Flag Locators Repair Project

[Pieter Boelen]

Some forts, for example the Bonaire/Douwesen one, never did have flags even in the stock game.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

But that fort now does have the flag locators. No penn locators, but flag locators. Is there a "forts.init.c" similar to the ships.init.c?

 

[Armada]

This is especially surprising because when I looked into it later I found it is loaded with fal's. Those usually cause bad rope error reports.

Have you converted those to 'rope' locators yet? If not, that needs to be done to make all the ropes show up.

Someone started a vicious rumour that there are new pinnaces coming. Maybe they will help. :will

Let's hope so. I don't want to go to all that trouble of re-exporting the upgraded model, if I have to, only to see it make no difference.

Is there a "forts.init.c" similar to the ships.init.c?

There's a general 'FORT' entry in Ships_init.c, right at the bottom of the file. That's where the fix line went, which was intended to try and remove any fort-related GA.
Still, I don't know if that's what gives the forts their flags. I might need to get searching for something like that. :mm

 

[Hylie Pistof]

1. Nope. I started with the flagpole, which hasn't worked out. It will get done when I finish with the pinnace sails.

2. Well, the sooner we start on them, the sooner they will be finished.

 

[Armada]

Aye, aye! I'll check out the upgraded pinnace tomorrow, and see what the situation is. If I need to, I'll re-export it and send it to you.

 

[Black Bart]

Armada's fort pennant code change wouldn't require a new game, but at least WOULD require a reinit (F11) to be performed.
New game can't hurt though.

Sadly it didn't stop the GA. Got my first batch of that going past Bridgetown on route to La Granada. I couldn't see what was happening but did get a report of a ship surrendering somewhere.

 

[Armada]

I thought as much. I guess we'll have to do some more digging around the code files. If that doesn't work, then it really will be a case of adding the penn locators to the forts.

 

[Black Bart]

I thought as much. I guess we'll have to do some more digging around the code files. If that doesn't work, then it really will be a case of adding the penn locators to the forts.

hmm....shouldn't we keep in mind that something that was ADDED caused the GA in the first place? You guys will know best exactly when that happened(so can pin down the patch version etc). I think we should probably look to remove that addition(or fix it if possible, which i guess is what the flag locator repairs are all about), rather than add more code? maybe?

I'll still run the 'maybe not working' fix for fort GA line in my game, but if after many occurances it doesn't appear to work, then i think removing it is a good idea, as it wasn't there before the GA issue, so will not be needed if not a fix itself. In the same way if we find after going through the various ships that we still get GA, then it's going to be a hard choice but we will have to simply remove whatever it was(new ships? from AoP? etc) that introduced the GA and rethink how to add it? Keeping in mind it might not be possible to fix the additions at all, it might just be incompatible with the game engine etc.

But as i mentioned before i get less GA than i did on patch 5, so things seem to be working out?

 

[Hylie Pistof]

It is well known when the GA were introduced. Build 14 Beta 1 Full. I understand it was a massive project. This is a complex problem with many avenues of inquiry to investigate. The ship flags is one. The fort flags is another. But there is more yet. I have had GA with good ships and no forts around.

What I do know is that the GA is much much reduced over what it was 3 months ago. We are on the right track and must keep slogging on. As we move forward it is actually getting easier to identify problems because they stand out more instead of hiding behind other problems.

 

[Baste]

I have now changed the camera locator as good as it seems to be possible on all stock ships. It wasn't possible to do it good on some ships, like the sloops, but at least better than it was. So, as good as it seems to be possible. Too bad TOOL isn't working quite right. Anyway, thanks for the help.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

Thank you!

Would you be interested in doing that for the ships in my FTP folder? Some of them could use your touch.

Once you learn its quirks TOOL seems to be ok. Except when it crashes every so often. It also seems to work better on some puters than others.

 

[Armada]

hmm....shouldn't we keep in mind that something that was ADDED caused the GA in the first place? You guys will know best exactly when that happened(so can pin down the patch version etc). I think we should probably look to remove that addition(or fix it if possible, which i guess is what the flag locator repairs are all about), rather than add more code? maybe?

