Scrolling through the forum came across this forgotten thread.
I'm wondering if a something has changed since then.
I see Scawen is still doing test patches of LFS Editor and minor test patch in game. Although the previous patch seemed to end that would work on the tire physics. I'm not sure if there is time for that now or still working on the Editor and the new LFS test patch. Also there hasn't been an update from Eric in about a year. I wonder what has been done in that time, it would be great if devs could share some info on this.

I also have an idea that if there are only minor changes and testing left in the physics of tires, maybe it’s just better to do a public test patch, where many people can test it and give their feedback, rather than having one person test it?

Last edited by Aleksandr_124rus, Wed 8 May 2024, 16:46.

Editor E8 has an option to exclude the PNG files for faster upload.

Option to include or exclude PNG textures when exporting for upload
- Exclude PNG to reduce file size and allow a faster upload
- This does not affect the appearance of a mod in game
- The PNG textures are not required for a functioning mod
- DDS (in-game textures) are included whichever option you choose
- PNG files can be useful if you allow derivatives of your mod

https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/106792

Editor E8 has an option to exclude the PNG files for faster upload.

Option to include or exclude PNG textures when exporting for upload
- Exclude PNG to reduce file size and allow a faster upload
- This does not affect the appearance of a mod in game
- The PNG textures are not required for a functioning mod
- DDS (in-game textures) are included whichever option you choose
- PNG files can be useful if you allow derivatives of your mod

https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/106792

Quote from OpenClutch :

Hope this helps!

Thanks, unfortunately the solutions aren't simple, though I'm sure we'll do something eventually.

I'm wondering about a partial solution I could do on my side, an option to export the 7z without including the png files, to reduce the upload size.

For a lot of mods that wouldn't make any difference. The png versions of the texture aren't included in the mod that is downloaded in game. The pngs are really only included in the upload for people who want to make a mod derived from the original mod (if allowed) or maybe if the author's computer dies, they could get a copy of their mod with the original png files. Although we don't guarantee safe storage for mods, this has actually happened before. So there is good reason to have the pngs in there. But I wonder if there should be an option, when exporting from the editor, include png or not?

Last edited by Scawen, Mon 6 May 2024, 16:16.

I couldn't make the steering wheel so i'll get some help.

In the mean time i imported the model to vehichle editor.

-Model Resized
-Engine Built
-Rims Added
-Frame Built
-Suspension Tweaked(WIP)
-Gauge Textures Added

Progress of what I have done since my last post here:


Finished the exterior (few works/edits will be done in the roof):
















Mirrors, RearBumper, Lights, etc.. :





















Interior (using Aleksandr_124rus's 718 interior after getting his permission):







after editing:












In LFS Editor after doing heavy edits & after texturing/mapping part (few things to do still):












-Front lights:








-Interior (few things to do also texturing part is still not finished):

Imported the interior, added mappings and tweaked the groupings.(This is just a temporary color, i'll make it colorable)

Next, i'll add the seats.

I forgot the steering wheel so i'll import the model to vehicle editor after i make the steering wheel.

Quote from Scawen :

Please can you describe exactly at which point in the process that goes wrong...

For sure, this is happening while trying to update a published car:

1. I just export an existing updated mod from the editor using the using the "EXPORT mod for UPLOAD" button
   
2. Go to the mod page to upload the latest file (7z format)
   
3. Put in a comment, then just hit submit, takes a bit to load
   
4. Then the cloudflare error page shows up
   

I'm in Ontario, Canada if that helps if it's a load balancer type of thing.

I did try originally on my personal car, SLX180 CLUTCH, then this morning I tried the SLX180 DRIFT and same error.

Great! As for hands animation: the fixed position of the hands on wheel seem OK, but when repositioning the hand (in both directions), it crosses the wheel frame thrice. I'm not sure about limitation on number of keyframes in the Editor, but it would be great to include some more in between, to make it go around or in front of the wheel when repositioning.

When this is improved, I'm ready to increase my ratings too

Hi, started making 300sl gullwing, since there is no interior with this model, i'll make one myself in editor and i'll share the progress here, this could take some time because im still not that good at modeling.

Here's the source of the model: https://skfb.ly/6TXpZ

I haven't decided the name of the car, i thought 2 options, mersoles 300 or mersoles 300ls, you can help me decide which name is better in comments.

