DDAY 1944 HRes 1.7 Beta released!

[Phex]

I really like this plugin, you did a great job! Therefore some feedback... apart from minor issues the following things striked me most:

• It is annoying that special units like medics and flamethrowers cant kneel nor lie down. I know that this is part of the modular unit idea (each unit can pick up everything), but in my opinion it has a wrong look & feel to it. I would prefer having only static units (solders, medics, flamethrowers...) that can all change their position. Furthermore there is a bug when normal soldiers pick up medikits and use them.
• No melee attack for soldiers, really?
• Maps really look way too clean as mentioned above by others. I also miss destructible scenery which makes the clean look even worse. For a future version you could maybe even plan to implement some destructible models, like walls?
• The cannons are all unmanned, why not make them work as in blue and grey with artillerymen?

[carlinho]

Hey Phex!
thanks for the feedback!
really glad you liked it!
I take note thoroughly!
will add a kneel animation to medics, and a kneel fire attack to flamethrowers!
the rifle soldiers can stab, but after watching some films Point sent me and how testers tried to melee attack enemy units, I think I'll do a melee attack for every unit, definitely needed!
I will be able only when I get back from a trip in january, but definitely I'll do so

the same for debris and exploding scenery.
Not sure about exploding walls, it's complicated ...sigh
and the unmanned cannons...I might try...although it's really complicated as well...

BIG thanks!!!

[bigbro]

Hi,
some feedback here
- there is a bug with regular soldiers being able to pick up meditkits but not using them. If you try to use them the unit crouches and medikit gets tossed
- I've been having graphical issues with artifacts appearing on screen. I had a lot before I changed textures caches to a lower amount (it was higher than my actual vram, by mistake), but it still happens sometimes in omaha after fixing that. For instance when ennemy howitzer shoots sometimes I get a totally different texture for a few frames. Posting a screenshot below. I've never seen this happen in myth before on this setup, but then again, I barely played any other plugs with HD units. Doesn't happen very often, but still happens.
- I'm sure you got feedback already with thompson being buggy and changes that could be made to ennemy artillery on omaha. Omaha feels too hard for me, on high difficulty levels games usually don't last long (typically with 3-4 players) and on lower difficulties you get through the fence more easily but after that gameplay gets a bit slow, it is tempting to camp to kill ennemy units one by one. Also people have been asking about an autodispatcher when the boats open (you may ask wolf).
- I had a blast playing with around 6 players on carentan this afternoon and I wasn't the only one. Absolutely great gameplay in that urban setting. And these were only the very first games ... huge potential definitely.
Keep up the good work,
Cheers,
bigbro

PS. screenshot with a huge artifact on screen below. Usually it is smaller, about the size of the original model. Here it shows over an howitzer. A lot of the screenshots I'm taking turn up totally black. I will install snapz pro
I also got films, should they be needed. I have yet to sort them out and see if I also get the artifacts when watching them.

[carlinho]

wow! amazing feedback Big Bro!!!
at last somebody that tells me that had a blast playing Carentan!!!!


that's what I was craving for!!!!

It's hard for me to work on patches as I'm out of the country, working long hours with a laptop without any software or files...
but I managed to tweak a couple of things here and there...just basic fear stuff, so you guys can have more fun testing

I uploaded a new patch, it's called patch from 1.7b to 1.7c
get it here:

http://hl.udogs.net/files/Uploads/%20Us ... s/patches/

it should fix the following:

1. there is a bug with regular soldiers being able to pick up meditkits but not using them. If you try to use them the unit crouches and medikit gets tossed
THIS IS JUST A TEMPORARY FIX, NOW SOLDIERS CAN HEAL EITHER THEMSELVES, OR THEIR COMRADES, THOUGH IT LOOKS LIKE CRAP AND TAKES FOREVER... WILL LATER ON DO AN ANIMATION FOR SOLDIERS HEALING...AND ON A FASTER HEALING.

2. Omaha feels too hard for me, on high difficulty levels games usually don't last long (typically with 3-4 players) and on lower difficulties you get through the fence more easily but after that gameplay gets a bit slow, it is tempting to camp to kill ennemy units one by one.
I ADDED JUST 1 MORE SOLDIER TO EACH BOAT. AN UNCONTROLLABLE SOLDIER WITH EITHER A BAZOOKA OR HEAVY MG. I ALSO PLACED SOME HEAVY EXPLODING BARRELS ON THE GERMAN LINES--LOOK FOR THEM WITH THE RED STRIPES--- SHOULD HELP CLEARING SOME ENEMIES...
WHEN I GET BACK WILL WORK ON DEMOLITION UNITS THAT CAN PLACE SATCHEL CHARGES AND THROW MOLOTOV COCKTAILS, ETC

3. THERE WERE NO SEAGULLS ON THE OVERHEAD, IT WAS THE PLANES DROPPING AMMO. MADE THEM INVISIBLE.

4. MOVED SOME TANK TRAPS TO MAKE TERRAIN MORE PASSABLE IN OMAHA

5. SLIGHTLY MOVED OPENING CAMERA ON OMAHA, IT WAS OFF BEFORE.


this things I don't know how to fix so far:

1. Also people have been asking about an autodispatcher when the boats open (you may ask wolf).THIS NOT SURE WHAT YOU MEAN...do you mean to make all units including controlled units by player, to start level running out of boats?

2.- I've been having graphical issues with artifacts appearing on screen. I had a lot before I changed textures caches to a lower amount (it was higher than my actual vram, by mistake), but it still happens sometimes in omaha after fixing that. For instance when ennemy howitzer shoots sometimes I get a totally different texture for a few frames. Posting a screenshot below. I've never seen this happen in myth before on this setup, but then again, I barely played any other plugs with HD units. Doesn't happen very often, but still happens.

