EDGE 1.34(RC1) is Ready

[andrewj]

Release Candidate #1 for version 1.34 of EDGE, the Enhanced Doom Game Engine, is now ready to download and try out.

LINK: http://edge.sourceforge.net/
(you may need refresh the page)

This RC will probably last around a month before I release the full version of EDGE 1.34. At that time I will make Linux binaries and source packages too.

Happy testing :-)

Changelog for 1.34 (since 1.31)

+ HUB support
+ Joystick support
+ obituary messages (new DAMAGE.OBITUARY field)
+ two "Action" buttons for RTS scripting
+ better crosshairs, more configurable
+ improved console with command history and TAB-completion
+ fixed music detuning with Windows native playback
+ new RTS command: ONCEILINGHEIGHT (Andrew Baker)

! new language "COAL" replaces Lua for HUDs
! RTS files now use the "RTS" extension (not "SCR")
! standard DDF/RTS files moved out of EDGE.WAD

- support for keys on the numeric keypad
- improved various defaults (e.g. WASD movement)
- wobble-free scrolling for the automap
- new 'debug_fps' and 'debug_pos' cvars
- LINES.DDF: can prevent bots using a linetype
- shorter cheat code for 'killall'

- better HOM detection (debug_hom cvar)
- always generate our own BLOCKMAP, ignore REJECT
- improved mouse and keyboard speed settings
- in option menus, current line is highlighted
- new 'goobers' cvar for a fun effect
- old EDGE title screens retired

- fixed some colormap issues
- fixed slowdown with savegames on large maps
- fixed teleporting into walls bug (with help from Andrew Baker)
- fixed bug with LOSE_BENEFIT on ammo limits
- fixed weapon refire accuracy after a loadgame
- fixed bots triggering exit lines/switches
- fixed music restarting when player dies and is reborn
- fixed rockets autoaiming at BOSSBRAIN on MAP30
- fixed excessive warnings for missing textures

- fixed 16-rotation sprites
- fixed some Timidity issues
- fixed dynamic lights on translucent MD2 skins
- fixed RTS execution semantics in multiplayer games
- fixed crashes with "monster aggression" feature
- fixed display of gamma-change messages
- fixed gamma to be restored at exit
- fixed Boom point pushers/pullers

[Khorus]

Awesome awesome awesome! Will go test my vanilla wads with it now. :)

[RTC_Marine]

Sweet, I always enjoy new edge releases, especially when testing icd-se/icd-ddf with it (I miss Cory :()

[hawkwind]

Sector effect/type/special 12 and 13 ( light blinking ) still do not work, and also the blinking in sector type 4.

UPDATE ...

Cause found ... Edge erroneously "thinks" that the effect for STROBE should work if an adjacent sector has a lower light level. This is incorrect. It can have the same light level. I just tested this in doom2.exe, choco doom and glboom+ complevel 2.

[dmdr]

These may be known issues but...

Loading games from the main menu doesn't seem to work. I've been playing Whispers of Satan (19/09/09 version) and EDGE will crash whenever I try to load games from the main menu. As I said.
Oddly enough, starting a new game then hitting F3 - or F9 to quickload - works just fine. I haven't tested this with any other wads yet though.

Can't get custom music to work either, with the standard menu based sound output thing (ie. not Timidity, no extra command line args. I'll see if Timidity works today though). It'll play the doom2.wad music just fine, however. This won't work with WoS or ScytheX so I'm going to assume that this issue isn't specific to those wads.

I'll be happy to upload my save games and any other files you might need to mediafile or a similar service if you guys want them.

[andrewj]

hawkwind said:

Cause found ... Edge erroneously "thinks" that the effect for STROBE should work if an adjacent sector has a lower light level. This is incorrect. It can have the same light level. I just tested this in doom2.exe, choco doom and glboom+ complevel 2.

Thanks for figuring this out! I never knew (or would have guessed) that DOOM would set minlight to 0 if it equals maxlight.

I have fixed the bug in EDGE.

Lance MDR Rocket said:

Can't get custom music to work either

The "SYSTEM" music device can only play MUS format songs, it cannot play MIDIs.

The "TIMIDITY" device can play both formats, but you need to download and unpack some GUS patches (more information is in the README).

I will try to reproduce the savegame problems you are having.

[andrewj]

Lance MDR Rocket said:

Loading games from the main menu doesn't seem to work. I've been playing Whispers of Satan (19/09/09 version) and EDGE will crash whenever I try to load games from the main menu.

Tested it here and I get the same problem, and am working on a fix...

FIXED (with much relief, thanks for your report).

A workaround is to always start a game first before loading from the menus.

[dmdr]

Great, thanks man - if nothing else, I'm glad it's not just my problem.

Let me just say that I've always been a fan of EDGE (well, since I discovered Doom source ports, circa 2005 or so) and these post 1.30 releases have been light years ahead. Undoubtedly the best GL renderer out there, if nothing else. I don't have a lot to offer other than my thanks for your top work, but there it is.

