Take On Helicopters Beta Patch 88791

[DnA]

Hi test pilots!

We are finally rolling out our beta patches (http://takeonthegame.com/download/beta-patches/) for TKOH :)

Be aware that these are experimental patches, and should only be installed if you are willing to encounter potential crashing and broken features. :icon_exclaim:

Please visit the official website (http://takeonthegame.com/take-on-beta-patches/) for more information.

Changelog:
RTD 4.0 integrated
RenderTarget TI color mode is no longer connected to optics TI color mode
Screenshots can be captured from the game
Keyboard shortcut: RAlt + RWin + Home
Saved in same dir as *.exe: name = ScreenshotX.bmp, without gamma correction
Saving while getting out of a helicopter could cause a bad state after loading
Fixed: Pictures of mods outside game directory
[88015] Fixed: Aircraft gunner firing even when manual fire was selected by a pilot (https://dev-heaven.net/issues/27689)
[87963] Optimized: Reduced memory footprint in complex missions.
[87840] New: Added scripting command productVersion (https://dev-heaven.net/issues/25580)
[87837] Changed: Addons config value requiredVersion ignored for easier addon sharing between various products (A2, TOH).
[87824] Changed: Removed support for config parameter nightVision (https://dev-heaven.net/issues/26117)
[87768] Fixed: AI vehicles crews seeing targets badly (https://dev-heaven.net/issues/23388)
[87755] Fixed: Player automatically reveals targets which AI would never see (https://dev-heaven.net/issues/27493)
[87746] Fixed: Looking around no longer possible when combat mode changes in vehicle (https://dev-heaven.net/issues/17777)
[87745] New: Cheat Shift+Minus+FPS to allow artificially limit FPS for testing to 40,20,10,5.
[87740] Improved: Targeting and firing always commanded by observer. (http://dev-heaven.net/issues/2353)
[87706] Improved: AI laser target detection at large distances improved.
[87692] Fixed: Manual guidance not working for a helicopter gunner (http://dev-heaven.net/issues/12025, http://dev-heaven.net/issues/27418)
[87659] Fixed: AI was unable to engage invisible laser targets used for SSM (http://dev-heaven.net/issues/26317)
[87658] Fixed: Command doTarget on friendly unit did not work (http://dev-heaven.net/issues/22724)
[87655] Fixed: Text parameter file parsing not reliable (http://dev-heaven.net/issues/27403)
[87654] Improved: A behaviour of the leader player is now assumed to be the most restrictive behaviour of his subordinates (http://dev-heaven.net/issues/11699)
[87652] Fixed: AI always turned out when player is effective commander in cargo (http://dev-heaven.net/issues/2733)
[87646] Fixed: MP: Bullet hits of remote units not visible over large distance (http://dev-heaven.net/issues/12973)
[87645] Changed: Default memory allocator is now tbb4malloc_bi instead of tbb3malloc_bi
[87643] Fixed: Manually guided missiles lost control when reaching 1500 m distance (http://dev-heaven.net/issues/12101)
[87640] Improved: AI sometimes did not start firing at enemy which passed quickly just in front of it. Fixed: AI unable to target crew in vehicles other than tracked ones (http://dev-heaven.net/issues/25847) Improved: AI units now give more preference to close targets (http://dev-heaven.net/issues/25847)
[87497] Changed: Default maxPacketSize reduced from 1490 to 1400 to improve compatibility with exotic MTU settings (http://dev-heaven.net/issues/9719)
[87496] Fixed: Player state transferred corrently even for distant players (http://dev-heaven.net/issues/27200)
[87495] New: -malloc=system can be used to force using Windows allocator even when allocator dlls are present.
[87410] Fixed: Missing reloading sound while reloading animation from another player in Multiplayer (http://dev-heaven.net/issues/18754)
[87357] Fixed: Failed to load TextureHeaderManager from file on Linux servers

[Dwarden]

new TOH beta brings new surprise (tho expected) in post-process anti-aliasing modes

and that's implementation of SMAA (enhanced subpixel morphological antialiasing)
next to already existing FXAA (fast approximate AA)

btw. FXAA in TOH has FXAAsharpen filter hardcoded as enabled compared to OA where is optional in config

read readme_smaa.txt and readme_fxaa.txt for more details (atm. in \beta\ folder)

[Xeno]

Question: Does the beta also include OA 1.60 interpolation changes already ?

Xeno

[Dwarden]

Question: Does the beta also include OA 1.60 interpolation changes already ?

