Experimental Releases

[namida]

So, now that we're on a universal EXE, external data file format, I figure we can probably start doing this.

I've created the following folder on DropBox to place added support on the new NeoLemmix website to provide downloads of experimental (aka "nightly", I think?) versions of NeoLemmix and sometimes the associated tools.

These will include all the latest bugfixes / feature additions at the time of their adding, but may not have been tested very in-depth. I strongly advise against using them for anything other than testing purposes; for content you intend to release, test it on official release versions, and use official release versions of tools to create it.

The experimental releases can be obtained here. These links will always point you towards the newest experimental version if one exists (they will not point you towards stable versions):
Player: http://www.neolemmix.com/download.php?program=16&exp=1
Editor: http://www.neolemmix.com/download.php?program=17&exp=1
Flexi: http://www.neolemmix.com/download.php?program=18&exp=1
GSTool: http://www.neolemmix.com/download.php?program=19&exp=1

If you want to see a full list of available experimental versions, please go to the downloads pages for the relevant app. These list all experimental and stable version downloads that are available.
Player: http://www.neolemmix.com/?page=download_list&program=16
Editor: http://www.neolemmix.com/?page=download_list&program=17
Flexi: http://www.neolemmix.com/?page=download_list&program=18
GSTool: http://www.neolemmix.com/?page=download_list&program=19

Note that for the editor, only the editor EXE is put up. You'll need to copy it into the same folder as an existing editor setup. The other apps tend to be self-contained EXEs anyway so this isn't so relevant to them.

IMPORTANT!
The current editing tools are not directly compatible with new-formats experimentals. Nepster has made a level editor which works with the new formats; other data currently must be done by hand.

[namida]

Player V10.011.011 experimental uploaded: https://www.dropbox.com/s/hk55s9h7827l97a/NeoLemmix-10-011-011-exp.exe?dl=1

Please let us know ASAP if you find any physics bugs, or bugs that cause NL to crash. Other bugs are not so critical (but still nice to know about).

Changes from V10.010.010:

Core
- Fixed the teleporter-splat bug
- Re-fixed the receiver delayed release bug
- Fixed the disarming-jumper bug
- Fixed the bug where preplaced lemmings may interfere with the window ordering
- Fixed the bug with teleporters linked to non-existant receivers causing missing lemmings or crashes
- Fixed the crash when all entries in custom window ordering point to invalid entries (fake windows or non-window objects)

Features
- Fixed the bug where disarmed traps are treated as live when rendering shadows
- Fixed the crash when mouseovering a fake (or otherwise non-functional) teleporter or receiver in Clear Physics Mode
- Fixed the bug where the level pack options to always use regular sprites / always use xmas sprites is ignored
- Clear physics mode now indicates blocker direction when moused over
- Object helper label added for water
- Performance improvements while paused
- Non-permanent skills can now be queued for a few frames, so you don't have to wait for an exact frame where they can be assigned
- The disable backgrounds option now affects moving backgrounds as well as static ones
- The compatibility warning when running older content on newer versions (in cases where it should be compatible but may be affected by lack of testing on the newer version) is only displayed the first time you run a pack on a given version of NL, not every time

[IchoTolot]

Everything crash or critical wise is fine, as far as I tested it until now.      Xmas stuff is working again! Expect the skillbar needs to be updated to the new format.

The thing that is bothering me a bit:
It is warning me everytime I open a pack (even if it was build with the latest Flexi Toolkit version) that this pack might not be campatible, even though it totally is.

[Nepster]

Given that we do some physics changes in this update, prehaps this is the time to implement changes regarding
- Floaters and Gliders exiting midair
- Floater / Glider vs. Splat Pad (assuming there are any changes proposed there that don't result in culling the pads completely and aren't implemented yet)

[namida]

- Floaters and Gliders exiting midair

Yes, now would be a good time to try and come to a decision on that.

- Floater / Glider vs. Splat Pad (assuming there are any changes proposed there that don't result in culling the pads completely and aren't implemented yet)

Already implemented a change to this one in V1.48. Floaters / Gliders should always survive, even if they haven't been able to pull their thing out. (That just sounds wrong. )

It is warning me everytime I open a pack (even if it was build with the latest Flexi Toolkit version) that this pack might not be campatible, even though it totally is.

As long as the pack is compatible as far as "everything loads properly" is concerned (ie: built with at least Flexi Toolkit V1.47n-C, preferably V1.48 or newer), it should only warn the first time. Can you copy/paste the first two lines of the NXSV file from a pack you're having the issue with.

[IchoTolot]

Have found the issue!

I've opened my pack with the stable version and the new exp alternately. So opening a pack with the stable version after the warning has been given in the exp version resets the warning and it will be given again with the next exp opening!

