Hello Racers! Here is a new Test Patch U35!

There are a lot of changes since version U - all listed below in this post. Important changes include :

Car Sound Improvements
Automatic Update System
Windows Vista Compatibility
New Script System
S2 racers can now see S1 hosts
S1 users can use the skin downloading system
Many Fixes and Improvements Throughout

WARNING : your controls will not be correctly assigned due to the new way the controls are stored in a special file in the data\misc folder. There is a default file included for the Red Momo and the Microsoft FF Wheel so they should be reasonably set up if you have one of those. We will be providing default files for many wheels. We will make a special announcement when we need help supporting more wheels.

NOTE about H-shifters : Since U11, you cannot use an H shifter on a single seater car. If you have a shifter, LFS automatically sets to sequential when you select a single seater. There are two separate versions of these three settings (one for sequential and one for shifter) : AutoClutch, GCCut, GCBlip. That's because a lot of people may wish to use auto clutch with their paddle shift and manual clutch with their shifter.

NOTE about controls : There is a new script system you can read about below. When you select a car with a road / sequential or paddle shifter, LFS will run the file data\script\road.lfs (etc). Some people may want to use the /button command in their scripts, to assign unused buttons. For example when you drive a formula car, you have a spare horn button and you might want to use that for pit speed limiter.

Changes in TEST PATCH U35 (AUTOMATIC UPDATE) :

After installing U32, run LFS and click on List of Games. You'll be given the option to update to U35.

New language included : Galician (Galego)
Language support : wider buttons at bottom left in some cases
Outside car custom view detection for sound (out of car rectangle)
Much easier to get to desired FOV using 5 and 6 zoom keys
Can't join race / leave pits for 12 seconds after green light (stops cheating)
Other cars sound volume increased by 10% - more immersive
V and flat engined cars exhaust pipe separation (stereo effect)
BF1 wind noise decreased / other minor adjustments
UFR sound improved : more race like
Small updates to all car sounds

Changes in TEST PATCH U34 (AUTOMATIC UPDATE) :

Discount immediate pit stops from the "must pit" rule (cheating)
All cars resaved, with minor changes to sound (e.g. less gear whine)
Slightly more sound changes on large GTR cars and LX6
More updated translations

FIX : Entering SHIFT+U from following view played loud car sound
FIX : Move speed slider didn't work in high view if following car
FIX : A few vertices out of place on driver necks and marshall helmet

Changes in TEST PATCH U33 (AUTOMATIC UPDATE) :

Higher Wind and Skid boost volumes (default and maximum)
Small changes to system improving all car engines just a little
An updated BF1 engine sound file (not finished but better)

FIX : Autocross editor did not show "Set as default" button
FIX : Repeated clicking sound while loading cars in garage
FIX : Channel screen brought up a background while in game

Changes in TEST PATCH U32 :

Misc :

Improved car engine and other sounds, added gear whine etc.
Automatic update system gives info, downloads, installs patch
New general purpose save and load dialogs with rename / delete
FF Steps now defaults to 256 (this gives higher resolution FF)
Layouts do not set the number of laps unless a start pos exists
One extra car sound is now played (now 5 including your own car)
One extra car in high resolution physics (car in front at start)
Clicking the selected replay now plays the replay (did deselect)
Centre view and eye position buttons now reset pitch and rotate
Virtual start lights are now displayed on the right by default
Small map is now never shown on the left if right is selected
Option to switch off acceleration view shifts in custom views
Mirror mode for driver and custom views (now in view options)
Added "all" to clocks mode options (off, real, virtual, all)
Some more small improvements to graphics options and layout
Button control rate option now visible in wheel/js mode
Text entry box is smaller and blocks driving view less
Improved multiplayer synchronisation checking (OOS)

Fixes :

FIX : Nasty sound clicks when cars got nearer and further away
FIX : MP slowdown when playing sounds of cars in simple physics
FIX : Force now turns off instantly instead of waiting a second
FIX : Arrow keys work in wheel mode even if assigned to KB steer
FIX : Removed the unecessary FF error message DIERR_HANDLEEXISTS
FIX : Messages were unblocked by sending any command to the host
FIX : Alt+F4 and programmable keys did not work in list of games
FIX : Qualifying countdown was too short if less than 4 in race
FIX : BF1 / FO8 virtual dashboard appeared in player options
FIX : Pressing SHIFT+G during instant replay made it go OOS
FIX : Unlock was lost after hibernation on some computers
FIX : SHIFT+U camera roll function now works as expected
FIX : Button opacity option affected the colour sliders
FIX : Text appearing in middle of screen after a lesson
FIX : Excessive acceleration view shift in fast cars

