Lately I've seen people creating similar threads with 4.0 questions in mind, so I decided to make a small FAQ list and post it on my blog here. For those who don't want to bother looking at my blog I've decided to post it on the forums also.
Q: 4.0 is very laggy, how can I fix this?
A: Turn off OpenGL. Inorder to do this you must go to BYOND.exe (Pager), go to your control panel, select a game and click Options. Now go to Client>>Preference>>OpenGL. Inorder for OpenGL to take into affect, I believe you must reconnect to that game.
Q: 4.0 is horrible, what can I do?
A: Remember 4.0 is in beta testing and there are many things that will be changed. But if you hate 4.0 so much you can download 3.5 right here.
Q: I can't have user defined macros anymore?
A: Yes you can. Inorder to do this you must go to BYOND.exe (Pager), go to your control panel, select a game and click Options. Then do Client>>Macros.
Q: How do I make text go onto the Output window?
A: output(msg,control) example: usr<<output("Hello World","Output1")
A#2(GhostAnime):
You can also check off 'default' on the output window where, if the output() proc is not used, it would use that one.. eg:
world<<"Hi" would appear in the output that has default checked off but to show it in another output window which is not defaulted, eg: window ID: "announcement", than you need to use the output() proc: world<<output("Hi","announcement")
Q: I edited my graphics with 4.0 but now I want to use 3.5 instead.
A: Well the bad part is that once you complie/(edit your graphics) in 4.0, the graphics can only be edited with 4.0 and no lower versions. There is a long process I've found to get them back. You must copy the 4.0 graphics, paste it in paint, copy it from paint, and then paste it into your 3.5 dmi files. This is why you should make a backup of your 3.5 game before you start updating it.
Q: I have 3.5, can I play 4.0 complied games?
A: No.
Q: I have 4.0, can I play 3.5 complied games?
A: Yes.
Q: How do I use alphas?
A: Go to the .dmi and then icon file you wish to use. Select what color you wish to use and then you'll see the alpha bar on the right at 255. Now scroll it down to where ever you want and then you can place the color down.
Q: Where are the release notes?
A: Right here.
Q: I just found a bug, what should I do.
A: First, if you do not know what to do if you've found a bug then I highly doubt you'll know how to write a correct bug report. Thanks to TheMonkeyDidIt, he has written steps on how to write a great bug report. First go here to learn how to write report a bug. Once you understand how to create one, you can now start on your report.
Q: What's the first thing I should do before I get 4.0?
A: An important note from the BYOND Staff, "This is BETA software. It will contain bugs.
Back up your files before installing!"
Q: I type stuff in my input box and I also defined where it should be outputted at, but nothing works.
A: You need to define what Command the Input uses. To do this go to your .dmf file and click your window's name. Now double click (or click and press edit) your input box, select the Options tab. Now put what ever Command you wish input to use there. For example: Defaut Command: Say.
Q: I can't put stuff over the map such as a button.
A: So far, Interface elements cannot be overlapped, but hopefully you'll be able to do this within a couple of beta releases.
Most of these questions are fairly simple and you should visit the Help On(F1) in Dream Maker or forum search before you make threads about this.
Feel free to add more FAQs.</<output></<output>
ID:277570
 Aug 4 2007, 9:41 am
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Jon88 wrote:
Calus CoRPS wrote: Sure it provides alpha-blending but it isn't something you must have, it's more of a want than a need. But disabling OpenGL may reduce some lag which possibly could make some games a little more playable. Which is why I replied with that answer, I guess I should have went a little more further with that Q and A. | |
Calus CoRPS wrote:
Jon88 wrote: Both modes from my experience have no factor that makes them suck (or otherwise, over the other option). OpenGL doesn't work for me anymore and this 'BitBlt' we're speaking of ruins one of the reasons I play BYOND. Oh, and it flickers sometimes. And sometimes black lines appear through turfs in my games. | |
Just so you know, our #1 priority is to either fix the OpenGL bug or provide an alternative graphics option (like DirectX). There is no reason that even the lowest-end computers can't support our simple needs here.
