Open Arena Expanded Beta 50

[pulchr]

typo - i guess it should be g_persistentpowerups?

[feidi]

how about adding binds to drop the current weapon and to drop the flag? Would be very nice for TDM as well...

[Falkland]

Beta 41 is up.

g_persistantpowerups will properly be hated as much as any of the other changes backpported from missionpack but the code now has a lot less of the annoying "#ifdef missionpack"

The game now forces vertex off by default. The system is inspired by the tournament mode suggested earlier. fairflags currently has 3 flags:
1 - basic lock - limits fov and zoomfov to 140
2 - extended lock - limits r_dipstick, r_intensity, r_overbrightbits, r_gamma, etc. to sane values.
4 - vertex lock - disables vertex light on all clients.

cg_autovertex will automatically enable vertex if the lock is disengaged. For other cvars you will need a script to reset them.

Changelog:

New in Beta 41:
...
* Added basic 'fariness' system. The CVAR is 'fairflags'. Default value 7 (1+2+4). 1 verifies some basic values. 2 verifies some extended graphics settings. 4 disables vertex light. 
* Added CVAR cg_autovertex. Automatically enables vertex light if allowed. Off by default. Gets enabled if you enable vertex light through the menu.
Note: The fairness system might result in a vid_restart if it detects a bad r_ cvar after the render has been initialized

Those changes are very interesting IMHO :

A control over snaps like those ones could be also useful : server-side engine already forces snaps to be equal to server's sv_fps when the client value is higher than server's sv_fps , but it forces to 1 when a client has set it to a negative value , and infact permits to be 1 < snaps < server's sv_fps ... it could be useful to not permit to set snaps too low ( 1 or so is ridiculously used sometime to cause lag and/or by a flag carrier to win a match at sudden-death ) or to set to be equal to server's sv_fps ... CPMA doesn't permit to clients to set snaps ... it automagically tunes it to server's sv_fps ( usually set at 30 in quite all servers )

Is it possible to use the same or such a similar method to force to 0/inactive value all known client cheats cvar/vars ( I mean bots/aimbots cvars ) like punkbuster ( try to do ?) does ?

Is it possible to eventually have them in a list and read the list from a txt/dat file that can be updated with newer cvars lists ?

The system could be eventually improved/extended :

- 1 : using an encrypted format for the file
- 2 : automatically exclude all the legit cvars ( to forbid adding also legit cvars in the list )
- 3 : sharing the file between all and/or a group of servers and when the list is updated on one server , the change is extended to all the servers and/or to all of the servers of the group.
- 4 : automatically dumping all the ingame-in-memory-loaded cvars of a suspected client in a different file - not to the common server log file - so to permit a post-analysis ... recording demos is meaningless against some kind of bots running one or more humanization algorithm.

Hard work , I know ...

[sago007]

I think it would be wasted work. If people want to cheat they can do it (but should and may not).

I created the system simple and easily toggleable in the hope that there will be enough servers without the system so that people who want to don't want the limits can just play on these server instead. The fairflags will then roughly reflect the servers and the opponents you wish to play.

[Graion Dilach]

* Negative scores in FFA are no longer possible

This means falling won't give negative score? Nooo... I like seeing how dumb the bots on Suspended... (Suspended is much more safely when camping than moving... there are too many holes!)

[sago007]

This means falling won't give negative score?

It sill subtracts a point but only if there is something to subtract from (the score will not be negative). The player could just leave and come back to get reset to zero anyway.

But yes the bots/noobs will just stay on 0 points forever.

[Neon_Knight]

Start a skirmish match.
Select CTF/1FCTF/Harvester/CTF Elimination.
Select any map.
Left everything as it is on the next screen and start. The game for some reason freezes here or after loading.

I was able to reproduce it with hydronex2 in Overload at least I think it is the same problem (freeze at the loading screen, log shows that the map was loaded). It was caused by an AAS bug introduced in Beta 30 that relates to bots and the gametype flag.

Could you check if the bug you describe exist in Beta 30 but not in Beta 29?

I didn't saw that post. I'll check that tomorrow if that wasn't changed on OAXb41.

[chaoticsoldier]

I noticed that when you kick a player it says, for example:

/kick Sarge
Sarge was kicked
  suicides.

/kick all
Player all is not on the server
Kyonshi was kicked
Jenna was kicked
Sarge was kicked
  suicides.
  suicides.
  suicides.

Why does it say "suicides."? Is this intentional?