NOTE - Translatable text updated

Changes from U to U30 :

Sound :

Improved wind volume at low and high speeds
Reduced crackling of sounds related to echoes
Engine can now be heard from a greater distance
Now generated at 100 Hz resolution - same as physics
Engine sound off throttle is slightly louder than it was
Wind sound volume is now linear (avoids excessive noise)
Skid / scrape sounds are now bounded to reasonable level
Sound now plays at low speed, if replay at 0.5 or 0.25 speed

FIX : Corrected volume of interface sounds
FIX : Small clicks audible a few times per lap
FIX : Bug in camera position height part of sound calculation
FIX : No music when watching MP Replay with music in replays ON
FIX : Looping music buffer while selecting a track - now silent
FIX : System messages still audible with messages blocked

Multiplayer :

SHIFT+S when spectating now goes directly to garage
Garage when not in race now shows spectate and join buttons
Clicking join with no car selected goes to select car screen

FIX : Rare crash in blue flags calculation
FIX : LFS online hosts would hang if run for 50 days
FIX : Stuck in entry screen if host has run for 25 days
FIX : Rare problem causing your car to vanish on other computers
FIX : Spectate after autocross run caused "Unknown finisher" message
FIX : A player in pits could be forced to spectate at end of race
FIX : Mandatory pit stop is now not allowed to be on final lap
FIX : RCM now has priority over race finished messages

2D Display :

Misc Option : Show time instead of FPS in-game
Hold CTRL+SHIFT to show time instead of frame rate
Realistic speedometer based on drive shaft speed
New path draw for game setup screen and in-game
User messages no longer obscure the frame rate display
Not recording message is now only displayed for 8 seconds
Messages now visible but dimmed in ESCAPE and OPTIONS screens
FOV adjust keys (5/6) now show the FOV in a temporary message
Message history (H) is now hidden at race restart or SHIFT+F
Removed text "LEFT pit lane" and "ENTERED pit lane"
Option to show small map on left or right of screen
Central text now visible in SHIFT+F mode (option)
Temporary messages now visible even if fps is off
Real mirrors are now invisible if set to virtual
Added UP and DOWN buttons to options screen
Messages are now hidden in the ESCAPE menu

Interface :

Improved instant gear shift mode selection function SHIFT+G
List of games screen allows sorting hosts by clicking column title
Improved replay selection screen, added delete, rename and info
Keys Y/N (yes/no) now work on the replay skins download screen
New track selection screen allows track browsing before load
Graphics options changed around to be intuitive / consistent
New graphics option : Draw sky (replaces screen clear type)
Controls screen now shows the function assigned to a button
Scroll bar added if more than 7 players in list of players
Skip intro option is now very fast (avoids loading track)
Skip intro option renamed to : Load track when starting
Start New Game / Join Specific Game : Added ENTER key
Game setup screen : ENTER key - joins race / sets ready
Game setup screen : now shows local and UTC (GMT) time
Misc Option : 12 hour or 24 hour format selectable
Car picture can now select the car (not just text)
Cleaner replay start - avoiding flashing entry screen
Can now use /spec(tate) X command in game setup screen
Close window button (X) does a quick clean exit
New /exit command also does a quick clean exit
Added ALT+F1 to F12 as programmable text keys
Key ALT+F4 is programmed to /exit by default
Added rename function for car setups

FIX : LOD values were rounding to one decimal place
FIX : Clutch pedal was not shown in controls setup screen
FIX : Mip bias setting was wrongly affecting in-game text
FIX : Clickable buttons in connection list at start of race
FIX : Changes were lost when selecting in car / custom views
FIX : Could not view user names in replay if MP mode was Demo
FIX : Black screen bug changing between full screen and windowed

Views :

Improved position of road car internal mirrors
Separate mirror offset for custom and internal views
Internal mirror offset limit increased to 400 mm
Draw driver / wheel option added to custom views
Roll function added to SHIFT+U free camera mode
TV camera, CTRL + arrow keys change zoom and roll
Maximum value reached marker added to virtual pedals
Single seater car shadows now visible in custom views
Custom view mode selection now separate for main and look
Buttons in view options to set custom view to eye or centre
BF1 / FO8 show virtual clocks if wheel draw is switched off
Custom view settings are now separate for all cars
Custom views are now stored in data\views folder

Controllers :