For now i've done the groupings and added some mappings.

1-ERS System:
=============

LFS already has an energy recovery system in electric cars, so why can't we have ERS in formula cars? We can have a button for it and while we press is it uses energy and then under braking it turns temperature to energy. We can have display for it like the steering gauge as well.

2-8 Gears for Formula:
=======================

This one is there for realism and so formula cars can be quick in straights and maintain cornering speed.

3-DRS:
=======

A Button that enables DRS in our car and opens rear wing. We can have detection points and activation points in the layout editor.

4-Championship Setup:
=====================

We choose what position gives how many points and based on that we get points and so does the AI. We can choose to end season whenever. We get driver result and Team result and a tally of all our stats from the season. Speaking of teams, that leads us to the next suggestion.

5-Teams:
========

We can choose team name, team car for season, team logo, team suits and helmets and then we can choose their AI or Player drivers and create championship with it.

6-Updated AI:
=============

Basically a screen like the Player screen for the AI. We can choose their helmets, name, Number plate and in addition to this, I have created an example screen. Its not the best but it shows idea on how we can modify individual stats of the AI such as rating, experience, awareness, race craft and pace along with nationality and logo to display on mini map.

It'd be very cool to see these suggestions being implemented however some are easier than others so Its certain We won't see all of them.

Here is example for Suggestion No.#6

Quote from gu3st :

No. The move to no local dedicated servers for mods was intended to prevent the pirated LFS master servers from using Scawen's hard work.

Which, if I'm honest, felt like a decision Scawen made out of desperation (because the pirate servers were a major issue back then). It's not the ideal solution by any means, but it's the one that worked. No local servers, no piracy.

But the LFS master server won't last forever, either. And once it's gone, so are all the mods that were uploaded, too, since all of that is dependant on the master server. While you can technically still make offline mods with the editor since the testing function does let you store mods offline, you can't even unlock the game without the master server. What happens then?

LFS is a great game, but I'm worried about its future, if Scawen even intends for it to have one once the master server inevitably dies for good.

Quote from turbofan :

Yes, great mod overall...

With the headlights you have to make some kind of balance between realism and brightness, it looks much better in the editor, but there are new graphics in the editor...
The sound is more difficult, this is the closest thing I could find that resembles the original sound, maybe someone can help?)

Original sound Engine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaKAdCKHng4

Quote from Evolution_R :

This one is a great addition to LFS!

I have noticed a small issue with the wheels texture.

Wow, it looks different for me, I’ll try to add a new version of the disks soon, this is temporary, since its moment there have been a lot of editor changes and restrictions have changed)

freeview has no editor unless I reinstall

I will go over my mods and plans for new ones. Since I modelling all my own models the readiness of the planned mods is considered as 50% model and 50% everything that is done in LFS Editor (physics, texturing, animation, etc.).

Nissan Sileighty (N.S80) Status: - Approved. Rating - 4,42 (208)
The mod is mainly for drifting. It has 4 different configurations with different bodykits. And it has been completed for a long time, one of the most popular mods in terms of downloads and number of ratings, but maybe it was because I made it one of the first, but on the other hand the rating is not the best mainly because of the objective shortcomings of physics and because of unrealistically extended body, but now it's been quite some time and the mod is loved by many people for its peculiar flavour of handling, and I can't decide what to do about it. If I change the body geometry to the stock wide, the handling is likely to change.

And I'm not sure what to do about it, so I've attached a poll. Is it worth changing the body width to fit the stock or is it better to keep it as it is?

Nissan 400Z (N.400S) Status: - Staff Picks, approved. Rating - 4.7 (109).
Finished the Z not too long ago and it turned out to be a very good handling and detailed mod. I've already had some competitions with it and received quite a lot of positive feedback. Also the developers considered this mod worthy to be included in the category "Staff Picks" where quite a few mods get, a big thank you to them from me

Nissan 400Z GT4 (N.400S GT4) Status: - Staff Picks, Approved. Rating - 4.7 (77).
The GT4 version of the Z was also recently completed. It received a lot of attention, including during the championship GT4 series where my mod was presented as single one in the class. There was a lot of feedback from pilots and scawen, which helped to make the final touches that optimised the mod. This mod is also presented in the "Staff Picks" category, which makes me one of two people who have 2 mods in this prestigious category at once For what again thanks to the developers.

