Forgotten Hope Public Forum

Forgotten Hope 2 => Singleplayer and Coop => Topic started by: gavrant on 25-04-2013, 23:04:27

Title: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: gavrant on 25-04-2013, 23:04:27
(http://i37.tinypic.com/30aayo1.jpg)

Gentlemen, start your engines, here comes the third patch for FH 2.45 Singleplayer and Coop.

Download link (354 MB): http://fhdev.dyndns.org/files/FH_2.45_SP_Patch_C.exe

Reserve link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/sl5agbk14tf4a43/FH_2.45_SP_Patch_C.exe?dl=1

INSTALLATION
Just run the installer, select your FH2 folder (e.g., C:\Program Files\EA Games\Battlefield 2\mods\fh2) and click the "Install" button.

NOTE: The patch is cumulative. In other words, it includes all the stuff from 2 previous patches/hotfixes for FH 2.45. You don't need to install or delete these previous patches.

WARNING 1: As with Patch B, Patch C is not multiplayer compatible. If you try to join any multiplayer server with this patch installed, most likely you'll get kicked. So creating a copy of your ...\Battlefield 2\mods\fh2 folder before the installation is strongly recommended, if not for the sake of multiplayer, but at least for backup purposes.

WARNING 2: To avoid CTDs on some maps (Ramelle, specifically), add ...\Battlefield 2\ForgottenHope2.exe to the Data Execution Prevention (DEP) exception list. How to turn off DEP for an individual program: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-sg/windows-vista/change-data-execution-prevention-settings (the instructions there are for Vista, but are also suitable for Win 7 and Win 8 ).

WARNING 3: In game, try not to leave a vehicle if you are the driver, the vehicle has some AI passengers and is parked in some narrow place or on a steep slope. There is a high chance that such areas have no vehicle navmeshes (AI pathfinding for vehicles), so the game will instantly crash to desktop. Sadly, it's the price for having somewhat improved overall AI pathfinding. Roads and flatlands are relatively safe for leaving vehicles.

CHANGELOG

Completely rebuilt maps
* - The map got new navmeshes.
** - The map uses updated navmeshes from the previous patches.

Sorry, guys, still no new navmeshes for Mareth Line and Crete.

Miscellaneous maps changes

Vehicles

Weapons
A lot of changes were made in handheld weapons. The most notable are:
Considering the changes above, especially the rifles and SMGs part, you may review the bot skills you play with, as it becomes harder to survive on the battlefield.

Changelogs for the previous patches
Patch B (Dec 2012): http://fhpubforum.warumdarum.de/index.php?topic=18569.msg283257#msg283257
The Singleplayer 2.45 hot fix (Patch A, Nov 2012): http://fhpubforum.warumdarum.de/index.php?topic=17570.msg260931#msg260931

CREDITS
As usual, special thanks go to the FH Dev team, especially to Mayhemic.MAD for file hosting and to Kev4000 and Spitfire (fh_spitfire) for general advice and assistance.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: jrivett on 26-04-2013, 15:04:18
Excellent! You guys have been busy. I'm planning to switch my server over to patch C in the next few days and will report back here. Presumably anyone who isn't running the same patch as the server will not be able to connect - is that right? Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any easy way to check what version a client is running (or a server for that matter).
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: Skr13 on 27-04-2013, 12:04:09
Very Nice Job!
I'm a big fan of Patch B, and for sure Patch C will be better.
There is any chance of Singleplayer Patch's become integrated in future official FH releases?
BTW, sometimes in some maps with high hedgerows, It gets very difficult to survive, since bots can shoot me from long distance, and I can't see them, but I'm afraid this could be difficult to fix.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: jrivett on 27-04-2013, 17:04:34
BTW, sometimes in some maps with high hedgerows, It gets very difficult to survive, since bots can shoot me from long distance, and I can't see them, but I'm afraid this could be difficult to fix.
From what I understand, this is a limitation of the game engine. I found it incredibly frustrating at first, but now I just watch for - and fire at - muzzle flashes and smoke. I also try to find high ground and hull down positions, and work on flanking. Much more challenging and interesting than a straight head-on slugfest anyway.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: gavrant on 27-04-2013, 18:04:09
Thank you, guys, for killing the Dropbox account! :) Actually, it was suspended for some time because of "Links that use up more than 20 GB/day". Note, there's nothing dodgy in the primary download link (fhdev.dyndns.org). That server is owned by the FH Devs and has quite broad bandwidth, with unlimited traffic.

Presumably anyone who isn't running the same patch as the server will not be able to connect - is that right? Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any easy way to check what version a client is running (or a server for that matter).
Yes, an attempt to join the server without installed Patch C most likely will end up in CTD or very buggy gameplay. I just tried to join your, Jeff, server from vanilla FH 2.45 copy, instantly got CTD. Let's hope that most of Coop players will migrate to Patch C soon.

There is any chance of Singleplayer Patch's become integrated in future official FH releases?
It's one of our primary goals and, considering that we have 2 developers in the Singleplayer team, the likelihood of that happening is fairly close to 99%.

