Alpha 27 released

[robn]

The Pioneer development team are pleased to announce the release of Pioneer Alpha 27. This month seems the introduction of our new (highly experimental!) faction system. Also new cameras to see everything around your ship, and the usual pile of tweaks and fixes. Full changelog and builds for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux (32 & 64-bit) are available from the download page.New features
Factions, with custom goods illegality and colour coding (#1505, #1567, #1562)
New views (Left/Right/Top/Bottom, Cockpit Front/Rear) (#1454, #1539, #1544, #1564)
The settings screen is now acessible from the main menu (#1187, #1512)
There's now an option to enable texture compression (#1522)
Minor changes and tweaksSmooth zoom animation in World, System, Sector and Galactic views (#1170)
Earth start location has returned to Los Angeles (in daytime now) (#1506)
Player cash is shown on the 'Personal' page of the Info (F3) screen (#1525, #1500)
Equipment listed on the Info (F3) screen is split over two columns (#1525, #1527)
Explosions are now slower and more visible (#1543)
Application icon for Windows builds (#1537, #1166)
FixesAvoid icons in some ternary systems overlapping each other (#1510, #1511)
Fix overlapping text for long system descriptions (#1494, #1498)
Fix crash in SystemInfoView from leaking widget references (#1526, #1493)
Clamp some newer terrain heights to non-negative values (#1534, #1530)
Try to avoid placing starports where they will be covered by mountains (#1503, #7)
Don't pass events through the load/save dialog to the widget below (#1547, #1553)
Fix crash when old hyperspace cloud is shown after game load (#1552, #1551)
Script changesEventQueue, which was deprecated in alpha 26, has been removed (#1485)
Orbital phase (season) and rotational phase (time) can now be set in custom systems with :rotational_phase_at_start and :orbital_phase_at_start (#1506)
Thruster values in ship definitions are now all positive (#1536)
New function Dev.SetCameraOffset to help find good cockpit camera offsets (#1130)
Internal changesTerrain generation thread now sleeps until being signalled (#1169)
New C++ wrappers for Lua table manipulation and value persistence (#1438)
Terrain patches are now rendered more efficiently (#1507)
Many minor cleanups identified by valgrind (#1524)
Copyright and license is now made explicit at the top of all code files (#1515)
Max terrain height for heightmapped planets is computed more accurately (#1504)
Code to detect supported video modes has moved to Graphics (#1535, #1385)
Cleaned up UI view code for consistency and stability (#1528, #1558, #1547, #1557)
Removed duplication in key bindings code (#1545)
New view (DeathView) to deal with display after the player dies (#1543, #1540)
Simplified terrain thread locking (#1495)
Moved intro and tombstone out to their own cutscene classes (#1559)

[fluffyfreak]

Crikey that's a lot of changes!

[Geraldine]

This totally caught me by surprise! <img src="'[url]http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//icon_redface.gif[/url] class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':oops:' /> Anyways great news as always Robn to see a new Alpha! <img src="'[url]http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//curtsey.gif[/url] class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':curtsey:' /> (and my internet is back also, so I will have no problems updating ModDB with the new Alpha). Going to download ASAP <img src="'[url]http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//girl_crazy.gif[/url] class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':girlcrazy:' />EDIT: Just ran the game there, there seems to be an issue with the views in the game. I cant activate rear view on any ship and front view seems centred in the middle of the ship model instead of the cockpit or bridge. Also, I cant rotate either the sidereal or external views. I am sure it's nothing serious, but I will hold off uploading to ModDB for now until the issue is figured out.

[munitio]

Great news! Thx for this new version, but i have a problem... I cant play <img src="'[url]http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//fie.gif[/url] class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':fie:' /> .Most of the time Pioneer crash if i click "New Game". Sometimes it starts, but the planet is not visible. I have tested various graphical settings, but it fail. Is there anything i can do to get it work?[EDIT]This is the earth from above. Is it supposed to be to look like that?If i move the mouse, Pioneer crash instantly.

[kg24660235]

I downloaded Alpha 27, I am running Elementary OS on my computer. I have previously had Alpha 26 running no problem, it took me a few days to figure out, being new to Linux. I made sure and downloaded the 64 bit version, as my OS is 64 bit, and all the dependencies are there too. As I said, Alpha 26 ran no problem, full screen max everything. I unpacked Alpha 27, fired up a terminal window, and typed the command ./pioneer, and it didn't run.couldn't open string file 'lang/English.txt'Aborted (core dumped)I did notice that the download was only 175mb whereas I am sure the website said it should be around 184mb?So, anyone able to help me? newbie to both Pioneer and Linux, so please explain in simple steps.Cheers, Karl

[rrw77]

I downloaded Alpha 27 (Windows version) and find that after a second or two in space it hangs and crashes. I had no problems with Alpha 26 using the same settings. I've tried playing about with the graphics settings but it makes no difference.Nonetheless I only just found this and I think the developers have done an amazing job (at least based on Version 26!)