Nissan 400Z Drift spec. (N.400S STREET DRIFT) Status: - Approved. Rating - 4,86 (38).
The drift zeta is still in the process of final tweaking, although it's my highest rated mod so far, probably because it has 5 different bodykits configurations, including Gocha new bodykit, Chris Forsberg's bodykit from last season and some others. I already know that the mod is loved by many drifters for its handling and for visual, and this fact I can only be happy.

Porsche 718 Cayman (POSCHER CAYNAM 718) Status: - Published. Rating - 4.74 (32)
The Porsche Cayman was also published the other day. A sports coupé with a centre-engined layout. The main updates have already been done and now it only remains to be finalised. But already now this mod has received probably the most feedback. I think maybe after a while this mod will be approved too.

- And then there are the planned mods. -

Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS. Ready to submiting: 80%
This mod will be a good addition to the GT4 series. An important clarification that this is the version for the competition racing series GT4. And not client GT4. These are different versions of the cars. This mod is my main priority for development right now. Although away from my home computer I have time to modelling other mods at work when i have free time.

Ford Mustang 2024 Dark Horse. Ready to submiting: 50%
The model is now complete. All that's left is to get it all into the editor and start making it.

Ford Mustang 2024 GT4. Ready to submiting: 50%
Also only the model is ready.

Porche 718 Cayman GTS. Ready to submiting: 45%.
A more powerful version of the Cayman with an atmospheric 6 cylinder flat engine. Since the basic model will be taken from the default cayman and will remain to do all sorts of little things on modelling, we can say that the mod is ready for about 45% But while a high priority on the development of this mod is not planned, because there are more important mods, such as the following in the list.

Ford Mustang 2024 GT3. Ready to submiting: 45%.
A racing version of the Mustang in the higher ranked GT3 racing series. Some of the parts I'll be able to take from the gt4 vers. This will be my first mod in this class, so I will need to gather a lot of feedback from the drivers of this series before publishing, I plan to make it before the summer. Hopefully it'll work.

Ford Mustang 2024 Drift spec. Ready to submiting: 20%
Drift Mustang with bodykit of RTR team which performs in Formula Drift series. Probably later will be made other bodykits.

Further already more distant plans, and to be more precise just some thoughts, for example to make in the future drift cayman . Why? Denofa did it, maybe I will do something like his version.

I have thoughts to make a client version Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS, essentially the same GT4 racing version only with the usual road interior. And a slightly modified body design.

Also there are plans for KTM X-BOW GTX. Somereason this car caught my eye, even though I'm not really into supercars. If everything goes smoothly with the GT3 Mustang, I will probably do it too.

Also planned further expansion of GT4 class, because in terms of mods now actively engaged in it only me. For example, I'd like to make an Aston GT4. And maybe even a BMW GT4. Despite the fact that I didn't like it initially and I didn't even include it in the poll. I've revised my views and I'm considering it too. As always I plan to do all modelling myself (except if someone wants to expand the GT4 series but has no modelling option and he already has a mod in LFS to fit the gt4 racing clas, then I could make a version of another existing mod in LFS (for example with an Audi R8 or BMW M4 model). I also wanted to make a Toyota GR86, but then something didn’t work out and it seems that it has already appeared in LFS. I was also thinking of doing a stock Nissan 180sx and a stock Nissan Sileighty. But such mods are already out there and I'm not sure if it's worth the time. Plans for further mods are constantly changing and therefore I may do something else in addition to the above or I won't be making some of the mods I had planned for the long haul.

Last edited by Aleksandr_124rus, Tue 16 Apr 2024, 17:59. Reason : updating some info

I can't really see what's going on there but maybe it's because roughness isn't supported in the public version of LFS. The new LFS engine is more advanced with material settings. The editor is a cut down of the development version of LFS.

I'm not sure if it's a bug or if I'm missing something, but I don't understand why I get such a difference between LFS Editor and LFS when it comes to "overlay or plain" textures (metal: 90%, 0.70 roughness). Shot attached in the post.

It's not because of the location of the object centre. That doesn't affect physics, but it does mean the setups are not interchangeable.

