Patches and Layers problem

[grayman]

I've encountered a problem with patches. I doesn't occur with brushes.

 

Use layers.

 

Have one layer visible.

 

Create a patch in that layer. The new patch now belongs to that layer.

 

Hide the layer.

 

Show the layer.

 

The new patch is missing. Show the Default layer and--voila!--there's the patch. It was moved to the Default layer when its true layer was hidden.

 

However, if you create a new patch when only one layer is visible, and explicitly move that patch to the visible layer, it stays put across layer hide/show.

 

Has anyone else seen this?

[greebo]

So, you're saying the new patch is created on the Default layer event though it was not visible at that time? This is the standard behaviour for all nodes.

 

I can change the behaviour such that the patch ends up in the first visible layer after creation.

[grayman]

So, you're saying the new patch is created on the Default layer event though it was not visible at that time? This is the standard behaviour for all nodes.

 

I can change the behaviour such that the patch ends up in the first visible layer after creation.

 

Given 3 layers: Room, Blocks, Default, all visible.

 

Create a new brush. It gets assigned to the Default layer. That's fine, and makes sense.

 

Hide Default.

 

Create a brush. The editor now has Room and Blocks to choose from, and it picks Room. (I don't know how it decides. Maybe it's the last visible layer in the alphabetical list.)

 

Hide Room. Only Blocks is now visible.

 

Create a brush. It gets assigned to the Blocks layer, the only visible layer.

 

Now, if you create patches instead of brushes, they all appear to be assigned to the Default layer, regardless of what layers are visible, and regardless of whether the Default layer itself is visible. This isn't logical.

 

So there are two problems:

 

1. Patches are assigned to Default, regardless.

 

2. The editor doesn't recognize right away that a new patch, now belonging to the hidden Default layer, shouldn't be displayed. It waits until you do something else, like hide/show layers, or create another patch, or resize a brush, or whatever.

 

The upshot is that if you create patches when the Default layer is hidden, they will suddenly disappear at a later time. The workaround is that you have to immediately move a new patch to the desired layer, which is illogical if that layer is the only one visible.

 

IMHO, patches should behave like brushes.

[grayman]

I should add that until I realized what was going on, I was recreating what I thought were deleted patches. So I ended up with more than a few duplicate patches sitting on top of one another. So there is a downside to the current patch behavior.

[greebo]

Ok, please add a bugtracker entry about this problem then - new patches should behave like new brushes with regards to layers. Maybe I can squeeze that in for DarkRadiant 1.3.0.

[Fidcal]

Possibly they should be created in *all* visible layers. How else can the mapper control it? If they create in one of several visible layers it is confusing. So either they all create in default always or always create in all visible layers if default is hidden?

 

I've always assumed all go in default but remain visible at first even if default is hidden. So if it matters I always I always move new creations into a particular layer while still selected; otherwise leave in default. It is default after all. But I don't think you want a new creation or insertion to disappear on creation if default is hidden because you lose the selection. Insert a 500-piece prefab and it instantly vanishes. I don't think so.

 

On balance I think I prefer all to go in default by default and while still selected the mapper then has the option to move to a particular layer. Would it be confusing if the default layer was automatically unhidden when anything is inserted/created?

 

I don't know. I can't think of a perfect solution.

[greebo]

We discussed introducing a checkbox or similar which denotes the layer new stuff goes into. The mapper would be able to choose from all layers where newly created brushes and patches go into. There is a separate issue report for this on the bugtracker, but I haven't been tackling it so far.

[ungoliant]

yeah fixing this would be nice. i stopped using layers a while back because of these issues. I've been grouping things by using func_statics instead. upon release of FM, I would just convert back to worldspawn. But yeah, having layers that work properly would be.... really good.

[grayman]

Bug filed in bugtracker.

 

Thanks.

[aidakeeley]

Nice find, grayman.

 

Seems like this and the other brush-stacking with no offset could be significant.

[greebo]

This one is fixed in SVN.