Quote from AH_Viper :

"Miscellaneous improvements in stability and timewarp precision." - Is there any timewarp in LFS at the moment?

Even if it's coming sounds like it would be better to start with something that's got a better implementation.

Surely keeping up to date with the SDK means you'll have less issues reported as people run into the problems they look to have addressed, like the SSE4.1 requirement.

No Timewarp yet and I'm not sure about it yet. The need to actually wait for the the Timewarp point (just before the vertical sync) is hard to deal with. If we just waited "stupidly" then there would be no physics calculation at all while the GPU did its drawing, then the GPU would do nothing during the physics calculation. Quite a bit of code rearrangement is needed so that the physics can carry on while we wait for the Timewarp point. And you can't risk missing the Timewarp point... so careful CPU time calculations would be needed, if I kind of hacked it into the current LFS structure. It sounds more suited to a multithreaded system where physics and graphics are on different threads.

I'm not convinced of the need for Timewarp in LFS at the moment. The predicted head position is so accurate, the image always seems to be in the right place.

Anyway that SSE4.1 requirement sounds like a reason to upgrade, but I'll let people try it out with other demos, don't want to risk breaking LFS right now, using an SDK that's still warm!

Quote from pab_ATR16 :

I believe I've followed all the instructions correctly, but I get an error when I try to start LFS in Rift mode that says "Could not initialise graphics".

Anyone seen this and have an idea of a possible fix (I'm running the new 0.4.1 runtime if that helps)?

I think it's unlikely that is related to the new runtime, because the graphics is through DirectX rather than Rift drivers. But I have not heard of that... I think we need to hear from anyone else who has used the new runtime. Does your version work normally, in 2D mode?

NOTE : FULL VERSION 0.6G IS NOW AVAILABLE!
www.lfs.net/forum/thread/86559


WARNING : THIS IS A TEST

NOTE : THIS DOES NOT CONTAIN NEW TYRE PHYSICS OR ANY NEW CONTENT

PLEASE TEST BEFORE YOU POST

NO OFF-TOPIC FEATURE REQUESTS

NO UNRELATED COMMENTS


Hello Racers, here is a new TEST PATCH : 0.6F12

This test patch is fully compatible with version 0.6F

It contains :

- Support for Oculus Rift DK2
- Two new 3D modes
- Draws cars in a single pass, improving frame rate
- Loading textures with the wrong format or too few mipmaps, they are now resaved for a faster load time. Thanks DANIEL-CRO!
- Many more updates - please read the lists of changes below...

You cannot upload hotlaps made with this test patch because it is only a test patch, not an official patch

Please keep a backup of your LFS.exe from 0.6F so you can easily go back if there are any problems


Changes from 0.6F11 to 0.6F12 :

Oculus Rift :

New command line options /rift=on and /rift=off
Use e.g. in a shortcut to make sure Rift mode is entered or not

LFS.exe /rift=on - try to go straight into Rift mode
LFS.exe /rift=off - do not go into Rift (ignores previous mode)

InSim :

New packet IS_HCP to add extra mass or intake restrictions
to particular cars (affects all drivers using those cars)

Misc :

Minor update to LFS_restart.exe suggesting run as administrator

Updated Translations :

Nearly all translations are now updated - Thank you!

TIPS :

1) How to get LFS running on your Rift DK2 :
- Oculus Configuration Utility - Set your Rift to extended mode
- Windows Display - use extended desktop mode (not duplicated)
- Set the DK2 to rotated mode in Windows (sometimes confusingly called portrait)
- Check that the DK2 part of the desktop has the correct orientation
- Start LFS and click 3D on the View Options Screen
- Select Oculus Rift and click OK
- You should be given the option to exit, ready to restart in Rift mode
- Start LFS again after exiting in that way

2) To reset your seating position, there is a text command /rift reset which is assigned by default to the F8 key.
- When a new driver takes over, ask them to look straight ahead then press F8
- Key assignments can be edited in Options - Game - F1 to F8

3) If, for any reason, LFS ends up on the Rift in 2D mode or with a black screen, you can get it back like this :
- Press ALT+F4 to exit LFS
- Delete the file "card_cfg.txt" in your LFS folder, so LFS starts up on the primary device (usually your monitor)
- After starting LFS again you can try to enter 3D mode again

4) Accessing your desktop while LFS is on the Rift.
- You will probably find that your mouse cursor is confined to the Rift's virtual monitor
- Press CTRL+C to free the mouse and now the mouse can go onto the desktop
- When you click on a window on your desktop, LFS will be minimised
- To go back into the Rift, click on Live for Speed in your taskbar


Changes from 0.6F10 to 0.6F11 :

Oculus Rift :

If you try to enter 3D mode when the Rift is not in extended mode,
and get the message to restart LFS with the Rift in extended mode,
it is now possible to go into a window (SHIFT+F4) and set your
Rift to extended mode then click 3D to try to enter Rift mode
again without exiting LFS, so avoiding one exit and restart.


Changes from 0.6F9 to 0.6F10 :

Graphics :

Fixed bug at Aston where nearby tree line obscured background
Fixed small lines appearing in the air above some Aston trees

Oculus Rift :

LFSORDLL.dll rebuilt using SDK 0.4.2 (requires runtime update)
Removed 3 ways to enter Rift mode on your monitor by mistake


Changes from 0.6F8 to 0.6F9 :

Graphics :

Improved edges of transparent objects like trees and railings
Re-exported all transparent textures to improve image quality
Texture names ending ATEST / ALPHA / ALP24 all now end _ALP
If you do not install new textures, old ones will be converted

Oculus Rift :

Tracking setup now allows camera to be in an offset position
Yaw reset (normally F8 key) should now work again with DK1

Misc :

Names above cars (N key) now work as expected on oval, etc.
Cars now drawn in nearest to furthest order for optimisation
CTRL+S screenshot message now stays for 2 seconds instead of 1
FIX : Misplaced accents on capital letters in names above cars


Changes from 0.6F7 to 0.6F8 :

Implemented Oculus Rift health & safety warning at startup
Option to store driving position (avoids setting it every time)


Changes from 0.6F6 to 0.6F7 :

Graphical :

Removed / reduced some texture related graphical issues
Textures are automatically resaved (if needed) for faster load
Low res textures now load just as quickly as high res textures
FIX : Graphics options sometimes showed too many FSAA options

Misc :

