Quote from Evolution_R :

Even though the maximum limit of subobjects is not reached (64 I think), the head disappears when there are more than ~75 000 tris in 27 subobjects.

It's all about the number of subobjects, rather than the number of triangles. It was limited to 32 subobjects, but in Editor Test Patch D8 you can see up to 40 subobjects including the helmet (and two for each mirrored subobject).

Quote from iiiiil :

Mesh explodes in wire mode.
All i did was going to wire mode and click "reload textures". Some times LFSE crashes, some times i get this weird result

This is also fixed in Editor Test Patch D8: https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/102626

Hello Mod Creators,

Here is an update for the LFS Editor.


Changes in Editor 0.7D40:

Vehicle editor:

Hub object custom colours now appear in the list of wheel colours

Modeller:

Reflect object function is now available for individual subobjects
Combined clean object buttons into a single button with a dialog
Spoke mode "export SRE" saves combined spokes as a modeller object
Spoke mode "import SRE" function to load modeller object as a spoke


Changes in Editor 0.7D39:

Modeller:

Set subobject as "hub object" that moves and rotates with a wheel
- note that LFS must be updated to D32 or the object does not move

Misc:

FIX: Small camera movement on releasing LMB after 2-button rotation


Changes in Editor 0.7D38:

Modeller:

Export plain / shaded / wireframe for any texture (not only skins)
FIX: Merge subobjects, mappings wrong if subobject had pitch / roll
FIX: Map mode showed texture file for skin cutouts as [no texture]

Misc:

FIX: Alpha number plate texture went wrong if more than one on page
FIX: Modeller - reload textures - vehicle editor: 2 plates on page


Changes in Editor 0.7D37:

Dashboards:

Ability to set colours instead of using the system colours
Set background colour without supplying a backing texture
Adjustable black rectangle option if background is not black

Road clocks:

Digital and analog speedo may be used at the same time

Formula clocks:

Option to switch off numbers on the tacho display
Option to use a larger step on the tacho display

Modeller

Crash on undo/redo of subobjects in mapping/cutout/page modes
Message: The backing texture will appear in subobjects but must be set in the main object


Changes in Editor 0.7D36:

Vehicle editor:

Backing texture can now be used with all types of clock texture
Text colour and opacity can be set on the s_clock_formula clocks
FIX: Vehicle lost 'saved' status exiting modeller with no changes

Modeller:

Message if user attempts to set backing texture on subobject
Texture page marked as dash is shown green (if not used by model)
FIX: Model lost 'saved' status if cutout or mapping drag cancelled


Changes in Editor 0.7D35:

A new dashboard backing texture system
- only for s_clock and s_clock_white dashboards [restriction removed in D36]
- backing texture appears *behind* needle, numbers, markings
- appears illuminated (self lit) like the default dashboards
- recommended texture size is 512 or 1024 for future-proofing
- load the texture in page mode in the modeller
- click the "fixed" button to mark it as "dash"
- there is a reload button in the dashboard editor
- alpha channel has no effect


Changes in Editor 0.7D34:

Vehicle editor:

Engine damage light can be enabled (in Transmission tab)
Maximum value for main body drag increased from 1.0 to 6.0
Some tooltips added and descriptions adjusted in Aerodynamics tab
Estimated max speed (in Aerodynamics) shows speed in mph or km/h
FIX: Dashboard for electric vehicles was switched off in editor

Dashboard editor:

Speedo:
- set maximum value in km/h (steps of 5)
- option to show units (km/h or mph)

Tacho:
- set maximum value
- x100 or x1000
- gap 1/2 (x1000) or 5/10 (x100)
- options to show units (x100 or x1000)

Options on all gauges:
- needle colour = text colour
- needle is long
- needle above pivot
- hide pivot
- hide numbers
- hide symbol (if applicable)
- hide marks
- smaller text


Changes in Editor 0.7D33:

Vehicle editor:

A sky reflection (environment map) is included in mod screenshot
Undo "edit model" is removed if no changes were made in modeller
More tooltips in Allow, Light Colours and Object Positions tabs
Unsaved changes warning on clicking the X button to exit LFS

Modeller:

Unsaved changes warning on clicking the X button to exit LFS


Changes in Editor 0.7D32:

FIX: Crash when selecting overlay with no texture


Changes in Editor 0.7D31:

Vehicle editor:

A redo function to go with the new undo function

Modeller:

There is now a redo function to go with the undo function
Map / cutout / page selections are preserved when possible
Undo and redo deal correctly with map / cutout / page modes
Cutout mode works more like map mode and avoids button overlap
Overlay function from page mode is now available in cutout mode
Square buttons in map mode match mapping aspect ratio to cutout


Changes in Editor 0.7D30:

Vehicle editor:

Undo function for all editor operations
Exit warning only if changes have been made
C key to clear selected point and selected tube
Delete key deletes a point or tube (if only one is selected)
CTRL+RMB (copy) SHIFT+RMB (paste) now work with frame point values
Hide the bottom right buttons now hides the whole settings block
Rim modifiers moved to top right in rim editor avoiding overlap
Special view no longer includes wheel mass cuboids by default
Error message displayed if a vehicle file cannot be loaded

Modeller:

FIX: Bottom right screen layout was wrong in 2D views

Animation editor:

FIX: Driver in wireframe mode could be obscured by the vehicle


Changes in Editor 0.7D29:

Vehicle editor:

Included whole words "load" and "save" for setups and colours
New message on clicking "Animate" if the vehicle has no driver
Tooltips added to Steering tab and some in Object Positions tab
Question button and tip are shown for unusual FR configurations
Caster angle reduced to 2 decimal places (3 seemed excessive)

