[Phredreeke]

NightFright, on 07 August 2021 - 01:07 AM, said:

@Phredreeke:
Renaming the logo intros can be considered, but it will require scripting and tbh I don't know what it would have to look like. Also, please note your current list is incomplete. "Fusion" for example also has a logo.anm, and I am sure there are many more addons which do.

Fusion is in the "No" list because it replaced a bunch of vanilla tiles. the ones I listed would otherwise work with the ERP.

[Doom64hunter]

NightFright, on 06 August 2021 - 08:30 AM, said:

*UPDATE #2*
Did anyone check what the "Mariokart-DM" map from the Bolduc pack looks like? I randomly loaded it during my launch test and it doesn't seem to render the large gaps between the different levels correctly, and that in Polymost. It's just a DM map, but as simple as it is, I find it hard to believe the author made any fundamental mapping mistakes here.

I think you just found the ultimate TROR stress test. As it turns out, this used to be a Polymer-only DM map.

The map uses multiple sloped TROR layers which only render correctly in Polymer, and cause glitches with Classic and Polymost.

NightFright, on 07 August 2021 - 01:07 AM, said:

@Doom64Hunter:
Once thing that is bothering me since quite a while is that grpinfo can only support one groupfile dependency at a time. I am wondering if that could be changed so that Atomic and World Tour are recognized at the same time. This would spare me the bothersome effort of having to maintain two grpinfo files with almost identical definitions except for the "dependency" entries. I was thinking of something like making two entries possible, with EDuke32 being able to choose from either of them:

grpinfo
{
[...]
    dependency DUKE15_CRC DUKEWT_CRC
}

or maybe

grpinfo
{
[...]
    dependency1 DUKE15_CRC
    dependency2 DUKEWT_CRC
}

I'll see what can be done.

[NightFright]

In general, Bolduc's maps are the best test cases for Polymer. Not too many authors were mapping for this renderer.

It's not a drama if you can't get selective dependencies working, but it would make user handling a bit easier. At first, I had hoped omitting the dependency parameter entirely would be enough, but seems like only Atomic tolerates that, not WT.

[Phredreeke]

Bolduc requires Polymer? I guess I should scratch those from the compatibility list then

[NightFright]

Most of his maps do. It's even noted down in the readme.

@LeoD
If you are willing to go through all addons and check for sound warnings, you are more than welcome to do so. I just wouldn't want to do it on my own. Since I had to move all sounds and music into subdirs, I cannot exclude some mistakes happened during that process. Some addons might also have bugs in the definitions like Fusion which I didn't recognize.

[LeoD]

NightFright, on 07 August 2021 - 06:11 AM, said:

If you are willing to go through all addons and check for sound warnings, you are more than welcome to do so. I just wouldn't want to do it on my own. Since I had to move all sounds and music into subdirs, I cannot exclude some mistakes happened during that process. Some addons might also have bugs in the definitions like Fusion which I didn't recognize.

I'm more than halfway through, tbh.. A compulsive log file reader like me just can't resist. And it somewhat helps me getting familiar with all the other Duke-ish stuff again before trying to update all my little ugly projects. Will upload when done. In the meantime, one more supposedly original mistake fixed in line 731 of infestation_user.con. An amazing amount of time gets eaten up just by scrolling to the next addon in line within that tiny startup window... We probably won't get rid of messages about redefined constants and sounds prior and after loading the original USER.CON, respectively, any time soon.

Attached File(s)

•  infestation_user.con.zip (13.01K)
  Number of downloads: 139

[NightFright]

Well, I just hope we won't end up having to update most of the addons... Fingers crossed for just needing one grpinfo file soon, I guess... lol.

But yeah, that launcher window could indeed be bigger. At least it could kinda scale in size depending on the amount of groupfiles loaded. It's been bothering me pretty much since day #1, actually. When that launcher was made, I guess nobody thought anyone would ever have to browse through 130+ entries with this.
I think Doom64Hunter already made a feature request to increase visible menu entries from 7 to 12 and enable scrolling (not only with the slider on the side). This should improve usability of the launcher with so many groupfiles quite a bit.

[Doom64hunter]

NightFright, on 07 August 2021 - 12:40 PM, said:

I think Doom64Hunter already made a feature request to increase visible menu entries from 7 to 12 and enable scrolling (not only with the slider on the side). This should improve usability of the launcher with so many groupfiles quite a bit.

That's for a different feature that doesn't have anything to do with the launcher. The dimensions of the launcher themselves are determined by .rc files on Windows, StartGTK code for Linux and another codebase for OSX.

At least for the former it is currently a static window size that isn't dynamically adjusted in code.

[NightFright]

Ah well, then that was a misunderstanding from my side. Maybe a solution will be found for that later, too.