Anisotropic filtering (AF) now default 4x
Mip bias sliders saved differently in cfg.txt
- You must set your mip bias and AF values again
Increased maximum value of multiplayer draw distance

Oculus Rift :

Mip bias sliders are available in Rift mode again (separate)
LFS starts up in windowed mode on desktop if unable to open Rift
Steer look and mouse look options are now disabled in Rift mode
Windows error message is displayed if the DLL cannot be loaded
Recompiled Oculus DLL now depends on fewer external libraries
FIX : Arcade view and helicopter view now work as expected
FIX : Button look and Pitch / Rotate view now work in Rift mode
FIX : Names above cars (N key) now stay still when view rolls


Changes from 0.6F5 to 0.6F6 :

Replay TV camera view is now displayed on a virtual monitor
3D level of the replay cameras adjustable from 0% to 100%


Changes from 0.6F4 to 0.6F5 :

Misc :

Frame rate limit now disabled if vertical sync is active

Oculus Rift :

Implemented chromatic aberration correction (pixel shader)
Simplified head yaw is transmitted in multiplayer packets
FIX : Low persistence setting could be out of sync with Rift


Changes from 0.6F3 to 0.6F4 :

Misc :

Driver's body is now enabled by default
Reduced input lag when vertical sync is enabled

Oculus Rift :

Predicted head position is used with vertical sync
Enabled low persistence display mode (on by default)
More helpful and better looking multiple selection dialog
LFS will now start up on default device if Rift is not found
Helpful message if detected Rift has wrong screen orientation
Position is retained if headset moves out of tracking range
Single mip bias slider when in Rift mode


Changes from 0.6F2 to 0.6F3 :

First version with Oculus Rift DK2 support
FIX : Sometimes the wrong mip bias setting was used e.g. on text
FIX : LFS crashed if an out of bounds entry was typed in 3D dialog


Changes from 0.6F to 0.6F2 :

Two new 3D formats in TV / monitor /projector mode :

- red-cyan anaglyph
cheap red-cyan glasses are required
more expensive glasses can correct red (left) eye focus
colour perception is reduced and different in each eye
do not use this mode for a long time

- cross-eyed view
no equipment needed
the 3D world appears small
right eye looks at left image / left eye looks at right image
this is difficult for some people (with normal vision)
stop immediately if you feel any discomfort
do not use this mode for a long time

Skin downloading when watching a replay :

If a car or helmet skin in a replay is not available at LFS World
when you start the replay (with low or high res skins selected)
but you already have the skin in the other resolution then that
skin in the other resolution will be used instead of a plain car

Fixes :

Crash when using a wheel button assigned to /rift toggle command
Crash when pressing e.g. F8 when /press F8 was assigned to F8 key

Graphics :

New car shaders give higher frame rate when many cars on screen
FIX : Car lighting momentarily vertical as car entered a shadow

Misc :

Updated Estonian and Serbian translations


INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS :

A full version of LFS 0.6F must already be installed - www.lfs.net

To install the PATCH using the SELF EXTRACTING ARCHIVE :

1) Move or save the patch into your main LFS folder
2) Double click the patch to extract it to that folder
3) When you see "Confirm File Replace" select "Yes to All"
4) Now you can start LFS in the normal way

NOTE : You can see if the patch is correctly installed when you run
the program. At the bottom of the entry screen : 0.6F12


DOWNLOAD : VERSION 0.6F MUST ALREADY BE INSTALLED


NOTE : FULL VERSION 0.6G IS NOW AVAILABLE!
www.lfs.net/forum/thread/86559


IF YOU HAVE NOT INSTALLED CUSTOM TEXTURES

TEST PATCH 0.6F12 WITH NEW TEXTURES (SELF EXTRACTING ARCHIVE) :
www.lfs.net/file_lfs.php?name=LFS_PATCH_6F_TO_6F12_TEX.exe (15 MB)

TEST PATCH 0.6F12 WITH NEW TEXTURES (ALTERNATIVE ZIP) :
www.lfs.net/file_lfs.php?name=LFS_PATCH_6F_TO_6F12_TEX.zip (19 MB)

IF YOU HAVE INSTALLED CUSTOM TEXTURES

TEST PATCH 0.6F12 WITHOUT NEW TEXTURES (SELF EXTRACTING ARCHIVE) :
www.lfs.net/file_lfs.php?name=LFS_PATCH_6F_TO_6F12_NOTEX.exe (1.5 MB)

TEST PATCH 0.6F12 WITHOUT NEW TEXTURES (ALTERNATIVE ZIP) :
www.lfs.net/file_lfs.php?name=LFS_PATCH_6F_TO_6F12_NOTEX.zip (1.8 MB)

FOR HOSTING ONLY

DEDICATED HOST 0.6F12 (non-graphical version for hosting only) :
www.lfs.net/file_lfs.php?name=LFS_S2_DCON_6F12.zip (1.5 MB)

Last edited by Scawen, Sat 27 Sep 2014, 20:45.

Quote from vrajunar :

"several" = 48 Months?

Scawen What About License of Scirocco and Rockingham?
There is actually some problem?

No, it is the same story ever since we delayed the Scirocco. The problem is the tyre physics. It was impossible to make the Scirocco handle well with the current tyre physics, if we used realistic suspension settings. So I went on a long mission into tyre physics. That is the only reason we have not released the Scirocco yet, and that reason has not yet changed.

We wanted to release S3 after the new tyre physics (and Scirocco) but now I don't think that is important any more. If we can get some S3 content ready before the tyre physics is finished, then it can be released, even without all the S3 things we would like to release eventually. So we'll see.

WARNING : THIS IS A TEST

NOTE : THIS DOES NOT CONTAIN NEW TYRE PHYSICS OR ANY NEW CONTENT

PLEASE TEST BEFORE YOU POST

NO OFF-TOPIC FEATURE REQUESTS

NO UNRELATED COMMENTS


Hello Racers, here is a new TEST PATCH : 0.6F2

This test patch is fully compatible with version 0.6F

It contains some fixes, two new 3D modes and draws cars in a single pass, improving frame rate when many cars are visible.

