Stats at https://piranmoto.co.uk/events/111

Last edited by Racon, Fri 19 Aug 2022, 18:27.

My experience is that when it's good it's no worse than before, but there are 'spiky patches' where it gets randomly laggy (ie, no particular person, just everyone gets patches of low-rate or some big spikes). It was more like that at this Friday's event than the previous one, for example, a few people mentioned it.

It's not dissimilar to the start of a DDoS though, so who knows what issues the host is fighting behind the scenes - might be that we're complaining about spikiness when we've actually been spared an outage.

**PiranMOTO Open DD, Season 7 Round 13**
**Friday 29th** at **19:00 UTC**

Live stats at https://piranmoto.co.uk/events/110

Last edited by Racon, Thu 4 Aug 2022, 16:26.

So glad to see this back, I've really missed it! We're putting it straight back in for a DD race this Friday

I would love to see that

I have decided that this needs to be a thing in it's own right rather than just a corner of another server, so now we have PiranMOTODunsfold (with some InSim magic to keep the scoreboards free of second laps - everything there is from a standing start)

What other choice was there for testing the new software? (link)

I started with just chalk, but it's just not visible enough at speed unless you use a huge amount of them. To get all of it in to 2400 chalk objects and still drive fast cars around it is just not possible.

So, I've settled on concrete for grass (just imagine it's blue because they left Clarkson in charge of maintaining it). Besides, I've seen how you guys treat chalk lines, so the kerb is also there to keep you honest

I've done it as autocross for a standing start, and there are restricted areas everywhere you could gain by shortcutting - don't break too late for hammerhead or you're outta there.

The Lemon Ara is a very good reasonably-priced car to start with, with 1:45ish lap times.

(EDIT: Now available online at PiranMOTODunsfoldHotlap, times available at https://piranmoto.uk/tracks/680)

Last edited by Racon, Fri 27 Jan 2023, 01:08. Reason : Moved to own server; link to laptimes, added lyt as attachment

(You wait years for this kind of thing, and then two come along in the same week! )

LFI is a command-line windows app that processes a PNG image to detect points marked in specific 'pure' colours, and outputs an LFS layout file of those points. You can scale and offset the resulting layout, making it easy to create a perfectly scaled reference layout from an image of a real-world source.

The colours used are the 8 colours available when using only full or 0 values, ie, pure black, white, red, green, blue, yellow, cyan and magenta, and each produces a different object (3 colours of cones, 3 colours of posts, a tyre stack and a pillar). See reference image.

Full colour images such as screenshots of maps need to be cleaned of these colours before you can start marking them, this can be achieved with output levels. (If your software doesn't have that, photopea.com is a free online photoshop-like software that does: Go to Image > Adjustments > Levels, and move the output levels from 0 to 1, and 255 to 254.)

Once you've made your image, you need to calculate your scale. If you've used a screenshot of a map and left the scale markings in it, you can divide the stated width in metres divided the pixel width to get the ratio. The default is 0.0625, or 16 pixels per metre. Rounding errors mean this will be close, but it is recommended to fine-tune the ratio afterwards by comparing a known length that spans as much of the layout as possible. You can calculate the perfect ratio directly: new ratio = (old ratio / wrong distance) * correct distance.

The app is limited to 2400 control points, and will stop processing with an error if more are found (this usually means you've missed a patch of pure colour when preparing the image).

The layout is created in LA1X, named after the image, and is centred at 0,0 plus any offsets you specify.

Note: If you have any important, long, straight edges, it is recommended to rotate your source image so that this line is perfectly horizontal or vertical before you paint your control points. (LFS objects rotate in 1.6 degree steps, so you can't make perfectly straight lines at just any angle. Rotating will usually anti-alias your control points and checnge their colour slightly - you can still see them, but as they're not pure colour any more, LFI will ignore them!)

Usage: lfi test.png <scale> <offset x> <offset y>

- scale is metres-per-pixel, default 0.0625 (16px/m)
- offsets are in metres, default 0

(Tested up to 3000x3000 pixels - slow, but doesn't crash. Let me know if you find the limit and can't manage without more, I can expand the memory allowed if required.)

Thanks all for the feedback (here, discord and online).

I've been experimenting a lot over the weekend with 17, 16 and 15 inch rims, and it's clear I have been trying to get too much from one car. So, I have finally decided in favour of the split: the 300 will be as before with changes listed below, and a new 200 will be TBO-spec engine, with 16" tyres in the original placement (no arches/flare in any config) and reduced rear tyre width.

The idea being that the 200 is the late 70s/early 80s base car, and the 300 is what happened when someone got hold of one in the late 80s and gave it the works. The 200 is feeling great, but needs a few set tweaks before it's ready.

For the 300, the wheels are now 15" and flush with the flare. Visually it's working, but the grip has taken a huge hit with all that sidewall - much more than the gain made from increasing the track. I'm still working on that with tyre widths, setups and suspension tweaks. It seemed much easier to work with at 16", so if all else fails I will go back to that size.

If you can stretch to an S3, there's lots of mods just for drifting.

If not, since your last visit, we've had an update to the FXR, XRR and FZR too - you can now put any tyres on 'em and also adjust the tyre sizes in the alternate configuration, so there's 3 more cars you can drift with in S2.

Quote from PeterN :

Second this, would be nice to be able filter out private mods...

3rded - they're about 50% of the mods released today

Two more mods deleted/set-private between schedule and event, booooo

In for the Vanos is the Duplato, and in for the Tomato is... the Piran Firefly 300

**snip**

Live stats at https://piranmoto.co.uk/events/108

Last edited by Racon, Thu 28 Jul 2022, 17:32.