Well that's just it. We've more or less proven that it was the Different Flags Mod, introduced in B14 Beta1 Full, which is causing the GA.
However, it's mainly due to mistakes made in implementing the necessary locators for the mod to work correctly (i.e. the incorrect use or lack of 'penn' locators).
At least, that appears to be the main cause. There might be other mistakes we're yet to discover.

Regarding the lack of penn locators in some instances (e.g. forts!), that's an example of where something was meant to be added, but was forgotten about or not considered at all.
When it comes down to choosing how to fix the GA, I'm sure most people would agree that the Different Flags Mod is worth keeping, despite a few increasingly rare flickers, so removing it is a step too far backwards.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Not to mention it'd be VERY complicated to get rid of it again.

 

[Black Bart]

Well we just have to carry on as we have been, as Hylie says things have improved quite a bit over recent months so all your guys efforts on this IS having a positive effect

The added advantage of all this work is that once we have got rid of GA, then there will be a known reason for it's introduction, so adding new ships in the future will not re-introduce the problem, as you will all have that experience to know what to look for when importing/creating new ships etc. We'll have to just make sure to keep you all around over the coming years

 

[Hylie Pistof]

Things are better overall. I got into several battles at Kralendijk and Marigot that had no GA at all. Then there was one at St. Pierre that was going well until a squaresail schooner got demasted. GA! I thought I worked on that ship. Back to ye olde drawing boarde.......:nk


I put the Spanish War Galleons on the FTP. They should be good, but I have only play tested one. Perhaps some one could test them? I just don't have time.

The class 1 heavy pinnace and the class 2 East Indiaman will be going to the FTP soon also. They are stout performers that will help any install.

I switched to a class 1 heavy East Indiaman last night and immediately ran into an English fleet that included 2 heavy pinnaces and 5 heavy East Indiaman. It was a huge battle with my class 4 merchant pinnace and light frigate being overmatched and taking heavy damage, but there were no GA. The battle ended when my video card drivers glitched and crashed the game. :j3 So now I'm testing new VC drivers too.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

The Waller Pinnace and the Jamaicaship are on the FTP.

The class 1 Heavy East Indiaman are getting Jamaicaship rigging and I'm experimenting with lateens. Now that I'm mainly dealing with the big ships GA is rare, and when it does occur it is usually a small ship causing it. Like the Naval Light Brig..................

The numbers in the upper right hand corner are a new thing probably caused by the new video card drivers.

 

[Armada]

Which Naval Light Brig is that? The AoP-style Brig_n1, or the PotC-style 16-Gun brigs? I think some or all of them are due to be scrapped anyway.

I've seen those numbers on some occasions as well, and I use an ATI graphics card. Not entirely sure why they stay there.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

It was the POTC 16-18 gun brig this time. The AOP type is one of the very first ships I messed with. It should not cause problems.

Those numbers never showed up until I upgraded the drivers.

 

[Armada]

Those numbers never showed up until I upgraded the drivers.

That's very bizarre then. The numbers seem to stay in the background while the actual values are still displaying on top of them, too.
Clearly pressing F9 to clear the screen exposes them, but I can't think why they get stuck there in the first place.
Still, it's only very rare for me. Has it been the same your end?

 

[Hylie Pistof]

I'm still tinkering with settings, but just now they were gone. I went from "high quality and 8X AA & AF to "quality" and 16X CSAA AA & 8X AF. Image quality is good either way but I'm trying to get my hard drive to quit running in battles. Still looking for that sweet spot between IQ and smooth running.


Oh yeah. The La Licorne lateen looks good, but there is just no way to keep the sail away from the mast. The standard one is best in that regard.

EDIT: This screenie doesn't show it well,but when the front of the spar swings to starboard it doesn't matter that the stern corner of the sail stays in the port corner, the sail has to foul the mast.