You cannot upload hotlaps made with this test patch because it is only a test patch, not an official patch

Please keep a backup of your LFS.exe from 0.6F so you can easily go back if there are any problems


Changes from 0.6F to 0.6F2 :

Two new 3D formats in TV / monitor /projector mode :

- red-cyan anaglyph
cheap red-cyan glasses are required
more expensive glasses can correct red (left) eye focus
colour perception is reduced and different in each eye
do not use this mode for a long time

- cross-eyed view
no equipment needed
the 3D world appears small
right eye looks at left image / left eye looks at right image
this is difficult for some people (with normal vision)
stop immediately if you feel any discomfort
do not use this mode for a long time

Skin downloading when watching a replay :

If a car or helmet skin in a replay is not available at LFS World
when you start the replay (with low or high res skins selected)
but you already have the skin in the other resolution then that
skin in the other resolution will be used instead of a plain car

Fixes :

Crash when using a wheel button assigned to /rift toggle command
Crash when pressing e.g. F8 when /press F8 was assigned to F8 key

Graphics :

New car shaders give higher frame rate when many cars on screen
FIX : Car lighting momentarily vertical as car entered a shadow

Misc :

Updated Estonian and Serbian translations


INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS :

A full version of LFS 0.6F must already be installed - www.lfs.net

To install the PATCH using the SELF EXTRACTING ARCHIVE :

1) Move or save the patch into your main LFS folder
2) Double click the patch to extract it to that folder
3) When you see "Confirm File Replace" select "Yes to All"
4) Now you can start LFS in the normal way

NOTE : You can see if the patch is correctly installed when you run
the program. At the bottom of the entry screen : 0.6F2


DOWNLOAD :

TEST PATCH 0.6F2 (SELF EXTRACTING ARCHIVE) (if you already have 0.6F) :
www.lfs.net/file_lfs.php?name=LFS_PATCH_6F_TO_6F2.exe (0.9 MB)

TEST PATCH 0.6F2 (ALTERNATIVE ZIP) (if you already have 0.6E) :
www.lfs.net/file_lfs.php?name=LFS_PATCH_6F_TO_6F2.zip (0.9 MB)

Hello Racers.

Four weeks since our announcement about the Westhill update that is coming soon, I thought it would be good to give you a short progress report.

Things are going well but, as expected, taking longer than expected.

On my side, as some of you know from other threads, I made a quick 3D mode for red-cyan anaglyph glasses, the kind that can be bought very cheaply, e.g. 4 pairs for £1. Interestingly, it needed a simple pixel shader to make it work so finally I learned to program pixel shaders, which you can do in the HLSL shader language in DirectX 9 (which LFS uses since 0.6F).

Pixel shaders open up a world of graphical possibilities, so it's a good thing to be able to do, and one thing I had to do, for the Westhill patch, was improve the "optimiser" which pre-computes which objects are visible from your position on the track path (except in open configurations, which is why the frame rate is lower on them). This used to be done in a rudimentary software render, but by using pixel shaders I can use the DX9 render which makes the optimiser work better.

With my new found excitement about these shaders, I knew the render of the cars could be done more efficiently. In the current public version, each shiny surface of the car is rendered in 3 passes, using 3 vertex shaders. One for the direct light (affected by the lightmap) one for the ambient light and another for the environment map that makes the cars shiny. I have now made a single vertex shader and pixel shader that render every polygon only once instead of 3 times and this saves a lot of frame rate. I expect to release this in an intermediate test patch next week, along with the anaglyph view mode, and some other updates, listed at the bottom of this post.

On Eric's side, he has been completing the areas between the parts of the track and the access roads. The scenery is at a new level of detail compared with our other tracks. This is partly for the fun of driving in those places in the open configs, and also for a more realistic look and feel of the place as you drive around on the track where you are supposed to be!

It's looking very nice. Eric still has some holes to fill and I still have a list of updates, for editor functions that will help Eric and a few minor things that can go in this incompatible patch. The physics will still be compatible so we don't have to delete all the hotlaps (except Westhill) but the multiplayer will be incompatible.

So, still a few weeks before the Westhill version goes into public testing, but it's all going well. Thanks for your patience and we look forward to releasing it!


Changes from 0.6F to Test Patch 0.6F2
(intermediate, compatible update before Westhill version)
[EDIT : (as already stated above...) I expect to release this next week]

Two new 3D formats in TV / monitor /projector mode :

- red-cyan anaglyph
cheap red-cyan glasses are required
more expensive glasses can correct red (left) eye focus
colour perception is reduced and different in each eye
do not use this mode for a long time

- cross-eyed view
no equipment needed
the 3D world appears small
right eye looks at left image / left eye looks at right image
this is difficult for some people (with normal vision)
stop immediately if you feel any discomfort
do not use this mode for a long time

Skin downloading when watching a replay :

If a car or helmet skin in a replay is not available at LFS World
when you start the replay (with low or high res skins selected)
but you already have the skin in the other resolution then that
skin in the other resolution will be used instead of a plain car

Fixes :

Crash when using a wheel button assigned to /rift toggle command
Crash when pressing e.g. F8 when /press F8 was assigned to F8 key

Graphics :

New car shaders giving higher frame rate when many cars on screen

FIX : Car lighting momentarily vertical as car entered a shadow

Last edited by Scawen, Sat 19 Jul 2014, 14:30.

Why do you need to know what Eric thinks about multithreading? I don't see it as some controversial thing which would polarize opinions...

It's pretty obvious what Eric would think. He would be happy any time I can give the graphics or physics systems more power. He would approve if I spent some time on it, but obviously not when some other things are more important, like supporting him with this Westhill update, as I am doing at the moment (reason for the delay on the anaglyph 3D).

Quote from molocco :

why is everyone thinking the program developers should make their code multithreaded, when it should be the duty of the os to distribute the load across the available cores? why is windows not able to just use all the processing and graphics power the machine is offering? i mean the days when programmers could direct adress hardware are long over with all that abstracting layers we have now, so there shold be a way windows is distributing a single tread program over more than one core - how is that anyways with hypertreading and virtual cores?

I remember in the past when somehow multiple processors could speed up a computer running a single threaded program.

I don't really know how that worked but it doesn't work on modern CPUs, I guess because they are thinking ahead with their predictive branching and so on.

EDIT: The above info is wrong, multiple CPUs could never really speed up a single thread, all they could do is share some of the work that the original CPU was doing, which on older computers could be quite a lot. E.g. http://www.beebmaster.co.uk/SecondProcessors.html So the reason modern multi-core CPUs cannot speed up single threads is nothing to do with predictive branching. They just never could do anything except work on separate threads, leaving the other CPU less loaded.

