$100 to anybody that can fix the PathShape resource (paid.)

#1 Compiled, and running without a problem on T3D 1.2.
Can you send me the exact script files you are using on lukaspj[at]FuzzyVoidStudio[dot].com ?
I wont be charging you for any help on the matter.

#2 e-mail sent.

#3 Problem fixed. Job closed.

#4 Lukas, does your fix work for T3D 2.0? If so, can you send me the details?

#5 @Kyle, can't remember if I fixed it lol!
Anw I'm sure any fix would apply for T3D 2.0, if Sorin doesn't turn back to you with the fix I will be happy to look into it again!

#6 Sorry to bump this old thread, but can Lukas or Sorin please post what the fix was for the jittery pathshapes?

Have pathshape resource working great on MIT 3.0 with AFX, it's just jittery when a player is on the platform.

Thanks in advance!

Paul

#7 Sorin, could you please provide the fix...maybe as a resource?

#8 @Andy from what me and Paul have gathered it seems to work in T3D 3.5
If it doesn't work in 3.5 for you please tell me :)

#9 Thanks Lukas...then I will check it out hopefully over the weekend ;-)!

#10 OK, this is a weird one...

After talking with Lukas, I tested in a fresh 3.5 as he suggested and the pathshape works fine - no jitters...

However, as soon as I added in any other resource and did another compile, I would notice the jitters again.

Thought it was a conflict somehow with other resources, so I went back to a fresh 3.5 again and started over, adding just PathShape. Again, after a full clean and rebuild the jitters were gone.

But this time, I went in and out of the game a few times to test - the first time or two, no jitters, I could jump around on the platform and fire my gun and toggle between full screen and windowed, and the jitters did not appear... HOWEVER, after about the third load any of the actions described above (shooting, etc), while on the platform, started the jitters. It also seems to occur more often if you look up and then back down to the platform several times, and also when you hit ESC and then cancel the quit (if you look up while doing this).

So, I can confirm that this is actually an issue in stock T3D 3.0 and 3.5, and is not any custom code we have added. And using 3.5 does improve things but the jitters will still occur - just takes a few tries to get them to start.

And once the jitters start, they will occur every load.

Now that we have this squared away, and that we know it is busted in stock T3D, makes it easier for somebody to fix it hopefully.

I'm throwing down the gauntlet and offering a $60 paypal transfer to the first person who can resolve it, anybody want to try? I've been combing this code for days and can't really figure out where the problem is - perhaps in the PackUpdate/UnPackUpdate of the player, or the part of the code where it does any warping to catch up to the server? It's beyond me at this point...

Once we figure it out, we really should publish the fix as a resource, because this is such a great feature and should be available to all T3D users - jittery platforms are a drag lol

Cheers
Paul

#11

Quote:And once the jitters start, they will occur every load.

So, exiting the game completely and re-running it? Or just exiting to the main menu and reloading the mission? If it's the former then some state must be saved to disk. If it's the latter then it's in memory. I would venture that if it's saving something to disk it should be easier to track down.

#12 @Paul - Since you have a version of stock T3D 3.5 with just the pathshape resource and a level for testing, could you put that up as a gihub branch. If you did, I'd step through it a few times to see if I could see why it jitters. No guarantee I can fix it though. That would also make it very easy for anyone else willing to take up your challenge to submit the fix to you as a pull request.
I had a similar problem with an elevator in T3D once (a couple years ago in a now abandoned project). It looked great when still or dropping because the players processTick was applying gravity and the player would fall with the elevator. When it moved up though, the player did not detect the surface move immediately and would either bounce or fall through. The simple solution in that case was to place a trigger in the elevator and have it's change in transform added to all of the objects within the trigger, but that solution isn't good for much other than elevators.
IMO, the 'ideal' solution would require CCD, the path shape would need to be a physics shape and the player controller would need to support CCD and process friction when the player is stationary if the surface is moving.

#13 I'm with Michael on this one - and if it's only the player we're processing CCD for it shouldn't be a huge hit (unless you have a lot of players, I guess).

#14 Hi again,

I am a bit GIT challenged in terms of putting stuff up there - can grab it OK but am not set up to upload or create my own branch, etc.

However, I could ZIP up the pathshape-enabled 3.5 and put it somewhere for download, would that help?

Alternatively, just take a fresh 3.5 and follow these instructions to add Pathshape resource - it only takes about 15-20 minutes to merge in the Pathshape code:

http://www.garagegames.com/community/resources/view/20385

Get both download links that are in the first part of the initial post - the first (for 1.1 Beta) has the platform shape and the scripts and the engine mods, and the second link has engine mods updated for 1.1 final, which is what I used for 3.0 and it works (except for the jitters).

Once you have a working 3.5 with Pathshape using the resource above, you can get the jitters to happen usually by jumping up and down on the platform a few times and firing the pistol. Sometimes I have to look up in the air and ESC/unESC a couple of times, and/or toggle maximize and windows views.

If it works fine and does not start to shake, then quit the game and come back and try again - eventually it should start every time you jump on the platform.

I like the way this resource works - it's simple enough to add the shapes and have them follow paths, etc... It only requires a simple object with a collision mesh. So hopefully a fix can be found that doesn't require re-tooling the game using physics shapes (which I find in themselves have their own issues around sticking/fusing together when you try to stack them, but that's another story).

But I welcome all suggestions, and would be happy to put it all together into a resource with docs when it's figured out - to help others who want to add it in to their games.

Cheers
Paul

#15 OK, this is bugging me now lol...

Now it almost seems better when I checked it tonight. Well, it's still there, just harder to reproduce. The clincher now seems to be when the window is maximized it is worse... When in windowed mode it is really hard to get it to start shaking. But switch a few times between full screen and windowed and it starts. And sometimes will start on its own if you leave it for a minute or two.

Also, hitting escape and leaving the yes/no prompt there will usually start the shape shaking in the background.

Happens in both 1st person and 3rd person views. This is stock 3.5 master with just the 1.1 pathshape resource added in.

In our 3.0 build, it pretty much starts vibrating the minute you step on it, whether windowed or full screen.

I am zipping up some files to post, should have them up by tomorrow. It will be a stock 3.5 with just pathshape mods added. Maybe some of you can try it and tell me if I'm crazy or if it happens for you too... Maybe it's a memory or display or rendering issue rather than the object actually skipping, because it moves along just fine when the player is not on it.

Thanks for the offers of help on this, it's just one of those annoying things...

Will post a download link when I get that figured out.

Cheers
P

#16 I setup a new 3.5 build to test this out. Added only the pathshape resource. I could not get it to jitter even after trying all of your suggestions (fullscreen, exit/enter...) ......until I set up a dedicated server and client and then massive jittering. I remember now this is exactly what I saw when I tried this back in TGEA. It worked great in "singleplayer" but not once you had multiple clients. I'm pretty sure it's due to a networking issue. Have you only been testing with a dedicated server and client?

#17 Hi Kenan,

Thanks for giving it a go...

You know, that makes a lot of sense - I don't run the dedicated server, but my game is always in host mode so I can test connecting in from my laptop.

And others have speculated the same about a networking issue being the cause.

At least we proved it happens! If only in multiplayer lol

But that's good to know, guess we'll have to start looking there.

Thanks again

#18 What happens when you flip #define TORQUE_DEBUG_NET on console-wise?

#19 there is a packet checksum error on the server when I turn on TORQUE_DEBUG_NET

#20 Would that be a "packetDataChecksum disagree", or a "unpackUpdate did not match packUpdate for object of class %s."