Racer v0.9.0 RC6 Released

[Ruud]

It's been too long... Now the new version is at www.racer.nl/dl_beta_win.htm

I'm working on stereoscopic rendering; with Quadro's this is relatively easy, on Geforce not so much, but I've read that driver 314.07 supports it suddenly out of the box?! There should be an Oculus Rift on its way soon (these next few months?) so that should be fun.

The changelist:

- Fixed Tracked white menu background
- Camera toggling (with the C key) had an extra mode that should not be there (this was an entity mode)
- Fixed bug in shadows_f.cg full screen shader.
- dbg_car.flip_tan option removed from racer.ini.
- Fixed audio pitch bending frequency to use the original frequency of the loaded sample, instead of the audio engine output frequency.
This could lead to incorrect pitch shifts for example with samples that were stored in 48kHz but played back at 44.1kHz.
- Added warnings for missing LOD models (which could cause disappearing models when generating the shadow maps)
- Modified scaling of racer.ini's dbg_controls.throttle/brakes/clutch/steer to use normalized values (0..1) rather than 0..1000
- Added filtering around wheel (tire) forces; a 2nd order Fz Pacejka input filter (fz_filter_frequency/fz_filter_damping)
and a 1st order Fy (lateral) Pacejka out filter (fy_filter_frequency). Both in data/cars/default/car.ini.
- Also added a 1st order Fx (longitudinal) Pacejka output filter (fx_filter_frequency).
These are useful when dealing with high-fidelity surface data (Lidar or high-frequency road artificial noise)
to prevent very spiky lat/lon accelerations (giving unrealistic grip loss).
- Added dev.opengl_checks to check lots of times for OpenGL errors.
- Added dev.run_first to be able to start a command (like a batch file) before starting Racer.
- Added audio options in car.ini; understeer_oversteer (experimental) and damper sounds. See http://www.racer.nl/tutorial/car_sounds.htm
- Added spline.ini option lines.lateral_divisions to tesselate the spline laterally. This highly improves cambered curves in the road. Values around 6-20.
- Fixed panorama_f.cg shader to light up the texture (would quickly become either black or whitish, never showing the texture image itself).
- Added rtd2ascii.exe tool to convert binary RTD (telemetry) files to ASCII.
- Added fmod() and abs() functions to Onyx, next to improved error/crash reporting.
- Onyx now requires all code to be defined in functions. For independent running of Onyx scripts (onyx_run.exe), you'll need to create a 'void main()' function.
- Added friction_circle_method 10 (similarity model/Marno Hopmans variant) which accepts per-wheel lyka and lxal tuning parameters.
(wheel<n>.pacejka.lyka and wheel<n>.pacejka.lxal). These define Fy influence on slipratio (ka=kappa=slipratio) and Fx influence
of Fx on slip angle (al=alpha=slip angle). Normally you'd use values lower than 1 (and larger than 0) for these lambdas.
- friction_circle_method can be overruled per-wheel (so per-car) under wheel<n>.friction_circle_method.
- Removed dbg_car.use_slip2fc option (obsolete).
- Revised the rendering path to be able to override the main FBO's size. This for surround rendering with split rendering for all 3 screens.
See also www.racer.nl/tutorial/surround_rendering.htm
Current issues: Z-buffer is shifted between split screens (screenCenter uses screenLeft's depth buffer).
- Added quad-buffered stereo support (see racer.ini:resolution.stereo.quad_buffered). nVidia Quadro only currently; 3D Vision may follow for Geforce cards.
See also www.racer.nl/tutorial/stereoscopic.htm
- Added 'vsync <n>' command to set vsync live.
- Autoexposure data/renderer/fullscreen_shaders_hdr/luminance_downsample_f.cg now detects NaN onscreen to avoid exposure spikes.
- nvidia_perf_path added in racer.ini, which needs to point to nVidia's PerfKit DLL. See http://www.racer.nl/tutorial/profiling.htm
- Motion blur taken out for the moment by default.