[NightFright]

"Infestation in Time" updated with LeoD's sound definition fixes.

To update:
- Use the downloader script (unzip into your EDuke32 root dir and execute eac_install.bat) OR
- Get the updated EAC Base Pack (13.3 MB) and download "infestation.grp" from the repository

[LeoD]

NightFright, on 07 August 2021 - 12:40 PM, said:

Well, I just hope we won't end up having to update most of the addons... Fingers crossed for just needing one grpinfo file soon, I guess... lol.

You're gonna hate me . Well, at least it's less than Most (Nektar?). I've also updated DemonThrone to 2.1b.
 eac4-con-fixes.zip (2.73MB)
Number of downloads: 133
 eac4-con-issues.zip (101.32K)
Number of downloads: 136
There are a few CON syntax issues remaining. While I might fix them myself, I'd rather have someone more CONfluent do it (retain actual behaviour vs. what might have been intended).

[NightFright]

Outstanding work, Leo! That's the thoroughness I expected from you and needed. It was a pain in the ass to do this, but it's done. I am afraid to say that 55 addons are affected, resulting in a 800+ MB download, which is almost half of the entire compilation. Due to the extent of the affected files, I cannot provide you with a list this time. The only thing I can say is I integrated all sound fixes + Demon Throne 2.1b patch + removed all the optional warnings Leo found during his checks. For "Alien Extermination", it seems I forgot to include one sound (bitchn04.voc) while another one was incorrectly defined (switch.wav --> sounds/switch.voc). In "Battlefield 3", I simply reverted the two missing sounds (gate.wav, air.voc) back to Duke3D defaults. The cons should be as clean as they can be now, I guess.

People using the download script will have a clear advantage this time since it's ideal for huge updates like this one. For the rest out there, well... I am sure you will figure it out somehow.

To update:
- Use the downloader script (unzip into your EDuke32 root dir and execute eac_install.bat) OR
- Get the updated EAC Base Pack (13.3 MB) and download all grps from Aug 10, 2021 (should be 55, you can sort them by date from latest to oldest by clicking on the "Added" tab) from the repository

[Doom64hunter]

NightFright, on 07 August 2021 - 01:07 AM, said:

@Doom64Hunter:
Once thing that is bothering me since quite a while is that grpinfo can only support one groupfile dependency at a time. I am wondering if that could be changed so that Atomic and World Tour are recognized at the same time. This would spare me the bothersome effort of having to maintain two grpinfo files with almost identical definitions except for the "dependency" entries. I was thinking of something like making two entries possible, with EDuke32 being able to choose from either of them:

grpinfo
{
[...]
    dependency DUKE15_CRC DUKEWT_CRC
}

or maybe

grpinfo
{
[...]
    dependency1 DUKE15_CRC
    dependency2 DUKEWT_CRC
}

Sidenote: DUKEWT_CRC is currently (r9500) not a recognized macro for the grpinfo definitions.

This can (and probably should) be changed though.

Edit: Also, I think your suggested syntax isn't intuitive. If one specifies multiple dependencies, one would expect that all of them need to be present, not any of them.

Ideally, one could specify a minimum required version in the case of Duke3D, or a catch-all for the other expansions.

Additionally, if no dependency is specified, the game defaults to DUKE15_CRC, and GAMEFLAG_DUKE is also assumed if not specified.

[NightFright]

Yeah, maybe it would be better to introduce a new dependency value instead, e.g. ATOMICWT which allows both CRCs. Or maybe s.th. like "dependency_min": If you enter the CRC for 1.3D there, it would cover everything up to WT, if you enter DUKE15_CRC it allows only Atomic and WT.

All I can tell so far is that if you omit dependency right now, Atomic works, WT won't.

Ultimately, I don't mind how it is implemented if it works.

[Ax 34noff]

C3PO pack - OK

[Ax 34noff]

Quakis pack - OK (great maps by the way!)

[ETPC]

ETPC, on 01 July 2021 - 11:04 AM, said:

i'm still not sure even with your image. would you be able to make a quick youtube video if you have the time? i'm just not sure if all the invisible walls and instant squishing is intended behavior or not.

reposting this to see if anyone can help me a bit more with being stuck in Oblivion

[Doom64hunter]

ETPC, on 24 August 2021 - 12:23 PM, said:

reposting this to see if anyone can help me a bit more with being stuck in Oblivion

After the yellow key forcefield you need to jump to the left, then you'll find a yellow key on the path above (as in Dragonliner's screenshot) near a spaceship, then you'll have to jump into the cave opening along the wall ( a bit of a leap of faith)

At the bottom of the ravine there will be a yellow key switch with a teleporter that brings you back to the rainforest area, similar to the one from episode 1. I couldn't figure out how to open the door that leads to the laser driller switch however, I couldn't make out what the Fossa guy is saying.

