Saving Games and Brightness Question

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SqueakyWeasel
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Hi there -

Got bored and decided to replay Marathon 1-3 on my iMac (specs below)

Using AlephOne 1.2.1 to play Marathon … I think, (pretty sure I used to have to include it in the scenario folder but M1 works independently now so it seems).

Quick couple of questions for you.

Saving: Used to be able to rename with custom name or choose to overwrite current save at any given save terminal, now just get a new save each time and must go through and weed out unwanted ones manually. Any way to revert to old style of save or overwrite?

Brightness: First couple of levels way darker than I remember (and I have brightness turned up to highest option. In fact just checked and whatever I set the brightness to has no affect on brightness in game-play. On current settings it's like playing in the dark. One has to die to discover where the bad guys are, then go back to previously saved version and shoot into the dark. Any clues how I can ramp up the lights?

Thanks again for all the work chaps, any help greatly appreciated!

System Specs:
iMac 27-inch (late 2012)
3.4 GHz Intel core i7
24GB Ram
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680MX 2048 MB
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Hopper
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Saving: You can reduce the number of unwanted saves in Preferences > Environment > Unnamed Saves to Keep. To keep a particular save forever, give it a name from the Continue dialog. The old behavior is no longer available.

Brightness: Long story short, Apple broke the key brightness API we were using, to the point where it literally crashes some machines. Thanks, Apple. I had to turn off brightness on OS X until I have time to redesign the brightness system from scratch. You have two options:
  • Set up a brighter color profile on OS X, to use when you play. Launch System Preferences and go to Displays > Color. Hold down the Option key and click Calibrate, then click through the wizard until you get to Target Gamma. Use this slider to change the gamma (1.8 is the classic Mac value, and will make the game look more like the original), and then keep clicking through until you have a new profile. Switch back and forth by choosing them in the Color tab.
  • Try out the alpha release which has a new brightness system. Be sure to switch to "OpenGL (Shader)" in Preferences > Graphics > Rendering System.
patrick
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Labelling a save at the time of saving is far more relevant (and actually useful) than indexing after the fact. One now has to end the game to save it (which is to say, preserve the memory of the when and why of the decision to save—the entire goddamned point of a saved game filename).

Saving and quicksaving are two different things. Removing the former isn't an improvement, it's the stupidity of sprite-replacement enabled by default carried over into the realm of program functionality removal.
SqueakyWeasel
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Thanks to Hopper for the great advice, I'll give the slpha release a shot first as I noticed that my Mac was crashing a lot anyway (especially when I switch to map view). If I have no joy I'll try the recalibrate monitor fix.

Agree with Patrick (maybe not as passionately) that having to sort through perhaps 8 different saves, remember which one you want, delete 7 and rename the 8th hoping you opted for the right one (after-the-fact) is a lot more time consuming and error prone than the old method of choosing to overwrite or rename at time of saving. Would have been nice (if some people prefer the new way and some the old) to give us the option to go either route in prefs.
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treellama
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patrick wrote:One now has to end the game to save it (which is to say, preserve the memory of the when and why of the decision to save—the entire goddamned point of a saved game filename).
I thought the entire point was to have the ability to restore when you die in game (which doesn't apply to you) or return to the game after a biologically necessitated break (which I'm not sure applies to you).

The when and where are encoded in the quick save. Alas, the why is not. I'd love to see some of your unquick saved games to examine (in the filename) why you saved them!

I agree with you about sprite-replacement-enabled stupidity, but the old save system was awful.
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Wrkncacnter
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Some example of when you might want named saves:

"StartingLevelX" - In case you want to replay a level with the appropriate starting guns and ammo.
"JustWastedATonOfAmmo" - In case you're not sure if you're screwed now, and have to reload a previous save.
"VeryLowOnHealth" - Same reason as above
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HelviusRufus
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At first, I didn’t like the quick save method and wanted the other one back for the annotations, but after having used it a lot, I prefer it just ‘cause it’s easier most of the time.

I used to note game, level, sometimes strength, & something about location (the map function does not work on my Dell (XP)). With the new version with the quick save, I no longer need the game and level notes and have found that seeing the graphic location and time on the screen brings to memory the situation. Sometimes I do go back and annotate a specific save for future reference, but don’t find that too burdensome for the number of times I do it.

On the other hand, a person who annotated almost every save in order to be able to see a progress journal through the level by looking at the save names would prefer the older version.

It’s a difficult question. Since the new version will load the older save type, perhaps one o the LUA gurus could write a script that would solve the dilemma.
treellama wrote:but the old save system was awful
In this case though, if'n the new way is more elegant as far as actual saving is concerned, then it's better.
I just play 'em; I don't know how they work.
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HelviusRufus
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Well, having read LUA + MML in this forum,
I realize that my suggestion above about LUA is not possible.
I just play 'em; I don't know how they work.
SqueakyWeasel
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Just spent ages sorting out which save had me nearest to where I wanted to be with the maximum health and fullest ammo.

It's obvious here that some people want the quick-save and some want the old save mode – why not offer it as a preference option (unless the code for one precludes the other)?

Also, using the new trial version the game is still crashing on latest Mac OS – where do I report (and do you want full logs)?
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treellama
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SqueakyWeasel wrote:Just spent ages sorting out which save had me nearest to where I wanted to be with the maximum health and fullest ammo.
Would adding a health/ammo preview to quick saves have helped?
why not offer it as a preference option (unless the code for one precludes the other)?
Options are expensive to maintain. They have to be documented, we feel obligated to answer people's questions about them, there's more code.

I'm not ruling it out--I'm really not a contributor to Aleph One's development any more--just answering your question.
Also, using the new trial version the game is still crashing on latest Mac OS – where do I report (and do you want full logs)?
GitHub! Full logs would be helpful, thanks!
SqueakyWeasel
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Adding a health/ammo preview might help a bit but I've got used to the new save a bit more now ttytt.

Just out of interest, do you know if there's a prefs setting to go back to the old HUD view of smaller weapon right and full ammo list left I found it more useful as a ref when changing weapons?

Thanks for all your help!
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HelviusRufus
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SqueakyWeasel wrote:Just out of interest, do you know if there's a prefs setting to go back to the old HUD view of smaller weapon right and full ammo list left I found it more useful as a ref when changing weapons?
On my Windows 7 system, I go to Preferences, then Environment, then Plugins, then
disable all plugins that are HUD plugins; for example

Enhanced HUD 1.0
Port of HUD from Durandal for XBLA

(but you may have others in M1A1, I have 3 there)

and the default HUD is probably the one you want.
I just play 'em; I don't know how they work.
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3371-Alpha
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Hopper wrote:Try out the alpha release which has a new brightness system.
Have you considered adding a brightness slider bar instead of rewriting everything?
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Crater Creator
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A new user interface element will not fix an underlying graphics rendering issue! Here's an analogy for what you just proposed:

Electrician: The light doesn't work because there's a break in the wire.

Homeowner: What if you put in a dimmer switch instead?

Image
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