Thanks Ibta!

Feedback consensus on discord is fairly solid in that the wheels are too big and too low-profile (you guys missed the 80s? ), and that body-kit arches are no good if the wheels aren't flush to them. Fair enough - I was trying to keep the stock arches as an option but it's too much compromise visually.

So, I'm thinking of putting the kit-arches in all the configs and moving slightly smaller wheels out to fit them flush... but I'm worried about the stability. (By that I mean it's got just the right amount, IMHO, of "roll danger" and I don't want to remove too much.)

I've also been driving this a lot at TBO spec (22/23% res), and with the wheels/handling of the 300 changing I'm now thinking of making a smaller-engined version that is TBO-spec with no/small restriction - that one could have the stock arches and the current wheel track.

I will experiment

--

I've also got (much longer term) plans for a 500 version, around GTR-spec (ref pics attached). Rolling over is a problem on slicks, so that one will be more rocket bunny style, and can have all the arches and wheel-track it can handle visually

First pass submitted for testing!

Still plenty more to do, but there's enough there it can be driven online now. (I spend more time driving it than building it, it will be nice to have some non-AI company )

Some parts from LFS cars used as is: seats, rear mirror, gearstick
Some parts modified from LFS cars: wing mirrors, steering wheel,
Some textures from LFS cars used: leather

To-do:
- Mesh smoothing (quite a few lumpy bits to fix)
- Skinable (after mesh fix)
- More interior detail (+ better texturing)
- Better body-kit arches (more detail + better fit)

**snip**
Live stats at https://piranmoto.co.uk/events/106

Last edited by Racon, Thu 14 Jul 2022, 18:21.

Slow progress on the important things (too many things to do, not enough time to do them), but I've made a minor tweaks in the meantime. Now skinable, driver-side-swapable, less likely to stall in default sets, and more coach-like wheel hubs.

Left to do:

Engine tune (*lower RPMs)
Widen
Full interior (passenger compartment)
Full dashboard (replace temporary)
Suspension/setups tune
More exterior detail/ some smoothing
Better/smoother steering animation
Make skinnable
Tidy up texture usage
*Switchable sides

**sdnip**

Live stats at https://piranmoto.co.uk/events/105

Last edited by Racon, Fri 1 Jul 2022, 14:39.

**snip**

https://piranmoto.co.uk/events/104

Last edited by Racon, Mon 20 Jun 2022, 16:05.

**snip**

**PiranMOTO Open DD, Season 7 Round 6**
**Friday 10th** at **19:00 UTC**
Live stats at https://piranmoto.co.uk/events/103

Last edited by Racon, Thu 16 Jun 2022, 18:27.

Entry number : 7
Entry name : PiranMOTO
Car: XF GT TURBO
Entered driver (Ingame name / LFSW name / Country) : [PM] Jam / racon / UK

Last edited by Racon, Sun 12 Jun 2022, 10:28. Reason : updated ingame name

**snip**

https://piranmoto.co.uk/events/102

Last edited by Racon, Fri 10 Jun 2022, 15:27.

I didn't even know that screen existed for the longest time because any InSim buttons sent will hide it and I always had AONIO turned on and sending buttons for radar

Ctrl+I or Ctrl+B will hide the insim buttons (one is for local InSim buttons, one is for host InSim buttons, but I forget which is which) so that you can see the screen underneath.

I have a countdown-to-restart button that we can use on PM, but I discovered during TOC that I can't use it when that screen is displayed because people can't set themselves as ready. They hit the key combo to clear my countdown button, but they've got less than a second until the next update is sent and removes the screen again...

Whilst we're in general-planning-for-the-future territory, can I ask for a bit of insight into collisions?

When the PPS rate was increased there was a huge difference in collisions for the better. It was much safer to rub shoulder-to-shoulder, the lag-hit type collisions were far less frequent and didn't seem any bigger when they did occur. Since the move to the new host provider it's not quite as safe to rub, and there are some enormous lag-hits on occasion.

Between that and your explanations of the LOD3 rays for modders, I'm guessing that the method for determining impact energy comes from the amount of overlap when the overlap is detected, ie, lag-explosions occur because the lag has allowed a larger overlap to happen before it is detected and dealt with.

I ask because reading the sledgehammer-to-crack-a-nut post about data access, it occurred to me that if you had access to the speed vectors of both cars at the point where you calculate the energy involved in the collision, you could cap that energy value based on the maximum overlap that could happen in a single frame given the closing speed dictated by those vectors. If I'm not misunderstanding or missing something, then no collision could ever create any more energy than a collision that involved no lag.

The problem I see with that is that the collision would still be late and might not generate enough energy to separate the vehicles, meaning another collision next frame. I can't get my head around whether or not the vector-limit thing would work in a subsequent collision or fall apart because of the effects of first one. (4D maths is really not my thing )

But, if there's no problems with vehicles not clearing each other, or if those problems are less, or 'workaroundable', then that could be the end of being pinged off the track because of a little rub coinciding with a little lag.

--

Separate thought: I'm assuming Eric won't see this, so could you ask him when you next speak if he would consider releasing the last version of the RB4 as a mod? Or if he'd be happy for someone else to yoink it from a previous LFS version and release it as a tweak mod? The new one is nice too, but the old one is like a first guitar - sometimes being better doesn't matter as much as being familiar. I miss my buddy who taught me 4WD

The letter Z has was harmless when I started this mod, but now a new name is required. I didn't want to go with 'fairlady' either (too old boys' club). I've settled on the name Firefly.

Slowly, slowly filling in gaps and adding details.

Some action shots from last week's event