New vehicle:

Better initial values for engine and fuel tank positions
Light colours are now initialised (all were black except rear fog)
FIX: Editor buttons appeared during dialog in new vehicle screen

Animation editor:

Eye view button (beside origin and object buttons)
Keys O (view object) and SHIFT+O (options) now work


Changes in Editor 0.7D28:

Vehicle editor:

Various improvements in layout and organisation
Tooltips are now available (allows reduced button text)
A new button to show the view from driver's eye position
Editor sliders now have both arrows on the right
FIX: Spare wheel pitch now expressed in degrees
FIX: Nudging of RPM sliders in engine editor


Changes in Editor 0.7D27:

FIX: Position of screen buttons during 2D rotate or scale (D26 bug)


Changes in Editor 0.7D26:

Mod Export:

A new limit of 8192 triangles / 12288 vertices for LOD2
Groups are compressed when exporting for test or upload

Modeller:

A new function "reduce detail" is visible with triangles selected
A point is selected if unambiguous after merge to green or average


Changes in Editor 0.7D25:

Modeller:

A new style dialog is now used for merge points (ALT+M) options
FIX: Points more likely to remain selected after scale or lathe

Vehicle editor:

For flashing pit speed limiter light - choose brake or rear fog
Width / ratio / rim width move in bigger steps with right click
Frame position adjustments use expected steps for mouse clicks

Limited sidecar support:

Lone wheel (e.g. front) can be offset left (in Suspension tab)
- offset wheel to right is currently disabled for compatibility
Pair of wheels (e.g. rear) can be longitudinally staggered
- only the rearmost wheel of a staggered pair is driven
- anti-roll is disabled when the pair is staggered


Changes in Editor 0.7D24:

Switches for various options previously controlled by Race Class
- Indicators / Headlights / Pit limiter light (in 'Light Colours')
- Handbrake / Horn / Starter Motor (in 'Allow')
- Oval suspension arms (in 'Suspension')
- Grooved slicks (in 'Wheel Object')

Modeller move in list UP/DN: move more with SHIFT or right click


Changes from 0.7C to 0.7D23:

General:

H button at top left to hide/show message history like H key in game
Left click increments should now always be smaller than right click
- previously this was not consistent between all types of button
- as before, CTRL may do smaller steps, SHIFT may do larger steps
- this change should apply to distance, colour, angle and scale

Vehicle editor:

Spare wheel can now be offset laterally (set RIGHT value)
Maximum speed for each gear is now visible in the vehicle editor
- you will need to click the '-' button beside reload textures
Max subobjects to be drawn in editor increased to 40 (was 32)
Mod with too many materials cannot be exported to test in LFS
Keys: CTRL+O: load vehicle / CTRL+N: new vehicle
FIX: A fix for the cover image screenshot when exporting a large mod
FIX: Corrects an audio bug if a bad value is set in LFS sound editor
FIX: Save as SIT / STR name now limited to 7 characters
FIX: Dashboard texture can now be updated in a 2D view
FIX: Crash if vehicle mod had more than 64 materials

Modeller:

Ability to name subobjects (right click name or description)
New dialogs for extrude / lathe / create a circle of points
You can now undo "load main object" (reverts to old object)
New button to select a point by entering the point index
- index of a single selected point or triangle is displayed
Rearranged buttons in tri mode to align well with point mode
Helpful messages about bad normals are now shown at top right
- triangles that are too small or too thin are separately listed
- triangles as small as 1/3 of a millimetre can contribute normals
- click button to find error triangles or points with bad normals
New function "invert" to invert selection (selected - unselected)
Disabled point selection by middle button in build and point modes
Number plate texture s_plate is now visible in modeller 'page' mode
Rotated subobjects can now be correctly merged into the main object
You can now break off triangles from a subobject into a new subobject
Select or deselect multiple triangles by holding down CTRL and LMB
- move the mouse to nearby triangles to keep selecting or deselecting
Aligned "select selection's points" and "select connected triangles"
- these were misaligned in 2D modes if a selection box was visible
- it can be useful to click them repeatedly (much easier if aligned)
You can hide subobjects other than the selected one: show subobs NO
New feature to merge points by distance (distance can be specified)
Mouse control now works below 1cm from the plane (down to 1mm)
FIX: Crash on reload textures with no cutout or page selected
FIX: Wireframe view went wrong or crashed on "reload textures"
FIX: Rim disappeared on clicking "reload textures" in spoke edit

Modeller hotkeys / shortcuts:

CTRL+O: load main object

Keys for subob, point, tri, map, cutout, page modes:
CTRL+D: duplicate
CTRL+N: new
DELETE: delete

H: hide selected (points or triangles)
SHIFT+H: hide unselected
ALT+H: unhide all

E: extrude selected points (with trace enabled in point mode)
S: select selection's points / select connected triangles
CTRL+F: flip selected triangles (in tri mode)
CTRL+F: flip connected triangles (in point mode)
CTRL+I: invert selection (points or triangles)
ALT+M: Merge points (previously known as Fuse points)

Modeller mode selection:
SHIFT+S: subob
SHIFT+T: tri
SHIFT+P: point
SHIFT+B: build
SHIFT+M: map
SHIFT+C: cutout
SHIFT+G: page
SHIFT+V: view


DOWNLOAD:

LFS Editor PATCH 7A to 7D40 [If you already have LFS Editor 0.7A]
Editor 0.7A or later must already be installed!
https://www.lfs.net/file_lfs.php?name=LFS_EDITOR_PATCH_7A_TO_7D40.zip [1.5 MB]

Last edited by Scawen, Mon 10 Jul 2023, 17:26.

