Testing FAZ Beta

Note: If you are looking to download the latest Beta client and Beta Artwork folder, note they are not available at present. This page is in the process of being updated, and the download links will be added when they are available.

Free Allegiance Zone Beta is similar to Shadow Allegiance, which was used by Microsoft RG during their development of the game. It allowed for people "in the know" to connect to a lobby that automatically updated the client and artwork to a pre-release version. This let MSRG developers get feedback from a select few and help decide to release the updated versions to the masses or go back to the drawing board.

Introduction

The Free Allegiance Zone Dev Team is responsible for FAZ Beta and overall continued development of Allegiance, but you can assist development by carefully followomg the instructions that have been conveniently placed here.

The number one reason testing is important: developers require timely and constant feedback. There are many more obvious reasons, one of them being to check if the next update will be compatible with your computer.

There are effectively two kinds of testing: By yourself (or with a very small group) to test individual issues, and with a large group to "stress-test" overall performance.

It's usually not necessary to test by yourself (unless you are a developer or you are helping a developer with a specific test case). For large-scale tests FAZ Beta Team have scheduled weekly events on Wednesdays. There is more tester activity throughout this day of the week than any other and thus makes testing a more enjoyable experience. Sometimes larger scale beta events will be held on the weekends, watch the Free Allegiance home page for information regarding these.

Getting Started

Downloads

Here you can find links to all the downloads you may need to run the latest allegiance build for FAZ beta.

Visual C++ libraries

Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 SP1 Redistributable Package (x86)

DirectX libraries

DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer

Video card drivers

Find out what kind of video card your computer uses, then update to the most recent version by following the corresponding link:

• ATI
• Nvidia
• Intel
  • Choose Graphics->Products->Desktop graphics controllers or Laptop graphics controllers

Note It is important that you use the most recent versions. It's one of the biggest issues with R4.

Allegiance client

Stub This article is incomplete This is an article about a topic that should be covered in more detail by the FreeAllegiance Wiki, but is lacking in content. You can help by improving it!

Not currently available. For now, refer to this forum thread.

Setup

This section provides instructions to configure your computer to run the latest allegiance build for FAZ beta. Ensure you have first installed the libraries and drivers from the links provided.

Files & Folders

• Extract the client and artwork downloads from above into a new empty folder.

When you execute the artwork file it will create the artwork sub directory and dev sub directory for you, point the extraction to the same folder you extracted the client to.

Note Do NOT manually create the artwork folder, the dev sub directory or the beta sub directory.

Simply extract the client and artwork to the same folders, it can be wherever you want.

Windows registry

If editing the registry isn't an option, a small utility can be run (from anywhere), a "Browse for Folder" window will appear and ask you to choose your artwork folder (the one that was created from the download above), select it, press OK and [b]you are done:[/b]

• Run the Beta registry helper

http://freeallegiance.sourceforge.net/betareghlpV2.exe

If small utilities concern you, the source code has been made available for your review:

http://alleg.pastebin.com/f4c82f5c3

Or you may make the registry edits manually:

Open regedit. If you are running Windows Vista you must open regedit as Administrator. In Registry Editor:

Win32

Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft.

From the menu bar choose Edit->New->Key. Type Microsoft Games then press enter.

Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft Games.

From the menu bar choose Edit->New->Key. Type Allegiance then press enter.

Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft Games\Allegiance.

From the menu bar choose Edit->New->Key. Type 1.1 then press enter.

Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft Games\Allegiance\1.1.

From the menu bar choose Edit->New->String Value. Type ArtPath then press enter.

Double left click your new ArtPath entry (in the right-hand side pane), type the full path to your artwork folder that was created when you extracted the zip file. i.e. C:\test\artwork (note: no trailing slash) then press enter.

From the menu bar choose Edit->New->String Value. Type CfgFile then press enter.

Double left click your new CfgFile entry (in the right-hand side pane), type or copy/paste http://fazdev.alleg.net/FAZ/FAZR5.cfg (note: case sensitive) then press enter.