Axis, button and key assignments stored in .con files
Sequential shift automatically used for single seaters
Separate shift help settings for sequential and shifter
All steering wheels default to separate throttle / brake
Non-wheel game controllers default to combined thr / brk
Controls setup screen now shows the currently pressed buttons
Wheel turn minimum reduced to 90 degrees (for sticks / pads)
CTRL+F1 to F12 text keys are all now assignable to buttons
Car's steering wheel turns now shown in steering settings

Windows Vista Support :

FIX : Sound now works correctly in Windows Vista
FIX : Unlocking is now possible in Windows Vista

New LFS script system :

- Place text file of commands xxx.lfs in script folder
- Then script xxx.lfs can be run by typing /run xxx
- Note : CAR.lfs is run when you select CAR e.g. XFG, BF1
- Note : autoexec.lfs is run when LFS reaches entry screen

New text commands added (see Commands.txt in docs folder) :

/fov [degrees] - field of view
/ff [0-200] - force feedback strength
/axis [axis] [function] - e.g. /axis 2 throttle
/invert [0/1] [function] - e.g. /invert 1 brake
/button [button] [function] - e.g. /button 5 shift_up
/key [key] [function] - e.g. /key Q handbrake
/head_tilt [degrees] - 1g head tilt
/lateral_shift [m] - 1g lateral shift
/forward_shift [m] - 1g forward shift
/vertical_shift [m] - 1g vertical shift
/say [message] - same as typing a chat message
/echo [text] - show text only on local screen
/spec [name] - same as spectate [name]
/ctrlf [num] [text] - change text e.g. /ctrlf 1 hello
/altf [num] [text] - change text e.g. /altf 1 /view=driver
/wheel_turn [degrees] - specify turn angle of controller
/press [key] - simulate key press
/ctrl [key] - ctrl + key
/shift [key] - shift + key
/alt [key] - alt + key
/autoclutch [0-1] - turn autoclutch off / on
/gccut [0-1] - throttle cut on upshift
/gcblip [0-1] - throttle blip on downshift
/axlaps [num] - set autocross number of laps
/view [fol/heli/cam/driver/custom] - select view

IN A SCRIPT : //comment - this line is ignored
IN CHAT BOX : //xxx - short for /run xxx

/hrun X : admin can run script X on host
/exec E C : run program E with command line C

/shifter [auto/sequential/shifter] - shift mode (like SHIFT+G)
/hidetext [no/yes] - hide text (like SHIFT+F)

New file associations system :

SPR / MPR / SET / LYT files can now be opened directly
In Windows, right click and set them to open with LFS

Double clicking a SET or LYT file copies it to its folder
Double clicking a SPR or MPR file copies and runs the replay

Misc :

Added file docs\Commands.txt - listing ALL commands
Updated... docs\Autocross.txt - for new functions

Option : minimum time between gearshifts (debounce)
S1 users can now use the automatic skin download system
S2 users can see and join S1 hosts in List of Games screen
When first run, LFS defaults to desktop screen resolution
Restricted areas and route checkers added to autocross
Welcome / Tracks filename length increased to 31 chars
New car data output files (press letter O in garage)
Gearshift debounced (can't shift twice within 50 ms)

InSim : MCI packets are now available in arenas
InSim : IS_RES qualify packets sent even if not in table

FIX : Outguage reported remote cars fuel load
FIX : Driver's body optimisation was too sensitive
FIX : Selecting drag strip often resulted in 3 lap race
FIX : OutGauge now works on remote cars / MPR / external
FIX : Formula dash live settings now work in custom view
FIX : Reverse driving in hotlapping mode now invalidates HLVC
FIX : Starting LFS with /join command, needlessly loaded last track
FIX : Corrected positions of translator names on credits screen
FIX : Mirrors and clocks sometimes corrupted after minimising
FIX : Mirror option ALL did not show a mirror in wheels view
FIX : Small map sometimes went off screen or overlapped text
FIX : CTRL+F keys did not work during replays

KNOWN ISSUES :

NONE

INSTALLATION :

Warning : If you have edited any scripts, don't overwrite them! Back up your script folder before install!

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"
3) Now you can start LFS in the normal way

DOWNLOAD :

TEST PATCH U32 (IMPORTANT : automatically updates to U35 when you click List of Games) :
www.liveforspeed.net/file_lfs.php?name=LFS_TEST_U_TO_U32.exe

DEDICATED HOST U35 (for hosting only) :
www.liveforspeed.net/file_lfs.php?name=LFS_S2_DEDI_U35.zip

Already noted requests :

Here is a list of compatible requests already noted from the previous test patch threads. Please do not repeat these requests. Any requests made must be very close to the topic of this test patch! For off topic or incompatible requests, please use the improvement suggestions forum!