Xeno


yes
(0.001% chance something wasn't merged but i'm not aware of anything,
this build should even have the MP netcode crashfix from last week)

[Xeno]

yes
(0.001% chance something wasn't merged but i'm not aware of anything,
this build should even have the MP netcode crashfix from last week)
Thanks for the answer, just wanted to be sure.

And finally the requiredVersion check is gone :)

Edit: now it just needs some kind of coffee and ropes working on dedicated servers/in MP.

Xeno

[Armored_Sheep]

New flight model version brings also new XML configuration. Time trials, sling loading and basicaly all missions are affected and need play-testing.

[Thromp]

Hey
nice system i hope i can feedback , however with recent release of smaple models ,you know we are already engaged in something nice ,so maybe feedback is slower than expected ;)

for now i see more of obj not released inn .rpt on shutdown the not released errors are reported thats all

http://pastebin.com/tnHdPyXU

[BoboCZ]

Small problem, medium helicopter is not possible control when my start state is 'flying', collective is too sensitive and I quickly end up in spin. When I start heli on the ground everything is OK. Small and heavy heli is not affected I think.

I really enjoy new FM of medium helicopter, for me it is much better then 1.03 (I "hate" 1.03 :p ).

--------
added:
Interesting bug, if I started with heavy heli in the air (state 'flying'), I can't land, helicopter fall through the ground or roof, it doesn't have physics. In case of start on the ground then landing is OK. Light heli is not affected, can land in both cases.

[Thromp]

Small problem, medium helicopter is not possible control when my start state is 'flying',

yes i have it too ( only on expert mode )


started with heavy heli in the air;I can't land, helicopter fall through the ground or roof,

same here

[Armored_Sheep]

yes i have it too ( only on expert mode ) same here

The new flight model improves torque induced yaw. I can imagine that your spin is normal - caused by missuse of pedals

[Thromp]

The new flight model improves torque induced yaw. I can imagine that your spin is normal - caused by missuse of pedals

well ultimately i only ever start Helo in flying if its AI there is and i believe always going to be a problem with starting in flying mode, unless a scripted or engine based Velocity is added to stabilise helos for first .3 seconds when a helo is started in flying, quite simply with the flight model being so precise ,well its going to happen that all the factors kick in because you started at _x height , in _x wind _ with _x throttle ? , afterall its a SIM ,for me start in flying should only be for AI .

However this spin is very very dramatic if someone wanted to start as a player, it really is about 6- 7 full revolutions per second from .01 seconds of loading game , so i dont think even if you have full pedal correction its fixing it.

[.kju [PvPscene]]

Is it possible to details / a changelog on the RTD 4.0 changes please?

[BoboCZ]

The new flight model improves torque induced yaw. I can imagine that your spin is normal - caused by missuse of pedals

So then I can't use Free Flight (I don't use it anyway :)) for medium helicopter, heli start automatically spinning and only what you can do is lower collective, helicopter start to be "calm", but then collective, control (or whatever) is too sensitive, I can't control heli, I think that this behavior is not feature, or it is so because I control pedals with twist handle joystick.

Aren't pedals now too powerful? for medium helicopter, at full speed I can turn helicopter with pedals.

------
added:

Screenshots can be captured from the game
Keyboard shortcut: RAlt + RWin + Home
Saved in same dir as *.exe: name = ScreenshotX.bmp, without gamma correction

Anyone have luck with new screenshot function? No luck here.

[dustoff]

will this beta work for steam verisons of the game ?

[twisted]

sounds great. cant wait to test this one. thanks BIS! does it have java capability in yet?

[MaHuJa]

Java was supposed to come in a later (hopefully next) beta.


Further updates will target the other two pillars of the next large patch: Java and one we’ll talk about soon.

[OMAC]

Is it possible to details / a changelog on the RTD 4.0 changes please?

+1, big time. It would be great if a quick summary of the principal changes to the FM, those that a user will first notice and must adapt to, were posted. That should have been done with the HUGE FM changes in 1.03.

Has the beta RTD 4.0 FM been tested using kb/mouse only? Is the official BIS line still that kb/mouse is fully supported?

Does BIS prefer that we file issues in CIT, in this thread, or both?

As I'm done with the ToH campaign and challenges, and at least Silver on all time trials, all on Expert, it will be beta only from now on, full testing mode.

BIS rules.

