Oolite Bulletins

Any chance we could get the default config file for the Oolite download to point to the correct location for the Expansions Manager?

I've been having to field a series of identical questions about this from new players who can't get the manager to work. There is no information available to them that explains they need to edit the config.

arquebus wrote: ↑Sun May 07, 2023 3:40 am

Any chance we could get the default config file for the Oolite download to point to the correct location for the Expansions Manager?

I've been having to field a series of identical questions about this from new players who can't get the manager to work. There is no information available to them that explains they need to edit the config.

We can switch the nightlies to point to the new Expansion Manager oxz list location until oolite.org has been re-acquired. Users should be able to download the nightly binaries from https://github.com/OoliteProject/oolite ... tag/latest

The change could go in later tonight. Binaries will be published for Windows and Linux and users will be able to play with 1.91, a version which is already miles ahead of 1.90.

Nightly builds are now configured until further notice to look for the oxz index at oolite.space by default.

The first v1.91 build that has this feature is b35ac97, available for Windows and Linux from https://github.com/OoliteProject/oolite ... tag/latest.

If the new version is miles ahead of 1.90 and switching the expansion manager's manifest url manually is hard to do for novice users, why not have a new release that solves both items in one go?

Rather than discussing whether the old or new URL should be manually configured I suggest the new version allows multiple URLs to be configured, and the expansion manager either takes the first successful download or downloads all and merges them with some smart algorithm. That would remove a single point of failure and make the thing more resilient to network failure.

After all the project needs newcomers, doesn't it?

BTW, has not PHKB worked on improved keyboard and joystick input? Has that code been already merged?

hiran wrote: ↑Sun May 07, 2023 5:46 pm

After all the project needs newcomers, doesn't it?

That's the critical thing. Right now, without underlying knowledge, a large chunk of the game is *broken* for new players. Having a nightly build available is great but it's not the solution for *new* players or non-technically inclined players.

I would argue that, at the very least, there should be a 1.9000000001 pushed as the primary download that has nothing changed except the config file pointing to the right repository for the expansions manager.

Whether or not oolite.org comes back is irrelevant for *right now* making a standard download that works.

hiran wrote: ↑Sun May 07, 2023 6:22 pm

BTW, has not PHKB worked on improved keyboard and joystick input? Has that code been already merged?

Yes.

another_commander wrote: ↑Mon May 08, 2023 4:17 pm

Yes.

Not for the AppleMac. I'm still back in Feb of last year!

This thread is now promoted to global announcement. It should be visible from any of the bb's subforums.

another_commander wrote: ↑Wed Jun 14, 2023 4:42 pm

This thread is now promoted to global announcement. It should be visible from any of the bb's subforums.

While it is visible from all the subforums now, I wonder if it is sufficient.

1. Download the latest release
2. Fly around.
3. Notice there are expansions that make the game more up to date/interesting.
4. Try to run the expansions manager. Fail.

And then there is a thread labelled "Oolite Website Domain". How on earth would a newbie get the connection?

Thread title renamed to reflect OXZ index url instructions.

another_commander wrote: ↑Wed Jun 14, 2023 4:52 pm

Thread title renamed to reflect OXZ index url instructions.

How about "Fixing the Expansions Manager"? Those keywords would buzz in my mind if I failed to see the list of expansions.

Thread title changed.

another_commander wrote: ↑Wed Jun 14, 2023 4:59 pm

Thread title changed.

Thank you for actioning.

While we are at it...
What actually keeps us from releasing what we have? The new domain is in apparently.

hiran wrote: ↑Wed Jun 14, 2023 5:10 pm

While we are at it...
What actually keeps us from releasing what we have? The new domain is in apparently.

Time required to prepare a release vs time actually available.

If you would like to take on the release preparation project, by all means go ahead. I cannot occupy myself with something like this right now.