For people who experience slow mods downloads, I have done a test in Test Patch D10.

Internet research has yielded little. This test is based on very little evidence, but I think it's worth a go. You need to enable it in Misc Options.

https://www.lfs.net/forum/post/2035565#post2035565

Test Patch D10

I've added an experimental option in Misc Options. Based purely on the suggestion in that link above, it seems worth a go. Let's see if it makes mod downloads any faster or slower for people who are far from Rotterdam and experience slow mod downloads.

Options... Misc... HTTP buffer test [EXPERIMENTAL]

https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/102117

Last edited by Scawen, Thu 9 Feb 2023, 17:44.

In case any TCP gurus are reading, I have only set one socket option on the HTTP receive socket. The rest I have left at default.

The one option I have set is SO_RCVBUF:


I'm not certain where I have got the information that default is 8K. However, if I do query that value without setting it, I do get the answer 8K. Various posts I have read in the past suggest a buffer size of 64K is good so that's why I have set it.

This is contradicted by one post I found on Microsoft's site:
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/networking-blog/windows-network-performance-suffering-from-bad-buffering/ba-p/339668

But I'm struggling to find more info about it. I guess I could do a simple test of simply not setting that value, and we can check if your skin and mod downloads get faster or slower?

P.S. I've moved some off-topic posts. This thread is about the test patch.

Quote from r3zp3k7 :

All conditions were met. The pit stop was finished and the 0.7D6 user was spectating. The same was in reverse. Hard to tell how it happened though, because after the 0.7D6 user re-entered LFS.exe the bug was not found anymore. Anyway, if we find it again, I'll let you know. Tire physics is way more important for everyone, so please proceed in peace.

I've tested this now with a D and D9 version connected (to a D host). I did not encounter a problem taking over car, from D to D9 or from D9 to D. As nothing changed in that area, I will assume this is not related to the test patch and is extremely rare or related to conditions we don't know.

Quote from Tuttu The Dog :

I do been seeming to face a problem after downloading the patches, My mod loading time is too slow and it times out so often.. And it happens in singleplayer too! and got to try 3 times to join a server minimum. This have never happened to me before, another player also seems to be facing this issue.

It is unlikely to be test patch related as nothing has changed with the download code. It's probably something on the internet at your end, our end or somewhere in the middle. Have you tried using a D (or other) backup exe to verify that the slow download does not occur with D?

No, it is generated locally. I think the clue is that it is a translated message? Unless it's actually generated by your InSim program? I've looked in the code and can't see anything that would remove a dot from a user name, so was hoping for an easier reproduction.

I'm trying to do things in a simple way, rather than spending a long time creating fake user names, to try to reproduce the fault. This is to save me time as I have a lot of other things to work on. Maybe you could get your friend with a user name that starts with a dot to join a server to create a short MPR.

When i searched our system, I couldn't find a user called ".user1" so assumed it was an example and you are protecting the identity of the user?

A similar thing has happened on the test patch forum. A bug has been reported, I asked for a reproduction, but no-one is interested. That's fine but it'll take me longer to develop the tyre physics if I'm the only one reproducing obscure bugs.

Hey super, please let me judge for myself what's important.

For the record, it's very important if the test patch has a bug in it that means people can't change drivers. Most useful would be to go out and test it. If there's a bug, I'll fix it. That's how it works.

EDIT: But I now notice that I said "D8" in previous post. Sorry about that, I should have said "D9" as it's the latest test patch. All I really want to ask is to test D9 driver changes, perhaps one player in D9 and the other in D. You are right, it doesn't matter about D6 or D8.

Last edited by Scawen, Mon 6 Feb 2023, 18:58.

Were all the conditions definitely met? In pit stop, etc. I could stop and test this using two user accounts but I'm in the middle of tyre physics so don't really want to stop at the moment, so if anyone else can test that would be appreciated. I'd suggest testing with D9 and D versions together. If all works then I'd suggest that all is OK.

Last edited by Scawen, Mon 6 Feb 2023, 18:56. Reason : edit: originally wrote D8, meant to say D9

Test Patch D9 is now available:

Interface:

FIX: Chat text in mods screen is now in front of interface buttons

Graphics:

Dust colour on grass and dirt tracks now uses a dirt colour
- previously used average colour of surface which looked odd
- smoke and dust acquire lighting colour from car's location

Multiplayer:

Stationary cars can now lag for longer (3 seconds) before vanishing
Team arrow colours on small map are now enabled by a host option
- option is not yet available but is coded as /teamarrows=no/yes

InSim:

IS_CPP packet with Time = 0 is instantly processed (not stored)
- allows it to be followed immediately by an IS_CPP with Time > 0
FIX: ZByte was not set in IS_OBH packet

https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/102117

Moved a few posts that are no longer needed.

I'm finishing a few more minor updates for the public test patch.

Gentle reminders work better with me, rather than trying to ram it down my throat / rub my face in the shit or whatever metaphor.

I have a lot to do and I can get through more when I have peace of mind. Irritation makes me less able to get work done.

Everything is here on a list and I'm trying to get it done. You might have observed by now, I'm not really forgetful about things that have been mentioned on test patch threads. Regardless, I don't mind gentle reminders but a list of dumb insults isn't at all helpful.

Thank you for the report.

I confirm there was a missing line of code where this byte should have been copied from an internal packet to the InSim packet. I've added that line so it'll be in any version that is released, 0.7D9 or later. It looks so simple at this point I will simply claim it is fixed, without actually testing it as I'm a bit busy with other things.

