Cars ISO VLM GTPC Conversion 1.8 Patch part 2

[BillGuy]

I’m going to suggest an alternate method for extracting the content. WARNING: This involves using the command prompt. I actually think this may be more straight forward for some people despite the additional typing at the prompt.
[1]
As already mentioned, have all four files downloaded to the same folder:
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.001.zip
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.002.zip
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.003.zip
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.004.zip

[Info]
Each of the files you downloaded contains a portion of a single large .7z archive file. Practically speaking, you need to recombine the four “portions” back into one file.

[2]
Unzip each of the four files into a single folder. This can be the same folder you used for the downloads or another one. The important point is that the unzip destination for all four zip files must be the same folder.
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.001.zip -> unzips to HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.001
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.002.zip -> unzips to HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.002
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.003.zip -> unzips to HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.003
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.004.zip -> unzips to HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.004

[3]
Open a command prompt and navigate to the destination folder you used for the unzipping in the previous step. Let’s assume that was D:\Downloads\AMSstuff . Enter a ‘dir’ command to make sure you see the four “portion files” with the numeric file name endings.

D:\Downloads\AMSstuff> dir
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.001
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.002
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.003
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.004

[4]
We will use the plain old ‘copy’ command with an uncommon option to recombine the four portion files into the single large .7z archive file. Please note where spaces are present and were they are not present.. It's important that there are no spaces between the "portion files" and the plus signs.

D:\Downloads\AMSstuff> copy /B HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.001+HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.002+HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.003+HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.004 HSO_GTPCAMS.7z

FYI: This is using the standard Windows copy command to perform what is known as a “binary append” or “binary concatenate” operation.

[5]
Enter another ‘dir’ command at the prompt and you should now see a single large 1.56 GB HSO_GTPCAMS.7z file along with your four “portion files”.

You can now use the utility of your choice to open HSO_GTPCAMS.7z and extract its contents into your AMS directory as you do with most any other mod. The four original .zip files you downloaded as well as the four “portion files” with the numeric endings are no longer needed. You can just keep the single 1.56 GB HSO_GTPCAMS.7z file if you want to hang onto the installer.

 

[Stingraymx]

I had a couple of goes at installing this but failed....got data errors during unzip. Obviously it does work if you get the right process as others have succeeded. Anyhow, i then installed the file from the thread (next to this one) called GROUP C which appears to contain either the same or similar mod in a single ZIP file. Installed straight away for me so maybe worth a go if you cant make this one work. I did notice that the force feedback is very low on the Mazda (only car i tried) so some tweaking may be needed to get a feeling you like. I'd imagine these old group C cars were a physical workout in reality !

 

[Richard Wilks]

I had a couple of goes at installing this but failed....got data errors during unzip. Obviously it does work if you get the right process as others have succeeded. Anyhow, i then installed the file from the thread (next to this one) called GROUP C which appears to contain either the same or similar mod in a single ZIP file. Installed straight away for me so maybe worth a go if you cant make this one work. I did notice that the force feedback is very low on the Mazda (only car i tried) so some tweaking may be needed to get a feeling you like. I'd imagine these old group C cars were a physical workout in reality !

Thats not the same mod.

And to answer to a pster above, yes, this contains all original VLM cars, including the group B cars.

 

[Gabor Edelmayer]

Hey, I downloaded all 4 files, put them all into one folder, but only the 4 7zip files show up, no extractor file or three other parts...

Did you also extract the files? The mod will only work once you have extracted all of the 7zip files into the same folder.

When you right click on the 7zip files, there should be an option labelled extract files or extract here

 

[Zulu1210]

Thank you very much,
great Mod!

 

[Grazilian]

Did you also extract the files? The mod will only work once you have extracted all of the 7zip files into the same folder.

When you right click on the 7zip files, there should be an option labelled extract files or extract here

Thx for the reply, yes of course I extracted the files. Tried it multiple times with Winrar and 7zip - still only the four 7z files in the target folder...

 

[Gabor Edelmayer]

Thx for the reply, yes of course I extracted the files. Tried it multiple times with Winrar and 7zip - still only the four 7z files in the target folder...

I don't know if this helps but this is what the files should look like in order for the mod to work.
It's odd that my method does not work, but maybe you could try @BillGuy suggestion.
If nothing works try working some simracing voodoo

 

[Grazilian]

I’m going to suggest an alternate method for extracting the content. WARNING: This involves using the command prompt. I actually think this may be more straight forward for some people despite the additional typing at the prompt.
[1]
As already mentioned, have all four files downloaded to the same folder:
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.001.zip
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.002.zip
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.003.zip
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.004.zip

[Info]
Each of the files you downloaded contains a portion of a single large .7z archive file. Practically speaking, you need to recombine the four “portions” back into one file.