Multiple custom views per car
Separate FOV per custom view
Auto creation of colour files (while still allowing AI colours)
Virtual mirror for follower view / chase cam
Looping and ESC menu for MPR (like SPR)
Replay rewinding / forwarding
TrackIR 6DOF support

Not sure if this is related to this patch or not:

When in multiplayer mode and in shift U mode .Viewing own car, a race restart does not reset view when the cars reset to grid.

Great work with the black screen fix Scawen thanks!

All these patches give me a good reason to be aloud to race longer
" its essential testing dear Ill be in in a minuite" hehe

SD.

Quote from Detail :

Scawen, is it possible to read additional mouse buttons and assign them as controls?

Such as my Logitech MX518 has the side buttons and the top "sensitivity" buttons that can be set to normal buttons, that would be nice to adjust menus with for pitting, (+/- for +/- and thumb buttons for selecting which option.

Got an idea here.
For that we would need to be able to cycle through F9, F10, F11 and F12 with one button only, but then it could work if that's possible.
What I'd like to suggest would be that Mouse 3 (pressing on scroll wheel) would be the cycle button, then you use the mouse wheel to go up and down in the menu and then mouse left for + and mouse right for - for the values.

Of course that would only work for people who don't use mouse. Still I think it could be nice.
Scawen, do you think that would be possible to do with scripts?

I know this is kind of OT but is it possible that you add a setup filename to the F12 disply? - would be quite appreciated.

Quote from Nobo :

There are a lot of chase view drivers out there! And their only request for future patches is the virtual mirror. So my request is the virtual mirror for chase view!!! Or if not, then delete it from tyre-view as well!!

well i dont support a virtual mirror...but i do! support the possibility for chase view drivers to look back!

Something I'd love to see is a comments textbox for each setup. One could use it to type in extra information about the setup, like fuel consumption for the tracks it's used for, pit stop strategies, things left to tweak on the setup, whether or not the setup is 'easy' on the tyres, suited for long distance/short stints,...

Right now I'm writing down the fuel consumption and a few other specs for each combo I drive on a piece of paper. But whenever you need it, it's lost. If we could add comments to setups that would be history.

I don't want anything fancy that takes a lot of coding. Just a plain text field somewhere in the garage screen. The "Info" tab is quite filled, but under "braking" there's a lot of open space. It's not really logical to put it there, but it'll do for now and otherwise you'd have way more work repositioning all the stuff.

Another thing which isn't much work to implement (I think ) and has been asked a few times before elsewhere on the forum, is an extra color for the mini map: Right now you can see whether a car is driving ahead of you or behind you (in terms of ranking position) by the yellow and orange dots. That's very useful, but I miss one thing: I would find it very useful to be able to see whether a car on your tail is in the same lap. So would it be possible to give cars behind you but on the same lap a different color? For example: yellow; ahead, orange; behind but same lap, dark red; lapped.

would it be possible to fix the marshal model? when he is pointing either to left or to right, the hand seems to be "attached wrongly" to the body...and when he is standing "still", his hand goes thru his body...

I'm not sure if this should be in here or in Vic's AutoX thread but here we go...

Could it be made possible to send your last used setup?

The reason I ask is because during the AutoX challenge on Vic's server nobody was able to exchange setups as usual, as you are either spectating or racing, and when you are racing you dont have time to send a setup.

So if possible, it would be handy for the last used setup to be cached so that you can send it while spectating after your race. This would also save people from having to re-join a normal race server if they just wish to spectate.

Thanks and keep up the good work

Quote from Scawen :

New car data output files (press letter O in garage)
Format : www.liveforspeed.co.uk/CAR_output.txt

For those of you not proficient in reading raw binary, you may find this useful:

Win32 binaries (it's VB, what else it going to produce):
LFS U15 Car Data Output Reader

VB6 Source Code:
LFS U15 Car Data Output Reader (VB6 Source Code)

Brief instructions:
Change the text in the text box to the relevant car name (must be in the same folder as the program).
Click "Read".

I found a bug Scawen with this new Marshall stuff in the editor.

I cannot show you a replay, because the process makes recording a replay stop, so all I have is a picture and the steps to reproduce it:

1) Take a layout with any static objects present and place some Route Checkers here and there.

2) Save the layout with any name

3) Load a different autocross layout, but stay in the editor

4) Go back and reload the first layout with route checkers present, and then delete the route checkers. Save the layout with the same name again.