If you are using this on client side then you could get the required value in the next test patch (I'm not sure when, but we do have a test patch in progress, though I'm not very active on it). If you need it on server side, I'm not sure when that will be.

Quote from Gutholz :

Does there need to be this threshold?
Or could it be like each 0.1% damage adds 5 seconds?

It was already discussed, how I've added it in an extremely simple and quick way using the existing system.

Apparently I have made a mistake by moving such posts into the "no longer needed" thread:
https://www.lfs.net/forum/post/2031828#post2031828

I'm not wondering about things to add to the test patch. I'm fully immersed in the development version.

For anyone who hasn't followed the test patch process, this isn't me sitting around with nothing to do, randomly and suddenly thinking about pointless things to add to a test patch. In fact, it was all about one thing leading to another.

History of this test patch:

- some things were needed for MRc E-challenge
- therefore a test patch was required
- I have noticed a lot of concern about LFSLazy not working
- added a couple of the most requested features from LFSLazy
- one of those was engine damage display
- this inspired me to do a 5 minute update to allow engine repair
- this was discussed at length here before implementing

That's it. I don't want to put effort into refining it at this time.

Last edited by Scawen, Tue 24 Jan 2023, 09:52. Reason : added quote

Thank you for the reports and tests with long names. I tried uploading a simple test mod at some point, to confirm the issue. Victor found and fixed a bug relating to the long names. Something to do with not allowing enough space for the version identifier (like ~001). I guess that means only 23 character names were really possible.

I verified the fix with an upload and it seemed to work. Sorry it took a while, hope its sorted now.

It seems that most think the engine damage number should not be displayed for remote cars. That would be a simple change and consistent with the tyre temperatures.

What about the point at which it changes from yellow to red? While that is not very important yet, it would become more important if we do engine repairs in pit stop. In that case the yellow amount of damage could count as "minor damage" and the red would would count as "major damage" and take longer. So then it becomes important to set that value correctly (currently 95%).

Although I'm still not sure about implementing engine repair, it seems simple enough and for for sim racing purposes and longer races, it would be good to be able to fix the engine.


By the way, for anyone who is worried about me working on the test patch, do not worry, I'm working on the dev version. Pausing to do a few minor changes in the public version (which also go into the development version) isn't really a problem.

Quote from Eclipsed :

I'm wondering what does this percentage say? If I damage the engine to 90%,do I have 90% of power at each revs range?

It seems worse than that. Like if it says 50% you really have quite a lot less power than 50%.

Rough explanation: It's more related to the 'input power' ignoring the internal resistance of the engine which stays the same.

Quote from Kanade :

Would it be possible to get clutch temp & engine damage as dashboard warning icons?
Would love to be able to use them both for mods and with SimHub.

I would like to do that but I can't add the extra warning light position into the car files while maintaining compatibility so that must be done at a later time, when new cars will be incompatible with old versions for some other reason.

Quote from Facu23 :

talking about minor and major damages, any chances to avoid cosmetic repairs to save time? like only repair suspensions and engine or solo suspensions.

I know what you mean but some of the 'cosmetic' repairs do correspond with suspension repairs. Anyway I think it's all a bit complicated for now as I have to be getting on with other things.


I'm not sure if I'll do engine repair in pit stops at this time. Still considering it. It would increase the pressure to release a new full version. This current test patch is fully compatible which means it can hang around here for a while and we can add a feature every now and then.

I've made this appear beside the CT indicator, just an early test so far.

Naturally it comes out as a "Health" value that starts at 100% and goes down from there (if you downshift too early -> over rev). No change in the physics, this is only a display.

One bad shift affects it quite a lot, so I think one decimal place is enough. Maybe the straight percentage with no decimal place would be OK?

Opinions welcome, maybe I'll release a minor update with this tomorrow morning so you can have a go.

I was thinking the engine symbol could start grey then go yellow then red with more damage. Possibly if pit engine repair is implemented, the colours could line up with "minor damage" and "major damage".

Semi-related to the maximum speed for gears, I read recently about another display from LFSLazy that can apparently be very useful. An engine damage display on screen.

Further reading:
MandulAA: https://www.lfs.net/forum/post/2013145#post2013145
pantiainen: https://www.lfs.net/forum/post/2013394#post2013394

I'm not saying I'll actually add it to this test patch, but I was wondering if an engine damage % (or the opposite, engine health %) could be displayed in a small box like the CT. I'm not sure if it really needs a number or just a bar like the CT. And it leads me to another question, if engine damage should be repaired in pit stops? It seems unrealistic but it's no less realistic than full suspension and perfect bodywork repair in the pits, so why not allow engine to be repaired too. It's something that can be "better" in racing sims than real life. I'm thinking when you have a 6 hour race and you do one dodgy gearchange, so now you have a weak engine for the next 5 hours. Disappointing and maybe not so bad if you could just pay for it with a pit stop.

I was thinking a small damage % could be included in "minor repairs" and a larger % would lead to "major repairs".

Well that is just a thought. Don't think it's wasted time as it affects the current public version and the version still in development. Also seems pretty easy to do though I haven't looked in the code yet.

Thank you for the feedback.
I've reinstated the traditional LFS distortion / clip softening function in Test Patch D4.
https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/102117

WARNING: THIS IS A TEST

THIS DOES NOT CONTAIN NEW TYRE PHYSICS OR THE NEW GRAPHICS SYSTEM

PLEASE TEST BEFORE YOU POST

PLEASE... NO OFF TOPIC FEATURE REQUESTS!


