Racer v0.8.37 released

[Ruud]

Just in time for X-mas.

Get the new version at http://www.mediafire.com/?hc44aiq5izp4iqi
Then get the racer.exe/pdb which fixes reflections at www.racer.nl/temp/racer0838_alpha.7z

At some point we're going to have to call it v0.9rc1, since this one does a little tweaking to the graphics intensities (energy conserving) and sets cast_shadow to 0 by default. Most shadows will disappear; a huge fps boost until you put shadows back in shader files (.shd).

Merry Christmas!
Ruud

The changelist for v0.8.37:
- Added views.ini keep_aspect property to maintain aspect ratio for static images. See http://www.racer.nl/tutorial/dials.htm
- dyn_standard_reflect_window_f.cg now uses alpha as reflectiveness as well; opaque parts get less reflection
- TrackEd's AutoAseToDof has improved error messages on bad submaterial usage.
- TrackEd: some (progress) dialogs never appeared. Copy flags to group didn't work.
- TrackEd now colorizes the Collide and Surface flags in Props mode (F4) for easy tweaking of flags.
- standard_bump_detail_f.cg had a hardcoded 12x scale; now it uses the scale defined in the .shd file
- The garage track is not shown in the 'Select Track' screen anymore.
- Added log.events.host/port settings for remote racer tracking (niche usage).
- Lidar data (track.rld files) can now be sorted and driven on. Pro use only.
- Added car pitch/roll in body AND world coordinates in the Ctrl-9 debug screen.
- Added 'analyse shaders' command to check all shaders (track.shd/car.shd).
- The shaders default 'reflect' value for each layer is now 0 (was 1).
- Final tweaks in the shading system; energy conservation for diffuse and specular. For diffuse colors, this
means diffuse colors are divided by PI (assuming diffuse colors are kept between 0 and 1), and specular
colors are being corrected with (n+6)/8*PI.
See also http://www.rorydriscoll.com/2009/01/25/energy-conservation-in-games/
- Timers are now in microsecond accuracy using QueryPerformanceTimer(). Multicore machine issues?
- Profiling is more accurate due to the better timer accuracy. More graphics divisions added.
- Shader cast_shadow property by default is now 0; it's better to explicitly define shadow-casting materials
since you don't need a lot of shaders to cast shadows to still get a good image.
You *will* need to add cast_shadow=1 lines for shaders that you want to cast shadows.
- Depth texture setup optimized for shadowmapping; quite a big fps increase.
- Added look/left right controls (look_left, look_right) to dynamically look left or right (Q/W by default)
- In your controller file you can add global.left_right_look_velocity to set left/right look velocity (default=250)
- In your controller file you can add global.left_right_look_max to set the max left/right look angle (default=45)

 

[Mr Whippy]

Beg to differ, haven't watched V8 Supercars racing have you? One car in the last race of the year two years in a row finished missing a door. You should see what the V8 Utes series is like, they don't mind a bit of biffo between cars.

Damage would be nice when implemented well, but there are features that would be nicer to finish before we work on damage.
Like traffic so I can get the trolley tractor to do it's job...

Hehe, nah, not watched those recently.

I get what you mean. One day it'd be great to do that. It'll probably be here in 3-4yrs. Define a car as a bunch of parts and each one has newton attributes and links, add enough force or impulse or something, and the link can break and your door is flopping around or falling off

No doubt fairly easy to do, but I'd prefer to see it done well and then used, than done quickly and not actually used seriously by anyone, and left that way for years and years! (ie, audio system is still technically beta after about 7 years haha... still needs that final bit of polish to be called 'finished' )

Dave

 

[DavidI]

If you created a car with a towball or hook, and a movable object with a loop, and some careful object positioning, would it be possible to tow a movable?
They say good things come to those who wait.
and wait
and wait
and wait

Also where is there documentation on scripting for track type objects so i can work out how to open doors, lift boom gates etc?

 

[Alex Forbin]

Speaking of audio, I still have the problem of almost no volume at all when Racer starts, it's fine once I hit pause or replay, but if I reset the car it goes quiet again.

Alex Forbin

 

[Stereo]

I'm not sure exactly what you mean; what did you do to trigger the problem? Do you have a reference link perhaps?

I think it's due to interpolation of FOV with flags=0
When the camera's selected at a distance higher than radius, it should probably clamp to zoom_edge.

As far as I can tell, it goes something like
d = distance/radius
fov = d*zoom_edge + (1-d)*zoom_close
when d = 0, this is zoom_close, when d = 1, the car is at exactly the radius and this is 1.
The problem is when d > 1, the second term can produce negative values, and a negative FOV in terms of the camera means the upside-down-cam.

Linear interpolation's not the ideal function for this in the first place though.
Say you want an approximately constant shot of the car, that is, a frame about k metres across.
The function to find the angle this represents would be theta = k/(circumference of sphere through car) = k/(2*pi*radius).
Converting to degrees, ie. 180/pi, angle = 90*k/radius

At a distance of 100m, with k = 5m (to get a good zoom shot) this comes out to 4.5 degrees.
At a distance of 10m, k=5m (not really a zoom anymore) this is 45 degrees.


