D2X-XL Bug Reports - MS Windows

[TechPro]

Diedel,
I just did Level 27 of D1 and after destroying the Boss... I could go to the exit, but that wouldn't end the game...

... so there I was with the whole thing done, I'm in the exit tunnel, Boss is dead... time is running out... and I can't leave. MD dies...

Do you want my saved game? I have two from that level saved. One just before I enter the Boss room, and one after the Boss is dead.

[Diedel]

Both savegames please. Make sure multiple bosses is unchecked.

[devourer]

yes, after installing ver 115 there aren't any cambots.

another bug: in level 16 of D2 there was a reactor instead of a boss robot.

[Diedel]

Cambots are still present for me.
Turn off \"multiple bosses\" in the gameplay options menu and tell me whether that helps.

[Escorter]

If I call the GB menu during the countdown (after I destroyed the boss/reactor), I get the death message (You died in the mine. Your ship...), and I get an empty scoreboard, and I'm dropped to the next level.

[Suncho]

Windows 1.5.116

1. If I bind the same key in the keyboard settings and the weapon select settings, the keyboard setting overrides the weapon select when I try to use it in game, but the standard keyboard binding remains. Maybe, when you set one, it should unbind the other?

2. On the briefing screen where it introduces the robots, the framerate is *VERY* slow. I'm running at 1600x1200 resolution.

[Suncho]

One more bug. When I click to sync my joystick axes, they all sync up, but if I adjust the master sliders while the \"synced\" box is checked, it only adjusts the sensitivity and dead zone for the x-axis.

[Suncho]

At 1600x1200 resolution, when I kill a robot and get points, it appears just to the upper left of my reticle instead of at the corner of the screen. It looks like the score position isn't scaling with the change in resolution.

[Suncho]

Another bug: My ship isn't a light source.

In D1/D2, the ship emitted a dim sphere of light, so when you got close to dark objects, they would brighten up.

It's also useful in multiplayer because if you see a corner that's brighter than normal, you know a guy is hiding behind there.

This aspect of the game also led to flare tactics where you'd shoot flares to light up walls to throw off the other guy because he thinks the flare light is coming from your ship.

EDIT: I was wrong about this one. The lightening still still happens, but when you have light maps enabled and you're in particularly dark black areas, the walls stay black. To see this effect:

1. Start level 1 of Descent 2: Counterstrike.
2. Shoot out all the lights in the starting room.
3. Turn on light maps.
4. Look up at the indentation corners around the central light fixture.
5. Move toward them and you'll notice that the crevices remain black.
6. Turn off light maps. The ceiling is now lit again.

[Suncho]

That last one was because I had light maps on. If I turn light maps off, things start lighting up again when I get closer.

I guess it's a bug with the light maps?

[Suncho]

The High Scores screen is offset to the lower right corner.

[Lord_Kane]

In 1.5.116 I am unable to exit D1 Level 15 (Titan Mine)
I can fly and reach the exit normally however when I enter it and the exit sequence does not trigger hence I am unable to finish the level.

[Suncho]

Start a new multiplayer game in 320x200 and the HUD text looks like a jumble of big pixels. If you open the F2 menu and back out, it resets to normal. This problem doesn't occur when starting singleplayer games.

[Diedel]

Suncho,

you definitely missed the \"Edit\" button. 8 of 9 subsequent posts are from you.

Kane,

this is a bug I have fixed in v1.5.116 which was caused by some changes to D1 trigger handling in v1.5.114. Unfortunately, the effects of this bug are stored in save games made after it was introduced. You will have to replay that level, or the one before. Sorry.

[Lord_Kane]

Diedel: Thanks, No Problem, I will just restart D1, thank you.

[Suncho]

Suncho,

you definitely missed the "Edit" button. 8 of 9 subsequent posts are from you.

No problem. I thought you might prefer separate posts for each bug. I'll glom it all together next time. =)

[Diedel]

Escorter,

what is \"calling the guidebot\"? Can't you be more detailled?

[Suncho]

Found another bug:

If I change the mouse sensitivity in the controls menu, the setting doesn't save. It doesn't change my sensitivity in-game. If I back out of the controls menu to the options menu, and then hit controls again, the mouse sensitivity value resets back to the middle.

