implemented Bug - Show Helper Gates For Unit with flag 0 should turn them off, but they only turn off for a fraction of a second then turn on again.

[TEMPEST.114]

So I was noodling around trying to find out why the gates aren't able to be turned off and I found the bug after 5 mins.

The command in the mission editor to show them to a unit includes a field called 'FLAG' with a value of 1.

I guessed this was the ON flag.

Setting it to 0, five seconds after it had been turn on, via another trigger in the ME, indeed turned it off - but for a millisecond. They visually flash but reappear. 

So I made a little test mission and script that after 10 seconds in mission, it sets the flag to 0 and loops every thousandths of a second and does it again

And guess what, they vanish.

Then, another trigger at 20 seconds turns off the loop and the gates return; oddly the gates for previous but now deceased waypoints return - another bug?  

Attached is the mission file.

What we can conclude here is that the FLAG field on SHOW HELPER GATES FOR UNIT, is indeed the ON/OFF switch, but there is a bug in the game code that turns it right back on again.

Obviously this doesn't permit granular turning off of individual gates at each way point, but it does permit them to be removed completely.

 

 

helper_gates_bug_demo_TF-51.miz

Edited April 6, 2024 by Elphaba
Updated information

[TEMPEST.114]

@Flappie Hi. Do you know if this has been reported/recorded? I feel like it's snuck under the radar for years... 

[Flappie]

Brilliant bug report. Thanks.

Issue reported.

[Flappie]

HI @Elphaba. Devs answered me. This is not a bug: add a flag name in the FLAG field so this flag gets updated anytime the player passes a waypoint (e.g. the flag will equal 5 when WP5 is passed).

You've been heard nonetheless: devs will soon* allow you to hide helper gates by leaving the FLAG field empty.

*no dates.

[TEMPEST.114]

17 minutes ago, Flappie said:

HI @Elphaba. Devs answered me. This is not a bug: add a flag name in the FLAG field so this flag gets updated anytime the player passes a waypoint (e.g. the flag will equal 5 when WP5 is passed).

You've been heard nonetheless: devs will soon* allow you to hide helper gates by leaving the FLAG field empty.

*no dates.

Oh. Well it would really help if the labels were clearer. Just ‘flag’ doesn’t say much does it?! Lol especially for it being so useful I.e. knowing which gates have been correctly passed! /smh

i Never use the gates, but lots of others do and I wanted to try and help and that ‘flag’ field -being very unclear- seemed to be the fix. 

Edited April 25, 2024 by Elphaba

[TEMPEST.114]

21 minutes ago, Flappie said:

HI @Elphaba. Devs answered me. This is not a bug: add a flag name in the FLAG field so this flag gets updated anytime the player passes a waypoint (e.g. the flag will equal 5 when WP5 is passed).

You've been heard nonetheless: devs will soon* allow you to hide helper gates by leaving the FLAG field empty.

*no dates.

Here’s all the manual has to say about it:

Can you please remind the devs we’re not mind readers, and labels should make things clearer, not more opaque. Even a tooltip explanation would have helped. 
 

Thanks