Graphic anomalies on Mansion and Urban Periphery

[Lynol]

On the map "Mansion" anomalies as seen on the screenshots are displayed.

The same happens on the map "Urban periphery" (the map which is either a small ruin or a parkhouse), but only when the parkhouse is on the map.

All other maps I encountered were absolutely fine.

I use 2.5 dev version as of november 22nd, hard campaign, safegame carried over from a recent version.

Win 7 64bit, 8GB Ram, ATI Radeon HD6450, latest drivers.

Edit: And I just realised this is the wrong place for this topic, sorry.

[H-Hour]

This forum is fine for this topic. It looks to me like what sometimes happens with a broken compile. Since you're using 2.5-dev, are you compiling from source? If so, try using /src/contrib/map-get/update.py, which will download the newest versions of compiled maps from our map server.

If you're using the downloadable nightly builds, I'm afraid the best bet is to download a new full copy.

A few weeks ago we pushed a major weight/encumbrance system into the game, which will not break saves from before then, but may make it more difficult to properly equip stuff with your existing soldiers. So if your save and copy of the game is more than a few weeks old, you may want to wait to update.

[geever]

You could try playing with (advanced) video settings first.

-geever

[Kemlo]

I can confirm this bug on the Mansion map.  It was working fine previously but not anymore.  No changes to video settings, only difference is that I recompiled this morning using Mutons tool (set to download maps).

[Lynol]

You could try playing with (advanced) video settings first.

Advanced options seem to have no effect on the phenomenon (they still affected the visible parts of the map (e.g. the patch of grass around the starting zone) in a normal way).

I could try several combinations since I have a save file from just before the mission starts.

@H-Hour: I used the full install after the weight system was introduced, and then again today (22nd) thanks to the very thread you mentioned. No binaries only.

[H-Hour]

If this is a problem with the current build, I'm sure ShipIt will pop his head in soon and have a look.

[ShipIt]

It happens on the city highrise map, too. I have no idea what might be causing this. Only thing I noticed, all those map files are more than 30 MBs. I tried compiling with an older mapcompiler version, but this did not change things.

[Lynol]

For the moment I have simply replaced mapfiles with a working map and will continue testing.

Good luck, devs!

[jcjordan]

I've got this same problem in my game. It's a new game started under 2.5 dev 11/29 full installer downloaded from the Downloads page. I had it on a Mansion mission & I also went and loaded the following in a skirmish to verify them - mansion small, medium, large, city2 & city3. All of these had the above mentioned problem. What do I need to do as Lynol mentioned in his above post as I don't have an older version to draw maps from? I've never done the compile as I never could get that to work for me so I always downloaded the full installer, large as it is, & do a fresh install when I upgrade versions.

[H-Hour]

Unfortunately the best way to deal with this at the moment is to either automission or struggle through the mission if possible. This is one of those bugs that will not be easy to solve so don't expect a quick resolution.

[jcjordan]

Bummer 

Thanks though I was able to get through the mansion map due to it only having 4 aliens (2 righ in open at start) & being familiar with the layout & where aliens might be but might be harder in later ones where there's more aliens.

[jcjordan]

Would either or both of these solutions be a workaround until fix is done in later version? When I upgrade I always delete previous version on my pc before installing new version

1) delete affected maps altogether & mission would never occur since map doesn't exist
2) replace the affected maps w/ one that does work by renaming it

[H-Hour]

To disable these maps in your campaign, first create a backup copy of /base/ufos/maps.ufo and store it somewhere you will remember. Then open the file in its original location. Locate the mapdef involved (search for text that says mansion or urban periphery). mansion_huge mapdef looks like this:

 mapdef mansion_huge
 {
    map            "+mansion"
    param         "huge"
    description      "_Mansion"
    maxaliens      19
    multiplayer      true
    teams         4

Under multiplayer true, add a parameter: campaign false.

 mapdef mansion_huge
 {
    map            "+mansion"
    param         "huge"
    description      "_Mansion"
    maxaliens      19
    multiplayer      true
    campaign      false
    teams         4

Note that one map may have several mapdefs, so you'll need to look for more than one for each problem map. They should be listed one after the other though, to make them easy to find.

[jcjordan]

thanks, I'll give that a go

[Sandro]

I've found the reason behind this bug. To skip the long technical talk, it is because of restrictions imposed on engine to force compatibility with mobile 3D hardware (restrictions yours truly took a liberty to approve). Can be fixed, obviously, but I have to think on how to do it without making fix a hack, so it will require some time.

As a temporary fix, I can make engine to skip rendering of offending geometry to avoid that striped triangular garbage, if anyone requests. It will break the visuals, but at least not that badly.