Phoenix SS Client v.a83 DX-Fix

[Vidiot_X]

http://redeyeware.uphero.com/phoenix_ss/screenshot.png

Phoenix SS

http://redeyeware.up..._client_a83.zip

 

Mirror Site

http://redeyeware.zx..._client_a83.zip

 

 

Hi,

 

Here is the next version of the Phoenix SS client. DirectX should now have great performance (I get 140 FPS on average) as well as OpenGL. Other fixes as well. Please let me know if DirectX is working for you.

 

There are two FPS's listed. The main loop FPS is outside of delta timing and is the raw loop FPS. Delta FPS is the rate of the graphics, physics and more. Because of the timing method I am using an actual FPS is not possible at present. I may add an option to list it later. I am using a fixed rate of timing so all graphic modes listed will be at a 60hrz refresh rate.

 

The setup window should be easy to use, just select a graphic driver and resolution (graphic mode) and click "Play Phoenix SS". V-Sync on/off selects v-sync to be on or off. Fast Render does not wait for the vblank to render graphics.

 

Been up all night so off to bed, let me know how it works.

 

*edit - The setup window should automatically list the available graphic drivers and resolutions. Let me know if it is not detecting available drivers. Thanks.

 

As a reminder use number pad ' - ' and ' + ' to zoom in and out. Hit ' F10' to toggle screen rotation on/off.

 

Thanks

- Rich -

[Cheese]

performance is legions better, so now you can work on gameplay mechanics :3

 

it appears that you fixed the bullet lag, and bullets seem to be working properly

 

your wall collisions are still off

it appears that you actually gain velocity after hitting a wall

it looks like you temporarily set velocity negative, and then resume to modified original velocity

if you fly next to a wall, with no thrust you can watch the ship oscillate next to the wall

 

dx7 has a rendering defect in fullscreen

the bg is rotating as well, and the picture you use is a rectangle, so there are parts of the screen not covered by the bg rectangle

the picture may be resized

 

screenshot taking doesnt seem to work anymore

 

cant use opengl sometimes, throws "windows exception"s

got int div by zero, something else

and then it works other times

[Cheese]

additionally, when you are flying away from base, it is difficult to determine your direction of travel, as there is no minimap or something similar yet, and even if there wasnt, as a long time ss player, i truly miss the parallax of the starfield

 

you can also have the ship model slightly move off center (lag behind with phase offset) in response to acceleration in a certain direction

[Vidiot_X]

Hi cheese,

 

your wall collisions are still off

it appears that you actually gain velocity after hitting a wall

 

I will fix this.

 

it looks like you temporarily set velocity negative, and then resume to modified original velocity

if you fly next to a wall, with no thrust you can watch the ship oscillate next to the wall

 

Right now I am using a circle for ship collision. This might not be the best approach and I will change this to the ship having the same bounding lines as the parts do. I just need to update the editor which is up next and coming soon. You can check out the the editor video for more on what I mean (http://www.subspace....s-and-overview/).

 

So the bottom line is I will fix this.

 

 

dx7 has a rendering defect in fullscreen

the bg is rotating as well, and the picture you use is a rectangle, so there are parts of the screen not covered by the bg rectangle

the picture may be resized

 

This does sound like a miscalculation in the scale of the background image. What resolution were you running Phoenix SS in? IT also could be a problem with setting the view-port but unlikley.

 

 

screenshot taking doesnt seem to work anymore

 

Use 'F8' to take a screen shot (will update help). That might help understand above.

 

cant use opengl sometimes, throws "windows exception"s

got int div by zero, something else

and then it works other times

 

I will look into this. As you might know automatically setting up graphic drivers and modes can be a little tricky. Divide by zero should be easily fixable.

 

 

you can also have the ship model slightly move off center (lag behind with phase offset) in response to acceleration in a certain direction

 

Already built in just need to activate it.

 

additionally, when you are flying away from base, it is difficult to determine your direction of travel, as there is no minimap or something similar yet, and even if there wasnt, as a long time ss player, i truly miss the parallax of the starfield

 

Have no fear;) I will add a map and parallaxing background elements. Phoenix SS also supports a scrolling background as well. Mainly, at this point I am testing the core of the Phoenix SS engine itself and will add all of this in the next release.