-----

RC5 Buglist:

- Gearbox shift times not working properly, step from 0 > 1 clutch position over the time rather than smooth linear transition.
- Water reflection not rendering, needs clarification on functionality.
- Qlog discrepancies (I'll let Boomer clarify those).
- Odd console readouts about tyre slip angles or something popping up (same goes for gearbox manual/auto setting, doesn't need to be console displayed imo)
- PerfSDK not working as advertised, broken?
- Multiplayer joining to IP's seems glitched, the person joining has their brake stuck on and are unable to shift
- The Multiplayer Lobby does not let you connect, and subsequently let you host, despite the right ports being forwarded. (Anyone else experiencing this bug?)
- The particles pop-out of existence at the end of their specified lifetime instead of fading away smoothly. It would be nice to have some better control over the fade-in and out over the lifetime of the particle since tiresmoke starts out thick and opaque then disperses and becomes more transparent over time, while gravel or dirt fades in a bit at first then eventually fades away.
- Smoke flickers in the reflections, as though it's missing every other frame.
- Replay bugs: No smoke effects, ghost car is left on track.
- The starter sound plays all the way to the end of the sample instead of stopping when you let off the starter.
- Ghost doesn't work on endless tracks.
- track special.ini: timeline.point_to_point=1, timeline.auto_return=0 - The auto_return setting doesn't seem to work here. I have a point to point track and the car resets 3000ms (3s) after crossing the finishing line, but I don't want it to.
- No reflection in the Racer garage when selecting a car.
- The unsprung weight apparently applies a downforce, try making a 150kg rear axle with the front suspension lighter and the car will act as though it has high downforce when jumping off of a ramp.
- If the wipers are set to rotate in opposite directions then the intermittent position does not rotate back and forth smoothly. It snaps back.
- In RC5c at least, the camera bug is still evident, and on Carlswood (spline based cameras) you can often get stuck so you can't get back to the in-car camera view which is really annoying! - Courtesy of Dave

-----


The Buglist (currently known specific to RC6):

• Try going in reverse, the front brakes appear to lock. After further examination it looks like in reverse the rear tires will lose traction completely if they spin at all. Alex Forbin
• Brakes on, car pointed downhill, car creeps forward and to right. Boomer541
• The physics are screwed up, just try to drive the Baja on the Cloverleaf Highway track and compare with ver090RC5. Try the Lambo also. Details & Details 2 Boomer541
• Problems with surfaces as the water in my Surfaces and sounds track makes the car float up/down. The water under the bridge flickers which appears to indicate a problem with textures. Boomer541
• Carlswood has flickers on the tirewall tops. Boomer541
• Cars wheels go above/below the surface and can make violent bounces. Boomer541
• There are NO skid marks generated. Boomer541
• Freezing my system, forcing a hard reset.The freezing even prevents qlog from leaving any hints as to what is going on. More info in post. Cosmo°
• Physics issues, see post. Chronus
• At night, everything has a red tint to it, can also be noticed during the day on the darker parts of the track or car. Harey (due to nVidia drivers?)
• Reverse doesn't work right, seems you have to slip the clutch to get it to go in reverse otherwise you just spin your tires and sit there. Harey
• Can't run strict=1, can't check car/track for errors!!! Boomer541 post
• When trying to use tracked to check key cameras the only yellow track section that appears is with the first camera (On carlswood). the p-key does nothing and the splines are different than on ver 090 RC3. Boomer541
• The three speed wipers Don't do three speeds. pos 1 - off, pos 2 - nothing (S/B intermitant.), pos 3 - normal sppe, pos 4- fast speed. Boomer541
• In a replay if you use the console you can't send a console command because the enter key has turned into a slow-mo toggle. This means as soon as you use the console in a replay, you are stuck and need to close Racer a 'messy' way. Ie, escape key no longer exits the race. Mr Whippy
• Multiplayer broken!

 

[DavidI]

Thanks Ruud, the surround rendering looks interesting. Even better, it's a public holiday for me tomorrow, something to play with & some time to play with it.

 

[tormento19]

Wow great news, Ruud still alive Trying it out now, thanks a lot!

 

[KS95]

Thanks Ruud.

 

[Alex Forbin]

Great timing Ruud, I was beginning to check the site less and less. It looks like there will be a
lot to keep us busy for a while.

Alex Forbin

 

[Alex Forbin]

Bug!
Try going in reverse, the front brakes appear to lock.
After further examination it looks like in reverse the rear tires will lose traction completely if they spin at all.