[robn]

'Geraldine' wrote:
This totally caught me by surprise! <img src="'[url]http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//icon_redface.gif[/url] class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':oops:' />
Second Friday of the month. Mark it on your calendar <img src="'[url]http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//icon_e_smile.gif[/url] class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />
Quote:
EDIT: Just ran the game there, there seems to be an issue with the views in the game. I cant activate rear view on any ship and front view seems centred in the middle of the ship model instead of the cockpit or bridge.
There's now only one "internal" camera. Use Shift+1-8 to change it. 1-6 are centred on the ship model, 7+8 (the new "cockpit" cameras) are centred on the cockpit (where defined for the ship).
Quote:
Also, I cant rotate either the sidereal or external views. I am sure it's nothing serious, but I will hold off uploading to ModDB for now until the issue is figured out.
The numeric keypad is now the way to control this. Adjust your keybindings.Yes, these are both unintuitive changes. The feedback we get will help us decide what kind of defaults we should have.
'kg24660235' wrote:
I downloaded Alpha 27, I am running Elementary OS on my computer. I have previously had Alpha 26 running no problem, it took me a few days to figure out, being new to Linux. I made sure and downloaded the 64 bit version, as my OS is 64 bit, and all the dependencies are there too. As I said, Alpha 26 ran no problem, full screen max everything. I unpacked Alpha 27, fired up a terminal window, and typed the command ./pioneer, and it didn't run.
The 64-bit Linux build is broken - its folder structure got screwed up somehow. I'm preparing a replacement build right now.To save you the hassle of re-downloading, do this:
Code:
$ cd data$ rm -rf galaxy.bmp listdata listdata.sh modules sounds$ mv data/* .

Quote:
I did notice that the download was only 175mb whereas I am sure the website said it should be around 184mb?
The website & Sourceforge use 1000-bytes to the kb etc, whereas ls uses 1024-bytes. The MD5 sum is the most important thing. If they match, then your download is intact.Everyone else having problems; we're testing now.

[robn]

New linux64 build is up.The win32 build is totally broken right now, due to a compiler bug that I thought was fixed but is not. I'm working on a rebuild right now but its going to take a few hours - compilers take a while to put together.

[kg24660235]

Thanks robn, I got mine working now!

[robn]

New win32 build uploaded - that was faster than I thought! The whole win32 archive is updated, but if you already have that and don't want to grab the whole lot again, you can just get this replacement executable: [url]http://eatenbyagrue.org/f/pioneer/pioneer-alpha27.exe[/url] that's the end of that! Thank you all for your patience!

[Guest]

Dear fellow OSX users,Alpha27 for OSX has now been uploaded. <img src="'[url]http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//icon_e_smile.gif[/url] class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

[munitio]

'robn' wrote:
New win32 build uploaded - that was faster than I thought! The whole win32 archive is updated, but if you already have that and don't want to grab the whole lot again, you can just get this replacement executable: [url]http://eatenbyagrue....eer-alpha27.exe[/url] that's the end of that! Thank you all for your patience!
Thank you... It works now! One question: The executable is 56 MB... what are you compiling into it? Is it a debug build?

[rrw77]

Yes I can confirm it's all working for me too! Thanks!!

[fluffyfreak]

'munitio' wrote:
Thank you... It works now! One question: The executable is 56 MB... what are you compiling into it? Is it a debug build?
No, it's just full of awesome <img src="'[url]http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//icon_e_biggrin.gif[/url] class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D' />... and statically linked libs <img src="'[url]http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//wink3.gif[/url] class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';)' />

[munitio]

'fluffyfreak' wrote:
No, it's just full of awesome <img src="'[url]http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//icon_e_biggrin.gif[/url] class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D' />
Thats really true! <img src="'[url]http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//preved.gif[/url] class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':preved:' />
'fluffyfreak' wrote:
... and statically linked libs <img src="'[url]http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//wink3.gif[/url] class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';)' />
Would'nt be better to link dynamically and reduce the downloadsize? The librarys do not change as often. What is the reason for this approach?

[Guest]

'munitio' wrote:
Would'nt be better to link dynamically and reduce the downloadsize? The librarys do not change as often.What is the reason for this approach?
I can't answer that question specifically for Windows, but on OSX I bundle all the required libraries and 'exe' into a single application bundle.That way people can just download and 'just play' without having to mess around with downloading the correct libraries, installing them, making sure they are the right version, etc..I suspect the rationale is the same on other platforms.

[fluffyfreak]

'munitio' wrote:
Thats really true! <img src="'[url]http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//preved.gif[/url] class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':preved:' />Would'nt be better to link dynamically and reduce the downloadsize? The librarys do not change as often.What is the reason for this approach?
Oddly, my vc2012 build is just 6.99MB including the DLLs

[Geraldine]

'robn' wrote:
There's now only one "internal" camera. Use Shift+1-8 to change it. 1-6 are centred on the ship model, 7+8 (the new "cockpit" cameras) are centred on the cockpit (where defined for the ship).
Thanks for that Robn <img src="'[url]http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//girl_crazy.gif[/url] class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':girlcrazy:' />ModDB updated (with fixed exe)! <img src="'[url]http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//curtsey.gif[/url] class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':curtsey:' />

[robn]

'munitio' wrote:
Would'nt be better to link dynamically and reduce the downloadsize? The librarys do not change as often.What is the reason for this approach?
Well we'd still have to ship the libraries, because you don't have them! Static linking is much more convenient for the user and much easier for me to build too.Right now these are full debug builds, because it gets us more useful information in the event of a crash. An eventual "official" release will be much smaller.

[Guest]

It was recently pointed out that there was an issue with the OSX build of Alpha27 ([url]https://github.com/pioneerspacesim/pioneer/issues/1592).[/url] those where are having trouble, you would be pleased to know that I've found the problem and have re-uploaded a fixed alpha27 for OSX.Enjoy (and thanks for the bug reports - keep em coming!).