.28 patch trouble

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Sat Jul 10, 2004 1:15 pm

hey, erm, yeh.

i downloaded the patch and extracted the files, then tried to run the game, and it says my drivers arn't compatible with directX 8.0

um, its asking me to change my game settings, but i remember scrag or someone did that and it kinda screwed his up.

help?

um problem half solved...

basically i selected to just play in fullscreen and it lets me in, but when i try to switch back to windowed it wont let me! grhh
and also i can't go from small mode to full screen anymore!

*sigh*

scrag · Post by **scrag** » Sat Jul 10, 2004 1:20 pm

i found just change it to wat it says then delete tractor.cfx then open the game it worked 2nd time i had to change settings

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Sat Jul 10, 2004 1:31 pm

and now its happening on the galaxy client too!
it wasn't last night when i updated so why would it this morning after i updated the tractor.exe?

makes no sense

Oh look! i fixed it

i changed my rendering mode to windowed in advanced directX options. seems to have worked... gimme a min to test

Aequitas · Post by **Aequitas** » Sat Jul 10, 2004 3:34 pm

I downloaded and installed the .28 patch, yet when i enter a tractor server, it says it is version .26

Hmmm

hedgehog · Post by **hedgehog** » Sat Jul 10, 2004 4:43 pm

Tom wrote:and now its happening on the galaxy client too!
it wasn't last night when i updated so why would it this morning after i updated the tractor.exe?

makes no sense

that's cause you probably updated the same folder, and now galaxy.exe is trying to use the new interface.dll as well.

fullscreen seems to work, but windowed is fecked for me. i'm guessin somebody tried to fix fullscreen and fixed it a lil too good

if you get the 1.27 patch again tho, just overwrite the interface.dll and gal will work fine.

aequit, i think the 1.26 message you're seeing refers to the server vers.

Post by **Mit** » Sat Jul 10, 2004 11:09 pm

aye my bad. i is chimp.
have updated the current installers to a version i think is ok now and will prolly put up a further 0.1.29 once its confirmed ok and when ive had chance to whack in a few lil extras.

tipster · Post by **tipster** » Sat Jul 10, 2004 11:29 pm

i need the ol 23 one back

This new one's really causing me problems, crashing, and most of all... well.. lowering my fps.. =/

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Sun Jul 11, 2004 12:36 pm

ok, well, its better

but not great...
the windowed screen now automatically adjusts itself to crappy sizes so the mouse can't be used very well due to the fact the size needs to be adjusted but can't be... as it reverts to one of its auto's.

one more tiny weeeenie thing...

why have we changed delete to confirm to end? me no like new system

Post by **Mit** » Sun Jul 11, 2004 1:31 pm

k, well phew, least the main bits work. i'll look into fixing the window thing with u today if i get chance.

My initial reaction to the end/delete change is the same Tom, but i think thats one of those special case things where we've used it so much its become natural, even tho its not inherently sensible. (It was only put in originally, way back when, because i hadnt yet learnt how to arrange my keyboard code, and pressing end was occasionally flicking thru multiple selections accidentally - none of thats applicable now.)

Ppl who use a system a lot will get used to most things if they're basically ok, but i think the delete confirm thing did help give a bad impression of the menus to new players. In the end (pardon the pun :]) I prefer this layout if for no other reason than it saves ppl helping newbies having to type that line about "Its end to select.. oh except in certain places where its delete.. um.. '.

hedgehog · Post by **hedgehog** » Sun Jul 11, 2004 3:23 pm

it's prolly a wait-and-see kinda thing. the sad part is i think i've thought about this very topic more than anyone who can't actually fix it himself should

the thing i'm torn on: is it better to have total, uncompromising consistency, or to have a lil safeguard? the one nice thing about [del] is that since it's a different key, it prevents people from "accidently" buying something they don't want.

one scenario i could see, since value control often saves the previously used amount, is that we'll have a lotta people accidently buying 50 of something instead of one. or 50 of the wrong thing. or 1 of the wrong thing.

whether that's only a problem for vets, or shows up as a noob thing as well is uncertain.

if it is screwing up everyone indiscriminately six months from now, i'd maybe suggest reverting to delete, but making it more consistent - a confirm screen for skills that uses [del], etc. what the etc is i'm not sure atm. but we got six months if ever to think about it

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Sun Jul 11, 2004 5:26 pm

my fingers are getting clostrophobia (you know what i mean) there too close together... now i feel for a big person... i'm skinny and i still find it hard to keep my fingers that close together, so a overly large person will be hitting all kinds of keys

the delete key allows for spacing, and since its only used for confirming things, i think its useful to teach noobs, its like 'and you press delete to confirm your purchse' as it provides variation from the usual End key

hedgehog · Post by **hedgehog** » Sun Jul 11, 2004 6:02 pm

Tom wrote: it provides variation from the usual End key

heh, yeah all that excitement of that whole extra key that has a different function anyway

it's a great change for usabillity's sake as far as i can see. consistency is surely one of the key things you wanna get sorted when trying to get a software package to a matured status. i could maybe buy the fat fingers argument even, but delete would probably be the only key you'd "accidently" hit, and we still use [end] and the rest for everything else.

as long as we don't get a school-skills scenario where people are accidently buying stuff in the wrong amounts, it seems a really wise move on mit's part.

are we actually discussing the fate of one key? i've sunk to a new low

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Sun Jul 11, 2004 6:26 pm

maybe a low for you but its a high for me

thats possibly the worst bit about it.

i just think a confirmation key needs to be differant from the norm, since it leaves less room for problems. also it says 'press delete (or end now) to confirm' so its not like the person can get lost on what to do...

zaroba · Post by **zaroba** » Sun Jul 11, 2004 6:37 pm

i think its better as end.
it was end to select a player, end to select the action in all the menus.
it always seemed odd that after useing end to select "purchase" end to select an item, that you'd use delete.

isen't easier to teach new people that page up/down highlights and end selects? instead of THAT and the fact that the delete key was used instead of end in certain situations, then going on to list those situations and hoping the new guy would remember.
weather it be selecting the amount that you wish to buy, or confiriming that you wish to Buy Building or Purchase something.

hedgehog · Post by **hedgehog** » Sun Jul 11, 2004 7:22 pm

tom does have a point that the text indication on the purchase confirm screen did help. many time i just gave newbies the main menu system concepts, and they were always able to sort out the remaining delete portion on their own. i've never had someone ask after they couldn't purchase something afaik.

i almost see the problem as the opposite teaching-wise: that purchase confirm is the only screen where del is used (iirc). the problem with a seperate confirm screen to me isn't that it would be hard to learn, but more that it should be uniformally used everywhere that it's applicable:

are you sure you want to forget this skill? you'll have to learn it again at full cost if you wish to have it again in the future (end / del to confirm)

are you sure you want to close your bank account? (end / del to confirm)

are you sure you want to give ___ sheckles to playername? (end / del to confirm)

are you sure you want to discard x of item? (end / del to confirm)

you are still learning level x of this skill. are you sure you want to purchase it again? doing so will raise your skill level in skill, which may or may not be of use here. (end / del to confirm)

you have already learnt level x of this skill. are you sure you want to purchase it again? doing so will raise your skill level in skill, which may or may not be of use here. (end / del to confirm)

it would be easy enough to say "end selects, del confirms" if the above scenarios were all present and consistent, but in the current state of the game, end seems the more logical choice, as purchase confirm is the only place del is currently used, which i think is why it becomes confusing to teach.

tipster · Post by **tipster** » Sun Jul 11, 2004 8:09 pm

I really think it should be left as del. For one, the ping are usually high for some people, like me. So I press end, nothing happens for a bit, and then I press it again, next thing I know, I'm buying the wrong item cuz I pressed it twice. Good thing delete was there because then I would have bought the wrong item.

And come on, how hard is it to teach a newb about 1 key. It even says right next to it, Delete to confirm. And if they can't understand 1 more key, they're intelligence must be so low, they shouldn't even be playing the game. Most of the time, people that don't like that key will mostly spend their money screwing up, asking others for money, and then asking for a reset, which causes everyone grief.

Either that or just quit the game, so don't bother and leave it back at delete.