EDIT: Version 1.5.118

[Escorter]

Diedel,

I mean press Shift+F4 to get the GB menu.

And another \"bug\": why the D2 mine exit movies don't played? (Before you ask: I enabled the movie playback in d2.cfg)

[Suncho]

In D2X-XL, when you play Descent 1, the ship automatically banks a little bit when you turn. The original Descent did not have this auto-banking. It was added in Descent 2 and significantly changes the gameplay.

For example: Start with a level ship, then turn right and slide right at the same time. You will move down toward the floor because the right side of your ship is tilted toward the floor. In Descent 1, if you did this, your ship would remain level and stay at the same height.

Version 1.5.118

[Diedel]

Sorry, but D1 gameplay through D2X-XL is not 100% true to the original. Not at all. I wouldn't know how to change it, and I don't think it plays a role.

[Suncho]

2 more bugs (Version 1.5.118):

There's a little strip of graphics on the right of side and bottom of the afterburner meter and the energy meters:




The afterburner meter shows up in D1 even though there's no afterburner in D1:

[Suncho]

Sorry, but D1 gameplay through D2X-XL is not 100% true to the original. Not at all. I wouldn't know how to change it, and I don't think it plays a role.

It plays a significant role. I'll take a look at the code and see if I can figure out a way to fix it.

[Diedel]

#1 D1 by D2X-XL is not pure D1. There's lots of compromises. Currently, D2X-XL does not even use all D1 level textures, nor the sound, or the exact poly models. It doesn't use its AI either, nor does it use the D1 cockpit gfx. I think it doesn't play the slightest role whether the ship banks when sliding in D1 or not. Maybe because I am so used to it.

#2 When scaling the cockpit up, you will inevitably get graphical glitches due to rounding bugs. The gauges are drawn line by line, not using a bitmap. It's even worse in the full cockpit.

I have found the code doing turn banking, and have removed this behaviour from D2X-XL for D1 missions.

[Suncho]

#1 D1 by D2X-XL is not pure D1. There's lots of compromises. Currently, D2X-XL does not even use all D1 level textures, nor the sound, or the exact poly models. It doesn't use its AI either, nor does it use the D1 cockpit gfx.

That's cool. None of this stuff really matters for multiplayer gameplay.

I think it doesn't play the slightest role whether the ship banks when sliding in D1 or not. Maybe because I am so used to it.

Perhaps. =)

#2 When scaling the cockpit up, you will inevitably get graphical glitches due to rounding bugs. The gauges are drawn line by line, not using a bitmap. It's even worse in the full cockpit.

I have found the code doing turn banking, and have removed this behaviour from D2X-XL for D1 missions.

Thanks! I think the 2 most important things for D1 are that the weapons and ships move as they do in D1. Aesthetic things don't bother me much unless they directly affect gameplay in some way. I'm mainly in it for the multiplayer anyway. =)

[Suncho]

New Bug:

When I make my view smaller using the \"-\" key, my framerate tanks:



Maybe this is left over code from D2X that compensated for the framerate increase gained by making it smaller?

(Version 1.5.118)

Here's a bug I've been trying to figure out, but can't. Sometimes when I start the game, my resolution changes, but the game doesn't come up. Instead I see my desktop:



I have to use the task manager to close D2X-XL because the task bar icon doesn't have a context menu so I can't just right click on it and close it like I can with other programs.

Here's a list of tasks that I had running during one instance of the problem:




I don't know if that'll help. This has been happening to me sometimes since I really started playing it. It happened in 1.5.116, 1.5.118, and 1.5.119.

EDIT:

It seems that closing Trillian fixed it, but I think I've had it working with Trillian on Before.

[Escorter]

Any suggestions about the exit movies?

[Diedel]

Works for me, but only with -nomovies 0 or -nomovies completely commented out.

[Escorter]

I commented out nomovies, but nothing happens. The movies are in the correct location, the DOS version plays it correctly, and I can't imagine what's the problem:

[Suncho]

1.5.119:

1. After I beat level 3 of Descent 1, my game just exited out back to windows with no warning when the stats screen was supposed to come up. I loaded the game from a save. I loaded from the same save again after it crashed and I was able to beat the level.