So now, these "cores", which are basically multiple CPUs on a chip, must follow their own sections of code (threads) which are quite independent from each other. And so the only way to speed up a program on a multi core CPU is to split the code up into separate threads.

The obvious separation for LFS would be physics on one thread, graphics on another. The operating system can then run one thread on one core and the other thread on another core. It's quite a rewrite but as so many computers are dual core, this one seems like it would be quite a good idea. It's quite a change though, the physics system needs to provide a "snapshot" of the position and orientation of every object, so that the graphics renderer can render a picture of this snapshot while the physics system is generating the next frame.

Then it seems to me if you had things like dynamically changing weather, you could generate some of the effects on yet another thread, possibly doing those effects in more detail on a more powerful computer. That kind of thing would always be at a lower priority though. While dual cores are common, that would be the target, unless there were obvious tasks for a third core.

Last edited by Scawen, Fri 4 Jul 2014, 07:13.

Well... the new physics version (that is still in development and will not be ready for the Westhill update) is planned to have a limited setup option.

I can't remember all the details at the moment but the general idea is that you can have realistic settings availability depending on the class. E.g. at minimum, like UF1 / XFG / XRG, you can just set your tyre pressures and for higher road cars you get to set some of the values that normal people could actually change on those cars.

Remember, the new tyre physics and more carefully developed default setups that are actually realistic, mean that the cars are quite nice to drive in default setup mode, so this system becomes feasible.

So, if you are in that "limited setup" mode, you have a limited subset of settings depending on the class. And when not in limited setup mode you can set everything.

Warning : I'm really busy now and I'm not going to answer more questions.

Quote from cargame.nl :

No, I don't think setup data is being send encrypted to every client while connected to a server, would be a waste of resources. But the setup data is there after connection because it otherwise is not possible to save a replay.

It is sent encrypted to avoid people getting it from network packets. Is is encrypted in the file to avoid people getting it from replays. But hackers worked out how LFS gets the key and they got it from files. It is decrypted in memory so LFS can render other people's cars appearance and physics properly, and hackers also can find this in memory.

Quote from Becky Rose :

If you can't fight it, make it available to everyone.

So either tougher encryption, or change the culture by allowing everyone to use anyone's set (there might be some resistance initially, but it would get accepted soon enough).

In real racing you can walk about the paddock, talk to drivers, look at their cars, and gain a lot of information. At international level you can use photography and analysis tools to garner toe and camber data - sound analysis for gearing and so on - heck, F1 teams steal and buy each others secret data routinely...

Apart from a league race long enough for fuel stops even that is simply "enough for the race".

It's not exactly rocket science to work out tyre choice or pressure.

So what's the big secret? Only because hackers have something others don't... So lets change the landscape and just open up setups for everyone.

Quote from Anthoop :

Would it not be fairer then to make set up sharing mandatory?
Instead of having "SS" (send set) in the connection box, just have "S"...click it and name it.

I do think this is worth considering.

Changes from 0.6E16 to 0.6E17 :

Translation updates for most languages

Fixes for old bugs :

OOS error after an idle car was hit by objects
OOS error when an car was pushed out of bounds
Joining car could not enter physics when many objects were moving

https://www.lfsforum.net/showthread.php?t=85807

Oh yes, I know LFS needs some new content. There won't be any new content for demo racers though, but they will get physics updates and so on.

Quote from edge3147 :

Windows has and will remain the dominate platform for PC gaming.

In the end, they will fail if they use these strongarm tactics. You can't force people to give you money for no real reason. On their current path they will end up with angry users and they will leave. Their current path must (and may) change. I have some vague memory hearing something a few months ago that Bill Gates might be a getting little more involved again and Mr Ballmer is leaving... is that true? Maybe that would help? I may really be off the mark here but in my imagination, Bill Gates was kind of into the technology aspect of things but Ballmer was into money making. I really haven't researched that, it's just a vague impression so if I am wrong or anyone has some better info, please let us know!

Quote from edge3147 :

There are plenty of ways for Mac and Linux users to use LFS without having to specifically cater to that specific OS.

I haven't heard of any ways to run DX10 / DX11 software on Linux or Mac. I am under the impression you must use Wine and it supports up to DX9.

I haven't been catering specifically to those systems in any way. I haven't spent even 5 minutes trying to cater to them. LFS worked in DX8 on those systems (using Wine) but actually it works better on them after the DX9 conversion because it's better supported (I think that is the case, but again, this is a bit vague and not researched, don't really know much about Wine).

Quote from edge3147 :

At this current pace, I see everyone leaving and complaining because again, the developers vision doesn't match what the player base wants.

Our vision is new physics and new content, followed by some other interesting things like dynamic track conditions.

People can 'leave' if they want to. I don't even have a concept of leaving and returning, LFS is just here for license holders to have a go when they want to, obviously that is more likely when there is an update.

Quote from edge3147 :

I think it is pretty clear that over the last 5 years since the announcement of VWS and Rockingham, people are more concerned with having the game updated and refreshed rather than all of this other development that has taken place.

The current 3D patch is one of those diversions that is actually quite exciting for me and some people. I have always wanted to be in there in virtual reality and hopefully that will happen within two months! But I agree it has probably slowed some other things down. However, that has nothing to do with catering for old / other operating systems. Just a few days during these months on the new 3D system were spent upgrading from DX8 to DX9 because DX9 is a better standard than DX8. And that had no effect on other operating systems, it was just moving LFS one step towards more recent DirectX versions.

Quote from edge3147 :

Whatever you decide to do, you will always have someone that is upset. The question is, do you want to have a majority of the player base upset because of the lack of progress or would you rather have a fraction of the player base upset because of loss of support of hardware/software.

Again, I don't see the connection. There wouldn't be faster progress on the things people want (content, physics, etc) if we used DX10 or DX11. They just don't affect that at all. I'm simply not spending any time at all catering for these other systems. In fact I would spend more time trying to change LFS to use DX10 and DX11, but won't do so because there isn't any reason to do so.

Sorry but the tyre physics will not be ready in the incompatible patch.

EDIT : This test is now finished.
The updates are now in the full version.
www.lfs.net



WARNING : THIS IS A TEST

NOTE : THIS DOES NOT CONTAIN NEW TYRE PHYSICS / VW SCIROCCO / ROCKINGHAM

PLEASE TEST BEFORE YOU POST

NO OFF-TOPIC FEATURE REQUESTS

NO UNRELATED COMMENTS


Hello Racers, here is a new TEST PATCH : 0.6E19

This test patch is fully compatible with version 0.6E

It now uses DirectX 9
There are not many graphical changes yet but some people report better frame rates
Mirror antialiasing has been implemented (Options - Graphics)
Screenshots can now be saved in bmp / jpg / png format (Options - Misc)

The Oculus Rift and many 3D TVs and monitors are now supported
See "How to enable stereoscopic 3D" below

You cannot upload hotlaps made with this test patch because it is only a test patch, not an official patch

Please keep a backup of your LFS.exe from 0.6E so you can easily go back if there are any problems


Changes from 0.6E18 to 0.6E19 :

FIX : Dedicated server would not start up in reversed or open configs


Changes from 0.6E17 to 0.6E18 :

More translations have been updated and corrected
Random weather selected by default when loading a track
Message "Track loaded" now shows which track was loaded

Commands :

/track command (change track) accepts a weather parameter
e.g. /track BL2R 3 <- selects 3rd weather on Blackwood 2 reversed

Fixes for new bugs :

Selected track image vanished if /weather command was used

Fixes for old bugs :

Joining host OOS if host started with invalid /weather value


Changes from 0.6E16 to 0.6E17 :

Translation updates for most languages

Fixes for old bugs :

OOS error after an idle car was hit by objects
OOS error when an car was pushed out of bounds
Joining car could not enter physics when many objects were moving


Changes from 0.6E15 to 0.6E16 :

The 3D support is now translatable - awaiting translations
Improved and optimised the Oculus Rift distortion function
Some other small performance optimisations in graphics code
FIX : Mouse drag movement in SHIFT+U mode in 3D modes


Changes from 0.6E to 0.6E15 :

3D device support :

Select 3D near the top of View Options to select device
Supports Oculus Rift, 3D monitors, projectors, TVs, headsets

Various :

LFS now uses DirectX 9 (previously used DirectX 8.1)
Mirror antialiasing is now available (in Graphics Options)
Misc option to select CTRL+S screenshot format (bmp / jpg / png)
CTRL+ and ALT+ (assign text to F keys) visible in mouse / kb mode
Lateral and longitudinal accelerometer now works realistically
Improved transitions when switching between interface screens

Commands :

/refresh refreshes list of setups / hosts / replays
/setup now works correctly (loads setup) in garage screen
/join hostname from entry screen now tries to join the named host
/exec and /wait can now take filenames with spaces in quotes
/colour and /setup without a parameter now select default

Fixes for old bugs :

Some glitches in the movement of vertical sliders
Helmet stayed the same after changing driver in MP replays
Some controllers could make mouse axes unavailable for use
MAX ALPHA (unsorted) message after adding 900 chalk objects
High frequency changes in acceleration were filtered in OutSim
LFS would crash if more than 8 game controllers were connected
Cleaner transition from track select back to race setup screen
Text entry was not always cleared when entering the meeting room
F key text was delayed if pressed in warning or selection dialog
Stuck in game after Alt+F4 / X button after edit in SHIFT+U mode
Setup could sometimes be corrupted when joining - now spectated
NumConns was set to zero after disconnecting from an online host
Arrow keys in input dialog were re-enabled by code page selector


HOW TO ENABLE STEREOSCOPIC 3D :

1) At the top of the View options screen, select 3D mode.

2) Select your Display type - three options are available :

- TV / monitor / projector
- Conventional 3D headset
- Oculus Rift

Each mode has different characteristics.

- TV / monitor / projector mode - it is important to set your horizontal screen width, measured in mm. Not the diagonal, just the horizontal measurement from one side to the other. This, in conjunction with the interpupillary distance, should set the image up properly if you set the FOV to match the true horizontal view angle between your eyes and the TV edges. The virtual eye positions are affected and the centres of the two images displayed on the screen are offset by the same distance so the horizon appears to be in the distance.

- Conventional 3D headset - also has an interpupillary distance slider but in this case it only affects the virtual eye positions. There is no compensation for the use of wider FOV angles than actually available. So if you use wider FOV than the true horizontal FOV of the device, you will see exaggerated depth.

- Oculus Rift - this will try to load a DLL and connect to your Oculus Rift and from there it will get the interpupillary distance and other values, and head tracking should work.

3) In TV / monitor / projector or Conventional 3D headset modes, select your Format for 3D output - four options are available :

- side by side (half)
- top and bottom (half)
- side by side (full)
- top and bottom (full)

Choose the setting that works with your device. Many devices can accept different input formats.

- side by side (half) is a commonly used format that causes some loss of resolution in the horizontal direction.

- top and bottom (half) causes loss of resolution in the vertical direction. This is the best choice for passive displays with alternating polarisation horizontal scan lines. This type of display discards half of the lines if supplied with a full height image. When supplied with half height images, no further information needs to be discarded.

- side by side (full) and top and bottom (full) can output 3D at full HD resolution to a device that supports this. However, most devices do not support this output (even if they can accept full HD 3D from a Blu-ray player). In Windows XP it was possible to set your desktop across two screens and then LFS could go full screen on two screens. Then side by side (full) could be used, for example, to send output to a twin projector 3D setup. Unfortunately this possibility seems to have been removed from recent versions of Windows.

4) For Oculus Rift mode some text functions have been included.

/rift reset - reset the orientation
/rift on - switch on 3D with Oculus Rift as the display type
/rift off - return to 2D mode
/rift toggle - switch Oculus Rift mode on or off

The /rift reset command is automatically assigned to ALT+F12
The /rift toggle command is automatically assigned to ALT+F11

You can assign ALT+F11 and ALT+F12 to wheel buttons under the ALT+ tab in the controls options screen.

5) Screen resolutions for your Oculus Rift.

Now that LFS adjusts the render target texture size to suit the output screen size, you may benefit from downsampling if you select a higher screen resolution than the native resolution of the Rift. This may produce some helpful antialiasing. Try to select a 16:10 resolution (e.g. 1920x1200) because that has the same aspect ratio as the Dev Kit's native resolution (1280x800). If you select a 16:9 resolution (e.g. 1920x1080) you should check carefully that the output image has the correct aspect ratio. This seems to vary between computers. Some have reported that the image looks the same in 1920x1200 and 1920x1080 but others report that 1920x1080 causes the image to be slightly stretched vertically. You need to make sure the dimensions appear the same as when you choose the native resolution of 1280x800. If you find the image is stretched vertically when you use 1920x1080, you can try the Aspect ratio correction option, or look at the GPU scaling setting (in your graphics card driver software).