Hello Racers,

Here is a new test patch: 0.7D48

Please read the list of changes below.

0.7D48 is compatible with 0.7D
- You CAN connect online with 0.7D
- You CAN play replays from 0.7D

Please back up or rename your LFS.exe from version D so you can revert to it if necessary.


Changes from D to D48:

Interface:

A small map is now displayed at Layout Square if there is a layout
New display in F9 / F10 views shows estimated laps given fuel use
Engine health (with colour code) is displayed in F9 / F10 views
F9 / F10 extra displays are now switchable (Options - Display)
Speedo and tacho are moved UP if required for extra displays
CT display now uses dot matrix font if translation allows it
Driver / fuel buttons in garage are now only shown if relevant
Speed at redline is displayed beside each gear ratio in setup
Simple versions of F11/F12 displays are now available during an SPR
A message shows the name of any mod that can't be loaded in an SPR
Four-character mod names are shown in results table instead of MOD
Downforce tab is now shown for all vehicles
- previously was only for those with adjustable wings
- shows an estimated maximum speed based on wind resistance
- note: the estimate does not consider rolling resistance
FIX: Crash when two events on calendar used same event image
FIX: Calendar time could be wrong near start of daylight saving
FIX: Small camera movement on releasing LMB after 2-button rotation
FIX: Chat text in mods screen is now in front of interface buttons
FIX: User names that start with '.' now correctly displayed in chat
FIX: Crash if /track command was used while generating AI path info
FIX: AI skill level always used Latin codepage in F11/F12 menus
FIX: Engine brake reduction had no effect for EV but was visible
FIX: /setlap command error if name coloured and number 4 chars long
FIX: Replays auto-named with special characters could appear wrong

Controls:

A force feedback display is shown below the pedals (bottom right)
FIX: Mouse wheel gearshifts are now equivalent to 100ms keypress

Game:

Possible to reset if an approaching vehicle is moving slowly enough
Reset is now possible during a pit stop if the state is "finished"
Speed limiter (at 80 km/h) can be manually enabled if no pit lane
Auto gear shift: downshifts are now done at slightly lower rpm
FIX: Auto shift *up* did not work if max power rpm above redline
FIX: Driver swap enabled very high speed limiter if no pit lane

Mods:

An EV charge/discharge power bar in place of the clutch bar
- only visible if Options - View - Show pedals is enabled

A new "Cleanup" mode in the mods screen
- you can select to keep latest mods and test mods
- there is not yet a feature to keep replay mods

Support for new options set per vehicle instead of by race class
Support for "hub" subobject that moves and rotates with a wheel
Support for new pit speed limiter flashing light option
One wheel drive and no anti-roll if wheels are staggered
Click Skin ID in garage colours tab to copy ID to clipboard
Hold CTRL in Garage: Mods button becomes Test (direct to Test mode)
Opening mods screen is prevented if a rating request is in progress
FIX: Mod with 27 character name appeared in mods screen Test mode
FIX: Crash if mod had more than 64 materials

Dashboards:

Engine damage light on dashboard is now available if set in editor
Support for new speedo and tacho style options (see editor notes)
Support for dashboard backing texture system, text colours, opacity
Can also set background colour without supplying a backing texture
New needle pivot texture works better on light coloured dashboards
Dashboard brightness should now be the same as in the editor
- this update also affects the RB4 and MRT5 (recently updated)
FIX: Text size on dashboard more closely matches text in editor
FIX: Brightness of multi function display now matches the editor

New steering model for bikes:

Improved handling and braking ability
- Feet down steering model up to 7 km/h
- Low speed model only from 7 km/h to 18 km/h
- Interpolated model from 18 km/h to 36 km/h
- High speed model only above 36 km/h
FIX: Steering glitch between feet down model and low speed model

AI vehicle control:

Improved braking prediction so less running wide at corners
- considers brake balance (which is not ideal for every corner)
- can result in better lap times due to improved line following
AI braking prediction now takes account of engine braking
AI can now ride motorbikes (a bit slowly due to safety margin)
AI will drive more gently when off track on a bad surface
Bikes slow to avoid taking off over large humps in the road
Avoid unnecessary downshifts by looking ahead to see if needed
FIX: Sometimes could reach a maximum speed and stop accelerating

AI misc:

Distance to vehicle considered dangerous now depends on length
Distance to vehicle considered safe is reduced at low speed
- should prevent long vehicles hitting the brakes on green light
- gaps between vehicles may be smaller when speed is below 20 m/s
AI can enter configs with no path (but will not drive)
AI can now enter the game with an object (to just sit there)
Better collision avoidance when close behind or beside others
Reset is available even after engine switched off after long wait
Message history is no longer enabled for AI path generation
FIX: AI can now reset if in contact with a stationary vehicle
FIX: Errors in fuel calculation related to "Refuelling allowed"
FIX: It was possible for the fuel calculation to report 0 stints
FIX: A hang generating path for a mod with "Max up" wrongly set

AI in pit lane:

Target speed 1 km/h slower in pit lane to avoid speeding by mistake
- was possible for a powerful car to overspeed shifting 1st to 2nd
Improved driving in pit lane when close behind other drivers
Avoid excessive downshifting when approaching speed limit zone
Approx 1 second safety margin entering pit lane to avoid speeding
Use speed limiter or throttle to avoid wheelspins causing speeding
Smoother transitions switching between main path and pit lane path
FIX: Choice of pit stop box was wrong (bug introduced in 0.7B)
FIX: Slow start / stuck in pit stop if max torque at very low rpm
FIX: Some mods would brake too gently and miss the pit stop point
FIX: Some mods would overshoot their pit garage when parking
FIX: Can now reset at the end of a pit stop (e.g. fallen bike)

