in CON.)
Added the "palookup" DEF token from mainline EDuke32. (only partially supported, some subtokens are unused).

[Paul B]

Striker, on 12 January 2019 - 11:59 AM, said:

Both. If there's ever a loading pause due to a new model or high res texture popping in, it'll cause a hitch which will affect everyone, and also increase the player pawn and shot trail-behind for the rest of the duration of the map. (Though it'll recover partially over time)

This is due to the game needing to stay in lockstep to keep synchronization.

While true for resurrecting the old multiplayer functionality, it should have no bearing on EDuke32 when they actually implement the new version of multiplayer. I'm pretty sure the final release will resolve these sync concerns. Regardless of the Tileart used, it should make absolutely no difference between players. As long as everyone is running the same map version, it's not like the TileArt names change when using the HRP. They replace the exact same default tiles and the art should only be accessed locally and not streamed to other players. The network shouldn't know the difference whether HRP is being used on nodes or not, except for the computers running HRP.

[Striker]

EDuke32-OldMP Release 29 is out. I recommend updating, because this one fixes a critical bug that was causing frequent desynchs on map change. Sorry to make people re-download this thing so often, I don't often get much of a chance to test things before releasing.

https://gitlab.com/m...ldmp_release_29

[Paul B]

Striker, on 19 February 2019 - 07:57 PM, said:

EDuke32-OldMP Release 29 is out. I recommend updating, because this one fixes a critical bug that was causing frequent desynchs on map change. Sorry to make people re-download this thing so often, I don't often get much of a chance to test things before releasing.

https://gitlab.com/m...ldmp_release_29

Doing a great job! Keep up the good work! =)

[F!re-Fly]

Paul B, on 19 February 2019 - 08:07 PM, said:

Doing a great job! Keep up the good work! =)

Yay!!

[Marscaleb]

First of all, I want to thank you for the work you've put in on this. Having anything running at all for multiplayer is simply amazing, and I am definitely pleased to be getting as much as I am.

Of course, there are a few features I would like to see. I don't know how hard it would be to implement any of these, but I would like to at least talk about the possibility.

I think the biggest thing that should be addressed is: we need to be able to run a dedicated server. This game has a host advantage like nobody's business, and even if it still runs off on everybody's machine, a dedicated server should make it so at least nobody has a major advantage over the others.
Now I don't know how the inner workings of the game are handled, so that means it's super-easy for me to just assume that this shouldn't be hard to implement. Seriously though, could this be added?
Even if we can't have a true dedicated server where the server runs in the background, what about faking it by removing the server-player from the game? Like, just never have them spawn and remove them from the scoreboard; like a spectator mode maybe.

The next biggest thing for me is having a time limit on matches. Honestly I'm a bit surprised this isn't an option already. Could we get an update with this?

And then I'm wondering if it's possible to set up a map list. Instead of just moving to the next map in the same episode, I'd like to just set up a list of specifically chosen maps to play through. And with that, also have that list repeat, rather than dropping to the menu once the last level in the episode is over.

In a couple months I'm going to be running some classic deathmatch games at a gaming convention, and I would love to have Duke 3D on the list. I've been running Doom and Unreal Tournament for years, and every year someone mentions how we need Duke Nukem. I can't run a tournament unless we can remove the host advantage, and without an ability to cycle maps on a map list, I'm gonna have to do a lot of babysitting for this game. I'm gonna have it either way, but it makes the difference between having two or three computers running it maybe on request, or having it set up for some 8 player multiplayer mayhem.

[Striker]

Dedicated servers require a client/server based netcode. Duke3D (and by proxy, EDuke32-OldMP) is not client/server, it's a sync-based lockstep kind of netcode, like in the DOS days. Not going to happen for OldMP. It'll eventually happen for mainline EDuke32, but not this. Client/server netcode essentially requires a complete rewrite of a large chunk of Duke3D's code in general.

[Marscaleb]

Ah, I don't know much about netcode but I get enough to see why that would be a big change.

Well, I still would appreciate it we could get an update in the next couple months that could add match time limits and map cycles.

In the interim, are there any settings I can tweak to get the LAN games to run a little smoother? I was just running a small example with my laptop and my desktop, but the second player was noticeably lagging behind the first player. A lot of the people at the con haven't ever player the game before, or if they have, not in a long, long time. I'd hate to sour their experience because the game freezes for a split second when they try to shoot the host.

[Kyanos]

What mode did you use, there is master-slave or peer to peer options. see- jfduke3d release notes

The p2p option was always my go to for LAN, a bit more involved in connecting to a large group though as you need to enter all the ips. I think all the launcher programs use master slave. I just write out bat files for my needs, but this little thing may help.

