Racer v0.8.33 released

Ruud

RACER Developer
Things have been very busy, lots of things going on at the edges of Racer (not really core Racer), but here's an update finally. :)

Get it at http://www.racer.nl/download/racer0.8.33.zip (75Mb)

Known issues:
- The current replay should be re-recorded
- AI training is very alpha, it currently s*cks

Changes:
- Added 'gfx.show_traffic_lines' option to visualize track grid
- Added 'show traffic' and 'hide traffic' console commands
- Traffic improved to be usable
- Added 'gfx.bestline.source' which determines whether the bestline is derived from AI or the ghostlap
- Added log.buffer_time to be able to change the log buffer size
- RTD logging improved
- DXT3 dds format was flipped incorrectly (bad detection of DXT3 format)
- dbg_controls.throttle/brakes/clutch/steer now work again (if dbg_controls.update=0)
- Multiview camera were slightly off wrt eye position
- Added 'show log' and 'hide log' console commands to show live log details
- Cg dll's updated to v3.0.16
- Added log.database.dir for eternal logging of RTD telemetry files (customer)
- Added ghost.time_scale for slow-motion ghost laps (mostly for testing use)
- Changes in thread creation (handle leak fix)
- Added data/images/fadeout.tga where Racer fades to in menus and other situations
- Added 'show ailines' (and 'hide') to visualize AI lines
- Pressing Ctrl-F6 to drive an AI lap now accepts AI cars; they will try to train themselves.
Use 'ai learn save' to save the trained lap.
Let it run for quite a number of laps. See http://www.racer.nl/tutorial/newtrack.htm#default_ai
- Added 'ai reset' console command to reset AI velocities to 50 km/h (for AI training purposes)
- Added 'ai scale <v>' console command to scale AI velocities
- Experimental friction circle method added; #6. Is like #3, only without clamping max_slip_len (dbg_car.friction_circle_method). Doesn't seem too viable though.
- Per-wheel tweaking of 'max_slip_len'; an addition to the tire model to constrict large slip lookups
See http://www.racer.nl/reference/wheels.htm#combinedforces
 
From what I've seen, the car doesn't jump at large dist. from the PO (poo?) why can't the cameras position simply be calculated from the car, that way it would always be a fairly large number to deal with.
Here are a couple of links I found while googling the problem...
http://forums.create.msdn.com/forums/p/15124/93535.aspx
http://home.comcast.net/~tom_forsyth/blog.wiki.html#[[A matter of precision]]

Alex Forbin

We have discussed the jitter problem many times before and the answer from Ruud has always been that it is almost impossible to fix.
 
Well if it's not pitching, there needs to be more immersion for people just sat at their PC.

On the motion platforms you get the feelings and sensations associated with the g-forces, but Racer is too clean sat at a desk with a FF wheel only.
We could do with some vibration say, wheel braking noises.

I won't say Shift 2 is a good game, it's rather horrible, but simply braking from 200mph to 0mph feels fairly dramatic and you feel like you are actually stopping because of lots of little cues that something is happening.
Once you are decelerating at 1g, and someone walks in the room, they look at the screen and for all anyone knows you are just cruising along.
In Shift 2, it's clear if someone walks in on you decelerating at 1g, that you are doing that!

Racers problem is that once the SMD camera has reacted, it is steady again, despite the in-sim accelerations being quite dramatic...

The pitching, or potential to use it, at least gives us the ability to add in some visual cue that is more noticeable as a reaction to the g-forces at work!


I'm easy for any system, but in any case, the current SMD that moves around with the same properties in all axis is not so good. If we had per axis controls I'd be happier, so we could get more front/back movement, but less side to side for example... and add subtle amounts of roll/pitching in too for example...

Hmmm

Dave
 
Well if it's not pitching, there needs to be more immersion for people just sat at their PC.

On the motion platforms you get the feelings and sensations associated with the g-forces, but Racer is too clean sat at a desk with a FF wheel only.
We could do with some vibration say, wheel braking noises.

I won't say Shift 2 is a good game, it's rather horrible, but simply braking from 200mph to 0mph feels fairly dramatic and you feel like you are actually stopping because of lots of little cues that something is happening.
Once you are decelerating at 1g, and someone walks in the room, they look at the screen and for all anyone knows you are just cruising along.
In Shift 2, it's clear if someone walks in on you decelerating at 1g, that you are doing that!

Racers problem is that once the SMD camera has reacted, it is steady again, despite the in-sim accelerations being quite dramatic...

The pitching, or potential to use it, at least gives us the ability to add in some visual cue that is more noticeable as a reaction to the g-forces at work!


I'm easy for any system, but in any case, the current SMD that moves around with the same properties in all axis is not so good. If we had per axis controls I'd be happier, so we could get more front/back movement, but less side to side for example... and add subtle amounts of roll/pitching in too for example...

Hmmm

Dave

Hehe, all this talk about dramatic camera movement reminded me this video: http://www.snotr.com/video/7237/Just_look_at_his_face
 
We have discussed the jitter problem many times before and the answer from Ruud has always been that it is almost impossible to fix.

I remember the discussions but that was the reason for the links, they deal with the problem specifically. New data might help, no?

Alex forbin

P.S. Thanks for the link, I just wasted an hour watching people soil themselves in the Redbull drift car. ;)
 
I remember the discussions but that was the reason for the links, they deal with the problem specifically. New data might help, no?

The thing is that such issues should be addressed at the very beginning of a project. I haven't seen Racer source code post 050 final, but I guess it is quite a mess at some places since it is 10 years old... it might be that fixing this is just too much work for the current state of Racer and it might introduce many new bugs.

P.S. Thanks for the link, I just wasted an hour watching people soil themselves in the Redbull drift car. ;)
You're welcome! :D
 
The thing is that such issues should be addressed at the very beginning of a project. I haven't seen Racer source code post 050 final, but I guess it is quite a mess at some places since it is 10 years old... it might be that fixing this is just too much work for the current state of Racer and it might introduce many new bugs.

Indeed, lots of things should be done in doubles instead of floats, and only downconverted when rendering, offsetting everything with doubles to keep precision. Not a trivial task.

v0.8.34 out now, will make a post...
 
Yes, but that means you have to offset everything. The offset comes from... the camera, and the camera is attached to... the car. And the car's position uses... floats. So somewhere the precision must be stored, and it seems that is at the bottom; in Newton.
Newton... hm, seems to provide a 'double' option in the source. Might be useful one day. ;)
 
Yes, but that means you have to offset everything. The offset comes from... the camera, and the camera is attached to... the car. And the car's position uses... floats. So somewhere the precision must be stored, and it seems that is at the bottom; in Newton.
Newton... hm, seems to provide a 'double' option in the source. Might be useful one day. ;)

Cool, maybe there's a solution that doesn't require a major rewrite. :)

Alex Forbin
 
I'm confused why it doesn't work, or there isn't some simple solution. It's just a wiggly thing in space, offset to another place in space.

Can't you do the maths on the camera at the origin, then just add numbers to the results (offset of the car in the world space?)

Or is world space coords of the car the issue? But then how come the suspension and all that jazz works ok?! Hmmm...


Maybe I need to read those long threads about planets in space simulation stuff again :D

Dave
 

Latest News

Online or Offline racing?

  • 100% online racing

    Votes: 103 7.8%
  • 75% online 25% offline

    Votes: 134 10.2%
  • 50% online 50% offline

    Votes: 189 14.4%
  • 25% online 75% offline

    Votes: 369 28.1%
  • 100% offline racing

    Votes: 513 39.1%
  • Something else, explain in comment

    Votes: 5 0.4%
Back
Top