OpenArena Message Boards

Hello,


I'm new here and I just wanted to say that this game is awesome. I used to play Quake 3 arena a lot back then when I was a kid. OA is like Q3 but just with different skins and maps.. It's like playing a whole new game eventhough it's almost the same as Q3. I'm really looking forward to play the next release.

Anyway, very nice job devs.


btw, what map packs should I download? I noticed there are many map packs but which ones are really needed?


Meet you in the game! :)


-ZAG4T0

Well. there are no OA specific map packs AFAIK. The standard release comes with a bunch of maps in one of the PK3s, but many of them are of inferior quality (my opinion). However, there are tons of custom Q3A maps that can be downloaded (check for example http://lvlworld.com). Many of these can be run perfectly under Openarena. It really depends on whether the map uses textures from he original ID game that are not available in the Openarena PK3 files (because they are not free). A partial list of playable maps have been posted (by me) in another topic  ('Why isn't Openarena popular', in this forum).

If a map comes with its own textures it will run.

And Jack Thompson's texture pak fixes the rest!

Yep, download this gem asap if you haven't already, it lets you use almost any map. I download some from Lvl every once in a while. Otherwise, you get ugly black white grid texture missing bits everywhere.

-Timedude

In principle it should be possible to replace the missing texture (the ugly white/black grid) with something more neutral and pleasing to the eye. You have to identify the missing texture(s). This is not so difficult as it appears. There is an ASCII encoded (plain text) listing of all texture names + folders used in the map somewhere at the beginning of the BSP. It is possible to cut/paste this section (using e.g. Notepad) to get a nearly normal ASCI text list of the textures. The missing ones can be identified by comparing the list to the texture folders in the OA texture PK3. Then you make the appropriate texture directory in the PK3 archive of the map (it is in simple ZIP format, Total Commander can handle it fine), and add simple gray (or pastel colored) texture(s) with the appropriate name(s). Of course, this is worth doing only if you really want to keep the map and there is only a single texture missing (or just a few) used only on relatively small surfaces.

I think jack does that, and has some script which identifys the missing textures. Sometimes the decor looks a bit 70's but I just think that's jacks taste. It reminds him of when he was in his 20's :D

A'ha, thanks for the replies. I've got one question though.. why the heck the game gets laggy when you view a large area? Ping goes from 80-100 to 200+.. Here's an example, In SomeBases map theres this large courtyard.. when I get to the courtyard ping is more than 200.. but!  When I get back inside the base ping is normal.. 80-100.

Is it the engine or my computer? I got 5mb interner connection and my graphics card is hd 2600XT GDDR4.

I play with 800x600 res for performance over graphics. ye if there is more detail then ping and fps suffers. Decreasing cl_maxpackets/rate and turning on cg_smoothclients may help. My network settings are just about right for a 0.5mb connection. crap I know :(

Here's some of my cfg. You can try adjusting what you want to suit, there's usually a good balance and you might find some things make little difference.  Arguably, no matter how good your hardware is, there is still a difference between performance and visuals and you usually find that out by playing a few games with high and low graphic settings.

seta cg_drawgun "0"
seta cg_smoothclients "1"
seta cl_maxpackets "40"
seta snaps "40"
seta rate "12500"
seta com_blood "0"
seta cg_scorePlums "0"
seta r_gamma "1.2"
seta r_swapInterval "0"
seta r_textureMode "GL_LINEAR_MIPMAP_NEAREST"
seta r_finish "0"
seta r_dlightBacks "1"
seta r_dynamiclight "1"
seta r_drawSun "0"
seta r_fastsky "0"
seta r_flares "1"
seta r_lodbias "2"
seta r_subdivisions "12"
seta r_vertexLight "0"
seta r_simpleMipMaps "1"
seta r_fullscreen "1"
seta r_mode "4"
seta r_overBrightBits "1"
seta r_depthbits "16"
seta r_stencilbits "0"
seta r_colorbits "16"
seta r_texturebits "16"
seta r_detailtextures "0"
seta r_roundImagesDown "1"
seta r_picmip "1"

Thanks man. :)


Now hold on a second, are you telling me that I have to use low graphics in order to get the smoothest ping? Damn that sucks :< It's because of the engine?