BTW, sometimes in some maps with high hedgerows, It gets very difficult to survive, since bots can shoot me from long distance, and I can't see them, but I'm afraid this could be difficult to fix.
From what I understand, this is a limitation of the game engine. I found it incredibly frustrating at first, but now I just watch for - and fire at - muzzle flashes and smoke. I also try to find high ground and hull down positions, and work on flanking. Much more challenging and interesting than a straight head-on slugfest anyway.
Jrivett is right, with the exception of the 'limitation of the game engine' part. AFAIK, it's a property of FH overgrowth. Rumors say that it can be fixed, but would require major updates on at least half of the maps. And, TBH, after years of playing I consider bots seeing through vegetation as a natural part of FH Singleplayer. Think about it as a compensation for bots being dumb in other aspects.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: jrivett on 27-04-2013, 18:04:24
And, TBH, after years of playing I consider bots seeing through vegetation as a natural part of FH Singleplayer. Think about it as a compensation for bots being dumb in other aspects.
Exactly! Although the improvements to bot aiming in patch C are going to shift the balance in favour of the bots, I suspect.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: gavrant on 27-04-2013, 18:04:26
And you haven't seen the December version of weapons. At the time I had to test maps with 10% bots skill. After that, everything else is a piece of cake :)
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: blarg on 27-04-2013, 19:04:17
Thanks for this patch, I have played through a couple of maps now in coop mode, and really enjoyed some of the maps I haven't been able to play before, like operation hyacinth.  Great work! :)
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: Skr13 on 27-04-2013, 19:04:19
Thanks for the answers guys!

About the vegetation & hedgerows bots skills, I'm used to, but sometimes get's difficult to escape the shooting, specially when no cover around, or the prone position is insufficient.

About the Singleplayer Patch, I'm glad to using it for months, since I usually play Normandy scenario maps, like Purple Heart Lane(my favorite), and it's more challenging/fun to play against bots that spread all over the map, instead of running only on the main road :)

I remember another thing to talk about: mortars, bots sometimes use the mortars efficiently, but only when and where they want, I mean, they never follow my binoculars coordinates for a target, which would be great if they do.



Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: Turkish007 on 27-04-2013, 20:04:44
I remember another thing to talk about: mortars, bots sometimes use the mortars efficiently, but only when and where they want, I mean, they never follow my binoculars coordinates for a target, which would be great if they do.

Im not a SP developer, but I think that would be pretty hard to implement, and may be impossible. I would like the bots to also use the heavier guns like that.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: EpicFoodEpic on 29-04-2013, 06:04:49
Uhm,i cant play coop with my friend,our pc's are network and our fh2 are patched with the hotfix c...help?
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: gavrant on 29-04-2013, 07:04:01
EpicFoodEpic, what is the problem? One of you can't connect to another's server? The game crashes?
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: EpicFoodEpic on 29-04-2013, 09:04:12
EpicFoodEpic, what is the problem? One of you can't connect to another's server? The game crashes?
err..everytime i create a Co-op server the other pc cant detect it..even ive tried refreshing the list....
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: |7th|Nighthawk on 29-04-2013, 09:04:37
Did you check your connection (ping)? Is it possible for you to play vBF2 in coop? You should also take a look at the firewall. Sometimes it still blocks FH2 or BF2. Turning it off and retrying sometimes fixes the issue.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: TGK on 30-04-2013, 10:04:44
So just to re-iterate, I should grab and install this if I only plan on playing FH2 singleplayer or co-op LAN?
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: gavrant on 30-04-2013, 10:04:27
Yes. But create a copy of ...\Battlefield 2\mods\fh2 folder before installing the patch, just in case...
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: Skr13 on 01-05-2013, 11:05:19
As I said earlier, with Singleplayer Patch, bots usually spread all over the map, but not always this happen.
For instance, I play in Purple Heart Lane 64 map, but I found that bots path is only left side of the main road or right of the main road, I mean, they are not well balanced and distributed over the map, which would be great if they be.
Maybe this situation occurs, because bots use all the same route to reach a flag/waypoint, and even with the German 88mm piece on the right side or MG 34 on left side, hitting them(US) always, they simply jump to the death.
Bots should be able to take more intelligent decisions, like take cover behind walls, or go prone, instead of run directly to the fire.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: titsmcgee852 on 01-05-2013, 13:05:48
  • Prevented bots from using smoke grenades. Welcome to the smokeless world!
Oh my god yes
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: |7th|Nighthawk on 01-05-2013, 13:05:14
+1 tanking was horrible until now :P
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: ksl94 on 19-05-2013, 15:05:41
Thank you for this marvelous patch! It is absolutely superb  :D ! However I lost the installer file and did a re-install of FH2, so I needed to re-download it, this being impossible with Norton telling me it is a virus and instally removing it. Could someone please upload a .zip version which I can install manually  :-\ ?
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: gavrant on 19-05-2013, 16:05:38
Uploading the .zip...
But why don't you turn Norton off for a short time?

