Alpha Test Game 5

All working here, Avacar. Was going to complain about Dead Meat not being able to shoot a heat seeker at Sivar's Fist, but then I realized Dead Meat was not in Sivar Fist's rear arc. So that's all good.
 
Am not sure with the "reserved refires" on opportunity fire. It's greyed out at "none", while it probably should be max-1. But then, I don't know how you treat it, so it could still work alright. Should I submit the orders for Cupcake?
Yeah, this comes from the lack of a WCTOO manual vs. the WCTO manual.

I grey out any options you can't use. WCTOO automatically reserves any shots you aren't allowed to use. By default, opportunity fire is only ever 1 shot, with an auto-reserve of the others. At some point, when the bugs are all fixed, I can try to clarify what is going on there, such that it is clearer.
 
Sorry for the hold-up! Had quite a busy weekend myself... I turned in my orders for Tempest and saw the following after going back to game 5's turn list:

Notice: Undefined index: in /home/agespast/www/www/avacar/phase5/combat_phase_engine.php on line 59
Notice: Trying to get property of non-object in /home/agespast/www/www/avacar/phase5/weapon.php on line 66
Notice: Undefined index: in /home/agespast/www/www/avacar/phase5/combat_phase_engine.php on line 59
Notice: Trying to get property of non-object in /home/agespast/www/www/avacar/phase5/weapon.php on line 66
Notice: Trying to get property of non-object in /home/agespast/www/www/avacar/phase5/combat_functions.php on line 381
Notice: Trying to get property of non-object in /home/agespast/www/www/avacar/phase5/combat_functions.php on line 381
Notice: Trying to get property of non-object in /home/agespast/www/www/avacar/phase5/combat_functions.php on line 381
Notice: Trying to get property of non-object in /home/agespast/www/www/avacar/phase5/combat_functions.php on line 381
Notice: Trying to get property of non-object in /home/agespast/www/www/avacar/phase5/combat_functions.php on line 381
Notice: Trying to get property of non-object in /home/agespast/www/www/avacar/phase5/combat_functions.php on line 381
 
I received the notice for 9EP at 2:20 AM and the game appears to be working fine. Interested to see what happens with Sivar's Fist this EP...have we ever had a situation where two missiles were fired at the same fighter at the same time?
 
Sorry for the hold-up! Had quite a busy weekend myself... I turned in my orders for Tempest and saw the following after going back to game 5's turn list:

Notice: Undefined index: in /home/agespast/www/www/avacar/phase5/combat_phase_engine.php on line 59
Notice: Trying to get property of non-object in /home/agespast/www/www/avacar/phase5/weapon.php on line 66
Notice: Undefined index: in /home/agespast/www/www/avacar/phase5/combat_phase_engine.php on line 59
Notice: Trying to get property of non-object in /home/agespast/www/www/avacar/phase5/weapon.php on line 66
Notice: Trying to get property of non-object in /home/agespast/www/www/avacar/phase5/combat_functions.php on line 381
Notice: Trying to get property of non-object in /home/agespast/www/www/avacar/phase5/combat_functions.php on line 381
Notice: Trying to get property of non-object in /home/agespast/www/www/avacar/phase5/combat_functions.php on line 381
Notice: Trying to get property of non-object in /home/agespast/www/www/avacar/phase5/combat_functions.php on line 381
Notice: Trying to get property of non-object in /home/agespast/www/www/avacar/phase5/combat_functions.php on line 381
Notice: Trying to get property of non-object in /home/agespast/www/www/avacar/phase5/combat_functions.php on line 381
Well I can see why those messages might appear, but not how to solve them. It would mean an invalid order was put in somewhere and it can't find a target it thought it could. Did everyone shoot if they expected to?
I received the notice for 9EP at 2:20 AM and the game appears to be working fine. Interested to see what happens with Sivar's Fist this EP...have we ever had a situation where two missiles were fired at the same fighter at the same time?
I think we've seen this before in some of the earlier test games, but with all the bug fixes and code changes, it will be a good test none the less.
 
