TPU (Tanks n Planes Unlimited)

Sisko's latest video is now available for viewing. You'll find it in the Files and links section, or you can use the quick link below.

The new video is a promotion for TPU, and it's epic. There's gameplay footage from several different maps, showing plenty of action. The new chessboard on Dark Ryda's Race Track map is also shown.

Warning: this is a long video. Due to upload bandwidth constraints of TPU's Internet provider, it will take a while to download no matter how fast your connection is.

Thanks, Sisko!

http://jrc-core.com/files/TPU_PROMO4_by_Sisko.m4v

Both servers were down this morning for about 20 minutes while the power meter was replaced. The outage should have only been for a couple of minutes, but there was a problem with the router that took a few additional minutes to sort out. Sorry for any inconvenience.

The map El Alamein Brit has been removed from the DCX map rotation since it was causing server crashes.

TPU's stats have been reset for the new year. I kept a copy of the 2011 stats, which you can still see by clicking the '2011' link next to the main 'Statistics' link in the left sidebar. Stats from before 2011 are also still available; click the '2010' link to see them.

Sisko was the king of 2011 by a wide margin. Congratulations! Can anyone unseat him in 2012?

Update: Stats review for 2011

Top points using TPU rating algorithm:
Sisko: 22,426.25 points

Top score (BF1942 score):
Sisko: 285,050

Top score per round average (played at least 20 rounds):
Tenacious: 88.7491 per round

Top Kill/Death ratio (played at least 20 rounds)
Sisko: 17.1263 kills per death

Top Team Killer:
Tenacious: 2343 kills

It's a new year, so that means I'm busy doing some yearly maintenance. I'm hoping to roll over the stats later today. This morning I went through the laborious task of resetting every event in TPU's BFSM scheduler. This must be done every year or the scheduler stops working entirely. Let me know if you notice any apparent scheduler problems.

By popular demand, TPU is now running DC Extended (DCX) instead of DC Final on Tuesdays.

I just discovered there is a debug version of BF1942. So I created a page that describes how to install and use it, which you can find in the "Files and links" section. There's also a direct link below.

Basically, the debugger generates a log during map load and subsequent gameplay, describing any problems with missing resources and various other problems. You map modders out there should seriously take a look at this thing - I know I will.

On the new page, there's also a link to an article that describes how WinRFA destroys some of the information in a map when it is used to pack map files. I'll be looking into that to see if maybe we can start showing "the chrome shiny reflections on some weapons & vehicles" on TPU maps. UPDATE: My own recent testing of WinRFA indicates otherwise, so this issue was presumably addressed in an update to WinRFA at some point.

http://jdrgaming.com/geeklog/staticpa...42debugger

UPDATE 2012Jan09: Oops! I left the linked page as a draft, which means you probably couldn't see it if you tried. That has now been fixed.

DarkRyda has been hard at work enhancing the Battle of Britain map (the bf42 one). Some of the changes were requested by other players. Some of them are attempts to reduce lag, which has been a bit of a problem with this map. He also removed some of the jeeps that the bots like to sleep in. Here's the list of changes:

1. Changed the SBD to a Corsair.
2. Changed the B17 (removed) to an Illyushin.
3. Removed some Kettenkrads at the Axis airfield so bots don't drive them in front of planes.
4. Changed the spawn rates for tanks/jeeps/kettenkrads back to default setting.
5. Lowered all spawn rates for all planes to a maximum of 2.
6. Added a couple of AA guns at the Axis base to defend against plane raping.
7. Removed some Jeeps/Kettenkrads.

As always, feedback is encouraged.
Thanks, Ryda!

I'm noticing some irregularities in the way TPU is appearing in the in-game server browser. This may be due to some router configuration changes I made when I was setting up the BF2 server.

Unfortunately, diagnosing this problem is difficult from where I am, because my computer is on the same network, inside the same router, as the two game servers.

Now, obviously people are able to join and play on TPU, but I know many of you are probably connecting using the WAN IP address (174.6.225.213), or using XFire or HLSW to connect, thereby bypassing the in-game server browser.

But could I ask you all to check your in-game server browser? Once you're looking at the INTERNET server list, click the UPDATE button to rebuild the server list, then look for "Tanks 'n Planes Unlimited". Let me know what you find.

If those of you running BF2 could do the same thing in that game's in-game server browser, and let me know if you see "[TPU]BF2..." that would be extremely helpful as well.

Obviously having the servers appear in the in-game server browsers is not necessary for people to play on the servers, but it will help in attracting new players.

Sisko's latest video contribution is a gag reel, with people and things colliding and getting blown up in various hilarious ways. Stunts gone wrong, upside-down plane landings and Stooges music. What more could you want? It's in the "Files and links" section, but here's a quick link: http://jrc-core.com/files/TPU_Gag_Reel_01_by_Sisko.flv.