[Marscaleb]

I just used the LANLauncher.bat that was included in the current version; what I saw linked at the start of this thread.
I had no idea there was such a major option for how the game connects. I'll need to test this out once I pull the computers out of storage so I can see how well it can handle a game with four or more players.

[pontifex91]

I am trying to get Total Meltdown for a cooperative, but in EDuke32-OldMP apparently some scripts are not processed. For example, on the Gates Motel (E4L3) map, some enemies do not move. I tried to run with the regular version of EDuke32, the scripts work there, but this either leads to random crashes, an invisible partner and the lack of damage of the partner. Depending on the build, I get various problems and cannot find the best build.

Any ideas how to get Total Meltdown to work in a co-op? Maybe need change something in EDuke32-OldMP, or would recommend a stable build with a regular version of EDuke32?

[Striker]

pontifex91, on 22 October 2019 - 03:48 PM, said:

I am trying to get Total Meltdown for a cooperative, but in EDuke32-OldMP apparently some scripts are not processed. For example, on the Gates Motel (E4L3) map, some enemies do not move. I tried to run with the regular version of EDuke32, the scripts work there, but this either leads to random crashes, an invisible partner and the lack of damage of the partner. Depending on the build, I get various problems and cannot find the best build.

Any ideas how to get Total Meltdown to work in a co-op? Maybe need change something in EDuke32-OldMP, or would recommend a stable build with a regular version of EDuke32?

You can't. The Total Meltdown TC was made for a far newer EDuke32 codebase that OldMP is not based on. It'll never support it.

Your only choices are to use the version of the Total Meltdown TC made for Vanilla Duke3D (if that's released yet, I dunno), or to just wait until EDuke32 (not OldMP)'s new netcode is done.

[Phredreeke]

This recreation might work in OldMP. https://forums.duke4...-plug-and-pray/

Unfortunately the download links are down, but I believe I have it on my HDD. If so I'll see if I can upload it tomorrow.

[pontifex91]

Phredreeke, on 24 October 2019 - 06:09 PM, said:

This recreation might work in OldMP. https://forums.duke4...-plug-and-pray/

but I believe I have it on my HDD. If so I'll see if I can upload it tomorrow.

didn't you find?

[Phredreeke]

oh I totally forgot about that, but it seems Forge already uploaded it.

[pontifex91]

Hello again. After some time, I returned to the problem of Total Meltdown scripts on EDuke32-OldMP, and it turned out that everything works fine on any version. It was just necessary to specify two parameters simultaneously in the launch properties: -j and -x. For some reason I thought before that it would be enough to specify the -j folder, and he himself would find the CON file. Oh, im fool.

But in a cooperative game in the Plug 'N' Pray episode, client player dies right after the respawn. At the first start, it spawn normally, but after death the client cannot be respawn. The server does not experience such a problem.
And such a problem is only in the episode of Plug 'N' Pray. All the rest of the expansion and episodes in Total Meltdown work fine, even It's Zero Hour.
Any ideas?

[Striker]

pontifex91, on 25 May 2020 - 06:11 AM, said:

Hello again. After some time, I returned to the problem of Total Meltdown scripts on EDuke32-OldMP, and it turned out that everything works fine on any version. It was just necessary to specify two parameters simultaneously in the launch properties: -j and -x. For some reason I thought before that it would be enough to specify the -j folder, and he himself would find the CON file. Oh, im fool.

But in a cooperative game in the Plug 'N' Pray episode, client player dies right after the respawn. At the first start, it spawn normally, but after death the client cannot be respawn. The server does not experience such a problem.
And such a problem is only in the episode of Plug 'N' Pray. All the rest of the expansion and episodes in Total Meltdown work fine, even It's Zero Hour.
Any ideas?

That doesn't sound like OldMP. That sounds like Mainline EDuke32 with it's broken C/S netcode causing players to die on respawn.

[pontifex91]

Striker, on 25 May 2020 - 09:41 AM, said:

That doesn't sound like OldMP. That sounds like Mainline EDuke32 with it's broken C/S netcode causing players to die on respawn.

Yes, but I definitely use OldMP. On some other maps of the same episode of Plug 'N' Pray, the player is respawn alive, but somewhere in the middle of the map, far from its start point. But in most of the maps he is respawn dead. Therefore, I came up with the theory that this is somehow connected with violations of the spawn points of these maps, since they are a port from the PlayStation.
I tried using the mod Better Coop with the SPAWN_WHERE_DIED 1 option and it worked for me. The player is now respawn near the place of death, but alive!