There is a device selector in LFS which may allow you to put LFS on the Rift without it appearing on your monitor, and to do this without touching any Windows desktop settings. This is probably available when your desktop is set to extended mode. Using the device selector may make more modes available to you than when you use cloned mode.

At the bottom of the Graphics Options screen, just above the Z-buffer depth option, there is a button which has the name of your graphics card. If you click that button you may be able to select the Oculus Rift device which will be used the next time you start LFS.


NOT YET DONE (some of these will be done) :

- render mirrors in 3d
- chromatic aberration correction
- allow head tracking and wheel button instead of mouse
- replay cameras (TV view) may be put on a virtual monitor
- include object selection buttons in SHIFT+U mode


INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS :

A full version of LFS 0.6E must already be installed - www.lfs.net

To install the PATCH using the SELF EXTRACTING ARCHIVE :

1) Move or save the patch into your main LFS folder
2) Double click the patch to extract it to that folder
3) When you see "Confirm File Replace" select "Yes to All"
4) Now you can start LFS in the normal way

NOTE : You can see if the patch is correctly installed when you run
the program. At the bottom of the entry screen : 0.6E19


DOWNLOAD :

TEST PATCH 0.6E19 (SELF EXTRACTING ARCHIVE) (if you already have 0.6E) :
www.lfs.net/file_lfs.php?name=LFS_PATCH_6E_TO_6E19.exe (1.3 MB)

TEST PATCH 0.6E19 (ALTERNATIVE ZIP) (if you already have 0.6E) :
www.lfs.net/file_lfs.php?name=LFS_PATCH_6E_TO_6E19.zip (1.5 MB)

DEDICATED HOST 0.6E19 (non-graphical version for hosting only) :
www.lfs.net/file_lfs.php?name=LFS_S2_DCON_6E19.zip (1.5 MB)

Last edited by Scawen, Sun 22 Jun 2014, 09:12.

Quote from Neilser :

Is it really the case that the physics loop is still updating at 100 Hz even when the CPU is pegged and the graphics update rate falls to 30 fps or less?

Yes, so the physics is always consistent and stable regardless of graphical overload.

Quote from Neilser :

(I confess I have yet to try the DX9 patch as I was assuming it would make things worse.)

No harm in trying it as you can just run whichever exe you prefer - there's no complicated roll-back!

No need to apologise!

Seems it wasn't clearly known. It made me think a bit, what are we doing with that wasted time, waiting for the vertical sync... nothing? You could possibly introduce an artificial delay between 2 physics updates that happen in one frame, to read an extra input between the two physics updates (so you'd read two inputs with a tiny time gap between them instead of just one). But you might risk missing the vertical sync and cause a glitch and I'm not convinced it would help in any way. Or maybe a multithreaded system with the physics and graphics totally decoupled, but the physics system would need to save "consistent visual states" for any graphical update that comes along while doing the next physical update.

Complicated stuff with a lot of bug potential... maybe the solution is 100Hz monitors. Yes, that is the proper solution!

OT : Also in my opinion (and some others) TV makers and standards setters should be looking at higher frame rate displays, recording and transmission systems, instead of just higher and higher pixel counts that you need a magnifying glass to see. Higher frame rates don't even need much more bandwidth because less of the screen changes between frames...

Just to confirm what I think is well known... the inputs and outputs are only done at the frame rate. There's no point taking inputs between 2 physics updates done in a single visual frame because there is so little time between them. So the best solution is 100Hz frame rate, not possible with current monitors with vertical sync enabled.

Quote from DANIEL-CRO :

I tested with how many times per second car physics data is updated, I would clearly say its affected by vsync/fps limit.

Well... either I'm not sure what you mean, or you are mistaken.

For example, try running a hotlap replay. If there is a difference in the number of physics calculations, the replay will go out of sync. Every physics update is run at a time step of 0.01 seconds, and LFS tries to keep this in sync with real time by doing enough physics calculations to keep up with real time.

Quote from DANIEL-CRO :

So to sum it all up, question for Scawen.
Is it possible to use VSYNC (e.g. 60FPS), without affecting to physics loop. Like physics run at 100Hz (or more?), but graphics 60FPS?

The physics always runs at 100Hz, even with graphics at 60FPS but this means the number of physics frames per visual frame is variable, like 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 2, 1, 2 etc.

Quote from cougar8 :

So i get E13 working and when i went to change my car on a server it crashes hear is a screenshot

Windows is looking for a solution! Obviously it will not find one! Would be more helpful if it told you the crash address. Seriously, MS is going nuts these days.

- Are you able to change your car while in single player?
- Does this happen every time?
- Is it possible in your version of Windows to get a crash address?

You mean the shadows of the world objects? The ones that are all spiky and messy? I agree they are a problem but there's no quick solution for that. Really I want to get to the point where the sun can move in the sky and the shadows can move, as part of a changing weather system.

But this is after a tyre physics update. I'm trying to get realistic about the tyre physics update, to make a good solid version that works well and makes LFS cars feel great (because of the force combinations that are mathematically based) with good simulation of tyre load sensitivity but not worry too much about extreme detail as it will never exactly match reality.

Dear Racers,

I am going to close this thread because I don't like the title coming up and being the first thing on LFS forum all the time. It's really negative and not good for new visitors to see.

We're working on LFS. There was a slowdown in development after a decade of hard work but we are back on the case now.

There's a new 3D support test patch which isn't for everyone, but what is interesting (apart from LFS working well on any 3D TV) is that the Oculus Rift is now supported and that works well with LFS.

I've also started on the DX9 support, which will not change the appearance immediately but will help with future graphical development.

The plan is to get back on the tyre physics after the 3D patch and DX9 support.

Quote from yeager :

Clearly the developers don't have the time to dedicate to the solution. That is a real shame. But they also don't have the acumen to take advantage of the dedicated community the game has accrued. If the devs need more money, then charge a monthly subscription and in return deliver some new content. I would absolutely pay a reasonable amount a month if I knew there was going to be a new track in the next 3 months. Many people have cried out asking to provide help, only to be ignored. If people are TRYING to help you, and you are struggling financially to progress the game, then you gotta find a way to work it out.

Hi yeager,

I just wanted to explain that progress hasn't been slow due to lack of time or funding. We have had plenty of time and enough money to live in a nice warm house with plenty of food to eat and a good internet connection. I see it more like an inevitable temporary slowdown after a decade of hard work with long hours. A slowdown that started in my case when the tyre physics development took me on a journey of discovery with no easy way out until I eventually gained a few new interests which I got excited about.

I posted something recently which I'm not sure if you read.
https://www.lfsforum.net/showt ... php?p=1823294#post1823294

Anyway, funding wouldn't help at all, we have plenty of time. The only way money could help is if we got an office and started hiring people. But we have no interest in that at all. Our motivation is more on the side of what interests us, rather than what makes the most money. We're not that type of capitalists at all and don't want to manage a team of developers. That is totally out of the question. It's actually quite an alien thought to me that money can make development happen quicker.

Having said that, we do need to earn a decent living and that is one part of the motivation to get back on the case and get the new physics out then S3. Also we have certain aims for the project and want to see them done.

I don't really mind if people say it's too little too late or we have squandered our opportunity and LFS is dead. Doesn't really matter, the dip happened, I've stopped smoking and got fit, and that's OK with me. At the moment I'm working and cycling too. Doesn't have to be one or the other. I can't worry that people had to wait longer than they wanted to. I'm hoping to make some good progress in the coming months.

WARNING : THIS IS A TEST

NOTE : THIS DOES NOT CONTAIN NEW TYRE PHYSICS / VW SCIROCCO / ROCKINGHAM

PLEASE TEST BEFORE YOU POST

NO OFF-TOPIC FEATURE REQUESTS

NO UNRELATED COMMENTS


Hello Racers, here is a new TEST PATCH : 0.6E14

This test patch is fully compatible with version 0.6E

It now uses DirectX 9 instead of DirectX 8.1 (no graphical changes yet but some people report better frame rates)

The Oculus Rift and many 3D TVs and monitors are now supported (see "How to enable stereoscopic 3D" below)

You cannot upload hotlaps made with this test patch because it is only a test patch, not an official patch

Please keep a backup of your LFS.exe from 0.6E so you can easily go back if there are any problems


Changes from 0.6E13 to 0.6E14 :

Graphics :

Cars and drivers in menu screens are now antialiased
New Graphics Option : Mirror antialiasing

Oculus Rift :

New option : Antialiasing - NOTE : this reduces frame rate a lot...

Fixes :

FIX : Setup could (rarely) be corrupted when joining. Now detected and spectated with message.
FIX : NumConns was set to an invalid value of zero after disconnecting from an online host.
FIX : Arrow keys were re-enabled in the input dialog by using the code page selector.


Changes from 0.6E12 to 0.6E13 :

DirectX 9 fixes :

FIX : LFS did not get past the entry screen if Haze effect was disabled
FIX : Anisotropic filtering (Texture filtering / AF slider > 1) did not work

Other fixes :

FIX : Starting LFS in full screen set mouse cursor to top left - now centre
FIX : FOV in helicopter view is now back to the same as it was before
FIX : Credits screen had a black background


Changes from 0.6E11 to 0.6E12 :

DirectX 9 :

LFS now uses DirectX 9 instead of DirectX 8.1 (no visual changes)

Fixes :

FIX : Mirror texture is now 32-bit (as it was until recently)
FIX : Suspension view in garage did not work in 3D modes


Changes from 0.6E10 to 0.6E11 :

Oculus Rift :

Aspect ratio correction option - helps in some cases when using 1920x1080

Fixes for new bugs :

FIX : Black background in pits screen when in game
FIX : Driver was invisible in driver options screen
FIX : Distance measurement tool in SHIFT+U mode was invisible

Fixes for old bugs :

FIX : MAX ALPHA (unsorted) message after adding 900 chalk objects
FIX : LFS would crash if more than 8 game controllers were connected
FIX : Alt+F4 / X button from SHIFT+U mode after editing got stuck in game


Changes from 0.6E8 to 0.6E10 :

3D Support :

Simple HUD aspect ratio option for 3D modes in view options screen
SHIFT+U mode mouse view control now works in stereoscopic 3D modes

Oculus Rift :

Oculus Rift vertical FOV is now calculated (manual option also available)
Realistic eye positions and simple neck model moves eyes with head tracking

Fixes :

FIX : Some glitches in the movement of vertical sliders
FIX : Sliders moved twice as far as mouse in some 3D modes
FIX : Cleaner transition from track selection back to race setup screen
FIX : Rare crash that could happen when more buttons appeared on the screen


Changes from 0.6E to 0.6E8 :

Support for stereoscopic 3D monitors, projectors, TVs and headsets
Lateral and longitudinal accelerometer values now work realistically
CTRL+ and ALT+ (assign text to F keys) visible in mouse / kb mode
Improved transitions when switching between interface screens

FIX : High frequency changes in acceleration were filtered in OutSim
FIX : Helmet stayed the same after changing driver in MP replays


HOW TO ENABLE STEREOSCOPIC 3D :

1) In the View options screen, select 3D mode on the second line.

2) Select your Display type - three options are available :

- TV / monitor / projector
- Conventional 3D headset
- Oculus Rift

Each mode has different characteristics.

- TV / monitor / projector mode - it is important to set your horizontal screen width, measured in mm. Not the diagonal, just the horizontal measurement from one side to the other. This, in conjunction with the interpupillary distance, should set the image up properly if you set the FOV to match the true horizontal view angle between your eyes and the TV edges. The virtual eye positions are affected and the centres of the two images displayed on the screen are offset by the same distance so the horizon appears to be in the distance.

- Conventional 3D headset - also has an interpupillary distance slider but in this case it only affects the virtual eye positions. There is no compensation for the use of wider FOV angles than actually available. So if you use wider FOV than the true horizontal FOV of the device, you will see exaggerated depth.

- Oculus Rift - this will try to load a DLL and connect to your Oculus Rift and from there it will get the interpupillary distance and other values, and head tracking should work.

3) In TV / monitor / projector or Conventional 3D headset modes, select your Format for 3D output - four options are available :

- side by side (half)
- top and bottom (half)
- side by side (full)
- top and bottom (full)

Choose the setting that works with your device. Many devices can accept different input formats.

- side by side (half) is a commonly used format that causes some loss of resolution in the horizontal direction.

- top and bottom (half) causes loss of resolution in the vertical direction. This is the best choice for passive displays with alternating polarisation horizontal scan lines. This type of display discards half of the lines if supplied with a full height image. When supplied with half height images, no further information needs to be discarded.