EDIT: https://www.dropbox.com/s/kdix182dpqxcswi/PatchC.zip?dl=1
Unpack it to ...\Battlefield 2\mods\fh2
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: ksl94 on 19-05-2013, 20:05:46
Thank you so much for your efforts! I truly cannot wait any longer to play FH2 again  ;D ! As for Norton, it is a very good programme that really tries anything within it's capacity to keep both you and your computer out of harms way. Even to the extent that it will go crazy when I turn it back on, for it scans the downloads  :P .
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: Shears on 23-05-2013, 04:05:20
You guys are realy on the ball here.
Its awsome to see so much work done on SP.
In the early days there was so little suport for SP
I can even remember downloading maps from some
site in japanese because additional SP maps were
rare.
Ill download your patch asap.
Thanks and,
Keep up the great work.

stewy
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: Michael Z Freeman on 08-06-2013, 00:06:55
(http://i37.tinypic.com/30aayo1.jpg)

Gentlemen, start your engines, here comes the third patch for FH 2.45 Singleplayer and Coop.

Downloading now ! So glad you are still working on this. I'm sad I have not been able to develop for or even play FH for MONTHS  :( ! A sad state of affairs indeed which I'm in the middle or correcting (Wack! Pow!).

Ironically (seeing as I was looking into making the AI react to smoke) should it be fairly easy to turn smoke back on ? I kind of like playing against bots with IR vision, and anyway the smoke adds atmosphere :)
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: gavrant on 08-06-2013, 01:06:15
Glad to see you again here, DJ Barney! :D

For re-enabling smoke, check the Weapons\ai\smoke_grenade.inc file in sp_objects_weapons_server.zip. It's a template used by every smoke grenade in the mod, so just edit the file to your liking and all those stinky, FPS killing, tankers blinding, things will be back :)
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: Michael Z Freeman on 11-06-2013, 22:06:52
Hello, great to be here !

Thanks for the info. I need smoke like a smoke machine in a club  8)

Just had a game of Gazala. Amazing ! I was able to apply some tactics with a lot of help from the AI for once. Tank got repaired. British were making it across to the NW outpost and retaking it a few times which I think is new. Pretty sure they only ever got half way there. An AI soldier used my Vickers tripod MG from the pickup kit. I'm reluctant to report, as everything else was going ok, that when I tried to remount it, I got ...

---------------------------
BF2 Error
---------------------------
Debug assertion failed!

Version: 1.5.3153-802.0 Build date:
Module: Game
File: C:\dice\Projects\BF2Branches\Patch_1_50\Code\BF2\Game\Objects\Game\PlayerControlObject.cpp
Line: 771

Text: You have tried to enter a vehicle that is not prepared for use with AI: vickers303_tripod_dep

Current confile:

---------------------------
Cancel   Try Again   Continue   
---------------------------

Rest of it was a purring machine  ;D. Got a big desert battle going.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: gavrant on 11-06-2013, 23:06:30
Ugh, I believe the day will come when we will check AI of all the weapons and vehicles with a script, not by hand.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: Michael Z Freeman on 12-06-2013, 19:06:24
Yeah, that's always the same directive in the AI template, right ? Or just a template file missing completely ?
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: gavrant on 12-06-2013, 21:06:14
That message usually means that the vehicle has no AI template assigned at all (missing 'ObjectTemplate.aiTemplate' line in the .tweak) or AI template with such name doesn't exist.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: Michael Z Freeman on 20-06-2013, 20:06:16
OK, was just in Sidi Bou Sid for a long time for a very fun AI game :D Thanks for the Data Execution Prevention (DEP) tip as things seem to be a lot more stable. In fact I could swear the obviously abysmal DEP was slowing down my entire system so I disabled it completely. This especially as it actually disabled a game of mine in ArmA2 due to possibly picking up script activity ... grrr .. what a piece of ... anyway its off now.

I have to say something about the german Tiger I think it is. I hate bringing this kind of thing up because I feel I'm somehow criticising your amazing work. Anyway it has to be done. I wonder if the multiple firing of the Tiger gun can be fixed ? It still fires 3 times occasionally which kind of effects historical immersion  ;D 
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: gavrant on 21-06-2013, 03:06:11
OK, was just in Sidi Bou Sid for a long time for a very fun AI game :D Thanks for the Data Execution Prevention (DEP) tip as things seem to be a lot more stable. In fact I could swear the obviously abysmal DEP was slowing down my entire system so I disabled it completely. This especially as it actually disabled a game of mine in ArmA2 due to possibly picking up script activity ... grrr .. what a piece of ... anyway its off now.
Hmm, usually DEP causes problems only with rather ancient programs, created before its introduction.

