Asteroid question

Dwight

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Sep 12, 2014
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The asteroids are not anything at all like I expected
There is gravity, not toward an asteroid.. but straight down.. .into nothingness, Im scared to death to step off the tiny asteroid I landed on, I could fall forever.
There is little control like there is in the space station… not what I expected
There is a tremendous amount of lag but I know the developers are aware and working to find out the cause so I will just pass that one by.
I assume all this ( except for the lag ) is as intended?

This was my first trip... and was there a very short period of time ( went home for lunch )
 

radfast

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Apr 27, 2014
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We have in mind some improvements for asteroids, mainly connected with worldgen. I'm not totally happy with the way they look at the moment, more variety is needed and more things to find when you are there, as a reward for reaching the dimension.

It's intended that players can move from one asteroid to another by jumping or by using the grappling hook, building bridges out of blocks is also a possibility.

Scary seems like a good thing, space is a pretty scary place and for a computer game to trigger emotions (including negative emotions) is a good outcome.

We might some time switch it over to the weightless type of motion you have on space stations, once that is truly polished and perfected, but don't count on it. We are also looking at additional items to enhance mobility.

Lag is the most urgent issue, we really need to solve that. It would be helpful if you can comment carefully on what type of lag you are experiencing:
1. lag on first entry to the dimension (usually reported in logs with a 'can't keep up' message)
2. lag on moving around, so smooth motion (e.g. in Creative Mode) pauses when you reach some areas
3. worldgen lag, which is similar to 2 but only when you reach totally new areas, if you go back to areas you've been in before it does not happen

My current theory is it is all lag of type 2, and the cause is the Ice asteroids, it's something connected with the lighting calculations for those. So everything is smooth if you do not have any Ice asteroids at all inside the view radius around the player. If your view radius is large (> 128 blocks) then probably there will be an Ice asteroid somewhere all the time, but turn the view radius down to something smaller and you might notice everything is smooth until you hit an Ice asteroid zone.
 

Dwight

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Sep 12, 2014
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scary you folks did achieve... Success!

I have not figured out how to use the grappling hook at all, I tried several times, I cant seem to find enough information to be able to use it, I left click, nothing, I right click nothing, I treid firing it like a bow, nothing. I dont know how to toss it, or use it at all, I am searching but have yet to find how it functions.

On lag.. by server has had no lag at all until I went to the asteroids... every time I break a block it re-appears, and then a second later disappears again, and I can see the lag moving occasionally as well. But I suspect you already know enough about the lag issue so I don't want to focus on that, I know that is a work in progress.

When launching to leave the asteroids the launching scale showing the ship going up never appears at all.

So without knowing how to use the grapeling hook I am reduced to trying to build a bridge to other asteroids. and with the lag.. that is one chancy situation.

When I first got there I set down a launch pad, near my landing spot ( no other choice, tiny asteroid ) when I launched I got stuck against a singe block asteroid... when I finally got lose and returned I jump dropped blocks to clear the launch path. I suspect this is as intended.

Lag aside, I suppose my biggest issue is the grapeling hook

anyway.. it was one scary trip, I have found no titanium at all yet

Im not complaining, much of this may be as intended, just describing my first trip, and issues I encountered that I don't know how to get around :)

p.s. I agree about triggering emotions.. that is what got my wife into computer games at last. It was LOTRO, without me on line she made out for Rivendell, when she achieved that, the music changing, the place coming into view etc she practically broke out in tears... That was an achievement for a video game, to trigger that level of emotion in a non gamer.
 
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radfast

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Apr 27, 2014
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On lag.. by server has had no lag at all until I went to the asteroids... every time I break a block it re-appears, and then a second later disappears again, and I can see the lag moving occasionally as well. But I suspect you already know enough about the lag issue so I don't want to focus on that, I know that is a work in progress.
Block lag on the Asteroids is something new to me, I haven't seen reports of that before. It normally means the server (not the client) is lagging unless the network is overwhelmed, which is not likely on a LAN connection. Please can you comment on:
  • view-distance setting in server.properties (try turning it down to 8 or less, see if that improves the lag)
  • number of other players online at the time
  • server CPU speed and is it 32-bit or 64-bit Java?
 

JakXLT

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May 16, 2014
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My current theory is it is all lag of type 2, and the cause is the Ice asteroids, it's something connected with the lighting calculations for those. So everything is smooth if you do not have any Ice asteroids at all inside the view radius around the player. If your view radius is large (> 128 blocks) then probably there will be an Ice asteroid somewhere all the time, but turn the view radius down to something smaller and you might notice everything is smooth until you hit an Ice asteroid zone.

As I believe I've mentioned to you before, the issue with turning your view radius down is that it causes the sun to disappear entirely, which I'm pretty sure is not normal behavior.
 

Dwight

Member
Sep 12, 2014
68
10
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Block lag on the Asteroids is something new to me, I haven't seen reports of that before. It normally means the server (not the client) is lagging unless the network is overwhelmed, which is not likely on a LAN connection. Please can you comment on:
  • view-distance setting in server.properties (try turning it down to 8 or less, see if that improves the lag)
  • number of other players online at the time
  • server CPU speed and is it 32-bit or 64-bit Java?


View distance 10
No other players on line at the time, just me
64 bit Java
3.4 Ghz -processor ( quad core but that wont make any difference to Minecraft )
memory assigned to server 2 gig
I can try turning down the view distance
 

Dwight

Member
Sep 12, 2014
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If anyone can tell me how to use the grappling hook I would appreciate it
 

Firestar001

Member
Jan 12, 2014
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Also, what is the max "depth" of the Asteroid dimension. I was falling down to about.... -2200 and below, and still didn't "die". I'd even removed my oxygen tanks but still was living... and falling...

This is with Minecraft v 1.7.2 Using Galactic craft core 3.03 and planets 3.03
 

radfast

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Apr 27, 2014
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Best upgrade to 3.0.5.229 or our next version 3.0.5.230, probably coming tomorrow / Friday.

The lowest y of the Asteroids is 0, same as any other dimension, and below that it's the void. If you were falling that much, your client and server must have lost communication, maybe due to lag? Relog would probably fix it.
 

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