The signup system now has support for skins.
If the administrator includes a field named "Skin" and a racer enters the name of a skin that has been uploaded, the skin is displayed on the signup page. A skin pack zip of all the skins can also be downloaded.
Signups test page: https://www.lfs.net/leagues/22/season/1219/signup/view
Forum thread: https://www.lfs.net/forum/post/2114364#post2114364
If the administrator includes a field named "Skin" and a racer enters the name of a skin that has been uploaded, the skin is displayed on the signup page. A skin pack zip of all the skins can also be downloaded.
Signups test page: https://www.lfs.net/leagues/22/season/1219/signup/view
Forum thread: https://www.lfs.net/forum/post/2114364#post2114364
Skin packs are now available. I think maybe it should only be for administrators but I have enabled it on the public page for now so you can see and test it. https://www.lfs.net/leagues/22/season/1219/signup/view
Thanks for the suggestion.
I think it may be possible to detect if the administrator has entered a field named 'Skin' which could then could be used as a special case to provide a download link for the skin and hopefully some info about which res is available.
I've added "Skin" field to my test season and maybe tomorrow I can try to make use of it.
I think it may be possible to detect if the administrator has entered a field named 'Skin' which could then could be used as a special case to provide a download link for the skin and hopefully some info about which res is available.
I've added "Skin" field to my test season and maybe tomorrow I can try to make use of it.
Screenshots in first post updated to show page updates including avatars, flags and info links.
For now, you can visit the signups page of my test league: https://www.lfs.net/leagues/22/season/1219/signup/view
For now, you can visit the signups page of my test league: https://www.lfs.net/leagues/22/season/1219/signup/view
Last edited by Scawen, .
Nice bug finding again. 
About the important one:
First time I've seen this code, but what happened: it stored the servers in the correct order but extracted from the database in a basically random order. At the same time, passwords were extracted preserving their order, so in fact if you had more than one host with different passwords, the passwords could be assigned to the wrong host.
I've changed the code to reassemble the list of servers in the order they were stored, so this should fix the problem. I recreated your test in my Round signup season and the bug appears fixed. Also my fake passwords have remained with the correct hosts, if I look in Edit Season.
About the important one:
First time I've seen this code, but what happened: it stored the servers in the correct order but extracted from the database in a basically random order. At the same time, passwords were extracted preserving their order, so in fact if you had more than one host with different passwords, the passwords could be assigned to the wrong host.
I've changed the code to reassemble the list of servers in the order they were stored, so this should fix the problem. I recreated your test in my Round signup season and the bug appears fixed. Also my fake passwords have remained with the correct hosts, if I look in Edit Season.
As mentioned, the signups can be seen by anyone, so could be linked from a forum discussion thread.
Examples: (the required fields per entry are all editable)
1) Here is a list of signups for a test season in which you can enter as a single racer (1 per team).
https://www.lfs.net/leagues/22/season/1219/signup/view
2) Here is a list of signups for a test season in which you can sign up in teams of up to 4 racers per team:
https://www.lfs.net/leagues/22/season/1218/signup/view
3) Here is a list of signups for a test season in which you can sign up for individual rounds:
https://www.lfs.net/leagues/22/season/1223/round/1/signup/view
Examples: (the required fields per entry are all editable)
1) Here is a list of signups for a test season in which you can enter as a single racer (1 per team).
https://www.lfs.net/leagues/22/season/1219/signup/view
2) Here is a list of signups for a test season in which you can sign up in teams of up to 4 racers per team:
https://www.lfs.net/leagues/22/season/1218/signup/view
3) Here is a list of signups for a test season in which you can sign up for individual rounds:
https://www.lfs.net/leagues/22/season/1223/round/1/signup/view
I hope all the time zone stuff works properly, it's always confusing to implement and made my day's task a lot harder. Especially when we are dealing with things displayed near day and month boundaries, and must be placed and displayed in the correct day slot, and the viewer can be in any time zone, at any time, and select any month or week to view.
I'd obviously like to know if there are any errors with time zones.
A simple test is if someone could compare the in-game event browser with the website calendar and make sure it looks correct. Hovering over the event time should show the UTC time, in case that is useful.
One test I should do is set my timezone to somewhere far from UTC and confirm that some events fall into a different day or month on the calendar because of the time zone of the observer. But I'm a bit tired now, probably will test tomorrow.
I don't plan to do any more on this stuff for now except for any fixes. Really it was some holiday work but has gone on 4 extra days and we all know what I really have to work on now.
I hope the calendar and league section improvements are helpful.
I'd obviously like to know if there are any errors with time zones.