Quote
I have to say something about the german Tiger I think it is. I hate bringing this kind of thing up because I feel I'm somehow criticising your amazing work. Anyway it has to be done. I wonder if the multiple firing of the Tiger gun can be fixed ? It still fires 3 times occasionally which kind of effects historical immersion  ;D 
Do you mean the 'autocannon' effect, as I call it, when a gun makes 'boom-boom-boom' instead of a single 'boom'? I've seen the effect with Panthers, 88s, American 57mm guns, but only while playing on local dedicated coop server. In my case, I suspect, it's caused by limitations of my PC - 3 GB of RAM, the top limit of memory available for applications on 32 bit PCs, are not enough for running FH2 server and FH2 client simultaneously, so it creates memory lags.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: Michael Z Freeman on 21-06-2013, 13:06:58
So that does not happen in SP/client only mode ? I have 4 gigs of memory and don't notice any other assets having repeated sounds.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: djinn on 22-06-2013, 14:06:46
It happens online also.
But its just cosmetic, no actual shot.

Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: Michael Z Freeman on 24-06-2013, 20:06:41
Hi djinn. I go into FH for the authentic vehicles so its not "cosmetic" to me. Rather immersion interrupting actually.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: gavrant on 25-07-2013, 22:07:59
Just had a game of Gazala. Amazing ! I was able to apply some tactics with a lot of help from the AI for once. Tank got repaired. British were making it across to the NW outpost and retaking it a few times which I think is new. Pretty sure they only ever got half way there. An AI soldier used my Vickers tripod MG from the pickup kit. I'm reluctant to report, as everything else was going ok, that when I tried to remount it, I got ...

---------------------------
BF2 Error
---------------------------
Debug assertion failed!

Version: 1.5.3153-802.0 Build date:
Module: Game
File: C:\dice\Projects\BF2Branches\Patch_1_50\Code\BF2\Game\Objects\Game\PlayerControlObject.cpp
Line: 771

Text: You have tried to enter a vehicle that is not prepared for use with AI: vickers303_tripod_dep

Current confile:

---------------------------
Cancel   Try Again   Continue   
---------------------------

Rest of it was a purring machine  ;D. Got a big desert battle going.

That message usually means that the vehicle has no AI template assigned at all (missing 'ObjectTemplate.aiTemplate' line in the .tweak) or AI template with such name doesn't exist.

Damn, I was wrong. It's not a missing AI template (which is fixable), it's a quirk of BF2 (which is not fixable, AFAIK). Every kit with deployable MG or mortar causes CTD if you try to enter the gun instead of a bot, even if the same gun works perfectly when placed somewhere on a map. Strangely, I found that if you kill the bot in the gun, you may enter it safely. Meanwhile, I think, I have to remove pickup mortars and MGs from all the singleplayer maps.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: Michael Z Freeman on 26-07-2013, 16:07:19
Sounds drastic. Why not just put a warning like you did with the exiting vehicles in narrow corridors ? Would be a shame to remove them as the AI does use them OK, and the fault lies with DICE/EA not FH.

Anyway, violently having to shoot a bot to get a deployable seems in the spirit of the batty AI  ;D
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: gavrant on 27-07-2013, 15:07:28
I would not say that all those MG and mortar pickups play a very important role, even if my investigation was triggered by desire to deliver something more serious than the BAR to the last enemy flag. So I think, it would be safer to remove them instead of risking someone skipping or forgetting the warning. Besides, the vehicle warning doesn't work even for me, I still occasionally crash to desktop on exiting a vehicle in the wrong place.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: Michael Z Freeman on 27-07-2013, 16:07:30
Whatever gavant  :) It's your decision, I love all the great work you are doing for FH  ;D I just have a thing about the deployables. Guess it should be relatively easy to add them back in if I want to.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: gavrant on 27-07-2013, 18:07:35
Thank, DJ Barney :) Meanwhile, it seems that I found a solution - set a negative temperature (-100 or something like that) to the gun on a specific map only. That way bots don't even think about entering the gun.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: djinn on 31-07-2013, 00:07:11
The entering an mg thing is not a quirk or bug, its an uncaught exception.

1. You can't replace a human player on a deployable mg.
2. In FH2, it is assumed any deployable will disappear once exited, except when the operator is killed.
3. Bots in BF2/FH2 will always exit if you displace them.
4. So you have a scenario not accounted for, exiting a weapon that should disappear on exiting, but can't because the player is immediately switching place.

I really think we ought to keep bots using deployables.

AI in FH2, as I always envisioned it is logistics, not strategy because bots can't do strategy.
Teach a bot to use a weapon the way it should be used at the range it should be and they will do so exactly.
1/ An mg gunner will fire prone from range till the enemy is dead or out of range before moving up
2/ Enemy infantry realizing they are getting more lead from the mg will engage it more than the others.
3. Riflemen accompanying the mg will now be lower priority targets, therefore able to move in, so it serves as mg suppression would have in multiplayer, to allow the assault team to move in.

This applies to everything; mobile artillery will fire from distant range till the enemy is gone, mortar and mg will remain on their kit, never leaving, and creating a hard point no matter where they are, to make lonewolfing a hazzardous prospect for players.



...Just don't enter a deployable weapon being used by a bot is what I say.

However, it is excellent to use bots to give covering fire with deployables.