[2]
Unzip each of the four files into a single folder. This can be the same folder you used for the downloads or another one. The important point is that the unzip destination for all four zip files must be the same folder.
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.001.zip -> unzips to HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.001
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.002.zip -> unzips to HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.002
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.003.zip -> unzips to HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.003
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.004.zip -> unzips to HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.004

[3]
Open a command prompt and navigate to the destination folder you used for the unzipping in the previous step. Let’s assume that was D:\Downloads\AMSstuff . Enter a ‘dir’ command to make sure you see the four “portion files” with the numeric file name endings.

D:\Downloads\AMSstuff> dir
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.001
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.002
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.003
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.004

[4]
We will use the plain old ‘copy’ command with an uncommon option to recombine the four portion files into the single large .7z archive file. Please note where spaces are present and were they are not present.. It's important that there are no spaces between the "portion files" and the plus signs.

D:\Downloads\AMSstuff> copy /B HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.001+HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.002+HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.003+HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.004 HSO_GTPCAMS.7z

FYI: This is using the standard Windows copy command to perform what is known as a “binary append” or “binary concatenate” operation.

[5]
Enter another ‘dir’ command at the prompt and you should now see a single large 1.56 GB HSO_GTPCAMS.7z file along with your four “portion files”.

You can now use the utility of your choice to open HSO_GTPCAMS.7z and extract its contents into your AMS directory as you do with most any other mod. The four original .zip files you downloaded as well as the four “portion files” with the numeric endings are no longer needed. You can just keep the single 1.56 GB HSO_GTPCAMS.7z file if you want to hang onto the installer.

Hi Bill, I humbly followed your generous instructions, but for some reason I can't even get the files to show via command prompt. It won't let me access the folder of choice... ("... is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable or batch file.") I swear the extracted files are in there, exclusively.
Thx anyway!

 

[BillGuy]

Hi Bill, I humbly followed your generous instructions, but for some reason I can't even get the files to show via command prompt. It won't let me access the folder of choice... ("... is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable or batch file.") I swear the extracted files are in there, exclusively.
Thx anyway!

Did you navigate the command prompt to the directory where you unizpped the four downloaded files? For example if your PC username is also Grazilian and you unzipped to D:\AMSstuff you would do this...
C:\Users\Grazilian>D:
D:\>cd Downloads
D:\Downloads>cd AMSstuff
D:\Downloads\AMSstuff>dir
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.001
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.002
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.003
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.004

Regarding the mod, am I correct (with the 956) that you get neutral if you don't lift off the throttle enough during upshifts? I just want to make sure that I'm adjusting my driving to what's actually going on and not what I think is going on.

 

[Richard Wilks]

Yes, you have to lift between gearshits.

 

[Grazilian]

Did you navigate the command prompt to the directory where you unizpped the four downloaded files? For example if your PC username is also Grazilian and you unzipped to D:\AMSstuff you would do this...
C:\Users\Grazilian>D:
D:\>cd Downloads
D:\Downloads>cd AMSstuff
D:\Downloads\AMSstuff>dir
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.001
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.002
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.003
HSO_GTPCAMS.7z.004

Regarding the mod, am I correct (with the 956) that you get neutral if you don't lift off the throttle enough during upshifts? I just want to make sure that I'm adjusting my driving to what's actually going on and not what I think is going on.

Dear Bill,
thank you again, now it worked like a charm. I didn't know I had to type in one command at a time...
Regarding the mod, make sure you lift accordingly, so your pants stay clean, lol! (#Richard Wilks)

 

[Marc Collins]

Great mod--so much work to put this all together!!

I am starting with the most recent cars and working my way backwards in time... With all the 1988 cars, I experience occasional texture flashing (on a selection of track lines and surrounding objects) from cockpit view. Assume it must be the windscreen causing this, because the other views are fine. I'll bet it's some obscure transparency setting.

Although I prefer cockpit view and use it exclusively, I could be convinced to use bonnet view to solve this problem--except the bonnet view is more like a roof cam pointing downward, so is mostly useless for racing.

Do others have the cockpit view flashing textures problem, or just me?

 

[BillGuy]

I haven’t noticed any flashing of objects outside the car. It does feel like the interior reflection texture on the windscreen flashes sometimes but I think that may just be how it’s interacting with exterior lighting conditions more than anything. It’s a pretty trivial concern for me to be honest. Just something I noticed more than something that actually bothered me.

Personally, I’m still struggling a bit with the manual upshifts. I would say about 10-15% of my upshifts result in the “neutral’ a.k.a. “no gear selected” behavior. I have to continuously remind myself to slow my foot down a little bit when lifting off the throttle. I’m debating whether or not I want to experiment with reducing the UpshiftDelay value in the .hdv files. The thing is, there’s something like 90 .hdv files in the mod so that would be a monstrous “tweak” to implement for the whole mod if experiments showed it to be beneficial.