A simple test is if someone could compare the in-game event browser with the website calendar and make sure it looks correct. Hovering over the event time should show the UTC time, in case that is useful.
One test I should do is set my timezone to somewhere far from UTC and confirm that some events fall into a different day or month on the calendar because of the time zone of the observer. But I'm a bit tired now, probably will test tomorrow.
I don't plan to do any more on this stuff for now except for any fixes. Really it was some holiday work but has gone on 4 extra days and we all know what I really have to work on now.
I hope the calendar and league section improvements are helpful.
I can't see any glitches on our performance graph, and a network test now shows very little packet loss, so I wonder if the problem has been resolved?
The graph looks clean from around 18:00 UTC on Saturday (7 December).
The graph looks clean from around 18:00 UTC on Saturday (7 December).
Thanks for the info.
I've now corrected it, in a new installer you can download with this link. It has a different file name ending _install.exe instead of _setup.exe to avoid the CDN caching the old version.
Download: https://www.lfs.net/file_lfs.php?name=LFS_EDITOR_7F_install.exe
For interest only:
The problem seems to be that NSIS stores the empty folders in some other location, not in the standard directory structure visible when you open the archive. So that's why you couldn't see them in the 7E installer, although they do appear in the fresh installation. That 7E, with editor patch applied, was also the source I used to create the 7F installer. I didn't know that before and annoyingly I forgot to test that installer, although I did test all the game ones.
I've now corrected it, in a new installer you can download with this link. It has a different file name ending _install.exe instead of _setup.exe to avoid the CDN caching the old version.
Download: https://www.lfs.net/file_lfs.php?name=LFS_EDITOR_7F_install.exe
For interest only:
The problem seems to be that NSIS stores the empty folders in some other location, not in the standard directory structure visible when you open the archive. So that's why you couldn't see them in the 7E installer, although they do appear in the fresh installation. That 7E, with editor patch applied, was also the source I used to create the 7F installer. I didn't know that before and annoyingly I forgot to test that installer, although I did test all the game ones.
I've sent you a PM about a quick test to get some more information.
EDIT: problem solved.
Last edited by Scawen, .
I think this should be possible and I've made a note to look at it for the next test patch.
With some changes in Test Patch E13, you should now be able to join hosts even if UDP packets cannot get from your computer to the host.
https://www.lfs.net/forum/post/2077190#post2077190
https://www.lfs.net/forum/post/2077190#post2077190
With test patch E13, you should now be able to join hosts online even if UDP packets cannot get from you to the host.
https://www.lfs.net/forum/post/2077190#post2077190
https://www.lfs.net/forum/post/2077190#post2077190
I had to restart the server again this afternoon for some tests.
To those who were online at the time, sorry for the disruption.
I hope the provider will make some sense out of the test results.
To those who were online at the time, sorry for the disruption.
I hope the provider will make some sense out of the test results.
I've restarted the hosts that were stopped. In my test server I didn't notice any difference when the other hosts were stopped.
My ping number (in 'N' list of connections) sits stable for a while then goes red and up to 2, 3, 4, 5, seconds before recovering. This seems to happen every minute, it's not a rare event.
After looking for quite some time, I can't see any explanation for this so we will ask the providers if they have any ideas.
My ping number (in 'N' list of connections) sits stable for a while then goes red and up to 2, 3, 4, 5, seconds before recovering. This seems to happen every minute, it's not a rare event.
After looking for quite some time, I can't see any explanation for this so we will ask the providers if they have any ideas.
Turkish server testing
Hello Turkish Hosters.
I am running tests to try to work out reasons for connectivity issues with the Turkish server.
I am talking about a problem that has nothing to do with DDoS attacks. It is about jerky, intermittent connections when there is no apparent DDoS attack going on.
As a test, I have temporarily closed the hosts that had no players on them. I closed 11 hosts. You are free to restart them if you want, but if you don't need your host for now, you may wish to leave it OFF and I will restart it later.
The idea is to see if the number of hosts is causing any problems, although it should not, as the CPU, memory and bandwidth of an empty host is very small. But I am trying to eliminate issues before we ask the server providers.
So, if your host disappears and reappears, it's not a bug, it's me testing. Sorry for the disruption but I am trying to help.
EDIT: This is not helped by the fact that DDoS attacks on the Turkish server are ongoing today at various times. If the attacker would kindly stop that would be much appreciated. I am trying to help Turkish people and it would be fantastic if you would stop attacking, so we can try to make a good fun game for everyone to play. It's best to try and have a good time in life, and help others to do that whem possible.
I am running tests to try to work out reasons for connectivity issues with the Turkish server.