I can set up defenses with just my squad when facing insurmountable odds by setting an mg to keep infantry at bay, while focusing on tougher tasks like tanks


Alternatively, when attacking hard points like the nebelwerfer on Purple Heart lane, it helps to set up a mortar or an mg to suppress or indeed kill as many of the enemy attacking from behind the nebelwerfer, so that you can safely move in with most focused on firing at your mg, which, if you position right, would be clear of your attack path, able to take down enemy, and yet hard to kill.


The solution of simply stopping bots from doing stuff, I feel should be used sparingly. Smoke was a rare instance it was needed. Otherwise, I feel we lose a logistic aspect that makes SP close to as fullfilling as online play.

In Fh1, bots could not do A LOT of things, so the experience was wholly lacking.

I really wish we won't start doing that here too.

Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: Michael Z Freeman on 07-08-2013, 19:08:15
I even think the smoke should have been left in because it adds atmosphere ! But I'm not actively developing at the moment. Imperfect is better than nothing at a allt. However, saying that, a CTD is always a massive let down and does not install confidence in the FH build. Maybe stability should trump everything. New players especially don't know the foibles of AI play.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: jrivett on 17-10-2013, 17:10:57
I finally switched my server to Patch C. So far it's running very smoothly. The server name is "[JDR] FH 2.45 COOP Patch C". VOIP is now enabled on the server. AI difficulty setting is at 70.

Most of the maps crash the server occasionally, no doubt due to humans exiting vehicles in areas with no navmesh or humans entering deployable weapons occupied by bots. But most of the maps play through just fine, most of the time. Definite improvement over Patch B.

However, two of the maps seem to crash the server every time: Battle of Brest and Meuse River. There doesn't seem to be any specific situation that causes this, but I'll keep monitoring them and will report anything I find.

I currently play with up to three friends, and it's been working okay with them most of the time. But I sometimes see unknown people joining, followed immediately by a server crash. I know that clients not running patch C will likely crash, but can that also crash the server?

Bot aim in Patch C does seem to be better, but friendly fire is still a problem; I have to remind myself to stay out of their line of fire. I guess we have to live (and die) with this.

No new bot/AI issues of note, but lots of improvements (as advertised). Excellent work, guys!

Question: is there a list of commands bots WILL respond to? They seem to repair and heal on demand, and occasionally I can get a bot to wait for me, but they seem to ignore 'get in' and 'get out' orders.

I did notice that bots in certain tanks and emplacements seem able to do rapid fire, which is just weird. This happens on my (Internet) server almost every time I play. I've been unable to determine whether there's any 'bite' to those 'barks' but I'll keep checking. If these weird rapid firing weapons aren't able to do any damage, I guess it's not a big deal, but it is oddly distracting, so I'd love to see it fixed.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: gavrant on 18-10-2013, 18:10:05
I currently play with up to three friends, and it's been working okay with them most of the time. But I sometimes see unknown people joining, followed immediately by a server crash. I know that clients not running patch C will likely crash, but can that also crash the server?
Jeff, yesterday I tried to sabotage your server with a clean 2.45 copy without patch C installed. As predicted, my client crashed, the server survived. Maybe, only specific maps cause server crashes?
One tip, Jeff: raise ticket ratio from 100 to the default value - 200. With 100 the rounds are too short, I'm afraid.

Quote
Question: is there a list of commands bots WILL respond to? They seem to repair and heal on demand, and occasionally I can get a bot to wait for me, but they seem to ignore 'get in' and 'get out' orders.
Well, AFAIK, bots understand only basic attack/defend orders and most probably repair request. 'Get in' and 'get out' are definitely not present in their dictionary with vanilla 2.45 commorose. As for healing request, even if bots respond to it, they don't know how to heal.

Quote
I did notice that bots in certain tanks and emplacements seem able to do rapid fire, which is just weird. This happens on my (Internet) server almost every time I play. I've been unable to determine whether there's any 'bite' to those 'barks' but I'll keep checking. If these weird rapid firing weapons aren't able to do any damage, I guess it's not a big deal, but it is oddly distracting, so I'd love to see it fixed.
Is your Internet server the same PC you play on? I'm asking this because the issue with rapid fire (guns making multiple shots instead of one) has been seen in the wild only on dedicated coop servers sharing PC with clients. I suspect lack of memory for running FH2 server and FH2 client simultaneously as the cause, but there are other opinions on the matter.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: jrivett on 19-10-2013, 14:10:57
Jeff, yesterday I tried to sabotage your server with a clean 2.45 copy without patch C installed. As predicted, my client crashed, the server survived. Maybe, only specific maps cause server crashes?
One tip, Jeff: raise ticket ratio from 100 to the default value - 200. With 100 the rounds are too short, I'm afraid.

Thanks for testing the server. I'm going to keep monitoring the server crashes, and will try to detect a pattern. I'll let you know what I find. It could be certain maps. It could be that the players that seem to be causing the server crashes are doing things they shouldn't be, like abandoning vehicles where there are no navmeshes or entering a bot-occupied deployable. But that seems unlikely, given that the server crashes happen almost immediately after the player joins.