[namida]

Ah. Yes, that would explain it. This will no longer be an issue so much once this becomes a stable version.

[namida]

Uploaded a newer experimental, V10.011.011:9089DA6.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hk55s9h7827l97a/NeoLemmix-10-011-011-exp.exe?dl=1

Changes from previous experimental:

Core
- no changes

Features
- Fixed the bug with glider shadows continuing infinitely rather than ending when they meet the ground
- Added some more advanced stuff for modifying replays. (Keys listed here are defaults). Press "W" to toggle Replay Insert mode (red R will turn blue); now any actions you make will be inserted into the replay without cutting off the future actions (they will overwrite if you try two incompatible actions on the same frame). Press "E" to open the Replay Editor; this will eventually allow almost complete manual modification, but for now it allows you to view the list of actions and delete any individual actions (and it has some smart features for deleting gradual release rate changes).

This one actually displays a commit ID on the menu screen as experimentals should, too.


Known issues
- (Not actually tested, but based on source code I presume this will happen) Cancel replay hotkey doesn't work when in Replay Insert mode

[potamo]

Hello.
In this experimental version when you assign the stoner for the second time, it doesn't  work properly.
The lemming isn't solid.

One example of this is te replay for LPIV Bumpy 03.

And the D key is not working anymore.

Sorry for my english.
Regards.

[IchoTolot]

I can confirm this as well. The first stoner is solid and after that even with pressing "R" for a replay all other stoners will not be solid.

Going out of the level resets this.

EDIT: Checked the older exp version again ----> the bug is also present there!

Out of my mind: Nepster said sth about increasing the performance through decreasing the terrain/map updates some time ago. Maybe he decreased it too much? That would be my guess. Rather a few checks too much than too less. I am ok with waiting another part of a sec.

[namida]

Tested:

- I can reproduce this. I also noticed, not only do the extra stoners not add terrain, they actually remove it if they overlap any.
- V10.010.010 (latest stable release) does not have this bug.

And the D key is not working anymore.

This doesn't seem to work even in V10.010.010. Upon investigation, the code that's responsible for actually drawing this has been commented out in commit 5ce659e, which was one of Nepster's commits. Nepster: The lines in question are 1377-1378 (in that commit) / 1383-1384 (in latest "master" commit at the time of this post, which is commit afde4a2); can you shed some light on why they were commented out?

Note that uncommenting these lines alone still only causes the fall distance helper (and any theoretical future user helpers) to appear when in Clear Physics Mode. This is probably not ideal. Potential solutions are either to draw them to a different layer (perhaps the Shadows High layer, or a new one), or to ensure nothing else is drawn to the Helpers layer when not in Clear Physics Mode but render this layer if applicable.

EDIT: Moving these lines outside of the above if branch fixes the issue. However, this can cause exceptions during the first rendering; so I added a check that prevents this (theoretically the code within the if branch could too, if it were ever triggered during the first rendering, so the check covers that too). I've now committed this change.

[Nepster]

Stoner issue:
This is caused by namida's commit 13dc484 "Fixed bug: "Always Xmas Sprites" / "Always Standard Sprites" options don't work."
I suspect that the Renderer changes some DrawModes for LemmingAnimations, which causes problems as this commit changed the stoner mask to be a reference to the renderer's LemmingAnimations instead of loading the mask directly from the style. However I would prefer namida to have a closer look at this, because I am completely unfamiliar with how loading custom sprites should work resp. is implemented.

D-key issue:
What should happen when pressing the D-key? My D-key works perfectly fine and selects the walker skill.
Regarding these two lines: All objects helpers get drawn in the loop over all ObjectInfos. So the code does what it was supposed to do according to the comment at the top, while never reaching these lines. Therefore I took these two lines to be the last remnants of old and now unused code. They were commented out to test whether everything still works without them and for some reason I forgot to delete them. Sorry.

[namida]

Alright, will look into this. (EDIT: Fixed in commit 3DD6AB1)

What should happen when pressing the D-key? My D-key works perfectly fine and selects the walker skill.

In the absence of any reason to believe otherwise, it is best to assume people mean on the default hotkey setup. Certianly, what he mentioned fits perfectly with the default setup.

[namida]

Uploaded a newer experimental, V10.011.011:18B82C1.

Core
- Fixed the bug where stoners (aside from the first usage) functionally remove terrain rather than adding it

Features
- Fixed the bug that caused the fall distance guide to not work

[namida]

Experimental Flexi toolkit:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/md0enpcvq4tl8re/FlexiToolkit-10-011-011-exp.exe?dl=1

It will mark packs as compatible with this experimental. Also, music pack support has been removed (instead, you should distribute a ZIP or similar of music files to be placed in the "music" folder). NeoLemmix itself will retain support for music packs for a while, but it will be removed eventually so please try to switch over to music files when possible.