[TheDragonLiner]

Doom64hunter, on 24 August 2021 - 11:35 PM, said:

. I couldn't figure out how to open the door that leads to the laser driller switch however, I couldn't make out what the Fossa guy is saying.

Same here, I never found it =(

I think the Fossa says "If you want to open the door, find the around it hole and shoot it" but I may be wrong >_> I tried using the "dnshowmap" cheat in order to find something around it but I just found nothing. There are a few triangle shaped white indentations nearby but there's nothing you can do about them ...


Just like the alternate path of E1's "Military Station", we sure need help T_T

[Doom64hunter]

TheDragonLiner, on 24 August 2021 - 11:59 PM, said:

Same here, I never found it =(

I think the Fossa says "If you want to open the door, find the around it hole and shoot it" but I may be wrong >_> I tried using the "dnshowmap" cheat in order to find something around it but I just found nothing. There are a few triangle shaped white indentations nearby but there's nothing you can do about them ...


Just like the alternate path of E1's "Military Station", we sure need help T_T

I think to complete Zaxtor's maps you need to know how to use the editor.

The switch is here, where the crosshair is aiming at:



It's a pitch-black DIPSWITCH tile. I guess this is the hole he meant.

[TheDragonLiner]

Doom64hunter, on 25 August 2021 - 08:31 AM, said:

I think to complete Zaxtor's maps you need to know how to use the editor.

The switch is here, where the crosshair is aiming at:

duke0030.png

It's a pitch-black DIPSWITCH tile. I guess this is the hole he meant.

Holy captain's jammies O_O !!!

Usually when he hides switches they're sorta visible but here X_X



Now the final mystery about this mod is the alternate path of "Military Station" (oblivion108.map) >_>

[LakiSoft]

A small question, since i see fixes for certain mods are done, i presume when all those fixes got done, there will be version 4.0 of EDuke32 Addon Compilation, right?

[Doom64hunter]

TheDragonLiner, on 25 August 2021 - 10:05 AM, said:

Now the final mystery about this mod is the alternate path of "Military Station" (oblivion108.map) >_>

Yeah no clue on that one. It's not related to any of the 7 secrets in the map, and even by using the editor it doesn't become clear how you are supposed to get into that area.

It's also not clear what the section is supposed to give you. You end up starting a countdown and blow up the map, but this doesn't affect how the next level goes down either way.

I wouldn't say it is the final mystery though. in oblivion105.map (Doom Base, strangely enough this is the map following oblivion108.map), there exists an enormous cave system all throughout the level, filled with almost 600 monsters that all spawn in when you try to enter the cave.

This cave even includes an exclusive boss. Just like with Military Station, this appears to be an alternate path, and I don't see any way of activating it. In fact, I doubt anyone, even Zaxtor himself, even entered and got through this cave. This is because the map spawns 4 full-sized Battlelords inside the cave when you enter it, which end the game when killed. Therefore it's basically impossible to get through the cave without cheating.

[TheDragonLiner]

Doom64hunter, on 25 August 2021 - 03:11 PM, said:

Yeah no clue on that one. It's not related to any of the 7 secrets in the map, and even by using the editor it doesn't become clear how you are supposed to get into that area.

It's also not clear what the section is supposed to give you. You end up starting a countdown and blow up the map, but this doesn't affect how the next level goes down either way.

I wouldn't say it is the final mystery though. in oblivion105.map (Doom Base, strangely enough this is the map following oblivion108.map), there exists an enormous cave system all throughout the level, filled with almost 600 monsters that all spawn in when you try to enter the cave.

This cave even includes an exclusive boss. Just like with Military Station, this appears to be an alternate path, and I don't see any way of activating it. In fact, I doubt anyone, even Zaxtor himself, even entered and got through this cave. This is because the map spawns 4 full-sized Battlelords inside the cave when you enter it, which end the game when killed. Therefore it's basically impossible to get through the cave without cheating.

I used to believe that finishing Military Station the alternate way would trigger the alternate way of playing the next map but now you're talking >_> The boss in the caves actually appears again as a mandatory one in Episode 5, on the ante-penultimate level.

And yeah, now that you mention it, it's not the final mystery because of 2 additional things : 1_ if you go through the VOC files, there's a dialogue about a Time Machine and how it could delete any keycard you may be holding upon use of it.

2_ This thing here >>

[NightFright]

They did a similar thing at the end of the Water Bases episode, which was otherwise really good. Such excessive switch code combinations are not exactly player-friendly, to say the least.

