Racer v0.8.10 is out

[Ruud]

Yep, v0.8.10, another step towards 0.9 final. The most important thing is that I normalized special.ini's sun.intensity, so that should be around 1.0 now. Otherwise tracks will look white (very over-exposed). I could maintain compatibility with older tracks but really, most content will just need a bit of work to match 0.9.

Get it at http://www.racer.nl/dl_beta_win.htm
(the version before 28-6-10 around 12pm contains exe's that are licensed; redownload to get tracked.exe, modeler.exe etc that don't give the 'license invalid' error)

v0.8.10 (25-06-10)
-------------------
- Using Newton 2.22 which fixes bugs in track collision meshes sometimes
- Modified shader sorting a bit - decal objects such as skidmarks on roads should use layer0.depthwrite=0
so that they render AFTER the road itself (which does depthwrite=1)
- Added csm_f.cg which is bloom_shadows_f.cg without bloom (just a bit faster)
- 'reload car' would crash sometimes. Also, 'reload car <name>' now works correctly due to the same issue.
- The 'join game' dialog was invisible (though active)
- Driving in reverse no longer causes the brakes to heat up
- Fixed bug with VBO's which could cause crashes while painting
- Failed DOF loads could cause the next models to be loaded without generating VBO's (slower rendering)
- Added support for DDS files which don't supply all mipmap levels
- LDR no longer supported; the hdr.enable option is gone
- 'strict' mode (dev.strict=1) now also catches shaders without vertex & fragment shaders; v0.9 will require Cg shaders
- Lambo rear wheels were unshaded
- Atmosphere shaders optimized. Also normalized the sun intensity, so special.ini sun.intensity should now be around 1.0!
- Started documenting on how to convert for v0.9, see http://racer.nl/tutorial/updating_v09.htm
- Added 'racer_nocg.exe', which loads track_nocg.shd and car_nocg.shd files instead of track.shd/car.shd
This enables you to provide simple shaders for old machines/cards. See http://racer.nl/tutorial/nocg.htm
- 'show carpoints' now also shows the backfire points
- Added 'envmap.live_track.render_once' to generate a single envmap at start time, then not update it again (for speed)
- Added 'scale' parameter to shaders (shader_<name>.scale) which is passed to Cg shaders
- Added 'standard_mix2_f.cg' for mixing of 2 textures using a control texture. Useful for tracks.
- Also added 'standard_mix1_f.cg' and 'standard_mix2w_f.cg', see http://racer.nl/tutorial/shading_tracks.htm
- Fresnel properties for GPU shaders can now be set: shader<x>.fresnel.bias, scale and power.
See http://racer.nl/reference/shadereng.htm#matglobal

 

[skybh]

Btw i would ask you ruud, what did you change exactly from 8.9 to 8.10?
Because i see the lightening seems to be improved and so much improved, an solid texture for a car body looks same as an backed texture
Realy nice
Waiting for the 9 final
Where could we find documentation about backfire??

 

[Mr Whippy]

Added 'envmap render' for v0.8.11.

It would be pretty cool if something could be set up using this sytem that kinda create an envmap repository around the track to call upon when in certain areas, perhaps say 50 envmaps at different points around the circuit... hmmm

Dave

 

[KS95]

Where could we find documentation about backfire??

I was wondering that myself.. I found some stuff in the particles.ini about exhaust smoke etc.. I was curious about it but I couldn't find any documentation :/


Also.. no-one replied to my previous post, so I'm going to quote it below..

Seems like a great release, much better than 0.8.9! I'm very impressed

The only real problem I've found is..well.. this:

Accelerating:
http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/3271/screenshot001ga.jpg

Braking:
http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/8918/screenshot002bf.jpg


Hmmm...

Anyone else having this problem? Is it my graphics card (GT210) or the fact that I'm running it with Wine in Linux?

 

[Mr Whippy]

Are all the shaders good?

Also, I noticed, the car skid sounds *seem* to impact the skid marks, and the skid sounds are impacted by the optimum slip angle/ratio numbers put at the end of pacejka definitions... if they are bad numbers then it might be causing issues there...

I still have no idea why those values can't be done more on the fly somehow, or calculated at car load or something... they really are a function of parameters the simulation already has so to have to enter them is a pain

Dave

 

[skybh]

Maybe it's because you uses an car without CG?

 

[Mr Whippy]

Best to test it on a fully 0810 compatible track... even if that is a flat plane with a tarmac texture and a sky dome, it'll make sure there is nothing 'interfering' with the skid marks...

Also probably best to make sure the car is fully 0810 setup too, so a box on cylinder wheels with a generic shader material too...


It'd help rule out shaders/compatibility issues anyway

Dave

 

[KS95]

Default car/track doesn't have the error.. so, I guess it's a compatibility problem?

 

[Stereo]

It would be pretty cool if something could be set up using this sytem that kinda create an envmap repository around the track to call upon when in certain areas, perhaps say 50 envmaps at different points around the circuit... hmmm

Dave

You can send console input on timelines, Boomer's surface/sounds track for example has a timeline that switches the day/night cycling rate (it's at the start of the brake distance test) I guess you could do similar with envmap render.

Thanks Ruud for answering my posts

 

[mdbobbo]

noticed on the first release of 0.8.10 big advanced in track graphics

Thank you Ruud for the new version,
I noticed that with this version 0.8.10 that the mountian in Taupo has come back into view a great improvement I'm not sure if all are aware.
So here is a quick screenie to show the mountian in the back ground which has not show for amny versions before this one.

