EDGE 1.31 RC#1

[andrewj]

For anyone interested in EDGE development: Release Candidate #1 for EDGE 1.31 is now available. As a candidate for the full release, this version should be as complete and stable as possible, and we'll only be fixing bugs from now on (no new features).

More info & full changelog at the EDGE homepage: http://edge.sourceforge.net
(reload it if it seems out-of-date)

Summary of Changes since Beta#2

+ Lua-scripted HUDs
+ Detail Slopes
+ nicer looking console
+ basic BOT skill levels
+ support for FLAT lighting

- fixed colormapped sectors
- fixed thick extrafloors in QDoom
- fixed slowdown of invulnerability fade-out
- fixed ADDITIVE lights on mid-masked textures
- fixed markers on rotated automaps
- fixed timing of Super Shotgun
- fixed problem loading some OGG sounds
- fixed timidity patch loading

! removed demo support
! removed CD music support
! removed LZO (very old savegames won't work)

[Khorus]

Great release! Glad to see the SSG timing fixed. :)

Though, is it just me or do hitscan weapons have a much more limited range than in vanilla Doom? Try firing the pistol down this corridor in Map01, the bullet doesn't reach the wall. Can't remember if this happened in previous versions though, been a while since I last used EDGE.

[hawkwind]

I'm impressed. I especially liked the mirrors and portals.

[esselfortium]

Cool!

What exactly are detail slopes, and how capable are they? You say on the site that they're limited but usable for details: how do they compare to ZDoom's? What are their limitations, exactly?

Also, what's FLAT lighting?

[hawkwind]

esselfortium said:

Also, what's FLAT lighting?

I think he meant to say FLAT aligning, since there is a demo wad in the distro for this.

I can also confirm Khorus bug report. Hitscan range is less than 1024 map units. I believe the range is 2048 for vanilla doom - but I'm willing to be proven wrong on this.

[Nuxius]

hawkwind said:

I believe the range is 2048 for vanilla doom - but I'm willing to be proven wrong on this.

You are correct:

http://doom.wikia.com/wiki/Hitscan

[GreyGhost]

hawkwind said:

I think he meant to say FLAT aligning, since there is a demo wad in the distro for this.

There's also a very nice portals demo. I noticed when changing the keyboard configuration that keybindings on the Delete key also apply to the Backspace key.

[Retox]

Found a bug: wall, floor and ceiling textures are not flipped in mirrors.

[deathbringer]

On the EDGE forum it says "detail slopes" just "smooth out" "stairs", but they still function as stairs. So if you try and turn a big tall cliff into a slope you'll end up walking "inside" the slope rather than "up" it (probably). So they arent as capable as Zdoom's slopes... but that prevents "slope rape" and most of the time slopes are only used for detailing rather than functional mapping anyway.

In short... you're still going to have to lay down a load of sectors and make steps, not just put a slope in. Stop being lazy!

[andrewj]

Yeah they are called "Detail" slopes because they are render-only, there is no physics behind them, hence the need for small steps so players and monsters can still walk on them. One day I might implement REAL slopes with proper physics, a day when I feel like completely rewriting all the physics code in EDGE.

"FLAT lighting" just means lighting which does not diminish with distance (like in standard DOOM). Before EDGE 1.29, the lighting in the OpenGL renderer was always flat, and in 1.29 it was a user option. Now in EDGE 1.31 the lighting is always like DOOM, and there is a modding option (GAMES.DDF) to get the flat lighting.

Heh there are also sector glow effects which could be called "FLAT" lighting, you can see some examples ih the Mirrors demo.

Thanks everybody for the feedback and bug reports.

[Enjay]

I was playing "Suspended in Dusk" to try and compare EDGE's way of handling something that cropped up on the Zdoom forums and came up with a bug.

Quite soon after you enter the main base, you should find a room where small sections of the ceiling bob up and down simulating machinery of some kind. This is achieved by the sectors in question being split and, in hidden control areas of the sector, a barrel is placed close enough to the sectors to make them hit it if the ceiling tries to close. Before you get to the area in question, you cross a bunch of lines to close these sectors as if they were doors. The ceilings of the sectors are supposed to hit the barrels and bounce back, attempting to close again a few seconds later and then repeating this process over and over for the lifetime of the level. However, in EDGE, when you get to the area in question, the ceilings are motionless.

You can see the area in question from coordinates x-301, y 1100 but you'll need to walk there properly to activate the lines.

http://www.doomworld.com/idgames/index.php?id=13851

[andrewj]

Enjay said:

Quite soon after you enter the main base, you should find a room where small sections of the ceiling bob up and down simulating machinery of some kind.

What's going wrong here is the EDGE code always closes doors to their starting height, whereas in DOOM doors will try to close down to the floor height. Since the "door" in the dummy sector starts off open, it never moves and the action trivially completes.

I need to think about whether fixing this is going to break anything else (existing EDGE mods).

Thanks for the bug report Enjay.

[esselfortium]

Ajapted said:

I need to think about whether fixing this is going to break anything else (existing EDGE mods).

Maybe a compatibility flag could be added?

[Enjay]

Ajapted said:

What's going wrong here is the EDGE code always closes doors to their starting height, whereas in DOOM doors will try to close down to the floor height.

I'm surprised that hasn't caused more problems already. There are plenty of maps where a door is open at the start of the level and a door-close action shuts off the player's escape or something. I've made a few like that myself. :)

[Creaphis]

Yup. I was thinking the exact same thing as Enjay.

[Enjay]

In fact, I just checked, it even messes up the "close for 30 seconds" traps on maps such as the original E1M6 and E2M7. The doors close then immediately return to their original height.

[andrewj]

Let me clarify: opening doors will return to their starting height. All the purely close types should of course close to the floor height.

I'll look into the problem with the 30 second closers....

UPDATE: the DDF definitions for the 30 second closers were missing the PAUSE_TIME command. Who knows how long it's been missing (like the SSG firing rate issue, probably the life of EDGE and in DosDoom before that). Anyway fixed now.

[deathbringer]

Heh, well i suppose converting all of Doom's "hardcoded" mechanics into an editable textfile form is bound to incur mistakes on the way...

[andrewj]

hawkwind said:

Hitscan range is less than 1024 map units. I believe the range is 2048 for vanilla doom.

You are correct it should be 2048. Fixed now.

GreyGhost said:

I noticed when changing the keyboard configuration that keybindings on the Delete key also apply to the Backspace key.

Also fixed.

[ultdoomer]

I have a couple of questions that I can't find answers to.

1. What is two-stage turning?

2. What does enabling Extras in the Gameplay menu do?

[andrewj]

Two-stage turning: when you press the turn left or right key in DOOM, for a short time you turn slowly and after that you turn quickly. The EDGE option lets you turn it off (hmmm was that a pun?).

Extras: used to disable extra (lag-inducing) effects in EDGE mods. The only case I know about is turning off the rain in QDOOM.