LFS Companion (Alpha)
(387 posts, closed, started )
Quote from Chopst1x :I quit lfs and have to restart companion because the graphic doesn't draw, then compile stats and nothing happens, view doesn't do anything either. Any help?

Cheers

I have the same problem. Once I exit LFS the Companion window goes black and I have to restart it.
Quote from Tweaker :.... Once I exit LFS the Companion window goes black and I have to restart it.

Same here...

Maybe specs will help:

A64 3000+
1 Gig
Sapphire x800 Pro

Patch U19 is running on M$ XPsp2 with all necessary updates.

Overclocked or normal timings, Companion-gui went black after closing LFS.
Attached images
black.jpg
The black screen on task switch is a seperate bug for a future stomping session, I know what it is but wont go into technical talk here, basically it's something to do with the way Windows works and me having to learn how to work around something that i've not done before.

For the moment if you get a black screen you need to watch the replay through with LFS in Windowed mode (Shift-F4 from within LFS)

Currently the stats are a bit buggy, i'm sorting stuff out for the STCC right now and one of the things I want to do before the race is sort out the stats so the existing feature are finished, and working without major bugs.
Hi Mrs Rose!
Once again im having a problem with your brilliant program,but this time it is serious.I dont really care if i cant use Pitspotter, i dont need it,but i just updated companion to the new version and started racing.Now, it lets me race for about 10 seconds,then LFS minimizes and companion shuts down,saying:Parameter must be positive.
I hope you can think of a reason why this problem occurs and find a fix soon.
S0ul
Can you reopen LFS after the issue and create a replay of any race where that happens?
That would help Becky a lot.
If you can, remember the time of the replay where the issue happens.

Vain
Hi,

Quote from S0ul :Now, it lets me race for about 10 seconds,then LFS minimizes and companion shuts down,saying:Parameter must be positive.
S0ul

I had this problem as well with v0.3. I then updated to v0.41 and after that it worked without any problems.

Crowley
you wouldnt see anything in the replay,the only thing youd see is me driving into a wall,because lfs is miniized,thats all
seems to work right now,another problem that solved itself,ill report if it happens again
(Companion also works with replays. So when viewing the replay Companion should also cause this bug if it is a Companion-bug. Thus saving the replay and sending it to Becky would allow her to see the bug on her own computer because her local Companion reacts exactly like yours did when it wasn't a replay.)

Vain
Quote from Becky Rose :The black screen on task switch is a seperate bug for a future stomping session, I know what it is but wont go into technical talk here, basically it's something to do with the way Windows works and me having to learn how to work around something that i've not done before.

Use a normal Windows GUI or make a curses app like everyone else

Very nice app Becky, but 0.41 (and possibly older ones) has a bit of a bug where by it doesn't look like it keeps the connection to InSim alive. By the InSim spec it says that if LFS doesn't receive any data for 2 minutes then it will kill the connection and start listening for a new one. It appears that LFS Companion isn't aware of this and will continue to try and send packets, and LFS complains (Packet received before ISI).

If you do try and keep the connection alive, then you can reproduce this by opening LFS, start the InSim port up, and then let LFS Companion connect. Leave for 2 - 3 minutes and watch fun ensue.

If you don't try and keep the connection alive, sending ACK packets every 30 seconds is usually enough.
Quote :Parameter must be positive.

The only thing that could give this message is if there's drivers out there with control codes ^ at the end of their name but no colour codes following. After aiming a swearword in their general direction I will solve this issue for the next release.

Quote :but 0.41 (and possibly older ones) has a bit of a bug where by it doesn't look like it keeps the connection to InSim alive.

Cheers Angry Angel, I did have that all set up but I probably took something out when fiddling with the relay.

It sounds like an emergency patched may be needed for these two issues.
Quote from VoiD :Same here...

Maybe specs will help:

A64 3000+
1 Gig
Sapphire x800 Pro

Patch U19 is running on M$ XPsp2 with all necessary updates.

Overclocked or normal timings, Companion-gui went black after closing LFS.

set up the same resolution and refresh rate @ desktop and ingame
Does anyone one have a sample results file i could use? i'm at work at the mo and can't get to my machine. Doesn't matter what it is of, just a few laps will do.

I just want to try a few things with it.

Thanks.
There's an example right here:

http://www.simtouringcarcup.com/stats/example/index.html

There are a few glitches which I will iron out soon, and there is no proper final results page and no lap by lap chart yet because I just havn't got around to them yet.

Known issues with stats reporting:
Pit stop reporting appears to be bugged.
Driver names do not correctly filter out colour codes and may appear twice.

General Progress report update: I'm currently busy with STCC stuff, I will fix the stats output because I need that for the STCC

Known issues with relay:
I have looked for the ISI bug but it is inconclusive at the moment - it looks like it only effects LFS Companion when you take over 2 minutes to get into the car and use a relayed application, but I need to do more testing to understand this issue.

Known issue with driver names:
Drivers who have control codes at the end of their name with no subsequent colour code (namely rogue ^ symbols in their name) currently cause LFS Companion to terminally exit. This will be fixed with the stats update.
Just a quick one, will the output eventually show which track was used?

That'll be handy, Ta!
Yes that's going on the results page along with the race length. I dont plan to make the program support races held over a number of hours, unless an endurance league specifically requests it, but it wouldn't be hard to edit the file as it is all standard html output. Infact you can design the layout however you like and specify where you want LFSC to put the data with text markers in the html.

*1 for Heading
*2 for Data
*3 for LFS Companion versioon tag

EDIT
One very important point:
The stats system is intended for leagues, therefore it remembers disconnected players and stores them in their appropriate finishing position, regardless of the actual position given by LFS in the results (which only takes into account drivers who finish the last lap).
Hi, everytime I try to run this, I get a Bind Failed insim message, am I doing something wrong?
You're trying to assign InSim to a port that is already in use. Try a different port number.
Yup, basically either port 49999 or port 49998 is in use on your computer by something else. You can reconfigure LFS Companion to use any port number you wish (although a nice high number in the 10,000+ range is a good idea for trivial reasons which aren't worth explaining).

You can reconfigure LFS Companion from the config menu. Obviously if you change the insim port in LFS you need to reflect that change when you type /insim=49999 in LFS too. If the conflict is on the Listen port then you dont need to tell LFS anything, LFSCompanion will do that for you when you next start it.
hmm well ive changed the port about 15 times now, in the app and in the game and allowed those ports on my router, and everytime I get the same Bind Failed
Then it must be a firewall blocking all ports. You dont need to open the port on your router, but a software firewall will interfere with LFSC and shut down all communications.

If you have a router then a software firewall is both unecessary and imposing constrictive functionality to your computer for no extra advantage, i'd actually suggest deinstalling it.
I dont use a software firewall
While having neither LFS nor Companion running, try Start -> Run -> "Command" -> "netstat -a" and tell us wether anything in that list reads like ":49999" or ":49998". If something does, tell us the exact line.
Then run "netstat -b" and see wether the 49999 or 49998 also appears there. If so, tell us the exact line again.
That would surely be helpful.

Vain
Nothing appears just msn was showing up.
backup your cfg.txt and delete them. then start lfs and try it again.
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LFS Companion (Alpha)
(387 posts, closed, started )
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