FRC Simulators (That still work)

[gblake]

Originally Posted by DanielPlotas

I got them to connect and start the match, but all I get is a blue screen with a scoreboard. When I press keys the name will move very slightly.
Edit: I hooked up an Xbox controller and now I can "drive" the name around.

Server is on top, client on bottom.

Hmmmm,

In a wild guess, Captain Obvious is guessing that the software for creating a match and simulating the progress of the match worked (maybe), but that rendering the field, game pieces, and robot graphics/models failed. In other words, you have invisible physics models playing on an invisible field; but you don't have the visible graphics that are supposed to be shown at the virtual locations reported by the physics models.

That might be fixable by switching to backlevel libraries or by supplying new graphics models.

If I could remember how to activate the slick debugging features Dave Stevens put into the code (6-8 years ago)(using Lua and some other tricks), we could test my guess by seeing if we could get wireframe outlines of the physics models to appear. I sent Dave an email today, asking if he can dredge up any memories. Maybe his supply of memberries is fresher than mine.

Blake
PS: If you are wondering why I don't just look through the old code... Well, what we developed contained intellectual property that belonged to the folks who partially paid for developing it, and I didn't get to take any of the code with me when I left those folks, and moved on to greener pastures.

[gblake]

Originally Posted by gblake

...
If I could remember how to activate the slick debugging features Dave Stevens put into the code (6-8 years ago)(using Lua and some other tricks), we could test my guess by seeing if we could get wireframe outlines of the physics models to appear. I sent Dave an email today, asking if he can dredge up any memories. Maybe his supply of memberries is fresher than mine.
...

Dave replied and told me that he couldn't get the old code to work either.

His guesses at the root causes were similar to mine. Software tends to corrode/erode over time in the sense that as libraries, APIs, device-drivers, etc. evolve, both their interfaces and implementations change, and ... if only one bit in one part of the entire system becomes incompatible with the rest ... the result can turn into driving a label around on a blue screen.

Sorry, but for now we may have to relegate the Fifth Gear simulators to the bone yard. Maybe some day someone will be able to pull a copy of the source code out of the repository we were using, and revive them for a nostalgia-fest.

Blake

[Chris is me]

I've gotten 5th Gear to work as recently as a few months ago. Let me give it another try in a couple of days and I'll try and help out.

Once you do get it working, it's not without a few bugs and problems. 2009 and 2011 are not all that playable. Luckily, the 2011 version implements 2008 and 2010, but not the same as it used to (most notably, objects that leave the playing field stay off the field). Still fun for the occasional game or two when you want to kill time driving a robot.

Other than that, the only simulators still working are Catalyst 2012 if you have an Xbox 360 with it installed, or team-made simulators from 2014 to 2016 (granted, many of these are fun, I just have trouble consistently finding them). I think the 3539 simulator for 2016 was the most fun, and 4481 had a cool one for 2015 as well.

[gblake]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

...
Once you do get it working, it's not without a few bugs and problems.
...

Chris is being kind.

There were plenty of bugs, and twitchy behaviors in each version.

If I am able to create new versions, I plan to use 20/20 hindsight to emphasize drive-ability (and a few openness features) in the Physics from day one. In Fifth Gear, some early compromises (made for good reasons at the time) plagued us throughout the life of the project

Also, to add some background, fun was only one of our goals. I first proposed creating a simulator in order to help teams better understand the how matches would play out in real life (To help answer questions like, "How much time does it take to do task X when a defender is in your way?" Etc.). That we were also producing a little entertainment was a nice bonus.

And, if it turned out along the way that most of our users were looking for entertainment, that would be OK. It would simply be a reminder of the difference between ivory tower opinions about how the world should work, and the way the real world actually works.

Blake