Quote from ellis_dee :

Unfortunately when i forget to minimize the LFS window before selecting hotlapping, lfs stops and i cant get to the ZA window, no shift f4, no alt tab, no clicking on desktop (on the second monitor). The only way to move forward is to send the pc to standy and switch on again....

Try other key combos like Win-M (minimize all), Alt-Esc (select next window in stack, logically it should be the ZA window - Alt-Shift-Esc selects the previous window) or Ctrl-Alt-Del to get the Windows Security window deal which usually resets the desktop if you cancel from it.

Best of all would be to just add a permanent rule in your firewall so it won't pop-up a notification at all.

I do still get the random minimizing of LFS (never happened pre-U30). Yesterday while watching a replay... POW, minimized. Went back but had missed the part of the replay I was waiting for :doh:

Doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason.

Quote from xaotik :

Try other key combos like Win-M (minimize all), Alt-Esc (select next window in stack, logically it should be the ZA window - Alt-Shift-Esc selects the previous window) or Ctrl-Alt-Del to get the Windows Security window deal which usually resets the desktop if you cancel from it.

Best of all would be to just add a permanent rule in your firewall so it won't pop-up a notification at all.

From what I can remember, ZA is *very* obnoxious regarding that. A few years ago the same happened to me and I had to do a hard reset to fix the issue. Anyway, that also shows it's not a patch related issue, so strictly speaking this is the wrong thread to discuss this...

This alt-tab'bing thing. Some games actually seem to do some counter measures when you alt-tab back to it. One example for this is Rome:Total War. It has a blank screen at first and it displays a progress meter. Maybe it reloads some graphics. Other than that small waiting time there are no other side effects. So it clearly spots when it is active again after alt-tab.

But I alt-tab LFS too. I've alt-tabbed offline, online plays and non dedi server. No bad things yet, what I've noticed.

Well Scawen, can you detect focus and blur events? If so, Alt-Tabbing should cause a blur (lost focus) one and you could take proper action if the window state is/was fullscreen while the event occured.

Quote from Scawen :

...things about zonealarm...

The new ZoneAlarm Version finally has a gaming mode. Its available via [Right Click on ZoneAlarm window] -> Gaming Mode. A window will pop up asking you how you want ZoneAlarm to handle Internet-Connections of new programs while in gaming mode - AutoAccept or AutoDeny. Eureka, no ZA window will pop up.

Quote from Kegetys :

Have you tried attempting the first connect from another thread? I guess the firewall should cause only that thread to freeze, which would be easy to detect from the main thread and then minimize/windowize(is that a word?) the game... I dont have such firewalls peronally though so it might not work at all.

Interesting idea :up: then we wouldn't need the user option of window while connecting.

Quote from Scawen :

Interesting idea :up: then we wouldn't need the user option of window while connecting.

I think it would be better for LFS to try to connect before any graphics window is created. That why a firewall would pop-up while still viewing the desktop.

Quote from dev :

I think it would be better for LFS to try to connect before any graphics window is created. That why a firewall would pop-up while still viewing the desktop.

No - that would mean the first thing LFS would have to do when you run it, is connect to the internet.
I really don't like software that tries to connect to the internet when I don't ask it to.

Quote from Scawen :

No - that would mean the first thing LFS would have to do when you run it, is connect to the internet.
I really don't like software that tries to connect to the internet when I don't ask it to.

Well... ok then

Possibility : On opening LFS for the first time, have a dialogue box come up (as a LFS box or a windows box) asking if you would like to do connection to aide in setting your firewall up?

I think i found a minor bug in qualifying. At the start of qualifying there is no count down, only the "1" in "3, 2, 1 " is shown. I don't know if this is intentional or if in version U was different... or if someone els posted about this. So, sorry in advance if i wrongfully posted.

Quote from dawesdust_12 :

Possibility : On opening LFS for the first time, have a dialogue box come up (as a LFS box or a windows box) asking if you would like to do connection to aide in setting your firewall up?