[Aleks]

All that mystery surrounding Oblivion triggers myself to a sado-masochistic urge to play it

As for figuring obscure layout/progression stuff that is cryptic even when looked at in Mapster, remember that holding left Shift over an activator/touchplate/switch etc. will show orange lines linking to the other sprites with same channel (hitag/lotag value), so it might be a good solution for some nasty switch-and-unmarked-door-at-other-end-of-the-map stuff.

[TheDragonLiner]

Aleks, on 26 August 2021 - 01:23 AM, said:

All that mystery surrounding Oblivion triggers myself to a sado-masochistic urge to play it

Personally, many months ago I attempted a "Serious Playthrough" in order to try and uncover the mysteries I mentioned above but ... apart from accessing my second screenshot's spot the legitimate way (without cheating through a forcefield) and some regular secrets I didn't uncover anything =(


My only discovery was that, in Episode 4, Level 2 (Ghost Mothership), IF you manage to complete the level without destroying the reactor of the ship, you will "unlock" an alternate, more challenging path, in the penultimate level "Death Dimension".

[NightFright]

It's Zaxtor's legacy, so it's beyond criticism. His maps always used to be very cryptic and difficult to beat, one of his trademarks. Personally, I would never be able to even get started with Oblivion, so you guys have my highest respects for doing this to yourselves.

[Doom64hunter]

Aleks, on 26 August 2021 - 01:23 AM, said:

All that mystery surrounding Oblivion triggers myself to a sado-masochistic urge to play it

As for figuring obscure layout/progression stuff that is cryptic even when looked at in Mapster, remember that holding left Shift over an activator/touchplate/switch etc. will show orange lines linking to the other sprites with same channel (hitag/lotag value), so it might be a good solution for some nasty switch-and-unmarked-door-at-other-end-of-the-map stuff.

Believe me, I was using that functionality all evening and could not make heads or tails of the "Military Station" map.

There appeared to be no sensible location where the hidden pipemaze in that map begins or ends -- my best guess would be inside the room that contains the switch to open the path to the exit (marked by a 9).
That room contains a door that is not opened when continuing through the rest of the pipe maze, and is hence likely the entrance. But even then I could not find the trigger that opens it.

From what the others have mentioned, it seems likely though that Zaxtor not only connected his maps in a nonlinear fashion, but also directly intertwined map progression with CON code. It is very probable that activating that "Shield" switch in the alternate path of "Military Station" sets a flag which causes later maps to behave differently.
In fact, the hidden "fifth" episode even reaches across episode definitions. The mentioning of a time machine therefore makes sense -- perhaps you are even meant to return to the oblivion108.map from a later episode, with a specific gamevar set that causes the map to play out differently.

Edit: Looking at the CON code, I can confirm that the door I mentioned above is controlled by the scripts, and not by anything in the map. If you want to open it, type the command `setvar ANOMALITY1 1` into the console.

From the looks of it, this variable is most likely set by the Episode 5 cube level, as the code references returning from said cube. I do not know when or how this occurs however, but the text messages that appear once this variable is set seem to confirm that this involves returning to this map from a later episode.

(as a sidenote, the cube level seems completely impossible to complete. Not only do you get stuck in an inescapable part of the map through a silent teleporter; but one of the keycards required to exit the level is wedged between two types of rooms that are certain death.)

[Aleks]

Doom64hunter, on 26 August 2021 - 06:27 AM, said:

From what the others have mentioned, it seems likely though that Zaxtor not only connected his maps in a nonlinear fashion, but also directly intertwined map progression with CON code. It is very probable that activating that "Shield" switch in the alternate path of "Military Station" sets a flag which causes later maps to behave differently.
In fact, the hidden "fifth" episode even reaches across episode definitions. The mentioning of a time machine therefore makes sense -- perhaps you are even meant to return to the oblivion108.map from a later episode, with a specific gamevar set that causes the map to play out differently.

Edit: Looking at the CON code, I can confirm that the door I mentioned above is controlled by the scripts, and not by anything in the map. If you want to open it, type the command `setvar ANOMALITY1 1` into the console.

From the looks of it, this variable is most likely set by the Episode 5 cube level, as the code references returning from said cube. I do not know when or how this occurs however, but the text messages that appear once this variable is set seem to confirm that this involves returning to this map from a later episode.

(as a sidenote, the cube level seems completely impossible to complete. Not only do you get stuck in an inescapable part of the map through a silent teleporter; but one of the keycards required to exit the level is wedged between two types of rooms that are certain death.)

That actually sounds absolutely amazing, it's hard to believe someone would put so much dedication into making something that intricate, but I've got mad respect for him for doing that - even without playing the mod and while it might not be exactly my thing, I appreciate there exist stuff like this, bringing novelty and variety to Duke mods.