Thanks for the update! The new neck model seems to work well for me and, although the automatic FOV is a little larger than I had it previously (which took a little bit of adjustment), I'm liking that too. I'd say that "out of the box" everything seems set up very well with some good options to still allow people to adjust for taste.

One interesting thing with the rift is that I kinda feel like I've been conditioned (through 30+ years of gaming :geezer to a monitor perspective, so it's hard to trust that I know what feels "real" at this point

Quote from Scawen :

OK, just interested to see if this version does restrict what you can see.

I sounds like everyone else is experiencing some black bars with E9, but I personally can't see them here (I'm using the B lenses on the closest setting). The distance adjustment FYI is a fairly clunky physical screw on the sides, so I seriously doubt that they have anything to automatically detect it.

Quote from Scawen :

The only other change is that the scale button goes up to 1.0 instead of 0.8 maximum.

Thanks so much for putting that it... unfortunately, I have to own up and say it was a completely dumb suggestion (sorry about that!). Once I had it maxed out, the screen obviously got harder to read again (and didn't magically make it higher resolution). Then increasing the size of the HUD, makes it appear closer again! (With the surrounding empty space and nothing to relate it to, I guess size and distance are effectively the same thing!).

Anyways, still enjoying playing LFS again a lot! A quick recommendation for the rift owners... try Lesson 26 in the training (MRT - autocross). I think I'm going to look around for more autocross courses, as that is just crazy fun with the rift and being able to look around is fantastic!

Thanks for the update... the new features are working very well!

Here's some feedback on the specific features:

4. I never experienced much (/any) drift previously, but the reset command is still very useful for setting the initial screen position (and mapping to a wheel button is just too easy!).

5. No noticeable improvement for me here. I was quite happy with the appearance of everything previously anyway, and may have some custom texture packs installed too, but it still looks very good to me!

6. The location of the setting was quite obscure, but this is a very useful feature! I found .75 to be a lot more comfortable than the default (1), but I almost completely missed the feature until I started writing this post (it might be a bit easier if it was located near the other rift sliders?).

In general, the HUD scaling and head tracking integration work really nicely. My only suggestion here would be that the "Scale" slider doesn't go far enough. The max (0.8) still requires me to keep the HUD Distance quite close (I have it at 0.4) to be able to see everything clearly, which makes it feel a little like it's "in my face". It would be nice it I could experiment with a larger HUD that was further away, as I think this might be more comfortable (to me at least).

Finally, one slightly bizarre suggestion... the title screen and menus would look pretty cool if there were any way to incorporate even some minor 3D effects there. Even if you could just bring the buttons or the LFS logo slightly forward I think it would look good, but 3d buttons and logos would be even cooler. Probably way more work than it's worth at this point, but I thought I'd mention it in case it was something easy/fun that you might want to consider.

Thanks again for another very cool update!!

Quote from just2fast :

Some thoughts regarding 1280x800 vs. 1680x1050.
While the native resolution feels fine, with 1680x1050 there is noticeable eye strain!
That means even if the radio of both resolutions is the same (1,6), it displays different on the Rift.

I did a test.
I chose 1280x800 and sat in the BMW Sauber F1 looking with my head pointing directly on the steering wheel (BMW logo).
Then i rolled my eyes to the left and the right (head keeps still pointed forward). In this way i could see a some part of the mirrors.

Then i chose 1680x105 and did the same. However with this resolution i could see both mirrors completely!
I also had the feeling the picture is slightly squeezed horizontal.
Conclusion: be very careful choosing an other resolution then the Rifts native one!

So in a nutshell my best practises with the rift and lfs are:
- Set up a profile with correct IPD value in the Oculus config Utility and mark it as default.
- Setting the vertical field of view to somewhat between 110°-116° (I´ve choosen 112°)
- Use the Rifts native screen resolution of 1280x800
- Show the virtual driver and steering wheel
- Move driver in x,y,z direction until your head-position matches with your virtual body
- Set the option for moving view with animation to NO (hey, we have real headtracking now!)
- View accelaration option of headmovement: DEFINITELY(!) set the value of the angular headmovement to ZERO (0°/g)!Else the shaking of the view in VR makes you crazy!
- View accelaration options of horizontal, vertical and forward directions: Can be chosen to personal preference, but if too high you feel like a fat guy wobbling in the car

That´s it, with these setting i had a wonderful experience so far, despite the low resolution. For me racing is much more fun now and I love the subtle details:
Intuitively looking over the shoulder, looking into the corners, seeing the lifesize tyres left and right in front of you (I want to touch them and feel the heat), the desire to lean outside/inside the car and have a closer look at everything (even it´s not possible yet)
I barely can imagine what a consumer version with higer resolution and positional tracking will bring.

