Quote from Flotch :

Indeed, so Eric, what is going on currently ?

Flotch, thanks for your interest and involvement for over nearly 2 decades of LFS, .......but this ain't the progress report thread

I Don't normally offer advice or replies about graphics because it's self-explanatory, in my opinion.

To add to Scawens answer about making a racing simulator on the graphics side of things, laser scanning of real tracks and real cars modeled from the original 3D CAD data or 3DS Max meshes will produce the quickest and most accurate results for generating content.

Quality fictional content will take longer to produce because of the design element involved. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.

Custom texture work is essential and is also very time consuming, so get yourself a couple of good texture artists.

Quote from mbutcher :

Hi there,

I've been meaning to make this video for a while, since my job involves Virtual Reality and I've recently been able to pair this with my love for sim racing by purchasing my own Oculus Rift.

I hope this video gives you more of an appreciation of why the devs opted to spend so much time implementing VR in LFS and I also hope it gives you the itch to try it yourself.

If after watching you have any questions, or anything else you'd like me to explain, please leave a reply or drop me a PM and I'd be happy to advise.

I'm no good at video editing so it's just a 1 take clip. I hope you enjoy it.

Cheers

Excellent video mbutcher. It's nice hear factual reasons why people like or even dislike a piece of software.

Thanks for that.

Quote from lucaf :

With new Blackwood still unfixed one design problem (that was also in old blackwood?) On sector 3 you can cut last curve immediately after pit entry and you will gain with XFG some 0.3-0.5 seconds. I can provide youtube vid, but I think this does not need explanation.

Please post a replay file of the exploit here, and I'll see what can be done about it for the next incompatible update.

Thanks for posting the replay.

This bug has already been reported and fixed in my version.The fix will be available in the next incompatible update.

Thanks for the bug report, but I can't see any holes in that location.

The next time you get that bug, can you please save the replay and post it here?

Photoshopped!

This issue has already been fixed and will be available in the next incompatible update.

Thanks.

Quote from valiugera :

I aways like bugs in . Bugs make the simulator different and funny (for me). So look what i made when i found this bug.

The problem is, I fixed that bug in my version as soon as it was reported. So you'll lose all of that hard work when the new tyre physics patch comes out. :/

Thanks for the bug reports, but keep on posting any new holes or bugs you find.

There will be an incompatible patch at some point which should have all the track bugs fixed.

Well, to my knowledge, track limits have varying degrees. Basically you need to keep 2 wheels within the white lines, but if you run wide in an area where you can't gain a lap time advantage, then the lap is legal. However if you cut a corner to gain a faster time by putting all four wheels outside of the track limits, then the lap is illegal.

This seems to be the case in F1. They're constantly reviewing the track limits on a corner-by-corner basis per track. I think I remember Martin Brundle saying that it was hard to know where it was legal to run wide on certain corners, especially at Abu Dhabi.

In the case of Blackwood, I was more concerned with the chicane before the long straight because it clearly had advantages if you cut it. I try to make it obvious where you shouldn't cut a corner, but nothing is perfect. I replied to this post because I thought that MicroSpecV had a slight complaint about a turn which I thought was very lenient.

Well, you're outside the track limits at that point. All 4 wheels are outside of the white lines, so there's no point being annoyed about it.

If anything, that part of the track is being quite generous.

Quote from bishtop :

I am getting an invalid lap while still on the road at the chicane

https://mega.nz/#!Dws33DzZ!qKs ... uiNT6qxLHi-phQ8hj53qvOTpI

i will try doing a separate fresh install to see if works for me

You are hot lapping on Blackwood HISTORIC. You need to avoid the chicane and go straight.

Looks like I'll have to add directional cones for the next update!

Quote from MousemanLV :

I see, sadly can't cut no more like we used to after the first chicane. Dear chicane, you will be missed.

You need to hug the inside left turn of the chicane to get a good exit.

It's really painful to watch lap records where drivers jump the last turn of the chicane with all four wheels off the ground while OUTSIDE of the track limits. In that particular spot, you'll gain an advantage doing that due to bad driving.

Quote from k_badam :

Is this one of Eric's "2 Tracks" or is it something totally new?

No.

