Significant Update Patch to my Globular Package for Testing

[t00fri]

I can't get rid of the flickering on Linux. I think I saw than Andrew has a 64 bit system. My Linux is also 64 bit. I wonder if this is a 64 bit driver issue? I'm using driver 180.22. My WindowsXP is 32 bit.
cartrite

How about our MAC OS friends who also see the flickering?

I did many more tries, but was entirely unable to generate any flickering apart from what I described.

Fridger

[cartrite]

Here is a video you can try that I uploaded to CM. It shows what I see and M4 disappears at the end. It is ogg format captured on Linux.

I noticed a strange thing here. I can make M4 disappear and try to capture the url but when I run Celestia again and try to go to the url, the globular is visible. I have to move the view again to make it disappear.
cartrite

[ajtribick]

I confirm here cartrite's point about the URLs. Just to add, don't think it's been mentioned yet, but this appears to affect all render paths. There doesn't appear to be anything there when I press *.

[t00fri]

I confirm here cartrite's point about the URLs. Just to add, don't think it's been mentioned yet, but this appears to affect all render paths. There doesn't appear to be anything there when I press *.

Andrew,

it is meanwhile beyond doubt that some people including myself do not see anything of these reported flickering effects. Hence:

--Do you run a 64bit machine with Linux?
--Do you run any Add-ons when testing?

Fridger

[ajtribick]

Yes, it's a 64-bit machine. As for add-ons, the only ones I'm running on my current setup are my own: Gliese 876, Regulus, HW Virginis, HR 8799+Fomalhaut, Beta Pictoris b and HD 202206 Jacobian orbits. The problem remains even if I remove the add-ons.

[cartrite]

I also tried all render paths (same problem in all) and typing "*" and didn't notice anything unusual. I can't understand why the url doesn't capture the defect. When I make M4 disappear, I can scroll the mouse wheel and change my position vast distances to and fro the object and it never appears. But no mater how far or near I am, it always appears again when I try to use the url again. This kind of tells me that the defect must be in the driver because it is not a state in Celestia that seems to be causing this but rather a state in the hardware. Maybe the same bug is in 2 different drivers. MAC and Linux 64. We are talking all Nvidia products here, right?
cartrite

[t00fri]

I also tried all render paths (same problem in all) and typing "*" and didn't notice anything unusual. I can't understand why the url doesn't capture the defect. When I make M4 disappear, I can scroll the mouse wheel and change my position vast distances to and fro the object and it never appears. But no mater how far or near I am, it always appears again when I try to use the url again. This kind of tells me that the defect must be in the driver because it is not a state in Celestia that seems to be causing this but rather a state in the hardware. Maybe the same bug is in 2 different drivers. MAC and Linux 64. We are talking all Nvidia products here, right?
cartrite

Vincent is not seing anything either and I think he uses 32bit Windows...

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Is there anyone with a 32bit Win system or a 32bit Linux and a recent NV driver, who sees the flicker??
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Fridger

[selden]

I see no flicker on this system configuration:

32 bit Windows XP Pro, SP3
128MB Quadro FX 550, ForceWare v169.47
Celestia r4606 + glob patch 4606 applied using Cygwin's patch utility

Note, however, that I had to uninstall ForceWare v181.20.
(That's the most recent official release for Quadro cards)
It was seriously broken: the display acted as if it were using a higher resolution
than I had specified (icons were closer together and letters were smaller)
and when I expanded Celestia's window from its default size, it never refreshed:
the contents of the window stayed white.

I'll try it on my 32bit system at home tomorrow morning.

[t00fri]

I see no flicker on this system configuration:

32 bit Windows XP Pro, SP3
128MB Quadro FX 550, ForceWare v169.47
Celestia r4606 + glob patch 4606 applied using Cygwin's patch utility

Note, however, that I had to uninstall ForceWare v181.20.
(That's the most recent official release for Quadro cards)
It was seriously broken: the display acted as if it were using a higher resolution
than I had specified (icons were closer together and letters were smaller)
and when I expanded Celestia's window from its default size, it never refreshed:
the contents of the window stayed white.

I'll try it on my 32bit system at home tomorrow morning.

Many thanks for testing Selden.

I am not sure what you meant to say with the paragraph about your ForceWare v181.20 driver specifically in the context of the patch? Are you saying that my patch broke your driver???