I am talking about a problem that has nothing to do with DDoS attacks. It is about jerky, intermittent connections when there is no apparent DDoS attack going on.
As a test, I have temporarily closed the hosts that had no players on them. I closed 11 hosts. You are free to restart them if you want, but if you don't need your host for now, you may wish to leave it OFF and I will restart it later.
The idea is to see if the number of hosts is causing any problems, although it should not, as the CPU, memory and bandwidth of an empty host is very small. But I am trying to eliminate issues before we ask the server providers.
So, if your host disappears and reappears, it's not a bug, it's me testing. Sorry for the disruption but I am trying to help.
EDIT: This is not helped by the fact that DDoS attacks on the Turkish server are ongoing today at various times. If the attacker would kindly stop that would be much appreciated. I am trying to help Turkish people and it would be fantastic if you would stop attacking, so we can try to make a good fun game for everyone to play. It's best to try and have a good time in life, and help others to do that whem possible.
Last edited by Scawen, .
Version E12 is on the auto update system
Dear LFS racers,
As we are nearing the end of the current series of test patches, and because some hosters have moved to the E12 version which you cannot join with 0.7E, I have put the E12 version on the auto updater.
This is a different way of doing things. Normally we wait until the final, official, version and I am sure we will do that in future, when things need testing before going public.
It's different this time as it would be good to get hosts onto E12. The patch is very well tested.
How to update:
Method 1: AUTO install: Start LFS and click List of Hosts and select a download mirror
Method 2: MANUAL install: Visit the test patch thread to read the changelog and manually install
How to update your game host:
Stop host
Select E12
Start host (you are forced to wait for 1 minute after stopping)
As we are nearing the end of the current series of test patches, and because some hosters have moved to the E12 version which you cannot join with 0.7E, I have put the E12 version on the auto updater.
This is a different way of doing things. Normally we wait until the final, official, version and I am sure we will do that in future, when things need testing before going public.
It's different this time as it would be good to get hosts onto E12. The patch is very well tested.
How to update:
Method 1: AUTO install: Start LFS and click List of Hosts and select a download mirror
Method 2: MANUAL install: Visit the test patch thread to read the changelog and manually install
How to update your game host:
Stop host
Select E12
Start host (you are forced to wait for 1 minute after stopping)
I've rebuilt the E12 patch as an installer instead of a self-extracting archive.
Also, as a well tested patch, and now that some hosts are using the improved E12 hosting version, I have put this update on the auto updater system for everyone.
This is experimental, it's a different way of doing things. I'm sure it cannot be done for all test patches but it seems OK right now as this one is well tested.
Also, as a well tested patch, and now that some hosts are using the improved E12 hosting version, I have put this update on the auto updater system for everyone.
This is experimental, it's a different way of doing things. I'm sure it cannot be done for all test patches but it seems OK right now as this one is well tested.
The test patch forum was opened and the thread moved there at the same time that the E12 server became available.
The test patch thread was originally in the mods section because the earlier test patches were primarily about changes related to mods. This is fairly obvious if you look at the change log. https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/106967
So then we didn't really need a whole forum section dedicated to a test patch that was all about mods.
Just recently some updates on the host side have required an updated client version. That point I delayed as much as possible, but now we are near the end of the life cycle of this test patch, so things need to be tested.
It does raise the question about making E12 'official' in the sense that it could be automatically downloaded by E clients using the auto updater. Some people might say that is a no-brainer, in the sense that it would be a good idea to provide more frequent updates like that. Maybe they are right, I'm not sure. We haven't done that before. Official updates have always come with an announcement and a new full version. This method has worked for us for many years. Roughly 20 years, I guess.
Either way, it probably would make more sense to use a better installer instead of the self-extracting archive that has served us quite well up to now. But I understand we are moving into an era where many people own a PC and play games but are confused about simply moving a file into a known location on their computer. This can seem hilarious to those of us who have used PCs since the days of MS-DOS. But I do understand the convenience of the proper installer and I am looking into that a bit.
The test patch thread was originally in the mods section because the earlier test patches were primarily about changes related to mods. This is fairly obvious if you look at the change log. https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/106967
So then we didn't really need a whole forum section dedicated to a test patch that was all about mods.
Just recently some updates on the host side have required an updated client version. That point I delayed as much as possible, but now we are near the end of the life cycle of this test patch, so things need to be tested.
It does raise the question about making E12 'official' in the sense that it could be automatically downloaded by E clients using the auto updater. Some people might say that is a no-brainer, in the sense that it would be a good idea to provide more frequent updates like that. Maybe they are right, I'm not sure. We haven't done that before. Official updates have always come with an announcement and a new full version. This method has worked for us for many years. Roughly 20 years, I guess.