AI overtaking:

Various improvements to improve the overtaking decisions
Overtakes are considered on a group instead of individuals
Better estimate of the possibility and duration of a pass
Pass decision from low speed now allows for acceleration
When planning a pass time is allowed to pull in after pass
More distant consideration of other vehicles at high speed
There should be fewer dangerous overtakes in braking zones
FIX: AI could get pointlessly stuck behind a slower vehicle

Regional downloading system:

We now have 3 download locations for mods (NL/JP/US)
Faster downloads if you are in N/S America or Asia/Oceania
Locations in Asia and Oceania will download mods from Japan
Locations in North and South America will download from USA
Download redirection is handled automatically by our server
Regional downloads can be disabled by a new Misc Option
Yellow redirect message is shown the first time you are redirected

Graphics:

Dust colour on grass and dirt tracks now uses a dirt colour
- previously used average colour of surface which looked odd
- smoke and dust acquire lighting colour from car's location
FIX: Mudguard / handlebar / trailing arm subobject could disappear

Physics:

Improved bike physics (affects lean angle and tyre forces)
Pit speed limiter now based on drive speed instead of world speed
- prevents wheelspins (e.g. at RO) pushing car over the speed limit
FIX: Narrow cars were sucked in when near fence or narrow barrier

Audio:

Tone variation limited to 0.99 to prevent an engine sound bug
Switched off experimental "Prevent clipping" option by default

Multiplayer:

Improved setting of tyre state after receiving a position packet
- previous location of tyre contact is better estimated (for forces)
- most noticeable when viewed car had not been on screen for a while
- e.g. after tabbing to another car or fast forwarding a replay

Misc option "Full physics for remote cars" is enabled by default
- low res physics previously used for cars other than the 4 nearest
- option approximately doubles CPU usage by physics in multiplayer
- could cause issues at turn 1 with many cars depending on PC power
- use profiler display to check CPU usage with the option enabled
- see profiler by pressing car icon then P in Misc/Graphics options

Engine damage repair in pit stop
- yellow counts as minor damage (6 seconds)
- red counts as major damage (12 seconds)

Team arrow colours on small map are now enabled by a host option
- arrows on non-race small map take colour of first name character
- option is not yet available but is coded as /teamarrows=no/yes

Cancel button and ESC key to cancel the process of joining a host
- the currently downloading skin or mod is allowed to finish first
Temporary (free) hosts are shown without colours in List of Hosts
Stationary cars can now lag for longer (3 seconds) before vanishing
FIX: Remote car using pit speed limiter did not move smoothly
FIX: Crash enabling filter in List of Hosts after all were disabled

InSim:

IS_CPP packet with Time = 0 is instantly processed (not stored)
- allows it to be followed immediately by an IS_CPP with Time > 0
FIX: ZByte was not set in IS_OBH packet

New commands:

/status none|F9|F10|F11|F12|next|prev - sets status screen
E.g. /status next will cycle through the F9 to F12 status screens
(you could assign it to a CTRL+ or ALT+ key and then a wheel button)

/liveset and /pitins - do the functions of F11 and F12 menus

You can use operators:
= (set value)
+= (add to value)
-= (subtract from value)

Examples:
/pitins ftyre = r3 : change front tyres to R3 in pit stop
/pitins rtyre = super : change rear tyres to road super
/pitins fpressure = 1.1 : set front tyre pressure to 1.1 bar
/pitins fpressure += 0.1 : increase requested pressure by 0.1 bar
/pitins cancel : cancel all pit instructions
/pitins tyres always : change all tyres
/pitins tyres 20 : change tyres if wear > 20%
/liveset bbal 60 : set brake balance to 60%
/liveset rarb -= 0.1 : decrease rear ant-roll bar by 0.1

Available options for /pitins:
fuel, tyres, repair, symmetric
ftyre, fcamber_l, fpressure_l, fcamber_r, fpressure_r, fwing
rtyre, rcamber_l, rpressure_l, rcamber_r, rpressure_r, rwing
cancel, fcamber, fpressure, rcamber, rpressure

/pitins pressure commands can accept unit (psi/bar) (no unit = bar)
E.g. /pitins fpressure 30 psi

Available options for /liveset:
bbal, farb, rarb

Multiple commands on single line:

Multiple commands can now be added on a single line which sometimes
can avoid the need for a script file, e.g. to set a button to
change tyres in pit stop, you could use a double command:
/pitins ftyre super /pitins rtyre super

NOTE: some commands cannot be followed by another command:
/say /echo /join /rcm /pass /msg /altf /ctrlf

Maximum length of command and F key text increased to 95 characters
Wider text display in CTRL+ and ALT+ tabs in controls screen

Translations:

Updated translations - thanks to our volunteer translators


INSTALLATION:

A FULL version of LFS 0.7D must already be installed

To install the PATCH using the SELF EXTRACTING ARCHIVE:

1) Move or save the patch into your main LFS folder
2) Double click the patch to extract it to that folder
3) When you see "Confirm File Replace" select "Yes to All"
4) Now you can start LFS in the normal way

NOTE: You can see if the patch is correctly installed when you run
the program (LFS.exe). At the bottom of the entry screen: 0.7D25


DOWNLOAD:

IF YOU ALREADY HAVE 0.7D:
PATCH 0.7D TO 0.7D48 (SELF EXTRACTING ARCHIVE)
https://www.lfs.net/file_lfs.p ... =LFS_PATCH_7D_TO_7D48.exe (1.5 MB)

Last edited by Scawen, Wed 22 Nov 2023, 18:12.

