Quote from Scawen :

I like the final one best.

Agreed, great job by Eric, an area that had not had much love in a long time.

Very interested to see Fern Bay!

Interesting to watch, thanks for sharing that. Surprised at how easy the surface of the tread cools on a straight (esp for the non-driven wheels).

While there's nothing said for the detail of this simulation, I do like the modular nature of connecting anything to anything. It's something I'm trying to do myself if I can get the time. To be able to rapidly prototype new configurations in a simulation environment is very useful. I would hazard a guess that LFS is rather for mixed in it's layout.

Quote from DKsong :

各位大神，小菜鸟进来看看

This translates as "Dear God, the little rookie comes in to see", so I guess I'll just say 谢谢 "thanks"

If it's modified content that got you sold on LFS, then that's wonderful.

By too literal, I meant that just because screenshots are called out as being banned, doesn't mean everything other than screenshots is encouraged. Definitely just unavoidable toleration.

On that note, tweaker apps used to be permitted but after some time, the devs changed their mind on that (giving different handling but could be combined with modified vobs). I can't argue, that was all fun while it lasted.

Regards piracy (or rather copyright infringement), I think that only applies if the content is being sold. The water muddies if the devs are seen to encourage free but copyrighted content in order to sell their own content.

There was a time that we used to even remove any mention of a vob mod from the forum. I suppose that cat is long out of the bag now.
I thought the forum rule was in place to stop the official forums, being paid for by the devs, from being used to spread free content that damages their business model (free game with content purchases).
The devs can't control what you do with LFS on your own PC but they can at least implement rules for their own forums. I think you are taking the rules too literally.

Professional drag strips are concrete for, I expect, durability but covered in TrackBite (ie glue) to enhance traction. It's partially how the cars can accelerate so crazy fast.

Nice camera work there

Nice collection Thomas. I may have the odd version you're missing:
• 0.1N (only a couple of days newer than 0.1K you have, seems mislabelled?)
• the leaked 0.5F (didn't that get re-released officially? edit: here. edit again: I see it's in your list, missed it due to sorting by date rather than version number).

asyed, at the request of Eclipsed I have tidied away the misleading post and resultant chat. It seems you all understand the problem now and everyone has an increased awareness of timezones and how to avoid a repeat of the problem.

I can certainly understand the frustration of investing time in practice only to have wasted it but that's no excuse to act unreasonably. I hope both sides can forgive and move on.

Last edited by Bob Smith, Sun 30 Sep 2018, 21:29.

Swapping ends in the XRT, early 2003, v0.2. Wishing I had a desk large enough for a wheel. Or the funds for one, I was still at college. I didn't even have an internet connection!

Now I wish I can find the time to dust the wheel box.

Quote from Scawen :

Hi, thanks for the support in this thread and your patience.

I keep checking in now and then to see what's happening. Happy to see the project is still very much alive… for you at least, I've not played in 7 years! Hoping to reset that once I get some new content and tyres.

Quote from Scawen :

I confirm this is a full time job for Eric and me. There were some quiet years due to life changes but I can tell you we are really on the case now.

The longer I work in games development the more I understand your decision to work this way, and also appreciate the time taken to develop. Progress seems slow at times even in big teams. I'd not have the commitment myself to work on one project for this length of time and certainly not by myself though you do seem to have at least chosen the right niche to get a (comparatively) patient community.

Quote from Scawen :

The trouble is that updates (to graphics, interface, etc.) in each version need to be merged into the other version. It has been like a chain around my neck attached to an iron ball and one that I want to get rid of. At the moment there are just so many changes for the new graphics, it would be a bit of a nightmare to try and merge that into the public version.

I'm assuming you're still not using source control?

Quote from Scawen :

But in reality as we have seen, there are sometimes unforeseen things that come up and change the plans. I hope it will all go as planned!

I think that sums up every project I've worked on in this industry.