As for the ticket ratio: I was previously running the server at ratio 175, but was finding the rounds too long. I recently dropped it to 100 as a test, and I'm finding that the round lengths are much better. There are a couple of maps that need more tickets, but in general I find that the attacker has time to take the entire map before their tickets run out, as long as they don't waste any time. Other players on the server agree, so far anyway. I may tweak it back up to 125 or 150, but at 200 the rounds just go on forever, and end up with people getting bored and asking for the next map. At ratio 200, most of the maps seem to have in excess of 800 tickets per side.

Well, AFAIK, bots understand only basic attack/defend orders and most probably repair request. 'Get in' and 'get out' are definitely not present in their dictionary with vanilla 2.45 commorose. As for healing request, even if bots respond to it, they don't know how to heal.

Thanks for the confirmation. I must have imagined that healing behaviour.

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I did notice that bots in certain tanks and emplacements seem able to do rapid fire, which is just weird. This happens on my (Internet) server almost every time I play. I've been unable to determine whether there's any 'bite' to those 'barks' but I'll keep checking. If these weird rapid firing weapons aren't able to do any damage, I guess it's not a big deal, but it is oddly distracting, so I'd love to see it fixed.
Are your Internet server is the same PC you play on? I'm asking this because the issue with rapid fire (guns making multiple shots instead of one) has been seen in the wild only on dedicated coop servers sharing PC with clients. I suspect lack of memory for running FH2 server and FH2 client simultaneously as the cause, but there are other opinions on the matter.

The server is definitely separate from my client PC. It's a powerful new Linux server that I rarely access directly for anything. It runs the dedicated coop BF2 server, but isn't shared with clients at all. Memory is nowhere near being an issue, with the BF2 server process using about 3% of what's available. CPU is also not an issue, since the BF2 server uses about 12% of a single CPU (of the eight available) at any given time. I will start recording my sessions until I have an example of this happening; I'll post the video and point to it here.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: jrivett on 21-10-2013, 02:10:50
Is your Internet server the same PC you play on? I'm asking this because the issue with rapid fire (guns making multiple shots instead of one) has been seen in the wild only on dedicated coop servers sharing PC with clients. I suspect lack of memory for running FH2 server and FH2 client simultaneously as the cause, but there are other opinions on the matter.
I've posted a video of the multifire thing on Youtube: http://youtu.be/gaRti18LtX8 (http://youtu.be/gaRti18LtX8)
I just recorded another example and I may have more. It looks like only the last 'round' has any kick to it, but it's still a bit of a distraction. I keep trying to find alternate firing modes but obviously I'm just wasting my time.

Patch C rocks.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: Korsakov829 on 21-10-2013, 02:10:56
I've seen that bug many times, what know for certain is that it is not something that happens only in coop or single player.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: gavrant on 21-10-2013, 06:10:19
Jeff, what I know definitely about the autocannon bug, as I call it:

In other words, I don't know what can probably cause the bug and have to resort to blaming server setups, network issues or an unknown trait of BF2 dedicated server engine.


As for the ticket ratio: I was previously running the server at ratio 175, but was finding the rounds too long. I recently dropped it to 100 as a test, and I'm finding that the round lengths are much better...
Oh yeah, I forgot that a lot of maps still have outdated ticket bleeds. But at least on so called rebuilt maps the round should end quickly after the final objectives are taken.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: jrivett on 22-10-2013, 14:10:43
Jeff, what I know definitely about the autocannon bug, as I call it:
  • It doesn't happen in common local singleplayer, thus can't be connected to any tweaking of vehicles for AI.
So it looks like we're talking about an issue with FH2 in general, not with the Coop patch. I never play local singleplayer and I never play PvP (what you folks call 'multiplayer'), but that seems to be the consensus. Do you know if the main FH2 devs are aware of this issue? Do they agree that it's an issue with the mod in general? Are they working on a fix? Should I report this elsewhere in these forums?

  • I know about this bug from my personal experience and reports by Djinn, Ksl and DJ Barney. In all these cases it was a dedicated coop server running on the same PC with the game client.
I can only draw on personal experience, which as I said is limited to a completely separate dedicated server. But I think it's safe to rule out 'client and server on same PC' as a factor in this.

  • As comrade Korsakov said above, it happens in multiplayer too. TBH, personally I have only vague memories regarding that - maybe I've seen the bug in multiplayer, maybe not.
If it happens in 'multiplayer' as well, there's one more thing we can rule out: that it has anything to do with bots/AI. Again, this makes it look even more like it's a mod-wide issue. But I have a lot of trouble believing this happens in 'multiplayer', for one simple reason: in 'multiplayer', there are no bots. That means any 'autocannon' that occurs is being initiated by a human. In which case: how are they doing it? Holding down the fire button? Has anyone who has observed this on a 'multiplayer' server ever initiated it?

  • Yes, only one of the shots actually bites.
Which helps, in the sense that the bots doing this don't gain any actual advantage. Still, it is distracting. Also, oddly awesome. But not at all realistic, which is kinda the point.

