Cross-compatabilty and lagging cursor questions

[greymist]

Hi everyone

I recently downloaded Glest, then MegaGlest and finally, lots of different MODS, factions, maps, scenarios, tilesets, etc for both games. I'm really in love with Glest but with MegaGlest, the cursor lags and is choppy (sort of like it's skipping frames when you move it around). Other than that, MegaGlest game-play itself is very smooth and fluid (it's JUST the cursor). I've tried all of the usual tricks such as changing resolution, tried 16 vs 32 bits, toyed around with the windowed mode, disabled shadows/texturing, ran the configure app, autoconfigure, etc. The only thing that reduced the cursor lag at all was changing the resolution and that didn't help much. I'm running Ubuntu 10.04 on a 1.5Ghz Pentium 4 laptop with a 128M integrated Intel video card and 1G of RAM. Can anyone suggest any tips or tricks for dealing with the cursor issue and making MegaGlest run smoother overall?.

Also, there are a lot of MODS and other goodies included in (and available for) MegaGlest that I would like to be able to use in Glest. Some of these work but the vbros MODS and several other do not seem to be cross-compatible. Is there a conversion tool or some way of getting goodies for MegaGlest to work in Glest?.

Thanks for any help and advice!.

- GreyMist    

[-Archmage-]

Welcome.

I can't answer you're question, but the MegaGlest development team probably can, so I'm gonna move this topic to the MegaGlest board.

[ultifd]

I'm gonna move this topic to the MegaGlest board.

Thanks,  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome!  

Cursor lag? Hmm, I never experienced that, but I remember that another person, Coldfusionstorm, has this problem too... What I do have is the opposite sometimes, too fast for me, the cursor...   Maybe mouse settings?   Probably not...wait for the developers, maybe they know something... (Softcoder and Titi)

Also, there are a lot of MODS and other goodies included in (and available for) MegaGlest that I would like to be able to use in Glest. Some of these work but the vbros MODS and several other do not seem to be cross-compatible. Is there a conversion tool or some way of getting goodies for MegaGlest to work in Glest?.

Hmm, for most of the mods, unless ones that specifically state that they are for GAE, Glest Advanced Engine, then they should work. For the Vbros Packs, they only work in megaglest for some reason. Particles, food? Not sure...    

Good Luck and Have fun! Come to the Glest IRC Channel if you want to play a multiplayer game, or chat with developers if they are available...   How? in my signature, if you don't know already...  

[softcoder]

We need to know what version of mega-glest you're using?

[greymist]

I originally downloaded the Megaglest 3.3.4.3 Linux Full Installer from...

http://sourceforge.net/projects/megaglest/files/current_release/Mega-Glest-Installer-3.3.4.3_i386_linux/download

Then, I upgraded to the 3.3.5 - beta. In looking into this a little further, I don't think it's as much lag as it is the cursor just seeming to move in slow motion. I read something about the "cursor refresh rate" but not sure if it applies to my specific situation or not. Everything is pretty fast/smooth but the cursor acts like it's moving through thick motor oil. That's the best way I can describe it.

Thanks again, GM

[ultifd]

Hmm, which beta?  do you mean beta 7.7? If not, then try it... Maybe hopefully it will help?
I think we don't have enough information though...  Not sure what we need.

[greymist]

My connection went out as I was editing my post to include more info. Yes, I'm currently using 3.3.5-beta7.7.

- MG

[softcoder]

Search the forums for a post regarding some kinds of SDL mouse setting. I think some people's mouse drivers create issue with SDL sometimes.

I think this might be one to try:

export SDL_VIDEO_X11_DGAMOUSE=0

[greymist]

Search the forums for a post regarding some kinds of SDL mouse setting. I think some people's mouse drivers create issue with SDL sometimes.

I think this might be one to try:

export SDL_VIDEO_X11_DGAMOUSE=0

Hey thanks for all the replies . I tried changing the mouse sensitivity, speed, etc from the Ubuntu admin menu but saw no improvement of the in-game cursor. I typed various queries regarding the SDL mouse settings into this forum and Google but that didn't yield much useful information either. Is there some type of SDL GUI that can be installed and where you can change various mouse-related settings?. I thought about using a different mouse/driver too but even on my other PC with a 256M NVidia card, the in-game cursor still behaves as if it were moving through motor oil.