[MP2E]

Yeah the GL renderer is fantastic and the Linux support actually feels.. Professional.

One issue I've had is that my GUS Soundfonts won't load. Ironically the Readme states to use Soundfonts, even though the instructions actually tell you how to install patches :P When using an actual soundfont I get "Line 30: Syntax Error" when it tries to load my configuration. Timidity works fine in ZDoom, and you don't seem to be using SDL_Mixer instead of timidity(timidity's source was in the edge svn directory wasn't it? heh) so I'm not sure why it would complain about Soundfonts.

EDIT: Line 30 in question is this:

soundfont /usr/share/soundfonts/fluidr3/FluidR3GM.SF2

[andrewj]

The README never mentions "SoundFonts", it says "GUS Patches".

SoundFonts (SF2 files) are very different from GUS patches, and are not supported by either SDL_mixer or EDGE.

SF2 works in ZDoom because Randy Heit wrote the code himself to read and use it.

I don't plan to support SF2 in EDGE, but I can at least make the error message more informative, and make the README clearer.

[MP2E]

andrewj said:

The README never mentions "SoundFonts", it says "GUS Patches".

SoundFonts (SF2 files) are very different from GUS patches, and are not supported by either SDL_mixer or EDGE.

SF2 works in ZDoom because Randy Heit wrote the code himself to read and use it.

I don't plan to support SF2 in EDGE, but I can at least make the error message more informative, and make the README clearer.

Oh, my bad. That's unfortunate :/ I was hoping for a port other than ZDoom to support Soundfonts... I'm rather annoyed that I can't use them in anything but ZDoom.

[entryway]

Some issues:

1. Edge can't handle '\n' character from [STRING] section of deh files. Also wrong flat is used for background. See C1TEXT from Hell Ground

2. Boom scrolling of skies is not supported. See map06.

3. Friction does not work or works incorrectly. See start sector of map06.

4. Looks like HI_START HI_END are not supported, but where is status bar??

5. Bridge on map01 flies in the sky.

[andrewj]

Of course there is no status bar, if a port does not know about HI_START/END markers, then it cannot know which STBAR lump is the "wrong" one.

I will look into these issues soon.

[andrewj]

entryway said:

2. Boom scrolling of skies is not supported. See map06.

Sky transfer lines (type 271 and 272) are MBF features, not Boom features, and were never planned to be supported, and probably never will be.

I have fixed the \n issue in DEHACKED files.

I have also added a workaround for music lumps being in OGG/Vorbis format.

The other issues may be addressed in the future, but I need to release 1.34 first.

Thanks for the reports BTW.

[Gez]

andrewj said:

Sky transfer lines (type 271 and 272) are MBF features, not Boom features, and were never planned to be supported, and probably never will be.

If it's not too hard to add, it wouldn't be a bad idea, though, given it's been adopted by PrBoom, Eternity and ZDoom and therefore widely used in "Boom-compatible" mods.

[DaniJ]

FWI I would just like to state that the situation regarding so called "Boom compatible" mods has seriously deteriorated over the past couple of years or so. It was once a relatively "concrete" standard with a defacto reference implementation (i.e., BOOM).

Nowadays it is virtually impossible for a port to be BOOM compatible, without having to also implement support for a bunch of stuff from other ports simply because of the way said ports have gone about their own implementation.

I certainly wouldn't blame Andrew for simply 'No'ing the request because it can be a slippery slope culminating in support for a whole featureset you didn't want in the first place.

[andrewj]

Gez said:

If it's not too hard to add, it wouldn't be a bad idea, though, given it's been adopted by PrBoom, Eternity and ZDoom and therefore widely used in "Boom-compatible" mods.

Yeah I get that.

Firstly, this feature never seemed very useful imo. There was always something more important to do.

Secondly, one of the issues was that the sky transfers allow multiple different skies on the screen at the same time, as shown by the MBF demo 'sky.wad'. EDGE could not support that because of the way sky is handled in the OpenGL renderer, and I don't like having half-broken features (and the bug reports about them, heh).

Finally, after being involved in EDGE for over 11 years (off and on), I really am sick and tired of working on it. Working on a source port lacks a certain satisfaction you get from other projects (like making maps), since it can never be "finished", there is always some additional feature somebody would like. I have little desire to work on EDGE these days, tbh.

[Graf Zahl]

andrewj said:

Secondly, one of the issues was that the sky transfers allow multiple different skies on the screen at the same time, as shown by the MBF demo 'sky.wad'. EDGE could not support that because of the way sky is handled in the OpenGL renderer, and I don't like having half-broken features (and the bug reports about them, heh).

Ever considered using a stencil buffer? Worked great for me.

[entryway]

bugs in centering of sprites
http://prboom-plus.sourceforge.net/edge1.avi.zip

mess after changing resolution and fullscreen/windowed
http://prboom-plus.sourceforge.net/edge_mess.png