Project update: April 2013

[robn]

Hey all,Here's the changelog for April. Sorry its almost mid-May; I've been busy getting all the new release stuff up and running (and other stuff, you know how it goes). Better late than never!Next time I'll try and use this space to write a bit about stuff in the works. But for now I'll just leave this here. Discuss :)New featuresNew combat music track (#2209)Mission list can now be sorted by clicking the column headers (#2183, #2128)Mission list now shows distance to system and days remaining (#2234, #2244)Minor changes and tweaksCommodity Market buy/sell buttons now speed up when held down (#2188, #1734)Clamp ambient lighting to avoid pitch black (#2241)Model changesStation definition 'num_docking_ports' is no longer used; it is computed from the bay definitions (#2219)Station model docking nodes are checked against the station definition (#2219)New 6-bay ground station model (#2227)Script and UI API changesNew method 'SetColor' on Label widgets (#2234)Player:GetHyperspaceTarget() now returns path of destination system when in hyperspace (#2244)FixesFix lua system export (#2229)Fix Lua console so that it lets you continue incomplete commands (#2198)Fix logical error in crew skill boosting code (#2253)Fix assertion when attempting to dock whilst you're also trying to leave (#2239)Internal changesSpaceStationTypes now loads data using the LuaTable wrapper (#2170)ShipType now loads data using the LuaTable wrapper (#2215)Reduced allocations and improved data locality in the eclipse code (#2200)New dynamic object property system (#2161, #2226, #2225, #2223, #2221)Support linking against the LDB Lua debugging library (#2147)Stars with flattening due to fast rotation, i.e; ellipsoids (#2178)Update bundled Lua to version 5.2.2 (#2230)Model loader: improve instancing (#2228)

[Geraldine]

Sorry Robn. :girlwacko: Um I am a wee bit confused (wouldn't be the first time), but were is the actual April update so I can stick it on ModDB? I looked at the Pioneer site and I can see Windows (201305.87 · 12 May 2013 · 160.5 MB) is this it? Or am I totally looking in the wrong place? 

[fluffyfreak]

You're just terribly confused although you have just raised a good points. Since: [url]http://spacesimcentral.com/ssc/topic/3575-changes-to-the-release-process/[/url] we've switched to a continuous build process, so there is no specific 'April' build. I think the pioneer-alpha33-win32.7z 2013-04-12 156.1MB in the "Alphas" directory is probably the closest one.EDIT:- That build is already up on IndieDB though, so yeah best waiting for Robn Might be best waiting for Robn to chime in though  Andy PS: The latest build will always be the latest "nightly" build from now on, at least for Windows and Linux. These posts are more to highlight what has been done on a monthly basis.

[Geraldine]

Thanks Andy :curtsey: . I will follow your advice and wait for Robn. Its just that there is a spike on ModDB as people are waiting for it. I can see the difficulty though if the update is continuous. So for idiots like me, could I please ask the dev team if they could put up (say at the end of every month) a build of all the updates included for just that month. Mod DB isn't meant to show the cutting edge of Pioneer development, it's rather marking milestones as Pioneer progresses and having these monthly milestones would give me something to aim for in updating it. Something like "Pioneer April 2013, Pioneer May 2013" ect. Hope that makes sense.

[robn]

That's the thing - we just got rid of the milestones. If I bundle up all the changes then we're doing an alpha again, with all that goes with it (mostly admin and support overhead).Look at it another way - the download page has the change list for May. It already has some significant performance improvements and bug fixes. It doesn't seem to make much sense to give people a version that's already obsolete.If you like you can grab old builds from Sourceforge, but I really don't recommend it.Better if the ModDB set just go and grab whatever is the latest when they're interested.

[robn]

I think the pioneer-alpha33-win32.7z 2013-04-12 156.1MB in the "Alphas" directory is probably the closest one.Yep, alpha 33 is the 12 April release. Its now over four weeks old. Its dead.

[Geraldine]

Ok, thanks for that Robn. :girlsmile: What I will do is stick with the old Alpha release schedule and grab whatever is available on the site around the start of the month. For now, that looks like the May release. I will update it later today.

[Geraldine]

Phew! :girlcrazy: Thats the update done. As always have a look at it to see if you need to change anything guys. Also other forums have been informed too.

[Marcel]

Thanks for doing this Geraldine. Keeping track of the all the latest builds is too much for me. I have to start a new career every month as it is, or has been. I read that save game compatibility is going to improve, so maybe I'll finally be able to get my radar mapper for Scout+. :biggrin:

[robn]

I read that save game compatibility is going to improveIt is. Its about the only Pioneer thing I'm working on at the moment. Huge job, but its going to be great once its done.

[Geraldine]

Just to let you know Marcel, Scout + worked just fine with that "May" build I uploaded, in fact I forgot I had it installed when testing Pioneer before putting it ModDB. :girlcrazy: And that's great news Robn about the compatibility for saves. This means you can really start to explore!

[Marcel]

@robn; Thanks for that and everything else! :biggrin:@Geraldine; Scout+ just seems like part of the game, doesn't it? :pioneer: