When trees aren't falling some people like the wind, mostly radio control glider pilots at a slope, especially if dynamic soaring in 50 to 60mph winds:
That was a reference to iRacing. In iRacing, straight line braking distances are shorter if you use a rearwards brake bias and then use brake and throttle at the same time than if you use a less rewards bias and use brake only. Some have stated that GPL had a similar issue, but it affects iRacing more. This has been discussed in a series of posts at RAS (rec.autos.simulators). I don't rent iRacing, so I have no personal experience.
I don't know if there are any similar exploits in the current version of LFS.
For real racing cars, which use dog gears, the clutch isn't needed, so drivers have the option to left foot brake and right foot blip (if the cockpit layout allows it). I thought I already posted about this. For both a racing game and a real car, you need a pedal layout that's throttle blip friendly with the right foot.
Some people shift with the clutch, some people shift without ... downshifting ... All you've got to do, basically, is burp the throttle
Except I just posted that I choose not to use digital steering on any game, even if that digital steering is faster on some of the games.
But quite often, the WR's in racing games are done using exploits. A common one is using a rewards brake bias and then using throttle and brake at the same time to vary the braking bias. In the case of iRacing, the cars brake faster when using this method, so it's commonly used.
Not great, other than trying out the FBMW, I haven't been online with LFS in a long while. Most of my time online was during the S1 days. However when I do put the effort in on any racing game, I'm generally 5% to 7% slower than the WR times at most tracks, depending on the game. My GPL Rank is -12, most of which is due to an 8:15.323 at Norschleife (I wanted to join the under 500 second "club"). I could probably dedicate the rest of my life in to sim racing and yet, I'd doubt I would be truly competitive against the "aliens", Roland Ehnstrom, Greger Huttu, Greg Stewart, ... Then again what percentage of the 5,000+ runners in a typical marathon are competitive?
I was trying to use a very old CH yoke and pedal set. The pedals aren't very good, and I'm not sure how consistent the pots in the pedals are. It seemed I had to blip quite a bit before downshifting to get it to work. Using the clutch (via a button) allowed me to blip and shift at almost the same time.
Perhaps it just seems long to me because on my real motorcycle, I can shift much faster than I can in any game, with blip or cut and shift almost simultaneous on the bike, and I'm using clutch on every shift. For downshifting while braking, I can use all 4 fingers on the front brake and still easily blip using my palm and inner part of the thumb. Some riders just use the inner two fingers on the brake, but depending on the pressure and travel required on the front brake for some bikes this isn't alway enough (not enough pressure or your outer two fingers get in the way of the brake lever).
On the other hand, I also drive a car with a manual shift, H pattern (6 gears), and it takes much longer than the sequential shifting (buttons) I use in a game.
Still could use macros for auto-blip and auto-cut, if not included in iRacing. Even if it doesn't make the cars faster, it would sound more realistic.
When did I ever mention wanting to be as fast as the best drivers? For me, it's not about gaining an unfair advantage or faster lap times, it's related to the amount of time and effort I want to put into a game. In some NFS games (especially 2008's Undercover), using a digital controller is faster than an analog controller, but I have no desire to steer a car by rapidly tapping buttons. I did it once 7 years ago to create a replay of a fast lap for the Corvette in High Stakes, just to demonstrate the advantage before it became well known. Even though I "honed" my tapping "skills" in the process of making that replay, I never did that again, even though my lap times wouldn't be as fast.
Direct3D 9.0 added a new version of the High Level Shader Language, support for floating-point texture formats, multiple render targets, and texture lookups in the vertex shader :
Looks like DX9 has more high level stuff implemented in the GPU and programmed via the enhancements to the shader language. DX9 cards are generally faster than DX8 cards. The poly count isn't going to be affected by DX8 versus DX9, except for the performance (speed) aspect of DX9 video cards. I'm not sure how DX9 would help LFS without redoing the graphics engine. Day, night, lighting, and shading are already in DX8, so I don't see any gains there, other than performance.
Same guy, but you got the quote wrong. What you quoted doesn't make sense. If it doesn't affect me because I can "script" around it, then why would I care? I've been using scripts long before auto-blip and auto-cut were removed from LFS, not for exploit advantages, but because its less wear and tear on my joysticks and my wrists. I'm just not that serious about racing games.
It was other players that wanted it back, and I was only defending their position. One issue is you can't auto-blip on a combined axis (throttle and brake) controller. At the time I posted that, I also had a Logitech wheel and pedal with separate throttle and brake axis, where auto-blip isn't an issue, and which I would use for "serious" game play. It's since ceased to work, and I don't play racing games enough to justify buying another wheel and pedal set currently.
Regarding the FBMW post I was experimenting with an old CH yoke and pedal set without any scripting, but the pedals are terrible, so I gave up on using it, and went back to joysticks and macros. The macros include an "auto-blip", but there was still an issue with downshifts on the FBMW, so I had to add clutch input in addition to throttle blipping in order to get the FBMW to downshift. Apparently there's a bit of delay between when you blip the throttle and when you can downshift, which I noticed even when using the flimsy CH pedals.
Apparently you don't understand the scripting capablity of the CH Products controllers. The CH software creates a virtual device where controller buttons, controller axis, keyboard inputs, and mouse inputs are all emulated and driven by either real inputs from actual controllers or programmed outputs from scripts.
I recall some utility to do the same for Logitech controllers (perhaps a hacked version of the CH driver), but haven't seen anything about it in years.
Server dependent, anywhere from 3 to 20+ mbps, although most servers capped at 10mb/sec. Actual max with my cable modem is 25mbps. Not that great a test, but perhaps a good way to infect systems?
25mbps corresponds to about 3 MBps (mega bytes instead of mega-bits) during downloads and only a few sites will download that fast.
Lag is normally due to distance, not transfer speed. You're stuck with the speed of propagation, plus any switch times for every node between you, your friends and the server.
However since this is something new on your system, it may be that something is slowing down your game. Have you added any applications that run in the background? Possibly a virus on your system (not likely)? The other possiblity could be communication errors causing re-transmissions, but this isn't likely either.
Although I have auto-clutch on, I found that using the clutch (a button on my controller) solves the problem. I made a macro to quickly deploy clutch during downshifts to confirm it wasn't related to timing of manual button presses to use the clutch. As mentioned, maybe I'm just not blipping the throttle correctly.
Seems wierd. I don't know about Formula BMW trannies, but as posted above, the racing motorcycle guys just blip the throttle on clutchless downshifts. Clutchless downshifts with just throttle blipping (assuming you're already off the throttle during braking) is done on some race cars, which allows for left foot braking:
Some people shift with the clutch, some people shift without ... All you've got to do, basically, is burp the throttle. :
Many real world racing cars use a lot of assists, traction control, abs, stability control, no lift sequential shifters, ..., whatever is allowed for that class of racing, and yet it doesn't make the racing less realistic. In 2002, Formula 1 race car transmissiong were fully automatic, but still impressive:
Macros would work just fine with iRacing as well, so I don't understand the point of this comment. Since you mentioned iRacing, in the video of David Coulthard above, his SR would have taken a hit because he drives over the curbing in the old "bus stop" chicane near the end of a lap.
Just have to tweak the macros to increase the time between "button presses". I've never had an issue with reliablity with macros on any racing game, but my particular controller (CH Products USB, yoke+pedals, joysticks, ... ) is a bit more programmable than most.
The first "macro" that I recall was a somewhat common "rapid fire" macro built into some gaming controllers used for first person shooters or other combat type games. Saves wear and tear on the trigger button.
Upshifts are working fine, it's only the downshifts that are problematic. Blipping the throttle doesn't seem to help on the downshifts, but using the clutch works, but I have auto-clutch enabled.
I noticed that the FBMW won't downshift without using clutch (except at very slow speeds), even though auto-clutch is on. Upshifts work fine. This is with 0.5Z. Is it just some quirk on my system or a common problem?
Windows XP SP3
Intel core 2 X6800 (2.93ghz) cpu
2gb ram
ATI HD4780 video card (single chip, not the x2 version)
Sound Blaster X-Fi
USB analog controller (CH Products USB)
Except that the timing in these macros are a bit random, making them hard to detect.
Slowing down the auto-clutch shift rate would solve the in game assists issue, but maybe this is already done. I assume that clutch isn't used on the LFS cars that emulate sequential no lift shifters except for launching.
The shift rate isn't the only issue, the devs apparently spent a lot of time on clutch overheating physics, and in what seemed to be to be an afterthought, removed auto-blip and auto-cut assists because they render the clutch overheating useless. On some controllers, macros can be used to get the auto-blip and auto-cut assists back. Lap times won't be faster, but it eliminates any clutch overheating issue. On some or perhaps most LFS cars, the clutch wont overheat on full throttle auto-clutch upshifts if the player simply waits until redline before shifting, so macros aren't needed to avoid clutch overheating from flat shifting either.
A real Caterham goes airborne at 2:20 into this video. Caterham chasing a Ducati motorcyle. At 2:15 into video the Caterham driver states "see how much air he gets here" (referring to the bike), then proceeds to also go airborne, seems like about a foot off the ground. Must be a borrowed car. Reminded me of GPL at Nordschleife.
Flat shifting only when the engine is already at redline. I've done a few laps like this and a slightly heated clutch cools down a bit, at least in the LX6.
Yes, I fixed my previous post. Considering the aerodynamics, I doubt even a JATA rocket could get a Caterham to 255mph, or at least not without the Caterham going airborne (there's some front end lift that the newer CSR front end reduces, but not eliminates).
Still waiting for a game to get the engine sound right. Race96 was close, but I then realized that many of those engine sounds are similar).
race07 with the 1/2 delay on animated shifts, normally hidden by helmet view, couldn't they just not do the animated shifts? Car was setup too understeery, but just wanted to get the sound captured. http://jeffareid.net/r07/r07obc3.wmv
It would be nice to upgrade the current LX series to reflect the current Seven replicas, like the Caterhams.
A real Caterham CSR uses a 4 cylinder 2.3 liter engine and comes in 200 hp and 260 hp version. An LX4 could be 140 hp, LX6 200 hp, and LX8 260 hp, even though all would be 4 cylinder engines. With 260 hp, top speed increases from 140 mph to 155 mph.
Bias ply racing slicks for the LX8 (or LX6) would be nice and duplicate the slicks used for many Caterham based racing events. I tested the patch Z LX6 and the LX's physics has improved greatly since the S1 days. It's no longer that difficult to drive.
The "macros" aren't "clutch macros", but instead "shift macros". Some controllers have software that allow macros or scripts to be programmed and activated via button presses.
For example, pressing the upshift button could result in the software reducing throttle, depressing clutch, shifting gear, releasing clutch, returning throttle. Pressing the downshift button could result in depressing clutch, blipping throttle, shifting gear, releasing clutch, returning throttle.
If auto-clutch is enabled, then the clutch stuff in the macros wouldn't be needed, except that the FBM (and maybe some other cars in LFS) won't downshift unless you use clutch (or going very slow), even with auto-clutch enabled.
LFS used to have auto-cut and auto-blip in game, but these were removed a while ago. Shift macros can be used to get the equivalent functionality.
I've been using shift macros since the days of Grand Prix Legends. Even though GPL hot laps are run with no damage (clutch or tranny), I don't like the sound of a no lift shift in GPL (it's a long shift time compared to LFS), so I use macros to emulate auto-cut and auto-blip to make the shifts sound realistic. I use twin joysticks, with a combined throttle+brake axis. Some older or cheaper wheel and pedal sets also combine throttle and brake, and with these controllers, there's no way to blip the throttle while braking and downshifting. This isn't an issue for upshifts, but auto-cut saves wear and tear on the throttle controller.
In the case of LFS, auto-cut doesn't make that much difference for most cars. If a player waits until the engine reaches redline before upshifting, then the engine rpms won't go up and flat shifting with auto-clutch on doesn't appear to do any clutch damage.
I don't get it. Why all the fuss over yet another econobox car for LFS? How many players are going to spend that much time with the Scirocco a month or so after it's released? Seems to me that there must be other significant stuff in the next release that should be more important to most players.
Except that iRacing's format isn't implemented this way. It's mostly about online racing, not the learning of tracks and/or setup. It's limited to the cars and tracks that iRacing includes.
For learning a track, the current sim-oriented racing games like rFactor would be a better choice as there are more tracks, and car specific data can be used via an add-on car.
Some racing teams with the budget do use high end simulators, for example, rFactor Pro. It's a somewhat custom made product, allowing the customer to provide physics data and/or the physics modeling software to use with rFactor Pro's graphics and/or physics software and/or hardware. Who knows what the Formula 1 teams use. My guess is that those high end custom made sims are the "best sims".
For a consumer product, iRacing will probably end up with the best physics engine, if it's not there already. EA has the budget and expertise (they hired 20 of the ex-GTR programmers), to create the best consumer sim since they are creating a new physics engine for NFS Shift, but who knows what they'll end up with, a great physics engine with assist options for newer players, or a dumbed down physics engine? How good will rFactor 2 be?
Note that the credit card is being used for a "rolling subscription", which will automatically start billing you unless you take action to cancel the subscription. There was a complaint about this on the RAS newsgroup.
Since there's some confusion about this, just wanted to clear it up.
Which is point of this method as stated in the title of this thread, using "induced understeer to counter lift throttle oversteer", allowing a car to slow down (via tire scrub and/or trail braking with a rearwards effective brake bias (due to engine braking)) while still turning in. It's only intended to be used between corner entry and corner apex.
Normal countersteering should be used between corner apex and corner exit, since here the goal is to accelerate, and the driver can just reduce throttle and countersteer to correct for excessive throttle input.
The other time induced understeer can be used is as a preventive measure on some non-downforce cars in a very high speed full throttle turn, where the fronts are only turned in just a bit extra to settle down a oversteer prone car into a 4 wheel squirm (not quite a drift).