Oolite Bulletins

i probably won't have anything new to test until next monday, all the shaders in the oxps should be done by then as well as all the missing ships added to dizzys bundle oxp, is there anything you're particularly keen to test? i could whip up a download or two if you like, but any big update will knacker my internet connection until i can make good use of works connection on monday with a big update session

The Krait would be nice... but I'm happy to wait on the bundle.

edit: you will keep the individual OXPs available, won't you. I prefer to have them singly.

yep, i'll keep the individual downloads, but the dizzy bundle will probably be the best option when all the set is done, simply because as everything is in 1 oxp it'll be easier for me to sort out themed decals for pirates, traders etc without having to try and sort out lots of decal image files across lots of oxps

edit: here's the krait, it's one of ones i'd sorted out yesterday
http://www.box.net/shared/tscgllgroy
edit: don't download - it's full of bugs!

Cool! Is there a 'scuffed' Cobra III in Dizzie's bundle... last time I tried it there wasn't?

Just saw your edit... good, the Krait is high on my list of favourite snakes, second only to the Copperhead.

yes, i don't think it got shown on the demo screen parade though, but it should have been flying about and up for sale etc

Problems with the Krait.

It's not all tinny, but no colours or decals.

oh heck, looks like i've uploaded a buggy shader, i'll sort out a fix

edit:
Ah, it was a missing #endif copy and paste error!
I've reuploaded the oxp with the fix, or if you'd prefer, here's how to fix the shaders:
open all the .fragment files in the Shaders folder of the oxp using a text editor... ...if your on a Windows PC, "notepad"s word wrap option can cause problems for Oolite by inserting extra hidden characters on the ends of lines so it's best to avoid using notepad for oolite file editing, Wordpad or the free download Notepad++ work OK though.

line 141 in each shader, type in and resave the file, make sure it still ends in .fragment and not .fragment.txt
restart oolite holding down the 'Shift' key on the keyboard soon after you launch the program and keep the key held down untill the spinning cobra appears on the title screen, this forces Oolite to clear out it's cache of oxp files and re-read them in fresh otherwise it won't notice the changes we've made to the shaders

A quick look at the demo screen shows the Krait with colours and decals (using CCC 10.2).
Good... full test in-game to follow later.
(That must be the first time I've typed '#endif' or it's equivalent in code for many many years.)

This Krait took a lot of chasing down and as I was about to grab a couple of screenshots, two Sidewinders attacked it... I had to kill them first.

Using CCC 10.2

It looks lovely:



I look forward to the rest of the set.

Griff's been trying to fix a shader prob on my Venoms etc but it's looking more like it's a driver prob ~ unless i've just not gone in and fiddled w/ the 3D options on the Catalyst bit enough.
this is what the Venom looked like in Rendermonkey :
http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/328/venomk.jpg

this is what she looks like on the new machine :
http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/1176/venonbleach.jpg

it's just completely not doing/overdoing the shiny effects on the armour.

grabbed the 9.8 and 9.10 driver pack, i'll have a bit fiddle before updating though.

9.10 installed, doesn't solve the RM problem but oddly enough the ships in Oolite look mint :-/ i'm using 1.82 of rendermonkey, just about to mail their TS and ask if there's any issues.

El Viejo, I notice that ATI have finally gotten around to releasing a legacy version of 10.2. As you seem to be keeping up to date with the situation, (judging from your remarks about the unhappy people on the ATI forums) in your opinion, is it worthwhile for me to upgrade my laptop from 9.11 to 10.2?

Hi Diziet.

First off, I follow the ATI blogs, not the forum as such (I don’t ‘do’ forums… this Oolite forum is an exception for very obvious reasons), and on the blogs you mostly get the whingers. Apart from the occasional post, the ‘happy’ customers are too busy being happy to blog. You can have a browse here, if you like. Trying to communicate with ATI directly is as hard as getting my damaged cloaking device fixed… it just ain’t gonna happen.

I come at this purely from the OpenGL support angle (i.e. Griff’s shaders), in all other respects I really like ATI cards. The X1300 256 (basically the same as your 2300) that I had before the HD 3650 512 was superb for it’s time. It’s still going strong, having been installed in my brother’s PC when I upgraded.

Impressions:

The improvement from 9.6 through to 9.10 was clear. What changed with their drivers after that is a mystery to me. Ignoring shader problems, the improvement from 9.10 through to 10.2 is marginal, but bear in mind that I have what is now a fairly old GPU, and I don’t play any games that use DirectX 9. In terms of OpenGL extensions, 10.2 gives me 152, whereas 9.10 gave me 139, 9.11 gave me 142 and 9.12 gave me 147. No improvement in FPS though, I get a steady 64 with all of them. Oolite definitely ‘feels’ better under 10.2 and when Griff releases his tweaked OXP set I’ll get a much better idea. I haven’t done any benchmark tests, of course… this is purely an ‘in-game’ feeling. I’m not overclocked, but 10.2 definitely runs my GPU a little hotter (3 – 4 degrees) than 9.10. I have seen comments regarding overheating problems from several bloggers, but that may just be the newer generation of ‘monster’ cards.

Advice:

I’d stick with 9.11 for the moment and see how Griff’s tweaks work for you. I haven’t tested the tweaks under 9.11 but you could… the tweaked Moray is a very good tester (it would be handy to know). You’ve seen how good it looks under 10.2 a few posts above. Or you could try 10.2 and roll back if it’s no good. I guess an extra heat problem is something you don’t need in a laptop, though.

Crikey, I’ve rattled on and all you wanted was a ‘yes or no’ answer…

No, actually, you gave me just what I was hoping for.. not just a yes or no answer, but a well thought out and presented explanation of WHY you think as you do, thus enabling me to make an informed decision.

Many thanks. I already have the modded driver ready to go, but I think I'll wait until Griff rolls his tweaks into the next all-in-one release and then give it a whirl..

Again, I appreciate the time and thought you put into your reply..

Were you up early or late, Diziet... and are you on Tsunami alert?