Mythbusters: The 11.26b Beta fixes the "underway replenishment bug"

[Kull]

ORIGINAL: Trugrit

I like the Beta as well just because Michael worked on it for years.
I trust him more than anyone else who may have put together the 1126a.

The person who developed all the new code in the 11.26a official release was....michaelm. Same guy. Everything in his many betas was summed up and released as 11.26a. To include the single fix included in 11.26b. Just compare the changelog in the Beta thread with those in the 11.26a pre-release thread.

But…I do install the beta after I install the 1126a first.

I'm not telling people it has to be uninstalled or that it's dangerous. Just that it doesn't DO anything. Everything in 11.26b is already present in 11.26a.

The problem for new players is that right now we have two versions of the updated game.
Or…at least the computer thinks we have two versions of the updated game.

Both those dates come from Michael's Beta patch thread and are the dates of his two Beta releases. They have little to do with the timing or contents of the official 11.26a release. Go to the Matrix store, and the WitP-AE page tells you the 11.26a patch is dated March 16, 2015 (see attached). That obviously isn't true. The Public Beta thread was created on November 1, 2016, which is almost 4 months after the 11.26a Beta and a full 6 weeks after 11.26b.

You can't use any of those dates to draw any definitive conclusions as to what is actually in the 11.26a official patch.

New players are naturally going to see the Beta thread in the Tech Support Section and see that it has a date that is newer than the 1126a and will continue to ask us about it until Kingdom Come.

Indeed they will. And as an AE veteran you now have definitive prove that the Beta fixes nothing, and can tell every new player who asks, to "ignore it". What you cannot do is tell them it fixes the "amphibious unload bug" or the "underway refueling bug", as those canards have been conclusively demolished. Nor can you tell them it fixes any other bug, because there are no others associated with the 11.26b Beta.

If michaelm's long service to the community has proven anything, it's that he's a good coder who listens to feedback and communicates ALL the fixes included in his Beta releases.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Kull

ORIGINAL: Trugrit

I like the Beta as well just because Michael worked on it for years.
I trust him more than anyone else who may have put together the 1126a.

The person who developed all the new code in the 11.26a official release was....michaelm. Same guy. Everything in his many betas was summed up and released as 11.26a. To include the single fix included in 11.26b. Just compare the changelog in the Beta thread with those in the 11.26a pre-release thread.

But…I do install the beta after I install the 1126a first.

I'm not telling people it has to be uninstalled or that it's dangerous. Just that it doesn't DO anything. Everything in 11.26b is already present in 11.26a.

The problem for new players is that right now we have two versions of the updated game.
Or…at least the computer thinks we have two versions of the updated game.

Both those dates come from Michael's Beta patch thread and are the dates of his two Beta releases. They have little to do with the timing or contents of the official 11.26a release. Go to the Matrix store, and the WitP-AE page tells you the 11.26a patch is dated March 16, 2015 (see attached). That obviously isn't true. The Public Beta thread was created on November 1, 2016, which is almost 4 months after the 11.26a Beta and a full 6 weeks after 11.26b.

You can't use any of those dates to draw any definitive conclusions as to what is actually in the 11.26a official patch.

New players are naturally going to see the Beta thread in the Tech Support Section and see that it has a date that is newer than the 1126a and will continue to ask us about it until Kingdom Come.

Indeed they will. And as an AE veteran you now have definitive prove that the Beta fixes nothing, and can tell every new player who asks, to "ignore it". What you cannot do is tell them it fixes the "amphibious unload bug" or the "underway refueling bug", as those canards have been conclusively demolished. Nor can you tell them it fixes any other bug, because there are no others associated with the 11.26b Beta.

If michaelm's long service to the community has proven anything, it's that he's a good coder who listens to feedback and communicates ALL the fixes included in his Beta releases.

Um - Kull - I'm seeing 1.01.26a in the screenshot for the 2015 version of the game. Isn't the current one 1.8.11.26a?

[Kull]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

Um - Kull - I'm seeing 1.01.26a in the screenshot for the 2015 version of the game. Isn't the current one 1.8.11.26a?

LOL. Well, if you click the link, it will download a file called "WarinthePacificAdmiralsEdition-UpdateComp-v1126a.zip" (see attached)

I ran the exe and it installed the complete v11.26a comprehensive update. Sooo.....

(Clearly, Matrix is trolling us)

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Kull

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

Um - Kull - I'm seeing 1.01.26a in the screenshot for the 2015 version of the game. Isn't the current one 1.8.11.26a?

LOL. Well, if you click the link, it will download a file called "WarinthePacificAdmiralsEdition-UpdateComp-v1126a.zip" (see attached)

I ran the exe and it installed the complete v11.26a comprehensive update. Sooo.....