Thanks for the recommendations. I just went to give them a try, and it turns out that I had naturally set things up almost identically myself (to the point of even using exactly 112 FOV!). The only difference I had in my settings was that I was still using my monitor resolution (1600x900) and I hadn't actually noticed any eyestrain. I might try to do some more tests, but it's interesting that we came to almost identical settings independently.

I also 100% agree that the experience in LFS is fantastic and one of the best I've had in the rift to date. It's been a while since I've driven it much, so I may be imagining it, but I'm finding I'm able to control the car far better when playing with the rift. I'm wondering if you are able to more easily perceive the moment when the cars starts sliding? Maybe it's placebo, or just that I've been using other simulators that feel far less natural for catching slides, but it definitely feels way easier to control the cars than I remember it being previously!

Not sure what it was, but the new build fixed the problem for me... thanks!
(I had TrackIR up and running a LONG time ago, but can't imagine I still had anything related to it on this machine.)

The head tracking works very well and the whole experience is now fantastic!

Quote from DickDastardly :

[...]headtracking isn't working for me.

I was actually coming here to post the exact same feedback. If I delete the DLL, then I do get the message that it is missing. I tried the previous test DLL that was posted, and the one here. I also tried the previous stand-alone test executable, and verified that it is collecting the data from the rift.

As with DD, I experimented with the Axis setting, and I also tried playing around in the Controller menu where you can specify the Look Axis, but the Rift wasn't showing up on that screen either.

I'm running the latest Rift SDK and firmware, and Windows 8 64bit if that makes any difference...

Even without tracking through, I have to say that the experience is already very good. The 3D effect is great, and the HUD shrinking options work well (although I agree with the previous comments that the DK resolution makes it a little hard to do much other than driving right now).

Quote from Scawen :

Here is a screenshot of a test for Oculus Rift support. It is at actual Rift resolution. I set it to 90 degrees horizontal FOV (total) - not sure if it should be more. This is not optimised or finished and the distortion is probably wrong or at least a bit off. Just thought you might like to see the progress.

There are now 3 display types that can be selected in LFS :

1) TV / monitor / projector
2) conventional 3D headset
3) headset with distorting lenses

And each comes with suitable sliders. For example (1) and (3) need a screen width slider. I have no plans to integrate with the Oculus SDK at the moment, so you will not get head tracking support from LFS. I'm not coding specifically for the Rift this time round. It's not worth my time while the resolution is still sub-standard and the head tracking is not complete. But there seem to be other ways to get the head tracking input, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem for Dev Kit users.

Thanks a lot for the update... I have a dev kit and will definitely be testing the Rift support out as soon as it's available!

Wow... I've been visiting the forums for almost 8 years now and this is my spectacular post number 5! It seems to be against the prevailing mood of the thread, but so be it...

Seriously, what is up with the perspective of the people around here?

I can understand liking a game and wishing that there was more paid content available for it, but everyone here appears to think that the developers somehow owe them free updates for life? In a way it's probably an unwanted side-effect of the way that they've chosen to release the game (i.e. making every engine update free for the last 8 years, and only charging occasionally for content).

In any case, Scawen, please add me to the list of people who will continue to wait patiently and will definitely be purchasing S3 no matter what... whenever it becomes available.

Last edited by Strien, Mon, 10 Jan 2011 06:13. Reason : Even less posts than I thought!

I just wanted to add a huge thanks to Lynce for all his hard work!!

Everything in this pack is amazing, although have to say that the landscapes are my favorite!

Wow... looks stunning!

Doesn't anyone else find it ironic that the "I hate ISI physics" guy is almost the only person able to produce half decent physics with their engine?

I only wish that there was a moddable game that was more worthy of your talents!! (DR :weeping

Quote from X-Ter :

The idea of the AI following real life drivers is good and is used by (as I've said before) Nascar Heat. It works by creating a hotlap for the AI as "guide" for them. They still have to make some desisions on their own though, like where to do a takeover and when to pit for fuel and repairs.
Over all this system works pretty good, and I think it's one of the best ways to create AI ever seen. But if it's possible for LFS I don't know.

One drawback is that in Nascar Heat, everyone has to have the same hotlap as guide if you go online, or else cars will warp and behave very odd. Other than that, the system is pretty flawless.

--- Edit ---
Just thought about it for a while. A Hotlap guided AI together with the current learning system might just prove to be awesome

I had no idea that Nascar Heat already implemented this... cool!

Regarding the edit... that's not really what I had in mind. I was more thinking that it would be like an extension to the hotlap charts... where your online "persona" would only improve when you did. As you raced, you would chose to upload your races as you "beat" others who had similar times, and your own times improved.