Close regedit.

[b]you are done[/b]

Win64

Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft.

From the menu bar choose Edit->New->Key. Type Microsoft Games then press enter.

Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Microsoft Games.

From the menu bar choose Edit->New->Key. Type Allegiance then press enter.

Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Microsoft Games\Allegiance.

From the menu bar choose Edit->New->Key. Type 1.1 then press enter.

Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Microsoft Games\Allegiance\1.1.

From the menu bar choose Edit->New->String Value. Type ArtPath then press enter.

Double left click your new ArtPath entry (in the right-hand side pane), type the full path to your artwork folder that was created when you extracted the zip file. i.e. C:\test\artwork (note: no trailing slash) then press enter.

From the menu bar choose Edit->New->String Value. Type CfgFile then press enter.

Double left click your new CfgFile entry (in the right-hand side pane), type or copy/paste http://fazdev.alleg.net/FAZ/FAZR5.cfg (note: case sensitive) then press enter.

Close regedit.

[b]You are done[/b]

Troubleshooting

This section provides tips for common errors when following these instructions.

ASGS

It is not necessary to use ASGS when testing FAZ Beta nor is it recommended. To launch the game just double click the Allegiance.exe (the application file with a red icon) or your shortcut. A shortcut to the application is recommended, see the testing tip about using multiple clients.

Artwork

It is highly recommended that you have "clean" artwork. Clean artwork being an unmodified artwork folder, which can be found in the downloads section above. Testing FAZ Beta with custom mods, chat packs, etc. can have unexpected results and may prevent you from launching the game, connecting to the lobby, joining a server and piloting/commanding.

Downloads

If you have strange issues with the client or artwork download, verify its integrity. To do this compare the check sums from your download with the ones here. If they don't match up, clear your browser's cache and download them again. The tool used to verify the check sums can be found here:

http://downloads.activestate.com/contrib/md5sum/Windows/md5sum.exe

Currently, MD5s are not available.

Vista

The Allegiance.exe beta is built with "Require Administrator". This should make it easier for Vista users as the UAC dialog will appear. You will need a username and password for an account in the Administrators group if you are not logged in as one already.

Intro Video

If you don't see the intro video play when starting Allegiance using the primary display adapter and not in "safe mode", you may need to install the WMV2 codec. For XP or later you must get them via. Windows Media Player, here:

Win32

http://download.microsoft.com/download/0/9/5/0953E553-3BB6-44B1-8973-106F1B7E5049/wmp11-windowsxp-x86-enu.exe

Win64

http://download.microsoft.com/download/3/0/8/3080C52C-2517-43DE-BDB4-B7EAFD88F084/wmp11-windowsxp-x64-enu.exe

For Windows 2000, a codec installer can be found here:

http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/c/2/5c29d825-61eb-4b16-8eb8-58367d0464d5/WM9Codecs9x.exe

Playing the game

This section gives you background on what's changed and provides instructions for testing specific issues.

Testing

Main article: Test cases

Where do I report bugs/suggestions?

• If you know a specific developer was/is working on a similar issue, send them a private message (click here to create new message).
• If the bug doesn't affect gameplay (i.e. doesn't cause crashes) then search Allegzilla to see if it has already been reported.
• For suggestions or "Bugs" that will affect game play if "fixed" report in the FAZ Beta forum

Testing tips

Use multiple clients

Create a shortcut to launch Allegiance with the -multi and -windowed command-line switches. After creating a shortcut, right click on it then left click properties. Append (add to the end) of the target -windowed -multi after the quotes (if any).

Use quickstart

Create a shortcut as explained in the tip above. Add -quickstart to the end of the target, outside the quotes (if any). This will cause the game to join the most populated server automatically. If no players exist on any servers, a game will attempt to be created using the official core on the official server.

FAZ Development	About Free Allegiance Zone Releases: R1 · R2 · R3 · R4 · R5 · R6  · (current)R7 Allegiance R8: What's new? · Build it! Testing Beta: Overview · Testing procedure