New approach to Replay Blokes

[bbosen]

The old bug we named "That Sinking Feeling" remains difficult to cure. We think it originates in the "Replay Bloke Player" component of the LAC Server. Extensive testing has convinced us that it happens when a new Replay Bloke gets launched but tries to use the same mission player number ("MyNetworkId" that you see in your LacConfig.txt configuration file) that is currently in use by a participating Sentient player.

You can learn more about "That Sinking Feeling" bug HERE:

https://sourceforge.net/p/linuxaircombat/discussion/lacbugtracking/thread/dce229415d/

We have decided to FORCE avoidance of this situation by taking and enforcing all of the following changes:

1: Replay Blokes are now prohibited outside REALM01. The Experimental, temporary Replay Blokes are never seen anymore in any of the other Realms.

2: Replay Blokes are now seen only in "Network Battle 02", "Network Battle 03", and "Peabody's Mission". The experimental old Replay Blokes that sometimes flew in other missions are no longer seen.

3: Replay Blokes are now limited entirely to the RedTeam. If you want to oppose Replay Blokes you can always fly for the BlueTeam.

4: Replay Blokes ONLY FLY as Players 5, 7, and 9. As a general rule, the missions permitting Replay Blokes will usually see three active Replay Blokes (unless one, two, or all of them have recently been shot down, resulting in a corresponding "rest period" for the affected Player number). As a consequence of this standardization on three RedTeam Replay Blokes, only two RedTeam Sentient Players are allowed in the missions populated with Replay Blokes.

5: The two RedTeam Sentient Players that can participate allied with active Replay Blokes MUST use only Player ID values of "1" or "3". This can be controlled by editing the "LacConfig.txt" configuration file.

6: As many as five BlueTeam Sentient Players can participate in the missions that are populated with Replay Blokes. They can use any of the even-numbered Player ID values ("2", "4", "6", "8", or "10") without restriction.

7: Future versions of LAC (now undergoing alpha test in our development labs) enforce these rules automatically. Players using prior versions of LAC (Prior to Version 9.94i) are expected to follow these rules voluntarily.

As a consequence of these new rules, only a maximum of 7 Sentient Players are now able to join any of LAC's missions that are populated with Replay Blokes. Five of those 7 Sentient players can join the BlueTeam in opposition to the Replay Blokes. Two of those 7 Sentient players can join the RedTeam in alliance with the Replay Blokes, but they are limited to Player ID values of "1" or "3". If they are using any version of LAC prior to 9.94i (currently undergoing alpha testing in our development labs as of late Oct2026) they must take manual steps to avoid use of Player Id values "5", "7", or "9".

Note that LAC's online "culture" and "norms" have generally been in harmony with these rules; It has long been normal for Sentient Players flying all alone to fly for the BlueTeam in Realm01 and in opposition to the vast majority of ReplayBlokes (who have almost always been flying for the RedTeam). When one or more additional Sentient Players have joined such a mission, they have usually joined the BlueTeam in opposition to the Replay Blokes of RedTeam and in alliance with the other BlueTeam Sentients. If any Sentient Player ever joined the RedTeam of one of these Replay Bloke missions and happened to be assigned Player Id "5", "7", or "9", everybody suffered from the "Sinking Feeling" bug. Whenever more than 4 or 5 Sentient Players have joined in a single mission, they have generally NOT been using the Replay Bloke Missions. When there are enough Sentients to give each team at least two players, Sentients have more fun without help from Replay Blokes.

Today's changes simply codify what has been LAC's normal and routine culture.

Note that today's steps have forced us to make the following changes on the LAC Server:

1- We eliminated Replay Blokes that flew for the BlueTeam. There were only a few of these.
2- We eliminated all Replay Blokes that had been using Player ID values of "1" or "3". There were a lot of these. Consequently, the Replay Bloke experience is not as rich and diverse as it was before this change. We are working to supplement the remaining library of Replay Bloke files to restore the rich variety that our player community has been enjoying. You can expect to see new Replay Blokes joining the RedTeam of the affected missions periodically within the next couple of months.