The editor cars have been updated to have realistic setups. I don't know the specifics, but maybe you could open two instances of LFS and look through side by side, to see what the changes are. That's the only way I would be able to tell you the changes.

If you replicated all the settings and confirm the wheel sizes have not changed then you should get the same handling. It's likely that rim width has decreased because most of the public LFS ones are unrealistic (long subject, watch the video if interested). But rim with in LFS doesn't affect much, probably just affects wheel heating a tiny amount over a long period.

Differences between current public version and versions set up for future release aren't something I will get involved in or take an interest in.

You add a texture page to the main object (not a subobject).

Click in the "type" column where it says "fixed" and select "dashboard backing"

Now you should see that texture on your dashboard when you visit the dashboard editor in vehicle editor "Textures" section.

Quote from Aleksandr_124rus :

I just thought about LFS tire physics and realized that for some reason I...

Hello, my friend Alexey

1. All LFS default cars(except FBM, RAC and BF1 i guess) were made from scratch to suit the tyre physics parameters which are not obvious for people who has no degree in vehicle dynamics. As far as i understand, LFS vehicles are all about tyres they need to utilize. Weight balance, engine, suspension geometry, driver position, default setup values and all kind of stuff is strictly balanced by Scawen himself. We still have some good tools like Bob Smith's VHPA to dig into this mess, but VHPA has nothing to do with suspension geometry so thats not enough to be fair. Also, most valueable things related to tyres u can see in Editor are SA/SR and thats all.

2. 90% of real competitive drift vehicles are using so called "wisefab kits", so the suspension geometry and handling balance of these cars are far from what was done by car manufacturer and engineers. I'd rather say the "real" conditions u are talking about, well, its all about vehicles which just suck in handling the tyres in a right way. Im absolutely sure here, maybe except some cars like z05 which was engineered to utilize 18-19 diameter rims with wide tyres. As far as i can judge, in RU pro drift scene we have all kinds of japanese and european FR cars but the way those cars were "tuned" is just to add wide "grippy" tyres. Those kind of adjustments makes some drivers struggle when they are behind the wheel.

So, until we get more suspension info in LFS Editor + new VHPA in new patch and/or people who are interested to dig into physics part more than, lets say adding triangles into a wheel 3d mesh, u gotta enjoy your drift mods tuned by all kinds of teenager players


P.S. Houssem mods are not bad in terms of physics, gotta admit that. Much respect

Last edited by paket42x, Tue 2 Apr 2024, 18:32.

I had a look and I don't know a way to fix it while using compressed textures. It is 16 bit colour banding due to the conversion to DDS. You can see it in the editor too if you switch on compressed textures.

I have a few too many things to do, so can't really investigate further at the moment. I'm not sure but maybe it could be better to go for a plain colour as the best compromise within the current system.

Quote from Aleksandr_124rus :

I'm wondering...the gradient looks stepped, is it possible to fix this so that it looks the same as in the LFS editor?

I feel like I'm in those games where you need to find a difference between two pictures and not see anything

Are you talking about shading and reflections? If so, isn't this due to the new LFS lighting method that the Editor is using? It's still not available in-game, this will be in the upcoming future update.

I'm wondering, in the LFS editor PNG the texture looks good, but when testing in the game, the gradient looks stepped, is it possible to fix this so that it looks the same as in the LFS editor?

Wikipedia states that a trailer is an unpowered vehicle towed by a powered vehicle.

I've been away from LFS and the forums when the mods were released, so I'm not sure if this topic was discussed (I searched, but didn't come across anything?).

Currently is there any possibility of coupling car with a trailer, providing that the necessary parts are designed on both the car and the trailer? Similarly, can a truck couple with a semi-trailer?

As per my understanding, with "fixed" parts this would not work. However, I see that some vehicles have movable parts (pop-up headlights, movable dump box, street sweeper attachments etc.). Along the same lines, if the tow ball attachment can be deployed and retracted, would that be able to attach to a suitably designed trailer coupler? Similarly, if the coupling on the semi-trailer truck can be deployed and retracted, would it be able to couple with a semi-trailer?

Would this work if the truck and the trailer were suitably designed in the LFS editor? Or would Scawen need to make some changes (to the collision model?) for it work? Or is this impossible?