What seems more natural to me is to interpolate between the field of view in terms of width - this way it never goes below zero.
So the adjusted function, given a specified fov at radius, is to first figure out what k value the camera specified.
k = zoom_edge * radius / 90
fov = 90*k/distance
Or, putting it in a single equation,
fov = zoom_edge * radius/distance
Then, to make zoom_close represent the widest angle the camera can perform,
fov = min(fov,zoom_close)

 

[conster]

Hi, Love the update everything working great. But I was just wondering, what are everyone's shadows like? Ive seen screenshots posted around the site (Picture Threads) And noticed that the shadows were much clearer and smoother than mine. There are a lot of jagged edges and flickering going on with my shadows. It's been like this since I think Racer 15? But I just thought they were the games shadows. Just in case you need them, my specs: Intel Core I3 M370 @2.40 GHZ 4.00GB Ram ATI Mobility Radeon HD 550V 1GB. Thanks
Edit: I only get shadows with the Lambo at Carlswood. If I use any other car I get no shadows. And a very strange wobbly camera. Same with any other map. Even If I use the Lambo.

 

[Mr Whippy]

There are some camera bugs evident in the current versions, I'm not sure if they have been fixed.

Shadowing in shaders has also suddenly changed, so ALL content needs a re-work again.

Personally I'd still use .36 version, it's the best recent one for a long time. 37 and .38 both make big changes, but as a 'player' you won't appreciate them at all if the content was otherwise well made to start with.


As per the shadows jaggies, can you post some screenshots from the default chase cams and track cams on Carlswood?

I have a feeling it may be due to you running an ATI card, but can't be sure... hmmm...

Dave

 

[DavidI]

No other cars will have the shadow line set in their shaders yet, so they won't have shadows....

 

[conster]

Thanks David and Whippy. Here's some screens.

 

[DavidI]

My shadows apples for apples are much better than those, using nVidia GF460GT. Yours are very blocky as you said.

 

[conster]

I know what the shadows are supposed to look like as I have seen videos from Mr Whippy on Youtube. Any Idea on how to improve them?

 

[QuadCoreMax]

check your racer.ini in renderer....

New racers versions had improved in CSM algorithms from what we can see...hope Ruud will even blur it much more, so any perspective view will give somehow accurate non jagged edges CSMs.

Also, flares should be fixed for v0.9, so behind a mountain, the sun flares wouldn't emit, they definitely giving enhanced realism....using actually cutom flares textures from other games...

 

[conster]

What Do I look for in Racer.ini? Sorry I'm new to computer stuff.

 

[Alexander Knoll]

Thanks David and Whippy. Here's some screens.

outch...thats look not realy nice....do you use Raphaels render?
For me with 0.8.36 looks like that:

....and with 0.8.38a (not mipmapped)...

 

[boomer541]

IMHO it would be better to have shadows for car/tracks and then if anyone wants a few more FPS they can use "cast_shadows=0" in the track/car .shd file!

How about it Ruud? We won't have to change all our content then.

 

[DavidI]

We will have to change our content for 090f anyway. I think it's a good thing to force us to look at the content; 050 content is rather crap today. Cars have huge improvements in the ini for handling at the very least, and tracks will need skydomes changed & other shader & misc things to look at all decent. Optimising them for fps performance is going to be a large job anyway in most cases.

I also get framerates that are quite decent, even across three monitors now. If this has helped the fps, then I say update the content.
When Racer starts using GLSL; which means the ATI users will be able to run complex shaders like nVidia users can do currently with Cg; and 090f is out, the users will flock back to Racer. I'm sure if the old content is worth updating, someone will eventually.

 

[conster]

Alexander, yes I use Raphaels render. The shadows were like this before I used it though. I thought by adding the render It would make my shadows nicer. It didn't make them worse or better there the same.

 

[Alexander Knoll]

Alexander, yes I use Raphaels render. The shadows were like this before I used it though. I thought by adding the render It would make my shadows nicer. It didn't make them worse or better there the same.

...hmm...

 

[Pedro_Takumi]

no doubt this will be a great game with future updates, love Raphael's Renderers, i think they give that realistic look less glossy if you know what i mean

 

[camsinny]

So all this happens when I'm away? Dammit.

Ruud/smart people: I have a problem...
Got a new PC, it's awesome, however...When I start Racer it goes fine until I try to race/quickrace. QLOG reports:
Mon Jan 02 10:24:13 (WARN): [racer/6216] QNClient:Connect(); failed to create enet peer; out of connections (RNetwork)

Firewall is disabled. No firewall that I can tell on the router however if I disconnect my network cable it runs.
Does anyone have any ideas what's going on?

 

[DavidI]

Duplicate IP's on the network?