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[Beta/Patch] AstroSynthesis 3.01c

Ed_NBOSEd_NBOS
edited April 2012 in AstroSynthesis General
http://www.nbos.com/nox/index.php?action=1001&id=413

This is the latest beta build of the main Astro3 executable file. This is the main executable file, not an installer. To install, replace your current Astro3.exe with this one.

This is beta software intended primarily to provide those who reported bugs access to fixes.

Changes:
[changed] On 2D export, routes with white lines will be exported as gray in the 'Color, White Background' option
[fixed] Orientation of X/Z and Y/Z 2D Map Exports were not correct
[added] Added a 'Show after creation' check box on the 2D Map Export window
[fixed] Deleted subsectors were not staying deleted.
[fixed] Import Sectors wasnt properly loading sector files.

Comments

  • EDGEEDG
    Looks like that's fixed the coordinate-flipping bug - thanks a lot!
    (I like the "show after creation" feature too!)
  • Ed_NBOSEd_NBOS
    Good to hear.

    The next update will have the ability to give the generator a file name to create. This will allow Astro to generate much larger sectors because the generated system data can then be unloaded to the astrodb file to reduce memory usage.
  • Ed_NBOSEd_NBOS
    Updated on 2/10/12:

    http://www.nbos.com/nox/index.php?action=1001&id=413

    The patch has been updated to include the following:

    [added] In Sector Generation, you can now assign the name of the sector file to create. This allows Astro to cache sector information to that file as it is being generated, greatly reducing the memory requirements when generating very larger sectors.
    [fixed] The Sector Report was not outputting surface maps for planets that had them assigned.
    [changed] Speed improvements in sector rendering (reduced floating point precision, optimized certain calculations)
    [changed] On 2D export, routes with white lines will be exported as gray in the 'Color, White Background' option
    [fixed] Orientation of X/Z and Y/Z 2D Map Exports were not correct
    [added] Added a 'Show after creation' check box on the 2D Map Export window
    [fixed] Deleted subsectors were not staying deleted.
    [fixed] Import Sectors wasnt properly loading sector files.

    Also, to speed up rendering of large sectors, some optimization was done on the main 3d sector rendering system. To speed things up, floating point resolution was reduced (which in turn cuts down on how much work the processor does). This should not be noticable on the graphics displayed, but if you see any graphics artifacts or behavior you werent seeing before please let me know.
  • Ed_NBOSEd_NBOS
    The beta has been updated to improve searching speed when searching based on habitabiltiy and population.

    Also added is support for Natural Language Search within scripts. The api doc will be updated when the final build is released, but here's an example plugin using this capability.
    #plugin		Natural Language Search example
#author		NBOS
#desc		Example of using the Natural Language Search objects

'finds all root bodies that contain a hospitable
'planet and sets the label color to purple

sector = GetCurrentSector()

srch = CreateAstroSearcher( sector)
srch.Search "systems with hospitable"
n = srch.GetResultCount()
For i = 1 to n 
	o = srch.GetResult( i)
	o.LabelColor = RGB( 255, 0, 255)
Next

FreeObject srch
RefreshScene
  • EDGEEDG
    Can I use this to search for systems that are on a specific Route Type (by searching for the route type, described on pg 103 in the manual)?

    e.g. say I have 6 systems on a RouteType called "Arm 1" (as imported from a route csv). I want to find those and label them a certain way.

    I've tried RouteType = "Arm 1" and that just says Unknown search term near "routetype"

    I can't find any way to search by Route Type though, which makes me wonder why it's present in the CSV import. What's the point of having it there if you can't search for it? I shouldn't have to edit the body data to be able to find this sort of thing - it's a property of the route, not the body.

    Is it possible to search for this? If so, I'd like to see an example of how to do this.
  • EDGEEDG
    *bump* anyone?
  • Ed_NBOSEd_NBOS
    There is no search option for finding routes - only bodies.
  • EDGEEDG
    Sigh. This program is great when it actually works, but it's got some really frustrating (and seemingly arbitrary) limitations.

    Why on earth do you have a "Route Type" option in the route import CSVs if you can't search for anything using it? It seems like a waste of space to have something there that is inaccessible by the rest of the program. This isn't even really about the routes, it's about finding bodies on the routes. It seems really bizarre that routes and bodies are so poorly integrated.
  • Ed_NBOSEd_NBOS
    The need for such may be obvious to you, and there's nothing wrong with the idea, but I doubt I've been asked 3 times in the past eight years for that functionality. Its just not something most people use, need, or have really shown interest in having in the program. And since my time isnt unlimited, it hasnt been put in. Astro has a very wide usage pattern compared to most software. Its very different from programs like Fractal Mapper and The Keep, where most users are doing the same things with the programs. In Astro, what one person is doing may be very different from others.

    Route types exist, btw, so you can filter them in the display.
  • EDGEEDG
    Ed_NBOS wrote:
    The need for such may be obvious to you, and there's nothing wrong with the idea, but I doubt I've been asked 3 times in the past eight years for that functionality. Its just not something most people use, need, or have really shown interest in having in the program.

    Looking around on this forum, it wouldn't surprise me if you had no more than three "powerusers" like me in the past eight years asking for things like this - I suspect most people who bought the program don't come here at all, or at most pop in and ask a question or two and then never come back as they move to other things. If we have to wait til you're asked a lot of times by a lot of people before you consider adding something... we'll be waiting for a very very long time, since you don't even have "a lot of people" here to start with.
    Route types exist, btw, so you can filter them in the display.

    OK, but if you have that, what's the use in preventing people from searching for that and and writing plugins that do things with that too? "What planets are on which types of route?" is not an obscure, specialised question by any means. It's a pretty gaping hole in the functionality of the program - it's kinda ridiculous that I have to manually add something like a "political affiliation" or some other Body field that can be targeted in order to be able to select these objects in a plugin.
  • Ed_NBOSEd_NBOS
    EDG wrote:
    What planets are on which types of route?" is not an obscure, specialised question by any means.

    To you its important, which gets back to my statement about Astro's usage patterns. To other people, its just not a major piece of functionality they need (presumably because they already know the information). I'm not saying its not a good idea, or that people wouldnt like the option if available - just that my time is limited and I cant add every bit of functionality everyone wants.
  • SkaranSSkaran
    Installed the patch. I seem to be getting strange populaton figures dispayed.
    For example I have a megastructure with its population set at 175,000 in the properties but on the displayshe population shows as 175000.005843616.

    Anotherexample Earth has a population of 7,500,000,000 in properties but the pull out display shows 7,499,999,711 - I want my missing people back.

    Also I still can't get a blazon to replace a model. I have some pictures I wanted to replace things like nebula, megastructures and spacestations with but no luck.
  • Ed_NBOSEd_NBOS
    Skaran wrote:
    Anotherexample Earth has a population of 7,500,000,000 in properties but the pull out display shows 7,499,999,711 - I want my missing people back.

    Bwaahaahaahaa... they are mine!!!! :mrgreen:

    I played around with the floating point precision in that build to speed things up. That may have been the cause of the missing people. I am planning on setting it back to a higher precision though in the next build. I'll also check out those other things you mentioned.

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