Bugs, crashes, typos & bad taste

[Kammerer]

Some more typos:

M83 Barett Clip

       

This hangun is the remarkable hybridization

       
magnum rounds - maybe it would be better to write it with a capital?
       
Miscatonic Valley - it should be "Miskatonic" if it is a toponym taken from the world of Lovecraft.
       
STR_BADASS_CHRYSSALID_TERRORIST - an empty string.

[Solarius Scorch]

Many thanks, all fixed.

[tkzv]

When I get Ironfist, two messages appear: that I can now make it and that I can now rent it. But I'm not allowed to rent it. Bug?

I researched Ethereal Guardian and Ethereal Speaker and got nothing. Is this correct?

[Solarius Scorch]

When I get Ironfist, two messages appear: that I can now make it and that I can now rent it. But I'm not allowed to rent it. Bug?

Sounds like a bug, but I can't find any problems.

Does the same happen with other craft you manufacture?

I researched Ethereal Guardian and Ethereal Speaker and got nothing. Is this correct?

Depends on what you mean by "nothing":

Code: [Select]

    unlocks:
      - STR_ETHEREAL_ORDER
      - STR_ALIEN_ORIGINS
      - STR_ALIEN_DIPLOMACY
      - STR_ENVOY_SHIP
    getOneFree:
      - STR_STAY_ALONE_STAY_ALIVE

If you've had all of this already, then yeah, there would be nothing.

[tkzv]

Sounds like a bug, but I can't find any problems.

Does the same happen with other craft you manufacture?

I did not pay attention, but I think both messages — rent and manufacture — appeared for the majority of researched craft. I got all but Ironfist in an earlier version: probably mod 0.6.5 and engine from around June.

Right now I can manufacture: airborne Mudranger, Skyraider, Skyranger, Skymarshall, Ironfist, Interceptor, Raven, Thunderstorm, Sentinel. I can purchase or rent: Awacs, Mudranger, vans and cars, helicopter, Dragonfly, MiG-31.

I did not pay attention earlier, but turns out, I'm paying monthly rent for Skymarshalls, Thunderstorms and Ravens I manufactured.

Depends on what you mean by "nothing":

Code: [Select]

    unlocks:
      - STR_ETHEREAL_ORDER
      - STR_ALIEN_ORIGINS
      - STR_ALIEN_DIPLOMACY
      - STR_ENVOY_SHIP
    getOneFree:
      - STR_STAY_ALONE_STAY_ALIVE

If you've had all of this already, then yeah, there would be nothing.

I already had Etherial Order and Alien Origins. I researched both Guardian and Speaker simultaneously and Alien Diplomacy was added to Ufopaedia, but there was no message about it. Also, before I finished the research, the tech tree viewer displayed Alien Diplomacy in purple, not white. UPDATE: Alien Diplomacy appears after I research only one of them, no matter who.

By the way, what item do I need to research Envoy Ship and where do I get it? I captured the ship that carried Guardian and Speaker, I researched Guardian and Speaker, but Envoy Ship doesn't appear in the research topics list.

[Solarius Scorch]

The issue with the messages is probably because manufacturable craft also have rent costs, to represent maintenance. I think the "you can now rent" message was introduced later and a conflict emerged.
I will talk to Meridian about this, but he's currently out of office, so it will take some time.

As for the envoy ship, I honestly can't remember, but you can try the tech tree viewer.

[tkzv]

As for the envoy ship, I honestly can't remember, but you can try the tech tree viewer.

The viewer says the topic "Envoy Ship" requires an item "Envoy Ship" and is unlocked by by Ethereal Guardian or Speaker. I'm asking what this item is and where to get it.

And don't forget the other problem with the viewer — it displayed "Alien Diplomacy" as researched when it was not.

[Solarius Scorch]

The viewer says the topic "Envoy Ship" requires an item "Envoy Ship" and is unlocked by by Ethereal Guardian or Speaker. I'm asking what this item is and where to get it.

Good point! It was a bug. Fixing.

And don't forget the other problem with the viewer — it displayed "Alien Diplomacy" as researched when it was not.

Are you sure? Elite Ethereals should unlock it.

[tkzv]

Are you sure? Elite Ethereals should unlock it.

I was pretty sure it was displayed in purple before I finished researching elite Ethereals. But now I can't reproduce it. Probably mistook search results for the list in the topic.

Which reminded me of another problem. Infrequently an agent suddenly loses all time units. It never reproduces in the same circumstances. Is it a known bug, or am I accidentally hitting some secret key combination for "expend all TUs"?
No string for STR_TASOTH_FACTORY_AVAILABLE when the mission is announced the first time.
Studying Tasoth Commando does not open Ufopaedia entry for Tasoth.

[Solarius Scorch]

Which reminded me of another problem. Infrequently an agent suddenly loses all time units. It never reproduces in the same circumstances. Is it a known bug, or am I accidentally hitting some secret key combination for "expend all TUs"?

You could be. Because I haven't experienced it.

BTW this function is available from the button, so it would make sense there is some key bounded to it.

