Are you willing to test new features of bzflag?
Are you willing to test new features of bzflag?
Currenty, the number of active developers in the Bzflag project
is quite small, lets say around 10 people plus or minus.
This makes it hard to implement all the new features people ask for while at the same time try to fix existing bugs.
Many players can help simply by installing a cvs client and joining
one of the cvs servers with some other players and try out some
of the new flags, map features or just play normally like you do each day, but with an eye out for anything you might think as odd, or flat out broken.
If your not sure what CVS is, have a look at this page http://sourceforge.net/cvs/?group_id=3248
If your using windows, I can probably get one of the windows dev's (that means you patlabor221 ) to build a client each week that you can download and install into windowsXP or whatever you have.
I see some regulars friday nights, for example playing ctf, or decks on quols servers, perhaps we could take an hour or two
to play on the cvs servers instead, same maps, same game styles, just the latest and greatest client and server version.
Decks™ is an old map but a great one for testing as its familiar to most long time players, more on that here http://bzgirl.bzflag.org/decks.html
So lets say 5-10 of you think "yeah, Id like to help out", we can
keep a thread in the development forum and post to it as the testing day draws near, just to keep people reminded to help out? Or any other way to loosely organize this would be welcomed?
I think it would be nice for the playing community to take a little bit of time to help out the developers so the game can we
all love to play, can keep getting better and better.
So any volunteers?
/me returns to lurking
:lurk:
is quite small, lets say around 10 people plus or minus.
This makes it hard to implement all the new features people ask for while at the same time try to fix existing bugs.
Many players can help simply by installing a cvs client and joining
one of the cvs servers with some other players and try out some
of the new flags, map features or just play normally like you do each day, but with an eye out for anything you might think as odd, or flat out broken.
If your not sure what CVS is, have a look at this page http://sourceforge.net/cvs/?group_id=3248
If your using windows, I can probably get one of the windows dev's (that means you patlabor221 ) to build a client each week that you can download and install into windowsXP or whatever you have.
I see some regulars friday nights, for example playing ctf, or decks on quols servers, perhaps we could take an hour or two
to play on the cvs servers instead, same maps, same game styles, just the latest and greatest client and server version.
Decks™ is an old map but a great one for testing as its familiar to most long time players, more on that here http://bzgirl.bzflag.org/decks.html
So lets say 5-10 of you think "yeah, Id like to help out", we can
keep a thread in the development forum and post to it as the testing day draws near, just to keep people reminded to help out? Or any other way to loosely organize this would be welcomed?
I think it would be nice for the playing community to take a little bit of time to help out the developers so the game can we
all love to play, can keep getting better and better.
So any volunteers?
/me returns to lurking
:lurk:
- Workaphobia
- Master Sergeant
- Posts: 252
- Joined: Wed May 26, 2004 7:29 pm
Yeah I'll build up some installers when I get home.
****NOTE for Windows Users******
This binary build WILL REQURE at least DirectX7.
If your on Windows XP then you'll be fine. If you are on 2k, 9x, or ME then you'll need to make sure you have at least Direct X 7 ( DX9 is the current version ).
If your on Windows NT, sorry your kinda screwed for this binary since there is no real DirectX for NT, You'll have to build your own with out the new input support.
you can get the current direct X at http://www.microsoft.com/directx/
****NOTE for Windows Users******
This binary build WILL REQURE at least DirectX7.
If your on Windows XP then you'll be fine. If you are on 2k, 9x, or ME then you'll need to make sure you have at least Direct X 7 ( DX9 is the current version ).
If your on Windows NT, sorry your kinda screwed for this binary since there is no real DirectX for NT, You'll have to build your own with out the new input support.
you can get the current direct X at http://www.microsoft.com/directx/
JeffM
- The Red Baron
- Sergeant First Class
- Posts: 987
- Joined: Sat Dec 07, 2002 6:21 am
- Contact:
I'm on windows 2000 with dx9.
If all you are asking of me is to log on with the cvs and play the game looking for bugs... Sure I can help. I started on decks so I know it like the front of my computer monitor.
You mentioned compiling and/or installers. If you walk me through compiling once, I will be able to repeat it.
other than that, you have my services...
If all you are asking of me is to log on with the cvs and play the game looking for bugs... Sure I can help. I started on decks so I know it like the front of my computer monitor.
You mentioned compiling and/or installers. If you walk me through compiling once, I will be able to repeat it.
other than that, you have my services...
Beware! I'm going to clone myself and spread those clones all over the world!
buld is at, http://bzbb.bzflag.org/builds/1.11/bzflag1.11.14.exe
Red Barron, building generaly needs CVS access to be able to get the current most code, and commit version updates to the installers. Also current builds are done with Visual Studio .net 2003 ( VC7.1 ) and use of the NSIS instaleler tool.
I reiterate the DirectX issue. The installer does not yet check for DirectX, but it should before the final release, once we upgrade to the current nsis version.
Red Barron, building generaly needs CVS access to be able to get the current most code, and commit version updates to the installers. Also current builds are done with Visual Studio .net 2003 ( VC7.1 ) and use of the NSIS instaleler tool.
I reiterate the DirectX issue. The installer does not yet check for DirectX, but it should before the final release, once we upgrade to the current nsis version.
JeffM
Thanks Patlabor221
Red Baron if you do not have those compiling tools you can still just use the above posted exe.
Do you guys feel friday evening is ok? Thats eveneing time for us in North America, and night time for the European players
If its early evening for us then its not too late for the Euro's
Some of them stay up past midnight
I think purple_cow could be talked into having a server available, if not I can run one myself.
Red Baron if you do not have those compiling tools you can still just use the above posted exe.