Alex Forbin

 

[boomer541]

Thanks for the update, took almost two hours to download. (Mediafire was very slow) Tried this version and noted about 20 fps increase. Good job.

Camera Bug srill there, refer to: http://www.racedepartment.com/forum/threads/racer-v0-9-0-rc5-released.59820/page-2 post #32.

Also need to have KS95 dig up that Bug list that he was doing and check to see how many were fixed.

Now we have to see if there are any new bugs besifes the one Alex Forbin posted.

 

[boomer541]

Alex, What car and track did you have the problem as I could not duplicate it wit the Lambo on carlswood?

Bug1---Brakes on, car pointed downhill, car creeps forward and to right,

Bug2---Here's the big one. The physics are screwed up, just try to drive the Baja on the Cloverleaf Highway track and compare with ver090RC5. Try the Lambo also.

This is where I stopped using this fouled up version and will wait until an explanation/fix is posted.

Would it not be better to have a bug free 090 final version than to fiddle with things that work and introduce more bugs? Why change the start lights and other things when they were working instead of fixing bugs that were reported in the previous versions thread?

Makes one wonder if the bugs are in Crudens's Simulators also!

 

[Alex Forbin]

Alex, What car and track did you have the problem as I could not duplicate it wit the Lambo on carlswood?

Bug1---Brakes on, car pointed downhill, car creeps forward and to right,

Bug2---Here's the big one. The physics are screwed up, just try to drive the Baja on the Cloverleaf Highway track and compare with ver090RC5. Try the Lambo also.

This is where I stopped using this fouled up version and will wait until an explanation/fix is posted.

Would it not be better to have a bug free 090 final version than to fiddle with things that work and introduce more bugs? Why change the start lights and other things when they were working instead of fixing bugs that were reported in the previous versions thread?

Makes one wonder if the bugs are in Crudens's Simulators also!

The breakdancing car feature is amusing.
You should be able to replicate the reverse bug with car other than the base lambo all you need to
do is spin the rear tires in reverse (it may work on FWD too).
The Lambo does have several new parameters in the ini, this may be where the problem lies.

Alex Forbin

 

[Alexander Knoll]

I tested with some other cars and it's all the same...and yes FWD too...

EDIT:AWD too...

 

[radome]

http://www.playerattack.com/file/41207/Racer-v0.9.0-RC6-Beta-for-Windows/
In case someone has a problem with you going to file drop sites

 

[boomer541]

Alex Forbin, Yes there is a bug. Tried with Bugatti Veyron and it locks up and just sits and spins all wheels. Also tried Mr Whippy's Lambo and the wheels just keep spining, had to shift to n and hit brakes.

There also appears to be some real problems with surfaces as the water in my Surfaces and sounds track makes the car float up/down, wierd. The water under the bridge flickers which appears to indicate a problem with textures. Carlswood has flickers on the tirewall tops.Also on other tracks cars wheels go above/below the surface and can make violent bounces.

Also there are NO skid marks generated, I don't think I turned them off.

There doesn'y appear to be a lot of activity on the forum about this bad version probably due to all the new problems the community is experiencing.

With Ruud being away so long I expected that some of the Bugs would be fixed, Too much to hope for I guess.

KS 95, Please post the Bug list so we can check to see which if any Ruud fixed. We really need a 090 final STABLE, BUG FREE version!!!

 

[Cosmo°]

This beta has a nasty habbit of freezing my system, forcing a hard reset, which frankly is a first in the ten years I've been working with Racer. I'd like to be able to pinpoint the exact issue, but the freezing even prevents qlog from leaving any hints as to what is going on. All I can say so far is that I suspect tyre forces or differential related causing some sort of overflow, because the only consistency I found in my testing is that freezes occur when I'm "hooning around", ie doing donuts, burnouts, generic wheelspinning in any variation. The timing of the freeze is not obviously fixed, though if trying to replicate it, it seems to occur within 30 to 60s of beginning at most.
It happens on a fresh download with no changes to any files and the default Lamborghini on Carlswood, as well as a variety of other vehicles (FWD, RWD, AWD, open and limited slip differentials) and tracks with racer.ini adjusted to my usual settings. I updated car.ini files to feature all the newly added parameters so that qlog is not showing any complaints in general, to no avail.

