Oolite Bulletins

Can anyone summarize the current state of the Mac version (esp. with regard to the current OS)? Reading around it sounds like a lot of doom and gloom, but the game seems to be working fine on my MacBook Air M1. (I had some issues with a few OXPs that were causing massive slowdowns, but I weeded them out and now the game is smooth again.) Are there "hidden" issues I wouldn't notice until I'm deep in the weeds?

I can play on my Windows PC of course (though for some reason the game won't let me bind my throttle device, only my stick) but I like having Oolite in a "portable" form and that means the Mac version for me.

arquebus wrote: ↑Mon Nov 01, 2021 6:07 pm

Can anyone summarize the current state of the Mac version (esp. with regard to the current OS)? Reading around it sounds like a lot of doom and gloom, but the game seems to be working fine on my MacBook Air M1. (I had some issues with a few OXPs that were causing massive slowdowns, but I weeded them out and now the game is smooth again.) Are there "hidden" issues I wouldn't notice until I'm deep in the weeds?

I can play on my Windows PC of course (though for some reason the game won't let me bind my throttle device, only my stick) but I like having Oolite in a "portable" form and that means the Mac version for me.

Cholmondely is an active Mac user, AFAIK he has no problems running Oolite on his Mac.

I am not sure how portable the Windows version is. But on Linux the code is quite portable (just copy the directory it resides in to somewhere else).
Also I created a demo applicance (virtual machine) with Ubuntu, Oolite and the Communicator as torrent download. Just run it in Virtualbox, add XMPP account credentials and start flying...

By portable I meant literally I can take my computer with me, i.e., a laptop. My Windows computer is a desktop.

(I do realize that "portable" has a specific meaning for Windows and Linux applications - most Mac applications are "portable" in that sense, as they don't involve installers, and can therefore be copied willy-nilly to any other Mac. So it didn't occur to me to clarify.)

If the Mac version of Oolite eventually gets deprecated, it's not going to be the end of the world for me. I can always remote into my Windows computer using Splashtop, or maybe get Parallels Desktop installed (though performance may be an issue).

Right now the only issue I'm having is some frame skips on the Mac, but that's likely because the computer is a laptop, and it only has the original M1 and not an M1 Pro or M1 Max chip. Also probably has to do with the 360 OXPs I'm running.

arquebus wrote: ↑Sun Nov 07, 2021 4:08 am

By portable I meant literally I can take my computer with me, i.e., a laptop. My Windows computer is a desktop.

(I do realize that "portable" has a specific meaning for Windows and Linux applications - most Mac applications are "portable" in that sense, as they don't involve installers, and can therefore be copied willy-nilly to any other Mac. So it didn't occur to me to clarify.)

Ah, ok. Yes, I was thinking in another direction.

arquebus wrote: ↑Sun Nov 07, 2021 4:08 am

If the Mac version of Oolite eventually gets deprecated, it's not going to be the end of the world for me. I can always remote into my Windows computer using Splashtop, or maybe get Parallels Desktop installed (though performance may be an issue).

Right now the only issue I'm having is some frame skips on the Mac, but that's likely because the computer is a laptop, and it only has the original M1 and not an M1 Pro or M1 Max chip. Also probably has to do with the 360 OXPs I'm running.

As I am unfamiliar with Apple computers, I will have to bail out here...

I've had the issues with the sound/music cutting out. Most recently I've had issues with oxp's suddenly becoming unreadable. And I've had the usual Mac issues with joysticks being partially recognised.

I think (not being an expert like the two of you) that that is pretty much it.

I do find the visual game quite incredible (thanks to a_c_, Griff, and the better ship/station designers, I presume) - it looks superb on the AppleMac screen.

I do get sound corruption from time to time as well. I don't mind quitting and reloading when it happens.

I've not had the issue with OXPs becoming unreadable, though I do have an issue with one of the equipment OXPs causing crashes at launch - though this also happens on my Windows machine and I suspect it's a weird conflict with one of the other 360 OXPs I have installed.

arquebus wrote: ↑Mon Nov 08, 2021 4:22 am

I do have an issue with one of the equipment OXPs causing crashes at launch

Have you been able to identify the OXP in question?

phkb wrote: ↑Tue Nov 09, 2021 12:23 am

arquebus wrote: ↑Mon Nov 08, 2021 4:22 am

I do have an issue with one of the equipment OXPs causing crashes at launch

Have you been able to identify the OXP in question?

Almost: I believe I've narrowed it down to two possibilities. I misremembered the category - it wasn't equipment, it was mechanics about equipment. It's either (or both) Equipment by Ship Type or Equipment Storage.

Just having the OXPs loaded causes the game to crash at startup, before I load a save. (And on my Windows install, it actually blew out all of my OXPs. They straight up deleted themselves, every last one. I have no idea why.)

Like I said, though, I would not be at all surprised if it was not those OXPs alone, but their interaction with others. At current count, I have 401 loaded.

I'd suspect Equipment by Ship Type, because of this bug: https://github.com/OoliteProject/oolite/issues/370 This has been patched in 1.91, but if you're running 1.90, it might still occur. I don't know if Redspear applied the fix to the OXP.

phkb wrote: ↑Tue Nov 09, 2021 5:28 am

I'd suspect Equipment by Ship Type, because of this bug: https://github.com/OoliteProject/oolite/issues/370 This has been patched in 1.91, but if you're running 1.90, it might still occur. I don't know if Redspear applied the fix to the OXP.

There is a 1.91? Neither the download page nor the Github Releases page offers it...

hiran wrote: ↑Tue Nov 09, 2021 12:03 pm

There is a 1.91?

Only for Linux and Windows - try here.

So this is not a "proper release" yet?

If and when, will the Mac version be brought to 1.91 or is the dev on that version stalled?

arquebus wrote: ↑Tue Nov 09, 2021 2:01 pm

So this is not a "proper release" yet?

If and when, will the Mac version be brought to 1.91 or is the dev on that version stalled?

It is a "Nightly Build" so not ready for regular playing yet. To quote from the page:

WARNING
Nightly builds of the latest source are available for testers and are not recommended for regular play.

arquebus wrote: ↑Tue Nov 09, 2021 2:01 pm

...or is the dev on that version stalled?

We've been without a Mac maintainer for a while now, so I guess "stalled" is the right word.
We're not alone in that - I believe Pioneer have (or had) the same problem.

montana05 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 09, 2021 2:34 pm

arquebus wrote: ↑Tue Nov 09, 2021 2:01 pm

So this is not a "proper release" yet?

If and when, will the Mac version be brought to 1.91 or is the dev on that version stalled?

It is a "Nightly Build" so not ready for regular playing yet. To quote from the page:

WARNING
Nightly builds of the latest source are available for testers and are not recommended for regular play.

Actually, for disambiguation, many projects assign different version number patterns to the nightlies. Meaning a nightly should never carry a 1.91 but a timestamp as version number.