No string for STR_TASOTH_FACTORY_AVAILABLE when the mission is announced the first time.

Thanks, fixed.

Studying Tasoth Commando does not open Ufopaedia entry for Tasoth.

Thanks, also fixed.

[mumble]

Just want to add, hitting delete functions to clear all TU's if you hit it. This might be your problem right here, if you have a cat on your keyboard or something

 key is handy if  you want to avoid blowing apart a cultist you want alive, though.   

[tkzv]

Thanks, fixed.

Same for STR_ALERT_COMRCURBAN_CORP_1 and STR_ALERT_COMRCURBAN_CORP_2.

Just want to add, hitting delete functions to clear all TU's if you hit it. This might be your problem right here, if you have a cat on your keyboard or something

Thanks. I am very unlikely to press "Del" by accident, thus I never tried it when trying to reproduce Could be it.

Another missing string: STR_SYNDICATE_RETALIATION.
Another trouble with staircases, this time in the Apocalypse Outpost mission. The staircases in the corner towers are treated as impassable. See the attached "Temple of Apocalypse staircases.sav"
The algorithm that generates mission maps occasionally creates maps with unreachable sections. It is not much of a problem for farms and even Cyberweb, but some missions in zombie catacombs are unwinnable, because the walls are too thick to break. See the attached "zombies locked.sav".

I understand that's more of a problem with the engine, but is there any way to mitigate it? How should I go about reproducing and reporting it in the vanilla version?

[Solarius Scorch]

Thanks for the missing string reports tkzv, fixed.

Another trouble with staircases, this time in the Apocalypse Outpost mission. The staircases in the corner towers are treated as impassable. See the attached "Temple of Apocalypse staircases.sav"

More than that; something's very wrong with this tileset. I think I fixed it now.

The algorithm that generates mission maps occasionally creates maps with unreachable sections. It is not much of a problem for farms and even Cyberweb, but some missions in zombie catacombs are unwinnable, because the walls are too thick to break. See the attached "zombies locked.sav".

I understand that's more of a problem with the engine, but is there any way to mitigate it? How should I go about reproducing and reporting it in the vanilla version?

No please don't report it, it's my fault.

I've never had this problem in catacombs, but I guess it's a matter of luck... I'm not sure how to fix that except making all mapblocks boring.

[tkzv]

I've never had this problem in catacombs, but I guess it's a matter of luck... I'm not sure how to fix that except making all mapblocks boring.

Yes, it's uncommon and hard to reproduce. But I've seen this even on the farms, so it's not just your tilesets' fault.

What is responsible for map generation? Only the engine, or the mod? Can the mod access the pathfinding algorithm? Can you add a check if it's possible to walk to each block from the first block? And repeat generation if the check fails. This will increase the time for map generation, but since bad maps are uncommon, it won't need to repeat more than once.

Speaking of maps, there's a problem with 2x2 monsters (spider queens, shamblers, megaworms) in caves. Most of the time they are confined to a small area and can't leave it. Of course, this makes the game easier , but still isn't right. If there's a big monster, the majority of passages should be wide enough. Unless someone deliberately placed them there and feeds them

[Solarius Scorch]

What is responsible for map generation? Only the engine, or the mod? Can the mod access the pathfinding algorithm? Can you add a check if it's possible to walk to each block from the first block? And repeat generation if the check fails. This will increase the time for map generation, but since bad maps are uncommon, it won't need to repeat more than once.

To be very concise, every map consists of blocks. Blocks are either 10x10 or 20x20 (theoretically can be bigger, but it's hardly ever used, except for UFOs). The map size is specified by deployment (for example, per UFO, per mission, etc.) - for example, 50x50. Map blocks are picked randomly to fill the map.

Now, this process can be tweaked with so called map scripts. The simplest script possible would be "fill everything with normal 10x10 blocks". Such a script would look like this:

Code: [Select]

  - type: SOME_TERRAIN
    commands:
    - type: fillArea

It wouldn't be a very good map script though, as it wouldn't allow spawning any X-Com soldiers (except if you add X-Com spawns to one of the blocks, but there would be no guarantee this block would be picked)... So in practice it also contains some additional commands, like "add craft", "add this special block where X-Com spawns on", "add UFO" etc. Spawning 20x20 blocks also requires special command, like "put 3 such blocks in random positions (and then fill the rest with small blocks)". But there are also more advanced script commands, which allow to draw roads or spawn a particular block in a particular place etc.

So... the answer is, one could think of some very complex script that would put some sort of limits on map generation... But it's hard work and I'm not prepared to do it at the moment.

Speaking of maps, there's a problem with 2x2 monsters (spider queens, shamblers, megaworms) in caves. Most of the time they are confined to a small area and can't leave it. Of course, this makes the game easier , but still isn't right. If there's a big monster, the majority of passages should be wide enough. Unless someone deliberately placed them there and feeds them

If you spot something like this, please let me know (with a screenshot). This is a map design problem - when such tight spots have spawn nodes, they should be specifically unavailable for large units. But sometimes this special limitation may be missing from a node - I fixed many, but possibly not all.