5) Exit the editor and drive around. You basically can drive through all the objects and nothing gets hit... nothing. After this step you basically can do this, but until you restart, everything is reset to normal.

~~~~~

I tried to see if substituting route checkers for a typical object would cause this, but it seems only the Marshall stuff creates this bug. I could be wrong, but either way, this is the best way to reproduce this. Between loading layouts causes a replay to not work so here is the screenshot:

Dont know if this were reported and if this can be changed but imho the marshal model changes much to late from low poly to medium, and from medium to high... u can clearly see his change...

I don't know if this bug was already known, this happened to me in all of the LFS versions since patch U, I don't know in earlier versions. If you press shift+s and then inmediatly hit esc (hold esc to reproduce) you get stuck in spectate mode but you are not really in spectate mode, you have to go to menu and then go to garage to be able to join the game again.

I got a TrackIR today and upon testing it with LFS I encountered a few (hopefully) simple issues that would be nice to have fixed:

- When activating TIR, the 'pitch view' setting for custom views doesn't work anymore. I have always liked to keep a few degrees of downward pitch in my view, and with TrackIR enabled(Even only with X axis enabled from the TIR properties) this is no longer possible.

- The rear view key doesn't work anymore either, I would still prefer to use it since it is a much faster way to take a quick peek behind you, especially since by turning the view with TIR the car model is on the way unlike with the 'ext 2.' view.

Excellent new track selection techniques Scawen. I think it is a real keeper :up: I do think you need to do something about the Auto-X lots and stuff. The Autocross environment could at least have something like this shown, and have the particular sections highlighted: http://www.liveforspeed.net/?p ... tents&track=test_area

I do get one strange thing though. I got a "Warning: Shadow error" message that popped up when playing Kyoto Ring GP Rev. I have shadows on and all, and there was no shadow present. Had to restart the game in order for things to come back to normal. It's wierd, it only happens when I am in the cockpit view or something, and then I change views to chase came or track cam. I get that error only in certain occassions, and I am not quite sure what causes it. If I save a replay of it, and load it up, it doesn't happen. It has something to do with changing my views... dunno

BTW, do you plan on fixing the view cameras interacting with the g-force settings? (specifcally lateral). Example in BF1 with full setting, the head swings violently outside cockpit. (Needs some limiting to how far the head can move depending on the car you are in I guess).

Is there some way you could hold a button down instead of just pressing it with the /press command? And there would have to be a way to stop it from holding too. thx.

It would be very useful, if typed text would not be shown in public, if it is prefixed with some character, for example "!". Like "/", but it would work also for non-admins, too. Some InSim apps already use "!" as a prefix of commands, but it can be quite annoying, when lots of players start to type these commands...

InSim apps could then use that even for team (group) only communication...

When I start dragstrip in hotlap mode the starting point is in the middle and not where it should be, at the start.

Oh, has it been possible to load layouts in hotlap mode before? If not, never mind then.

i'd like car's setup list to be sorted by name...

i do realize this suggestion is a little off topic but it seems like a small addition that would be really helpful

could you add a textbox that shows the spring frequencies and damping factors normalized to critical damping in the suspension settings ?

Info for MPR could also show racer names? Much helpful figuring out what race exactly it is.

Quote :

Draw driver / wheel option added to custom views
BF1 / FO8 show virtual clocks if wheel draw is switched off

I'm not liking the virtual clocks for the FO8/BF1, so I switched to the view of DRIVER OFF WHEEL ON for these two vehicles. The only problem is that once I change to any other car I would like to have DRIVER OFF WHEEL OFF. This view option only shows up once you are in the car on the track, so it's a little cumbersome to change back and forth. At first I thought that once I changed the view it would be saved with the particular vehicle and that once I chose the FO8 or BF1 again it would already be set to my preference. But it actually stays set to whatever the previous view option was. Is it supposed to be this way??

If it is, I was looking at the option of making a script for these two vehicles, (even though i know only a little bit about scripting) but just couldn't find the command. Is there a command for this view option??

Quote from xaotik :

In the custom view I placed the camera "in" the driver's helmet and it resembles more of what I see when sitting in a car in terms of the mirror position.

Bad thing about this though is that the drivers helmet is still drawn (assuming you have the driver on) and parts of it come visible annoyingly when you have G-forces moving the view...

I'll use this opportunity to slip in a request to have an option to disable the drivers helmet in the custom views

Quote :

FIX : Small map was too light in open roof cars

this fix doesn't help me in this situation.
+1 client side option to choose between light and dark small map colour.

I know it is a request in the wrong thread.

So now you get "mirror: real" and the follwoing messages in the FPS line, but other events are still in chat log: sound on-off, playing : %s, mouse locked in window/fullscreen, sound reloaded, controllers reset. What's the system and the difference?