 

The editor is nearly complete enough to generate maps, parts and ships. Look for it soon (next few weeks).

 

Thanks very much.

[Cheese]

helptext still says 8 and not f8 fyi

[Cheese]

1360x768, a nonstandard, non4:3, non13:9 resolution

also it seems dx7 struggles to render when system is under load in conditions where the others do not

heres a screenshotnow that f8 works

 

 

 

 

wtf forums eating my screenshot now with its terrible uploader

ill figure it out later

Edited March 11, 2012 by Cheese

[Vidiot_X]

Ya the uploader does kind of suck and that's why (size too) I link off to my web pages.

 

I've tried it here and all modes seem to work fine in DX7 on my Nvidia GeForce 6150se nForce 430 256meg which is a low end on-board video card. But I will look into to it further. BTW modes like 1280 x 800 x 32 (not 16:9 or 4:3) will appear tilted or skewed and should not be used. I can eliminate them in auto configure if need be.

 

DX 7 is a legacy driver for sure and with all the other drivers available should not be too much of a concern IMHO.

 

I am using this system as my baseline for development.

System: Amd Athlon II X2 220 2.8ghz, Windows 7 64bit, 4 Gig memory, Nvidia GeForce 6150se nForce 430 256meg

[Resol]

What about adding an option to either have a fixed radar, or a scrolling radar?

[Vidiot_X]

Hi Resol,

 

What about adding an option to either have a fixed radar, or a scrolling radar?

 

That should be doable and if I understand you right the radar would either scroll with ship movement or be fixed and perhaps scalable.

 

Actually I was thinking along the lines of tying the radar to the zoom level as an option. I plan to put the radar in a traditional corner box (scrolling radar) similar to the way SuBSpace/Continuum does it and a second radar option that is under the ship for rotation mode (or non-rotation mode) that is semitransparent (alpha'ed) and keeps the radar orientation sensible when the screen is turning. I suppose the same could be done with the box style radar. It is really going to depend on performance in the end.

 

- Rich -

[»Lynx]

cant use opengl sometimes, throws "windows exception"s

got int div by zero, something else

and then it works other times

 

I will look into this. As you might know automatically setting up graphic drivers and modes can be a little tricky. Divide by zero should be easily fixable.

 

I often get this in OpenGL if I forget to modify the resize(int h, int w) method to have if(h == 0) h = 1; Game looks great! Good work.

[Cheese]

wtf forums eating my screenshot now with its terrible uploader

ill figure it out later

[Vidiot_X]

Hi cheese,

 

Is that screenshot 1360x768 in DX 7? I do see a bug in my code were going above resolutions of 1366 x 768 would do this. I will fix that and a couple other bugs today and post a new version. If it is at 1360 x 768 then it has to be an issue with the DX 7 driver and your video cards implementation of DX 7, in the way it is large scaling images.

 

Thanks,

- Rich -

[Vidiot_X]

Hi,

 

I had a report of OpenGL graphic driver crashing on resolutions greater then 1366 x 768. Also the Dx10/11 driver not reporting resolution 1920x1080 or possibly no resolution greater then 1768x992.

 

Can anyone verify this? Thanks for testing.

 

- Rich -

[Vidiot_X]

Moved to here: http://www.subspace.co/topic/26329-roundirregular-shape-collision-and-radar/

[Vidiot_X]

moved to here: http://www.subspace.co/topic/26329-roundirregular-shape-collision-and-radar/

[Vidiot_X]

Hi,

 

I had the opportunity to run the client on a DX10 system at 1920 x 1200 and it did fail with an 'exception error' in all but DX10. This gives me a clue into where the problem is and I will have a fix shortly. So another couple days.

 

=> Rich

[Vidiot_X]

Hi,

 

I have been working on the client server model and have implemented a variable rate timing for the tween system and it seems to be working well under test. This variable rate applies to the physics/collision frame rate and to the rate of the display v-sync (refresh rate). This allows fast display refresh rates to to be used and frees the tween and physics/collision systems to run at nearly any refresh rate. Basically all the networking, physics and collision systems are decoupled from a fixed frame rate which is good.

 

So, I will be delaying the next release to include the new changes.

 

Constructing a basic server up next after that.

 

*Edit - also fixing a bug that will crash Phoenix SS if no DX10/11 installed on systems.

 

Regards,

- Rich -