In other words, I don't know what can probably cause the bug and have to resort to blaming server setups, network issues or an unknown trait of BF2 dedicated server engine.
I suppose it's possible that server setup is involved. The only way to rule that out would be to compare setups between servers that have this issue and those that don't. Network issues may also be involved, but I don't think so: network issues would tend to manifest themselves in other ways as well, and I'm just not seeing that. As for it being an issue with the BF2 game engine: I very much doubt that; I've played tons of classic BF2 and never saw anything like this.

I think this is going to turn out to be a data problem with certain weapons in FH2. Then again, if these weapons aren't *actually* firing multiple times, and they only *appear* to be firing multiple times, then it could even be a problem at the client end. I'm going to start asking other players if they're seeing the same autocannon effects that I'm seeing, when I see them.

As for the ticket ratio: I was previously running the server at ratio 175, but was finding the rounds too long. I recently dropped it to 100 as a test, and I'm finding that the round lengths are much better...
Oh yeah, I forgot that a lot of maps still have outdated ticket bleeds. But at least on so called rebuilt maps the round should end quickly after the final objectives are taken.
Right. So far it's kind of a mixed bag. I may just tweak individual maps as I encounter ones that are too short. Meanwhile, it seems mostly fine at 100%.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: jrivett on 22-10-2013, 21:10:31
Here's another video of the autocannon issue: http://youtu.be/fnzxN2bEruw
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: djinn on 02-11-2013, 08:11:37
Sounds drastic. Why not just put a warning like you did with the exiting vehicles in narrow corridors ? Would be a shame to remove them as the AI does use them OK, and the fault lies with DICE/EA not FH.

Anyway, violently having to shoot a bot to get a deployable seems in the spirit of the batty AI  ;D

I agree, I miss beingnable to set up field of fire with bots until they are killed :(
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: Michael Z Freeman on 17-02-2014, 23:02:57
Hi, Djinn, long time no see  8)

Talking of bots. Got back to playing patch C. Had a great game in Hyacinth which did not crash in a long game, probably because I got BF2 1.5 set up properly WITH the correct startup Windows switch for full memory.

To build on the greatness that is patch C, in my opinion next we need ...

1. Fixed AI bail out command. With out this transport is almost useless because you can't wizz to a position, dump out bots and then disappear. In other mods you can use this tactic.

2. Fixed artillery and supplies. I know, I know. "Commander is broken in 1.5", blah, blah. But if Commander artillery and supplies in Battlefield 2142 is suddenly NOT broken (as evidenced in this video (http://youtu.be/GSKkPEqXKqU)), then something can be done with it in BF2.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: gavrant on 18-02-2014, 01:02:22
Had a great game in Hyacinth which did not crash in a long game, probably because I got BF2 1.5 set up properly WITH the correct startup Windows switch for full memory.
No, the CTDs on Hyacinth are gone because:
CHANGELOG
...
  • Fixed No3 Mk1 Very (a flare gun) (the cause of CTDs on Hyacinth (http://oi38.tinypic.com/21osvbd.jpg)).

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1. Fixed AI bail out command. With out this transport is almost useless because you can't wizz to a position, dump out bots and then disappear. In other mods you can use this tactic.
I can't give you a 100% promise, but there's a significant chance that bots will listen to "bail out" and "get in" commands in the next FH2 release.

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2. Fixed artillery and supplies. I know, I know. "Commander is broken in 1.5", blah, blah. But if Commander artillery and supplies in Battlefield 2142 is suddenly NOT broken (as evidenced in this video (http://youtu.be/GSKkPEqXKqU)), then something can be done with it in BF2.
Well, Battlefield 2142 has rather many tasty features BF2 sadly doesn't have.

Strictly speaking, in my experiments I managed to fire commander artillery without sitting in a commander chair. But it would require tremendous efforts to make it work properly. What stops me from making these efforts? It would break balance on all maps where defenders rely on emplaced guns. For example, imagine a human player on Purple Heart Lane destroying the 88 and MGs without even seeing them.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: jrivett on 19-02-2014, 14:02:11
I agree on the 'get in'/'get out' commands. One of the reasons I get frustrated when I go back to BF42 is idiot bots driving my vehicles off cliffs and whatnot. BF2's 'get out' really helped with that, so I was sadly disappointed to see it didn't work in FH2. Another place it would be handy is when manning a moveable AT piece: the way it is now, once a bot is in one, I can't kick him out, and as soon as I switch from the 'driver' seat to the gunner seat, the bot starts moving the gun. Annoying.

Regarding map stability: I've gradually pruned down my map list to remove maps that crash the server regularly. I stopped most of the server crashes by keeping out non-PatchC players with a password (cooppatchc). Crashes now are extremely rare. Maps I removed for regularly crashing include Brest (crashes server when Allies take Plaza); Mareth Line (crashes server when Allies take Toujane); and Mount Olympus (crashes server after a few minutes, may be a flag issue). All the other maps appear to be rock solid, except perhaps for Meuse River, which seems to crash once in a while (trigger as yet undetermined).
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: Michael Z Freeman on 21-02-2014, 22:02:44
Had a great game in Hyacinth which did not crash in a long game, probably because I got BF2 1.5 set up properly WITH the correct startup Windows switch for full memory.
No, the CTDs on Hyacinth are gone because:
CHANGELOG
...
  • Fixed No3 Mk1 Very (a flare gun) (the cause of CTDs on Hyacinth (http://oi38.tinypic.com/21osvbd.jpg)).