Thermodynamics is much simpler than detailed tyre modelling, I would certainly agree, though I suspect the tyre deformation is really the easy part. I should add I've not worked with a physically based tyre model before.
From reading Scawen's posts in the past, I think he has a decent enough detailed physical model but, rather unsurprisingly really, it was not realtime. Making a new empirical model that fits it well and runs fast is a whole new challenge.

There are two issues with thermodynamics in LFS. The tyres heat and cool too slowly, but friction changes with temperature too much. Most of the time, these balance out, but really fry your tyres and it's a double whammy of an issue.

This is really a separate issue to the slip modelling that the devs have worked on in the background (the new tyre physics), as I suspect it's a independent system.

Hi Dave

I've moved your post into this existing thread of yours, there was no need to post this all over.

I would suggest a short track so that people have at least some chance to become familiar with the route, and an easier handling car car that doesn't require too much braking. I don't think the drag strip is really playing to the strengths of the sim.

You can configure LFS to auto-shift gears but (I think) you still have to choose between reverse, neutral and forward yourself, which can be annoying if you just want people to sit down and punch the gas.

What is the nature of your business?

Last edited by Bob Smith, Mon 23 Jan 2017, 08:05.

I grew up in Portsmouth, some nice scenery in places around there but certainly nothing remotely mountainous. Not the countrys highlight.

I've got lots of vintage film lenses, though mostly for longer focal lengths (due to crop sensor), results can be pretty good and the lenses often dirt cheap. Going fully manual is more involving, can make you take your time a bit more. Could be worth investigating; I'll be selling my Tamron 17mm soon, I'd imagine something like that would be significantly more useful for landscapes.

Quote from MousemanLV :

Those are some really great photos, they look absolutely amazing!

Thanks, they are stunning areas of the country.

Quote from MousemanLV :

I love how clean they are. Amazing!

Base ISO on modern cameras generally is, I thought? I do also run two layers of mild noise reduction as part of my post-processing.

Quote from k_badam :

That long exposure is so weird , Cool that you went to Ben Nevis! Great photos!

Yeah the patterns ended up nicer than expected.

Some great shots as ever in this thread, I've followed those of you on Flickr


Myself, I walked the UK three peaks (that's Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis) the last week in October last year. The awesome experience and cool sense of accomplishment aside, despite the damp and cloudy weather I managed some nice shots of the views on the way (got to get some memories of the 105,000 steps walked, right?).

On the way to the start:
Long exposure of Afon Llugwy by Ben Ponsford, on Flickr

Llyn Gwynant by Ben Ponsford, on Flickr

Stars above my tent by Ben Ponsford, on Flickr

Wales:
Diverting from Watkin Path, Snowdon by Ben Ponsford, on Flickr

Ascending Snowdon, south ridge approach by Ben Ponsford, on Flickr

Descending Snowdon, back on Watkin Path by Ben Ponsford, on Flickr

England:
Ascending Great End by Ben Ponsford, on Flickr

Derwent Valley by Ben Ponsford, on Flickr

Scotland:
Descending Ben Nevis by Ben Ponsford, on Flickr

Ben Nevis waterfall - out by Ben Ponsford, on Flickr

Default setups for the road cars are in track tune. Scawen has shown some interest in having the default setups being in road tune but this has yet to happen.

Kandis, you can create any car you like with that program but of course you'll need to research lots of data. Was there one in particular of interest?

Afternoon out at everyone's favourite circuit:

Rockingham Stages Rally 1 by Ben Ponsford, on Flickr

Rockingham Stages Rally 9 by Ben Ponsford, on Flickr

Rockingham Stages Rally 11 by Ben Ponsford, on Flickr

Rockingham Stages Rally 14 by Ben Ponsford, on Flickr

Rockingham Stages Rally 21 by Ben Ponsford, on Flickr

Rockingham Stages Rally 22 by Ben Ponsford, on Flickr

Rockingham Stages Rally 36 by Ben Ponsford, on Flickr

Best 17 shots from about 40 keepers (from 800 taken): https://www.flickr.com/photos/benponsford/albums/72157661945524792

Quote from GreyBull [CHA] :

On a side note I think Bob Smith's NASCAR Experiment provided some of the best oval racing I've seen on LFS(870hp XRT with slicks), but since it's stuck on 0.5X you might have trouble getting people to play it.