2. In D1, when I beat a level, no music plays as my ship is flying through the exit tunnel.

3. In D1, after I beat a level, no music plays on the stats screen.

4. Some of the lights in D1 are destructible. There were no destructible lights in the original D1 and it's kind of annoying when they all go dark. This might be due to using D2 textures in these instances.

Here are some examples of lights that have this problem:

[Escorter]

Suncho,

As Diedel said many times, the D1 uspport in D2X-XL is far from complete. It just a Descent 1 mod in Descent 2. If you want to play Descent 1 on windows or linux, use DXX-Rebirth.

[Suncho]

Escorter, I realize that. I'm just doing my best to help him get the kinks out. =)

I don't want to play that other guy's version anyway. ;)

Another bug (version 1.5.119):

This animated lava in Descent: \"First Strike\" level 10 makes a static crackling sound. I experienced the same sound from one of the Pandemonium Descent 2 multiplayer levels. I forget which one, but it was a different texture.





This particular lava also only has 2 animation frames. It looks like it's blinking rather than smoothly flowing.

EDIT: (version 1.5.119)

1. When I'm in multiplayer and I have my auto-map up, the on-screen text says that pressing keys 1-9 will select the various markers, and they do, but it also changes my weapon selection in the background.



2. For some reason, the netgame info is displaying the wrong information. It says that my mission is \"Dogfight!\", but I'm really playing \"Descent: First Strike\"

[Diedel]

Suncho,

please stop flooding me with minor issues for the time being.

If you really want to help me, please find out how to reliably reproduce the D1 palette bug and the D1 exit crash bug.

[Suncho]

Sorry. Your website said you'd fixed all known bugs and there weren't very many known issues listed so I figured I'd report everything. The D1 Exit bug is the one I got where it exited right when I beat the level, right? How many people have experienced this and on which levels? I've only had it happen once so far, but I can keep testing it.

One thing I've noticed with exiting levels in D1:
Sometimes, when I exit the level, it plays the normal escape sequence animation, but sometimes my screen turns black until it switches to third-person view. Also, the music doesn't play at all during the escape sequence. Maybe one of these two things is related to the crash problem?

What's the D1 Palette bug?

[Diedel]

np.

I will never ever be able to fix all minor gfx glitches.

The D1 exit crash bug happens when you exit a mine and the exit sequence should be played.

The D1 palette bug shows in completely scrambled textures. There are some screenshots one or two pages back in this thread.

Unfortunately, I cannot reproduce either of them.

[Suncho]

Ok. I'll be playing a lot. I'll let you know if I figure anything out.

[TechPro]

The D1 exit crash bug happens when you exit a mine and the exit sequence should be played.

The D1 palette bug shows in completely scrambled textures. There are some screenshots one or two pages back in this thread.

Unfortunately, I cannot reproduce either of them.

You might be happy to know... it's been quite a while now since I had any problems with the D1 exit crash. It's been stable for me for quite a while now.

You know, I've hardly ever seen the D1 palette bug... except for places where textures actually overlapped a little (making a two sided thin wall) instead of using one wall seperating two cubes. That one with the pics of level 26 (I think it was) a while back is actually a good example of bad wall work.

[Tankie2]

I use D2 3dfx 90 % of the time on Kali multiplay. So far there has been some improvement when playing a with a host in D2XL but only in one on one games, invariably if a third joins the game play degrades user with D2XL exhibiting sypmtons we've all experienced in the old days similar to packet loss over a slow dialup. this is pretty consistant and imediately evident to the 3dfx users. It doesn't seems to matter what version the third or fourth player who joins is using but in the games I usually play in the other players are using 3DFX and report a similar experience if a D2XL user is in the game and it is particularly noticable when I join a D2X host and play one on one a bit before a third joins.

Tankie2

[Diedel]

So you say D2X-XL in a mp game via KALI disturbs network traffic? Did you counter check that with having a 3 or 4 player match with no one using D2X-XL?

I haven't touched IPX (KALI) code, and D2X-XL does not send any extra data in regular anarchy matches.

[Escorter]

Okay, Diedel, I finally solved the exit movie bug (I'm copy the movies form the CD again, and now everything is fine). But tell me: why the robot movies damned slow when the new menu style enabled?