Spring MT & Installer

[AF]

Spring MT is broken for a large number of games here, and will remain so until the multithreading project is completed. While the developers talk over this, this still leaves us with the predicament of people immediately seeing MT, thinking its finished, and using it, then watching as everything falls flat on its face in non-BA games with no warning as to what caused it.

So, until a viable MT build is released, what should be done?

2 solutions come to mind:

• Separate MT executable into a separate download marked experimental
• Expose an API allowing games to warn the user and halt attempts to load things that could crash and burn.

What else could we do?

[zerver]

Expose an API allowing games to warn the user and halt attempts to load things that could crash and burn.

IIRC you can obtain the Spring version using lua, and search it for "MT" (uppercase).

I don't think it will be removed from the installer simply because with a small user base like this it needs to be there to get the bug reports needed to complete the MT project. Devs typically don't enjoy sitting and testing the various games, so without bug reports, the project will never finish.

That said, there may very well be special unofficial MT versions released separately for various reasons.

[zwzsg]

Mhhm, but if MT isn't finished or working, it's not because of lack of bug reports, it's because the dev can't agree how to tackle the MT Lua problem, and have much work ahead anyway before a test build with proper architecture is completed.

3rd solution:

• Don't bundle MT in your game custom installer.

[AF]

Theres little point bugtesting a build of spring for which we know with certainty that massive refactors will mean that the code we're debugging may be completely rewritten or change in nature in the near future.

Its like microsoft putting out a call for windows 95 bug reports

[Argh]

Mhhm, but if MT isn't finished or working, it's not because of lack of bug reports, it's because the dev can't agree how to tackle the MT Lua problem, and have much work ahead anyway before a test build with proper architecture is completed.

+1

Basically, when MT works with CA, KP, S'44 and P.U.R.E./World Builder demos, then we can start finding rough edges. It's unacceptable to treat Spring's players like random guinea pigs, when you have game developers willing to participate as partners... when you have a clear plan and we're sure you're not going to be putting us through refactor hell every month.

In short, please start doing that "communication with game devs" that keeps getting postponed or avoided- we're your audience until things are a lot closer to working, not average end-users.

[AF]

I would consider current MT a prototype or alpha, conducting a beta test of an alpha or prototype product isnt the wisest thing to do, and we already know a bucket load of game changing problems and fixes necessary from discussion