[Dwarden]

will this beta work for steam verisons of the game ?

should work w/o issue there is no reason to not to

[OMAC]

First report on FM (Free Flight, Expert, kb/mouse only):

light: Excellent, better than 1.03.

medium: Completely broken. Wild right yaw, uncontrollable spinning (~1 full revolution/sec), even with full left pedal and autohover on. I'm assuming that key binds haven't changed. This confirms what BoboCZ and Thromp have written above about starting a mission with the medium heli in flight. There is no "misuse of pedals" here, as all I do is hold the x key down for left pedal, and that doesn't even slow down the violent rightwards spin.

heavy: Good, except that landing is impossible, even when using autohover. All landings end in VIOLENT crash, even with no forward or aft velocity and <5 m/s descent. Often, after crash, player is stuck in destroyed heli. No flame or smoke during and after crash.

Also, for any users with ToH profiles in non-admin accounts with no write access to install folders (C:\Program Files\*), screenshot saves to ToH exe folder will not work. If ToH is run from standard account, will the shots be saved somewhere in that account, like "C:\Users\OMAC\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files\Bohemia Interactive\Take On Helicopters"?

---------- Post added at 08:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:24 PM ----------


new TOH beta brings new surprise (tho expected) in post-process anti-aliasing modes

and that's implementation of SMAA (enhanced subpixel morphological antialiasing)
next to already existing FXAA (fast approximate AA)

btw. FXAA in TOH has FXAAsharpen filter hardcoded as enabled compared to OA where is optional in config

read readme_smaa.txt and readme_fxaa.txt for more details (atm. in \beta\ folder)

Excellent, Dwarden. :) As there are so many AA options now, could you give us a starting point for testing? Like what FXAA/SMAA/FSAA settings do you use for ToH?

I was thinking of starting with FSAA=1 (for AToC), and FXAA=1 to get some smoothing + hardcoded sharpening.

Also, the hardcoding of FXAASharp within FXAA is not mentioned in the FXAA Readme.

--------------------------------

When starting on the ground, taking off and flying the medium heli is fine, but when the collective is reduced to 0 temporarily to lose altitude, perhaps in conjunction with some other wasd cyclic inputs, the heli starts spinning to the right again, sometimes so violently that the heli becomes terminally damaged. So the medium heli FM is not yet suitable for playing a challenge, for example.

[Dwarden]

the FXAAsharp isn't mentioned in readme because it's hardcoded so that's part of the FXAA by default in TOH hence no point to write about :)

i wrote it here just to explain it to OA users expecting that setting in cfg

anyway which ppAA suits You more and other AA is up to Your own testing and taste

[metalcraze]

Hopefully we'll get OA beta with SMAA quite soon. But I have a question - does the shader code gets modified to include 3d resolution on different resolutions? Since the quality vastly depends on that.

[Dwarden]

yes the SMAA_PIXEL_SIZE uses the 3D resolution chosen in the video options

[OMAC]

anyway which ppAA suits You more and other AA is up to Your own testing and taste

Obviously, but what settings suit your taste, or do you wish to keep that a secret?

[Dwarden]

it's publicly known i like SMAA over FXAA and that i usually use low or high (1,3) over the medium, very high (2,4) quality settings of SMAA

[Blackland]

I play mission 9 and the helicopter can not fly from the ship to start properly - despite a soft landing on the ship. Every time when Frost say: "Okay Okay ..." and questioning is over, the engine stops by itself and i crash to the ground (helis spins like crazy).

[OMAC]

it's publicly known i like SMAA over FXAA and that i usually use low or high (1,3) over the medium, very high (2,4) quality settings of SMAA

Great. Thanks, Dwarden.

---------- Post added at 07:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:52 PM ----------


the FXAAsharp isn't mentioned in readme because it's hardcoded so that's part of the FXAA by default in TOH hence no point to write about :)

But as it is a very cool new feature (I have never heard of FXAA with sharpening built in) the more explanation and advertisement the better, imo. If people hadn't read your post, they'd never know about this cool feature!

[Dr. Hladik]

> Small problem, medium helicopter is not possible control when my start state is 'flying', collective is too sensitive and I quickly end up in spin.
fixed

> heavy: Good, except that landing is impossible....
fixed

[Max255[PL]]

Good to hear it's fixed! I've been enjoying light heli very much, now I'll be able to do same thing in the others :)

[OMAC]

> Small problem, medium helicopter is not possible control when my start state is 'flying', collective is too sensitive and I quickly end up in spin.
fixed

> heavy: Good, except that landing is impossible....
fixed

Excellent! :D

--------------------------

Just to make sure, AToC will not work if FXAA or PPAA are enabled and FSAA is disabled, correct?

