5 replies to this topic

[Exilyth]

Title: Behaviour of input textfield in chat windows is broken.

Description: When inserting text into the textfield on any chat windows in the game, the caret jumps wildly when receiving text. Also text dissappears when changing state.

Location: Any chatwindow - be it mechlab/maingui, ingame (before, during and just after a match before returning to mechlab)

Reproduction Rate: 100% when chat window is open and state transition happens. About 25-100% when receiving messages.

Bug Evidence: see server chat logs - chat messages which have part of a sentence inserted inside another sentence are most probably caused by this bug.

Example: "The Warhawk is an Assaut meLRM boat.ch, but often abused as an"

Steps to Reproduce:

(expected behaviour)
1. Start any online game which is not MW:O, or any chat program/app
2. Chat with other people
3. notice how receiving messages from other people does not mess with the inserted text and the position of the caret/cursor in the input textfield
4. notice how changing state (e.g. dying, going afk, e.t.c) does not mess with the inserted text and the position of the caret/cursor in the input textfield

(behaviour currently in MW:O)
5. Fire up MW:O
6. Open mechlab chat
7. input text and/or move the caret/cursor position
8. notice how the caret/cursor position jumps wildly as messages from other players are received, mangling the text just inserted

9. join a match (any mode) and repeat the below for prematch chat, chat during the match and chat just after the match
|- 10. open chat window
|- 11. input text
|- 12. notice how the caret/cursor position jumps wildly as messages from other players are received, mangling the text just inserted
|- 13. notice how the caret/cursor position jumps wildly as the state changes (alive -> dead, dead -> post death statistics screen, post death statistics screen -> spectating, spectated player dies, spectating -> end of match statistics screen) received, mangling the text just inserted
|- 14. also notice how the chat window closes on a state change while you're in the middle of inputting text
|- 15. also notice how 14 makes the text just inserted dissappear
|- 16. also notice how the text from 14 is otput upon entering the next message

17. Notice how the above makes communication harder than it should be
18. Notice how the above makes communication less fun than it could be


______________________________________________________________________

Wow, this took a while to type up.

This might be multiple closely related bugs, but without knowing more than "it's a horrible mess" about how the UI is build in MW:O, I'm unable to try and separate them.

Edited by Exilyth, 07 May 2018 - 01:44 PM.

[D V Devnull]

Hi there, Exilyth. I haven't encountered this issue myself. Have you tried running the MWO Repair Tool? If not, make sure the first 5 checkboxes in the Options are all turned off, and uncheck the checkbox on the right side in the Primary Dialog as well, then let it scan the files. I'm in hope that you've just had an isolated incident, and that this issue won't keep happening to you. If it keeps happening, there's a possiblity that I might trip on it too.

~D. V. "I think that I may have a few extra game features to go check?" Devnull

[Exilyth]

[redacted] Heisenbugs!

Restarted MW:O and chat worked normal.

Had this bug happen multiple times in the past though. Especially the "state transition kills your chat window and then the text is gone but gets posted instead of the next message typed".

What I didn't re-check yet (will do in a second) Just checked is alt-tabbing out of the game a few times and then try to write in chat.

(will report back in a moment and replace this sentence with an edit.)

Looks like alt-tabbing doesn't have any influence on this.

Ok, here's how to replicate what I found out:
1. type a sentence, e.g. "bananas are my favorite animal"
2. move the cursor/caret to the left
3. type something, e.g. to insert 'most' before 'favorite'
4. notice the cursor jumping back to the end of the sentence whenever a message is received
5. notice the sentence becoming "bananas are my mofavorite animalst " or something similar.

Oh, I really hope the textfield isn't rebuild everytime the gui updates.
This part should be simple to fix though: save and restore caret/cursor position between updates.
E.g. if the caret/cursor is at position 10, move it back to position 10 instead of to the end of the textfield.


*scratches head*
Is it even called caret? Or cursor?
*looks it up*
Here's the thing I'm talking about: https://en.wikipedia...%28computers%29
Can be called both words according to wiki.
The more you know!

Edited by Exilyth, 07 May 2018 - 04:06 PM.

[D V Devnull]

Well, I have one minor update for you. While in the In-Game Chat from the MechLab, I sat on the Right Arrow Key by accident after doing something back at the front of the chat line, and now the issue has started appearing on me. I'll probably have to restart the MWO Client myself now. And I already verified my MWO Install and System RAM!

~D. V. "Nuts! I tripped on it too!" Devnull

[Exilyth]

I have not encountered the mangling part of this bug(s) today.

Then again, chat was rather quiet today.

[D V Devnull]

Exilyth, on 09 May 2018 - 01:55 PM, said:

I have not encountered the mangling part of this bug(s) today.

Then again, chat was rather quiet today.

Yeah, this Bug seems to require heavy traffic to become apparent. This type of prerequisite makes it hard to catch, and annoying when it reveals itself.

~D. V. "It also makes it tricky to fix..." Devnull