[pontifex91]

Hello again. I studied Mapster32 a bit and added for Plug and Pray by Aterbust missing respawn starting points for all maps. Now it works fine and Better Coop is no longer needed.

But I still have one unsolved problem, which is connected not with the it episode, but with Eduke32-oldMP as a whole.
I am working on the GUI launcher for Eduke32 and want to add the Friendly Fire disable option on the first run of the level. I know that it can be changed in the settings after launch, but it tires me that every time I turn on the game it needs to be changed. Is there a way to add it to startup?
In the launch options there is only a choice of respawn options, but nothing about Friendly Fire. I read the help of Eduke32 and saw that it can somehow be changed with the FFIRE and GAMETYPE_PLAYERSFRIENDLY variables, but I did not succeed due to lack of knowledge.

[Striker]

It's not implemented in current releases, but the next release will have -noffire as an option.

[pontifex91]

Striker, on 15 June 2020 - 03:28 AM, said:

It's not implemented in current releases, but the next release will have -noffire as an option.

I know that this was not implemented in current releases, however, this was implemented in the in-game menu, which means there is support for this variable, and my question was how to change this variable in startup.

I studied the topic in a little more detail and found a solution

In eduke32 command line options need to add the load of the CON-file (-x * .CON) with the following contents

include GAME.CON

onevent EVENT_GAME
  ifmultiplayer
  {
	setvar FFIRE 0
  }
endevent

[Striker]

pontifex91, on 25 June 2020 - 06:36 AM, said:

I know that this was not implemented in current releases, however, this was implemented in the in-game menu, which means there is support for this variable, and my question was how to change this variable in startup.

I studied the topic in a little more detail and found a solution

In eduke32 command line options need to add the load of the CON-file (-x * .CON) with the following contents

include GAME.CON

onevent EVENT_GAME
  ifmultiplayer
  {
	setvar FFIRE 0
  }
endevent

I wouldn't bother with CON hacks/workarounds, and just wait, because I'm going to release a new EDuke32-OldMP soon. Also, FYI, that code there would execute every gametic and waste CPU cycles. Only use EVENT_GAME for things like actor behaviour that needs updating every tic. You'd only need to execute that at level load, so EVENT_ENTERLEVEL would suffice.

[Striker]

The next release of EDuke32-OldMP is on the horizon. This new build is extremely significant, because it's a massive conversion of the game-side code from C to C++, and made to build against the latest version of Build that mainline EDuke32, NBlood, RedNukem, and PCExhumed all use.

When I started this porting project, I managed to get the game code building against the current engine in about 10 days, in a coding rampage full of sleepless, 72-hour+ sessions of proverbially, and sometimes literally bashing my head against a wall until it all became a semblance of something functional. The polishing, bugfixing, refactoring, and sometimes complete rewriting of large swaths of code, and making sure it didn't collapse into a neutron star inside your PC is what took damn near a year to finish.

Hopefully, the end result is the most stable, and feature rich multiplayer-centric port of Duke3D so far.

Before anyone gets too excited, this doesn't mean that OldMP supports all of the new CON stuff from EDuke32. It's still pretty much the CON feature set circa 2009, with a few things backported. However, most of the engine-side DEF features, like new palswaps, blends, loading things like the polymost HRP, and whatnot all work pretty much 100%. Also, TROR is 100% supported.

Anyway, before I release however, I need testers. Lots of them. I want to get a large group, like 8 players or so together. I'll be on the Duke4.net Discord, in the #dukematch channel, highlight me if you wish to take part.

[Striker]

EDuke32-OldMP Release 33 is out!

Link: https://voidpoint.io...ldmp_release_33

Please read the changelog fully, and report issues via the link in the release notes.

A new build of StrikerDM will follow soon. Old StrikerDM builds won't work with this.

[Harlock]

Striker, on 12 December 2020 - 08:51 AM, said:

EDuke32-OldMP Release 33 is out!

Link: https://voidpoint.io...ldmp_release_33

Please read the changelog fully, and report issues via the link in the release notes.

A new build of StrikerDM will follow soon. Old StrikerDM builds won't work with this.

Hey Striker, just wanted to give you a big heads up from me and my friends. We used your new release 33 together with yang (in peer-2-peer mode) to play our first Duke Nukem 3D match since the game came out and we were still very young. It rocked!! We had such a blast, quite literally. And we didn't encounter any issues so far, or maybe we didn't notice them. I'm keeping an eye on the development of this great port : ) Thank you for all the work you're putting into this project.