BTB Version 0.7 Beta Testing Phase 2

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Brendon Pywell

Bob's Track Builder
Hi Guys,

For v0.7 I have made a significant change to the way BTB saves and loads your projects. The XML file was getting too large, and as some will have noticed it consumes a lot of memory just to load and interpret a large file.

The new format is in binary, consumes much less space and is faster to save and load. But it's also not easy to read/edit in a text editor so it's crucial that I get this save/load routine perfect.

The latest version should be mostly free of bugs. Please report any problems in this thread. Sorry the help file hasn't been updated yet.

You can get the latest BETA version here ... http://www.bobstrackbuilder.net/pro_users/beta_test.aspx. Please read the page very carefully.
 
  • 42Cliff

I'm wondering, is one reason terrain editing on a larger project is so slow because it is writing a full backup for every tiny change? what about doing undo as a 2 step process - full backup every x minutes, and in between only writing the changes?

it could massively reduce the disk throughput load while still preserving undo info... don't know how hard that would be to program though.

edit: or far simpler, a option to sacrifice the every step undo in favor of backing up every minute or x seconds (user selectable)
 
I turn Undo off (set number to 0 in options) when working on large projects. I save every couple of minutes by pressing Control-S .. but I rarely make mistakes. :rotfl:

Yes it would be better to only store the incremental change. Yes it does take a lot of programming and is something that I will only tackle once more of the interface/features is complete.
 
  • dampire

Not sure if I like the idea of not having a xml file.

Today I have to do just that because my guardrail walls are glitching cars so I am making them all non-collision walls and duplicating them all and changing the duplicated shapes to be simple 2 point walls that are not rendered but collide.

You cant do that if you cant edit the xml.

In the past I also replaced all the shapes of my walls (85 of them) much faster using a advanced text editor vs BTB where you cant be accurate with the wall shapes.
 
  • 42Cliff

where is this option you speak of? I can't find it.

edit:

Oh!! I get it! set Undo Limit to 0 for no undo feature!

thats simple! Thanks!
 
I like the XML files and will severly miss them ...I am not looking forward to having to learn some new program or editing technique ... I am getting to be an old DAWG and its hard for me to learn new tricks ...LOL
 
  • 42Cliff

I would hope you would reconsider the decision to leave out DEM support since this will also break all the elevation scripts unless you give the option to save as xml as well. :eek:
 
I don't have DEM support so I can't really leave it out. ;)

You can still run scripts to edit the saved file, but you'll have to be a bit smarter about it.

Eventually we'll do this the proper way and plugins will be the standard method.
 
Not sure if I like the idea of not having a xml file.

Today I have to do just that because my guardrail walls are glitching cars so I am making them all non-collision walls and duplicating them all and changing the duplicated shapes to be simple 2 point walls that are not rendered but collide.

You cant do that if you cant edit the xml.

In the past I also replaced all the shapes of my walls (85 of them) much faster using a advanced text editor vs BTB where you cant be accurate with the wall shapes.

Actually you can do that completely within BTB. Use the Copy feature to duplicate a wall (hold down 'C' and move the wall slightly) then do your node editing. I use it so much I'm starting to wear out my 'C' key :).

But I agree being able to edit the XML is very handy for getting exact wall match-ups and the like. Fortunately Piddy has plans for all those sort of operations to be built into BTB's interface so I think its a good move to improve the file format for improved speed and stability.
 
i´m testing BTB 0.7 no problems at load/save and reload at moment, but i have problems if i try to select a 3d objet, i have to change the camera angle to select it.

does anyone heave the same can´t select 3d objets problem.


from my load/save/reload test every goes fine. today i´m going to create new test proyect, it´s amazing how fast is BTB 0.7
 
  • 42Cliff

Piddy, consider the option of saving as .xml and importing .xml in addition to the default binary, so both formats could live side by side in harmony. :music: :D
 
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