Racer v0.9.0 RC10 Released

[tormento19]

A new beta is available at http://www.racer.nl/dl_beta_win.htm.
Another one!!! Seems that G27 works again

v0.9.0 RC10 (??-08-2014, r?)
------------------------------
- DirectInput added back to provide joystick/wheel support again
- geometry.ini flags=16 now hides an object.

 

[Mr Whippy]

Well, the next closest thing to a WYSIWYG editor is Max really.

TrackEd is really nice to fly around in etc, and if you 'reload track' then you get the latest DOF changs etc... in theory if you just sync from Max and then 'reload track' in TrackEd then you can check the visuals are as desired etc.


We'll sort something out hehe... first step for me is to be able to generate a box from Max > Racer DOF.

Once that is done we can just work out from there with a super duper fancy exporter... maybe even one that can just see scene changes in Max every so often and continually export/update the required parts to the track folder?!

Dave

 

[Raphael Buthmann]

Guys, and what about multi uv channels dofs? I saw something related to it in racer.nl, but I tried putting tc1 or tc2 via shaders and it didn't work.

.-.

 

[Mr Whippy]

Assuming you have a DOF that adheres to the format then you also need a shader that correctly sends the new tex coords through it's pipeline.

I'm not sure it's as simple as referencing tc0...999, it's a case of sending it from the dof > vert shader > frag shader to use it.

What are you trying to get it working on specifically?

Cheers

Dave

 

[camsinny]

You'll need to use the new DOF format.

 

[Mr Whippy]

Which means using a newer version of Racer that no one uses any way it seems

Like Some1 said on another thread around here, for things like car interiors and maybe even exteriors these days, some level of vertex baked lighting for AO is usable and gives an ok result.

Even for higher density areas of tracks it might be worthwhile too, to add variation either in colours or AO etc.



OK it's not great... and it'd be cool to get the 2nd UV maps working and develop some shaders for them now to work out nice ways to use them. But I don't think we'd actually be making content with them.

Possibly even tracks with those DOF wouldn't work in older versions of Racer which would mean lots of users wouldn't be able to enjoy your content.

If we got a solid version again like RC5c with them then I'd certainly think about implementing them in stuff I make from now on. But for now they're just a novelty if we can't actually use/enjoy them widely imo.


Hmmmm

Dave

 

[QuadCoreMax]

Hmm

Eternal development with lots of issues & new illusory features -- or -- having a fixed goal of having something durable & stable ?

Got DK2 in my hands for a days now, I'm just discovering Crescent Bay coming in some months & really have no joy of being a laboratory rat anymore.

Reality is, I am concentrating my efforts & my Racer creations & knowledge to Unity 3D, one of the best gaming development communities worldwide...

Logically Racer should be released into a UnityPackage or UDK, just porting the kernel of the virtual machine & the rest (the problems) will become history because we @ Unity have it all - that is : shaders, custom editors, coding, OR....etc.

Time to transcend & re-orient to something more sustainable, enjoyable & quickly feasible.

-----------------------------------
NextGen Racing Studio
Racer-Max
-----------------------------------

 

[Mr Whippy]

I have to admit I've often thought that a code-base for the car side of stuff that can drop into UE/Unity etc would be pretty nice.

I'm unsure how feasible it would be of course.

But I think an open-source car sim that sits inside Unity or UE4, made for free, would be a really nice thing to have.

Maybe some time next year I can take a look at it all again.


But is Unity the best way to go with it? Does Unity give the full feature set on the free version? I didn't think it did. Not good for a freebie release thing.

UE4 seems a better platform given a freebie release would be fully featured and the sub-model is much cheaper for anyone wanting to develop specifically for it!?



I still hold out hopes for Racer. I still believe that Ruud could monetise Racer somehow and make it really great, rather than using it for the simulator side of things only which seems to be limiting it's potential as a really great cross-platform open car simulator!

Dave

 

[QuadCoreMax]

Yeah, you told it...
A lot of ways exits to monetize & port it to other platforms.

It could be released on Kongragate (Massive Free Online Indie Platform) to play future releases online all together ?
Or it could be also CE3 or even a Point Cloud oriented platform that we could hit soon ?

Who knows ? Those guys @ Euclideon seems to be have mastered this technology & they are in our age (~30) with lots of new ideas & algorithms. I recall the time (3 years ago) when everybody laughed at them...& look now, who is laughing ?

Anyway, just to say I finally upgraded to Win 7 64 with a Sapphire Flex HD 6870 capable of rendering alone to 5 screens up to 12K (from my simulated calculations)...

So, apart from other projects I'm in, I'll look more into Racer & see if I'll update some cars & tracks & continue developing for Racer.

The RC6 version works but a lot of weird issues appeared, alpha textured based + spherical sky-dome, shadow mapping etc. issues. FPS is amazingly high approx. 125 FPS at 4K on my 3 LCDs.

Will decide soon how I'll continue, I feel more projection / holographic technology is coming fast which might be better, in the end than all the 3D active/passive technology.

