New experimental version Lac08p52

[bbosen]

I just published new, experimental version 8.52 of Linux Air Combat for beta testing. It can be found in our "Experimental" downloads page, according to the usual pattern, here:

https://askmisterwizard.com/2019/LinuxAirCombat/Installers/index.htm

Like all recent even-numbered versions, (8.48, 8.44, etc.) this version installs in the user's local filesystem.

Changes in LAC 8.52

New version 8.52 derives directly from Version 8.48 (Lac08p48), bypassing intervening versions. All of the aircraft, flight models, and missions are unchanged, so competitive, multiplayer aspects remain interoperable with all versions since 7.92. Users that have been happily using version 8.48 and who have installed and configured Mumble for robust use within the LAC community will have little reason to upgrade.

However, new users will find that this version offers very helpful, additional guidance to get them started with a robust LAC experience.

Two significant improvements oriented toward optimal configuration and use are included. They are:

Improvement 1 of 2: New sign-on animation with instruction about navigating LAC's menus

Extensive online experience reveals that about 20% of LAC's players suffer with very slow response to mouse movement when menus are displayed. This has long been documented as FAQ #25. As therein explained, LAC's standard keyboard configuration compensates for this mouse pointer problem through easy navigation among menu buttons with the arrow keys of the numeric keypad. Affected users can just use those keyboard keys instead of their mouse pointer. Selected buttons are then toggled or activated by pressing the "ENTER" or "SPACEBAR" keyboard keys. Unfortunately, this option is not obvious to new players suffering from this problem, who may simply abandon LAC before discovering the simple solution.

Accordingly, I added new, animated instructive text to the initial signon animation. It displays "IF YOUR MOUSE POINTER RESPONDS TOO SLOWLY, YOU CAN NAVIGATE AMONG OUR MENUS WITH THE ARROW KEYS OF YOUR NUMERIC KEYPAD INSTEAD. AFTER HIGHLIGHTING A MENU BUTTON, ACTIVATE IT WITH ENTER OR SPACE". That new text starts out small and grows gradually larger for 14 seconds in order to attract enough attention to ensure it is seen by new users.

Improvement 2 of 2: User interface improvements for players that have not yet installed Mumble

All previous versions of LAC alert network players on the 3-line scrolling SystemMessagePanel whenever another player participating in the current mission presses the key configured as his Mumble "PTT" ("Push To Talk") key. For example, if the player with CommunityHandle "FRED" had configured "F1" as his Mumble "PTT" key for "NarrowCasting" according to our prevailing norms, when he held down "F1", all other players participating in his online, multiplayer mission saw the following message scroll onto their SystemMessage Panel:

"NARROWCAST COMMS FROM FRED"

Following the same pattern, if FRED configured "F2" as his "PTT2" key for "MissionCasting" according to our prevailing norms, when he held down "F2", all other players participating in his online, multiplayer mission saw the following similar message scroll onto their SystemMessage Panel:

"BROADCAST COMMS FROM FRED"

There was a little quirk in that logic: Even if the user had not installed Mumble, those Mumble Status Change Messages were still displayed in response to Fred's use of either of those keyboard keys. Of course, if Mumble was not present on the user's computer, those Mumble Status Change Messages were not very useful, and they might have confused new users. Furthermore, if a new user lacking Mumble ever attempted to transmit his voice through the "F1" or "F2" (Push-To-Talk) keyboard keys, his Mumble Panel would illuminate with status implying successful transmission of his voice, further confusing him.

This version improves that situation. If Mumble is installed and configured according to our norms, no changes will be apparent.

However, if Mumble is not installed, the user's cockpit instruments behave differently. The Mumble panel warns the user with a prominent message declaring "MUMBLE NOT INSTALLED" instead of "MUMBLE PANEL". Furthermore, instead of displaying the name of the current Mumble Channel, a message declaring "MUMBLE INACCESSIBLE. PLEASE INSTALL MUMBLE" is displayed by default. Attempts to use any of the Mumble-oriented channel-changing "hot keys" are ignored unless the user presses some of them in rapid succession, whereupon the "MUMBLE INACCESSIBLE. PLEASE INSTALL MUMBLE" message is temporarily replaced with "UNCHANGED". Whenever the player attempts to use either of his configured Mumble "Push-to-Talk" keys to attempt a Mumble TeamCast, MissionCast, Broadcast, Narrowcast, or Realmcast, the associated Mumble status message is colored grey and prepended with "CANNOT". When another network-connected user participating in the player's current mission transmits his voice for a TeamCast or a MissionCast via Mumble, any participating players NOT equipped with Mumble will see "VOICE NARROWCAST MISSED" or "VOICE BROADCAST MISSED" on their Mumble Panels, and a message like "FRED IS TRYING TO SPEAK WITH YOU" is scrolled through their 3-line SystemMessagePanel.

As a consequence of these changes, players that have not yet installed mumble are given constant, situation-appropriate feedback online about the resulting deficiencies. This will help new players to understand the value and importance of installing and using Mumble as they join and participate actively in the LAC online community.

I also updated and corrected spelling and punctuation in several of the aircraft selection menus.