I'd like to disable FSAA and move to FXAA or PPAA, but that is not possible if AToC is desired, I guess. ?

[Dwarden]

AToC is related to enabled normal AA methods and needs it to function

[OMAC]

AToC is related to enabled normal AA methods and needs it to function

Thought so. Thanks! :)

[Thromp]

> Small problem, medium helicopter is not possible control when my start state is 'flying', collective is too sensitive and I quickly end up in spin.
fixed

> heavy: Good, except that landing is impossible....
fixed

confirmed and thanks :)

[OMAC]

Is the official BIS line still that kb/mouse is fully supported?

Jay answered my question:


Creative Director Jay Crowe points out:

“Our game doesn’t demand you to have any previous flight (game) experience, nor does it matter if you want to play it with mouse-and-keyboard, a gamepad or, for that matter, a full-blown cockpit-setup. In that sense, the civil-aviation context – not to mention the wonderful Seattle as the setting – of Take On Helicopters was ideal, as it allowed us to create a fun set of missions, whilst keeping the primary focus upon flying helicopters."

http://takeonthegame.com/take-on-helicopters-hinds-announced/

:D BIS rules.

[Sylle]

Jay answered my question:
http://takeonthegame.com/take-on-helicopters-hinds-announced/

:D BIS rules.

OMAC,

I think we all know by now that it is very important to you that you keep the possibility to play ToH with kb and mouse - at expert difficulty level...
You have been very vocal about this on different occasions in the past.
I also think that no-one of the other community members here wants to take that away from you.

On the other hand you should try to realize too that - just like you find this kb/mouse thing a major issue - others on the forum here may have been moved to buy ToH based on completely different criteria than yours.

In the same url you posted above Jay states:

With Take On Helicopters, our goal was to strike a balance between pure gaming – story-driven scenarios, challenges, time trials – and an authentic experience of flying a helicopter. Of course, that’s a tough job, but alongside the accessible controls, difficulty settings and optional assists, we’re glad to find a big range of people having fun flying helicopters in Take On.

Speaking for me personally, the promise of an authentic experience of flight is what convinced me to spent my hard-earned money to a software company I never heard of before (BIS)...
Noticing that the torque induced yaw is no longer realistically simulated in the beta patches to accomodate kb/mouse users is a step in the wrong direction in my opinion.
Why should other BIS customers/flight simmers owning a joystick, a collective and a set of rudder pedals have to deal with a less realistic behavior of flight in a future patch??

We should really avoid falling into this discussion over and over again and instead try to get BIS to cater for everyones needs by showing some understanding for each other wishes and intrests in ToH.
As stated in the other topic of the beta forum, we need to convince BIS to include more realism options as far as the simulation of the helicopter flight is concerned while keeping these independent from the general difficulty options of the game (beginner, trainee and expert).

Hoping we can all get along in the future...

Regards,
Sylvain

[Derbysieger]

OMAC,

I think we all know by now that it is very important to you that you keep the possibility to play ToH with kb and mouse - at expert difficulty level...
You have been very vocal about this on different occasions in the past.
I also think that no-one of the other community members here wants to take that away from you.

On the other hand you should try to realize too that - just like you find this kb/mouse thing a major issue - others on the forum here may have been moved to buy ToH based on completely different criteria than yours.

In the same url you posted above Jay states:


Speaking for me personally, the promise of an authentic experience of flight is what convinced me to spent my hard-earned money to a software company I never heard of before (BIS)...
Noticing that the torque induced yaw is no longer realistically simulated in the beta patches to accomodate kb/mouse users is a step in the wrong direction in my opinion.
Why should other BIS customers/flight simmers owning a joystick, a collective and a set of rudder pedals have to deal with a less realistic behavior of flight in a future patch??

We should really avoid falling into this discussion over and over again and instead try to get BIS to cater for everyones needs by showing some understanding for each other wishes and intrests in ToH.
As stated in the other topic of the beta forum, we need to convince BIS to include more realism options as far as the simulation of the helicopter flight is concerned while keeping these independent from the general difficulty options of the game (beginner, trainee and expert).

Hoping we can all get along in the future...

Regards,
Sylvain

I totally agree! I have so much fun flying the MD 500 with CP 3 & v1.03 and it would be a shame if BIS doesn't implement more options to allow a realistic flight experience for all the pilots with a joystick and a less realistic flight model for kb&mouse players. The solution cannot be that those who want a realistic experience have to tweak the flight model.
I'm all for a 'realistic' option.