Sorry for the hold-up! Had quite a busy weekend myself... I turned in my orders for Tempest and saw the following after going back to game 5's turn list:

Hm... I'm not seeing that list anywhere I go, be it game screen, turn list, anything. Is it supposed to show to just one person if it's (supposedly) a system issue? (Well, system... just something went wrong. I'm not an expert with words, okay? :-D)

Anyway, a small issue with the minimap - it initializes with ship positions as they were on the turn selected. But when going to another turn through the "Turn navigation" interface, the ships' on the map change accordingly, but the minimap still stays the same (on the turn the game was accessed from). E.g. the turn I select is Turn 1 MP. Everything is okay. After that I use the Turn navigation interface to go to, say, turn 8 CP. On the game screen, the ships are as they were on turn 8 CP, but the minimap is still showing the state of turn 1 MP.
It's a low priority since it can be fixed by just going to the turn list and selecting the desired turn there, but just so you know.
 
It would mean an invalid order was put in somewhere and it can't find a target it thought it could. Did everyone shoot if they expected to?
Well, Tempest didn't shoot at Harm's Way, for obvious reasons... ;) Could this have caused the problem?
I don't think it was a persistent issue, either - which is why I copied the text to the forum, just to be safe.
 
I don't think it was a persistent issue, either - which is why I copied the text to the forum, just to be safe.
Yeah, this was a turn processing bug. These only happen when everyone has put in their orders, and only ever appear once. Keep copying them as you see them. Unfortunately I'm not sure what caused this one. I could probably replicate and correct it using my new debug tools though! (I may not for now, however, as this could also be a side effect of the manual database editing that was necessary for the other debugging that happened on this turn. I'll try a debug when this crops up on its own).
 
Porcupine 2 takes evasive action.Porcupine 2 afterburns and turns starboard 3.
Huh... strange to see that, since it's a Jalkehi with turn rate 1. Unless I'm missing something again.

Dumb-Fire Missile chases after Boo'ya, going 12 and turns starboard 3.Dumb-Fire Missile chases after Porcupine 2, going 12 and turns starboard 3.
And this seems suspicious. Although it didn't have any effect here (because DFs are just 1 turn), could it mean that if I fled from a DF (with the same heading as me) and turned, would it turn after me and could possibly hit me?
 
Turn 10, MP:

Yeah, there are definitely a few things that look wonky on the fleet report...for example, Sivar's Fist's chaff pod supposedly spoofed both missiles, yet the report says both slammed into him for 10 damage apiece. Much as I might like this result, it probably bears some investigation. The report of DF missiles turning at all is particularly disturbing...
 
Had a better chance to sit down and look at the field report and compare what happened to the rules.

First question: on Boo'ya's burnout...shouldn't he have moved nine hexes instead of eight before coming about? The rules say (on page 14) that a fighter successfully performing a burnout "moves three quarters of its afterburner speed in hexes (e.g. Sartha: 8 hexes, Rapier II: 10 hexes, Ferret: 11 hexes), then turns 180 degrees." A Drakhri has an afterburner speed of 12; three-quarters of that is nine. Incidentally, a Sartha also has an afterburner speed of twelve...

Porcupine2's evasive move...well, Humungus already pointed out that a Jalkehi doesn't have the necessary turn rate for the maneuver that was pulled. I personally still have a problem with the idea of a fighter being able to "evade" through the exact same hex as the missile targeting it. Seems counter-intuitive. That's a rules issue, though.

Missiles have got the big problems (once again). DFs should not be able to turn for starters. Sivar's Fist legally should be twenty points up on his hull; chaff pod rules on page 9 say that the pod should've been able to spoof both missiles, and he got the rolls he needed for the spoofs (even accounting for the -1 roll modifier to spoof Dead Meat's side-arc shot). Sounds like the chaff pod handling code needs to be checked.

Just noticed that my FFs are still on the board, too. They're still in the same hexes from which they were launched.

I'll hold off on orders for the time being.
 
Had a better chance to sit down and look at the field report and compare what happened to the rules.
Hope you like the new missile reports saying where they fly. Looks like they need some hard returns, however.

First question: on Boo'ya's burnout...shouldn't he have moved nine hexes instead of eight before coming about? The rules say (on page 14) that a fighter successfully performing a burnout "moves three quarters of its afterburner speed in hexes (e.g. Sartha: 8 hexes, Rapier II: 10 hexes, Ferret: 11 hexes), then turns 180 degrees." A Drakhri has an afterburner speed of 12; three-quarters of that is nine. Incidentally, a Sartha also has an afterburner speed of twelve...
Yeah, this is an old issue. Honestly, I'll need Ironduke to chime in again. For now, all I can say is that the burnout code is currently programmed to fly 2/3 distance not 3/4. I no longer remember why I coded it this way, but that's clearly not what's in the rule book. I think this came out of a discussion about exactly the Sartha case. As such, expect a Rapier to go 9, not 10, etc. Ironduke, chime in please to confirm the v.15 rules say 2/3rds? Otherwise this is an easy fix for me to go back to 3/4, but I can't imagine I unilaterally changed it to 2/3 without having a discussion about it ~a year a go.

