✔️ FIXED BUG: EF2000 levels not working

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Krishty
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✔️ FIXED BUG: EF2000 levels not working

Post by Krishty »

EF2000 levels crash if ADF/TAW is also available.

Seems to be a problem where the TAW version of F-22 resources seems available, but is not actually loaded when the F-22 is created. Probably need to separate both planes out to different plugins, as the TFX/EF2000 flight model is different anyway.
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Krishty
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Re: 🔴 OPEN BUG: EF2000 levels not working

Post by Krishty »

Okay, this one is baaad.

I can’t fix it without completing a few things in API. Things that I avoided because they will break everything else. (It’s about loading multiple extensions at the same time, but also keeping just one copy of TAW in memory – those darn last global variables.)

I have to switch off all extensions we have. Then I have to rewrite the TAW extension from scratch (not the TAW logic, just the wiring between TAW and TFXplorer). When this works, I can rewrite the wiring for EF2000. And, eventually, the F-22.

It had to be done some day, but it’s a pity that it happens now where I have better things to do … 🙁
mikew
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Re: 🔴 OPEN BUG: EF2000 levels not working

Post by mikew »

I don't mind as long as those 'better things to do' are related to TFXplorer. :D
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Krishty
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Re: 🔴 OPEN BUG: EF2000 levels not working

Post by Krishty »

They absolute are! 😁 I do mind, however. Fifth year without an official TFXplorer release 🤬
Scorpion82
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Re: 🔴 OPEN BUG: EF2000 levels not working

Post by Scorpion82 »

Good things need time. :mrgreen:
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Krishty
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Re: 🔴 OPEN BUG: EF2000 levels not working

Post by Krishty »

This looks promising:

2023-03-17 F-22 in EF2000.png
2023-03-17 F-22 in EF2000.png (436.05 KiB) Viewed 1755 times

I have completely given up on emulating TAW’s F-22 and EF2000’s F-22 in the same extension. It’s two separate extensions now. But this finally allows to have the F-22 from TAW in levels of EF2000.

It needs a bit of fine tuning, though. For example, debris and craters stopped working. The change will be pushed when everything works well.

This change means BTW that we have a fully functioning F-22 in the Ace Combat 3 levels, because we can mix extensions however we like:

image.png
image.png (1.28 MiB) Viewed 1752 times
Scorpion82
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Re: 🔴 OPEN BUG: EF2000 levels not working

Post by Scorpion82 »

Sounds and looks promising.
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Krishty
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Re: 🔴 OPEN BUG: EF2000 levels not working

Post by Krishty »

FWIW, debris and craters work well now. As does sound.

I’m checking for regressions and if there are none, this will find its way into the repo.
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Krishty
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Re: 🔴 OPEN BUG: EF2000 levels not working

Post by Krishty »

One regression is missing AI planes – I have simply not ported them yet. On it.

Another regression is missing spawn points in EF2000. EF2000 doesn’t know about ADF/TAW, so it can’t spawn TAW’s F-22. I’ll implement a neat way of defining spawn points independent of game and plane.
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Krishty
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Re: 🔴 OPEN BUG: EF2000 levels not working

Post by Krishty »

Game-specific spawn points are complete. TAW now spawns in the Custom Combat location; EF2000 spawns in Bergen (until I implement its mission scripts); AC3 spawns in the center of the map (until we find the actual spawn coordinates).

The route API for AI planes needs more work.
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Krishty
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Re: ✔️ FIXED BUG: EF2000 levels not working

Post by Krishty »

It took more than a year to re-organize stuff in such a way that extensions don’t stomp on each other’s feet any more, but it’s finally done. We can fly the TAW F-22 in EF2000 levels.
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Krishty
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Re: ✔️ FIXED BUG: EF2000 levels not working

Post by Krishty »

So, to fix this, I had to change how extensions work.

The old extensions are gone. We now have three extensions instead:
  1. DIDtoUAW F22 is the extension for ADF/TAW. Note that F22 in the name does not refer to the plane, but to the internal name of ADF/TAW.
  2. DIDtoUAW EF2000 is the extension for EF2000. Again the game, not the plane.
  3. Ace Combat 3 is not yet in the repository, but at some point it probably will be.
There is no more DID-specific code in TFXplorer.exe. It’s all in the respective extensions now.

One exciting thing is that extensions can be loaded multiple times simultaneously. This allows to have your normal TAW loaded in TFXplorer, and also TAW 2.0, and also some other version for diagnosis/debugging. They all show up under the same name right now, which is confusing, but they will use the names from the registry keys in some future version.

Here is a .reg file for AC3, EF2000, TAW, and TAW 2.0. Adjust the paths and then run it. Note that I set Active in AC3 to zero because you won’t have the required DLL. That’s easier than deleting/restoring the whole tree when you need to test something.

Code: Select all

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\TFXplorer\Extensions]

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\TFXplorer\Extensions\Ace Combat 3]
"Path"="Ace Combat 3.dll"
"DataPath"="D:\\projects\\Ace Combat\\(ac3jap11)"
"Active"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\TFXplorer\Extensions\EF2000 2.0]
"Active"=dword:00000001
"Path"="DIDtoUAW EF2000.dll"
"DataPath"="C:\\DID\\SUPEREF.WIN\\install\\DATA\\comp\\PROGRAM"

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\TFXplorer\Extensions\F22 Total Air War]
"Path"="DIDtoUAW F22.dll"
"Active"=dword:00000001
"DataPath"="C:\\DID\\F22 Total Air War\\PROGRAM"

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\TFXplorer\Extensions\TAW 2.0]
"Active"=dword:00000001
"Path"="DIDtoUAW F22.dll"
"DataPath"="C:\\DID\\F22 Total Air War 2.0"
Having multiple versions of the game loaded simultaneously is a pretty powerful feature.

You can delete the old TFX to UAW registry keys.
mikew
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Re: ✔️ FIXED BUG: EF2000 levels not working

Post by mikew »

What's up with the F22 landing gear in the EF2000 scenarios? Seems retracted on the ground....
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Krishty
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Re: ✔️ FIXED BUG: EF2000 levels not working

Post by Krishty »

mikew wrote: 2023-Oct-15, 12:42What's up with the F22 landing gear in the EF2000 scenarios? Seems retracted on the ground....
Excellent find! That’s not just in EF2000 but also in TAW. I created a thread for it: viewtopic.php?t=782
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