====================================================================== Unreal Beta Patch Notes ====================================================================== Unreal Beta Version 219 Developed by: Epic MegaGames & Digital Extremes Published by: GT Interactive ---------- Installing ---------- You should have unzipped these files into your \Unreal\System directory, replacing the ones that are currently there. -------------- Reporting Bugs -------------- Report bugs to this email address: unreal219@epicgames.com If you're experiencing a crash, please attach a copy of your log file: \Unreal\System\Unreal.log to help us troubleshoot. Thanks. -------------------------------- Improvements and fixes since 218 -------------------------------- Internet Play * When the server switches levels, all players were thrown into the holding cell, but don't properly rejoin the next level. Fixed. * Entering a server as a spectator then typing "suicide" on the console caused the spectator to be visible to players as a little tiny chess pawn. Eliminated. * "RMODE" command is no longer allowed during network play (potential unfair advantage) * Fixed object updates becoming erratic after 30+ minutes in the same level. Internet Server * Fixed potential crash when players are downloading files. LAN Play * Fixed message "Connecting to unreal://0.0.0.0/" without ever connecting. * Fixed joining game from "find local servers menu" not connecting. UnrealScript * Fixed crash calling static functions. * Added function InternetLink.IpAddrToString * Implemented ELinkMode MODE_Binary in UdpLink, for mod authors who need to implement binary UDP protocols. Editor * Fixed crash on exit ------------------- Important 218 notes ------------------- 1. Unreal 218 is NOT network-compatible with previous versions of Unreal. You can only connect to servers and other players running Unreal 218 or later! 2. Quality network play totally depends on Unreal knowing how much bandwidth is available on your Internet connection. There are two ways to set your bandwidth: A. In the "Join Game" menu, select "28K Internet", "56K Internet" or "LAN". B. At any time during gameplay, use the NETSPEED command. For example, for a 28.8K connection: * Press TAB to bring up the console * Type the following: NETSPEED 2600 * Press ENTER Our testing has found the following NETSPEED settings ideal: Modem Speed Excellent ISP Good ISP Poor quality ISP ----------- ------------- ------------- ---------------- 28.8K NETSPEED 2600 NETSPEED 2400 NETSPEED 2100 33.6K NETSPEED 3000 NETSPEED 2800 NETSPEED 2400 56.6K+ NETSPEED 3500 NETSPEED 3000 NETSPEED 2600 If you see any of the following symptoms happen repeatedly while playing Internet Unreal, you should lower your NETSPEED setting: A. You experience delays of 1 second or more between when you press the FIRE button and you see your shot fire. B. The message "Bandwidth Saturated, Lower Your Net Speed" appears. C. You appear to "teleport" around haphazardly, rather than move smoothly through the level. D. Your PING time (displayed in STAT NET) starts increasing, or becomes unreasonably large. The following PING times can be expected: * Modem connection: 200-350. * ISDN or cable modem connection: 100-200. * T1 connection (not saturated): 50-150. * LAN: 30-80. Some modem connections are considerably worse. Add 100-200 msec if server is in another country. You tend to get 30% best ping times at night than day, because the Internet is less saturated then. 3. While playing Internet Unreal, press TAB, type "STAT NET", and press ENTER to bring up network statistics. You can use these statistics to diagnose problems with your connection: PING: Lag caused by Internet connection, in milliseconds. Lower=Better. CHANNELS: Number of actors the server is sending you. UNORDERED: Number of out-of-order packets received. If this number is not zero, you likely have a bad Internet connection. PACKET LOSS: Percentage of packets lost. The lower the number, the better your connection. If this number is frequently above 10%, try lowering your NETSPEED. PACKETS/SEC: Number of packets sent and received. BUNCHES/SEC: Number of actor updates sent and received. BYTES/SEC: Number of bytes sent and received. NETSPEED: Your current NETSPEED setting. 4. For gameplay to perform acceptably, administrators running dedicated Unreal servers need to use the following settings in Advanced Options / Networking / TCPIP Network Play / MaxTicksPerSecond: For Internet servers: 15 to 25 For LAN servers: 25 to 35 The higher the number, the more frequently the server updates the game world--resulting in smoother gameplay, but also more network traffic. 5. While this version should improve Internet play, we have more work to do in this area before it's perfect. There will be several more patches. ----------- Latest News ----------- See http://unreal.epicgames.com/ for the latest news about this and other patches. ------------------------------ Improvements & Fixes Since 217 ------------------------------ Hardware Support Improved Glide support: Voodoo2 Dual-TMU, more stable Voodoo Rush & Banshee support. Thanks to Jack Mathews @ 3dfx for the engineering help! Updated OpenGL support. New Direct3D support (alpha-test). Networking More detailed "STAT NET" display Loss-free packet sequencing and retransmission (fixes disappearing weapon problems) Bitstream packet compression Optimized file downloading Now handles packet loss much more gracefully Fixed potential forced replication and forced RPC cheat Added "NETSPEED ####" command Added "Bandwidth Saturated" detection during gameplay Clamp server MaxTicksPerSecond to reasonable 15-60 range Fixed servers not being recognized when more than one network adapter installed (especially a problem with network cards and dial-up adapters conflicting). Audio Fixed sound cutting out sometimes when switching fullscreen resolutions UnrealScript The "reliable" and "always" keywords are ignored for replicated variables, because the network code guarantees eventual delivery. UnrealEd Fixed script recompile possibly crashing on Scout.uc Fixed texture not being applied when adding/subtracting brush Fixed "rebuild lighting" creating weird colored shadow maps on maps with movers Fixed "rebuild geometry" potential for crashing Fixed broken .t3d map importer Fixed broken music and sound exporting GameSpy New GameSpy Lite from http://www.gamespy.com/ Now shows server game type and ping time ------------------------------ Improvements & Fixes Since 216 ------------------------------ Fixed ESC in intro level crashing games in the software renderer on some machines. Eliminated chance of server crashing when player limit is exceeded. Disabled CD check, which was causing problems for some users. Fixed problems with 3dfx Voodoo Rush cards under some versions of Glide. ------------------------------ Improvements & Fixes Since 209 ------------------------------ Hardware support Kickass Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live support. Latest Unreal OpenGL support More AMD K6-2 / 3DNow! optimizations Intellimouse support on Win95 Networking Improved play on low-bandwidth connections (still not the ultimate, but it's a step in the right direction). Better, faster GameSpy support. General Shaved a couple megs off the memory usage Further improved the loading time If Unreal is already running in the background, clicking on a web browser link now redirects the existing copy of Unreal rather than launching a new one Bug fixes: Server memory leak when switching levels, sporadic dynamic lighting crash, sporadic file loading crash on low-memory machines. Server New server querying interface. Server now runs quietly in the background by default (a tray icon) Network statistics display & log to help us track down performance problems that people report Unreal.ini ServerActors can now have parameters sent to them, i.e. for launching multiple master server uplinks pointing to different IP addresses. Far lower memory usage (over 2X less memory in typical levels) UnrealScript C style 'continue' keyword Java style "new" function for creating new objects Improved TcpLink, UdpLink support for Internet mods UnrealEd Faster loading time Significantly lower memory usage Misc UnrealEd improvements from Mark Poesch @ Legend Entertainment Improved "undo" support ------- The End -------