No. You can configure it to suit. Most important thing is a steady fps.. try..

com_maxfps 125
cg_drawfps 1

Your ping shouldn't vary much at all on unlagged servers. I will play up to about 400 ping and doesnt have much bad effects. That's providing you have a stable rate (the lagometer isn't showing spikes and is smooth). Players with low ping can lag more than people with high ping.

When I play with high graphics I notice a small bit of latency so I choose minimal settings for graphics. The display quality isnt that much different to be honest. I also find it easier to guide the mouse on 800 res. You just have to find what causing problems with performance and the quickest way to do that is probaby set your display settings lower and see if it makes a difference. If not, then it must be something else :D

You could also try capping your FPS at the same level or slightly above your refresh rate, otherwise you won't notice any difference.

Try the following settings for smooth gameplay!

/snaps 40
/com_maxfps 125
/cl_maxpackets 125
/rate 25000
/r_picmip 3    picmip affects the texture detail alot,.. but improves the smoothness of the gameplay (for old graphics cards)

r_detailTextures 0

Ok, I tested all those settings you guys posted. Now the game looks like crap but the lag is gone now :) However, I'm still keeping that 1280x1024 resolution :P


Thank you guys. Let's have some gg's

for slower CPUs cg_simpleItems 1 is a must

picmip!

/r_picmip <a number above 1>
/vid_restart

play around with it until you find a value that works good. I used to use 5, anything above changed my projectiles to transparent blobs :(

IMO it is better to have the game look like crap and give good and steady FPS (if you want to play seriously on the net). BTW, I have noticed that too much graphical detail is not good for play, because it hides the opponents (they kind of blend into the background). It is especially noticeable in high detail games like UT2003 (which I just could not play because I could not see the opponents). For this reason, even though I have a fairly good machine (Athlon 64 dual core + NVIDIA 7300GT), I reduce details and texture quality when playing Q3A. It looks really ugly, but my score becomes significantly better.

where exactly is this texture pack?

There's a good change you already have it..

in the mod folders you might find files called gpl-oatextures* or something similar.

.. if you dont connect to SD's server (duckpond? or something) then you will download it.

.. or last option would be to check jack_thompsons ( <3 ) last posts.. he updates this pak.

I could post a link but as usual i'd just make a fool of myself as it probbly be some ancient version. :D

http://alternatefire.planetquake.gamespy.com/Unlagged-README.txt - that's README of Unlagged mod for q3a. I guess that source code of that mod is used in oa, so most of those cvars exist in oa too.

Also, my config http://6r-clan.org/configs/miow.cfg

I have the textures file, as well as some other OA 0.8.1 enhancements, hosted here: http://oa.thedimi.net/gameserver/0.8.1/cleanup/ (http://oa.thedimi.net/gameserver/0.8.1/cleanup/)

gpl-q3a2oa-textures.pk3  - the Q3A textures for Openarena (indeed, fixes most or all missing textures)
gpl-silent-oa-bots.pk3  - shuts up the bots (no, bots_nochat setting doesn't work)
z-0.7-hitsound.pk3  - replaces 'cow bell' hit sound with the one from 0.7.1
z-proskins2.pk3  - try it - improves visibility of players in any map.

Also, here's a few recommended settings. I can explain them if you want.

bind F11 "disconnect"
bind F12 "quit"

seta cg_enemymodel "sarge/pm"
seta cg_enemycolors "3333"

seta com_allowDownload "1"
seta scr_conspeed "9999"
seta cg_smoothClients "1"
seta cg_delag "1"

seta cg_bobup "0.000"
seta cg_bobroll "0.000"
seta cg_bobpitch "0.000"
seta cg_bobyaw "0.000"
seta cg_runroll "0.000"
seta cg_runpitch "0.000"

seta cg_fov "130"
seta cg_zoomfov "50"

seta cg_autoswitch "0"
seta cg_forcemodel "1"
seta bot_fastchat "0"
seta bot_nochat "1"

seta cg_lagometer "1"
seta cg_drawFPS "1"
seta cg_drawTimer "1"

seta rate "25000"
seta cl_maxpackets "125"
seta cl_125hz "1"
seta cl_run "1"
seta cl_packetdup "1"
seta cl_timenudge "-50" // this number must be about half of your ping value
seta snaps "40"
seta net_noipx "1"
seta net_noudp "0"


Note: paste these on the bottom of your q3config.cfg in /baseoa/ folder, or omit "seta " and type in console (such as /snaps 40).