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Tom wrote:
Just so you know, our #1 priority is to either fix the OpenGL bug or provide an alternative graphics option (like DirectX). There is no reason that even the lowest-end computers can't support our simple needs here. Thats a good thing to know, but how did you not notice it before release, or did you actually know about it but didn't do anything because you didn't want to let the community down after admitting it'd come last week? | |
RedlineM203 wrote:
Thats a good thing to know, but how did you not notice it before release, or did you actually know about it but didn't do anything because you didn't want to let the community down after admitting it'd come last week? We were aware of a problem, but did not realize it was so common. Only one (out of perhaps 30) beta tester experienced it. | |
RedlineM203 wrote:
Tom wrote: Gone are the days where the graphics processing is all software based and will act the same on 99% of computers. When you start dealing with OpenGL/DirectX, you enter the realm of graphics cards. Not only are there many, many different kinds of graphics cards, but take the same graphics card with different drivers and they may aswell be two completely different graphics cards. | |
RedlineM203 wrote:
And sometimes black lines appear through turfs in my games. Same, but I usually find that by changing the icon size this problem is fixed. | |
Q: I copied byond.dmf to my game and tried to use that, but now I don't see a map, statpanel, or browser. What's wrong?
A: BYOND 3.5 had no custom skins, so it always knew what interface items were available and would activate them as needed. Some games use things that others don't. This behavior was impossible to reproduce exactly in BYOND 4.0, which cannot guarantee all parts of a window's skin exist. Indeed, some games might not want the automatic enabling of certain features. The only way to accomplish all these goals was to cheat, by treating the copy of byond.dmf saved on the player's computer as different from all other skins. The default skin responds mostly as BYOND 3.5 would. But if you copy this and use it in your own game, then your game is actually supplying its own skin, no longer using the default. It doesn't even matter if the files are identical; it's that your game has said "I have a skin to use." Because of this, DS won't perform all the same special tricks it saves for the default skin. The best approach, if you just want to start off by modifying the default skin, is to enable the elements you want.
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Tom wrote:
RedlineM203 wrote: Vista is a harsh mistress. I'm surprised so many people are actually using it. I thought 99.9% of BYOND was pro 'anything but vista'. | |
Tiberath wrote:
Tom wrote: Why did you say that? Was the player who had the problem running Vista? Because I have the problem.. and XP. | |
RedlineM203 wrote:
Tiberath wrote: Yep, the only reported problems with OpenGL was with a Vista operating system. | |
Tiberath wrote:
RedlineM203 wrote: Then my PC is a freak of nature. Do you think I have to download a new version or something? | |
In the terms of the output() proc. And with the other winset() procs. We were told (I believe) that it's wiser to output using "windowname.controlname".
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RedlineM203 wrote:
Do you think I have to download a new version or something? What kind of graphics card do you have? Are you sure it's even able to run OpenGL? | |
Q: The icons look blurry and hurt my eyes, instead of complaining, what should I do?
A: If using the default skin, go to the Icons menu and select 32x32. Q: And if it's not the default skin and there's no option to do so? A: Provided the command line is default and able to accept commands. Clear the command line and type: .winset "mapwindow.map.icon-size=32" | |
Tiberath wrote:
RedlineM203 wrote: I actually don't know the exact model (I don't look at these things as I don't buy them) but I know its a ATI, and I know its a Raedon. I know it can run OpenGL, because it successfully did twice before it started screwing up. | |
Tiberath wrote:
In the terms of the output() proc. And with the other winset() procs. We were told (I believe) that it's wiser to output using "windowname.controlname". To clarify, if your control has a unique name and you know there won't be anything like browser popups to interfere with it, the control name will do just fine. But if, say, you have a window you intend to clone, you'll need to be more specific. For example a chat program might have a window called private that gets cloned into windows like private_Nadrew, private_Audeuro, etc. depending on who you're having a conversation with. Each one would have controls with the same name, so if private.input existed, you'd also have private_Nadrew.input, and so on. Lummox JR | |
RedlineM203 wrote:
I actually don't know the exact model (I don't look at these things as I don't buy them) but I know its a ATI, and I know its a Raedon. I know it can run OpenGL, because it successfully did twice before it started screwing up. You could try this: http://www.ozone3d.net/gpu_caps_viewer/ It's freeware and specifically designed to show how well opnGL will work on your card (as well as giving a lot of info about said card). | |
That's a really bad answer. OpenGL is what provides all the cool alpha-blending. A better idea would be to find the actual problem rather than reverting to BitBlt, which actually should be slower in most cases. I had 4.0 running on an old computer running win98 with a poor excuse for a graphics card that barely supported openGL. I could still play LRS though.