[NightFright]

Without the corresponding grpinfo file, changed addon files won't appear. Checksums won't match.

[Blood Vengeance]

NightFright I've sent you a PM

[Mr. Nukem Roses]

NightFright, on 22 November 2020 - 02:51 AM, said:

Without the corresponding grpinfo file, changed addon files won't appear. Checksums won't match.

is there a way to fix that? cause the updated stuff i found only had the grp files. and no info stuff for them. i'd love to be able to have everything updated and playable as much as possible

[NightFright]

You need the base pack which has the grpinfo files, some shared resource grps and all readmes. It is mandatory to get it since no addon will be recognized without it. Check my post from Nov. 18 for the link.

[Mr. Nukem Roses]

NightFright, on 22 November 2020 - 11:11 AM, said:

You need the base pack which has the grpinfo files, some shared resource grps and all readmes. It is mandatory to get it since no addon will be recognized without it. Check my post from Nov. 18 for the link.

yeah. i managed to find that at pure randomness. although some of the addons still don't appear in the selection when loading up EDuke. some of the addons that did load up though. some kinda got me surprised yet curious. i had no idea about the Total Meltdown Remake

[ETPC]

RED4 seems to be the only one with issues with the latest stable build of eduke. RED5 works perfectly!

[NightFright]

Updated the base pack (12 MB) again since latest version of "Downtown Journey" was not recognized.

[ETPC]

ran through duke is 007, zero issues with r9257!

[NightFright]

Script update for several addons. I found out that undefinevolume is unnecessary to hide episodes if no other volumes are redefined after the last redefinition.

1) Download the updated base pack (12 MB)
2) Redownload the following 19 addons from the repository:

Quote

25th_century.grp
2000tc.grp
acropolis.grp
aqua.grp
countdown.grp
crucialconflict.grp
daikarin.grp
dukeland.grp
dukenstein.grp
eyeofcul.grp
finalconfront.grp
haunted.grp
lostduke.grp
mic episode.grp
munasta.grp
outpostx.grp
savior.grp
wgspace.grp
xenocide.grp

[NightFright]

FM4X updated to add a sixth episode with 11 DM bonus levels. I also had to remove the alternate music con file after Fernando explicitly asked me to do so.

You know the drill:
1) Update your base pack (12 MB).
2) Download updated fm4x.grp (4.2 MB) from the repository.

[NightFright]

Another FM4X update, this time for one map only, FM4X09 "Temple Manor".

Quote Fernando:

Quote

"It is easier now to complete the last underground area, and also the final switch is easier to find once revealed in the lava platforms chamber."

Please re-download the base pack and fm4x.grp. Links are still the same from my post above this one.

[FistMarine]

NightFright, I will be testing a couple of addons this month. According to the previous page, you need help with:

Quote

Borg Nukem
Chimera
Fusion Redux 2018 (received a lot of fixes)
Grins of Divinity
Infestation in Time
Merc 1+2
Oblivion (that one's gonna hurt for sure)
Platoon
Quest for Al-Qa'eda
Quest for Hussein
Starship Troopers TC (this one was pretty broken)
The Gate (especially the final boss map which was considerably fixed)
WGR2: Knee Deep (includes the outdated Siege Breaker, so it's likely there will be some issues)
WGR2: Demon Throne (well, it should work, it's brand-new)

Some might have been tested in the meantime, so I will be testing the following (mostly addons that I played in past and recently):
Chimera, Fusion Redux 2018, Grins of Divinity, Oblivion (I'm playing through it currently and I'm halfway through E1, the original version of Oblivion, not the updated one from EAC, so I will be mostly testing that with cheats to make sure it works), Platoon, Quest for Al-Qaeda and Quest for Hussein. I will also test Plunder & Pillage...wait a second, Plunder & Pillage isn't included? I find it a bit odd considering that both Quests are included.

Aside from these, I may test others like FM4X, just let me know which ones need urgent testing. I'm happy to see the addon compilation is still being worked on.

[NightFright]

I posted a list with already tested addons on Nov.20. In the meantime, "Duke is 007" is also done and in the green.

Already looks like EDuke32 will need some serious fixes before the end.

[ETPC]

huh. for some reason DaikariN isn't showing up in eduke's launcher with the addons batch file?

[NightFright]

Ah crap. For some reason it did not refresh the base pack when I overwrote the file recently. I am sure I tried, though. It only worked now after I completely deleted the file and uploaded a new one instead without overwriting anything. Guess I need to check whenever I overwrite a file on Mega. Good that it works so reliably...

So, please update your base packs once more. Here are the links:
Latest base pack
Addon repository

Here is the latest list of addons already tested:
- ADG Episode
- Borg Nukem
- Crucial Conflict
- Duke Is 007
- Grins of Divinity (ladders not working)
- JJ Duke Nukem 3D
- Red Series (RED4: pipebombs won't fit through hole/getting stuck in black room)
- Starship Troopers TC
- The Gate (GATE306: shooting sprite platform not working/teleporter to SOS room not working)

[ETPC]

zero issues with DaikariN!

[Reaper_Man]

What are the issues with the ladders in Grins?

[NightFright]

I haven't tested them, but it seems you simply cannot climb those.