I personally still have a problem with the idea of a fighter being able to "evade" through the exact same hex as the missile targeting it. Seems counter-intuitive. That's a rules issue, though.
Rules say it shouldn't be a problem :p. That said, I can also say "haven't programmed it yet" if it is supposed to be an issue.

Sivar's Fist legally should be twenty points up on his hull; chaff pod rules on page 9 say that the pod should've been able to spoof both missiles, and he got the rolls he needed for the spoofs (even accounting for the -1 roll modifier to spoof Dead Meat's side-arc shot). Sounds like the chaff pod handling code needs to be checked.
Yeah, clearly an issue.
Just noticed that my FFs are still on the board, too. They're still in the same hexes from which they were launched.
Odd. Fortunately all of these are now more debuggable using my new IDE. does a victory dance

I'll hold off on orders for the time being.
Um, sure. I'm not going to straighten the DF's flight paths, although I will find out what they were chasing. I will likely manually return health to Sivar's fists after I debug what went wrong. I likely will not be forcing the FF's to fly, as that will have to be done manually at this point.
Huh... strange to see that, since it's a Jalkehi with turn rate 1. Unless I'm missing something again.
This might be a simple problem in that when I did the major update to the shelton slide/turn rate calculations for the movement phase, I might have forgotten to update/fix the end phase equivalent. I'm assuming the player was offered the chance to turn 3, and the way the game is coded, the checks are in the orders window, not in the turn processing. If the order got in, it would have been accepted as valid. I'm not going to reverse this (too much work) but I will see if I can fix the orders window before next end phase.

And this seems suspicious. Although it didn't have any effect here (because DFs are just 1 turn), could it mean that if I fled from a DF (with the same heading as me) and turned, would it turn after me and could possibly hit me?
It is like that movie where they could curve bullets! Clearly a DF should not be triggering the standard 'chase' algorithm. (In fact, I haven't coded it yet, but DFs are supposed to fly forward and potentially hit other targets on their path).
 
Fixed the following issues so far (need to take a break and address the last issue later):
  • DFs will no longer chase
  • Chaff pods will now properly destroy targets (tentative fix). Seems to work on IDE simulations, but I can't "finish" processing without risking damage to the current game, so I tested as far as I could
  • Capi's FF's stayed in place because of the broken chaff pods (theory). The above tentative fix may have solved the issue. I have manually removed them from the current turn, but everyone should keep an eye out for chaff-deflected missile sticking around.
  • I have returned 20 hp to Sivar's Fist manually
I still need to check up on how a turn rate 1 ship was able to evasive faster than that. I also am not convinced that chaff pods are taking the aforementioned -1 from side arcs (at a glance at the code), so that's potentially an extra bug to fix.
 
Hope you like the new missile reports saying where they fly. Looks like they need some hard returns, however.

I do like them, yes.

Yeah, this is an old issue. Honestly, I'll need Ironduke to chime in again. For now, all I can say is that the burnout code is currently programmed to fly 2/3 distance not 3/4. I no longer remember why I coded it this way, but that's clearly not what's in the rule book. I think this came out of a discussion about exactly the Sartha case. As such, expect a Rapier to go 9, not 10, etc. Ironduke, chime in please to confirm the v.15 rules say 2/3rds? Otherwise this is an easy fix for me to go back to 3/4, but I can't imagine I unilaterally changed it to 2/3 without having a discussion about it ~a year a go.

Okay...well , if it's an issue that's been discussed before, I'll leave it be for now.

Since the issues affecting my little corner of the battle have been resolved, I'll put my moves in next opportunity I get.
 
Found and solved the preengine issues with afterburner turn values for end phase engine. Also identified and solved an issue involving wanting to shelton slide with a 'straight ahead' initial turn when you only have a turn speed of 1.

Also implemented the -1 from side arc for chaff pods. The rules state that chaffs coming in from 'side arcs' take the -1, but it doesn't specify the width of the side arc. I've chosen that the acceptable 'rear' arc is 120 deg, anything outside that (and not in the 120deg front arc) will take the -1. Ironduke please feel free to chime in if you want this interpreted otherwise.
 
I've sent humungus a private message to remind him. If he hasn't responded by the end of the weekend, I'll take my best guess at what the best move for him would be.
 
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