Also, IDK Win 10 + DX 12 which I quickly tested on my virtual systems, this should bring more problems I guess for most people who don't upgrade every year with PC & GPUs.

 

[Mr Whippy]

Polygons and textures will still be the king of the hill for a long time yet for interactive stuff.

Stereo rendering will cover off 3D stuff for the near term too.

The problem with holograms and point cloud type stuff is that as computers get more powerful to manage that kinda stuff, so they also get more powerful to make conventional 3D look even more awesome too.

One day there will probably be a cross-over but it's probably at least a decade away before we even see glimpses of real possibilities along that road imo.

Dave

 

[lapsio]

Where's source or linux download? I've found only some super-old 0.5 version on official page. I could compile it on my own but i can't find beta source either

 

[radome]

Where's source or linux download? I've found only some super-old 0.5 version on official page. I could compile it on my own but i can't find beta source either

Racer runs flawlessly for me with Wine. Very good experience.

 

[QuadCoreMax]

Same here !!!
Racer runs flawlessly for me in Win 7 x64 with my Sapphire Flex HD 6870 1GB GDDR5 ...ALL OPTIONS FULL....only thing to avoid stuttering, I've activated the admin + Win SP3 options in shortcut.

+ 60 FPS on ~ 4K displays (3840 x1024px ) in windowed (no stretch), still with the 0.8.38 / 39.

If anyone needs settings, I share with pleasure.
Still on this version, because lots of stuff I don't like in the newer versions.

Probably will continue developping when I have more time, still configuring my PC & it will probably last another month before all my apps & configs are restored....

My DK2 will be tested ASAP with newer versions, probably a hack already exists to run any game just as is.

 

[QuadCoreMax]

I correct myself for the wrong information I've written just 2 post ago...
Ok, my new GPU (Sapphire Flex HD 6870) theoretically admits up to 40 K of pure resolution on +12 DP 1.2 screens...

The next idea (in 2/3 years) is to buy 9 DP 1.2 Screens in a 3x3 Screen Matrix with each capable of +2.5K (2560x1600 pixels) with 2 MST Hubs (MST to 4 x 1.2 DP) + 1 DVI-D / I....

Costs would be now +1500€ at least only for the joy of testing it impatiently !
I will wait until I can buy for 400€ max. all included (2 MST Hubs + 9 screens), second hand for sure, I'm a "Decreaser" hehe !!!


Let's hope that the new Hololens Technology will make everything drop in price very soon !
Enjoy ______M A X I M U M______G A M I N G______ with AMD Sapphire GPUs

-----------------------------------
NextGen Racing Studio
Racer-Max
-----------------------------------

 

[Alexander Knoll]

Moin,
he is still allive...
New version:
02-10-2015: The stand-alone Pacejka Player has been updated to fix some lambda bugs. See the Pacejka Player page for more details.

 

[QuadCoreMax]

@Ruud

Since you have DK2 compatibility, I inivte you to put it on some sites.
I'm actually checking some native DK2 games & will in the next days test your latest version & report here what's happening !

I already tested the 0.8.38 / 9 with virtual desktop, just for fun...
Naa that isn't the best solution.

I'll post some news on my DK2 post & invite any DK2 Geek to share discoveries, bugs & wishes...
Thanks Ruud for everything !

P.S.: Your friends ? like LFS, SMS & Iracing, Euro Truck Sim 2 etc... are all visible on some of the best sites like vrapps.com.


**********************************************************
Phenom X4 9950 BE OC 2900MHZ
OCZ Gold DDR2 PC2 8500 2 x 2GB OC 1066MHZ
Gigabyte GA-MA78G-DS3H Rev2.0
Sapphire Flex HD 6870 1GB GDDR5
2 x HDD ~ 4.5 TB SATA 2
Corsair TX 750W
3 x Screen 19" LCD 3x DVI Max. ~ @75Hz @ 4K
Win 7 x64 SP1 Ultimate [Tweaked]
Logitech G15
Logitech G25
Logitech G500
Oculus Rift DK2
**********************************************************

 

[Alex Forbin]

@Ruud

Since you have DK2 compatibility, I inivte you to put it on some sites.
I'm actually checking some native DK2 games & will in the next days test your latest version & report here what's happening !

I already tested the 0.8.38 / 9 with virtual desktop, just for fun...
Naa that isn't the best solution.

I'll post some news on my DK2 post & invite any DK2 Geek to share discoveries, bugs & wishes...
Thanks Ruud for everything !

P.S.: Your friends ? like LFS, SMS & Iracing, Euro Truck Sim 2 etc... are all visible on some of the best sites like vrapps.com.


**********************************************************
Phenom X4 9950 BE OC 2900MHZ
OCZ Gold DDR2 PC2 8500 2 x 2GB OC 1066MHZ
Gigabyte GA-MA78G-DS3H Rev2.0
Sapphire Flex HD 6870 1GB GDDR5
2 x HDD ~ 4.5 TB SATA 2
Corsair TX 750W
3 x Screen 19" LCD 3x DVI Max. ~ @75Hz @ 4K
Win 7 x64 SP1 Ultimate [Tweaked]
Logitech G15
Logitech G25
Logitech G500
Oculus Rift DK2
**********************************************************

I haven't had any luck getting the head tracking to work with my DK2 and the stereo is very inconsistent, how are you doing it?