Basically, the picture freezes, the sound stutters for a second or two, then loops infinitely, while the mouse pointer is stuck and a hard reset is all that makes the PC respond again. Sometimes, the frozen picture will "update" with a black screen scrolling in from the bottom of the window to the top at a frequency of about 1Hz. Twice (out of a dozen total attempts so far), the freeze actually only affected racer.exe itself, causing the nVidia Open GL drivers to shut down due to a time-out (see attachment), but my guess is that this time-out is only a secondary effect due to the actual "data jam" coming from the physics calculations. My graphics card drivers are up to date.

I would like to comment on the other issues, such as the ones mentioned above (and actually posted about by myself in January already, including video documentation), though other than "yes, they're still here just as they were in RC5d" there's little point. Quite a disappointing release, bringing us further away from a stable release than we were in a long time.

 

[Chronus]

Fortunately, this release hasn't caused any troubles to my rig.

Performance wise, it is OK. Graphics seem ok too.

A few comments, based on driving the Lambo on Carlswood. I chose the Cruden method for the friction_circle_method and:
- the car is more reactive/nervous upon throttle application and higher slip and steering angles
- hitting the sand patches results in erratic behaviour (either stuck on one wheel or even rolling over uncontrollably)
- braking and steering, even during heavy braking, feels better than with other methods. That is one of the main complaints of pro drivers with most racing sims and it looks to me with this method (as opposed to other methods -Vebble, Beckman et al - on previous releases) that complaint is mostly dealt with.

Also noteworthy, I changed (car.ini):
- inertia values based on my research and tool
- increased rear wing downforce levels, based on info given to me

With the default rear wing lift figures the backend is more nervous, obviously.

Ruud is obviously hard at work in his endeavours, so anything that comes out is great and a reason to fire up racer - at least for me.

 

[KS95]

Hacked up Ruud's post. We've now got the RC5 and current RC6 buglist in the post. If you can confirm any of the RC5 bugs which have been fixed please shout and I'll remove them/check them off. Thanks

 

[Harey]

I just tried it and noticed a few things.

1. Noticed that at night, everything has a red tint to it, can also be noticed during the day on the darker parts of the track or car.


2. Reverse doesn't work right, seems you have to slip the clutch to get it to go in reverse otherwise you just spin your tires and sit there.


3. This one I quickly notice when I drove my Olds 442 Vista Cruiser, the skid marks are not there, kinda annoying when you want to win a "I have the longest 11's" contest lol.
(just after swinging the rear end around, notice no skidmarks, but plenty of smoke.

 

[Stereo]

I just tried it and noticed a few things.

1. Noticed that at night, everything has a red tint to it, can also be noticed during the day on the darker parts of the track or car.

The red tint is a problem with recent NVidia drivers, which you may have got automatically, iirc.

 

[Harey]

The red tint is a problem with recent NVidia drivers, which you may have got automatically, iirc.

That could be, I'll try going back to an older driver and see if that fixes the problem (tried going to the new beta version and that didn't help any).

Also just noticed another issue, similar to one boomer pointed out, the car creeps forward, but I noticed it on some of my trucks (only certain ones it seemed like), brakes on, brakes off, handbrake on, handbrake off, in gear, in neutral, makes no difference goes about 2-3kmh forward sometimes.

 

[boomer541]

Another bug!
Try running Carlwood & Lambo with strict=1 in racer.ini and see if racer crashes with:
Mon Apr 29 00:45:42 (WARN ): [racer] QObjMgr: object 'data/tracks/carlswood_nt/loading.jpg' still around with 1 reference(s) [qobjectmgr.cpp:49 / QObjectManager:estroy]
in the Qlog.txt file
and
Mon Apr 29 00:41:21 (INFO): --- application start ---Mon Apr 29 00:41:21 (WARN): DFrameLock:JoinSwapGroup(0,0): no WGL extension to support this [dframelock.cpp:433 / DFrameLock::JoinSwapGroup]
in the Qlog_last.txt file.

Can't run strict = can't check car/track for errors!!!
Back to the drawing board!

 

[KS95]

Added, added and added. Sorry Ruud..