- side by side (full) and top and bottom (full) can output 3D at full HD resolution to a device that supports this. However, most devices do not support this output (even if they can accept full HD 3D from a Blu-ray player). In Windows XP it was possible to set your desktop across two screens and then LFS could go full screen on two screens. Then side by side (full) could be used, for example, to send output to a twin projector 3D setup. Unfortunately this possibility seems to have been removed from recent versions of Windows.

4) For Oculus Rift mode some text functions have been included.

/rift reset - reset the orientation
/rift on - switch on 3D with Oculus Rift as the display type
/rift off - return to 2D mode
/rift toggle - switch Oculus Rift mode on or off

The /rift reset command is automatically assigned to ALT+F12
The /rift toggle command is automatically assigned to ALT+F11

You can assign ALT+F11 and ALT+F12 to wheel buttons under the ALT+ tab in the controls options screen.

5) Screen resolutions for your Oculus Rift.

Now that LFS adjusts the render target texture size to suit the output screen size, you may benefit from downsampling if you select a higher screen resolution than the native resolution of the Rift. This may produce some helpful antialiasing. Try to select a 16:10 resolution (e.g. 1920x1200) because that has the same aspect ratio as the Dev Kit's native resolution (1280x800). If you select a 16:9 resolution (e.g. 1920x1080) you should check carefully that the output image has the correct aspect ratio. This seems to vary between computers. Some have reported that the image looks the same in 1920x1200 and 1920x1080 but others report that 1920x1080 causes the image to be slightly stretched vertically. You need to make sure the dimensions appear the same as when you choose the native resolution of 1280x800. If you find the image is stretched vertically when you use 1920x1080, you can try the Aspect ratio correction option, or look at the GPU scaling setting (in your graphics card driver software).

There is a device selector in LFS which may allow you to put LFS on the Rift without it appearing on your monitor, and to do this without touching any Windows desktop settings. This is probably available when your desktop is set to extended mode. Using the device selector may make more modes available to you than when you use cloned mode.

At the bottom of the Graphics Options screen, just above the Z-buffer depth option, there is a button which has the name of your graphics card. If you click that button you may be able to select the Oculus Rift device which will be used the next time you start LFS.


NOT YET DONE (some of these will be done) :

- render mirrors in 3d
- chromatic aberration correction
- allow head tracking and wheel button instead of mouse
- replay cameras (TV view) may be put on a virtual monitor
- include object selection buttons in SHIFT+U mode


INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS :

A full version of LFS 0.6E must already be installed - www.lfs.net

- Download the test patch (below). It contains an LFS exe and a DLL for the Oculus Rift.
- Open the zip file and drag the specially named LFS exe file into your LFS folder.
- For Oculus Rift support copy LFSOVRDLL.dll (new version) into your LFS folder.

NOTE : You can see if the patch is correctly installed when you run
the program. At the bottom of the entry screen : 0.6E14


DOWNLOAD :

TEST PATCH 0.6E14 (if you already have 0.6E) :
www.lfs.net/file_lfs.php?name=LFS_6E14.zip (1.0 MB)

Last edited by Scawen, Fri 31 Jan 2014, 18:35. Reason : E14

Quote from sicotange :

I'm glad 3D support implementation is going well so far. I suppose upcoming patch will focus solely on 3D support? There is no chance you could squeeze the little InSim improvements discussed last year (autocross: no ground level check flag, new flat slab object)? If you decided to ditch this idea could you say so please, because it is fueling some (false?) hope

Hi sicotange, I have not decided to ditch this idea, but I think it will not be available in this patch. As this patch can be kept compatible, it's good to avoid the disruption of an incompatible patch. I still like those ideas though and would like to do it properly at some point.

Quote from Whiskey :

Some years ago you said that making LFS multi-threaded could be done in about 1 month (IIRC). Would it make sense to do this change just after/before the DX9? I know it's impossible to do at the same time because it would be a hell to debug that, but it could be done in the same test patch period to have a mega revamped LFS version once it's done.

I'll understand if you dont want to answer this right now, when you are still implementing the 3D, and sorry for this offtopic post

Well I don't think it's really important at the moment, because we don't suffer from frame rate problems. I can understand that would be good to maintain high frame rates while doing some super graphics, like dynamic clouds and various effects. But it seems a long way off, I know dynamic weather would be great and reward adaptability. But the foundation for this is the tyre physics and after this patch I must focus on the tyre physics. The new version does feel better to drive, because it has a basis in physical simulation.

Quote from acous :

Is there any ETA on the next patch? Will there be a fix for view drift? Neck model? Sorry to be a pain... can't help venting my excitement

I'm hoping this evening. No neck model yet. About view drift, there is a way to assign view centering to a key or a wheel button :
https://www.lfsforum.net/showt ... php?p=1832368#post1832368

I can't actually eliminate view drift, only Oculus VR can do that. But you can press the key or button to centre the view occasionally.

Next test patch updates so far :

General :

Improved coordination of background and text when switching between interface screens

3D Support :

Driver in driver options screen and car in race setup screen are now visible in 3D modes
Move view with animation option is now disabled in 3D modes

Oculus Rift :

Head tracking now works for menu screens and in game HUD
Predictive tracking option now available (zero milliseconds disables prediction)
Render target texture size is automatically selected for the output screen resolution
1g head tilt option is automatically disabled when using Oculus Rift

Fixes :

FIX : Computers that failed to support Rift were prevented from selecting other 3D modes

Quote from cargame.nl :

With VC6? I don't get it anymore, thought that wasn't possible / desired.

Yes, VC6 is pretty good and was used by a lot of people for a long time. There is no problem with DX9 in VC6.

I plan to move onto VS2010 or VS2013 when we are doing a physically incompatible patch. This is just because of the floating point operations that the optimiser rearranges in ways that are mathematically equivalent but don't produce the same result. E.g. compare a*b+a*c and a*(b+c) ... mathematically the same but on a computer this will give different results with certain floating point values due to rounding error. And that would be enough to send 100% of hotlaps OOS within a second and no-one could connect online either. Not a really bit deal but then there is no immediate need to move from VC6 either. When the physics changes, all hotlaps will be OOS and that's a good time to change compiler.

Quote from cargame.nl :

Anyway, I wonder if the InSim buttons can / will be presented in a readable way in 3D.

They will just work the same as everything else. The will appear bigger in the Rift than they do now so should be readable if they are as big as the standard buttons.