(Clearly, Matrix is trolling us)

Agreed! I suspect the administrator for the updates section of their website is not entirely familiar with the games being updated! [8|]

[Kull]

To be clear, I don't have some sort of irrational hatred toward the Beta Patch. I'm just a big fan of efficiency, and the only things it supposedly fixed were:

1) The stated fix in the Beta changelog: A problem involving amphibious unload rates.

2) The long-held forum belief: A problem involving late-war underway replenishment.

Both have been tested pretty extensively, and I can't find evidence of either problem in both 11.26a and 11.26b. They handle each situation identically. On the face of it, the implication is the 11.26b fix was added to 11.26a prior to the patch release.

But there's a fly in the ointment. Let's look at the properties of each executable. In the attachment, we have 11.26a on the left and 11.26b to the right. Note that each file is exactly the same size, which is what you'd expect if they were truly identical. However, look at the "Modified" dates. Not surprisingly, 11.26b has a date which matches that in the Beta Thread changelog (September 17, 2016). However the 11.26a executable delivered by the Patch has the same date as its "Beta" counterpart (July 10, 2016), again as seen in the changelog.

That is surprising. If the 11.26b fix was added to the Patch executable you would think the modified date would be different, but it isn't. And there's another oddity....

[Kull]

Here are the properties of the 11.26a comprehensive update executable. Not the game .exe, but rather the one which installs the whole patch. The creation date is August 19, 2016, which is significant, because that is BEFORE the 11.26b Beta was created. Which implies that whatever went into 11.26b - assuming it truly is different than 11.26a - well it could not have made it's way into the update.

It's baffling. The "fix" which is actually called out for 11.26b is definitely part of 11.26a so what - if anything - is different about it?

[RangerJoe]

I suppose that he could be asked . . .

[BBfanboy]

Isn't the game download .exe file just packaging to deliver the content to you as a self-extracting .zip file? The package does not change the game within in any way, and a package invented before the game can still be used.

[Trugrit]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

Isn't the game download .exe file just packaging to deliver the content to you as a self-extracting .zip file? The package does not change the game within in any way, and a package invented before the game can still be used.

Jim,

My understanding is that when the install application is created
it is a complete package along with the patch and can be added to
but the computer time stamps it when it is modified.

Every time you modify the package the computer time stamps it.

The updates are a package inside a package inside a zip file.

I’ve un-packed it below.

The dates of the modifications are what Kull finds strange and so do I.
Strange but it may not mean anything. Or, it could mean a lot.

Note that the 1126a uses a different install application than the Beta.

The official update, 1126a, has much more content than the beta.
It checks for your serial number and note that it requires
1.09 GB of disk space. It is comprehensive.
Maybe the entire game.

If you remember when the 1126a came out and you installed it
it installed the complete map sets. I remember players complaining
that it wiped out their maps and art when it installed.

That is why you can’t just install the beta and run with it without installing the 1126a first.

So, here we are.
Most likely the 1126a is complete and players can just run with it.

Maybe we should split into two religious factions.
Like the Catholics and Protestants.

One group we can call the Institutional Conformists who run with the 1126a.

And one group we can call the Ecclesiastical Goths who run with the 1126b Beta.

[rustysi]

This is the thread where the 'bug' was looked into...

https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.a ... lenishment&#

[rustysi]

This is the thread where 'The Moose' alludes to his test.

https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.a ... lenishment#

[rustysi]

Now I haven't checked all the dates here of when things were or weren't done, but here's what I recall...

That may be a bad thing.[:D]

So I thought that I already had 1126a installed when the 'fix' was implemented and that's why I loaded up 1126b. Now, have the two become 'one', I don't see why not, especially once the support for the code had been discontinued.

Just my .02.[:)]

[Kull]

Thanks for dredging up the old threads, very interesting. In particular, the dates of the various tests. In June 2016, several individuals ran tests indicating there was an issue with underway replenishment. It wasn't completely broken, but there were definitely "issues". And sure enough, one month later on July 10, 2016 michaelm released a Beta update (11.26a as it happens). Let's see what that update included:

[10.07.2016] 1126a
Fix underway replenishment not working if total rearm cost too big
Fix fort construction increment when viewing base (build 99%+). Handle 100% in normal construction
Fix mark ship loading complete when supplies exceed capacity

So was there an "underway replenishment bug"? Yes, definitely. Was it actually fixed prior to 11.26b, meaning that one should expect to see that fix in the official 11.26a patch? Yes, definitely.

[rustysi]

Thanks for dredging up the old threads,

I thought they would help.

one should expect to see that fix in the official 11.26a patch? Yes, definitely.

OK.