Thanks. I did not see this until today. There was a crash bug related to multiple events with the same image. That was an LFS bug but I came across it on my own, on 23rd December. Victor was able to avoid the crash by preventing double uses of the same image in the event list. The actual crash bug is now fixed in Test Patch D2.

WARNING: THIS IS A TEST

THIS DOES NOT CONTAIN NEW TYRE PHYSICS OR THE NEW GRAPHICS SYSTEM

PLEASE TEST BEFORE YOU POST


Hello Racers,

Here is a new test patch: 0.7D3

The changes are listed below.

0.7D3 is compatible with 0.7D

- You CAN connect online with 0.7D
- You CAN play replays from 0.7D

Please back up or rename your LFS.exe from version D so you can revert to it if necessary.


Changes from 0.7D2 to 0.7D3:

Arrows on non-race small map take colour of first name character
Speed at redline is displayed beside gear ratios in setup screen


Changes from 0.7D to 0.7D2:

Audio:

Tone variation limited to 0.99 to prevent an engine sound bug
Switched off experimental "Prevent clipping" option by default
Removed an old distortion effect from the default sound output

Misc:

Speed limiter set to 80 km/h can be manually enabled if no pit lane
Reduced glitch of multiplayer cars after TAB or fast forward replay
A small map is now displayed in layout square if there is a layout
FIX: Driver swap enabled very high speed limiter if no pit lane
FIX: Crash when two events on calendar used same event image


INSTALLATION:

A FULL version of LFS 0.7D must already be installed

To install the PATCH using the SELF EXTRACTING ARCHIVE:

1) Move or save the patch into your main LFS folder
2) Double click the patch to extract it to that folder
3) When you see "Confirm File Replace" select "Yes to All"
4) Now you can start LFS in the normal way

NOTE: You can see if the patch is correctly installed when you run
the program (LFS.exe). At the bottom of the entry screen: 0.7D3


DOWNLOAD:

IF YOU ALREADY HAVE 0.7D:
PATCH 0.7D TO 0.7D3 (SELF EXTRACTING ARCHIVE)
https://www.lfs.net/file_lfs.p ... e=LFS_PATCH_7D_TO_7D3.exe (1.1 MB)

Last edited by Victor, Sat 14 Jan 2023, 11:40.

Another 12 days have passed and some of you may be interested to read the log. The super short version is I've been fixing things, doing things that needed to be done, getting rid of lists of things to do. I'm trying to get all the important things out of the way ready to focus on tyre physics. Things that are less important, I plan to do after the release (apart from the odd thing here or there that I simply feel like doing).

The attached images show what tyre smoke looks like in a tunnel with and without a lightmap!


Log of changes:

Some small tasks to finish the delayed texture loading system
- updated per-frame task sequencer so if a car model was built a texture is not loaded
- renamed / reorganised some of the new functions to make more sense when reading code
- prevented delayed texture loading in modeller and vehicle editor (prefer instant)
- fixed single frame with headless driver standing up when exiting animation editor
- the option to switch between compressed and full skins now uses new reload system
- used MP replay to test switching between high and low resolution auto-download skins
- added critical section to make sure DDS saving cannot coincide with loading DDS skin

Spent a day on Fern Bay in the editor - various fixes (not creative work)
- unlike other tracks, Eric does not plan major Fern Bay updates in the near future
- there were shadow holes due to buildings and footbridges without top surfaces
- as an old favourite I wanted to see it in good condition suitable for release
- it's good for me to spend a little time in the track editor occasionally

Fixed minor issue: players joining in entry screen could trigger texture purge events
- host and guests did a quick load and delete of the new player's car to check setup
- as this car was loaded in "in-game" mode it would trigger a check for unused textures
- but cars no longer point to a setup in the player so this seemed to have no purpose
- so instead of preventing the cars triggering a texture purge, simply avoid this code

Off-topic interface update: Provide a left and right arrow for multi-state options
- it bugged me that to switch off replay saving I had to pass through an extra state
- now I can simply click left arrow to switch off saving / right arrow to enable
- the arrow button is greyed out if you reach the last option in that direction
- the 'greyed out' logic was easily applied to option slider bars so did that too
- tempting to do it for the integer nudge buttons but would have to change all calls
- too much to do so will forget that until the inconsistency bugs me in the future

Some development version updates
- new feature to help search for textures in the editor (in objects and world mappings)
- fixed system to load most recent version of a track for a lesson (not exact match)
- update to allow replays to load most recent version of a track (or currently loaded)
- fixed a thread protection notification exiting from editor using the window X button

Training lesson fixes
- fixed start time of training lessons which were always at midnight on 1 January 1601
- fixed some small issues around loading tracks that triggered thread warning messages
- fixed a "Game call from main thread" thread warning message during training lessons

General fixes
- fix for a thread protection notification when LFS does a full D3D recovery
(I have not seen a D3D recovery other than by deliberately forcing it to happen)

Fix for a problem noticed in MPR but would affect multiplayer generally
- symptom was a puff of smoke when clicking timeline to a certain point in the replay
- took a while to track down the cause (depended on where car was before fast forward)
- related to tyre's 'previous ground position' which is compared with current position
- this previous position was wrong if car was at a different angle before pos packet
- this has very minimal difference if pos packet is for a car that is currently viewed
- bigger difference if moving to a car that has not been viewed (physics not updated)
- solution is to get a good estimate for previous position using velocity and rotation
- testing shows that car velocity gives a good estimate so will leave out rotation now