 

[Marc Collins]

I haven’t noticed any flashing of objects outside the car. It does feel like the interior reflection texture on the windscreen flashes sometimes but I think that may just be how it’s interacting with exterior lighting conditions more than anything. It’s a pretty trivial concern for me to be honest. Just something I noticed more than something that actually bothered me.

Personally, I’m still struggling a bit with the manual upshifts. I would say about 10-15% of my upshifts result in the “neutral’ a.k.a. “no gear selected” behavior. I have to continuously remind myself to slow my foot down a little bit when lifting off the throttle. I’m debating whether or not I want to experiment with reducing the UpshiftDelay value in the .hdv files. The thing is, there’s something like 90 .hdv files in the mod so that would be a monstrous “tweak” to implement for the whole mod if experiments showed it to be beneficial.

The flashing you are seeing is likely another aspect of the same issue I am referring to.

The shift timing issue is a real one...the HDV's seem to be set a bit long for reality. This was often done back in the olden rF days to prevent those with various controllers from gaining an advantage over those using H-pattern shifters. But in the spirit of AMS, the values should be set realistically. No, the old cars did not have modern transmissions with lighting fast shifts, but you should not be able to beat the simulation timer if you are using an actual mechanical H-pattern shifter in your rig. If you can, the HDV timer/delay is too long.

 

[BillGuy]

Thanks for the feedback Marc.

I see the HDV files have both UpshiftDelay and AdvancedUpshiftDelay entries. They’re set to the same values in the few files I’ve randomly looked at which makes it simple to experiment by just changing the values for both entries.

Interestingly, I have not been able to find any explanation as to what the difference is between UpshiftDelay and AdvancedUpshiftDelay. Again, this is irrelevant if this mod does indeed use the same values for both items in all the HDVs. I’m still curious what the difference is though. Maybe one is applied when auto-clutch is used?

 

[dan944]

First off, a massive thankyou for this mod, such an amazing piece of work.

Two small issues I'm having though,

1.) The Ferrari 512's aren't showing in game at all.

2.) The IMSA 1981 Bavarian Motors BMW M1 is listed in the car select screen but when clicked on it doesn't load in the preview window/showroom, also the game locks up until I press the return key a couple of times.

Is anyone else experiencing these issues? or have an idea what could be causing them? and is this something I can fix from my end?

Otherwise the mod is fantastic, the cars are an absolute blast to drive, I can see many hours being put into driving over the summer.

 

[BillGuy]

Two small issues I'm having though,

1.) The Ferrari 512's aren't showing in game at all.

2.) The IMSA 1981 Bavarian Motors BMW M1 is listed in the car select screen but when clicked on it doesn't load in the preview window/showroom, also the game locks up until I press the return key a couple of times.

I am experiencing the same behavior you describe for both items. I took brief look at the VEH files for the five Ferraris and didn’t notice anything that seemed grossly incorrect. The only thing I noticed was that the entries in the files appeared to be in a different order than those in the VEH for a known good 956 I’ve been driving.

 

[Richard Wilks]

I am sorry, ignore the ferrari's entries, they are not supposed to be in game. They were not part of VLM's original release.

 

[dan944]

I am experiencing the same behavior you describe for both items. I took brief look at the VEH files for the five Ferraris and didn’t notice anything that seemed grossly incorrect. The only thing I noticed was that the entries in the files appeared to be in a different order than those in the VEH for a known good 956 I’ve been driving.

I had a quick look as well and couldn't spot anything immediately obvious, I did notice however in the Ferrari folder, there is a .mas file which is named slightly differently to the rest of the files, they all seem to start with 512BBLM but the .mas file is 512BB-LM, renaming this had no effect however. Also in the Ferrari folder there is another folder named 512BB-LM_MAS, I'm not a modder so I can only presume this is an unpacked .mas file, I wonder if that could be the problem?

As for the BMW there still isn't anything that stands out as wrong to me, but again I'm far from an expert on the subject.

EDIT: Richard posted while I was typing this reply, I'll delete Ferrari's.

 

[BillGuy]

I went ahead and experimented with reducing UpshiftDelay and AdvancedUpshiftDelay in the HDV file for a 956. This has indeed made a considerable difference in my likelihood of “missing” upshifts. So for anyone that wants to try tweaking this behavior I can confirm that these are the items you probably want to look at as Marc Collins suggested. Changing them is subject to causing mismatches online, of course.

For reference, I reduced the values by one third from 0.21 to 0.14 . Instead of missing 10-15% (est.) of all my upshifts, I’m now missing maybe one or two every 6-8 laps (est.). My knee-jerk reaction is that that’s almost too much of an improvement so I may actually try increasing the value back upwards by a bit.