Alex Forbin

 

[QuadCoreMax]

hey Alex,

It's true, no luck either...

The settings which Ruud recommends aren't working. I even tried multiplying by another FBO_height & width with no luck.

The DK2 stays black.

Just for info, it's in HDM mode with 2 screens, the DK2 screen set to primary.

The idea now, is trying via Tridef 3D & see what it does. Maybe connect I will in the next days in that forum & ask for support, if not working.

Apparently Tridef 3D seems to have a lot of games support which I will try in the next days & get an idea how those drivers work & how it feels to play games in DK2. Another solution seems Vorpx or Vireio, which I haven't tested for now.

After testing some VR DK2 apps, It's true, I have some motion sickness with most of it & only 25% of the VR experiences I downloaded had something special. That is :

Ocean Rift Demo
AirDrift Demo
ViewPort VR Pano
Villa Savoye

I still have to convince myself that VR can increase the immersion which I already have with my 3 screens, Win7 + EyeFinity Mode.

Another personal concern is my health, my eyes, my brain, where I have some hard time staying DK2 connected. The comfort of the DK2 glasses could be a lot better where I'm thinking about swapping the foam with leader, I bet it's doable.

IDK, to me, DK2 is like IR Track or FreeTrackNoir, just a gadget to make your ingame camera working with your head & the same could be also achieved with our smartphones, with a special app...it alreday exists, I checked it...

 

[Alex Forbin]

hey Alex,

It's true, no luck either...

The settings which Ruud recommends aren't working. I even tried multiplying by another FBO_height & width with no luck.

The DK2 stays black.

Just for info, it's in HDM mode with 2 screens, the DK2 screen set to primary.

The idea now, is trying via Tridef 3D & see what it does. Maybe connect I will in the next days in that forum & ask for support, if not working.

Apparently Tridef 3D seems to have a lot of games support which I will try in the next days & get an idea how those drivers work & how it feels to play games in DK2. Another solution seems Vorpx or Vireio, which I haven't tested for now.

After testing some VR DK2 apps, It's true, I have some motion sickness with most of it & only 25% of the VR experiences I downloaded had something special. That is :

Ocean Rift Demo
AirDrift Demo
ViewPort VR Pano
Villa Savoye

I still have to convince myself that VR can increase the immersion which I already have with my 3 screens, Win7 + EyeFinity Mode.

Another personal concern is my health, my eyes, my brain, where I have some hard time staying DK2 connected. The comfort of the DK2 glasses could be a lot better where I'm thinking about swapping the foam with leader, I bet it's doable.

IDK, to me, DK2 is like IR Track or FreeTrackNoir, just a gadget to make your ingame camera working with your head & the same could be also achieved with our smartphones, with a special app...it alreday exists, I checked it...

The best VR experience for me has been in a program called "discovering space", you
can find it here...https://share.oculusvr.com/app/solar-system-explorer

Ruud should DL this app if he wants to know what the best user experience is like.
Sickness I've found is usually due to either smearing of the image, lag between your head movement and the display, interocular spacing or a wrong field of view (FOV).
"I'm thinking about swapping the foam with leader, I bet it's doable."
I'm not sure what our equivalent of "leader" is, what is it normally used in?

AlexForbin

 

[QuadCoreMax]

Cool Alex, will try it since you recommend it !

Yeah, I believe Ruud is looking into it ? probably it will be a lot of work for him, as you know the HUD & stuff, needs to be adapted to the DK2.

You're right, motion sickness is an issue that shouldn't be appearing, so lots of testing & debugging needs to be done, to ensure it's behaving correctly.

By leader, I just meant leader which I have on my earphones for example, really comfortable & good feeling...

BTW, after hustling, I finally managed that Tridef solution (what a mess, 1 screen only for the DK2 needs to be activated) & still nothing really reacts, like the ingame camera to the head movement, so not really an alternative.

To make it clear to EVERYONE interested into this DK2 subject, most games & apps won't run correctly on DK2, because natively they don't have been coded for it.

Anyway, that famous game camera hacker, Racer_S who compiled some nice alternatives for racing games in surround mode (multi-screen gaming), would be the best person imho to hack all existing ingame cameras & make them DK2 approx. compatible.

Who knows, maybe I shall contact him & ask him, since I'm still using his stuff in some old racing games...

Also, I will check in-depth that DK2 integration unitypackage + C++ code for some apps/games personal testing projects since I've finished some DK2 project for my work.

 

[Stereo]

Anyway, that famous game camera hacker, Racer_S who compiled some nice alternatives for racing games in surround mode (multi-screen gaming), would be the best person imho to hack all existing ingame cameras & make them DK2 approx. compatible.

kegetys (who made 3 screen support for dx games already) also did DK2 support for RBR I think... but that's by replacing the directx dll, so doesn't apply to Racer's opengl.