The problem described above took me into angular momentum, rotation, position updates
- some things were still waiting since the 1000Hz updates (on my notes for months)
- now there is no sub-update, some things can be rearranged a little (for accuracy)
- a position accumulator is needed for low speeds (to avoid a 'minimum speed' issue)
- seems good to be pulling me back into physics as the tyre updates are waiting
- converted old variable FloatPos (was related to sub-updates) to position accumulator
- now super-slow speeds are possible and car cannot be stuck on 'digital rails' (xyz)

Have noticed an issue for some time - physics objects resisted starting to move
- seems to be related to 1000Hz update: object velocity not fast enough after 1 frame
- fixed by reducing the speed at which an object is considered to have started moving

Cleaned up code from recent changes / discarded finished notes / browsed old notes
- copied a few things from the old notes onto a short list of tasks to do for release
- although we are still a way from there I want to know what remains other than tyres
- random OT: made arrow keys work to move between options screens (seems like should)
- old notes reminded me that smoke particles do not pick up lighting from lightmap
- the lightmap stores info about artificial light and sky visibility, in an octree
- that means smoke looks black in the night and also too bright in tunnel during day
- made smoke particles read lightmap - see the attached images for before and after

Another week has passed and I've got rid of some more sheets of paper. The bulk of the work was allowing textures to be loaded gradually after the car's 3D model has been built. Initially it was necessary to allow number plates to be updated without rebuilding the car, for the case of a player changing their number plate while their car is on the track. Sounds obscure, but it was the last case of the car mesh being fully rebuilt while already in game. The trick was to keep a different slot for each player so the text on that slot could be updated at any time, so the number plate can change without the car model even being notified.

More obviously important was a system to allow the textures to be loaded in a delayed manner after the car mesh is built. In recent versions, a remote car's model is built only when the car comes into view, but there is a slight glitch at that point (as there always has been). I've now reduced that a lot by initially using existing special system textures for white skins and grey textures, if the texture isn't already in memory. Then the textures are loaded in subsequent frames, one by one. That doesn't take long so now if you see a white car, it won't be for long, and the glitches will be less than they were before.

It probably doesn't sound very exciting but to me it has been quite interesting to see cars loading quickly then their textures rapidly appearing over the next few frames. But I've changed it so when you load a car in the garage or click on someone's car in the game setup screen, it is always an instant load. Also when entering the game in single player or a replay the cars can be fully loaded before presenting the first frame. But for multiplayer we want to get in there as fast as possible as all connected players must be in sync. So in that case you can see cars appearing sequentially (nearest first) then all their textures are loaded and finally the number plates update. It's a better feeling than the long hold on a black screen when everyone has clicked ready.

It seems like most of my immediate notes are going to the paper recycling now. I have to do something to separate the light direction into a physical side (could be used e.g. for track temperatures) and a graphical side. In future that could relate to other weather features. Just like everything else, the physical side needs to be updated by game code and the graphical side will represent or approximate that visually.

A few other things to do and a few bugs to fix, to give me a clear head then maybe I can look at some tyre physics and reassess that, figure out what needs to be adjusted or finished to get nearer to the long awaited release.


Log of changes:

Improved editor colours when showing grids, pit zones, start positions, checkpoints
- makes it easier to find checkpoints as they need to be adjusted on all tracks

Reduced size of vertices sent to GPU by using more efficient storage for normals
- this helps memory bandwidth when drawing each frame and reduces memory usage

Adjustment to number plate system to allow plate to be updated without rebuilding car
- although a rare event this was the last remaining use of old car mesh rebuild system
- previously used to rebuild after a skin download or after pit-out glitch reduction
- now the text can be updated on the number plate texture without car being notified

System to delay loading textures all at once when the car model is built
- this is to replace the old pit-out glitch reduction that had to be removed
- it was never very nice as it resulted in white cars until your own car stopped
- new system creates texture objects in memory initially using a grey system texture
- after the car is loaded, every frame just one car texture is loaded (if not already)
- it was simple enough for the standard dds textures (but complicated a bit by mods)
- more confusing is the use of skins / skins_dds / skins_x / skins_y / mod skin folder
- the trick is to store all settings that control texture load, in the texture object
- changed the temporary texture for skins to white (looks better with user set colours)
- the temporary texture for all other textures remains grey which seems to work well
- number plate textures not updated until next frame after the last texture is loaded
- now car load, model build, texture loads, number plate creation all done separately

Fixed off topic bug: With some vehicles, exposure was noticeably wrong on entering game
- turned out that driver was not created in car setup but only when vehicle first drawn
- so eye position was not available in advance of first frame (used a default position)
- in some vehicles this could put the view in a dark place so exposure turned right up
- a result of exposure adjusting to output image + recent changes to car initialisation
- exposure usually adjusts gradually but it goes instantly to the first frame exposure

Back to the pit-out glitch, the worst remaining glitch is creation of the car model
- much reduced as it does not include loading textures (because of the recent changes)
- more of an issue could be when more than one car model is built in a graphical frame
- for instance turning last corner into pit straight, after some cars joined the race
- seems it should be possible to only allow creation of one car's model in any frame
- this would spread the stutter over a few long frames instead of one really long frame
- tested this by enabling it when entering game - cars appear one by one up the grid
- it's a good test - cars can appear individually then textures appear individually
- now the thing is to stop it happening at times like single player grid or in garage
- nice for me to see the delayed load but it's better not to see that when not needed

Last edited by Scawen, Thu 24 Nov 2022, 21:30. Reason : correction - the white and grey textures already exist (are not loaded)