[RunningDuke]

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WGR2: Knee Deep (includes the outdated Siege Breaker, so it's likely there will be some issues)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.

[RunningDuke]

I tested both Quest for Al-Qaeda and Quest for Hussein quickly with DNKROZ & DNSTUFF and they work fine, I haven't found any issues with them other than a few EDuke32 issues such as in Al-Qaeda on second level, when you go upstairs in the four buildings, the floor seems a bit glitchy, probably a Polymost bug. And I also found the elevator (or rather player's view) acting weird when transitioning from one part to another (in the first and last map of Quest for Hussein), I suppose it's a recent EDuke32 bug because I read about it a while ago when it was reported (if it's exact same bug I experienced).

A couple of observations regarding the addons:
1) The main maps lacked level names in original versions, so they were given generic "Mission 1, Mission 2, Mission 3" names, which is better than nothing as I can't think of a name for each map. However the user maps for Al-Qaeda still have their original filename as level name, example the Helicopter map is named Eliopter. I think some of these maps can be guessed which name to be given, at least in Helicopter's case. Not sure what names to give to the others but the user maps were also given the backwards order, at least in original version, I started playing them in alphabetical order which started with the Helicopter map and ended with the one that has an explosion at beginning, which I believe is called WOST'N and that is probably short for Workstation. Maybe the author of user maps can be contacted and asked for the level names unless a better solution is found?
2) The "Kick Laden" (KICKLADN or whatever is called) map has been edited to have an ending sector when you reach that "tower" place after surfacing from water, as the map didn't have an ending sector before. The sector that ends the level isn't actually the main sector where the two enemies reside, instead it's the ledge in front. I suppose it was done so that you can collect the RPG. I can't think of a place where a nuke button/ending sector would work better.
3) Related to the above, can the Al-Qaeda user maps be separated from the menu instead of being played in same episode? Since they were released separately and without logical progression, I think they should be player's choice how they are played, though I like that the inventory resets between them and that the first map chosen is that one that didn't have exit originally because it was made by a different author, though I still think they should be all separated. Maybe when EDuke32 gets the awaited feature to start User Maps defined as episodes which is needed for the Map Packs (Urban Map Pack, Space Map Pack, etc).
4) Is Plunder & Pillage going to be included at some point in the compilation? I don't see any reason to exclude it.

I think that's all for now. I will test a couple more addons next week, with Zombie Crisis being the first and easiest one to test.

[NightFright]

At this point, requests for any additional addons are not accepted. It was mentioned before, actually.

Mind the red-letter note

We are in testing stage now, not content stage.

[RunningDuke]

Yes, I'm aware you are not adding any more addons. But you haven't answered my question before in regards to P&P why wasn't considered and I wanted to bring it up again. You also haven't said anything about my reports in my previous post.

To make up for this short post, I'm going to test now Zombie Crisis and give reports later.

[NightFright]

I will keep it short, too.

1) No proper names were ever provided, so naming the levels after the file name is legitimate and will remain. I doubt the authors will still be found, anyway.
2) In KICKLADN, an exit sector was only added for the convenience of having it as part of an episode. If anything, it will be replaced by the original version which did not have any way to leave.
3) If this is done, then the bonus episodes in Platoon for example also need to be removed. AFAIK it won't be possible have regular episodes and a bonus map structure at the same time. Will it happen? Considering my request to properly add this feature is already a few years old... I guess rather not.
4) I did not know about the addon when I was gathering more content. Now it's too late. More widescreen tiles would have to be produced for this, more testing would have to be done and I neither have time nor motivation for it. It just didn't make the cut. I hope that's enough reason.

In general we are not supposed to discuss content or organization of files, these are trivial matters. Relevant right now is only: Do the maps work as intended or not? It's a simple, single-priority task.

[RunningDuke]

Alright, thanks for the explanation. The maps in Quest for Al-Qaeda and Quest for Hussein work as intended. It's only those glitches mentioned above that I encountered and I assume they are EDuke32 bugs (the rendering bugs and the elevator glitch when going from one area to another). Forgot to mention I used EDuke32 r9278 build to test the addons.

[comorbidity]

Seems that 'Kucera Pack' (kucera.grp) is missing an episode list; it just has usermaps when you try to start a new game. (r9284)

[ETPC]

it took me way longer then i expected, but i finished last reaction & water bases, as well as chimera, with zero problems or bugs!

[NightFright]

@comorbidity
That is normal since it's one of the usermap packs. They have no episodes, at least not any more. Most of these are currently not really supported since the necessary EDuke32 feature is missing.

Usermap packs are:

Spoiler

Bolduc Pack
C3PO Pack
Cerovsky Pack
Glavic Pack
Kucera Pack
Pinxten Pack
Quakis Pack
Ruohonen Pack
Space Map Pack
Spiegul Contest
Stranger Pack
Taivo Pack
Urban Map Pack

In the meantime, WGR2: Demon Throne has been updated to version 2.1.

1) Get the new base pack (12 MB)
2) Download wgrealms2_dt.cfg and wgrealms2_dt.grp from the repository.

[The Watchtower]

Did Pipeline get his own episode here or were his maps scattered in the space/urban mapsets?

[NightFright]

Pipeline's maps were moved into a separate pack called "The Day After" (dayafter.grp), tagged as incomplete episode.

[Phredreeke]

NightFright, on 14 December 2020 - 03:58 AM, said:

@comorbidity
That is normal since it's one of the usermap packs. They have no episodes, at least not any more. Most of these are currently not really supported since the necessary EDuke32 feature is missing.

Wouldn't it be better to put in a stub level that instructs the player to use the DNSCOTTY or changelevel cheat to jump to the desired map?