Fix #2834: Frame-rate-independent general promotion star blink

[secprentice]

Summary

Fixes #2834.

The general promotion star button used TheGameLogic->getFrame() % LOGICFRAMES_PER_SECOND > LOGICFRAMES_PER_SECOND / 2 to drive its blink animation. At high FPS (e.g. uncapped or 144 Hz), logic frames advance faster than real time, causing the button to blink far too rapidly and become visually distracting.

Change: Replaced the frame-based blink condition with timeGetTime() % 1000 > 500 in both Generals and GeneralsMD ControlBar.cpp. This gives a steady, wall-clock 1 Hz blink (500 ms on / 500 ms off) that is completely independent of game speed or frame rate.

Files changed

• Generals/Code/GameEngine/Source/GameClient/GUI/ControlBar/ControlBar.cpp
• GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngine/Source/GameClient/GUI/ControlBar/ControlBar.cpp

Test plan

• Earn a general promotion at high FPS (uncapped or 144 Hz+) — star button should blink at ~1 Hz, not rapidly
• Confirm the star still blinks (not permanently on or off)
• Confirm behaviour is identical in both the base game and Zero Hour builds

[greptile-apps]

Greptile Summary

Replaces the frame-count-based blink condition in getStarImage() with a timeGetTime() % 1000 > 500 wall-clock check, making the general promotion star blink at a steady 1 Hz regardless of game speed or frame rate. The identical fix is applied consistently to both the base game (Generals/) and Zero Hour (GeneralsMD/) builds.

• timeGetTime is already pulled in through PreRTS.h → <mmsystem.h> and used pervasively across the engine, so no new dependency or include is needed.
• The behavioural difference (blink continues while the game is paused) is intentional and desirable for a UI element that should draw the player's attention.

Confidence Score: 5/5

Safe to merge — two-line change swapping a frame-count blink for a wall-clock blink, with no new dependencies or side-effects.

The fix is minimal and self-contained: timeGetTime is already declared through PreRTS.h and used widely across the engine, the modulo arithmetic is correct for a DWORD, and the change is applied symmetrically in both the base-game and Zero Hour files. No logic outside of getStarImage is touched.

No files require special attention.

Important Files Changed

Filename	Overview
Generals/Code/GameEngine/Source/GameClient/GUI/ControlBar/ControlBar.cpp	Single-line fix in getStarImage(): frame-based blink replaced with timeGetTime() % 1000 > 500; no new dependencies needed.
GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngine/Source/GameClient/GUI/ControlBar/ControlBar.cpp	Identical fix mirrored for Zero Hour build; change is consistent and correct.

Flowchart

%%{init: {'theme': 'neutral'}}%%
flowchart TD
    A[getStarImage called] --> B{sciencePurchasePoints\nchanged or <= 0?}
    B -- Yes --> C[m_genStarFlash = FALSE]
    B -- No --> D[update m_lastFlashedAtPointValue]
    C --> E{win exists?}
    D --> E
    E -- No --> F[return nullptr]
    E -- Yes --> G{m_genStarFlash?}
    G -- No --> H[set enabled image\nreturn nullptr]
    G -- Yes --> I{timeGetTime % 1000 > 500\nwall-clock blink}
    I -- True / ON half --> J[set highlight image\nreturn nullptr]
    I -- False / OFF half --> K[set enabled image\nreturn nullptr]

    style I fill:#d4edda,stroke:#28a745

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%%{init: {'theme': 'base', 'themeVariables': {"darkMode": true, "background": "#0d1117", "primaryColor": "#21262d", "primaryTextColor": "#e6edf3", "primaryBorderColor": "#8b949e", "lineColor": "#8b949e", "textColor": "#e6edf3", "edgeLabelBackground": "#161b22", "actorBkg": "#21262d", "actorBorder": "#8b949e", "actorTextColor": "#e6edf3", "actorLineColor": "#8b949e", "signalColor": "#8b949e", "signalTextColor": "#e6edf3", "noteBkgColor": "#373320", "noteBorderColor": "#d4a72c", "noteTextColor": "#f0e6c0", "labelBoxBkgColor": "#21262d", "labelBoxBorderColor": "#8b949e", "labelTextColor": "#e6edf3", "loopTextColor": "#e6edf3", "activationBkgColor": "#30363d", "activationBorderColor": "#8b949e"}}}%%
flowchart TD
    A[getStarImage called] --> B{sciencePurchasePoints\nchanged or <= 0?}
    B -- Yes --> C[m_genStarFlash = FALSE]
    B -- No --> D[update m_lastFlashedAtPointValue]
    C --> E{win exists?}
    D --> E
    E -- No --> F[return nullptr]
    E -- Yes --> G{m_genStarFlash?}
    G -- No --> H[set enabled image\nreturn nullptr]
    G -- Yes --> I{timeGetTime % 1000 > 500\nwall-clock blink}
    I -- True / ON half --> J[set highlight image\nreturn nullptr]
    I -- False / OFF half --> K[set enabled image\nreturn nullptr]

    style I fill:#d4edda,stroke:#28a745

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_{Reviews (1): Last reviewed commit: "Fix #2834: Frame-rate-independent promot..." | Re-trigger Greptile}

[bobtista]

Duplicate of #2835

[Skyaero42]

#2835 is the better implementation. Closing this one.

Please search for existing PR's before opening a new one to prevent duplicates.