Ah, and very pretty they are to ! Thank you ! Working spot lights would be good to, plus for some reason I could not enter any of the enemy positions on that map.

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1. Fixed AI bail out command. With out this transport is almost useless because you can't wizz to a position, dump out bots and then disappear. In other mods you can use this tactic.
I can't give you a 100% promise, but there's a significant chance that bots will listen to "bail out" and "get in" commands in the next FH2 release.

Wow. Which files are you looking at there ? I tried looking at this at one point but could not find the right files. Python ? Vehicles not waiting up is another problem, not just for pick ups. They can be forced to stay still so they can be fixed.

Quote
Quote
2. Fixed artillery and supplies. I know, I know. "Commander is broken in 1.5", blah, blah. But if Commander artillery and supplies in Battlefield 2142 is suddenly NOT broken (as evidenced in this video (http://youtu.be/GSKkPEqXKqU)), then something can be done with it in BF2.
Well, Battlefield 2142 has rather many tasty features BF2 sadly doesn't have.

Strictly speaking, in my experiments I managed to fire commander artillery without sitting in a commander chair. But it would require tremendous efforts to make it work properly. What stops me from making these efforts? It would break balance on all maps where defenders rely on emplaced guns. For example, imagine a human player on Purple Heart Lane destroying the 88 and MGs without even seeing them.

Yes,  the efforts would be better spent on other things if they are that big. Anyway, I've learnt to live with out it now. However, as I was discussing over on BFSP (http://www.battlefieldsingleplayer.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=17756&view=findpost&p=188933) DICE appeared to have fixed the Orbital Strike with patch 1.51. If they broke it with patch 1.5 then they went on to fix it. So there is a chance that the same will happen with Battlefield 2 if enough people bug them about it.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: winterhilf on 20-03-2014, 18:03:13
How's the sp coming along with the mod?

Been working on a new navmesh for Crete, this map needs an updated mesh, but is anyone already on it?
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: gavrant on 21-03-2014, 14:03:02
How's the sp coming along with the mod?
I can reply for the official SP - it's coming along slowly but steadily. There will be quite a bunch of changes in the next release.

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Been working on a new navmesh for Crete, this map needs an updated mesh, but is anyone already on it?
Nope, no one is on Crete, AFAIK.

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Quote
1. Fixed AI bail out command. With out this transport is almost useless because you can't wizz to a position, dump out bots and then disappear. In other mods you can use this tactic.
I can't give you a 100% promise, but there's a significant chance that bots will listen to "bail out" and "get in" commands in the next FH2 release.

Wow. Which files are you looking at there ? I tried looking at this at one point but could not find the right files. Python ? Vehicles not waiting up is another problem, not just for pick ups. They can be forced to stay still so they can be fixed.
Python is not responsible for that. The files in menu_server.zip are the key. Anyway, don't worry, we've got a solution already, so now I can finally give a 80-90% promise ;)
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: Michael Z Freeman on 22-03-2014, 22:03:45
Quote
Quote
1. Fixed AI bail out command. With out this transport is almost useless because you can't wizz to a position, dump out bots and then disappear. In other mods you can use this tactic.
I can't give you a 100% promise, but there's a significant chance that bots will listen to "bail out" and "get in" commands in the next FH2 release.

Wow. Which files are you looking at there ? I tried looking at this at one point but could not find the right files. Python ? Vehicles not waiting up is another problem, not just for pick ups. They can be forced to stay still so they can be fixed.
Python is not responsible for that. The files in menu_server.zip are the key. Anyway, don't worry, we've got a solution already, so now I can finally give a 80-90% promise ;)

That would help taking difficult enemy positions  :). At the moment I end up as the lone wolf soldier, especially when trying to take that tricky rear Axis position on Gazala. I'll have a look at menu_server,zip, thanks.

Still looking at double fire issue on coop servers. Need to do some comparing with other mods that don't have this issue.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: gavrant on 23-03-2014, 11:03:59
... I'll have a look at menu_server,zip, thanks.
My advice is don't waste your time on this, we already have a working solution in the internal beta, it seems.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: Michael Z Freeman on 23-03-2014, 14:03:18
No, this is not for FH but for my own curiosity and learning of BF modding. That might come in useful for other FH problems.
Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: Zoologic on 29-03-2014, 17:03:08
Hello folks,

Long time no see here.

How's the sp coming along with the mod?
I can reply for the official SP - it's coming along slowly but steadily. There will be quite a bunch of changes in the next release.

I am really really glad to hear that  ;D

You should know that I really really appreciate your hard work. I can say the same for most other SPers out there.

Title: Re: Singleplayer Patch C for Forgotten Hope 2.45 - DOWNLOAD
Post by: gavrant on 12-04-2014, 07:04:53
Locking the topic since the release of FH 2.46 makes the patch obsolete.