Whatever it is, I don't have this issue with the latest version of Glest so I'm assuming there was something added to MegaGlest that wasn't present in Glest. Are the system requirements just higher for MegaGlest and do I need to download anything extra?.

Finally, I'm not sure where this line of code goes (xorg file?...terminal?...MG ini file?). If it goes in the xorg file, where exactly does it go (ie; which line)?.

Thanks again for your help and kudos on a great game, GM

[tomreyn]

Hi! You run this command in a terminal window before you start the game (from the same terminal window).

[greymist]

Ok, I ran the command in the terminal, then ran MegaGlest from the Applications menu and it had no affect.

Next, using the terminal, I CD'd into my home folder where MegaGlest was installed, ran the command and then ran MegaGlest from the Application menu and it still had no affect.

Finally, using the terminal, I CD'd into my home/megaglest folder, ran the command and then typed "glest" which to my suprize, launched Glest rather than MegaGlest.

I do have both Glest and MegaGlest installed but only MegaGlest is installed in my home folder so why did Glest launch instead?.

In my Applications menu the path to MegaGlest is /home/<user>/megaglest/glest. I think the path to Glest is /usr/games/glest.

Anyway, not sure what to do now since I can't test the command and Glest gets launched rather than MegaGlest.

Thanks again, GM

Hi! You run this command in a terminal window before you start the game (from the same terminal window).

[tomreyn]

Finally, using the terminal, I CD'd into my home/megaglest folder, ran the command and then typed "glest" which to my suprize, launched Glest rather than MegaGlest.

This should have been the right way to do it.

I do have both Glest and MegaGlest installed but only MegaGlest is installed in my home folder so why did Glest launch instead?.

What's installed below your /home/<user>/ path and what not does not really matter when it comes to making a choice which application will be invoked. What matters there is what is in the $PATH environment variable, and in which order it is given there. I assume the path to the Glest directory is contained in your $PATH, but that of megaglest is not.

In my Applications menu the path to MegaGlest is /home/<user>/megaglest/glest. I think the path to Glest is /usr/games/glest.

Anyway, not sure what to do now since I can't test the command and Glest gets launched rather than MegaGlest.

Code: [Select]

cd /home/<user>/megaglest/
export SDL_VIDEO_X11_DGAMOUSE=0
./glest

If the last command doesn't work or still starts glest instead of megaglest then replace the last line above by this:

Code: [Select]

./bin/glest.bin 2>&1 | tee -a glest.log

I guess it can be a good idea for you to join us on IRC and find someone to guide you through it if it remains an issue. But please be patient, we may not always be around 24 hours. ;-)

[greymist]

Thanks for the invitation I use KVIRC but I don't have it installed at the moment. Turns out I forgot to include the "./" just before typing "glest" (long day!). Same issue as before though but I did save the output below which shows at least four errors...

Code: [Select]

[b]default openal library is missing[/b], attempting to find and link to a newer version if available...
new openal library link = /usr/lib/libopenal.so.1
[b]default directfb library is missing[/b], attempting to find and link to a different location if available...
new directfb library link = /usr/lib/libdirectfb-1.2.so.0
[b]default fusion library is missing[/b], attempting to find and link to a different location if available...
new fusion library link = /usr/lib/libfusion-1.2.so.0
[b]default direct library is missing[/b], attempting to find and link to a different location if available...
new direct library link = /usr/lib/libdirect-1.2.so.0
v3.3.5-beta7.7 built: Jun 18 2010 13:04:37 Compiled with GNUC: 40204, STREFLOP enabled.
[2010-06-22 00:16:53] In [glest_game/global/config.cpp::Config Line: 60] cfgFile.first = [glest.ini]
[2010-06-22 00:16:53] In [shared_lib/sources/util/properties.cpp::load Line: 39] path = [glest.ini]
[2010-06-22 00:16:53] In [shared_lib/sources/util/properties.cpp::load Line: 47] path = [glest.ini]
[2010-06-22 00:16:53] In [glest_game/global/config.cpp::Config Line: 67] cfgFile.first = [glest.ini]
[2010-06-22 00:16:53] In [glest_game/global/config.cpp::Config Line: 69] cfgFile.first = [glest.ini]
[2010-06-22 00:16:53] In [glest_game/global/config.cpp::Config Line: 75] cfgFile.second = [glestuser.ini]
[2010-06-22 00:16:53] In [shared_lib/sources/util/properties.cpp::load Line: 39] path = [glestuser.ini]
[2010-06-22 00:16:53] In [shared_lib/sources/util/properties.cpp::load Line: 47] path = [glestuser.ini]
[2010-06-22 00:16:53] In [glest_game/global/config.cpp::Config Line: 82] cfgFile.second = [glestuser.ini]
[2010-06-22 00:16:53] In [glest_game/global/config.cpp::Config Line: 84] cfgFile.second = [glestuser.ini]
Startup settings are: debugSystem [0], debugNetwork [0], debugPerformance [0], debugWorldSynch [0], debugUnitCommands[0]
START Closing logfiles
END Closing logfiles