This is an update of Blackwood, not one of the 2 new S3 tracks I've been working on.

Quote from mbutcher :

The raised rear wings on the GTRs (and other model tweaks) are nice but I will miss the round mirrors on the MRT!

The mirrors on the MRT don't exist on the real life version, they are fictional. I tried to make the original round mirrors work but to be rear-view effective, they had to be extended away from the chassis by some 25cm. They looked like tea spoons sticking out from the chassis.

So we ended up using a generic racing mirror.

Er, yeah. let's not derail the topic to patronise the old joke that I never post. It's pretty boring now to be honest.

Quote from Scawen :

New Google headset announced!
https://www.google.com/get/cardboard/plastic/

It looks legit, but as soon as I saw the video, I thought it must be April 1st.

I'll be glad to be wrong, though



Eric

No one has spotted that yet, Draggo. Thanks.

You'll see it fixed in the next update.

Ok fixed it. You'll get the corrections in the next update.

Last edited by Eric, Thu, 21 Jan 2016 19:09.

Quote from PeterN :

Here's some shots from 2 separate locations I know about. There are multiple or long holes in each area. One give-away that there is something not right is that the shadow disappears briefly.

In the second pic the RB4 could not move

Thanks for the bug report.

Those have now been fixed.

No probs.

My point still stands about the slave reference, though.

Quote from Cornys :

George Lucas feels the say way I do about it.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/george-lucas-says-he-sold-%e2%80%98star-wars%e2%80%99-to-%e2%80%98white-slavers%e2%80%99/ar-BBo3Y9h?li=BBnbfcL&ocid=iehp

Yep.

And George Lucas had to be the one to say it, because if a black man had said it, it would fall on deaf ears.

Quote from dekojester :

When I saw the updated Westhill screenshots, I could easily see that the improvements were based on lessons learned from building Rockingham, I was highly impressed by it.

By the way, whenever you want to do animated marshals, I volunteer to be the motion capture subject!

We haven't touched the animation system since the very start of LFS, I think. But if Scawen feels inspired to improve it and have marshals running around the circuits, then we'll be contacting you for sure!


Eric

Quote from three_jump :

Actually related to that I'm wondering which sections / corners Eric prefers or doesn't like. For instance tracks like Fern Bay, Aston and Kyoto all have these kind of fast flowing corner sections with elevation changes which are really nice (and challenging with some cars to get right) to drive. And there are some chicanes (the infamous FE Green one, or KY3 on the oval exit) which are not really chicanes but more like close your eyes and pray.

I quite liked “close your eyes and pray” corners back in the day!

Without getting into too much detail, it’s mainly some corners on the the faster circuits. I won't start quoting each corner because I don't want to turn this thread into a request for corner changes.

Before The release of S2 and GTRs, I was working with S1 tyre physics which had very little grip before Scawen improved on it. The classic case is Westhill which was challenging with the old Pre-S2 tyre code but just became a flat-out drive with the current physics. My fault, partly for not thinking ahead design wise and not having the experience. Anyway, I’ve addressed most of the design issues I’ve had with Westhill, so hopefully no-one will fall asleep at the wheel this time.

As a side note, I have no idea how the revised Westhill will drive with the old tyre physics that you guys are using. I’ve been testing with the new tyre physics for a few years now and I refuse to drive the old one, which has just doesn’t have that visceral tyre feel and response compared to the new tyre physics.


Eric

Hi Warper,

Thanks for the kind words.

I agree with you that it's much easier to build real tracks because the circuit design has already been done, tested and modified. We don’t have that luxury when it comes to fictional circuits and that’s where all the headaches start, unless you are unusually gifted..... which I am not. Most of what I do design-wise is down to a bit of trial and error. When I think I’ve dialled into a design that I still enjoy driving the next day, I’ll continue to add the scenery.

But your reference should always start with real circuits. When we acquired the Rockingham Track license it gave me the opportunity to learn a lot about track geometry and over-all track design. Now I look back at all the existing LFS tracks and I can see lots of ways to improve them, which I WILL get around to at some point!

Btw, I didn’t build any of the worlds in Black & White. I was a character animator, which I still consider to be my main, natural talent if you can call it that.


Eric