THIS IS REALLY WEIRD...I TESTED IT ON A PC, ON A NEW MAC, ON AN OLD MAC...AND NEVER HAD THAT ISSUE....COULD THAT BE BECAUSE A GRAPHIC CARD THINGY? COULD YOU POST THAT ON THE TECHNICAL FORUM TO SEE IF MEL OR SOMEBODY THAT HAS THE KNOWLEDGE CAN HELP WITH IT?

3. THOMPSON AND MP-40 BEING BUGGY...I KNOW...I JUST HAVE NO CLUE WHAT IT'S HAPPENING....WILL TRY FIGURING OUT...IF ANYBODY HAS A CLUE HOW TO FIX THIS PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!!!

let me know as well if there's anything I need to change to Carentan map to make it more fun for multiplayer!
THANKS A LOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Point]

the screen artifacts i have been also encountering in oak 118... so it might not be a plugin thing.. from trying to track it down.. I would guess it might some how have to do with a combination of lack of hard disk space and memory...



dont throw out your 1.7b I have a films heading your way...

[carlinho]

kool, I thought it was something I saw happened to you before but couldn't find the thread, so I figured I invented it...
glad it has nothing to do with the plug. I saw you responded on my oak 118 testers thread..not sure I posted it the right way...or maybe I should post that in the bug tracker....
best thing ever: ooga will help us making it better!
and once I get my hands on my pc at home in january, I can work on new animations, weapons, whatever needed to improve it!
just keep suggesting new things and post bugs and fixes needed...and it will get better and better!

[bigbro]

Hi,
You should really upload 1.7c on the Tain when you get a chance. It's really hard to get new players at the current state, with people having to download three different packages (counting Omnipatch if they don't have it yet) before they can play.
Cheers,
bigbro

[carlinho]

sorry Big bro!!!
totally misunderstood the feedback...thought that it would be painful if I kept uploading patches....so I stopped all patching until I could release a BIG change to justify a new patch...
but I guess it's painful all that patching...
I was on the process of adding more maps...with the help of Point who is lending me some of his amazing colour maps he has for AVA warfare.
in the meantime I prepare that...I'm uploading HR 1.d which adds the Ardennes map I released on the original plug, and which now Jon God detextured.

I guess the tain will take some days to approve it. so here's the link to the plug by itself
****what I have no clue is why on my computer it reads as 125mb and on the tain 119...**
http://hl.udogs.net/files/Uploads/%20Us ... ins/betas/

and to the patch from 1.7c to 1.7d:

http://hl.udogs.net/files/Uploads/%20Us ... s/patches/

Here's a still of the Ardennes map:


this is a still of the amazing color-map Point is lending me from AVA, where I'm adding models and dtexturing... that is not on this patch, but will be on next:

[bigbro]

Yes, I know this may seem contradictory with feedback I gave you. I was actually refering to final versions. When it gets final, I would advise to make sure it's solid so you don't have to release numerous patches (which many players won't follow). But it is different when it is still beta. In any case, should you choose to release many betas or not, you should make sure that the latest beta version is accessible in one click - and it will be the case when it 1.7d appears on the Tain, so it's settled.
I tried Ardennes today. It looks like a neat map as well. There is no overhead map yet though. I'm gonna look for more players to play this and carentan, as well as point's plug hopefully, in january.

[carlinho]

Aggg what dumb I am...forgot to link in the plug the overhead for ardennes....
Great that you find it neat though!!!!
I've been out of town for a month now, so I can't advance too much...but will try doing so when I get back, specially gameplay and adding more maps so it doesn't get boring so fast. Thanks for all the feedback and help!!!

[carlinho]

so, just wanted to say I'm working on this still.
While I wait on Ooga to do some tweaking and improving game wise with units, I did some new models for a train station map.

Anybody interested in doing the color map welcomed....
here's a render of the 2 wagons I did, to place scattered here and there:



and here's the wagon + a building on a sketch of rails, to show proportions...



I could do the color map, no prob, but probably will do something basic, as carentan map....as I don't have that much time....so if anybody is interested let me know.

this map + at all costs map from Point + a tiger tank and maybe a sherman tank from Point + work on the bugs you guys found would be the final patch.
Also bigbro, you mentioned there was a way wolfman had of autodispatching units....to players....anyone knows how to do that?
for the dday map?
I have no clue as how to do so....

thanks!!!!

[Jon God]

Holy hell, that looks stunning.

[Graydon]

Stunning production quality as always Carl, great stuff! Can I suggest taking the base texture and adding a handfull of different colour overlays on top, then making a master collection and creating permutations for the cars? Would provide you/the eventual cmapper with even greater versatility in visual aesthetics. (Which you know we both love )

[carlinho]

Hey!! thanks so much!!! coming from you two it's an amazing compliment!
gray, what I had a ton of trouble was indexing the textures, I guess the more photorealistic I want to go, the more it complicates indexing to a 256 index...
as point says...maybe oak will be able to hold 512 x pixels collections with bigger indexing colors?
what I could do is create a similar model with another set of textures, that maybe are more strong colors, could index better, to make them permutable...
as I think 2 wagons is the max time would permit me to do...hehehe

anyways, thanks a lot!! and hoping to have time to finish this 2 maps so they can be ready for players!

cheers!

[Jon God]

Also, note to self, someday, I must make a trainyard DF level, once I learn to cmap, and get models in game.