[Jimmy]

It's probably due to EDuke32's collision changes.

[NightFright]

Grins, RED4 and GATE306 need to be tested with different EDuke32 snapshots to determine the exact build that broke the intended behavior. RED4 is almost done.

I am sure there will be more problems surfacing during the testing phase, though.

[Reaper_Man]

NightFright, on 03 December 2020 - 11:31 PM, said:

Grins, RED4 and GATE306 need to be tested with different EDuke32 snapshots to determine the exact build that broke the intended behavior. RED4 is almost done.

I am sure there will be more problems surfacing during the testing phase, though.

I just tested Grins and found the version it breaks at, release 20190319-7437. Ladders work fine in the previous release 7432. Note I am testing on the release version, not the compilation pack, although that shouldn't actually make a difference. The changelog for 7437 has some stuff about projectile collisions and whatever MAXCLIPNUM is. I found this thread on the forum which talks about controversial changes (on this page and the next):

https://forums.duke4.../page__st__8700

What's interesting is that 7432 is supposed to be the version with all of the game breaking clipping changes, but it works fine there. Hopefully this means that whatever the fix is will be trivial for the engine devs. I'm afraid I can't offer up more time/energy researching more, and anything engine-level is beyond me anyway. But this is the culprit, and I bet running 7432 would solve other related issues.

As for an actual fix for the ladders, in the pre-EDuke days there was an extreme level of jank required to make things work, and the ladders were no exception. The good news is they are mostly self contained code-wise and could be replaced with a simple and modern fix. If no one else can step up to the plate, I can see about whipping something up. Is the compilation version using the "decompiled" CON? Unfortunately the original CON has been lost to time.

[ETPC]

Ran through Critical Mass and the C&C TC levels. No showstoppers, though I did encounter a strange bug in DNCM2 where two elevators stopped working (in the control center area, forgot to get a screen) but they were quickly worked around just through jumping.

[NightFright]

I am not sure if it was Grins or another addon, but I was using the con which had more legible code.
Back in the days some people apparently believed mods would launch faster if you omitted any linebreaks in the code. Maybe it actually did make a difference with really slow PCs, but these days for sure not.

Anyway, thanks a lot for finding out the version that broke the ladders. Will mention this in my testing list from now on.

Regarding elevators not working: It's nothing we should ignore. Could be something that may cause bigger issues elsewhere. Need to check it out.

[ETPC]

quick screen grab of the two problem elevators in this room in DNCM2. i'm currently standing on one, trying to make it go up. the one on the bottom left does the same thing. eduke build is r9257, i'll try with an older build in a little bit.

[Reaper_Man]

I just found this thread which talks about the exact same problem, and it looks like they may have found the specific change that causes these problems:

https://forums.duke4...ladder-problem/

NightFright, on 05 December 2020 - 12:52 AM, said:

I am not sure if it was Grins or another addon, but I was using the con which had more legible code.
Back in the days some people apparently believed mods would launch faster if you omitted any linebreaks in the code. Maybe it actually did make a difference with really slow PCs, but these days for sure not.

Anyway, thanks a lot for finding out the version that broke the ladders. Will mention this in my testing list from now on.

Regarding elevators not working: It's nothing we should ignore. Could be something that may cause bigger issues elsewhere. Need to check it out.

It was for performance and memory reasons, and even then Grins would crash the engine occasionally. I developed Grins on a 75mhz Pentium 1 with either 8mb or 16mb of RAM, which at the time it was released was beyond outdated, and I think I had the lowest spec system of anyone on the team.

Anyway, if you are using the more readable CON then that's the best that's out there. Forum member Simon_Croes did that cleanup some years ago, I had wanted to do a more in depth re-write but never found the time/energy. I'm currently working on another EDuke project, so maybe in a few months when that's finished I'll consider going back to Grins and refactoring the code.

[NightFright]

So, latest situation:

- ADG Episode
- Borg Nukem
- C&C TC
- Crucial Conflict
- DaikariN
- Duke Is 007
- JJ Duke Nukem 3D
- Starship Troopers TC

- Critical Mass (DNCM2: two elevators not working)
- Grins of Divinity (ladders not working after r7432)
- The Gate (GATE306: shooting sprite platform not working/teleporter to SOS room not working)

- Red Series (RED4: pipebombs won't fit through hole, r7470-7615/getting stuck in black room, r8659-8700)

Still need to nail down the exact "last working" builds for
- Critical Mass
- The Gate
- Red Series

[ETPC]

tested critical mass DNCM2 with 7470, elevators still broken. also, i ran through WGSpace and encountered zero showstoppers except a broken elevator in WGS4X (picture attached) and a few exit switches being finnicky to hit.

[supergoofy]

From now on, in you future pack, you should either include the working eduke32 binaries, or mention it to the readme.txt

[ETPC]

well, half the challenge is figuring out which binaries work. that's why we are testing.

[NightFright]

The goal is to update most recent snapshots to make all these maps work again. It looks like a lot broke in the process of updating EDuke32 throughout the last years. This is the chance to return to more stable and reliable builds.

Ideally before 4.0 goes final, there will (or should) be a recent EDuke32 snapshot that is able to run everything. We all know things will break again after that eventually, but I really want to avoid that people have to use outdated builds for this.