Quote from Scawen :

Good point. The host does have that info so it should be possible to provide some info in a compatible version. I've added a note to consider it.

Thanks


While we're still in incompatible mode, any news/thoughts on per-player forced handicaps? Would it be too complicated to do in this patch cycle? Perhaps IS_HCP.Zero could be re-purposed to be UCID/PLID?

Quote from Scawen :

That would be a big discussion. People do like the ready system. For now if a player has gone AWOL it's probably better just to spectate him, so he doesn't end up on the grid while he's away.

In which case, would it be possible for insim to give some kind of notification of who is/isn't ready so this can be automated? (Or is it already possible and I've missed something?)

Quote from DarkTimes :

Yes, I meant those little portable start light things.

Anyway, I figured out the problem, you need to add the AXO_START_LIGHTS objects to a layout, save the layout and then reload it for them to start working. Maybe this was common knowledge, I don't know much about AutoX or the layout editor.

You don't have to reload, just press the optimise button (or set the flag if loading via insim). That was mentioned a few posts ago.

Sounds like a good idea to me.

It would also be very useful to have a special checkpoint that behaves in a similar way, perhaps including a timestamp of when the line was crossed.
Circles aren't always a convenient shape; having a straight line would make joker laps/alternate routes, multiple simultaneous races (especially with the timestamp), pit exit line enforcement (important for Rockingham especially) much easier.

Quote from Whiskey :

Couldn't we create a packet sniffer/rely that always outputs IS_MSO / IS_III / IS_ACR as full size so that outdated programs still work?

I had thought that some kind of relay would do the trick - it could even be very simple, as it would only need to bother converting packets with known problems.


Interestingly, both the InSim applications that I maintain seem to be able to handle these shorter packets fine (both are custom implementations written independently by different people, no third party libraries).
At first glance at the code, the CInSim (0.7) library should be able to handle them fine as well.

Airio was paid software (it had a pro version at least) and afaik, no source is available for the program itself. It appears to be linked against a custom dll, so I guess no source is available for the library either.

Similarly, the LFS External library has no source available, although that is horribly out of date anyway and people have been having problems with it for years. No idea if that'll work... probably not.

AFAIK, all other publicly available libraries are maintained or at least are open source.

First glance: Variable IS_III & IS_ACR are not documented in insim.txt (and no K10 -> K11 changelog)

I'll see if anything breaks later tonight if I'm still awake.

Yeah Dave, Scawen already mentioned that (post 4)

The far edges/corners; the parts you'd want to line up accurately with something else.
It might take a little longer to set up the prefabs, as you'd have to make a version with only those edge objects (perhaps by deleting all the others once you've captured the full prefab) but it would save a lot of time and effort in the long run.

+1 for the ability to fill the Shift+U clipboard using InSim - could be very useful for placing large prefabs with some finesse.

Prefabs wouldn't need to be limited to 30 objects either; you could load the objects at the extremities into the clipboard for easy alignment, then have InSim automatically add the rest of the prefab when you paste.

Maybe better to disallow the lap (not upload to LFSW or something) if the car has teleported during the lap?

Limiting the JRR behaviour would get complicated and is just going to restrict its potential uses.

Edit: Having said that, people can already use tweak to fake PB times, so maybe it isn't such an issue.

Quote from vitaly_m :

It is not pointless one! If he ends up editing setup after his car was already on the track, he will abuse the restrictions we want to enforce, so we need that extra final JRR

Changed settings aren't applied to the car after it's joined the track. The car on track will have whatever the original setup contained before editing started (i.e. the same as if you clicked undo). Therefore the first NPL will be correct.

Quote from Scawen :

I've made the IS_MSO packet have variable length. The maximum is still the same so the packet structure is not changed in any way. It's really a very simple change (one line) and should be very simple to fix external programs to handle the variable (usually smaller, never bigger) size. So I thought I should really do it for the IS_III and IS_ACR as well. Any objections?

My C++ based InSim can already handle all that - it honours the size byte, so incoming variable length packets should be no problem.

The CityDriving InSim will probably need tweaking, though I'd have to test it (a Java get() function may throw). If it does need changing, it should be very simple.