Last I heard was that the devs were no longer keen on these tweaker apps and as such it's not getting updated publically (nor have I updated it in private, for that matter).

Glad to know people put it to use though.

Quote from dawesdust_12 :

I spend half my day drinking and the other half cursing at code.

That's my life as a software engineer.

Does the latter have happen to be the morning, where you review yesterday's code, and the former happen in the afternoon where you then write more code for tomorrow, thus creating a perpetual loop of undecipherable spaghetti code feeding a hard alcohol addicition in order to cope with maintenance insanity?

Quote from Jakg :

I don't know if you've ever tried it - but I used to hate the thought of programming. I thought it was never for me.

Got "forced" into doing a bit at University, enjoyed it and now I'm a software engineer. Not sure it's my ultimate calling but I like it and I never thought I'd be here.

I never expected to go down the software engineer route either but, on reflection, it sure beats the network tech support route I thought I'd take. Thinking long term, it's the creative roles that will be last to be replaced by robots and/or software. Such changes are going to occur within our lifetimes so may as well avoid terminal career paths.

Quote from Racer Y :

He barely finished High School and works with people that look like Big Bang Theory rejects.

That made me laugh. Social opportunities are certainly limited in this field. Male bias is overwhelming, which is likely a vicious circle. There are two main types of programmers, fat with a goatee or skinny vegetarians with hippie hair (optionally colour dyed).

Quote from Morieza :

I can't download it right now, it says: you must update to IOS 7.0 or later,
is there any more software/update requirements ?

For iOS version, ios 7 is the minimum, which itself requires an iPhone 4 or iPad 2 minimum.

Quote from Crashgate3 :

Just had a go, it’s really good fun. The handling is noticeably better than a lot of Arcade racers (presumably we have Mr. Smith to thank for that ), and I really like the Borderlands-style shaders.

Great to hear. I was worked on the handling, yes, but a lot else too: player controls; physics objects & weapon physics; AI setup, avoidance and navigation; in game object editor; gameplay systems (game modes, track object system, vehicle respot system, health system, spline data export from art assets, etc); optimisation. A small team so had my fingers in more pies.

Quote from Crashgate3 :

I only had a few minutes to play (a sneaky go in the bogs at work) and I found it wouldn’t let me quit while I was halfway through the tutorial!
The only control which is active is the one the tutorial wants me to press next. The back button in-game, the settings menu in-game, the back and menu buttons on my phone, neither do anything.

The tutorial is very strict with what you are allowed to do, yes. Since there is no explicit quit option on iOS, this wasn't a problem. Tbh, I've always just app switched and then closed the game from the desktop, it wasn't until I read about a bug to do with the exit button on Android that I realised it existed at all!

Quote from J@tko :

Bob, excuse my possible ignorance, but where's the pause button whilst in-play?

The big fat button in the top middle of the screen? You should be able to pause even during the three tutorial events, though I'm not so sure about the very initial introduction.

Crashgate3 - Mobile devices have been pretty powerful since the iPad 2 / iPhone 4S (just looking at the Apple line up). The latest devices are substantially better still but there is the issue of the user base not all owning the latest equipment, which limits what we can do in the game. Scorched had to run on an iPhone 4, albeit at quarter resolution and with less than ideal frame rate. Similarly with comparable Android devices. Given this restriction, in order to maximise the product market, the game is simpler than it could have been (in terms of visuals and physics).


Mysho - There is no way for you to change the camera angle I'm afraid.

Earlier builds were used a different camera angle (this never went public), there has always been some internal disagreement about whether what we shipped with is ideal. Every option we tried had benefits and drawbacks, so it seems any setting is a compromise (regarding track design, difficulty, performance, as well as just personal preference).

I would be interested to know in what way you would like to adjust the camera.

Last edited by Bob Smith, Thu 18 Dec 2014, 12:05.