Many other graphics have been re-established also and will post some shots in the screenie thread later this week.

I'm getting frame rate at 16pfs on the taupo track whichfrom memory is quite low, at one stage I got around 40fps which would make the driving more realistic, but as I'm still tweeking ini's and the graphics card I might overcome that eventually.

track lighting is good no more improvements nessesary although, if I turn the lights on in the day time now they seem to add the lighting value to the daytime track lighting, not really realistic but it may need to have the car light settings adjusting I suppose, now that track lighing has changes

I'm just downloading the most up to date version right now so I'll look at tracked etc and see how we go from there.

 

[twister77]

Many thanks for the v0.8.10

My question is concerning non-cg cars running in the v0.8.10. Compared to v0.8.8 they just appear too bright (see pics). Changing TOD and sun intensity doesn't really help. I have live track set to 1 in both versions and fbo set to 0. Is there an easy fix for this problem? Cg cars otherwise look great.

Also, in regards to non-cg tracks running in the v0.8.10. Compared to v0.8.8 they appear much brighter (see pics). Changing TOD and sun intensity doesn't change anything. Is it possible to reduce brightness in the non-cg tracks?

Another thing, I have a huge drop in FPS going from v0.8.8 to v0.8.10. I use GeForce 9800 GT and my average is around 140 FPS in v0.8.8. I get 40 FPS in v0.8.10 for the same car and track. Is this normal?

Thanks..

 

[boomer541]

Noticed that there are no particles for stones or mud, only gravel in ver 0.0810.

 

[luthobu]

Re-download the 0.8.10; it now contains a working TrackEd/Modeler without licensing.

Hm. I think I liked the license error better.. (image #1)

EDIT: I tried with a nocg track (gizmos) and got this far (image #2)

 

[Ruud]

Hm. I think I liked the license error better.. (image #1)

EDIT: I tried with a nocg track (gizmos) and got this far (image #2)

Are you sure you ran with racer_nocg.exe? It seems non-cg still loads those Cg shaders; turn off csm in racer.ini, that fixes it. That's renderer.shadowmapping.enable (set it to 0). I'll fix the loading for 0.8.11.

 

[luthobu]

@Ruud: thanks for reply. Yes, with nocg, and both CSM and other shadows are off.. this problem is only
related to TRACKED however, and nothing else afaik. Here is the output from QLOG:

Wed Jun 30 01:52:03 (INFO): [tracked/2800] --- application start ---
Wed Jun 30 01:52:03 (WARN): [tracked/2800] DGPUShader:Load(data/renderer/shaders_hdr/particles_spark_v.cg): CG ERROR : "The profile is not supported."
Wed Jun 30 01:52:03 (INFO): [tracked/2800] Physics engine: NEWTON v2.22
Wed Jun 30 01:52:03 (WARN): [tracked/2800] DGPUShader:Load(data/renderer/shaders_hdr/skidmark_f.cg): CG ERROR : "The program could not load."

Very nice to hear that you are working on this, thank you!

 

[boomer541]

Tracked.ini file has prblems, it puts an unusable image on the screen, I had to adjust height and width to get it to work right.

Modeller ok!

Pacjeka just flashes and is therefore usless! Needs fixing!

 

[Ruud]

Anyone else having this problem? Is it my graphics card (GT210) or the fact that I'm running it with Wine in Linux?

The skidmark turning black or transparent seems to have been a render engine problem; lots of OpenGL state from the previous material was still active. Improved (dare I say fixed ) in v0.8.11.

 

[Ruud]

@Ruud: thanks for reply. Yes, with nocg, and both CSM and other shadows are off.. this problem is only
related to TRACKED however, and nothing else afaik. Here is the output from QLOG:

Some subtle points where Cg shaders are loaded anyway. I've added some extra warnings around it to fix it. However, I probably won't do a non-Cg TrackEd, as long as the regular one runs when csm is turned off in racer.ini. TrackEd probably won't be used much by non-Cg users; when doing content you want to max things out, right?

 

[luthobu]

TrackEd probably won't be used much by non-Cg users; when doing content you want to max things out, right?

Sure, but what confuses me is the nature of the error messages. They are related to functions that
have nothing to do with creating content, and are mere in-game "eye-candy" (particles and skidmarks).

It is of course possible to ask someone with a cg compatible machine to do all the "dirty work" that is
not really part of making tracks (splines, positions, ear-candy), but I don't really think it is fair, and
setting that up manually is a pain.. I had to calculate all additional positions on Badlands Revisited and
did it old-school.. with a pencil, paper and a schematics.. LOL.

My point being, for making a track useful in a wider sense, for racing against opponents, tracked is needed.

EDIT: I did however overlook this statement..

.. as long as the regular one runs when csm is turned off in racer.ini.

That is a good point. It is impossible to consider every single HW configuration and make it work 100%
for everyone.

 

[KS95]

The skidmark turning black or transparent seems to have been a render engine problem; lots of OpenGL state from the previous material was still active. Improved (dare I say fixed ) in v0.8.11.

Haha, good, I look forward to it

 

[boomer541]

luthobu,
You can use tracked from an earlier version of Racer for non-cg tracks, should work as I have used various versions of tracked in the past without problems.