[sago007]

Why does it say "suicides."? Is this intentional?

Not really. But I didn't find a logical place to remove the message.

[Neon_Knight]

Another report...
There's a problem with both Kamikaze & Invulnerability holdables, in cg_simpleitems 1, they'll show if their part of the map is drawn, making them visible through walls. Can this be fixed?

I've done an icon for Invulnerability, so it will show up on cg_simpleitems 1, despite that there's no model for it and it's forcefield yet. I'll upload it to SVNC thread.

[sago007]

making them visible through walls. Can this be fixed?

It is a shader problem and I know nothing about shaders.

[Neon_Knight]

Well, I actually took a look at icon shaders and the icon images themselves and there's nothing wrong. Strange. :/
Kamikaze & Invulnerability are the only icons which have this problem, and both the shaders and icons seems normal.

[Falkland]

Another report...
There's a problem with both Kamikaze & Invulnerability holdables, in cg_simpleitems 1, they'll show if their part of the map is drawn, making them visible through walls.

I remember something like this also with MP weapons ... so if it was fixed for weapons , it can be fixed also with powerups

[Neon_Knight]

Another thing (sorry if I look as an unpleasable fanboy )

What about making players to return to their bases in 1FCTF, Harvester & Overload after their team scores, just like in Elimination?

That will prevent base/center camping in those modes. UT3's Greed made the scoring player to return to his/her base after scoring, but since unlike Greed there's a central point where the objective lies on the first two modes (a camping objective) and most players will remain in the enemy base waiting for the respawning of the crystal in the third one, it can be a tweak there.

[sago007]

What about making players to return to their bases in 1FCTF, Harvester & Overload after their team scores, just like in Elimination?

I think the idea is that a team should dominate the middle.

[feidi]

How is the accuracy calculated for rockets? If it's "shots that hit / total number of shots" then a more descriptive variant could be the total splash damage inflicted divided by the total number of shots.

[Neon_Knight]

What about making players to return to their bases in 1FCTF, Harvester & Overload after their team scores, just like in Elimination?

I think the idea is that a team should dominate the middle.

Actually that "dominate" becomes a "camping", (center area in 1F/Harv, enemy base on OL & both bases on DD) which IMHO is bad for normal gameplay and makes those gametypes to suck and not being accepted.

I have a better idea instead:
What about having a switch "Respawn after scoring" for the following gametypes: 1FCTF, Harv, OL and DD? You can put it in normal CTF, but there's CTF Elimination for that.

[Neon_Knight]

Problem here... I don't know if it's on OAX or what, but for some reason the game automatically changes my lightning to vertex while on SP. This doesn't happen on devmap mode. I didn't tried in Skirmish.
Is this a bug or there's a reason fort his? I'm using OAXb41 with autovertex = 0 and my normal settings uses lightmap. (Which is what I want)

[sago007]

Problem here... I don't know if it's on OAX or what, but for some reason the game automatically changes my lightning to vertex while on SP.

Bug confirmed. The game does not check cg_autovertex in singleplayer and presumes it being true.

Fixed in revision 143

[Neon_Knight]

Great one. ^^
Another bug I've found: I was bored, so I've started a new SP game, but in the last match to win the tier, no matter if I win or lose, it won't let me pass to the next tier. I've tried with normal OA0.8.1 and it worked the way it should.

[sago007]

Great one. ^^
Another bug I've found: I was bored, so I've started a new SP game, but in the last match to win the tier, no matter if I win or lose, it won't let me pass to the next tier. I've tried with normal OA0.8.1 and it worked the way it should.

Any idea in what version it was introduced?

[Neon_Knight]

TBH I have no idea, I should download the other versions (from b27?) and check. But in b41 no matter if I win or lose, the game thinks I lost.

[sago007]

TBH I have no idea, I should download the other versions (from b27?) and check. But in b41 no matter if I win or lose, the game thinks I lost.

I think it was introduced in either Beta 41 (maybe broken because of some missionpack single player stuff) or Beta 34 (different ways of finding single player levels).

[Neon_Knight]

I'll try b40 and b33/34 then...

[Neon_Knight]

Another bug noticed, and this one comes from OA 0.8.1. (I don't know if it was there before)
On the SP, the already won matches in the actual tier gets lost after restart! For example, I won 3 of 4 matches in the tier, then close OA. When I open again OA, the three matches I won before didn't get saved. That's another annoying thing.