- GM

[softcoder]

Try out the latest (Beta8) and see if it helps.

Thanks

[greymist]

Thanks SoftCoder, just downloaded and installed it.

I wish I could say that beta 8 made a difference but unfortunately, I still have the cursor issue. I've tried it on two different computers - one with a 256M NVidia GeForce4 440MX card and the other with a 128M intel card. Outside of the cursor issue, everything else is very smooth and works perfectly as far as I can tell. Even the stable version of MegaGlest I had installed (prior to the beta) had cursor issues (at least on my computers). I've tried it on 3 computers so far and each time, the cursor issue is still there. Even my new dual-core computer with 4G of RAM and a 128M graphics card had the cursor issue.

- GM

Try out the latest (Beta8) and see if it helps.

Thanks

[softcoder]

Try running in windowed mode. Edit glest.ini and change:

Windowed=false

to:

Windowed=true

[greymist]

Just tried 640x480 windowed mode and even then, the cursor issue was still present.

- GM

Try running in windowed mode. Edit glest.ini and change:

Windowed=false

to:

Windowed=true

[Super Tom]

Can you cut a screen to give us a look!

[tomreyn]

This is about motion, so a screen shot won't help, he'd have to take a video.

I do actually have the same issue (slow mouse movement even in single player), but - at least partially - attributed this to my slow graphics so far (and still do), but with greymists' hardware this can't be the reason in his case. For me the mouse reacts slow in the first place (even on the menus) but it gets really slow and choppy when many units exist anywhere on the map, whether visible or not.

[greymist]

I would be glad to take a screen recording and post it. Does anyone know of a good video capture program for Ubuntu?.

Another clue that might help resolve this issue is that when I am in the 1024x768 non-windowed mode, the cursor travels in slow motion. For example, if I were to make a circular motion, the cursor would act like it was trying to catch up to itself - sort of as if I was dragging it through thick oil.

When I run MG in the 640x480 non-windowed mode, the cursor is "faster" but if I move it around in a circular motion, it seems to skip 50 pixels at a time. The faster I move it, the more exaggerated the effect.

Hope this helps

- GM

[greymist]

Just upgraded to beta 9. Same issue...

- GM

[softcoder]

Dude, did you install the propery Video Drivers (for NVidia or ATI) or are you using the default OSS drviers for your Video card?

[greymist]

I'm using the latest installed "genuine" Intel video drivers (not the default drivers that come with Ubuntu). 3D hardware acceleration is enabled...everything. Like I said, the game-play is as smooth as silk on all 3 computers and my new computer is fairly powerful and even on that one I'm experiencing the same issue.

Hope this helps.

- Regards, GM

Dude, did you install the propery Video Drivers (for NVidia or ATI) or are you using the default OSS drviers for your Video card?

[Super Tom]

Oh,my god!

[titi]

I saw a video of tomryn who showed the trouble with the mousepointer. I think these are serious performance issues !
The mouse cursor is rendered like everything else you see in openGL. But if the game slows down, ( or is slow from the beginning )
you only get a very low rendering frame rate ( like 2 fps). Then the mouse cursor is only rendered every half second! So you doesn't see it in between!

Maybe we should make an option in the glest.ini to use the OS-mouse cursor for peopples with this problem! But maybe its something different and related to the intel gfx hardware drivers. Tomreyn has intel onboard gfx too and he also has the same issues ( but only if things start to slow down )