Fridger

[danielj]

Where do I have to unzip the patch?
I have Celestia SVN 4580 and unzip both to extras and root and it appears that nothing is different.Did I do something wrong?
Another thing;I was about to update my Nvidia driver,but it appears that the 181.XX don?t behave very well under Celestia.Should I delay the update?

[selden]

Fridger,

Sorry for the poorly written comment.
I should have written "The most recent update of ForceWare for Quadro hardware is of surprisingly poor quality." Your patch was an innocent victim.

[selden]

Daniel,

My problem was with a Quadro card.

I'm also running 181.20 on a 7800 GTX with no problems.
I don't know what additional patches are in 181.22.

8000, 9000 and 200 series cards will have different issues.

[selden]

I'm seeing no flicker on this system:

1GB 3.4GHz P4-550, 32bit Windows XP Pro, SP3
256 MB GF 7800 GTX, ForceWare 181.20
Celestia r4606 + globular patches applied using patch

Daniel,

The patches are only for source code r4606.
They can't be used with any other version.
You have to be compiling your own copy of Celestia for them to work.

[t00fri]

I'm seeing no flicker on this system:

1GB 3.4GHz P4-550, 32bit Windows XP Pro, SP3
256 MB GF 7800 GTX, ForceWare 181.20
Celestia r4606 + globular patches applied using patch

@Selden: thanks for clarifying & further testing ...


OK meanwhile the status is:

My huge (<- Cham ) flicker "bug" NOT seen by
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chris L. (Windows ?bit)
cartrite (Windows 32 bit)
Fridger (Windows 32 bit, Linux 32 bit)
Vincent (Windows 32 bit)
Selden (Windows 32 bit, 2 different NV cards)
Bob H. (Windows, Vista-Home-Premium 32 bit! )
ajtribick(Windows 32 bit)


Flicker seen by
------------------------------------
Cham (MAC OS)
ElChristou (MAC OS)
cartrite (Linux 64 bit)
ajtribick(Linux 64 bit)
----------------------------------------------------------

One IMPORTANT issue is whether the people who confirmed Cham's "flicker bug", also see it in my original (SVN) version of the globular package!!??

First results:

Flicker seen already in org. SVN version
--------------------------------------------------------------------
cartrite (Linux 64 bit)
ElChristou (MAC OS)
--------------------------------------------------------------------

most testers (except Cham) use NVIDIA cards. Some kind of driver/hardware systematics seems to appear already...


So we should contemplate what to do next?

I cannot "repair" what doesn't occur on my system...One question would be whether Chris L. sees the flicker on his MAC OS??

Clearly it should be about time to hear some kind of reactions also from Chris L. ...I have tried hard to get this stuff finished in time. VERY soon all my spare time is gone again for quite a while.


Fridger

[BobHegwood]

Just so's you know it Doc,
Flicker Bug NOT seen here either.

[t00fri]

Just so's you know it Doc,
Flicker Bug NOT seen here either.

Many thanks, Bob. You know you are first 64 bit Vista user NOT seing the flicker. Did you check with cartrite's video and Andrew's cel://url's carefully, in order not to possibly overlook the effect. I am told that it happens only in a fairly sharp arrangement.

I'll add you to my above summary listing above your post.

Fridger

[cartrite]

I see the flickering in the old code too on Suse11.1 using driver 180.22.
cartrite

[cartrite]

I also built the patch on Suse10.2 using driver 177.80. The old code and new code both flicker.

[t00fri]

Oh thanks Steve, that info about the flickering old SVN version in 64bit Linux valuable!

I'll enter it in my above summary listing

Fridger

[BobHegwood]

Many thanks, Bob. You know you are first 64 bit Vista user NOT seing the flicker. Did you check with cartrite's video and Andrew's cel://url's carefully, in order not to possibly overlook the effect. I am told that it happens only in a fairly sharp arrangement.

Okay,
The cel://url's do NOT work on my machine. Apparently, I still have problems
with both Firefox and Explorer when it comes to opening these locations, so
my testing may not have been at the right place and time.

Also, and just FYI, my Celestia installation is actually running in the 32-bit
environment.

Dunno what this information is worth, but them's the facts.

Again though, thanks for this extension to Celestia's capabilities. Is very
nice.