I've already been through various possibilities, including that one which I don't like. I don't want to confuse users and add dialog boxes. I never thought of Kegetys's autodetection idea which seems to best so far. It will only go into a window, if it needs to. And if it does, the firewall popup should be clearly visible and accessible. I don't think anyone will come up with a better idea than that, because it is all beneficial and has no drawbacks.

Quote from Scawen :

I've already been through various possibilities, including that one which I don't like. I don't want to confuse users and add dialog boxes. I never thought of Kegetys's autodetection idea which seems to best so far. It will only go into a window, if it needs to. And if it does, the firewall popup should be clearly visible and accessible. I don't think anyone will come up with a better idea than that, because it is all beneficial and has no drawbacks.

I agree, and also there is the auto-updater to think of. I think Kagetys' suggestion might marry in with the auto-updater better than these other solutions might.

I've always found making an auto-updater hugely beneficial when releasing multiplayer software, it's food for thought Scawen, as it could also be used to solve the firewall issue.

Quote from Scawen :

I've already been through various possibilities, including that one which I don't like. I don't want to confuse users and add dialog boxes. I never thought of Kegetys's autodetection idea which seems to best so far. It will only go into a window, if it needs to. And if it does, the firewall popup should be clearly visible and accessible. I don't think anyone will come up with a better idea than that, because it is all beneficial and has no drawbacks.

Sounds to me like you want to remove the user option "run windowed" or the shift-f4 key combo for changing from window to fullscreen and vice-versa. please do not, some addons (like LFS Display) really need the windowed mode of LFS =)

It's only about the "window while connecting" option, not the window mode.

The auto-update thing comes in V becky

This post is about "Clocks mode"

Currently we have the following options: "off/real/virtual"

Can you please add the "all" option, as you did with "Mirror mode"?

I race as is shown on picture and can't really read the "real" clocks but can clearly see that they are missing. Sort of takes away from the immersion. Not a huge deal though. Actually I can't really think of a reason why anyone would remove the "real" clocks. It's not like they take away even 1 fps

Hi Scawen,

Right, just tried to boot up lfs but I get a crash everytime i run the lfs.exe

This is the first time I have suffered an error with any of the test patches. I am on 0.5u30 and have been using it since it was released and all was well..

Last time i played lfs was on sunday in a 3h league race and all worked fine.

I have captured the crash, see attached jpeg......

hope it helps, not sure if its windows related at all?

I havent tried restarting my windows yet... thought i should post this first before i do that.

mad

Hi

Not a bug but thought it better here than improvements.

As you are working on mirrors, any chance of making the vitual mirror have a small "wing" mirror on each end of the virtual mirror so racers can see down both sides of the car, more like real life

Currently you can only see a wing mirror in real view, and then only one side, left in a LHD and right in a RHD, so one side is always a blind spot.

Being able to see both side may cut out a few "you turned into me" accidents.

No. The virtual mirror already shows EVERYTHING that is calculated. The "real" sidemirrors just show a left respectively right portion of the virtual mirror, and the "real" center mirror shows the virtual mirror with a bit cut off on the left and right side (though, I'm not completely sure on the center mirror).

No, I'm not working on mirrors and I'm not taking any requests.

I'm just trying to do the things which are important issues.

Quote from Madman_CZ :

Hi Scawen,
...
I have captured the crash, see attached jpeg......

hope it helps, not sure if its windows related at all?
...

Sorry, I can't help with that crash address. I guess that is in some system module. That crash address has 8 digits (after the zeros). The ones that are within the LFS.exe (and so point to a line of code) are usually 6 digits and start with a 4 or a 5 (after the zeros). They are the ones which really do help.

Similar story with some other crash addresses that were posted earlier in this thread. They aren't actually inside the LFS exe. That doesn't mean it's not LFS's fault, it could be, but I can't trace those ones without something like a Dr Watson log, which gives additional info, like which part of LFS called the system function that crashed.

I just got the black screen, happened by being in full screen mode clicking on multiplayer and it telling me the game password was wrong, clicked ok and it just went black.

It didn't crash so no crash address sorry