Do you guys feel friday evening is ok? Thats eveneing time for us in North America, and night time for the European players
If its early evening for us then its not too late for the Euro's
Some of them stay up past midnight
I think purple_cow could be talked into having a server available, if not I can run one myself.
- The Red Baron
- Sergeant First Class
- Posts: 987
- Joined: Sat Dec 07, 2002 6:21 am
- Contact:
If there are going to be numerous bug reports
coming from these test sessions, I would ask
the server owner to record them. That way, we
can replay the game and look for message about
bugs, and watch them as they happen (it'll also
record the client's version and OS).
Also, it might be nice to drop an 'test executable'
on Thursday night, and possibly do a CVS tag, so
that everyone is using the same client code. Just
makes it that much easier to track things. I do not
know how feasible this would be to organize.
coming from these test sessions, I would ask
the server owner to record them. That way, we
can replay the game and look for message about
bugs, and watch them as they happen (it'll also
record the client's version and OS).
Also, it might be nice to drop an 'test executable'
on Thursday night, and possibly do a CVS tag, so
that everyone is using the same client code. Just
makes it that much easier to track things. I do not
know how feasible this would be to organize.
I'm willing to test, evenings US mostly. I had to remove my graphics card, because of bzflag 1.10.6 and pseudo-random crashes. (Geforce 5200) So I'm running a plain Via motherboard chipset, AMD 2200+, and S3 Prosavage on-board, Windows XP Pro, DirectX 9.0c, and the latest drivers for all components in the system as of 1 week ago. Ought to make a decent middle-of-the-road test client platform.
I'm also willing to manipulate my nimitz 2.0 map to change playability with LOTS of objects. Or Trepan can, he has bzmapper source for a recent version.
I'm also willing to manipulate my nimitz 2.0 map to change playability with LOTS of objects. Or Trepan can, he has bzmapper source for a recent version.
-toaster
"So there I was, all alone, facing all of the enemy. I started driving in circles, until I had them surrounded, and then I escaped in the confusion."
"So there I was, all alone, facing all of the enemy. I started driving in circles, until I had them surrounded, and then I escaped in the confusion."
- The Purple Panzer
- Field Marshal
- Posts: 246
- Joined: Tue Sep 23, 2003 8:13 pm
- Location: Stonington, CT
- Contact:
toaster, you want lotsa objects? =)
http://members.rogers.com/trepan/screenies/aztec.jpg
86778 mesh faces in that one. It's not playable yet, but it may
be some day. I get about 90 FPS when sitting in the center of
it, but that number crashes when looking towards the center
from one of the corners.
http://members.rogers.com/trepan/screenies/aztec.jpg
86778 mesh faces in that one. It's not playable yet, but it may
be some day. I get about 90 FPS when sitting in the center of
it, but that number crashes when looking towards the center
from one of the corners.
- Fiberchunks
- Administrator
- Posts: 397
- Joined: Tue Dec 03, 2002 5:58 am
- Location: Groton, CT
- The Purple Panzer
- Field Marshal
- Posts: 246
- Joined: Tue Sep 23, 2003 8:13 pm
- Location: Stonington, CT
- Contact:
...I forgot to mention, I did not build that map.
I wrote the 3DS to BZW converter, and used it on
someone else's model file.
http://www.3dcafe.com/models/az_city.zip
The converter is in the misc/ directory in CVS. It
requires lib3ds to compile.
Purple Panzer, I'd send you the BZW file, except
that it's around 23Mbytes. You may be glad to note
that it compresses to around 1.3Mbytes over the
wire (bzfs now does compression before sending out
maps, which also saves cache space on the client
side, and recording file space server side).
I wrote the 3DS to BZW converter, and used it on
someone else's model file.
http://www.3dcafe.com/models/az_city.zip
The converter is in the misc/ directory in CVS. It
requires lib3ds to compile.
Purple Panzer, I'd send you the BZW file, except
that it's around 23Mbytes. You may be glad to note
that it compresses to around 1.3Mbytes over the
wire (bzfs now does compression before sending out
maps, which also saves cache space on the client
side, and recording file space server side).
- optic delusion
- Special Forces
- Posts: 1054
- Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2004 2:29 pm
- Location: Planet MoFo
- Contact:
Nope, the more people that try out the cvs version the better.ant_eater wrote: I did not know that this was something that the general public was able to get in on. I was thinking it was just a special club. I am in...
So by friday I or patlabor221 will post a link for the windows build
for those of you unable to compile a client
For the rest, be aware from time to time, things might not build
when you compile, stuff gets broken now and then but if you
pop into irc.freenode.net, #bzflag, there is usually someone around that can help.
So we will try for this coming friday evening?
bzg.
Friday night I'm out of town interviewing, not going to work for me this week.
Trepan, I give on the object count competition. I'm only counting the ones I've built myself, not converted, and that's more than the current production release handles well.
I do know where to get some serious models and convert them, guess I might be able to give you a run for your money then..... LOL
And the Aztec map is amazing. Someone really put a lot of work into that design.
By the way, do you have actual mesh support in 1.11 now, or still tetrahedrons? I've been experimenting / working with them, but having a lot of difficulty with freehand design.
Trepan, I give on the object count competition. I'm only counting the ones I've built myself, not converted, and that's more than the current production release handles well.
I do know where to get some serious models and convert them, guess I might be able to give you a run for your money then..... LOL
And the Aztec map is amazing. Someone really put a lot of work into that design.
By the way, do you have actual mesh support in 1.11 now, or still tetrahedrons? I've been experimenting / working with them, but having a lot of difficulty with freehand design.
-toaster
"So there I was, all alone, facing all of the enemy. I started driving in circles, until I had them surrounded, and then I escaped in the confusion."
"So there I was, all alone, facing all of the enemy. I started driving in circles, until I had them surrounded, and then I escaped in the confusion."