Either way, it probably would make more sense to use a better installer instead of the self-extracting archive that has served us quite well up to now. But I understand we are moving into an era where many people own a PC and play games but are confused about simply moving a file into a known location on their computer. This can seem hilarious to those of us who have used PCs since the days of MS-DOS.
But I do understand the convenience of the proper installer and I am looking into that a bit.I understand that it is not obvious, but it is in the "Test Patch Forum" that is visible from the main page of the forum.
https://www.lfs.net/forum/66-Patch-TEST-Forum
Sometimes when we get near to an official release, hosts move onto an incompatible version for various reasons and people must use the test patch in order to visit those hosts.
E12 is quite a bit better than E and I would like to release an official version soon, there are just a few more things on the list to sort out.
https://www.lfs.net/forum/66-Patch-TEST-Forum
Sometimes when we get near to an official release, hosts move onto an incompatible version for various reasons and people must use the test patch in order to visit those hosts.
E12 is quite a bit better than E and I would like to release an official version soon, there are just a few more things on the list to sort out.
Version E12 is now available
Hello hosters.
Host version E12 is now available. You can stop your host and select E12.
NOTE: Guests will need Test Patch E12 or later to join an E12 host!
Changes in E12:
FIX: The 49.7 day bug is fixed (previously, the host got stuck after 49.7 days)
FIX: JOOS on connect when a car, now disallowed, is on track
FIX: Old version could sometimes fail to spectate a blocking car
New command /specdnf specifies number of stopped seconds before DNF
- this is activated when a stopped car blocks a result confirmation
- default value is 12 (was 8 in the past) and range is 0 to 240
New command /setstops USERNAME Y :set user's number of stops to Y
Host version E12 is now available. You can stop your host and select E12.
NOTE: Guests will need Test Patch E12 or later to join an E12 host!
Changes in E12:
FIX: The 49.7 day bug is fixed (previously, the host got stuck after 49.7 days)
FIX: JOOS on connect when a car, now disallowed, is on track
FIX: Old version could sometimes fail to spectate a blocking car
New command /specdnf specifies number of stopped seconds before DNF
- this is activated when a stopped car blocks a result confirmation
- default value is 12 (was 8 in the past) and range is 0 to 240
New command /setstops USERNAME Y :set user's number of stops to Y
Thanks, I don't think we need another test at this point. I guess it's just about the size and how the connection happens to be at the time.
Please can you describe exactly at which point in the process that goes wrong for you? And what you did before that, on the submission page.
I see various mods have been updated before and after your post. I've just tested a submission on a private test mod and it worked. So I'll need a very specific and exact description from you, to present to Victor.
I notice I introduced a small bug in the submission page - the old 'private' and 'team' access were available to select. I've fixed that now but mentioning in case you tries to select an invalid access mode. Only "custom" and "public" should be available.
EDIT: Also, if it's easy to do, please try submitting the update again. As I know Victor has been adjusting some settings, it's possible that you encountered a problem that has already been fixed.
I see various mods have been updated before and after your post. I've just tested a submission on a private test mod and it worked. So I'll need a very specific and exact description from you, to present to Victor.
I notice I introduced a small bug in the submission page - the old 'private' and 'team' access were available to select. I've fixed that now but mentioning in case you tries to select an invalid access mode. Only "custom" and "public" should be available.
EDIT: Also, if it's easy to do, please try submitting the update again. As I know Victor has been adjusting some settings, it's possible that you encountered a problem that has already been fixed.
Last edited by Scawen, .
These are available in test patch E11:
/vlock=car/filter/horizon
/lookf=joystick/axis/steer/mouse_x/mouse_xy
/control=mouse_kb/wheel_js
https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/106967
/vlock=car/filter/horizon
/lookf=joystick/axis/steer/mouse_x/mouse_xy
/control=mouse_kb/wheel_js
https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/106967
Test Patch E11:
Cameras:
Layout Square cameras now have 40m height instead of 4m
Reduced jiggling of names above cars at extreme zoom
Improved accuracy of camera rotation at extreme zoom
Commands:
/vlock=car/filter/horizon
/lookf=joystick/axis/steer/mouse_x/mouse_xy
/control=mouse_kb/wheel_js
Download: https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/106967
Cameras:
Layout Square cameras now have 40m height instead of 4m
Reduced jiggling of names above cars at extreme zoom
Improved accuracy of camera rotation at extreme zoom
Commands:
/vlock=car/filter/horizon
/lookf=joystick/axis/steer/mouse_x/mouse_xy
/control=mouse_kb/wheel_js
Download: https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/106967
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