Precision Problems - Development Log #504

Michi fixes some bugs after the Colonization release and resumes work on the gateways.

Michi (molp)

I started this week with a few bug fixes for the recent Colonization release. If you opened the universe map after the release, you'll surely have noticed that after moving the camera for a bit, the stars disappeared. The hover functionality to see system details was broken afterward as well. Luckily, I was able to find the cause pretty quickly. After playing around with the map after fixing the issue, I noticed that the map filters had the same issue and fixed them as well. While being at it, I also adjusted the colors of the map filters. The library we use for the 3d graphics (three.js) switched to physically based rendering, which results in a different color display in comparison to the way it was before. I adjusted quite a few colors before the release, but missed the filters. I also have to adjust the circular location highlighter but haven't gotten around that yet.

I also looked into a pretty ugly bug related to inventory transfers. It manifests in different ways: it sometimes happens when trying to move the suggested MAX amount to an almost full inventory. The transfer will then fail silently. In other cases it is not possible to fill the inventory to the last corner, even though there is still room left for one last item.

Both of these cases are related to the accuracy of floating point numbers, which we use to calculate the inventory capacity and load as well as item dimensions on the client side. I tried to fix the issue in the past, but seems like I missed some cases. I hope that I squished the bug for good now.

Now that the Colonization release is out, I began working on the gateways again. The goal is to get a preview version on the test server as soon as possible, so we can get some player feedback and potential bug reports before the actual release. This will keep me busy for a while, I'll let you know once it is available on the test server.

By the way: the first few batches of the new Vortex Fuel have been produced:

Looking forward to see the first colony ships!

As always, we'd love to hear what you think: join us on Discord or the forums!

Happy trading!