However, it's possible some old/no-longer maintained apps may not handle it well.
It won't affect me, but LFS External (which people should really stop using anyway as it's so far behind already) and Airio would need testing. They seem to be the two most common unmaintained apps afaik.

Found an issue (IIRC I mentioned this possibility the other day):

1. User is in setup/colour edit screen and /ujoin is called on that user.
2. Car is spawned on track (position determined by JRR). The player can drive the car, however the setup screen is still rendered on screen.
3. Player clicks OK, setup screen goes away and "<player> already has a car" message is shown in chat.

Edit: the above happens when the user starts from spectate. If they had done shift+p to get to the setup screen from the track, "User is already in the race" message is shown when /ujoin is called and afaict the car *is not* spawned

Last edited by Degats, Sat, 30 Jan 2016 17:51.

Quote from cargame.nl :

So eehh this JRR... What Index needs to be used @StartPos?

I've just been using zero for the Index so far and it seems to work ok. We're not actually dealing with layout objects, so Index doesn't really have a meaning.

Quote from mbutcher :

The ready system shouldn't be able to be bypassed in my opinion.

Even for practice/qualifying and custom race types? The ready system wouldn't *have* to be overridden, it just may be useful in some situations.

A timeout then spec can already be done using InSim, but if noone clicks ready, the session start can be delayed - then there are the people who insist on quickly joining every time, but never actually click ready, which the relies on an admin racing them and the latency to get the session started

Quote from sicotange :

A variation on this is multiple races on 1 server. Tracks like the new Westhill can easily host several races simultaneously.

And Rockingham has 3 independent circuits - they even advertise that capability (though one is missing a pitlane)

Quote from mbutcher :

So long as it can only be called from the lobby screen so that they still have to click ready, I see no issue. If it could be called on track then there's the potential for people to not be ready on the grid.

IMO, that's up to the admin/programmer to choose whether they want people to spawn on the start grid before a race or not if there's a chance they're not ready. It's not something that'll happen by accident if the server admins don't want it to.

The only problem I see is if /join is called while someone is actively editing/naming/renaming a setup or colours. In those situations it would be unwise to disturb the player IMO. I haven't thought of any other situations that could cause problems.

[TC] Racing & Friends

In Firefox and Chrome, F11 goes into full-screen borderless window mode on the current monitor (not the one with the most pixels - I've never seen that behaviour; maybe a coincidence because the monitor with the most pixels is usually chosen by the user to be the 'main' monitor?).

IMO, it would make sense for Shift+F11 to mimic that behaviour (full-screen borderless window on the current monitor), Shift+F12 for full-screen borderless window across all monitors, and keep Shift+F4 for exclusive full-screen toggle on the main monitor.


FWIW, full-screen toggles are very inconsistent across windows applications - common ones are F10/F11 (and combinations with modifiers), Alt+Enter, <modifier>+Space and I'm pretty sure I've seen something other than LFS use something and F4 as well.


As an aside, I currently have a two monitor setup, but with different sizes/resolutions. I wonder what the "all monitors" mode would do on this kind of config.

Quote from Bmxtwins :

in my opinion updating south city runs the risk of completely ruining the track.

It's already been updated 2 or 3 times - no significant changes to routes (except a completely different pitlane), just more routes and more polish. I'd be surprised if the next update isn't more of the same.

Quote from Scawen :

Sounds like the post-processing shader is enabled in Misc options?

Ah, yes that's what did it.

It's interesting (and a little counter-intuitive) that the AA setting ingame is removed when post-process is on, but it's functionality is still there and adjustable in the config file.

This isn't strictly speaking test patch related, but since 0.6K (or maybe even before), I haven't been able to see the Anti-aliasing option in graphics settings. The option for mirror AA is there, but not the global one.
Modifying the value in cfg.txt appears to change the AA level, but the option doesn't seem to appear in game anymore.

Has anyone else noticed this?

http://i.imgur.com/pgr0lyq.png

Quote from Whiskey :

I still dream of the day we can set handicap & restrictions [per player] through InSim xD

I'll add my vote to that request

#82 (For Pete)